It’s that time of year: Our Best of 2024 lists will start to run soon!
We don’t make lists by genre but that doesn’t mean you can’t! What is your pick for:
the best historical romance of 2024
the best contemporary romance of 2024
the best romantic suspense of 2024
the best romantasy of 2024
the best women’s fiction of 2024
Thanks!
It is the era of the recycled tale. So much so I often wonder whether or not any original stories are being filmed. Cape Fear, a story originally written by John D. MacDonald in 1957, has been made into two movies since its publication. Want more of what would you do for your family tale:…
My husband adores stand up comedy. I do not. My siblings all rave about Curb Your Enthusiasm. I think it’s mean and unfunny. Others in my book club–the less fun one–cracked up over Where’d You Go, Bernadette. I found everyone in it profoundly unpleasant. Clearly, humor is in the funny bone of the beholder. I…
We’re coming up on the holiday stretch: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and the New Year. (Let me know if I’ve missed one you celebrate, please.) This constraints of this year–which I think of as the year which must not be named–means many of us will not spend these in the ways that we…
My husband doesn’t want to fly until there’s a vaccine for COVID and so the trips we usually take in the summer are cancelled. We love our beautiful little town but oh how I wish we’d gone to Japan (cancelled trip in May), Italy (cancelled wedding trip in July), and Southern California (another cancelled wedding…
Lisa Kleypas has released a revised and updated audio edition of Mine Til Midnight originally published in 2007. The book is the first in her Hathaways series. Here is the Amazon blurb for the current Kindle version which does not say it’s been updated:
For as long as AAR’s been reviewing, we’ve rated romances for how spicy/sexy/hot or not a love story is. (Our current sensuality ratings may be found here.) Currently, our standards are: Kisses: Kisses only. Many of these books are quite simply “sweet.
My Best of list won’t have any “romantasy” (ugh – that term needs to die a horrible death!) or WF – and my book of the year doesn’t fit into any of those categories 😛
Best HR – toss-up between The Duke at Hazard and You Should Be So Lucky
Best CR – toss up between Promises of Forever, Salt and Fall For Him
Best RS – toss up between Skeletons in the Closet and Don’t Look Back
Hailey Turner’s Secondhand Skin is probably my favourite urban fantasy of the year and while KJC’s Death in the Spires isn’t genre romance, it’s nonetheless got the most wonderful romantic subplot (and she’s writing a sequel! Yay!!).
Nicky James’s PROMISES OF FOREVER is my favorite/best CR of 2024 (so far—who knows what December may bring…including another book from James set in the same world as POF). I really don’t read much in the other genres to have a favorite, although I did love KD Casey’s HIDDEN RUNES, two paranormal novellas transposing athletes from her baseball romances into ghost hunters. Great fun and cleverly done.
I haven’t come across the Casey stories – they were released with no fanfare whatsoever! I wasn’t a big fan of her first book, but I liked the others, so I might check these out. Thanks for the rec!
the best historical romance of 2024: The Foxhole Victory Tour Amy Lynn Green
The best contemporary romance of 2024 is a tie! Pardon My Frenchie Farrah Rochon and The Partner Plot Kristina Forest
the best romantic suspense of 2024 I got nothing. I’ve had a real struggle to find any romantic suspense books that are stand-alone and not part of an ongoing series, and I am doing a one-woman protest of that trend 🙂
the best romantasy of 2024 The Spellshop Sarah Beth Durst
the best women’s fiction of 2024 Tomorrow is for the Brave Kelly Bowen
the best historical romance of 2024: Viscount in Love by Eloisa James
the best contemporary romance of 2024: Under Your Spell by Laura Wood or Funny Story by Emily Henry
the best romantic suspense of 2024: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
the best romantasy of 2024: tie between The Deer and the Dragon by Piper CJ and Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw
the best women’s fiction of 2024: Eleanor of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier
the best historical romance of 2024: Viscount in Love by Eloisa James or Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch.
the best contemporary romance of 2024 Funny Story by Emily Henry or Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
the best romantic suspense of 2024 Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea
the best romantasy of 2024 A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
the best women’s fiction of 2024 Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins or The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Strong second your WF picks!
Let’s see.
Best HR: The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles
Honorable Mention: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian.
Best CR: Tie- Promises of Forever by Nicky James and Waiting for the Flood/Chasing the Light by Alexis Hall (WftF was expanded and CtL was new in 2024)
Honorable Mention: The Mechanics of Lust by Jay Hogan (Also an A book)
Best RS: Skeletons in the Closet by Nicky James
I agree with Caz that Death in Spires by KJ Charles has a wonderful romantic subplot and is a fantastic book. It’s definitely on my best of 2024.
The Hogan came out last year – I had to double check the pub. date to make sure I hadn’t left it off by mistake!
Of course! I have the Hogan book on my Best of Audiobooks for 2024 and that confused me. Yes, the book came out in 2023. In fact, every book on the above list is also on my 2024 Best Audiobooks list! I think The Mechanics of Lust is the only one of the books I read in print first.
Hmmm. I’ve read relatively few 2024 published books this year – only 22 out of 112. And most of those have been CRs. Yikes! On the other hand, it feels like it’s been a good reading year – revisiting old favorites (Jo Goodman and Loretta Chase) and enjoying some things I missed in some authors’ backlists (Julie Anne Long, Courtney Milan, and Rebecca Zanetti). So FWIW:
CR – Abby Jimenez’ Just For The Summer (although I’ve been enjoying Fearne Hill’s books set in France too).
HR – Harper St. George’s The Stranger I Wed
Not a single RS published this year (!) although some others’ recs below sound intriguing.
Paranormal/Romantasy – Ali Hazelwood’s Bride (it’s almost the only paranormal I’ve read all year and the only one published in 2024. I think the “Romantasy” offerings have put me off this subgenre a bit.
WF – Kristan Higgins’ Look On the Bright Side Somehow I missed Emily Henry’s Funny People and that is now on hold at the library. 😉
Best Historical: Viscount in Love by Eloisa James
Best Contemporary: The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
Best Romantic Suspense: The Five Year Lie by Sabrina Bowen
Best Romantic Fantasy: The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owens
Best Women’s Fiction: The Women by Kristin Hannah
Obviously, The Women could also be historical fiction, and I was also tempted to choose Sherry Thomas’s A Ruse of Shadows for that category, even though it’s more likely to be considered a mystery. So many good titles to choose from!