My Favourite Books of 2024: Part 1 😊

Yorkshire 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family down south because of the murders. But what if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

It is so thrilling and fast paced (but never rushed) that you’re drawn into and it holds your hands and holds your breath and only gives it back to you upon the last page. If you want to read one book this year that will stay with you over the next years – choose this one.

In WW2 Bath, young, naïve wireless engineer Will meets Austrian refugee Elsa Klein. She is sophisticated, witty, and worldly, and at least his life seems to make sense. Until, soon after, their home is bombed, and Will awakes from the blast to find himself alone. No-one has heard of Elsa Klein. They say she never existed.

This is one of the most beautiful, inspiring, heartwarming, loving, hopeful, joyful, gorgeous, and absolutely wonderful books I’ve read, and will be suggesting it to anyone who will listen. I generally don’t do star ratings, but if I did, this would be getting all of them.

Nico’s story is interweaved with other individuals impacted by the occupation of Greece: his brother Sebastian, their schoolmate Fanni and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, the consequences of what they endured come to light.

It is absolutely beautiful, in its brutally honest way. It’s about a topic that we all need to remember, and it gives us a fresh look at a story that we have all been taught about, and it definitely stays with you. It was so powerful and so phenomenally written.

In 1824, Lyme Regis is as tumultuous as the sea that surrounds it. When twenty-four-year-old Ada Winters – poor, peculiar and brilliant – uncovers a set of unusual fossils on the cliffs, she believes she has found the answer to her scientific frustrations and her family’s financial struggles.

It is such a delicious book. It’s a history book, a romance, an adventure, all wrapped up in a delicious, exciting, invigorating parcel. It’s well researched but doesn’t feel like a non-fiction. Joanne has expertly woven the truth in with artistic licence and she’s balanced it so well. I read it in one sitting. It is absolutely gorgeous and all consuming.

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here’s what you’d see: A father and son, a fox standing between them. Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack’s mother is missing.

It’s not just words on a page. Each word is thought about in the wider context, honed to perfection, which means every sentence tells of an emotion and a feeling as well as what it actually is saying. Which means his writing reads like poetry, it ebbs and flows and is a joy to read.

Am I a murderer? You tell me. You probably already know about me. Lucy Chase, the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend. If it wasn’t me, will digging into the secrets of the night I forgot make me the next target of whoever did?

This book is instantly captivating and you will not want to put it down. It’s Amy’s first adult book I believe and it is so accomplished, I can’t wait for more. I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s so absorbing and hooks you instantly and doesn’t let off. It’s unbelievably addictive and you’ll read it in one sitting.

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife? This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.

It was such a fascinating premise, completely original. It’s such a simple premise and it is executed perfectly. The way Becky writes, the characters, the story, the sentence structure, the word choices, the emotions she’s woven into it, the meanings – it makes its way into your heart, into your very soul.

Frances always said she’d be murdered. She was right. In 1965, Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise.

I felt the characterisation was brilliant. There is definitely something Agatha Christie about it. I think Kristen has found the perfect balance between honouring a legend of the craft, and making her own mark. Like any good whodunnit, it is full of red herrings, twists, turns, and suspects. I can’t wait for more.

Mrs Quinn is the unlikely star of Britain’s favourite baking show, but could her newfound stardom cause her biggest secret to unravel? Will Mrs Quinn rise to the challenge? Or, will her success become a recipe for disaster?

For a book “just” about an elderly lady who bakes, it is very moving. I found myself welling up on numerous occasions, and not just at the sad points. There is a whole lot of depth here that is very emotional and beautiful. It was so addictive and easy to read that I read it in just a matter of hours. I just couldn’t bear to be away from it for long. It is very much a feel-good novel.

When Shelley Woodhouse wakes up in hospital from a coma, the first thing she says is that her husband must be arrested. He’s the reason she’s in here. She knows it. She remembers what he did. Clearly as anything. But can she trust her memories, or what anyone around her is telling her?

It is very emotive, very moving. For sad reasons, happy reasons, and angry reasons. Laura has pitched it just right. It’s uplifting without being too sweet, sad without being morbid, frightening without being too scary. It shows humanity at its best and its worse. This is my second book of Laura’s and I now aim to read them all.

Anna wants a fresh start. She doesn’t believe she deserves it, but after three years behind bars she has finally paid her dues. Lucy craves the attention of the only man she can’t have, her alluring Oxford professor. Marie the recluse has been locked up for too long. Everyone wants a perfect life. But not everyone is prepared to take it.

I am impressed by Harriet’s ability to create three very separate main characters, and then somehow make them work together. It is such an addictive book. I read half of it before I went to bed one night and finished the second half as soon as I woke up. It’s so good. Harriet will definitely be on my list of thriller authors to look out for.

Florence has lived an extraordinary life full of travel, passion and adventure. But, at 87, she suspects there are no more surprises to come her way. Then, one midsummer’s night, something terrible happens – so strange and unexpected that Florrie is suspicious. Was this really an accident, or is she living alongside a murderer?

This is sunshine in a book. Full of warmth and happiness and it’s just absolutely splendid. I so enjoyed getting to know these characters, particularly Florrie, that I just wanted to stay on this journey with them. If her previous books hold as much skill and love as this one does, then I will most definitely have to buy the lot!

1770. Delphine lives in the shadows of London: a secret, vibrant world of smugglers, courtesans and small rebellions. Four years ago, she escaped enslavement at great personal cost. Now, she must help her brother Vincent do the same.

This book is a work of art, a work of genius. A thing of beauty. A gut punch. An emotional rollercoaster. A needed book. An absolute gem. A book I never wanted to end. Simply, a masterpiece.

26 year old Clayton was abandoned on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers and raised by a group of eccentric enigmatologists. When the lead crossword compiler dies, she leaves him his hardest puzzle yet – a promise to reveal the mystery of his parents.

It is rare to get a book that is so warming and uplifting, that is such a happy book, and yet still manage to be interesting, entertaining, and well-written, not too sugary sweet or sappy. It is, quite simply, a triumph.

Medea has longed to escape her father and brother, all because of a misunderstood witchcraft. But when dashing hero Jason arrives to claim the Golden Fleece, she offers to help him and sets in motion a journey that will test every ounce of her strength, magic and loyalty.

I blow hot and cold with mythological retellings but this book proved why I always go back to “hot”. It’s so well written, great characters, thrilling actions, and just beautiful, beautiful storytelling.

When Holly Bush is made redundant after a brutal attack, she decides to visit a retreat not far from home. There she finds friendship and a garden in need of love, bringing the community of guests together. Journaling her way through her holiday, Holly works on both her mental and physical scars and discovers an inner strength as her secrets are revealed.

This may be the most important book I’ll read all year. Zoe has perfectly mastered the ability to write about mental health in an honest and powerful, but sensitive way. I don’t have enough words to fully explain how beautiful this book is.

Delphie meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, but after a mishap, he is sent back to his life. Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to Earth and reconnect with this mystery man and make him fall in love with her, but she only has 10 days to do so…and he doesn’t know who she is.

It is instantly glorious. So uplifting; it’s fun, funny, mesmerising, and just absolutely beautiful. I read it in less than a day, it is so addictive. It does bring tears to your eyes, it’s so beautiful. It has to be one of the most uplifting, gloriously life-affirming books I’ve read in a very long time

Weeks away from the birth of her first child, Georgie should be enjoying the peace of her new life in the country, but boredom has settled in and nerves are running high. A viral news story about the rescue of a missing child warms her heart until she sees the the woman who found the child is her own mother, Nancy, who disappeared 20 years ago.

I don’t think Jo realises the hold she has over me with these books. Every sentence is exquisite. One of the most talented writers of raw emotion, and I would implore everyone to red at least one because she is an absolute master storyteller.

Things haven’t been going well for Beth. Her husband has left her for one of her friends. Her fellow school mums judge her for swearing too much and not shifting the baby weight. And her best friend Charlotte has died. But then Beth finds out Charlotte left her toddler at home alone when she died; something she would never do. Was there more to her death than meets the eye?

Joanna has such a seamless way of writing; it feels as if the very first draft would be the final one, that she knew what she wanted when setting out and that’s what we’ve got. It’s really fun to read. It really wizzes through and I was finished before I knew it. Everything about it is really wonderful.

Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case. Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a forest as teenagers, but were unable to explain what had happened. 15 years later, they return to the forest to try and get back all they have lost.

I don’t do star ratings generally unless I have to, but for this book, I would pluck every star out of the sky and give them to it. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine and happiness, but overall it is really lovely. It’s about love, friendship, family, magic, hope, fear, trust, forgiveness, joy, and beauty. It’s about the power of creativity, of storytelling, of music, of art; how they can change your life and save your life.

An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he’s acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands in this dark and irresistibly compelling debut thriller.

I did forget at times I was reading a book, and kept going to ask people “did you hear about that serial killer”, like he was real, which is always a good sign of a book if it stays with me. It’s a promising debut for a new exciting writer.

Haunted by the memory of a devastating accident that claimed the lives of her husband and oldest daughter, Marissa’s life is struck by another tragedy. Her thirteen-year-old daughter, Maisy, suffers a perilous fall under mysterious circumstances. Marissa finds herself desperately hoping her deepest fear—the loss of another child—will not be realised.

What is Rebecca doing to me?! Her books are fabulous but heart-breaking. She has this ability to write as if you’re the only person reading it, like it was written solely for you, like she knows exactly what it is each individual reader needs from that book. It is a fabulous book and she’s a fabulous author.

Kiela and a magically sentient spider plant called Caz are quite happy working in the empire’s library. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry. Taking refuge in her childhood home, Kiela starts up a jam shop, helped along with a little illegal magic. But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter…

There’s magic, books, jam, a handsome neighbour, a cosy cottage, a lovely little island, and a sentient plant! There isn’t a page in this book that isn’t cosy. It is so absorbing and all encompassing. You will get lost in this world Sarah has created and fall in love with the characters.

Aaron Alexander has just been released from prison after serving 11 years for causing the death of Joshua Moore in a hit-and-run. Now a free man, all he wants to do is stay on the straight and narrow. But for Joshua’s mother Evelyn, 11years in jail isn’t nearly enough. Consumed by grief and rage, she has been waiting for Aaron’s release, counting down the days until she can exact the revenge he deserves.

Jack Jordan is a genius storyteller. His previous two books were epic, but he has somehow managed to dial this one up to produce an absolute masterpiece. It’s not easy to read at times, it is heart-breaking and upsetting and raw and violent. But it is thrilling and you will not want to put it down.