Favorite Books of 2024
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Favorite Quotes:
“She has to survive this, Roman thought. He didn’t want to live in a world without her and her words.”
“Iris met Attie’s gaze. ‘Are you telling me…’ Attie smiled, tugging on her hand. ‘I’m telling you that Roman Carver Kitt is in the garden, waiting to marry you.’”
“I pray that my days will be long at your side. Let me fill and satisfy every longing in your soul. May your hand be in mine, by sun and by night. Let our breaths twine and our blood become one, until our bones return to dust. Even then, may I find your soul still sworn to mine.”
This was one of my first reads of the year and to say I started off strong would be an accurate statement. I have been putting this book off for a while and since I saw it was available on kindle unlimited, I jumped right on it. This book is advertised as a young adult fantasy, which is very interesting to me. I would not have categorized it as that if I did not look it up.
I love the fact that we get our little enemies to lovers trope in this book, but more in a way she thinks they’re enemies, while he is completely in love. The way that she writes these characters and all of the moments that happen really pulled me in as if I was in the world with Iris and Roman. They have a kind of love that people dream of and yearn for their whole life to feel. This book is so beautiful that I wish I could read it for the first time all over again. While I haven’t read the second book, Ruthless Vows, I am excited to pick up from where this book leaves us.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book if you haven’t already read it. It will potentially change your whole life like it did mine.
Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher
Favorite Quotes:
“You wouldn’t shut up about how if you got a second chance with Dahlia, you’d do things differently.”
“For someone intent on acting like she doesn’t find me attractive, you desperately look like you want to be kissed.”
“I turn and head toward the exit while shielding my smile from the one woman who always finds a way to bring it out, whether she knows it or not.”
“If he keeps talking that way, I might do something incredibly stupid and fall in love with him.”
“His eyes shimmer from the moon peeking through the clouds. “I missed out on a chance to make you mine before, but I don’t plan on making the same mistake again. We’re the real deal, sweetheart, and I’m done letting you believe anything else.”
Lauren Asher can do no wrong. She is one of the authors that I always immediately buy her books without giving it a second thought. This is her third series that I have read and am already in love with it. Even though this is the first book in the series, I just know each book she puts out will be better and better. It is giving very much enemies to lovers, but in a sense of their hate is just hiding their undying attraction for one another. It gave me everything that I could want out of a romance book and absolutely binged it.
I highly recommend this book and any Lauren Asher books if you haven’t read her other books already! What is not to love about a hot billionaire who has never forgotten about his first love and finally gets a chance to get her back??
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Favorite Quote:
“I cracked up and she laughed with me. God, this was easy. I wondered if she saw how easy it was too. Or maybe for her all her friendships were like this. Mine weren’t. To have this kind of rapport with someone so early on was unusual for me. Briana made me the best version of myself when I was with her somehow.”
I have recently discovered all of the books that Abby Jimenez has written and I kick myself a little because I wish I would have read one of her books sooner. Abby Jimenez’s writing reminds me a lot of Emily Henry, who is my favorite author. This book was far more than just a romance book, but of understanding mental illness and real life problems. It made me feel so very seen and that there are many others just like me. I am very excited to read the rest of her books and can already tell she is going to be a favorite author of mine.
My favorite part of this book would be how the two main characters communicate in their own special way. It very much made me want that with someone. Yours Truly is a great example of not judging a book by it’s cover or to not listen to any rumors about a person, because they may not be true.
I honestly don’t know how she does it, but she completely pulls you in right away and make you feel connected to her characters. It quite literally pulled me into her world and made me forget about reality. If you haven’t read any of her books yet, what are you waiting for?!
All My Love by Morgan Elizabeth
Favorite Quotes:
“You’ve got all my love, little star. Always have, always will.”
“Some days, I can’t get out of bed,” I whisper. “I can’t make myself do it. My house turns into a disaster, and I don’t shower or brush my teeth.” I’m telling him both as a warning and a challenge because who the fuck wants that? Who wants to live with that, to spend their days knowing one day, I’ll wake up like this. “Is it okay if I lay there with you?” he asks. My brow furrows, and I shake my head gently, not in a no, but because it makes no sense. “What?” “The days you can’t leave bed. Can I lay in it with you?”
I love a second chance romance, especially when they were friends before becoming lovers. There is definitely a lot of miscommunication happening but I think it is very minor when it comes to the whole message of this book. I personally think that this is Morgan Elizabeth’s most heart wrenching stories she has written. I could so clearly feel the pain and hurt that our FMC, Stella went through. The representation of mental illness in this book is something I think about constantly. We all want someone like Riggins who understands that there are dark days and happy days.
If you are a Noah Kahan fan, this book is based off a lot of his songs and include a majority of them as titles for each chapter!
Wild Love by Elsie Silver
Favorite Quotes:
“As in, she’s still funny and beautiful and completely off-limits, and I still feel transported back to the dumbstruck boy who is awkward as hell around her.”
“When he turns and walks away from me, he takes my breath with him”
“With Ford Grant kissing me, the world stands still. I smell him. I feel him. I taste him.”
“‘I want a wild love. I want you, even though you make me want to push you into the lake and break your computer and throw paint all over your pristine floors. I want this feeling I have with you where it hurts to breathe when you get too far away, where my skin itches uncontrollably when you look at me. Where thinking feels overrated because we both know nothing and no one will ever feel like this. Like us’”
Elsie Silver, please stop raising my standards for men, it is already hard enough to find a good guy and now I have to add more things to my list of standards. Ford Grant is everything and anything you could ever want out of a man. This book was so perfect in every single way. She wrote their connection, chemistry, angst, and banter to, in my opinion, perfections. I could not put this book down and am so excited to read the next book in the series.
I should also mention that this whole series is about single fathers and I love reading a single dad trope. So if that doesn’t sell you on this book, I don’t know what else will. I highly recommend this book and all of her other books she has written, you will not be disappointed.
Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez
Favorite Quotes:
“‘You’re not asking too much,’ he said. ‘You were asking the wrong person. Ask me instead.’”
“Maybe home isn’t a place. Maybe it’s a person.”
“The best kind of love doesn’t happen on moonlit walks and romantic vacations. It happens in between the folds of everyday life. It’s not grand gestures that show how you feel, it’s all the little secret things you do to make her life better that you never tell her about.”
“This is the thing nobody tells you about The One. How they’re timeless. How the moment they pop up again you’re right back in it, right where you left off.”
Abby Jimenez did it again and I think this one is very much top tier. I don’t know how she is able to grab you by the heart and tug it all the way through the book. I absolutely adore Justin (who might be in the top of best book boyfriends) and how much he cares for everyone in his life. He selflessly gives everything and anything to make everyone else's lives better. I so very much crave that from someone and Abby has increased my standards for love. (These authors seriously need to stop raising my standards)
I see myself a little in both our characters, Emma and Justin, in ways that they struggle with everyday problems. Abby just writes these characters as if they were real people and I think that is what draws me to her writing. The connection that I feel with a lot of her characters just make me absolutely obsessed with her writing.
But on a serious note, you need to read this book and any other book she has written.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Favorite Quotes:
“My body was screaming, a mindless, impatient call for touch. His touch.”
“‘Are you still pretending?’ I said, reveling in his gaze. Ravyn gave a surprised laugh and, in front of everyone, leaned in and kissed me. ‘I never was,’ he whispered into my lips.”
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but it absolutely blew me out of the water. The world building was pretty simple to follow and understand, so that was a huge positive for me. The magic system was also very interesting that I don’t think I have read anything quite like it, which makes it so unique!
This was a gothic fantasy with a hint of romance. I would highly recommend reading this book in the fall because it gives all the fall vibes you could ask for. I was hooked from the very beginning and couldn’t put it down and am very excited to pick up the next book in the duology!
Highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it already!
Caught Up by Liz Tomforde
Favorite Quotes:
“There’s no denying it any longer; I want this girl more than I’ve wanted anything in my life.”
“I’m speechless. I’m obsessed. I think I’m in trouble.”
“You’ve been taking care of my heart, Mills, and I’ve been taking care of yours.”
“‘Miller,’ he says, making sure my attention is on him. ‘If you ever decide to stop running and make a home…’ His eyes are begging, pleading. ‘Make it with me.’”
The Windy City series is absolutely amazing. Each book gets better and better each time. It is a series that really connects you with every single character and the fact that you see each character in all the books. This series would be the definition of found family. It is just so wholesome that makes you want to physically be in the books with the characters.
I have already stated that I love a single dad trope, so this is just a chefs kiss to that statement.
Kai, the MMC, is absolutely obsessed with Miller, the FMC, right off the bat. He is a another book boyfriend that I will be adding to my favorites list. This book was very bingeable, just like the rest of the series and I didn’t want it to end. Very excited to read the rest of the books in this series and be as equally obsessed with the next ones. Highly recommend this book and series by Liz Tomforde!
