What I Read in 2024
Happy belated start of 2025!
Yes, I’m still alive! Life has been something for the last few months, and after throwing all of my creative energy into writing, editing, and publishing A Noble Grace back in October, I largely fell off the face of the internet for a while. Holidays, migraines, home projects, work, burnout, and all sorts of extras have delayed me, but I’m finally stepping back into creativity again and am so excited!
I’ll be sharing many more updates in the next couple of weeks, but what better way to start the new blogging year than to share a belated wrap-up of what I read in 2024?
I’ve been using Goodreads (and more recently Storygraph) to track my reading for the past few years, setting yearly reading challenges, reviewing the books I read, adding more to my to-read lists, and finding out what fellow readers think of books I’m interested in). It’s been extremely helpful and motivating!
My yearly books read each year since 2021 have included 55, 27, 50, and now…40 books in 2024!
I’m pretty happy with that! If you check my Goodreads profile, you’ll see that my reading challenge goal is set to exactly 40, so it looks as though I’ve been successful in my goal – but that’s because I wanted the dopamine hit of not seeing my failed original goal, haha. I had been aiming for 75-100.
For many reasons, 2024 wasn’t as big of a reading year as I’d hoped (something I’m hoping not to repeat in 2025), but I was still able to read so many amazing stories. I’m excited to share them with you today!
So without further ado, below is the full list of the books I’ve read this year! I’d love to know if you’ve read any of them and what your opinion was! Are any of these books on your TBR?
What I Read in 2024( * = A favorite!)
(~ = A re-read!)
(DNR = do not recommend/will not be re-reading)
If you’d like to read my in-depth thoughts on any of these books, I’ve reviewed many of them on their Goodreads pages. Just click on the title to go to each book’s page!
Fiction1. The Maze Cutter by James Dashner
(Young-adult dystopian, sequel to the Maze Runner series)
2. Belle and Beast (Istoire Awakens #1) by Rebecca Fittery
(Fantasy Beauty and the Beast retelling)
3. The Treasure Hunt by Kate Willis
(Contemporary middle-grade short story)
4. Before Beauty (Becoming Beauty #1) by Brittany Fichter
(Fantasy Beauty and the Beast retelling)
5. Red Boots by Kate Willis
(Sweet middle-grade short story)
6. Aliferous by Alissa J. Zavalianos – *
(Lovely short story and poetry collection)
7. Befriending the Beast (Tales of Faith #1) by Amanda Tero
(Historical Beauty and the Beast retelling)
8. Meant to Bee by Storm Schultz
(Contemporary cozy romance)
9. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins – *
(Dystopian prequel)
10. Ophelia Brown and the Unseen by Julia Witmer
(Middle-grade portal fantasy)
11. A Curse of Gold and Beauty by Mary Mecham
(Rumplestiltskin short-story retelling)
12. Divergent by Veronica Roth
(Young-adult dystopian)
13. A Crown of Chains by Erin Phillips
(Dark fantasy biblical “Esther” retelling)
14. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
(Young-adult dystopian)
15. Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich – DNR (language and strong content)
(Novel adaptation of a contemporary Broadway musical)
16. A Noble Purpose (Cornerstone Series #1) by Laurie Lucking
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of Hans, Who Made the Princess Laugh)
17. Becoming Hook (Legends of Neverland #1) by Mary Mecham
(Young-adult clean romance Peter Pan spin-off)
18. Nova and the Lost Stars by Lillian Keith & Amelia Grace (illustrator) – *
(Middle-grade fantasy short story)
19. The Twelve Kingdoms by Dana A. Caldwell
(Young-adult epic fantasy)
20. The Nightmare Virus by Nadine Brandes – *
(Young-adult dystopian suspense)
21. A Dream of Home by Kate Willis
(Science fiction short story, prequel to A Dream of Flight)
22. The Princess Test (The Skazka Fairy Tales #5) by Valia Lind
(Princess and the Pea fairy tale fantasy retelling)
23. A Noble Match (Cornerstone Series #2) by Kirsten Fichter
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of Thumbelina)
24. Straw Into Gold by Carol Beth Anderson – DNR (language and light content)
(Rumplestiltskin fantasy retelling short story)
25. A Noble Grace (Cornerstone Series #3) by E. G. Bella (technically the book I read most this year, haha!)
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast)
26. A Noble Heart (Cornerstone Series #4) by Jewel Windall
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of Peter Pan)
27. In the Wake of the Wicked by V. B. Lacey – (moderate content)
(Dark fantasy romance)
28. A Noble Princess (Cornerstone Series #5) by Saraina Whitney
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of A Goose Girl)
29. A Noble Companion (Cornerstone Series #6) by Rachel Kovaciny
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of An Ugly Duckling)
30. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller – (moderate content)
(Young-adult fantasy pirate romance)
31. Emberling (The Chronicles of Uriu #1) by Kaytlin Phillips
(Young-adult clean/Christian fantasy)
32. Fable (The World of the Narrows #1) by Adrienne Young
(Young-adult pirate fantasy romance)
33. by Adrienne Young
(Young-adult pirate fantasy romance)
34. Drift: Willa and Koy (The World of the Narrows) by Adrienne Young
(Young-adult pirate fantasy romance short story, sequel to Fable & Namesake)
35. A Noble Warrior (The Cornerstone Series #10) by Lucy Peterson
(Christian non-magical fantasy retelling of The Nutcracker)
36. How (Not) to Kiss a Toad (Cindy Eller #1) by Elizabeth A. Reeves – DNR (language and mild content)
(Contemporary romance)
1. Trim Healthy Mama Plan by Pearl Barrett & Serene Allison
(Meal plan/cookbook/nutritional guide)
2. Writing and Releasing Rapidly by Elana Johnson
(Indie author craft book)
3. Writing Killer Cover Copy by Elana Johnson
(Indie author craft book)
4. Baby Steps Millionaires by Dave Ramsey
(Financial advice and tips book)
I clearly read a lot more fiction than non-fiction this year, which was a large attempt to gain motivation for my work on A Noble Grace. For the same reasoning, maybe you noticed the sheer amount of fairy tale retellings, haha!
I also got to read some absolutely lovely little middle-grade stories, as well as some swashbuckling pirate books that have helped me prepare to work on Gills again! Overall, my books of choice were predominantly indie-published ones too, which was very fun. There are very few I’d rather not have read.
What did YOU read this year? What were some of your favorites? Have you read any of the same ones I did, and if so, what did you think? I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to comment below and let me know what reading adventures you were up to in 2024!
And while you’re there, feel free to ask questions about any of the books on this list! I tried to quickly note any that I would hate for you to jump into without research, but it’s hard to list everything here. Again, you can find my reviews for many of the books by clicking on the book’s title (which will take you to my Goodreads review), or I’d be more than happy to chat about any of them in the comments!
Here’s hoping 2025 is full of many more great reads!
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New Year’s Book TagsWhat I Read in 2024Peace Be Still Launch (& Author Interview with Virginia Henderson)
