From Sally Rooney’s latest BookTok sensation to a classic Emily Henry rom-com and so much more.
The 20 Best and Buzziest Books of 2024
From Sally Rooney’s latest BookTok sensation to a classic Emily Henry rom-com and so much more.
There’s nothing quite like a juicy read that makes you forget all sense of time.
And if you’re due for the next one, this year has been abundant in the book department, with some of the world’s top-selling authors all releasing novels that have captured readers’ hearts – and charts – all over the globe.
Ready to add your nightstand? From Sally Rooney’s latest TikTok sensation to Sarah J. Maas’ newest fantasy and beyond, keep reading for our round-up of the buzziest and best books of 2024.
1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
An instant #1 bestseller that spawned over five million TikToks, Sally Rooney’s poignant novel Intermezzo might be the most exciting book drop of 2024. It centres around brothers Peter, a successful barrister in his 30s, and Ivan, a 22-year-old competitive chess player, in the aftermath of their father’s death. While deep in grief, the pair are also navigating their complicated romantic connections: Peter with his ex-girlfriend Sylvia and a young university student named Naomi, while Ivan is entangled with Margaret, an older woman with a tumultuous past. For the bereaved brothers and the people they love, it is a period of change – where beyond the grief and mess lies a question: what truly makes a life?
2. Funny Story by Emily Henry
Rom-com lovers rejoice! Penned by Emily Henry – one of the genre’s reigning queens and the mastermind behind global bestsellers like Beach Read and Happy Place – Funny Story is a heartwarming tale about a happily-ever-after that wasn’t. Stranded in a too-small town over one sizzling summer, we meet Daphne, who got tossed to the side when her ex-fiancé Peter left her for a “happily ever after” with his childhood best friend Petra. When Daphne unexpectedly winds up sharing an apartment with Petra’s former fiancé, Miles, the pair plot to fake a relationship on Instagram to get their exes’ attention. A fool-proof plan where no one falls for the other? Perhaps not – but that’s all the better for us, we say.
3. The Women by Kristin Hannah
Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, this historical fiction starts when 20-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath who, upon hearing the words “women can be heroes”, has an epiphany. As the mid-60s sees the world shift, Frances dares to envision more for her life than the halcyon haze of Southern California where she grew up, deciding instead to join the Army Nurse Corps and serve in Vietnam. While overwhelmed by experiencing war firsthand, the real battle begins when Frankie and her veteran friends return to a different and divided America – one that wants to forget Vietnam ever happened. Deep, searing, and vividly drawn, it’s a tale that sheds light on the oft-forgotten women of war and their unsung sacrifices.
4. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
If you are after something you can devour in one sitting, Just for the Summer has all the right ingredients. First, there’s the amusing premise: protagonists Emma and Justin have the same curse – whoever they date goes on to find their soulmates in their next relationships – so they decide to date each other for the summer, in the hopes the curse will cancel itself out. Then there’s Abby Jimenez’s dab hand with witty banter and slow-burn romance, which makes this book a breezy joy for a day on the couch or the beach.
5. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Fancy a recommendation from none other than Reese Witherspoon? Look to First Lie Wins. One of the award-winning actress and producer’s 2024 book club picks, the psychological thriller is about Evie Porter: who has all the things a nice, Southern girl could want: “a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends”. The catch? Evie Porter doesn’t exist. Intrigued? Let’s just say, knowing less is more when it comes to this one, so don’t read any more about the plot and just get the book in your hands and a blanket, pronto.
6. The Teacher by Freida McFadden
In this twisty tale of long-awaited revenge, Eve’s everyday life is ideal: wake up, kiss her husband Nate, teach maths at Caseham High School, repeat. Life is good – except for one thing. The year prior, Caseham High became infamous for a teacher-student affair, with one student, Addie at the eye of the scandalous hurricane. And this year, much to Eve’s dismay, Addie’s in her class. And while everyone says Addie isn’t to be trusted, no one knows the real her or her secrets that could ruin her – and she will do anything to keep it that way.
7. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
The third book in Sarah J. Maas’ bestselling Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow sees Bryce Quinlan, a rebellious half-Fae-half-human, suddenly stranded in a strange new world after book two’s breathtaking finale. Everyone she loves is back in Midgard: her family, her friends, and her mate, whose state on their dystopian planet might be worse than hers, so she has no choice but to make it back – which is not easy when she doesn’t know who to trust. This is not a book you can pick up without reading the first two, but if you are looking for a gripping series with three or more books to sink your teeth into, you’ll be more than set.
8. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
The Paradise Problem is a romance that starts as a ‘faux-mance’. While studying at UCLA, starving artist Anna Green entered what she thought was a marriage of convenience to grocery chain heir Liam “West” Weston to secure subsidised family housing. She also thought they signed the divorce papers when they graduated and went their merry ways. Turns out? Not so much. Years later, while she’s living paycheck to paycheck, West is a Stanford professor who stands to inherit one hundred million dollars – but only if he’s been happily married for five years. Naturally, when Liam asks Anna to pretend to be his wife at his sister’s wedding on a tropical Indonesian island in exchange for giving her $100,000, a delicious charade ensues.
9. Bride by Ali Hazelwood
A paranormal romance by BookTok favourite Ali Hazelwood, Bride is the tale of a dangerous alliance between Misery Larke, a Vampyre bride, and Lowe Moreland, an Alpha Werewolf. The outcast daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, Misery is called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping treaty between their people and their mortal enemies – the Weres – by marrying their Alpha, the ruthless yet fair Lowe Moreland, who does not trust her. While their alliance is set to benefit both their peoples, Misery has her own reasons for entering this marriage – ones that involve doing whatever it takes to get back what’s hers.
10. Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Protagonist Lucy Chase describes herself as: “the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend”. How’s that for a hook? After being found wandering the streets covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone in their small Texas town thinks she’s guilty. Years later, after that wasn’t enough evidence to put her away, Lucy moved to Los Angeles and began a new life. However, when the ultra-popular true crime podcast Listen for the Lie and its highly attractive host Ben Owens decide to investigate Savvy’s death for the show’s second season, Lucy has to go back to the town she swore she’d never return to so she can finally solve her friend’s murder – even if she’s the one who did it.
11. The Fury by Alex Michaelides
The latest from the bestselling author of The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides’ The Fury is a five-act mystery relayed by the enigmatic narrator Elliott Chase. The story unfolds on a private Greek Island belonging to reclusive former movie star – and one of the world’s most famous women – Lana Farrar, who invites her seven closest friends over for a spontaneous stay. But when the wild Aegean winds – known as to menos, or ‘the fury’ – blow through the idyllic island, a body is discovered in a pool of blood. With the police unable to investigate until the winds cease, the friends begin to turn their gaze toward one another, wondering if a killer walks in their midst.
12. A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
One for fans of ‘romantasy’ à la Fourth Wing, A Fate Inked In Blood follows Freya, a 20-year-old woman who yearns to become a warrior but is instead trapped in an unwanted marriage to a boorish and cruel fisherman. When her abusive husband betrays her, Freya ends up in a fight to the death with their power-hungry king’s fiery son Bjorn, forced to reveal her deepest secret: that she possesses a drop of a goddess’ blood and has the power to repel any attack – a magic that was prophesied to unite the fractured nation of Skaland under a king who controls the shield maiden’s fate. Cue: a fanatical king and a binding oath, a fierce heroine desperate to prove her strength and save the kingdom – and a forbidden attraction that risks not only her fate but that of all the people she swore to protect.
13. Blue Sisters by Coco Mellor
Exploring grief, family, and identity, Blue Sisters revolves around three estranged siblings: Avery; the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer in London, Bonnie; a former boxer working as a bouncer in LA after a big life blow, and Lucky; the youngest and a model in Paris with a hard-partying past. They also had a fourth sister – Nicky, whose sudden death left the others reeling. Reuniting in New York a year after her passing to stop the sale of their family home, the sisters find themselves reckoning with the deep-rooted disappointments of their childhood and the absence of the one person who held them together, realising the greatest secrets aren’t the ones they haven’t told each other, but the ones they hide from themselves.
14. How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
One for enemies-to-lovers addicts? Tick. In How to End a Love Story, Helen Zhang is a “bestselling author who can’t seem to write her own ‘happily ever after’”. On the other end is Grant Shepherd, “a screenwriter with movie-star looks who can’t afford his therapist”. Thrown together to adapt Helen’s books for TV, it’s a project that should spell a dream come true for both of them – except Grant is the last person Helen wanted to see again after what happened thirteen years ago. Cue: flying sparks and an inescapable attraction that keeps you glued to the page. Need more convincing? First-time author Yulin Kuang is also an independent filmmaker tapped to adapt Emily Henry’s Beach Read into a movie, so you know you’re in very good hands.
15. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
A story of sisterhood, secrets, love, and… murder? In this page-turner, sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have long been told how lucky they are. But while they were rescued as young girls from family tragedies and raised by their loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on a bucolic farming estate for a second chance at a happy family life – their childhood wasn’t the dream everyone believes it was. Unpredictable and never-to-be-crossed, Miss Fairchild wasn’t either. Seizing their chance in a moment of desperation, the three fled and found their freedom, but the memory of Miss Fairchild still looms. And when a body is found under their childhood home, the foster find themselves the key witnesses – or are they prime suspects?
16. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
If you have a penchant for historical fiction and fantasy, The Familiar is the spellbinding fusion you’ve been waiting for. Set in Madrid during the Spanish Golden Age, scullery maid Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to carry her through days of unending labour – unbeknownst to her conniving mistress, who, when she finds out, demands Luzia use her gifts to curry favour with the royal court. Seeing this as her escape from a life of toil and trouble, Luzia finds herself falling down a rabbit hole filled with power-hungry nobles, desperate kings, holy men, and seers, to a place where magic, science, and fraud blur together. Here, she must use her wit and will to survive, succeed, and hide her ancestry – even if that means seeking the help of an immortal familiar whose own secrets could cause her undoing.
17. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
With its bougie beach setting, laugh-out-loud lines, and heartfelt moments, The Wedding People might just be the perfect summer read. Taking place in Newport, Rhode Island, Phoebe Stone arrives at the luxurious Cornwall Inn alone in a green dress and gold heels, and is instantly mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people. One of the few people who’s not there for the big event, Phoebe always wanted to visit with her husband. Only now, she’s there solo, pulled into the 27-year-old bridezilla’s orbit. Strangely, the two women can’t stop confiding in each other… and maybe being an unexpected guest is exactly what Phoebe needs to start afresh.
18. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
If you knew your fate, would you try to fight it? It’s not an easy question, but it’s one Liane Moriarty deftly explores in her latest bestseller. In her signature style, the story spotlights an eclectic set of characters, who, while on a flight, learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death sounds amusingly far in the future (age 103!), but for six people on the flight, their supposed demise is in the imminent future, as foretold to them by the strange woman they would later call “The Death Lady”. A few months after the flight, three passengers die exactly as “The Death Lady” predicted, leaving the remaining ‘marked ones’ to confront how much time they appear to have left – and how they should live before it’s too late.
19. By Any Other Name by Jodie Picoult
Two different centuries. Two different women forced to hide behind another name. The first is Melina Green, a young playwright whose new work inspired by her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano isn’t likely to score stage time in the sexist world of theatre unless she uses a male pseudonym. The other is Emilia herself, a playwright from 1581, who gave away her credit to an actor known as William Shakespeare to see her pieces performed. Told in intertwining timelines, it’s an inspiring tale grounded in history – Emilia Bassano was a real person – and one that very much answers the question: What’s in a name?
20. Table For Two by Amor Towles
An instant New York Times bestseller when it was released in April, Table For Two is a collection of six short stories and a novella taking place in New York City in the 2000s and Golden Age Hollywood, respectively. In each one, life-altering events unfold after a single conversation at a table for two. Delving into themes like love, social class, and marriage through poignant prose and witty dialogue, it’s a delightful escape that will leave you longing for more.
