The 15 Best Books Of 2024

A cozy blanket and a good book. It's a regular activity for those looking to escape to another world. While it may seem like people are hustling and bustling more than ever, Publishers Weekly reports that people are still making time for reading. The publication used data from Circana BookScan, which noticed a 0.1% sales increase in print books from January to September 2024. The genre that is helping publishers and bookstores take home serious cash: fantasy. The same time period saw a 62% increase in unit sales for the genre.

Yes, fantasy and romantasy are dominating the literary world, and some of these titles make up Looper's 15 best books of 2024. However, those are just some of the impressive titles that came out this year. Below are the best fiction books from across all genres. These decisions were made by examining Goodreads reviews, Publishers Weekly's lists and reviews, USA Today's Booklist, and the New York Times Bestsellers list. So grab your "to be read" list and dive into the top 15 books of 2024.

Author: Kristin Hannah

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 471

Kristin Hannah has made a name for herself in the historical fiction genre thanks to hits like "The Nightingale" and "Firefly Lane," which was inspired by real life. Now, "The Women" is putting Hannah back on the New York Times Best Seller List, and the title has been there for more than 40 weeks. In 1965, Frankie's brother, Finley, is fighting in the Vietnam War. The nursing student decides to head to Vietnam as well, tending to troops as a member of the Army Nurse Corps. When she returns home, her world is not the same, as she faces judgment from those who wish the war never existed.

Hannah told Woman's World that she was in elementary school and junior high when the war happened. "I remember the protests, the marches, the anger, the division about the war and I remember how the Vietnam vets were treated when they came home. It made a big impact on me and it was always something I wanted to go back and examine," she said. It's a journey that may see the big screen, as Warner Bros. has bought the movie rights.

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Forever

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Pages: 432

"Just for the Summer" is about Emma, a traveling nurse who is struggling to find her soulmate. She thinks she's cursed because every guy she dates ends up finding their happily ever after right after breaking up with her. A Reddit search proves that she is not the only one who is unlucky in love. Justin Dahl also has a similar curse. They believe that the only way to break their curses is to start a summer fling and break up with the idea that their soulmates will be just around the corner. 

"Just for the Summer" stayed on the New York Times Best Seller List for 20 weeks. Meanwhile, Publishers Weekly gave it one of their coveted stars. The publication wrote in part, "Jimenez has a clear-eyed and empathetic take on how childhood trauma can affect adult relationships, and keeps the story grounded in the characters' complex and believable emotional realities." 

Author: Tana French

Publisher: Viking

Genre: Crime Fiction, Suspense & Thriller

Pages: 467

"The Hunter" is the follow-up to Tana French's 2020 release "The Searcher." Told from three perspectives, the book begins with retired detective Cal Hooper settling into his new life in quiet West Ireland. However, the quiet is quickly disrupted by Trey Reddy's absent father. Cal cares for Trey, so her father's sudden appearance is concerning — and he has a new millionaire friend with him. This happens as they set on a search for gold that could jeopardize everyone, and it's all happening as Trey lays out her own agenda. 

According to The New York TImes, "The Hunter" is "mesmerizing," and NPR has named this sequel a Favorite Fiction Read of 2024. French told CrimeReads that the idea for the series stems from wanting to mix the feel of a Western novel with the mystery genre. She added that she is now picturing a third Cal Hooper novel. 

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Publisher: Bramble

Genre: Romantasy

Pages: 448

The latest installment in the Crowns of Nyaxia series focuses on the backstory of Mische, who is the best friend to Oraya and Raihn (whose love and betrayal are at the center of the first two novels). Now Mische is the main character, and this book shows fans how she was turned into a vampire and the fate of the prince that turned her. She also faces a death sentence following the prince's demise.

Released in November 2024, the book entered the New York Times Best Seller List at No. 3, and it debuted on USA Today's Booklist at No. 6. According to Elle, this is the first book that Broadbent has not self-published, choosing Tor Publishing Group's Bramble imprint to release this next adventure. She told the publication, "I'm glad that my readers are on board for both the hot vampires, the kissing, and the weird, gross, dark necromancy magic, because we have all of those things," she said.

Author: TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor Books

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+

Pages: 416

A quiet family life on Marsyas Island. It's the reality that Linus Baker never dreamed of when he arrived to investigate Arthur Parnassus' orphanage in "The House in the Cerulean Sea." Now, Arthur is his beloved partner who is helping to raise six children with magical abilities in "Somewhere Beyond the Sea." After growing up neglected, Arthur has made it his mission to give magical orphans a home where they are loved. Now, his dark past is resurfacing as he is forced to share his story, and he knows that this could greatly impact magical people. 

"Somewhere Beyond the Sea" was released in September 2024. It debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List, and it debuted in second place on Publisher Weekly's best seller list. TJ Klune told The Orange County Register, "I wrote 'Somewhere Beyond the Sea' as a celebration for trans people, for the queer community, for anybody who has ever felt like they're not good enough, or has been told they're not good enough."

Author: Percival Everett

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 303

Movie buffs will know Percival Everett as the author who wrote "Erasure," which is the basis for "American Fiction," a film that Looper called one of 2023's best. Now Everett is captivating audiences with "James." The book tells "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of James, who is enslaved and is doing everything he can to stay close to his family after hearing a rumor that he could be sold and taken to New Orleans. While James fights to keep his family intact, Huck Finn is on the run from his father. Their decisions cause them to cross paths, sending them on a journey like no other.

"James" has won the National Book Award for fiction. It has also been named Barnes & Noble's Book of the Year. Everett told Elle that he loved Twain's novel and explained his goal with this book. "It doesn't have any deficiencies that I'm addressing; ['James'] addresses what Mark Twain would not have been able to address." 

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 400

"Funny Story" centers on Daphne, who is ready for a new chapter when her fiancé Peter leaves her for his best friend, Petra. In order to turn the page, Daphne takes a job as a children's librarian, and she is hoping to room with Petra's ex, Miles, who is her polar opposite. The two soon realize that they can help each other by devising a friendship under a misleading lens that could cause people to believe that romance is brewing between them.

Emily Henry has become a staple of feel-good fiction thanks to hits like "Happy Place" and "People We Meet on Vacation." "Funny Story" is her latest success, with the book taking the top spot on the New York Times Best Sellers Hardcover Fiction list. Plus, it's being adapted into a film that will be produced by Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company.

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Genre: Romantasy

Pages: 835

Sarah J. Maas has been serving up adventure and a certain degree of spice with her popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Now, she is giving readers another heroine to cheer for in her Crescent City series, which begins with Bryce Quinlan investigating a friend's murder. "House of Flame and Shadow" is the third installment, and it finds Bryce trapped in another world and desperate to get home to Midgard. The pain of missing her family is growing stronger with each dead end that she uncovers, and her hope is dwindling because the one person who could help is in a dungeon. 

This new installment is getting critical acclaim, even taking the top spot on the New York Times Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction list. Maas told Today that fans will have to wait for the fourth book. "On the airport taxiing line, it's a little down, but I know who the book's about. I know the big ideas of what I want to happen." 

Author: Liz Moore

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 490

"The God of the Woods" is the bestselling novel that transports readers back to 1975. It's August, and a group of teenagers are calling the Adirondacks their home for the season, as they take in every activity that summer camp has to offer. The usual hustle and bustle comes to a stop when camper Barbara Van Laar disappears. Now, the camp and the surrounding community are doing everything they can to bring her home. Her disappearance brings up the grim reminder of when her older brother went missing 16 years prior.

Liz Moore's summertime suspense novel has been on the New York Times Bestsellers List for 20 weeks, and it is one of NPR's "Books We Love" of 2024. On top of those accolades, Sony Pictures Television has acquired the rights to the book.

Author: Alan Hollinghurst

Publisher: Random House

Genre: LGBTQ+, Historical Fiction

Pages: 496

Multiple decades told through the eyes of a Burmese man who is growing up in England as he embraces his sexuality and learns about gay culture. That's the story that encompasses "Our Evenings" by Alan Hollinghurst. It all begins in the 1960s, when Dave Win is in his early teens and is ushered into the world of England's high society while attending an elite boarding school on scholarship. Readers follow his upbringing as he becomes a talented actor who continues to cross paths with his school bully, Giles Hadlow, and it's a relationship that leads to a life-changing moment.

"Our Evenings" has been named a best book of the year by several publications, including The Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews. In an interview with British GQ, Hollinghurst explained why this novel has to be told from the first person point of view. "Because I was principally going to write from the point of view of someone who was racially distinct from myself, I couldn't write it in the third person because to do so would've been to assume a kind of authorial omniscience about this person. And I thought the value of the experiment for me would be to do it in the first person, which obviously has a sort of testifying force to it, but is also filled with the omission of not knowing everything," he said.

Author: Sally Rooney

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 454

Sally Rooney's work has captivated TV thanks to adaptations of her novels, including "Normal People," which can be found on streaming. Now, she is back with a new, poignant book titled "Intermezzo." It follows a Dublin lawyer named Peter and a competitive chess player named Ivan. The common denominator: they're brothers. The similarities pretty much stop there. However, the loss of their father could change the course of their lives. While navigating grief, Peter is also processing his feelings for his ex-girlfriend and a student. Meanwhile, a new woman becomes the center of Ivan's world.

Rooney told The Guardian that focusing the plot on two men was a big departure for her because she usually focuses on female relationships. "If you are observant enough and critical enough, I think you can come to an understanding of how gender works from wherever you stand within that social game that we all play," she said. "Intermezzo" was released in September 2024 and was on the New York Times Best Seller List for eight weeks.

Author: Katherine Center

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Becoming a big name in rom-com movies. It's Emma Wheeler's dream, and it's the catalyst for Katherine Center's new book "The Rom-Commers." Emma has been searching for her big break, and she thinks she may have found it when she gets the chance to rewrite a love story with acclaimed screenwriter Charlie Yates. He has no experience with the genre, and it shows. His script is so bad that true love's kiss might not even be enough to save it. Charlie believes that love is more fiction than reality, and Emma wants to prove him wrong while sharing her screenwriting talents with the world.

"The Rom-Commers" has earned a spot on several lists, including Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2024 and Amazon's Best Books of 2024. Center's work is no stranger to film since one of her books became a heartfelt romantic drama that everyone is loving on Netflix. When it comes to rom-coms, she told the podcast "Houston Matters" that there is one ingredient that she always needs. "I want there to be conflict, but I don't want the conflict to be the main emotional experience of the story. I want the conflict to be there to propel the good stuff forward and to intensify the good stuff and to make the fun more fun."

Author: Freida McFadden

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Pages: 368

Freida McFadden has mastered the art of the page-turning thriller, turning out hit after hit, with some of these making Looper's list of best Freida McFadden books. Her new book, "The Boyfriend," is yet another edge-of-your-seat mystery. Sydney Shaw is a single woman who wonders if her true love will ever walk into her life. That is until she meets a doctor who can do no wrong. At least, that's what Sydney thinks. However, this perfect boyfriend comes into her world right around the same time that police start investigating the latest in the string of murders, including that of a young woman.

"The Boyfriend" was nominated for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards in the category of Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller. Publishers Weekly gave the book a rave review, calling it "jaw-dropping." It's another tale that showcases McFadden's signature thriller formula. This could be the perfect gateway book for those who want to start reading her work.

Author: Lev Grossman

Publisher: Viking

Genre: Mythology, Fantasy

Pages: 673

Camelot, King Arthur, and the knights of the round table. Nothing gets more legendary than that, and in "The Bright Sword," a young knight named Collum hopes that he can one day call Camelot home. He soon sets out on a journey to the kingdom, ready to embrace all that there is to offer. However, he soon realizes that expectations and reality do not always match up. Upon arriving in Camelot, he finds out that Arthur has been killed, along with many members of the round table. Those who are left are a motley crue determined to bring Camelot back to its legendary glory, but that is easier said than done, as surrounding conflict starts to close in on this group of heroes.

According to Forbes, "The Bright Sword" by Lev Grossman is a "must-read novel" of 2024. It's also been named a New York Times Editors' Choice, and named A Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and NPR, among others.

Author: Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Publisher: Random House

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 464

Forty years ago, Carl Fletcher was kidnapped and brought home after his wealthy family paid a hefty ransom. This family tragedy is only the beginning of "Long Island Compromise." The novel transports readers to the present day, where Carl continues to seek closure from this traumatic experience, but his family doesn't know. Meanwhile, his wife does everything she can to help him emotionally. As for their children, each are facing their own personal struggles that stem from their father's kidnapping. As the family members examine their present day, they dissect how their fortune has played a role in their current circumstances. 

"Long Island Compromise" by Taffy Brodesser-Akner has been named A Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker. In an interview with Vogue, the author explained her viewpoint on trauma and how this book examines it. "And there's this idea in 'Long Island Compromise' where [the characters] come to the end of their journey together and they realize they never stood a chance. And the healing only begins when they realize that, though part of the healing is realizing that you might never heal," she said.