What I read in 2024!

New year, new books! 

1. The Mystery Guest- Nita Prose (A very good sequel. I was smiling by the end! 5/5) 

2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- Taylor Jenkins Reid (A whim book! I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I really, really liked it. Lovely and wonderful. 5/5)

3. Too Late- Colleen Hoover (VERY different from her other books, very gripping and great story! 5/5) CW: abuse, drug use, s*xual content

4. Maybe Someday- Colleen Hoover (omgggg why? Why are her books so good? I LOVED the mains in this one. I can't wait for more. 5/5) 

5. Maybe Not- Colleen Hoover (Short read, and honestly not my favorite. I didn't care for the start of the main character's relationship. It almost felt abusive. And it just felt rushed. 3/5)

6. Maybe Now- Colleen Hoover (Wonderful wrap up! I loved this book and the series even with #2. I loved their friendships and happy endings. I want more! 5/5)

7. The Good Nurse- Charles Graeber (Chilling yet enthralling. I could not put it down. 5/5) CW: death

8. Slammed- Colleen Hoover (This is her first book. And I loved it just as much as I love the rest of her books. #sorrynotsorry 😋5/5)

9. Point of Retreat- Colleen Hoover (Sequel to "Slammed", and as good as Slammed was! Loved the characters and that plot twist. 5/5)

10. This Girl- Colleen Hoover (So. This is the last in the "Slammed" series...And I have to be honest, this one didn't really do it for me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it as much as her others. It just felt so slow and a retelling of "Slammed". But the ending was nice 😊 3/5)

11. What Alice Forgot- Liane Moriarty (This was a lovely book. I devoured it. Loved the happy ending most of all 5/5)

12. The Things We Do for Love- Kristin Hannah (I keep saying it ad nauseum, but I really loved this book. It really touched my heart. 5/5) CW: infant loss

13. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow- Gabrielle Zevin (I've seen and heard a lot of hype surrounding this book so I was looking forward to it. I have to be honest...I just didn't love it. I didn't dislike it, though. It was kind of long, but I loved the concept and it held my attention even though I'm not at all interested in gaming. But one of the characters irritated me and some of the friendships just didn't...jive with me. All of that to say, the ending was nice! 3/5) CW: gun violence, depression, death

14. One Summer in Savannah- Terah Shelton Harris (Read this on a whim and I really enjoyed it. A plot "thing" annoyed me but that was about it. 4/5)

15. The Housemaid- Freida McFadden (Wowzers!!! Very plot twisty and a crazy ending! Some of it was a bit...much...but overall I did enjoy this and will try to find more by this author. 4/5) CW: disturbing content

16. Forever, Interrupted- Taylor Jenkins Reid (I read another of hers earlier this year and loved it, so I wanted to read more by her. This is her first book. Aside from a couple of "cringey" relationship things, I really enjoyed this. Real love, however long or short, is something to be savored. It made me grateful for the relationship I have with my husband. 4.5/5) CW: death, depression

17. Hopeless- Colleen Hoover (Wow. This book was....a lot. A lot of heavy stuff, which is why I just can't give it 5/5. But I liked the characters. 4/5) All the CWs here: s*xual assault, suicide, depression, childhood trauma

18. Finding Hope- Colleen Hoover (Hmm, so I was expecting this to be a little more of Holder's backstory, but again, like Slammed/Point of Retreat, it was basically a retelling so kind of meh. BUT...The end of this was very, very nice 😊 4/5) CW: s*xual assault, suicide, depression, childhood trauma

19. Finding Cinderella- Colleen Hoover (Cute and short and sweet! I was smiling at the end. 5/5)

20. Finding Perfect- Colleen Hoover (Perfect ending for all of these characters. Just perfect! 5/5) CW: adoption

21. Regretting You- Colleen Hoover (Very sad but touching book about the devastation of secrets...and yet how that same power of family can prevail in any situation. Lovely, lovely ending! Loved the characters so much too 5/5) CW: death, infidelity

22. Heart Bones- Colleen Hoover (Kind of intense at times, but another good one by CH. Loved the characters and the end! 5/5) CW: addiction, trauma/death

23. Apples Never Fall- Liane Moriarty (I liked this book, especially since I discovered there's a miniseries on Peacock right now, which I'm currently watching. Family dysfunction...yep, it's a doozy. But it ended on a good note! 5/5) 

24. An Anonymous Girl- Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (I feel like it took me FOREVER to get through this book. So slow in some parts, but LOVED the ending! Very twisty turny. 3.5/5) Tiny CW of disturbing content

25. Home is where the bodies are- Jeneva Rose (New author recommendation, really good book! This is her newest apparently. Kept me guessing all the way to the end! 5/5) CW: somewhat disturbing content

26. On Every Side- Karen Kingsbury- (New author recommendation. Mixed feelings overall. Really liked the faith components of this book a lot, and the characters, but the main plot just seemed a bit...hokie...to me. But I will check more of her out. 3.5/5) 

27. The Perfect Couple- Elin Hilderbrand (Another new author recommendation. Soooo twisty and turny, kept me guessing! So good. 5/5) CW: death, brief mention of suicide

28. Here's to Us- Elin Hilderbrand (A quick read filled with both likeable and unlikeable characters. The end was lovely. Nothing bad about this book at all, but nothing great either. 4/5) CW: death

29. A Man Called Ove- Fredrik Backman (I liked this book a lot. Some of it was slow, but it was an endearing read, albeit sad at times. 4.5/5) CW: suicide

30. Lost Lake- Sarah Addison Allen (A very sweet, short read, but nothing memorable. 4/5)

31. Looking for Alaska- John Green  (I read this on a whim and was surprised with how much I liked it. I liked the character development and their friendship. 4/5) CW: alcohol/drug use, death

32. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family- Robert Kolker (Fascinating and devastating, although I felt a bit bogged down at times with all of the science/research. 4/5)

33. Layla- Colleen Hoover (WOW. I was initially quite bothered by this book, until, of course, the twist! Definitely not a genre/storyline I would normally gravitate towards, but I could not put it down. 4.5/5) CW: disturbing content

34. Home Again- Kristin Hannah (Not her best, but still a very nice story. Bit long too. 3.5/5)

35. Never Never- Colleen Hoover/Taryn Fisher (Nope. Nope nope nope. Sorry...I love me some CoHo but this one just did not do it for me at all. Way too weird. Characters were great but that's about it. 2/5) 

36. Someone Like You- Karen Kingsbury (Um okay so. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it. I'm underwhelmed, to be honest. It was a sweet story, but some of it bothered me to an extent, and it was VERY predictable. And that's all I gotta say! Maybe I'll watch the movie...3/5)

37. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek- Kim Michele Richardson (I was looking forward to this one, because it came recommended, but also because the author recently received an Honorary degree from EKU! Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me a little. I loved the characters, and her patrons, and how the struggle and hope prevalent in rural Kentucky was portrayed. I didn't like the ending, it felt rushed and melodramatic. And there were some other things that happened that just seemed to be...there. That was it. 3/5)

38. REREAD of It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover because the movie comes out August 9th hooray!!! 🌹🌺

39. The One and Only- Emily Giffin (I hate to say it, but I abandoned ship on this one. I don't usually give up on books, but I got about halfway through and was just NOT feeling it. Not feeling it at all. Was getting the ick...and after reading reviews, it doesn't get better. So no stars for this one. DNF)

40. The Fourth Wing- Rebecca Yaros (Okay, I am not a fantasy reader at all but I picked this up because of all the hype. And....Was it the greatest book ever? No, but it wasn't bad. Was it entertaining and enjoyable? Yep. Was it a bit long? Yep. So long. Was it just....not my thing despite it all? Yep, but again, it wasn't bad. Will I read the rest of the series? Probably not!) 3.5/5

41. The Hotel Nantucket- Elin Hilderbrand (This was a really cute book, but idk...the "ghost" story was kind of cheesy to me. But I really liked the book and the ending as well. Great characters! 4.5/5)

42. Cats Can't Shoot- Clea Simon (Really cute concept, but overall just didn't do anything for me. Special thanks to my mama for the recommendation! 3/5)

43. Big Little Lies- Liane Moriarty (Holy smokes!!! I loved this book! I could not put it down. Brilliant writing, couldn't get enough. So many twists and turns and the ending was beautiful. 5/5)

44. August and Everything After- Jennifer Salvato Doktorski (Read this on a whim and it was a very nice and sweet enough story, but I felt like the relationship between the 2 main characters was really rushed. Also I was NOT a fan of the ending! 4/5) CW: some drug use

45. None of This is True- Lisa Jewell (WOW!!!! I could not put this one down! I read it in 2 days. So very twisty turny and kept me guessing all the way to the end! 10/5) CW: disturbing content

46. The Coworker- Freida McFadden (This is the 2nd I've read by her and it was not as creepy or disturbing as "The Housemaid", but it still kept me guessing all the way to the end! But...the end fell just a little flat for me. Also Natalie sucks. 4/5) CW: somewhat disturbing content

47. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing- Matthew Perry (Wow. I really loved this book. It was funny, sad, powerful, beautiful. He does not mince words when it comes to the struggles of his addictions. His story really touched my heart. 5/5) CW: This is a book about addiction, primarily drug and alcohol dependency. If you or someone you know struggles with this, read with caution as it may be triggering. 

48. A Streetcat Named Bob- James Bowen (Very sweet story about a man quite down on his luck who gets a second chance, along with a loyal furry friend. I hope he's doing well! 5/5)

49. Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty (This was a fun book! I found something likeable in all the characters and yes, the plot was a bit far-fetched, but that just added to the fun for me. 4/5)

50. The Women- Kristin Hannah (There is so much I could say, but plain and simple, I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Frankie's story was nothing short of incredible. Just so good! 15/5) CW: graphic content, some alcohol/drug use, pregnancy loss

51. The Night She Disappeared- Lisa Jewell (I did NOT see that end coming!! Wow. Great book, loved all the twists. I could have done without the "girl" story, but it is what it is. And Scarlett sucks. 4/5) CW: disturbing content

52.  Things We Never Got Over- Lucy Score (Okay, this book was cute and fun, but some of the characters= bleh. Also it was a bit long...maybe too long...but overall I enjoyed it. Not sure I'll read the others though...4/5) CW: brief mentions of spousal abuse, drug use

53. Reminders of Him- Colleen Hoover (In typical CoHo fashion, she writes awesome characters, but plot-wise, not much happened here. Oh well! 4/5)  CW: death

54. Beach Read- Emily Henry (Cute story, lovely characters, superbly happy ending! What more could a girl wish for? Docking a star because some of it felt drawn out, but not enough to dampen the experience. 4/5) CW: mentions of infidelity

55. One True Loves- Taylor Jenkins Reid (This was a unique and really sweet story. I really enjoyed it a lot. 4/5)

And to conclude 2024, I spent the last 3 weeks of the year rereading some of my favorites 😊

56. Confess by Colleen Hoover

57. Night Road by Kristin Hannah

58. The things we do for love by Kristin Hannah

59. Faithful by Alice Hoffman