2024 is proving to be a fantastic year for new book publications. I have had the privilege of receiving ARCS (advanced readers copies) through sites like Netgalley, Edelweiss Plus, and Librofm for many 2024 publications. I receive these electronically and either listen to audiobooks in app or send ebooks to my Kindle. Once I read/listen these books, I post reviews about them on my bookstagram account. I like to keep up with what’s publishing throughout 2024 so I know which books to order for the library’s collection (I purchase romance, horror, and the history 900’s section of non-fiction).
I have listed below a mix of titles across genres and subjects coming out throughout 2024.
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
This was easily one of the best books I’ve ever read, and will be a contender for one of my top books of 2024. The Women is about a young woman named Frankie McGrath, whose story has touched me and consumed me. This is a story honoring the women who served in Vietnam that were told “there were no women in Vietnam” after coming home from their tours. You are seen, heard, and respected. This book touches on a period of time we don’t often read about, let alone talk about. Readers follow Frankie through about twenty years of her life during the war an after. The characters in this novel are ones you want to root for and keep safe from harm’s way. PTSD plays a massive part of this novel as well, giving an insight into what veterans both then and now face when they come home. - The Teacher by Freida McFadden
This was my first novel by this author and it did not disappoint. If you love a psychological thriller about very flawed people, this is the book for you. If you aren’t a fan of unlikeable characters (and believe me you will not like any of the ones in this novel) this probably isn’t the book for you. But if you love watching messy people make their lives messier, this is going to capture your attention until the very end, leaving you open mouthed with shock. If you are a Freida fan or are new to her writing, this is a book I highly recommend adding to your TBR. This novel is set in a school and involves a married couple who teach at that school and a young women attending the school. Things get pretty shady pretty quickly. - The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
I loved this thriller about a wealthy dysfunctional family from North Carolina. The McTavish family is about as messy as it gets. Rich people being messy is something I secretly (well, I guess now not so secretly) love reading about. This novel had the perfect mix of letters and news articles from the past, seamlessly blended with the present, that really worked well for the story. This will keep you on your toes and suck you in. Don’t be surprised if you binge this in one sitting. - The Breakup Tour by Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley
Calling all Swifites, this is a rom-com for you! A rising-star musician has a second chance at love with an old flame she remembers all too well. This is a one-that-got-away, second chance romance that has dual POV narration, which is a personal favorite of mine when it comes to romance books. The spice level is a 1 out of 5, so pretty tame but tasteful. Even if you aren’t a Swiftie, this book is still worth reding if you love romance! - Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
This grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, sports romance is perfect for all romance readers! I’m all for a grumpy/sunshine vibe, but I typically shy away from a sports romance because they just haven’t been my cup of tea. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, featuring pro-golfer Wells Whitaker and “Wells Belle” fangirl Josephine Doyle. They work together to help Wells get his golf game back and Josephine to afford her insulin and fix her family’s destroyed golf shop. The plot was perfection and I could not get enough of these two falling for each other. I will also say this was steamy, like, REALLY steamy. If you aren’t a fan of a five out of five on the spice scale, I suggest finding a different book to read. - Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
This book focuses on trauma, alcoholism, and suicide in indigenous communities. The author’s note is important to read at the end. The monsters that haunt us do not have to consume us. This book has dual POVs (Uncle Louie when he was a teen and his niece he cared for, Noemi, who is an adult in her POV). Both have secrets to uncover about others as well as themselves. I felt disturbed at times at the things people did and the horrors that plagued others in the wake of these terrible things. The horror elements were done so well. There was so much trauma and sadness the characters suffered. That being said, there were also some very powerful moments stemming from the trauma these characters endured both in the present and past. I really loved Medina’s debut novel and his second does not disappoint. 11/10 recommend this five star read. - The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
Magical realism western? Yes please! Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez in The Bullet Swallower, which follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making. This book alternates POVs between three different characters, but mostly focuses on the POV of Antonio Sonoro (1895) and his descendent Jaime Sonoro (1964). This was a book I had been highly anticipating for months and received an early copy of in advance of the publication date. This book also comments on border politics, intergenerational trauma, and the legacies of racism and colonialism. - The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
As a big Civil War buff, I knew this book was going to capture my attention the second I read the title. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter — a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.” Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink — a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late. - James by Percival Everett
If you are a fan of retellings/re-imaginings, this book will be right up your alley. This novel is a reimaging of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the slave, Jim. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. This book made me laugh, but it also made me really think about what harsh realities slaves faced every day of their lives. I rated this five stars and really loved it. - The Fury by Alex Michaelides
This book is a WILD and addicting thriller set on a private Greek island. The chapters are short and the twists will genuinely shock you. The narrator is chaotic and unreliable and I loved him almost as much as I disliked him. The story starts when Lana Farrar, a former Hollywood star, invites her friends for an Easter weekend on the mysterious Aura Island, not realizing that seven friends will attend but only six will leave the island. I have not read Alex Michaelides other novels, but for those who read The Silent Patient, I have seen in other folks reviews that there are references to that book in The Fury, so be on the lookout for those! Overall I highly recommend this book if you love thrillers! - A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, this is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked. I am beyond words excited for this book, which I haven’t read yet, but I know it’s going to be an amazing one! Tia Williams is a master at her craft. - The Familiar Leigh Bardugo
I wasn’t a huge fan of Bardugo’s other books (I know, I’m the worst). I’m very excited to read this book based on the summary I’m sharing in this post! Set in the Spanish Golden Age, during a time of high‑stakes political intrigue and glittering wealth, The Familiar follows Luzia, a servant in the household of an impoverished Spanish nobleman. Luzia reveals a talent for little miracles. Her social‑climbing mistress demands Luzia use her gifts to win over Madrid’s most powerful players but what begins as simple amusement takes a dangerous turn. Luzia will need to use every bit of her wit and will to survive — even the help of Guillén Santángel, an immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both. - Our Moon by Rebecca Boyle
As someone who doesn’t read a lot of non-fiction, this book caught my eye. I think this will make you have a new appreciation for the moon like never before. Boyle deftly reframes the history of scientific discovery through a lunar lens, from Mesopotamia to the present day. Touching on ancient astronomers including Claudius Ptolemy; ancient philosophers from Anaxagoras to Plutarch; the scientific revolution of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler; and the lunar fiction of writers like Jules Verne — which inspired Wernher von Braun, the Nazi rocket scientist who succeeded in landing humans on the Moon — Boyle charts our path with the Moon from the origins of human civilization to the Apollo landings and up to the present. Even as astronauts around the world prepare to return to the Moon, opening up new frontiers of discovery, profit, and politics, Our Moon brings the Moon down to Earth. - Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
Though I haven’t read this one yet, I’ve heard great things about this book. Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching — each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives — and how we see ourselves, and others — shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly. In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone. - Whiskey Tender: A Memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa
Whiskey Tender traces how a mixed tribe native girl—born on the California Yuma reservation and raised in Navajo territory in New Mexico—comes to her own interpretation of identity, despite her parent’s desires for her to transcend the class and “Indian” status of her birth through education, and despite the Quechan tribe’s particular traditions and beliefs regarding oral and recorded histories. Taffa’s childhood memories unspool into meditations on tribal identity, the rampant criminalization of Native men, governmental assimilation policies, the Red Power movement, and the negotiation between belonging and resisting systemic oppression. Pan-Indian, as well as specific tribal histories and myths, blend with stories of a 1970s and 1980s childhood spent on and off the reservation. Taffa offers a sharp and thought-provoking historical analysis laced with humor and heart.
These books will be available to borrow once they publish! Many of the titles are already available to place an advance hold on in our catalog. Or just give the library a call and we can take care of the hold for you (860-347-2528).
Happy reading! Are any of these titles on your TBR?
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