My 2024 Book Reviews

I can’t believe I surpassed my goal of reading 30 books this year! I credit it to spending less time on social media and also spending a lot of time on airplanes. I didn’t watch any TV on my 13 flights this year. I also mostly read books that had 4 or more stars on Goodreads, which is one of my tips for how to read more.

I feel like I say this every year, but I am proud of myself for reading books from a wide variety of genres, from self-help to historical fiction to thrillers to personal finance and romantasy. If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out my book reviews from 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Goodreads is a website and mobile app for reading where you can find book reviews, recommendations, and see what your friends are reading. It’s lowkey my favorite social media platform. Feel free to add me as a friend! All Goodreads ratings below are current as of December 2024.

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5 STAR READS

Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.45 stars
This book easily gets five stars from me!! It was fascinating, and I was immediately hooked from the first few pages. These stories can be disturbing and hard to read, but it was incredible to hear how all the people persevered. It was cool to see how therapy really improved their lives and even solved some of their physical problems. I definitely learned a lot about psychology, and it made me reflect on my own issues. Now I really want to read the author’s autobiography!

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.09 stars
Emily Henry wished she wrote this book!! I was looking for an easy, fun plane read and I got it. I loved all the characters and wasn’t annoyed at all by the protagonist, which is rare. It’s been a long time since I finished a book in a day, but the pages just flew by and I was sad when it was over. I got this from a Little Free Library so it’ll go back in one, but I might have to buy my own copy.

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.31 stars
A memoir with some self-help exercises, this book was right down my alley! I heard about it from Lauren Bosstick on The Skinny Confidential podcast and knew it would be powerful. David Goggins is truly superhuman, with insane accomplishments as a Navy SEAL and an ultra-marathon athlete. His perseverance almost seemed toxic, I actually can’t believe everything he endured and put himself through. However, when he asked himself: “what am I capable of?” that has stuck with me lately. I definitely don’t aspire to do any of the things he achieved, but there are bits and pieces of his mindset that I will look to incorporate into my life.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.05 stars
Elin Hilderbrand’s books are peak basic coastal grandmother and the best easy beach reads!! Her stories contain lots of multifaceted characters with strong female leads and idyllic settings. The hotel Nantucket was truly an escape and had some good twists at the end. I devoured this book in 2 days and I was almost sad that it was over. Nantucket is now pretty high on my US bucket list, someone please come with me!

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.41 stars
Bad Blood felt like a thriller with Theranos as the villain. I knew the basic premise of what happened with Elizabeth Holmes, but the book dives deep into the chaos and the insane lies that she promoted to the government, investors, and the general public. It does make me nervous that she got so far and it makes me question how regulated the medical industry is since Theranos faked and manipulated lab results for years. There are a lot of characters, so it was a little hard to follow along at the beginning, but that happens in all the business origin books I’ve read. It’s such a gripping story and I feel like they did a pretty good job with the Hulu show!

What Happened To You? By Bryce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
My rating: 5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.43 stars
This might be the best book I’ve read all year!! It’s all about trauma and how even minor things affect you starting from when you’re a baby. The experiences Oprah shared and the anecdotes from Dr. Perry were so sad but fascinating. I think this book gives you empathy for other people and gives rationale for your own behaviors and tendencies. It also covers coping methods, racial bias, and the loneliness epidemic. I like how the book shows how you can heal and there is hope, even for those who have been through the worst. I truly think this should be required reading for everyone, especially teachers and soon-to-be-parents.

4 STAR READS

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
My rating: 4.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.98 stars
I highly recommend reading this and discussing with a friend weekly like I did with my friend Trisha! I think this book will hit hard specifically for gals ages 25 to 30 because the book ends when she’s 30. Dolly’s narration is a mix of funny and sincere. Although she grew up in London, the themes are overall very relatable at my current stage of life in the United States at 27 years old. The format of the book made it easy and fun to read with short chapters containing recipes, heinous emails, and lists. I’m excited to watch the Peacock show now.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
My rating: 4.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.97 stars
This was a story of building and love and friendship and prejudice and ethics and sacrifice and so many things. I’ve never read anything quite like it. It was one of Barack Obama’s 2023 picks, but the premise didn’t seem like a story I would enjoy. I was preparing for the worst and slogging through it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me of the pacing of Where The Crawdads Sing mixed with the historical detail of Pachinko. I totally get how people would think it’s slow and boring, but for some reason I didn’t hate it?

Rich AF by Vivian Tu
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.04 stars
Y’all know I love personal finance and with two accountants as parents, I’ve grown up talking about money openly and often. Given that, I still feel like I learned new things from Rich AF. The content is clear and digestible, yet still fun and non-judgmental and covers 401ks, budgeting, the stock market, tax brackets, and more. This book is great for people in their twenties who are making money and might not know what to do with it, whether they are dealing with debt or looking to invest. I like how she talked about what to do as a freelancer as well, since there are different rules. I feel like the tone and references will eventually get dated, but as of reading in 2024, it’s funny and relatable.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.23 stars
This book reminds me a lot of The Rosie Project, but just deeper and darker. Although it doesn’t feel like much happens, the first person narration of Eleanor Oliphant is so strong. She has interesting perceptions and has little universal truths that are interspersed across her daily conversations. It’s interesting to see what her character thinks when she’s so unbound by societal norms. I like that Eleanor makes a lot of progress by the end of the book, and ultimately it has a feel good happy ending.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.01 stars
This book was mostly about how trends start and problem-solving. As always, Malcolm Gladwell finds the most engaging case studies to back up his theories. This was an interesting read since it was written before social media and COVID-19, but I’m sure he will acknowledge them in his newly released book, Revenge of the Tipping Point, which is at the top of my reading list for next year. I do enjoy his writing style and I think this book is very applicable for anyone in the marketing/advertising industry (especially if you work on a small business) and there are a lot of things to marinate on. Don’t skip the afterword!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.30 stars
Historical fiction is probably my least favorite genre, especially about the Great Depression (cuz it’s depressing, but Kristin Hannah knows how to write a story and interesting, empathetic characters! The time period of the 1930s was confusing since I didn’t know what technology was supposed to be advanced and what wasn’t like it gave me Little House on the Prairie vibes but took place after that. I can’t believe how awful California was to all the migrants from the Dust Bowl who just wanted a better life! This book truly made me grateful to live in 2024 and somehow 450 pages flew by.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
My rating: 4.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.49 stars
Trevor Noah is an incredible storyteller. I don’t know that much about South Africa and it was so interesting to read about his experience post-Apartheid, trying to figure out where he belonged. He was also such a naughty kid, some of his stories were absolutely WILD, I was thoroughly entertained and horrified. His relationship with his mother is unique and she sounds like such a strong, admirable woman. I get why he ended the book the way he did, it was a little confusing as he would jump back and forth in time each chapter. The book only covers his life in South Africa and doesn’t really touch on his start in comedy or coming to the US, so I’m interested in learning more about that.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 4.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.99 stars
Parts of The Midnight Library reminded me a lot of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. I feel like I read this book at the right time because I’m currently at a crossroads, and I see there are endless roads of where my life could go. I kind of wish midnight libraries were real and people who needed a second chance could get one and see that living is a gift. I liked how the chapters were short and that all the lives she explored were so different. The parallel universe concept isn’t new, but I think it was done in an interesting way and it would make a cool movie, especially the Svalbard part.

How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson
My rating: 4.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.11 stars
I was kind of dreading reading this book, but it had good reviews on Goodreads and it was actually way more fun than a textbook! It reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing in that Steven Johnson selects specific events in history and connects them to his assertion. It made me think and wonder what life was like before clocks and time was regulated across the country (or across the world) and how ice was transported to South America before modern refrigeration. I definitely learned a lot from this book and would recommend!

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
My rating: 4.25 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.01 stars
I was going to rate Bright Young Women lower because I didn’t enjoy reading it, but it’s given me a lot to think about (and fear lol), which I feel is indicative of a higher rating. I’m a scaredy cat and rarely ever read or watch murder mysteries. this one wasn’t even a mystery since it was based off the real life Ted Bundy sorority murders at Florida State University, but I still couldn’t sleep after reading the first 40 pages. I’m glad it didn’t have that many court scenes because I find this boring to read. Pamela and Ruth were strong female leads with vicious mothers and that made me sad, but I feel like you really got to know them and their dreams and mistakes and insecurities. Their reactions felt realistic and I felt bad for them.

Golden Girl by Ellen Hilderbrand
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.16 stars
Elin Hilderbrand effortlessly whisks me away to the beaches of Nantucket. Maybe it’s because I’m not a big mystery reader, but I honestly had zero clue how this book was going to end and I’m still kind of confused on how the murderer kept going on with their life like what?? I didn’t really like any of the characters but appreciated that they all had their distinct storylines that serves as a reminder that everyone is fighting their own private battles. I felt like there was a steady stream of drama which kept me interested the whole time. I did love the last detail about the shampoo.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.26 stars
This story was beautifully written and heartbreaking. I wanted to cry at the end. Going in, I had no idea what this book was going to be about. At first, I thought it was going to be just like the movie The Upside, but it felt deeper than that. The story did have a slow start and I didn’t realize Treena and Katrina were the same person for the first few chapters, but I liked and empathized with Louisa from early on. Certain plot lines were predictable, I still enjoyed reading the book. The switch in narrators toward the end was unexpected. I wish we got to hear from Will, but I feel like there’s a good reason for that. I will definitely watch the movie but I don’t know if I’ll read the other books in this series.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.75 stars
I was dumb and didn’t really think about what “yellow face” meant until I realized what the main character was doing. The premise of this book is unique and the writing immediately grabbed my attention. As someone who dreamed of being an author, it was interesting to learn a little about the publishing process. Overall, I thought this was a fast read and entertaining even though the main character was so ridiculous and chaotic. I also think it’s weird when the main character has zero other friends or hobbies. I don’t know what a better ending would be, but I feel like the story kind of got lost and slowed way down at the end and was 80 pages too long.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.38 stars
For some reason, I expected the book to be about how to sleep better, but it was literally about why we need sleep (apparently for everything ) and the origins of sleep. I think this has given me more anxiety because I’ve had trouble with sleep my whole life, but maybe this is what I needed to read to finally do something about it. While I think everyone should read this book, it was pretty science-heavy and honestly he lost me during the first couple of chapters. As a non-scientist, I also could have done without the explanations of the experiment setups and would’ve just appreciated the results. The first 75% of the book was pretty slow for me and finally started getting really interesting towards the end.

Happy Place by Emily Henry
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.97 stars
Happy Place was a quick read and I liked the beachiness of it – very Elin Hilderbrand, but like, Maine. I think Emily Henry wove the timelines together very well, and I enjoyed the banter between all the characters. It was kind of predictable but in a good way. personally I didn’t really get why Wyn was so great, but I liked Harriet and all the other characters. This was a very cute story, and I’d love for it to be turned into a movie.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.35 stars
This book was so dang long. I feel like I’ve lived a million lives. The history part was interesting, but I did get lost in most of the battle scenes. I loved all the parts with the dragons and learning about the different signets. I actually really like the character development of Violet, she truly is a main character. While this was a good sequel, I think I still like the first book better.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.13 stars
It Ends With Us is way better than the first Colleen Hoover book I read last year (Ugly Love). It’s a page-turner and I finished most of it in a day. While it’s a darker story (domestic violence) than the romcom books I typically choose to read, I still liked Lily and Alyssa a lot and I’m satisfied with the ending. It’s sad but powerful that it’s based off the author’s mom’s experience, and I feel like it’s probably helped a lot of people in abusive relationships. I’ll definitely go see the movie!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.18 stars
With a last name like Michaelides I feel like you’d have to write about Greek mythology lol. I don’t really read thrillers because I’m a scaredy cat, but thankfully The Silent Patient was fairly tame. I read it in basically two sittings and it almost felt like nothing happened, but the story somehow chugged steadily along. I guess it’s less exciting to guess why someone committed a crime vs. who committed it.The twist was unexpected because I didn’t notice the change in time. It also seemed unrealistic that DNA wouldn’t have impacted the whole situation and I have a lot of questions about the logistics and police investigation, but those weren’t the main focus.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.37 stars
I didn’t enjoy reading this at all, but sometimes you have to force yourself to read the tough books with ugly truths about the world. I’d forgotten I took an Immigration Refugee Law and Policy class in college and we read similar books about immigration and asylum seekers. It reminds me to acknowledge the luck of the hand I’ve been dealt to be an American citizen. Yes, American Dirt is fiction and there is controversy surrounding this topic and its author, but the subject matter is real. I’d recommend reading a memoir/nonfiction book like The Mercy Factory or Asylum Denied, but if you’re looking for a fictional account on crossing the Mexico / USA border, American Dirt would do the job.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.32 stars
I’m not a big Greek mythology or a war book person, but The Song of Achilles had good reviews on Goodreads, so it’s been on my TBR list for a while. I think Madeline Miller is insanely ambitious for basically writing a new plot line within The Iliad?! I can’t even fathom the amount of research required…apparently it took her 10 years to write. I appreciate this book in that sense, so I gave it a 4 even though the pacing felt slow at times. The narration and character development were clear, and I feel like I understood Patroclus and Achilles very well. I also didn’t realize the Trojan War was 10 years long, how brutal (for them and for me as a reader lol)! If you’re interested in ancient Greece, would recommend!

Crypto Confidential by Nathaniel Eliason
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.32 stars
I’m in my reading-random-Substacks-era and I found Nathaniel Eliason’s profile and like his writing and discovered he wrote a book, so here we are. This was a wild ride and reminded me of Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton! It’s nonfiction but written like a thriller and I feel like I can now hold a conversation about cryptocurrency without looking like a complete nub (still feel like 95% nub). There were little educational sections where he explains cryptocurrency concepts, which I appreciated, but I was still confused on a lot of them. I actually looked forward to reading this book every night before bed. It made me more curious about the crypto world, but it just sounds like a full-time job and I know wayyy too volatile for a risk-averse type-A gal like me.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.33 stars
I remember reading Le Petit Prince in like first grade for French school. I think it’s more impactful in French and the translation makes it a little choppy, but it’s also a children’s book, so the sentence structure is simple on purpose. The story seems very random and disjointed, almost as if the author is trying to recount a dream. I think what makes this a classic is that there’s some insightful one-liners and universal truths.

Hooked by Nir Eyal
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.11 stars
I got this book from the library since it was recommended reading for people interested in UX design; however, I think it should be a must-read for entrepreneurs or anyone trying to create a new app or product. This focused on a lot of social media companies and mobile apps and defined concepts and human behaviors that companies take advantage of to keep user interest and attention (like Pinterest’s endless scroll versus clicking to a new product page). Similar to Good to Great by Jim Collins, this book has concise recaps at the end of each chapter, as well as exercises to do if you’re in product development. I liked how digestible this book was and I’m glad I took notes while reading.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.76 stars
What a complex yet simple story! I was kind of like SMH at the end though, there’s so much buildup and the resolution didn’t feel 100% satisfying. There were a lot of characters with distinct personalities, and I think Joy was my favorite even though she was a bit silly. I feel like this book shows how random life can be and how one person can make a big change. The pandemic incorporation was interesting since I wasn’t really sure what year the book was taking place in, but it worked in the story. I definitely enjoyed Nine Perfect Strangers more than this, but will probably read more of Liane Moriarty’s books!

Funny Story by Emily Henry
My rating: 4 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.24 stars
This book went down so easily. I read it at night and ended up staying up too late on accident. The story was cute and I was rooting for Daphne and loved how she was a librarian! Emily Henry isn’t my favorite author, but she knows how to make life complicated for her characters. Her writing also makes you want to settle down in a small town. However, I feel like some of the monologues professing their love was a little too cringey for me.

 

3 STAR READS

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.18 stars
Divine Rivals takes place in a fantasy dystopian world where there are gods (and they say “oh Gods” like in Fourth Wing LOL), but then I’d get pulled out of it when they mentioned present-day things like baseball or menstrual products. I found all the characters pretty likable but I don’t enjoy reading about battle scenes/war in general so I ultimately didn’t write this book that highly. However, the ending is a suspenseful cliffhanger and I might be intrigued enough to read the second book.

Hello Beautiful by Anne Napolitano
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.15 stars
I didn’t realize Hello Beautiful was written by the same author as Dear Edward, which I already read. It seems that she likes to write about sad men. The book didn’t pick up for me until 250 pages in, and then the ending was just so sad. It was interesting that every time the narrator would switch, a moment from the previous chapter would be retold from their point of view. The time jump in the middle was massive and jarring to me, leaping ahead 25 years within 30 pages. I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. I liked Julia at first but she quickly got scary and I wasn’t expecting Sylvie to turn into a main character. I feel like William wasn’t super complex, either. I had such high expectations from the Goodreads ratings, but I was kind of let down by this book.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice and Rebecca Connolly
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.08 stars
I’m not a historical fiction person, but I am a Titanic person. This book tells the story of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic’s survivors. There’s a part where the Carpathia captain tells one of his officers he doesn’t care if his actions are forgotten in history, and I fear that has happened The book jumps alarmingly quickly into the action. I would’ve appreciated some more setting of the scene. The characters were introduced so briefly at the beginning that I couldn’t distinguish any qualities about them except for the main characters, Kate and Arthur. It’s also interesting in the book they just refer to the ship as “Titanic” not as “the Titanic,” guess it’s a pre-tragedy thing.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
My rating: 3.75 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.96 stars
I can’t believe I’ve read 3 books this year with a male-celebrity-falls-in-love-with-a-muggle trope. I thought the premise of the female bodyguard was cool but then when the case came up, I thought this one was gonna be super corny, but it was only moderately corny. I did like the female lead Hannah, but you don’t really get to know her that well. I think Jack was more nuanced as the love interest, which doesn’t feel that common. I pictured him as some sort of Matthew McCaunaghey/Glen Powell combo and then Hannah could be like an Anna Kendrick/Jenna Ortega. There was some pretty silly stuff with the animals, but the book was mostly cute.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.08 stars
Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, so I didn’t bother reading the book’s synopsis, and I didn’t realize it was going to be about murder. I also don’t love reading court proceedings, and the time jumps got slightly confusing. However, I was a fan of how this book, like all of Picoult’s other works, tackled a lot of different things. I always love how rich and flawed her characters are, and the writing was cohesive and seamless even though the book was written by two different people. Despite the darkness of the themes, I overall still enjoyed mad honey, and there was definitely a Twist I wasn’t expecting.

Beach Read by Emily Henry
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.99 stars
I fear this was a misnomer and Beach Read simply wasn’t what I’d categorized as a beach read?? I was looking for airy and bright and this story was actually quite dark and heavy. I liked the bet aspect of it, but the two characters had so much baggage and made their own tortured writers department. They occasionally had some fun banter, but this definitely wasn’t as cute as Happy Place or People We Meet on Vacation. I’ll definitely still read Funny Story, though!

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
My rating: 3.5 stars | Goodreads rating: 4.27 stars
Y’all I wanted to like this, but I cannot lie. I try to read one poetry book a year and this one felt richer than past books. Amanda Gorman is wise beyond her years, and this reading is not a reflection of her talent, but rather my reading comprehension skills lol. Some subjects were obvious like the pandemic, but the middle sections of the book were confusing and hard to get through. I could only read like 20 pages at a time. A few of the poems felt repetitive and I think this book could use some editing down. I suspect her writing would be best felt and understood when read aloud so maybe the audiobook would be better.

Funny You Should Ask by Alyssa Sussman
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.58 stars
This is somehow the third chicklit I’ve read this summer where the main character is a writer. Funny You Should Ask was a silly cheesy book. The narrator was so horny I physically cringed reading it LOL it was crazy that she was supposed to be 36 years old. The book jumps back and forth between the present day and 10 years ago and it was kind of confusing. I do wish that the article Chani wrote, which was constantly alluded to, was included at the end. The final conflict was dumb and the ending was quick and rushed. I feel like this was an attempt to write an LA celebrity story like Taylor Jenkins Reid but it simply didn’t hit for me.

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala
My rating: 3 stars | Goodreads rating: 3.54 stars
This is definitely what they call a “cozy” mystery. Despite the violence, it doesn’t feel like a scary story, which is weird. I did like all of the multicultural characters and it made me want to eat Filipino food, but this book tried to do too much. Also it was crazy that hardly anyone cried?? If I was charged with a crime I’d for sure panic cry a lot and lay real low. I’m sure anyone who knows more about law enforcement/criminal investigations would have a tough time with it. This was a quick read, but just kind of silly.