My Favourite Fiction Books of 2024 📖

This year’s reading round-up might not be as impressive as last year’s, but I’m way happier with the quality of books I got to read.

Feel free to scroll through this post to check out my completed reads. Spoiler alert: it’s not a long list, hence the title. But hey, quality over quantity, right? I’ve loved 🥰 the books I’ve been reading a lot more, so I don’t mind the numbers. I’ve also been religiously updating my reading progress on Storygraph, and these cool charts here will you everything you need to know:

I’m a bit of a confusing type 😵‍💫 of reader—I can binge-read for hours or take breaks that could last days just to finish a couple of chapters, let alone a whole book. I get easily distracted and my reading pace depends on my mood. It’s hard to equally juggle between reading, researching on new books to buy, bookshopping💸, gaming, and being a functioning adult with other responsibilities. Also, truthfully, I’ve actually read more books than the ones listed here, but I choose to leave out a few after finding out the authors were either boycotted or problematic. It just gives me peace of mind to support the right ones on my platform😌.

Here’s what I’ve successfully read in in 2024:

My personal favourites

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (#1 Amina al-Sirafi series)

I spotted this beautiful paperback cover edition at Eslite Bookstore, Bukit Bintang, grabbed it (checked the price, of course) and took a curious quick read of the synopsis. A few keywords stood out the most: female pirate, adventure, supernatural, and a few more describing how she’s a badass legendary character. If she had a resume at the time, it would have probably detailed how she has dealt with backstabbing criminals and pirates, vengeful merchant princes, and married to several husbands of her own with one being an actual demon. The story took off with Amina wanting to give one more try at being legendary as her reputation had built her to be before she fully retires to be with her family. My heart was sold. I’ve never read a female pirate story before and this sounded something that could change that.

The only downside to this edition is that it doesn’t have that satisfying floppy feel to it. The cover is pretty stiff, making reading a bit difficult because I had to pry the book wide open to be able to read ALL the words on the pages. Sometimes, I had to take a quick break to massage my wrist. However, the story itself? PURE GOLD. Loved the pacing, the world-building aspect, and all the characters development. Things kept happening over and over, I didn’t even see the end of the tunnel (and not in a bad way) but it’s what you would feel if the world seemed to crumble over you. The plot wasn’t in any way rushed or slow. I enjoyed it just as it is.

I read somewhere that this is going to be a trilogy, so for those who can’t commit to longer series, this sounds perfect.

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto (#1 House of Dead duology)

Another fantasy novel. Wow, where do I start with Bonesmith, particularly the first of the duology (another short series) because I love our main character, Wren. She’s a Bonesmith training to become a Valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior in a world where the dead are violent and lethal. The story kicks off with her qualifying trial to become a fully-fledged Valkyr, setting her eyes to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and get her very estranged father’s attention. But things take an ugly turn when she’s sabotaged. The only way to redeem herself is to rescue the Kingdom’s Gold Prince across the Breach. And the catch? She has to work with one of the kidnappers, Julian (hearts), a fierce ironsmith from an exiled house thought to be dead by the rest of the kingdom. I won’t spoil the rest for you!

I didn’t expect to love Wren so much for being such a badass character, sticking to her goal of rescuing the prince without getting distracted by the particularly attractive broody-at-first Julian and actually shared a believable friendship bond with him throughout her mission. And the scenes when Wren fight or when the Wren-Julian duo were involved? Chef’s kiss. I was practically kicking the air rooting for them. Their journey through the lands above the wall was memorable, it didn’t feel like it was dragging the story at all, which is refreshing because that’s a common mistake in other stories.

I love this book so much and I’m already planning a re-read very soon!

Other reads…

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

This book has been on my recommended list for the longest time, and I finally made the choice to give it a go. I knew what the themes were about—heavy, emotional, miserable, and tragic, so I had to brace myself to be fully prepared. I’ve never read a fictional story about real human tragedies and wars, and me being quite the emotionally sensitive person that I am, I can be very invested in the story and characters. Ideally, I want every story to have a happy ending. That’s me as a reader in a nutshell.

I ate this book up. Only took me a couple of days to finish it and then I spent a few hours staring into space, wondering what the heck I just read. I was keeping up with the developments of Palestine and Syria, felt like scenes straight out of a war movie, and the book really put me into the perspectives of those living through this nightmare in a way the news never could. This story is about Salama, a doctor working at a Syrian hospital that’s constantly in danger of being destroyed by the government regime, her deteriorating mental health, and the difficult decision to stay in her homeland or flee for her safety. Some parts felt repetitive and could’ve been written better, and the connection between Salama and Kenan, a boy she met, didn’t feel totally solid. However, overall, the story did its job. I’m forever torn apart 💔.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco (#1 Stalking Jack the Ripper #1)

I had my husband rush to the bookstore (thanks again and sorry for laughing) to get this copy because I accidentally bought the second book, ‘Hunting Prince Dracula,’ first. I was already reading a couple of pages when things suddenly started to click, “Why don’t I understand this?”, and I had already spotted one teeny MAJOR spoiler three pages in. Before any more damage was made, I had sent out my husband to grab the first book immediately.

Again, as with the previous books I read, there’s a female-centred main lead called Audrey Rose Wadsworth, who despite her rich upbringing often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine, much against her father’s wishes. Then, gruesome murders of women start happening, and before she knows it, she’s caught up in a chase to find the murderer and their motives before more bodies pile up. The culprit, Jack the Ripper, was definitely not who I expected. The ‘aha!’ moment at the end was well done.

The book was okay, to be honest. A bit repetitive with the whole ‘woman in science’ struggle and the endless descriptions of her fancy dresses. And some parts just didn’t quite click. As for her love interest? He’s much more interesting as a character, has high perception, smart, a bit of a flirt with our MC, and for a couple of times, I contemplated whether he was the murderer. Not going to spill the beans any further but I liked it!