Five Fall Favorites: Saturday {Top 5 Books of 2024}

We've made it to the final day of Five Fall Favorites! I've seriously enjoyed spilling all the tea about my favorite books this week, and I hope you've had fun finding some new reads and adding onto that TBR! 

You should know the drill by now lol: check out Kate's website for links to the other blogs and find out who won the giveaway! To close out the party, I'll be sharing my top five reads of 2024 (so far, still got three months left! XD). 

1. Ignite

Ignite was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and oh my goodness. I knew it was going to be amazing (because anything by Kara Swanson is fantastic) but I didn't realize that it would become one of the few books that speaks to me on such a deep, personal level and one that sparks light in my soul. It's a novel filled with lessons about healing, learning how to trust, and being brave. It focuses on a broken character who learns how to blossom into a fiery, courageous protagonist. It's heartbreaking yet so beautiful. The imagery, worldbuilding, prose, and plot twists were phenomenal. And I've eagerly been awaiting book 2 to come out ever since I discovered the massive cliff hanger on which Ignite ends. 

Highly recommend to those who enjoy YA books with an emphasis on character instead of plot and who can handle reading about some violence and emotional abuse.

2. The Nightmare Virus

All of Nandine Brande's books have blown me away and impacted me in one way or another. She just nails it with the incredible worldbuilding, allegories, and character development every single time. This year was no different with The Nightmare Virus, Brandes' latest novel that's essentially a mashup of sci-fi technology and historical gladiator life. The concept is brilliant, suspenseful, and exhilarating. The plot is heartrending but also so freeing and full of light. It's a book that is memorable and powerful. 

Every reader who enjoys YA sci-fi or dystopia fiction with threads of Christianity woven in needs to read this book. But I especially want to point out that this book could be appealing to teen guys with the action and well-written male character. 

3. The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip

Oh, the time has come to share this book. *happy tears* This is not just one of my top 2024 reads, but one of my top favorite reads of all time. This novel...it changed me. It showed me what it means to be compassionate, joyful, patient, and peaceful in all circumstances. It's overflowing with wisdom, truth, love, and what it means to live a life spent serving God. I loved every bit of this story. Some more concrete aspects of it that I enjoyed were the humor, the fact that it didn't include romance (I love a good romance but it's refreshing to see a contemporary novel without an ounce in it every one in a while), and the interesting historical aspects and life of a journalist. 

I believe every Christian aged teen and up should read this book; however, it does center around Mrs. Kip having cancer and the theme of death is very blatant. So if you've faced life situations involving cancer, I would be mindful and make the decision that is the healthiest for you. <3

4. Authentically, Izzy

This book was so sweet and extremely relatable! Such a cute romance and I could connect with the main character on many levels. It had great character arcs, fun banter, so many bookish Easter eggs. It also had solid themes and Christian messages. It is an epistolary novel so I had to get used to the different feel of it, but I really loved it and want to read book 2 soon! 

Recommend to readers who enjoy clean romance and references to popular books like Pride and Prejudice and Lord of the Rings. 

5. The Prince of Spies

This book is actually book 3 in the Hope and Glory series by Elizabeth Camden so I can't say much other than the fact that I absolutely adore this historical romance trilogy and The Prince of Spices was the perfect conclusion. I loved getting to better understand the main character and his motives in this one (he was a side character in the previous two books and was very intriguing) and the historical aspects are downright fascinating. The romance is clean and the plot is engaging. 

I think readers who enjoy books that really focus on describing the history with a bit of romance thrown in would definitely love The Prince of Spies! (I do recommend reading the first two books though so you can fully enjoy all the references to other characters and some events!) 

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What's one of your top 2024 reads? What's a book you've found this week and added to your TBR?