Our Top 24 We Read in 2024

romantasyillustrat
Jan 23
10 min read

Updated: Feb 7

It might be mid-January but with the recent release of Volume 2 we thought it necessary to highlight our top 24 reads of 2024.

Now, in the magazine, you only see the covers, so by coming here you get to not only see them but learn the WHY they were cosdered top reads for us! Now, these are not ranked but were formatted within the magazine purely to be the most appealing to the eyes. 24 in 2024, from enemies to lovers, fantasy to romance, these are some of our top reads of 2024!

Again, it's not ranked! As there are three R.I. editors, we each selected our top eight books. Of course, there was a lot of overlap, and when there was, we would then choose the next best for us. Now, some of your favorites may not be on this list, and it doesn't mean we don't like them. However, we may have just read it before 2024 or maybe don't even know of the book you love, and if that's the case - comment below what you want to see us reading.

Quicksilver by Callie Hart
“I don't want bright and happy,” he whispered roughly. “I want real.”
“Fuck the fates. They don’t get to decide shit for me. I decide what my future is going to be.”
Okay, this was a top read for two of our editors. Callie Hart hit the nail on the head with one. The fantasy world that she is building out is unique with a lot of world-building. The fact that this is only book one has us so excited for everything else Callie has to offer. (two of our Editors read)
Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
“For anyone who has ever been told their spark shouldn’t burn so bright and for all the people who loved them precisely because it did.”
“Every day I draw breath is as much a curse as a gift. I’ve been living on borrowed time for longer than you can imagine. If you’re the way my fate finally catches up to me, I can’t fathom a more beautiful end.”
Wow, this series was consumed by one of our Editors and she is so excited for what Penn has next. First off, Luther is at the top of her book-boyfriend list. Secondly, she kindly requests Penn to gift her a gryvern to bond with, yeah you read that right, the best of a lion, eagle, and wyvern.
Flock by Kate Stewart
He wants me to read, with him, in his bed. And what better way to pass a day in stormy weather than curling up with a gorgeous man and getting lost in the words.”
“The only love I’ve ever known or craved is the kind that keeps me sick, sick with longing, sick with lust, sick with need, sick with grief. The distorted kind that leaves scars and jaded hearts.”
Okay, one Editor bullied the rest and funny enough everyone who was interviewed for Volume 2 into the Ravenhood series and well it was so worth it. We honestly don't have enough words for this. It is an absolute must for your TBR, we fully recommend listening to the audio. Now, this isn't fantasy, but it is incredibly magical with a gut-wrenching story that the audio brings to life in such a powerful way. (all of the Editors read and all rated it five stars)
When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
“Chase death, Moonbeam. And I pray your bloodlust brings you the same sense of peace I feel just knowing you exist.”
“He’s fire and brimstone. I’m shattered ice. Our collision is steam and destruction, destined to dissipate, but I’ll gladly burn beneath him until the world comes crumbling down.”
Most look at this book and are intimated by her size, she is a big girl, but she is so worth it. There is a lot of world and magic building, lots of politics, and an epic story of love and heartbreak. Sarah A. Parker knocked this out of the park and we are so excited for book 2 that comes out later this year.
Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger
“You’re the chaos. You’re the storm. You’re the one creating the high winds and choppy seas you have to navigate. You’re the source of everything that’s happening. In other words, you’re the one with the power.”
“What we call memory is the intersection between imagination and fact. Memories are the stories we tell ourselves about the important events in our lives. In the telling, some details get lost, others embellished, until truth is closer to fiction.”
Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee
“Worrying is expensive. It costs you the one thing you can’t get back. Time.”
“Because if ruin was the price of having him, let him destroy me.”
Think Crazy Rich Asians but make it fantasy and set in modern-day New Orleans. This is a quick and very yummy read. For being the first in this series there is so much more to come. (two of our Editors read and rank in their top reads)
Scarred by Emily McIntire
“You could burn down the entire kingdom until it’s nothing but charred rubble, and I would crawl over the embers with glee, so long as I could worship at your feet.”
“The truth is, I am yours. Wholly. Inexplicably. Painfully. Unconditionally.” He moves my hand until the dagger presses against his throat. “And if you need to sacrifice my soul so you’re able to live with yours, then do it.”
The Lion King, but brought to life in a way that consumes you. Emily can do no wrong. Two of our Editors have read all of her Twisted books (except Hexed, as it only just came out), and they are all five-star, can do no wrong books. They are our favorites to pick up and read between longer series or even to bring us out of a slump.
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
“If you can learn to endure pain, you can survive anything. Some people learn to embrace it- to love it. Some endure it through drowning it in sorrow, or by making themselves forget. Others turn it into anger.”
“My name is Celaena Sardothien," she whispered, "and I will not be afraid.”
Hehe one of our Editors finally started the Throne of Glass series and you will see two of the books on this list. Now, that we have all read all of TOG, one Editor is finishing her SJM journey with the Crescent City series this year.
Forged by Malice by Elizabeth Helen
“The mountains told me your name. The forest sang your song. My heart has been searching for you since the first dawn.”
“I could pass a thousand seasons staring at you and never have my fill of your beauty. I want you when the cherry blossoms fall in spring, and during the balmy nights of summer. I want you on a forest floor filled with autumn leaves and shivering in winter’s snow.”
Okay. This is book 3, book 1 is also down below and wow, this series is SO good. This is a 'why choose' epic romantasy, it features courts that are by season and some of the most delicious men. The lead female goes on a major journey, she finds pieces of herself and her own power through each book, but so do the males. Each of these books touches on a different healing journey, malice was the Spring journey, which most think of as blooming and blossoming, but death plays a major part in the journey for Spring as a season.
How Does It Feel? by Jeneane O'Riley
“How does it feel?” he said, breathing heavily. “To know that I love you and that you have doomed me? That you and only you have the power to disarm and debilitate me. That you, a human, have dismantled every part of me and rebuilt it as a shrine in your honor.”
“There is beauty to be found in the dark, just as there is horror within the light.”
What convinced one of our Editors to read this book days after it launched in 2023? The dedication. Yep, you read that right. It is also what made her bully another Editor into reading it and why it got to make this list.
Zodiac Academy Restless Stars by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
“Whatever happens tomorrow, our time is always”
“We had been two lost girls adrift in the mortal realm, but here, in this wilderness of magic and endless love, we had found ourselves at home.”
One of our Editors has been reading the ZA series for years and this was the best ending to a series. When you are committing to 9 regular books, 4 before books, 5 after, and countless novellas you are investing a lot of time in a story that you don't want to see end. The Twisted Sisters wrapped up this story perfectly, lots of tears and laughter were expressed, and a feeling of contentment by the last page. It was not easy saying goodbye to this series but it was one of the best series endings that we have read.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
“I wasn't aware that words could hold so much. I didn't know a sentence could be so full.”
“His dad had told him many times that the definition of a real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what’s necessary to defend a woman.”
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
“I do. I’m sorry if you expect me to do the noble thing. I warned you. I’m not sweet or soft or kind, and you fell anyway. This is what you get, Violet— me. The good, the bad, the unforgivable. All of it. I am yours.” His arm wraps around the small of my back, holding me steady and close. “You want to know something true? Something real? I love you. I’m in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I’m grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won’t have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I’ll meet Malek at your side. It’s a damned good thing that you love me, too, because you’re stuck with me in this life and every other that could possibly follow.”
“My house. My chair. My woman.”
This book emotionally wrecked us all and we are not okay.
The Book of Cin by H.M. Wolfe
“For my readers. For the ones who suffer silently. You will not break.”
“If death is coming, you will not go to the Gods alone.”
This is H.M. Wolfe's debut book and it is so good. One of the Editors ARC read it and absolutely loved it. Beyond excited for book 2 that is coming this year.
Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas
“Aut viam inveniam aut faciam—I shall either find a way or make one.”
“Mental note—physical exertion makes me homicidal. Avoid anything above a brisk walk.”
Another 'why choose' that takes the story of Hercules, makes her a woman, and takes you on a ride.
The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
“Quitters never win, and winners never quit. But survivors change the game.”
“Seems to me that love can calm storms, end wars, make fools of smart people, and bridge the gap between life and death. Doesn’t that make it the most powerful?”
First off, we love you, Abigail. Secondly, all of the Editors read The Games Gods Play as interviewed and featured Abigial in Volume 2. Also, two of our Editors were lucky enough to get advanced copies of TGGP as they had met Abigail at an event. This is giving Percy Jackson x Hunger Games and is a must-read.
A Baron of Bonds by Chelsey Ann Tompkins
“…even the most broken things can find their way back to a life worth living.”
"Even the most broken things can find their way back to a life worth living."
Gothikana by RuNyx
“This will last until the day roses on my grave stop sharing roots with the roses on yours,” he declared. “I will have you even in death, little witch. I am your beast. I am your madness. And you, you’re my afterlife.”
“You’re the mountain I build my castle on, brick by brick,” she whispered to him, her eyes stinging. “You stand, I soar. You crack, I crumble.”
Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen
“Some people call these guilty pleasure reads, but why should I feel guilt for wanting to escape to somewhere else, even for a little while?”
“And every moment I am not touching you, it eats my soul inside out, tearing me apart, until merely looking at you is an anguish I would only wish upon my worst enemy.”
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
“Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom …”
“To whatever end?” she breathed. Rowan followed her, as he had his entire life, long before they had ever met, before their souls had sparked into existence. “To whatever end, Fireheart.”
Emotionally destroyed.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
“My best friends taught me a new kind of quiet, the peaceful stillness of knowing one another so well you don’t need to fill the space. And a new kind of loud: noise as a celebration, as the overflow of joy at being alive, here, now.”
“You are in all of my happiest places.”
A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager
“Survival alone is not enough. There comes a point when you need to live.”
“How does making you small keep you safe? Laughing quietly, folding your hands, letting the men talk. Are they matters of your safety or just keeping you manageable?”
Book one and Clare Sager is officially one of our favorite authors!
Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli
“Hunger is a language I know. A script I've written a thousand times.”
“I'm going to die, all because of a fucking bar of soap.”
This is like The Hunger Games but if it has Middle Eastern/Indian vibes and it is super easy to zoom through.
The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole
“I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.”
“We were destined to fight until the sky bled and worlds shook. But when he touched me, cradled my face as if I was the most fragile, beautiful being in the world, I melted.”
Amber is Mommy. One of our Edtors bullied another enough for her to read them and also know they are not just 'overhyped' but so freaking good. Amber loves to emotionally destroy us and honestly we will endure it every single time just for another look at Dianna and Samkiel. When she wrote, “She is pretty for a fire-wielding death bitch that tried to kill us all.” we knew we were in for the long haul. Also Amber was a featured and interviewed author in Volume 1!