Blogmas 2024
Happy Wednesday!
Today is the second post of my best reads of 2024 and we are talking romances! A precision: you won’t find “romantasy” under this category as I chose to feature them with my fantasy reads!
Let’s begin!
The first category is ugly cry romance.
This is a kind of sequel for A Thousand Boy Kisses so read that one first!
Both Savannah and Cael have lost their siblings and they will join a group of mourning teens who will tour the world, under the supervision of psychologists, to come to term with their loss. And they will find love on the way.
I cried literally every five pages!!!
That was very embarrassing when I read on the train but it also was cathartic and beautiful.
What Tillie Cole gave me with the discovery of all these different cultures and their view on death was solace and perspective.
She made me realize that not all cultures see death as a sad ending like mine does but that other cultures see it as a liberation. “They rejoice because their loved one is now in heaven. They are free from earthly constraints. They are healed and they are in eternal bliss. The greatest wish for anyone we love is to achieve this.”
This is the most impactful quote I have read on death. Or at least, impactful to me because what the heroes lived in Varanasi, India, is hope and peace. It changed my view on death.
As you can see, death and dying is at the forefront of the book but this also is a YA romance book. And was that romance beautiful and sweet!
As Savannah said of Cael, “He is my Rune”.
I cried gallons of tears but I smiled and swooned as well and the epilogue left me with a peaceful heart because this time, it’s not only a love story, it’s a romance too!
In Paranormal romance I vote for…
From the start, I was in and I wrote “Oh I love her already!”, her being our female main character Misery!
What’s Bride about?
Bride is a paranormal story playing with different tropes like:
-Forbidden romance:
-Arranged marriage;
-Slow Burn mixed with “She is mine”: because of course Alpha are territorials, even if their bride is another specie.
Bride is a mix of paranormal romance where Ali Hazelwood has her spin on the vampire world with a mystery on top of it. All served by a cast of great characters and lots of action.
he story is built upon Misery and Lowe’s relationship. They are put together in that marriage of convenience but you can feel through their slow burn that they could not be better suited for each other, even with their species being mortal enemies for years. Faced with a hidden enemy threatening the pack and Misery’s friend, they’ll prove to be a very effective tandem.
I truly devoured Bride and Ali Hazelwood has once more proven that she is a master at writing deeply romantic yet very smart and entertaining stories!.
Some favorite romances with neurodivergent representation now!
This is a solid romance with neurodivergence representation, grumpy/sunshine trope, complicated family dynamics and small town vibe!
Reading it gave me similar vibes as Love at First Knight or The Kiss Quotient .
Jasper, our female main character is neurodivergent. From the moment she got autisme as diagnosis, she has done her best to mimick others and to always be the perfect daughter/neighbor/student…
She is the golden girl of Lake Pristine yet she has never shown her true self.
Jasper is very easy to love with her big heart and will to help others.
The plot and the characters come together to make a story about being different and being accepted for who you are. It’s about complicated family dynamics, about revenge not being the best choice but also about growing up, owning your mistakes and becoming a better version of yourself. And of course it’s also about love!
It’s funny, sad, bittersweet and charming.
Love at first Knight is a mashup of romcom with enemies to lovers on a background of neurodivergence (extreme social anxiety) and LARPing (Live Action Role Playing).
The characters are extremely likable, even broody posh Theodore alias Teddy once he stops behaving like a @rsehole and reveals what’s behind the facade.
Daisy with her social ineptitude, deep fears and general sense of failure was easy to love. Knowing that she was capable, strong and commanding (Teddy would say bossy) when she wore the personality of her fictional alias just had me wanting to tell her that «she could do it ».
If you are looking for family love and support you will find it here on Daisy’s side!
Her parents and siblings were always encouraging and supportive, wanting what was best for her yet understanding her difficulties. I would love going for a weekend of LARPing with them! Bashing people’s skulls with fake swords and rolling in the mud seems oddly satisfying and fulfilling!
And of course there is a slow burn romance because « commoner »Daisy and royalty Teddy begin as antagonists. They know how to push each other’s buttons and that will give some funny yet disastrous scenes! Lo behold, what’s enmity will morph into… more tender feelings.
It’s easy to read, funny, tender, light and enlightening (about neurodivergence and LARPing) and perfect for fans of romance.
And my favorite of all, featuring a single future mom…
You know a book is good when you start recommending it to every reader group you are in and use a lot of exclamation points doing so!!!!!
Do I appear pushy? Totally!
But me think it goes hand in hand with being a blogger when you are in love with a book and wants everyone to read it!
Ready or Not is a heartfelt, very smart, very thoughtful and very funny woman fiction/romance about a young woman, Eve, who became unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand. Unexpectedly because they used a condom but it is to be believed that her hot bartender Ethan has super sperm!
What I loved in this book is that is was so RELATABLE!
Everything rang true. There were tons of conflicted emotions and that was to be expected!
From Eve because she has to decide if she wants to keep the baby or not. If she would stay in her dream city or come back to her family to have more help. If she would have to change job to better support her kid or aim at her true dream job, even if it meant less money for some time. And why did floppy haired Shep, dear old friend Shep become so alluring all of a sudden?
And yes Willa had her struggles but shouldn’t she be more present for Eve, her oldest friend?
As you can see, deep dive into the pregnancy turmoil.
BUT
Instead of being angsty or overtly serious, that book was FUNNY!
That’s when I bow low to the author because she wrote about life changing events but in such heartfelt and fun way that you can’t help but laugh and swoon while totally relating to Eve!
Also EVERY CHARACTER WAS FANTASTIC!
It’s been a long time since a romance had me seen so invested as they began to feel “all the same to me”.
Also the narrator, Alex Finke did an outstanding job and I am now looking for all the books she has narrated!
What have been your favorite romances of 2024?
Thansk for reading!
Sophie
Love at First Knight sounds adorable!! The only one I have read here is Bride and I really enjoyed it, too!
Love at First Knight was indeed adorable ;-)
Okay, it goes stright to my TBR!
Yess!
I’ve only read Bride, but all of these sound wonderful!
They are LOL
You know I loved the Bastone book. Shep is on my shortlist of best book boyfriends.
He is on mine too!
I still want to try Bride one of these days, I’m glad it made to your “best” list
I hope you will love it when you’ll read it Tammy!
Love ar first knight & ready or not sounds super! Thank you for sharing your detailed thoughts
You are welcome!
Great choices Sophie! I still haven’t read the Tillie Cole and its killing me!♀️☕
Maybe soon Susan?