Best of Book Riot

The Twenty Best Fantasy Books of 2024

Jeff O'Neal

CEO and co-founder

Jeff O'Neal is the executive editor of Book Riot and Panels. He also co-hosts The Book Riot Podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @thejeffoneal.

Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.

The 20 Best Fantasy Books of 2024

The best fantasy of 2024 has shown it is what’s inside that truly counts because this year, we have some thrilling, heart-pounding, gripping, fantastical novels. Everything from heartbreaking losses, to battles with governments (and gods), to a magic user’s struggle for control came out of this year’s best fantasy novels. We’ve seen impressive books from both industry powerhouses and stunning debut authors.

The 17 Best Romance Books of 2024

I’m sure you will think I’ve left things off this list, and that’s fine. What I wanted to do with this list was—to use a concept from the Fated Mates podcast—to highlight the romances that are doing interesting work and doing it with alacrity. There were some great books this year that executed a premise spectacularly well but didn’t have anything particularly insightful to say. For the sake of highlighting the absolute best, those books didn’t make my list. 

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

I imagine that books like James by Percival Everett, The Women by Kristin Hannah, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan are going to be under a lot of trees this year.

What YA Books Showed Up on The Most “Best-Of” Lists?

Two weeks ago, I rounded up several of the “best-of” lists in the world of YA so far for 2024. While that was intended to highlight just how wide-ranging the bests were this year—something we should be celebrating, especially because lists like this were not as robust or diverse prior to the efforts of groups like We Need Diverse Books—it got me thinking about which books were landing on multiple best-of lists.

More Bold Than Cozy: Drama In The Coloring Book Community—What It Is and Why It Matters

Pinpointing the start of the “bold and easy” trend is challenging. Some ascribe it to Meg Miles Coloring (also known as Meg Publishing). Meg’s TikTok videos rack up tens of thousands of hits each time she posts, but in the spring of 2024, some of her videos—especially those with an ASMR element—were cracking over half a million views. Users on the r/coloring Subreddit were talking about coloring books that fell into this “bold and easy” category as early as February 2024. Though responses to that early inquiry for easier adult coloring books were lighter at the time than in more recent inquiries about that style of coloring book, familiar names populate the responses, including Bobbie Goods, Jade Summer, Meg Publishing, and the ubiquitous Coco Wyo.

How to Organize Your Reading Life in the New Year

I’ve focused more on things to help keep your book collection organized, but I’ve also got some bookmarks to keep you on track with your 2025 reading goals. There are book carts for organizing your TBR, some creative shelving ideas, organizers for that stack of books on your nightstand, and more. Let’s get started!

The Queerest Christmas: 2024 LGBTQ Holiday Romance Books

These queer queer holiday romances aren’t just good for your holiday reading, though. Each and every one of them makes for the perfect bookish gift, whether as a last-minute ebook or a carefully wrapped present under the tree. That’s the beautiful thing about holiday romance books — they’re perfect for reading and gifting. Basically, they’re here to fill your every holiday need. So fill all your stockings — and your December days — with these festive holiday romance reads full of queer love and LGBTQ characters.

Let Your Spotify Wrapped Pick Your Best-of-2024 Book for You

One of the best things about the end of every year? Getting to see your Spotify Wrapped and letting it define your personality for the final months of the year. I can’t be the only one who feels this way. If you’re still buzzing off of your Spotify Wrapped list, why not let your music tastes dictate your next book? Here are some of the best books of the year (according to multiple sources), and which one you should read based on your top 2024 album.

The Best Children’s Books of 2024

These are just some of the great children’s books published in 2024, ranging from picture books to YA. I’ve included a wide range of stories, looking at different genres and age groups, ranging from the serious to the silly. From debuts to established authors, fantasy to contemporary, these books are all some of the best children’s books of 2024. If you’ve got a young reader in your life, or you love children’s literature yourself, you can’t go wrong with these suggestions, so dig in and celebrate some of the great children’s books from this year.