5 of My Favorite Books for the Third Quarter of 2024

As the year progresses, I like to keep a running list of the standout books of that year. It helps me when I get to the end of the year and need to make my final “Best of” list. I have not been as good about it this year as I sometimes am, but there are some books that I have thoroughly enjoyed. 

Here are 5 of my favorites for the third quarter of 2024:

Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (romantic comedy) – Jane Austen retellings are all the rage currently, and Elizabeth of East Hampton is one of the best that I have read in a while. It is an engaging and refreshing take on Pride & Prejudice that demonstrates why Austen’s stories still resonate with readers today. The authors do a wonderful job of loosely following the original but modernizing the story and adding some of their own elements as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fabulously-crafted retelling and an engaging romance with a fun summer setting. And for those who like to know, there is some steam in this one. For readers headed to the beach or pool and those who love Jane Austen.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs (science fiction) – Due to overcrowding and a financial crisis, an ever-increasing number of people cannot afford to start families. As an alternative, in the U.K., a company has created virtual children to raise in the Metaverse. To advertise this product, the company launches a reality TV show that follows 10 couples raising virtual children while competing to win the right to keep their virtual child or be given the money to raise a real baby. Marrs’ use of short chapters that frequently end with cliffhangers propels the story along, and his premise feels all too real. He also addresses our obsession with reality TV and its impact on society, as well as our mental health. This unique plot line kept me captivated.

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley (contemporary fiction) – This unique and compelling book follows Jane Pyre, the former lead singer of The Lightning Bottles, one of the most popular duos of the 1990s as she seeks to discover what happened to Elijah, her husband and the other half of the The Lightning Bottles, who disappeared years before. Jane and Elijah share a deep bond and are both extremely talented but the pressures of stardom and the music industry cause them to crash spectacularly. When Jane rents a house in rural Germany, she encounters a teenage mega fan who believes that Elijah is alive, and the pair set out to find him. In a cleverly crafted manner, the pair follow clues left in artwork to attempt to locate Elijah. Readers who grew up in this era will revel in nostalgia as they read this book which references maps, call-in shows and countdowns, Walkmans, and music trivia and details from the time period. The Lightning Bottles takes readers on a memorable journey, connecting the past and present through flashbacks explaining how Jane and Elijah met, describing their highs and lows, and what led to both their meteoric rise to fame and subsequent crash. This book is a good fit for music lovers, mystery readers, and those who enjoy a walk down memory lane.

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer (thriller/horror) – Eve is home by herself when Thomas and his family knock on her front door. Thomas explains that he grew up in the home she and her partner, Charlie, have just recently purchased. While she initially hesitates, Eve is a people pleaser and eventually allows the family in to look around. As soon as the family enters the home, strange things start happening, including the disappearance of the family’s youngest child somewhere within the dwelling, and the family refuses to leave. The eeriness factor is off the charts; We Used to Live Here is dripping with dread, tension, and a fun creepiness factor that kept me turning the pages, but it wasn’t so scary that I couldn’t sleep at night. Kliewer also sows doubt about whether Eve is actually experiencing these events or whether it might all be in her mind which kept me guessing and crafts a spectacular ending. The book is being adapted for Netflix with Blake Lively starring as Eve.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach (contemporary fiction) – Phoebe Stone shows up at a hotel and mistakenly gets swept up into wedding festivities right when she is at her lowest. She starts her day thinking that it will be the last day of her life and instead she starts down a totally different path with the help of an unexpected group of people. In this character-driven and touching tale, Espach tackles so many issues that people deal with today: marriage, infidelity, infertility, loneliness, death, friendship, and disappointment. While these issues can be heavy, the book is so engaging, heartwarming, thought-provoking, and hilarious, and it often went in directions I was not expecting. I loved everything about it - the characters, the plot, the intergenerational friendship, and the book’s resolution; this will be one of my top reads of the year. For fans of well-written books with a lot of humor and heart.

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.