Best New Fiction Books of 2024

If you are looking for the best new fiction books of 2024, you’ve come to the right place. I wanted to narrow the choices of fiction books to only the best so you don’t have to. I’ve rounded up all of Jackie’s and my five-star fiction reads from the past year in one easy-to-read list.

The Best New Fiction Books of 2024 featuring Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

Jackie and I have read almost 300 books this year. There are some fantastic books that you won’t want to miss, and some that were hard passes for us. You won’t find many books on this list, but the ones that are will be sure to please! You can also check out our list of Contemporary Fiction Novels if you are looking for more great choices from years past.

From family sagas to stories featuring older characters, secrets abound and adventures unfurl in each book on this list is a winner!

The Best Fiction Books for 2024

Each colorful block below represents the best book in a subgenre of fiction. Click on the arrow to reveal my “best” pick in any category. You’ll also be able to use a page jump to see more books in that section.

Best Literary Fiction

Sandwich

Author: Catherine Newman

Year: 2024

Genre: Fiction

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Age Range: 18+

Rocky and her family have gone to a rental in Cape Cod for 20 years. This year, the vacation feels different. Rocky’s kids are almost fully grown, but not quite, her parents are getting older faster than she would like and she is experiencing all the joys of menopause.

As they spend the week together, Rocky sees things differently than she has in the past. She has secrets that she no longer wants to keep.

Abortion

This 236-page book is an absolute must-read. I related to Rocky’s mood swings and inner monologue so much I was screaming with laughter. The way she simultaneously loved her husband and felt the urge to slap him was all too familiar (sorry honey). I also loved the relationship that she had with her kids. This book is perfect for any woman who is in the sandwich generation and trying to find her place as a mother and daughter.

I savored this book and it ended too soon for me. Newman’s portrayal of being a mother, a wife, and a daughter were spot on. I laughed out loud and even cried a little too with this 5-star book.

Find this book in: Books with Food in the Title / Best Family Drama Books / New June 2024 Book Releases / Best New Fiction Books of 2024 / Giftable Books / The Best Books of 2024

margots got money troubles

Author: Rufi Thorpe

Year: 2024

Genre: Literary Fiction

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Age Range: 18+

Margo Millet has always had to take care of herself and enrolled in community college as her way out. Her mother was a Hooter waitress who had an affair with her ex-pro wrestler father. Despite having a distant relationship with him, he was not there as an everyday figure in her life. When Margo has an affair with her married professor and becomes pregnant with his child, she decides to keep the baby even with everyone telling her that she is going to ruin her life.

Now, she has a baby, no job, and needs to pay her rent. When her father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and needs someone to help him stay sober, she agrees to let him stay in exchange for babysitting and rent. Margo also decides to start an OnlyFans and use her father’s expertise in show business to help

Drug Use, Addiction

I have never read anything like this before. I laughed out loud at times while reading the book. Initially, I was not sure that I was going to like it. Thorpe has a way of taking upsetting and serious topics and themes and weaving them seamlessly into the story. I love how Margo grows from the beginning of the story to the end. I love her relationship development with her father and the fact that they both come to respect each other despite and because of their flaws.

Apple TV+ announced an upcoming TV series adaptation of this book starring Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Find this book in: Best New Fiction Books of 2024 / Books Set in College / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read / Books Becoming TV Series / Giftable Books / The Best Books of 2024

Best Contemporary Fiction Books of 2024

faculty lounge

Author: Jennifer Mathieu

Year: 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

More info: National Bestseller

Spice Rating:đź’‹

Age Range: 16+

This delightful story follows a set of teachers across an academic year – each narrating a different story as the year progresses. It opens with a first-year teacher finding a substitute teacher dead of old age in the faculty lounge.

From meddling PTA moms to personal issues impacting faculty performance, from district overstepping to parents challenging curriculum, this story truly covers all the highs and lows of being a teacher in the world today.

Both hilarious and poignant, this story reminds me of Abbott Elementary in the best way. I felt deeply for the teachers and their struggles while laughing along with their missteps and flaws. #Gifted by Dutton

Find this book in: Best Contemporary Fiction 2024 / Books Set in High School / Giftable Books

The Best 2024 Fiction About Aging

sylvias second act

Author: Hillary Yablon

Year: 2024

Genre: Fiction

More info:

Spice Rating:đź’‹

Age Range: 16+

If you are looking for an absolutely hysterical novel, this is for you! After walking into the Florida retirement home she hates and seeing her husband in a compromising position with their neighbor, Sylvia decides it’s time to start her life over in New York City.

Armed only with the money she has from pawning her watch, she gets herself a geriatric roommate and relaunches her career as a wedding planner. The scenarios she gets herself into are filled with heart, humor, and wisdom to create a novel unlike any other.

Reference to drug-related death, Financial instability, Cheating

I’ve never met a character quite like Sylvia. She’s vivacious and fun in a way that most 66-year-olds are not depicted in literature. I was rooting for her success during the entire book. I’m hoping that scene in the epilogue means a sequel is in the works.

I could not stop laughing at the antics in this book. But, it was also a book with strong character development and was deeply emotional in some parts. All together, this book is the perfect mix of emotions and plot.

Find this book in: Best Fiction Books of 2024 / Books like A Man Called Ove / Giftable Books / The Best Books of 2024

mrs. quinns rise

Author: Olivia Ford

Year: 2024

Genre: Fiction

Spice Rating:đź’‹

Age Range: 14+

At 72, Jenny has decided to secretly enter a reality tv show, Britain Bakes (AKA The Great British Baking Show.) To her utter shock, she’s selected as a contestant! As she diligently works to prepare her bakes each week, she struggles to keep the secret of being on the show to her friends and neighbors. But that’s not all she’s struggling with.

Each chapter is named after a recipe and sprinkled throughout the modern-day narrative are flashbacks to her youth – including a secret she’s kept from her husband for more than 50 years.

This story was delightfully charming. I loved the behind-scenes look at a baking show, I drooled over the many delectable bakes, and I was utterly obsessed with Jenny’s journey on the show and in her personal life. This story felt like a warm hug. It has heartwarming lessons wrapped up in funny and poignant moments.

Find this book in: Giftable Books / Best Fiction Books of 2024 / The Best Books of 2024

How to Age Disgracefully

Author: Clare Pooley

Year: 2024

Genre: Fiction

More info: Best Selling Author

Age Range: 16+

Like Clare Pooley’s previous books, this one has a multi-generational cast of characters that make it utterly delightful and laugh-out-loud funny.

Lydia has a new job running the Senior Citizen’s Social Club and the members are unlike anything she expected. Art is an out-of-work actor, William is a former paparazzi, and Daphne is a 70-year-old who lives alone and talks to her plants. And that is only half of the lively crew. When the City council tries to sell the community center building, the Social Club members enlist the help of the daycare, a teenager, and a dog to save the building.

I read this book in a day. I laughed, I cried, and I applauded. This book made me feel so good. The multi-generational cast of characters makes this book appealing to anyone who loves a great second-chance fiction book. It is about finding yourself and your inner strength (with a side of revenge). And one of our favorite characters from a previous book makes a brief appearance!

Find this book in: Feel Good Books / Ultimate Beach Reads 2024 / Best New 2024 Fiction / Giftable Books / The Best Books of 2024

The Best New Family Dramas

Like mother like mother

Author: Susan Rieger

Year: 2024

Genre: Literary Fiction

Age Range: 16+

This family saga is told in multiple timelines about multiple mothers. It opens with Lila’s funeral in the present and her daughter, Grace’s reaction to it. But from there it flashes back to Lila’s childhood focusing on how her own mother was committed to an asylum in 196o by her father.

Against all odds, Lila rose to the top of her field prioritizing her job over her children, ignoring that Grace desperately missed her while she was off at White House correspondent dinners. She resented her so much, that she wrote a bestselling book based on Lila. Now Grace’s guilt over her actions in the years and the strain of her relationship has her looking back and pondering if you can ever know yourself without knowing the women who shaped you.

Domestic Abuse

From the nonlinear narrative to the deep dive into the intergenerational cycle of abuse and abandonment, this story had a lot of elements that just clicked for me. I was swept into the hunt for Zelda, weaving my fantasies about what had become of her.

I felt like Grace and Lila were deeply flawed in a wonderfully complex way that had me cringing and cheering them on in equal measure. I also adored Ruth, Clara, and Joe and the growth of each of the characters throughout this novel. I’ll be thinking about it for years to come. #gifted by PRH Audio

Find this book in: Family Saga Books / Summary of Like Mother, Like Mother / Best New Fiction Books of 2024 / Giftable Books / The Best Books of 2024 / Best Books for Book Club

Mercury

Author: Amy Jo Burns

Year: 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age Range: 16+

In Mercury, PA the Joseph brothers and their roofing business are known to all. When a body is found in the attic of the local church when the roof needs repair, a mystery is unleashed, and a family saga unfolds.

A decade prior, Marley West came into town with her mother and fell in love with the Joseph brothers. She dated one, married one, and helped raise another. She becomes a defactor mother figure to the whole family.

As the mystery of who is in the attic unravels, the story bounces back and forth in time while revealing the secrets and hidden motivations of Marley and the Joseph family.

Miscarriage

It’s a character analysis more than a mystery, a slow-burn of a story more than a high-stakes thriller. I was utterly enthralled. I think it’s the first contender of the year for the best books of 2024 list.

Find this book in: Family Sagas / Best Fiction of 2024 / The Best Books of 2024 / Best Books About Siblings

The Best Wedding Fiction of 2024

The Guncle Abroad

Author: Steven Rowley

Year: 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

More info: Instant New York Times Bestseller

Spice Rating:đź’‹

Age Range: 16+

GUP and the kids are back! Patrick, Maisie, and Grant are five years older and facing a new challenge – the kid’s dad is getting ready to remarry.

The children are not thrilled, so Patrick decides to wisk them on a European adventure to teach them the Languages of Love, Guncle Style.

As they parade around Europe and end up at the destination wedding site of Lake Como, we are treated to hysterical scenarios and GUP witticisms. Add in a rivalry between GUP and the soon-to-be Launt (Lesbian Aunt) and you have a story that will have you flying through the pages.

I adored the first Guncle book, so I was a tad nervous to read a sequel. Would it spoil the characters I love so much? Not. At. All.

If anything, I learned to appreciate Patrick, Grant, and Maisie even more on the revisit. The way that Rowley writes about living with grief as an adult and a child is touchingly hopeful. I laughed and cried in equal measure reading this story. Dare I say it might be better than the first?

I love that everyone is a little bit older in this book. the way that Rowley portrays the kids is so spot on, I was howling with laughter. Although this book deals with grief in its many forms, it is done so with love and humor. It feels authentic rather than forced and unrelatable.

Find this book in: Best Fiction of 2024 / Lake Books

The wedding people

Author: Alison Espach

Year: 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

More info: August 2024 Read With Jenna Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:đź’‹

Age Range: 18+

When Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn, she is the only person in the hotel who is not there for the wedding. She’s there to commit suicide after her marriage ends and she feels she has nothing else to live for.

Lila, the bride, has thought of every detail but did not account for Phoebe being at the hotel. She figures out what Phoebe is there to do and Lila will NOT let it happen. Soon, Phoebe is joining in on the weeklong festivities and readers get to learn about Lila’s motivations too. This funny, poignant novel about the people we meet along the path of life is sure to be a hit.

Suicide Attempt, Infertility

I love it handled anxiety, depression, and the ending of a relationship. It reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians because of the over-the-top wedding vibes. There is so much to discuss in this one that I think it’s perfect for book clubs. #gifted Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm

Find this book in: Books About Weddings / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read / Best New Fiction Books of 2024: Contemporary and Literary Fiction

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Are you new to literary fiction and trying to find a great book? Are you a contemporary fiction lover who is looking for a new book? Here are some recommendations for choosing a book:

  • Pick a book that is in a subgenre of fiction you love
  • Read another book by a favorite author
  • Look through the books on this list for the best of the year. Any one of these picks is a great choice
  • Do not be intimidated by books labeled literary fiction. Kirsten and I decided that the subject matter of these books is a “love it or leave it” situation. Every one of the literary fiction books will be really well written but not all will appeal to you. If you don’t love it, don’t feel bad. For example, Kirsten loved the book Milkman and I absolutely could not stand it!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best fiction of 2024?

There are so many great books on this list that it is really hard to choose just one. However, Kirsten and I both agree that Sandwich by Catherine Newman is a great pick.

What new fiction books of 2024 do you recommend?

Kirsten and I put together a list of our top ten contemporary fiction and literary fiction picks. This list includes Sandwich by Catherine Newman, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, and Sylvia’s Got Money Troubles by Hilary Yablon.

Epilogue:

Did any of the new fiction books of 2024 on this list make your to-be-read pile?

contemporary fiction header

Ultimate List of Contemporary Fiction Novels to Love in 2024

For more contemporary fiction books like these, check out our ultimate list for dozens of recommendations.