Goodreads Choice Awards 2024: The romance picks are a mixed bag

The leaves are gone and the pages are turning in time with the release of first round of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards picks.

The opening round started on November 12th and ends on November 24th. From there, it goes to the final round before the winners are announced on December 5th. Each category features 20 books which is then cut down to 10.

You can find the full list of rules and more on this page. However, the important thing to note is: "Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 16, 2023, and November 12, 2024, are eligible for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 13, 2024, and November 11, 2025, will be eligible for the 2025 awards." It's a very specific timeline but it's worth mentioning.

Before moving on to the romance picks, the other thing I wanted to share is that: "Opening round official nominees must have an average rating of 3.50 or higher at the time of launch." That is something that can trip up some books that are beloved but don't make that threshold.

These are the best romance books from 2024 according to Goodreads.

If you've been following the Goodreads Choice Awards for the past few years, you'll know that the top 20 is always a mixed bag. This year though, it feels like the list is full of sequels and sometimes that's okay but this year, it seems like overkill. However, let's break down which books were nominated.

The first 10 romance books are as follows: Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver, This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune, Bride by Ali Hazelwood, Wild Love by Elsie Silver, The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, Daydream by Hannah Grace, Funny Story by Emily Henry, King of Sloth by Ana Huang, The Love of My After Life by Kristy Greenwood and The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. Looking at the first 10, there are 3 sequels included and 1 book by an author of color. Emily Henry is here too and she tends to sweep all of the other nominees.

Moving onto the final 10 romances, there is Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood, Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage, Play Along by Liz Tomforde, The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center, Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan, How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore, This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams and Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. Once again, most of these are books we saw coming with 3 sequels making the cut along with multiple books by authors of color.

As awesome as it is to see these romances get noticed, it doesn't feel like much as I'm sure most of us know Emily Henry is likely to win. Regardless, some of my favorite authors are on the list such as Kennedy Ryan, Ali Hazelwood, and Ana Huang so at least they're getting recognized in some way. Even if Emily Henry does win, these authors will hopefully get even more readers which is always great to see.

Given how vast the list is, it'll be interesting to see which romance books do and don't make the cut for the final round. Two romances were nominated for Favorite Debut Novel which are How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang and The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava. Then in the audiobook category, Funny Story, Just For the Summer and Maybe This Time were all nominated for favorite audiobook. If anything, these lists prove that 2024 was a time to be a romance reader.