This page serves as an up-to-date list of all of my top book recommendations. In an effort to make this (very long) list easier to navigate, I’ve categorized all my recommendations based on genre and have also included sub-categories in the areas I thought would be extra helpful. I’ve included a table of contents first so you can see where certain genres fall on the page and hopefully have an easier time scrolling to the category you’re interested in. Happy Reading!
I. My Most Frequently Recommended
II. General Fiction
a. When you’re in the mood for something intriguing with depth
b. When you’re in the mood for a slower burn, character-driven plot
c. When you’re in the mood for an emotionally heavy read
d. When you’re in the mood for a lighter beach read
III. Romances/Rom-Coms
a. Rated PG
b. Rated PG-13
c. Rated R
IV. Historical Fiction
a. WWII Historical Fiction
V. Psychological Thrillers
VI. Thrillers/Mysteries/Suspense
VII. Holiday Reads
VIII. Young Adult
IX. Nonfiction
a. Self-Help
b. Memoirs and Biographies
X. Poetry
I. My Most Frequently Recommended
–Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman
–Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid [my review]
-Almost anything written by Kate Morton. The Lake House, The Forgotten Garden, The House at Riverton, The Secret Keeper, The Distant Hours – they are all just phenomenal historical fiction! If I had to choose one to start, I’d say The Secret Keeper. (Note: I sadly did not enjoy The Clockmaker’s Daughter).
–The Midnight Library by Matt Haig [my review]
–The Measure by Nikki Erlick [my review]
II. General Fiction
When you’re in the mood for something intriguing with depth
–A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams (read first)
–The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams (read second; they aren’t technically sequels but I would still read them in that order)
–One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
–Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
–Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
–The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid [my review]
–Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng [my review]
–Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge [my review]
–The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (read first)
–Morning Glory by Sarah Jio (read second)
–The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes [my review]
–The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet [my review]
–Followers by Megan Angelo [my review]
–Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore [my review]
–We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Fowler [my review]
–Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid [my review]
–Regretting You by Colleen Hoover [my review]
When you’re in the mood for a slower burn, character-driven plot
–My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman [my review]
–Anxious People by Fredrik Backman [my review]
–The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah [my review]
–Miracle Creek by Angie Kim [my review]
–The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall [my review]
–Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane[my review]
When you’re in the mood for an emotionally heavy read
–It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
–Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao [my review]
–The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth [my review]
–If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais [my review]
–Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
When you’re in the mood for a lighter beach read; these keep you engaged but are more escapist and laid back
–Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan (the last one is my favorite!) [my review]
–My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan [my review]
–How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry [my review]
–The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley [my review]
III. Romances/Rom-Coms
Rated-PG (no intimacy other than perhaps kissing; clean language)
–The Haven Point Series by RaeAnne Thayne [my review]
–What You Wish For by Katherine Center [my review]
Rated PG-13 (Kissing included, other intimacy is inferred or discussed but it’s either closed-door or pretty light and brief; foul language may be included)
–Shipped by Angie Hockman [my review]
–Love at First by Kate Clayborn [my review]
–The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary [my review]
–The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan [my review]
–The Friend Zone [my review; full disclosure, this book only makes this top rec list because I loved the two books that follow! This one is my least favorite of the three but you do kind of need to read them in order. Also, of the three, this one is the steamiest and is more Rated-R than the others but I wanted to keep them together in the same category]; The Happy Ever After Playlist [my review]; Life’s Too Short [my review] all by Abby Jiminez
–Part of Your World by Abby Jiminez [my review] (not part of the Friend Zone series, but all related in the same little world)
–One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London [my review]
–The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion [my review]
–If You Only Knew by Kristin Higgins
Rated R (more graphic, open-door sex scenes; foul language included)
–The Hating Game by Sally Thorne [my review]
–The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren [my review]
–The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren [my review]
IV. Historical Fiction
–The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
–Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate [my review]
–The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
–Stella Bain by Anita Shreve
–The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White [my review]
–All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White [my review]
–Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams [my review]
World War Two Historical Fiction
–The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
–Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosay
–All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
–The Alice Network by Kate Quinn [my review]
–The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris [my review]
–The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer [my review]
V. Psychological Thrillers
–The Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins
–The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond [my review]
–The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
–Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris [my review]
–The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn [my review]
VI. Thriller/Mystery/Suspense
–Defending Jacob by William Landry
–Final Girls by Riley Sager [my review]
–The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney [my review]
–The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides [my review]
–The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine [my review]
–Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney [my review]
–Shiver by Allie Reynolds [my review]
–The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth [my review]
–The Dry by Jane Harper [my review]
–The Survivors by Jane Harper [my review]
–The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth [my review]
–The Last Flight by Julie Clark [my review]
VII. Holiday Reads
–The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox [my review]
–The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer [my review]
–A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh [my review]
–One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan [my review]
–A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan [my review]
VIII. Young Adult
–One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus [my review]
–Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
–Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds [my review]
–Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein
–The Fault in our Stars by John Green
–The War that Saved my Life (#1) [my review], The War I Finally Won (#2) [my review] by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
–The Book Thief by Markus Zusak [my review]
–Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
–Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
–Harry Potter (because it should be on every list)
IX. Nonfiction
Self-Help
–The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin [my review]
–Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin [my review]
–To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma by Molly Millwood [my review]
–How to Not Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn [my review]
–The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile [my review]
–Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne [my review]
Memoirs and Biographies
–Becoming by Michelle Obama [my review]
–Bossypants by Tina Fey
–Open Book by Jessica Simpson [my review]
–Inheritance by Dani Shapiro [my review]
–When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi [my review]
–Know My Name by Chanel Miller [my review]
–Educated by Tara Westover [my review]
–Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [my review]
–Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
–The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
–The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot [my review]
–I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown [my review]
–Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson [my review]
–How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi [my review]
X. Poetry
–What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer [my review]
simplify the chaos 