If you’ve been stuck with BookTok recommendations, here are 5 books to add to your TBR!
Despite Colleen Hoover’s wild success on BookTok and her talent in making her readers feel a wide range of emotions, there are actually more books out there than It Ends With Us or Verity. I’m not one to deny myself the joy of a guilty pleasure read like one of these books, but if you are looking to branch out and try some new authors, or even new genres, this article is for you! So here are five book recommendations that you *NEED* to add to your TBR list immediately!
1. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
You may have heard of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by the same author, but Daisy Jones and the Six takes a whole new spin on the idea of historical fiction. The story follows a fictional 1970s rock ‘n’ roll band in all its glory. From their rise to their fall, the story is told in interview-style, almost tricking the reader into thinking that it may be true. The story is intoxicating, iconic and unforgettable. The moment I finished it, I had an urge to start it all over again. Bonus: the book is being turned into a TV show produced by none other than Reese Witherspoon!
2. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Inheritance Games is a Knives Out, murder mystery-style book sure to grab your attention. It follows Avery Grambs, a high school student who is suddenly left the fortune of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. The catch is that she has no idea who he is. Not only that, but as a condition of accepting the inheritance, she must move into the Hawthorne House where Tobias’ dispossessed family is presently residing, and a mystery is at foot. The book is such a fun read, taking you through twists and turns the whole way through. You’ll fly through it trying to solve the puzzle and make it to the end.
3. Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Funny You Should Ask was my favorite read of the summer, for the pure and perfect fluffy romance it provided. It was everything you could ever want the ideal beach read to be. The story flips back and forth throughout time. Then: the first-time budding journalist Chani Horowitz interviews up-and-coming movie star Gabe Parker for a profile piece. They hit it off and end up spending a whole weekend together which is later documented in Chani’s hit piece that makes her famous. Now: 10 years later, after various divorces, rehab stays and therapy, the two meet again to recreate the profile piece that started it all. Flipping between these time periods really built the anticipation to figure out what was happening on either side of the story making the book incredibly hard to put down!
4. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
The Grace Year is a story in which the girls in a rural village are told they have the ability to seduce and lure in men. Because of this horrifying ability, the girls are banished for their “grace year” when they turn 16 to release this power back into nature and become pure for marriage. Despite this tale told through the town, 16-year-old Tierney James wishes for a better life where this patriarchal idea is not the center of their livelihood. When she finally embarks on her “grace year,” nothing is as it seems. This book is an incredible dystopian fantasy story and is reminiscent of stories like Divergent and The Hunger Games. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that makes you unable to stop turning the pages. The story and the themes it explores lasted with me long after I finished the final page. Bonus: It is becoming a movie produced by Elizabeth Banks (a.k.a. Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games).
5. Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Another one of my favorite reads this year, Olga Dies Dreaming is a contemporary fiction novel following a family of Puerto Rican immigrants paving their way through New York City. Prieto Acevedo is a popular congressman who represents his Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn while his sister Olga is a wedding planner for the richest of the rich. Despite their seemingly perfect lives, behind the scenes Olga is struggling with her own love life and ambitions, and Prieto is also struggling with his political path. Not only that, but Olga and Prieto’s mother who abandoned them when they were young is the figurehead for a radical Puerto Rican group seeking political justice. The story confronts the idea of the American dream, family dilemmas, political corruption, and more. Overall, the book is so full of heart and passion, and I’m convinced that everyone needs to read it.
Hopefully one of these five books (or all of them) has sparked your interest! Each of them was such a fun read for me throughout the year and really got me back into the process of reading even when I thought I was in a slump. Maybe they can do the same for you too, or they can provide an alternative to the same few books we’ve all been seeing on our For You Pages lately!