The perfect page-turners, whether you’re traveling or snuggled up at home.
To anyone who says they don’t like reading, I say you haven’t found the right book. Curling up in a cozy lamp-lit corner with a good novel is like a steaming mug of tea on a rainy day. There’s nothing quite like reading a physical book, getting lost in words across the page.
Traveling is often when I read the most, and an airport terminal and planes are some of the few moments of undisrupted bliss while waiting. As a reading advocate, it only feels right to share the books I’ve loved in the past month. Hopefully, this will give a few people their next favorite page-turner or inspire some to start reading again.
People We Meet on Vacation – Emily Henry
After reading her first bestseller Beach Read, this was the natural latter. I was apprehensive, given the success of her first book. We all know sequels usually disappoint, but this was one of the few exceptions.
This slow-burn romance is everything you want in a traditional romantic novel. It’s passionate, infuriating, funny, and completely addicting. People We Meet on Vacation centers around Alex who is shy and strained while Poppy is wild and bold. Somehow, they are best friends and take one summer trip every year. Until two years ago when everything went up in flames. Poppy had one last chance to fix what’s been broken.
From the perspective of Poppy, this story jumps from past to present, revealing the complicated reality of friendship, love, growing older, and losing yourself. It’s an authentic story that leaves every reader wanting more. If you love romance, this is your book.
Educated – Tara Westover
This breathtaking memoir from American writer, Tara Westover, is a book of self-discovery, education, and familial struggles. Westover reveals her strict Mormon upbringing with a father who forbade hospitals and the formal education system. Her childhood stories are jaw-dropping accounts that seem too outrageous to be true.
Westover’s journey from stepping into a classroom for the first time at 17 to attending Harvard and Cambridge is shocking, beautiful, and heartbreaking. As a re-invented woman, we get to see Westover’s new gaze on her childhood and the struggle to leave everything she once knew behind. I’ve only read a few memoirs, but this one continues to stick with me. Everyone should read this book.
The Alice Network – Kate Quinn
A historical novel over the course of two world wars, from the perspective of two fiercely independent women and one secret female spy network. What more could you ask for?
In 1915, during the Great War, Eve Gardiner was a nobody with a stutter until fate gave her the chance to become a spy and fight against the Germans. Eve is sent to enemy-occupied France to go undercover. She’s trained by Lilli, code name “Alice,” who runs the all-female spy network for the British.
In 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, Charlie is pregnant, about to be isolated by her rich, proper American family, and mourning the disappearance of her French cousin, Rose. Desperate to find her beloved cousin, Charlie escapes to London to discover what happened. Her only lead brings her to Eve.
Read as Eve and Charlie’s stories, from two wars, weave together into one unexpected ending.
You will become more invested with every page turn. Quinn’s precision to detail and beautiful writing made this story addicting to read.
Every Last Secret – A.R. Torre
Most of the books on this list were found online or recommended to me. But this novel was an unexpected, hidden gem that I just happened to pick up.
Cat Winthrope has the perfect life; a gorgeous mansion, elite social status, and her insanely handsome, wealthy husband, William. Meanwhile Neena – a life coach with baggage and without enough money along with an unsatisfied marriage – does not.
When new neighbors move across the street, Cat welcomes them with open arms. When Neena comes to the new neighborhood, she meets Cat and sees everything she wants, especially her husband.
Cat is determined to keep her perfect life. Neena is determined to steal it. How far will each woman go to get what they want in a mix of romance, envy, desperation, and secrets?
Verity – Colleen Hoover
I’m usually one to guess endings. It’s a fatal flaw. But this book kept me guessing until the very last chapter. Verity is a thrilling novel that will keep you asking questions, I can’t remember the last time I read a story like this.
When Jeremey Crawford asks Lowen, an introverted writer, to complete his ill wife’s ultra-successful book series, it’s the offer of a lifetime. At the Crawfords’, Lowen arrives, already uneasy about the task ahead.
It’s not till she stumbles upon the unfinished manuscript that her anxiety overcomes her. Reading through it, Lowen begins to question everything. What really happened to the dead Crawford daughters? Is Verity actually sick? And why the hell is Jeremy so sexy?
This psychological thriller is not a book to read in bed unless you’re planning on staying up all night.
