My friends and I have recently started a book club, because a few of my friends have got back into reading and have found some books they really enjoy. I am over the moon, however the books are all smut. And while I'm down for a bit of smut (I recommended the books that got them reading!), I would love to suggest something less smut focused.
The group has enjoyed ACOTAR/Throne of Glass, Dark Olympus by Katee Robert, Haunting Adeline etc.
What would you suggest as books for newer readers with less spice/smut and more plot?
Thanks!
by princesswings
8 Comments
Gate to Women’s Country by Sherri S Tepper. This book had the liveliest discussion of any book club I’ve been part of in a quarter century.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevins
The red queen series by Victoria Aveyard is also fun if y’all enjoyed ACOTAR but would like less smut. I also recommend the saints of steel series by T. Kingfisher which are light romances with very little smut and low stakes plots. They have a thread going through them but each one is a standalone story (no cliffhangers)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
The Wool series by Hugh Howey
*Yumi and the Nightmare Painter* is mildly horny but also just extremely good.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah really puts you through the emotional wringer! It’s about a girls growth after her family moves to rural Alaska after the Vietnam War. Shows the importance of inner strength and community as she navigates harsh conditions and a complicated family dynamic.
Carrie Soto is Back and Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid are both great. The first about a tennis stars comeback, and the second writer like a band documentary covering a famous fictional band from the 70s.
This is a romance with a little spice (so smut adjacent 😆) but for whatever reason The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston really stuck with me. It’s got some themes of grief and personal growth, but also just a really sweet genuine and authentic love story.
I would suggest a page-turning thriller/mystery type. The Push by Ashley Audrain was great, as was Cross My Heart by Megan Collins. Or anything by Lisa Jewell.
If you want something smarter, but still a page-turning, I highly recommend And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott. Lots to discuss in there.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. This is just an amazing story and so well written.
Oh! A book that has sex, but a fascinating, critical take on it, is Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. I would have absolutely loved a book club to discuss this book with lol.