I tend to like character-driven, emotional stories, especially about women navigating life changes, relationships, or personal growth. Some books that I’ve enjoyed include The Restoration of Celia Fairchild by Marie Bostwick, Hope on the Inside by Marie Bostwick, Maame by Jessica George, All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin, The Apology Project by Jeannette Escudero, Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank, A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson, Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London, and It’s Elementary by Elise Bryant. These all felt realistic, engaging, and had some kind of emotional payoff or sense of growth.
I’m also open to romance and have enjoyed books like The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and Funny Story by Emily Henry, but I’ve realized romance can sometimes feel a bit stale or overly tropey for me. I usually prefer romance when it’s combined with other themes or part of a larger story.
I enjoy historical fiction when it’s immersive but still character-focused, like The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen, The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan, and Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff.
On the other hand, I don’t really enjoy thrillers anymore. They were fun when I was first getting back into reading, but I’m trying to move away from books that are just entertaining in the moment without much deeper meaning. I also don’t enjoy unsettling reads like The Push by Ashley Audrain and This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkaud, or books with gimmicky plots like In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. Some lighter, cozier, or slower-paced books also didn’t land for me, like The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan, The Banty House by Carolyn Brown, and Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell.
by Affectionate_Wish
2 Comments
I think you would like Too Good to Be True by Nikita Zabzine. It touches on today’s problems of youth unemployment and unreal expectations created by social media. The protagonist is a unemployed guy (Andy) who starts dating a woman (Charlotte) to whom he lies about having a well paying job. He takes loans to create an illusion that he is doing well, but by the she finds out that he is lying to her. It starts off with the male protagonist’s point of view, but it is in third person, so it also describes feelings and thoughts of the female protagonist. It’s good and a short 150 pages 😊
Have you heard of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck? It touches on loss and love, not only love with a romantic partner but also familial as well. I will never stop recommending this book to anyone who’ll listen!