5 Fiction Books I Highly Recommend
Friday Favorites
JUNE 2020
Hi friends!! It’s been a while since I’ve had a “Friday Favorites” segment on the blog! These posts happen once a month (first Friday of each month although this is the first month I’m jumping back into this type of post in a while) and they’re a place for me to gush about some favorites: whatever that might look like! This month, I’m channeling my inner bookworm to bring you some reading suggestions!
One of my besties reached out last weekend needing some recommendations for good beach reads. I had SO MUCH to say. Which got me thinking, I should totally write a blog about the books I’ve recently enjoyed.
So let’s get started! To help me narrow down this list, I’ve decided to focus on FICTION today! (If you enjoy this post, let me know and maybe I can continue with nonfiction in one of the months ahead!)
The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
Published by Knopf Publishing Group
I bought this book as a beach read last summer and read it in paperback. As someone who briefly lived in D.C. (for an internship on Capitol Hill in college), I loved this politics-inspired rom-com! Having had a glimpse into the world of politics, this was a page turner for me. I have to admit, I honestly wasn’t going to buy this book because I had read Girls in White Dresses (a little ironic because I read it the summer I lived in D.C.) and hated it... Rarely do I straight up hate a book in this genre but I did not enjoy Girls in White Dresses. Maybe it wasn’t relatable at the time? Idk. But the reason I ended up selecting this book was because 1) I loved the synopsis and 2) the artwork… Seriously, LOL - guilty for judging a book by its cover! This book is a fun easy read for anyone interested in the D.C. political scene but whom also adores chick-lit. The author humorously captures the essence of D.C. life for young professionals. It’s the fun of a rom-com with relatable tough relationship / career / friendship juiciness. I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. You can buy it here.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published by Ballantine Books
This was such a fun book! I borrowed this as an audiobook on the library app and kept finding things to do to allow me more time to listen. I finished it in 4 days! I loved listening to this book as an audiobook because it is written from many characters’ perspectives and to stay on top of what was happening, it was great to HEAR the different voices and made it easy to follow. It’s the kind of fiction book that makes you question several times while reading/listening if it is actually nonfiction. This author is very talented and I commend her for taking on such an interesting story format! The story replays what happened to a late-seventies rock band that fell apart suddenly (from the eyes of the public) in a documentary/oral history style. It is said to be loosely based on the stories of a number of actual rock bands of that time. I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. You can buy it at here.
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Published by Simon Pulse
This was fun, heartwarming easy read that I picked for a cruise last fall. I almost didn’t buy this book because it was in the young adult section at Barnes & Noble and I thought it’d be juvenile but it was perfect for a relaxing beach/vacation read! The story is about a teen girl’s adventure in Italy after losing her mother. It’s got adorable puppy love, delectable details of Italy and wholesome goodness!! I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. You can buy it here.
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Published by Ballantine Books
Ahhh ladies, this book!! It is like a cozy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy Saturday! This was the first audiobook I think I listened to on the library app and it was basically a hallmark movie, just not totally cheesy. I want this book to be a movie SO BAD!!! It’s that kind of book. A tale of inseparable besties, love, heartbreak, and what happens in friendships/relationships over the span of a decade. I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. You can buy it here.
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Published by Random House
Where to begin? I love love, I love a little history, a little politics... For a woman who read a gazillion Meg Cabot Princess Diaries books in her early teen years, I eat this stuff up!! This book is basically the chicklit story of what America would be like if there was a royal family instead of a president. The girl boss vibes, the royal sibling dynamics, the love story... It is what my almost 30 year-old princess-love-story-loving dreams are made of!! LOL. Seriously, sooo good. And a sequel is set to hit book stores later this year!! So read up! I can hardly stand the wait!!! I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. You can buy it paper back here or hardcover here. (I don’t know why the paperback link doesn’t have an image…)