I read more this summer than I have in years, mostly because most of it was spent heavily pregnant. And since then, I’ve been peering into my low-light Kindle on night feeds. So I thought I’d do a bit of a roundup of my favourites.
I should say upfront that I’m an unashamed snob about writing style. I’ll forgive a slow plot, but if the writing makes me wince, I’m out. I’ll usually only pick up a book if it’s got over a four-star average on Goodreads, which is a rule that has saved me from a lot of disappointment.
Some of these I ripped through in a couple of days, and some I carried around for weeks. I love recommending books to my friends and actually keep a note on my phone of every book I’ve read, and I star my favourites.
I’ve also added all of these to my giant book/tv/movie/podcast recs spreadsheet that I made for my maternity leave, which was crowdsourced from over a million people. If you’re ever stuck on what to read next, it’s the best place to start. I’ve linked it at the bottom of this post.
Anyway, here they are, in no particular order.
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Genre: romance, crime, and mystery
This was definitely one of my favourite books I’ve ever read. It’s set in rural Dorset in the 1950s and 60s. It jumps between timelines, and there’s a trial running through the middle of it all. I really lost myself in the world, and it felt like a classic just because of how well written it was. It had a very unpredictable plot and was really heart-wrenching. I bawled my eyes out, so it’s probably not for the faint of heart (and maybe I shouldn’t have read it whilst pregnant).
I really ripped through this one. I always have this preconception that the things I read the fastest are going to be thrillers, but this proved me wrong.
If you loved Heart the Lover or In Memoriam and you’re a big fan of unpredictable plots, then you will love this one!
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Genre: psychological thriller
I had this on my reading list for a really long time before I opened it. It’s a small town story set in Sweden, with an ice hockey plotline. It doesn’t really fit into one of my favourite genres (romance, thriller, or historical fiction) and the premise didn’t really grip me on first look, so I just didn’t pick it up. Anyway, I’m SO glad I finally did. It was incredibly well written.
I thought it would almost be kind of like a coming-of-age drama, but it really surprised me. The plot wasn’t predictable at all. That’s all I’ll say for now!
It almost feels like the prequel to Off Campus. In fact I actually looked up to see if one was based on the other because I was so astounded. So if you’ve read those books, you’ll love this.
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Genre: historical fiction
In Memoriam is set in England during World War I and it’s very “The History Boys”, so private-school-goes-off-to-war type thing.
It’s very, very well written and felt gripping purely because the plot was just great. It has so much depth; you kind of don’t know where things are going, and it was absolutely heartbreaking (and comes with a you-will-cry warning), but I’m so glad I read it, and it’s definitely up there with my favourite books of the year.
If you’ve read Broken Country and loved it, and you’ve had an itch to read something emotional and gripping, I would highly recommend this one.
The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
Genre: thriller
I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I read The Housemaid years ago and thought The Housemaid’s Secret was going to be a continuation of that, so I was pleasantly surprised that it had a whole new setting, storyline and hook, it felt really fresh and wasn’t predictable.
I’ve found that once every few months, I just need to read a thriller, something really easy, to get through to stop me getting into a reading rut, and this fit the brief perfectly. I wish there were more of these types of thrillers that are well written (or at least not so badly written that they make you cringe, sorry, Colleen Hoover).
If you’ve already read this one, I’d also recommend One of the Girls. I read it about four years ago, but it’s another really good thriller if you want something that reads like a drama series. It’s set on a hen do on a Greek island, which is about as holiday-read as it gets.
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
Genre: historical fiction
This was 100% one of my top three books of the year. The plot was so intricate and unexpected. I would really recommend going into the book blind so I’m not going to tell you much. It’s set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, and that’s about as much as I want to give away.
It has some of the best character development I have read in a very long time. It is a 600-page book, so when I picked it up, I was like, “Mm, is just before I give birth the right time to be reading a 600-pager?” But I got so into it that I gobbled it down during my night feeds. It was absolutely amazing and I highly, highly recommend it.
If you like historical fiction, such as Kristin Hannah’s books, you will love this. It’s written by the author who wrote The Help (which is another classic everyone should read in my opinion).
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Genre: non-fiction
I feel like everyone was talking about London Falling this summer, and with good reason!
I was a little apprehensive because I knew it was nonfiction, which I don’t usually find that relaxing or gripping (I tend to listen to nonfiction as an audiobook instead). But I kept hearing about this one and someone said it read like a novel, so I decided to give it a go.
It follows the true story of a teenager who gets embroiled in London’s murky, ultra wealthy underworld, and it really is like watching a true crime doc or podcast. This was 100% one of those books I really got hooked on.
I’ve heard a lot about his other book, Empire of Pain. It’s about the Sackler family and their roles in the Opioid crisis, it’s gone straight to the top of my reading list.
So that’s my summer in books! If I had to pick a top one it would probably be Broken Country, but I’d happily argue for The Calamity Club on a different day.
I’d love to know what you’ve been reading, especially anything I can get through with one hand at 3am. My list for autumn is looking a bit thin, so please leave your recs in the comments and I’ll report back on whichever ones I pick up.
And as promised, I’ve linked my giant recs library below, you just need to subscribe for free (and make sure you’re logged into substack) to get the link.
All you need to do to get access to the spreadsheet is subscribe for free below, and the link will appear in this article!
Have a lovely week!
