This was a good month of reading. Consistent with my strategy of staying in and hibernating, I managed to read 10 books. Of those, my favorites were Katie’s book (I am calling it now: this will be summer’s big beach read!) and the two audiobooks I listened to. Didion & Babitz and The Let Them Theory are both everywhere right now, but sometimes things are everywhere because they’re really good! Both lived up to the hype. Besides those, I also really loved The Three Lives of Kate Cay (this has minor Evelyn Hugo vibes, plus a Charlesotn tie-in; my mom loved it too!), and The Hop–a reader told me it was her favorite book of the year. I really enjoyed it.
PS – This is your standard reminder that The Library has every book I’ve read in the past ten+ years, categorized by genre and “grade,” so that you can sort and filter and find your perfect book. More importantly, please tell me what you are reading right now and what you loved this month. I really value your reading recs!
Thrillers
What Have You Done?, by Shari Lapena
This was a fun read, and I loved how it was structured (multiple characters’ perspectives, perfectly paced, told via different styles, journal entries, etc.). Nothing bad ever happens in Fairhill, VT. It’s a sleepy little town where its residents rarely lock their doors. The teenagers hang out in the graveyard, telling ghost stories. Honestly, the town felt set back in time from another era. A safe, idyllic place where the teens can roam free and their parents trust them to get home safely. Everyone knows everyone — or at least, they think they do. Everything changes when beautiful, popular Diana Brewer is discovered dead in a hayfield. The scene is gruesome: she’s circled by vultures, her insides ripped out. Who could have done this? Suddenly, this friendly and safe, sleepy little town becomes a town of suspects. Was it Diana’s boyfriend? Her track coach? Her best friend? Who could have done this? It moves very quickly with tons of twists and turns. A fun, “read-it-in-a-day” thriller! Overall Score: B+ // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Beautiful Ugly, by Alice Feeney
This was really good! I read it in under 24 hours. I found the plot really engaging. It kept me on my toes, and the twist really got me; I did not see the ending coming. Author Grady Green has the ultimate high and ultimate low happen all on the same day. He’s just found out that his novel has become a New York Times best-seller. But on that same day, his wife disappears. They are on the phone while Abby is driving home when she sees a woman lying on the road. Abby gets out of the car to help the woman, and that’s when she disappears into thin air. When Grady visits the scene, her car is by the edge of the cliff, the headlights are on, the door is open, her phone and purse are still inside (along with the takeout they’d planned to enjoy together). A year later, Abby is still missing, and Grady is overcome with grief. He’s desperate to know what happened to his wife. Meanwhile, he can’t sleep, and he can’t write. His life is falling apart. His agent offers up her house on a tiny Scottish Island to help him write. But then, the impossible happens. He encounters a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. What comes next is unforgettable. I still can’t stop thinking about it! Overall Score: A- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Sweet Fury, by Sash Bischoff
This is a twisty thriller that I tore through — I had to know what happened. There are trigger warnings for abusive relationships and sexual assault. Lila Crayne is America’s sweetheart: a beautiful, successful actress, engaged to visionary filmmaker Kurt Royal. They live together in a beautiful West Village apartment and are beginning filming for a feminist reboot of Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Lila enlists the help of an accomplished therapist, Jonah Gabriel. She wants to dig into her own childhood trauma as she prepares for this role. But soon, her life begins to unravel, and it seems that Jonah is the man to help her. Questions circulate around Lila and Kurt’s relationship. Are they the perfect couple, or is something darker at play. Is Lila safe? Things happen on set that don’t seem quite right. And no one is who they say they are. I felt myself unable to trust anyone (it alternates between Jonah’s journal entries and the perspectives of Jonah and Lila). It’s very twisty, very feminist, and an examination of misogyny within Hollywood’s film industry. I couldn’t put it down. Overall Score: A- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
I Want You More, by Swan Huntley
I feel a little bit conflicted here. I did not like this book. Still, I tore through it! I disliked both characters (which was probably the point, but it didn’t make for an enjoyable read). I loved the premise: a young woman, fresh off the loss of her father, accepts a ghostwriting gig in the Hamptons. Zara is a talented ghostwriter, but a little bit lost . . . it seems her big dreams are fading, and she worries she’ll always be a ghostwriter and never write her own book. Jane Bailey is a celebrity chef with killer personal style. Her show is a hit and she’s gotten rich sharing meals you can make for under $30. When Jane invites Zara to stay with her in her beautiful Hamptons home, Zara isn’t so sure at first. But when Jane insists, Zara accepts. Soon, she is swept into Jane’s glamorous world. She starts speaking like Jane. Wearing her clothes. The same soap. The same workouts. Are they becoming the same person? The book is twisty and makes for a great exploration on the dangers of obsession and what fame can do to a person. But I did not enjoy it. Both characters were deeply unlikeable to me and the final few chapters went a little too far off the rails for me. But did I stay up all night to finish it? Yes. So there is that! Overall Score: B- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Non-Fiction
Didion & Babitz, by Lili Anolik
This is such a fun and juicy read. I listened on Audible and would recommend that, as Emma Roberts reads several of the letters. I went into it knowing a decent amount about Joan Didion (if she can even really be known), and very little about Eve Babitz. This is the story of their rivalry (if it can even be called that) and the parallels in their lives. Eve died in 2021 in a filthy apartment. Inside of her apartment was a stack of boxes, pristinely sealed. And inside? A lost world. Letters unsent, from Eve to Joan. Letters that take us back to the late sixties and seventies to the Franklin Avenue scene where writers and artists mixed with movie stars and musicians. It feels like these two women were almost inverses of each other. Joan: mysterious and cool (and ultra-successful); Eve: messy, sexy, wild. The goddaughter of Stravinsky who posed nude playing chess with Marcel Duchamp, who dated Jim Morrison (among many other men). I loved learning their stories (and all of the juicy gossip). I gobbled it up and wanted more. Highly recommend! Overall Score: A- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
The Let Them Theory, by Mel Robbins
I love this book. After listening, I feel like such a Mel Robbins evangelist. I’m sorry, I don’t want to be that annoying person. But I think this book will help everyone. Especially eldest daughters who want to control everything. Or someone who maybe needs better boundaries. Or people (me!) who sometimes find themselves annoyed by the smallest things. It’s really just a great listen and such a helpful theory. What the “Let Them Theory” is is what it sounds like. Learning to let people do what they want to do and managing the most important thing: what you do and how you react. This book tackles a range of different scenarios, from work to romance and beyond, with plenty of anecdotes and stories from Robbins’ life. I cannot recommend it enough. It really is life-changing, in my opinion. Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Literary Fiction
Don’t Be a Stranger, by Susan Minot
I ultimately loved this book, but it frustrated me (the author’s intention, I am sure!). Ivy is a 52 year old single mother. (Her son is around 9 or 10 when the book opens). When she meets Ansel Fleming at a dinner party, their chemistry is instant. Ansel has his own demons. Besides being twenty years younger than her, he spent seven years in prison for a minor drug charge. As he finally has his freedom, he has no intent of settling down or being with just one person. But Ivy cannot get him out of her head. He becomes an obsession. She cannot focus. She continually compromises, accepting what little he can give her. Meanwhile, she’s managing co-parenting with her ex, teaching, and writing. It’s brutal to read. You want to reach into the book and shake her, tell her, “you can do better!” And that is probably what makes the book so good but also so frustrating. We’ve all been her at some point. Or we have that friend. It’s hard to read at times, completely gripping, and beautifully written (seriously: the writing is beguiling). But also, you’ll want to throw the book at the wall. At least, I did! Overall Score: A- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Contemporary Fiction
The Three Lives of Cate Kay, by Kate Fagan
I absolutely loved this. It has Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, in a more modern sort of way. The book opens with Cate Kay, a famous but totally anonymous author (I thought of someone like J.K. Rowling with the Harry Potter books), sitting down to write her memoirs. She is finally revealing her true identity, but to do that, she has to go back to her childhood when she was Ann Marie, then Annie. And then Cass. The book opens with Annie growing up in a poor town near Lake George. Her mother is absent, and she has a hard life–fending for herself, but what saves her is her friendship with Amanda. The girls’ love for each other (best, best friends) is magic. They dream of running away together to Los Angeles to become movie stars. But when something unthinkable happens (just as the girls are about to leave), Annie bolts, all on her own. She becomes Cass. Her real identity is her most closely guarded secret. Now, in the modern-day, Cate is successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. She’s also very alone. When Ryan (the actress set to play the lead in the film adaptation of her book) insists on meeting her, all of that might change. I couldn’t put this down. I rooted for the characters. I really loved it and loved how it came together in the end. Overall Score: A // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
Sunny Side Up, by Katie Sturino (out 6/24/25)
When I tell you I loved every page of this book, I LOVED it. This was pure fun to read! Pre-order this now; you are in for a treat (it comes out in June). It’s the perfect NYC story (it made me very nostalgic) and will make for a really fun beach read this summer! It’s steamy, fun to read, and has a killer ending. Our protagonist, Sunny Green, is killing it. A gorgeous Chelsea apartment (and her two dogs), great friends . . . running her own PR firm with a successful newsletter to boot. Newly divorced and getting back on the dating scene, she has to choose between the postman who feels like her best friend and the older “silver fox” investor who wants to make her dreams come true. Meanwhile, she’s navigating confidence issues after a rough divorce (I wanted to reach through the pages and punch her ex!), launching a size-inclusive swimwear line while keeping her business + newsletter running. Sunny is a character you really root for, and I love that the book has so many parallels to Katie’s own life (her dogs, her Liberty of London desk, the Veronica Beard blazers and personal style . . . etc.!). Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
The Hop, by Diana Clarke
Kate Burns has sex work in her DNA. From an early age, growing up poor with her mother’s “manfriends” visiting the house (she later learns they were paying clients), to forming “The Sugar Club” with her best friend Lacey, where they give kissing lessons, flirting and touching tips, and sometimes more to the boys and girls at school. The young women go on to strip at a local club. But when Kate’s mother passes away, Kate feels she has no choice but to leave town. She picks up her few belongings and moves halfway around the world, landing at The Hop, a legal brothel. It is there that she meets a wonderfully diverse cast of characters: Daddy, the handsome owner of the brothel . . . and a group of “bunnies,” her fellow sex workers. It is at The Hop that she becomes Lady Lane, and eventually catapulting to fame. There’s a darker side to all of this, of course. Charming as he is, Daddy is a businessman first. And as prostitutes on the Las Vegas strip go missing and wind up dead, the bunnies must bond together . . . a sisterhood of sorts. This is a fun read, it’s heartwarming, sad at times, it’s smart and feminist. I absolutely loved it and thought that the characters were so well-developed! Overall Score: A // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org
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