Books we love (and own)
In honor of Valentine’s day, we put together a few leisure reading recommendations.
If you’re looking for a love story…
If you enjoyed Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this book is worth checking out. In this modern day retelling of the classic tale, Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties, Jane is a yoga instructor, Mary is working on her third master’s degree, Kitty and Lydia are too busy with crossfit to get jobs and Mrs. Bennet has only one thing on her mind: How to marry off her daughters. Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . . And yet, first impressions can be deceiving
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
After Big Little Lies hit HBO last year, we’ve had our eye on Liane Moriarty. In the Husband’s Secret, Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.
If you haven’t read or seen the movie for Me Before You yet we highly recommend checking it out (and skipping over the rest of this recommendation to avoid spoilers). After You picks up where Me Before You left off, with Lou trying to pick up the pieces after Will’s death. After an accident that leaves her in rough shape, Lou finds herself joining a Moving On support group that takes place in a church basement. The members lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future.
If you’re not looking for a love story…
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
So you’ve read Harry Potter and you’re obsessed with wizards… give this book a try. When a dying wizard tries to pass on his powers to an eighth son of an eighth son, who is just at that moment being born, he discovers a moment too late that the son is actually a daughter. Now the young girl is forced to penetrate the inner sanctum of the Unseen University–and attempt to save the world with one well-placed kick in some enchanted shins!
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
If you’re looking for an adventure story filled with puzzles and pop culture, this may be the book for you. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
Four Blind Mice by James Patterson
Looking for a good detective novel? Detective Alex Cross is on his way to resign from the Washington, D.C., Police Force when his partner shows up at his door with a case he can’t refuse. One of John Sampson’s oldest friends, from their days in Vietnam, has been arrested for murder. Worse yet, he is subject to the iron hand of the United States Army. The evidence against him is strong enough to send him to the gas chamber but Sampson is certain his friend has been framed.