Another quarter gone by where I told myself I’d write this recap at the end of each month and surely did not. So here we go! I’ve been on a run of great reads lately. Please reply with what you’ve liked recently — and let me know if I need to read Wuthering Heights before the movie comes out.

Books I read in Q3

Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What can I say? When Emily Henry hits, she hits. This time we’ve got a two writers in competition-style meet cute entwined with a complicated family saga. There’s romance, there’s introspection, there are some fun twists. S’cute!

The Wedding People - Allison Espach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A woman checks into a fancy Rhode Island hotel with the intent to kill herself, only to be confronted by a bride who refuses to let this depressed stranger ruin her wedding week. It’s darkly funny, but also quite poignant — like nothing I’ve read before.

Husbands And Lovers - Beatriz Williams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here’s another contender for one of my favorites of the year. It straddles modern women’s and historical fiction with a tightly woven split narrative. Usually in this style of storytelling, I find one story or POV more compelling than the other and I’m simply trudging through the later in order to get back to the former. Husbands And Lovers avoids that trap wonderfully and had me hooked from the beginning.

Deep End - Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not my favorite from Ali Hazelwood. The premise — two collegiate swimmers get set up by an ex because they have similar sexual preferences — was too much of a stretch for me.

The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley ⭐️⭐️

Honestly I’m surprised I finished this book. While the first third is adequately tense, it gets muddled in the middle. I put it down so many times that I had a hard time going back to it. I'm glad I muscled through however because it delivers a solid payoff. I can see this easily becoming a nondescript Netflix thriller.

First Time Caller - B.K. Borison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Think Sleepless in Seattle but for a single mom and a radio host. This one was sweet. I want to curl up on a fall day with a hot mug and fall in love with Aiden and Lucie all over again.

One Golden Summer - Carley Fortune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another cute summer romance. Enjoyable, quick read that I will probably confuse with another beach read in two months.

Atmosphere - Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The space metaphors don’t feel contrived in the latest from TJR. It’s a lovely portrait of one of the first female astronauts finding her place in the world. This one was hit all the right notes — real and raw but also sweetly optimistic. Would recommend.