Big Adventures. Real Life.
MY 5-STAR READS
No matter where I'm headed, you can bet I've packed a book (or two or three). My reading tastes are all over the place, but these are the books that earned five stars from me. Here's hoping you find your next great read!
Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction & Romance | Fantasy, Witches & Magic | Historical Fiction
Nonfiction & True Stories | Sci-Fi, Horror & Dark Reads | Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense
Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction & Romance

One Day in December
Josie Silver
A chance glimpse through a bus window sparks a connection that a young woman cannot forget. Fate brings two people together in unexpected ways over the years that follow.

Black Cake
Charmaine Wilkerson
After their mother dies, two estranged siblings receive an unusual inheritance: a recording of her untold life story and a family recipe. What they learn changes their understanding of who she was.
The Other Side of Now
Paige Harbison
A disillusioned actress travels to Ireland and finds herself in an alternate version of the life she might have lived. There, she gets an unexpected chance to reconnect with a lost friend.

How to Read a Book
Monica Wood
An unlikely friendship connects a young woman leaving prison, a grieving widower, and a bookstore worker. Their intersecting lives become a story of second chances and the comfort of books.

The Correspondent
Virginia Evans
An older woman’s life unfolds through the letters and emails she writes to friends, family, and strangers. Her correspondence reveals a moving story of regret, connection, and the courage to change.

Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt
A widowed aquarium cleaner forms an unlikely bond with a clever giant Pacific octopus. Their connection helps unravel a mystery and opens the door to healing.

Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds
A teenager carrying a gun steps into an elevator, determined to avenge his brother’s death. During the brief ride down, unexpected visitors challenge everything he believes about grief and revenge.

Yours Truly
Abby Jimenez
Two doctors find common ground through letters, unlikely friendship, and a plan to help each other. Their arrangement grows more complicated as real feelings emerge.

The Wedding People
Alison Espach
A woman arrives at a luxury hotel intending to be alone but finds herself swept into someone else’s wedding celebrations. Unexpected connections offer her a new perspective on the life she wants.

The Favorites
Layne Fargo
Two fiercely ambitious figure skaters become partners on and off the ice while chasing Olympic glory. Years later, a documentary revisits their complicated relationship and the truth behind their rise.

Discontent
Beatriz Serrano
A young woman struggles with the absurdities of office culture and the growing sense that her life is going nowhere. Dark humor drives this sharp portrait of modern work and alienation.

Before I Forget
Tory Henwood Hoen
A young woman returns home to care for her father after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As his memory fades, his seemingly prophetic observations force the family to reckon with the past.

Tom Lake
Ann Patchett
During a summer spent picking cherries, three daughters ask their mother to tell them about a romance from her youth. Her story considers first love, family, and the different lives we might have lived.
Fantasy, Witches & Magic

Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros
A young woman enters a brutal military academy where cadets compete to become dragon riders. Survival will require dangerous alliances, hidden strengths, and a willingness to challenge everything she has been taught.

Two Twisted Crowns
Rachel Gillig
The battle to free a cursed kingdom continues as its heroes confront an ancient magic and difficult sacrifices. The conclusion to the duology brings hidden histories and tangled loyalties into focus.

Heartless Hunter
Kristen Ciccarelli
In a world where witches are hunted, a woman secretly rescues them while hiding her own dangerous identity. When she becomes entangled with a witch hunter, their attraction threatens everything she's fighting to protect.

Weyward
Emilia Hart
Three women across five centuries discover their connection through a legacy of witchcraft, nature, and resilience. Their intertwined stories reveal the power of breaking free from expectations and oppression.

One Dark Window
Rachel Gillig
A young woman harboring a dangerous spirit joins a quest to lift the curse suffocating her kingdom. Dark magic and an uneasy alliance lead her deeper into a world of secrets.

Black Woods Blue Sky
Eowyn Ivey
In the Alaskan wilderness, a young mother forms a connection with a mysterious man living far from town. This haunting, fairy-tale-like story explores love, isolation, and the pull of the wild.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V. E. Schwab
A young woman makes a desperate bargain for immortality but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Centuries later, an unexpected encounter with someone who remembers her changes everything.

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
Brom
In colonial Connecticut, a young widow finds herself at odds with her Puritan community and drawn to a mysterious creature lurking in the woods. A dark, atmospheric tale of witchcraft, persecution, and revenge.