Books have given me so much in the last five years. After the 2016 election, they gave me a distraction, a way to feel productive in the midst of chaos. In 2020, they gave me a way to escape our collective troubles. In 2021, after many years of creating online, books gave me the opportunity to work for myself. Books have given me a community, a career, and so much profound joy. I am so lucky to have the life I do, and it’s all thanks to books.

6 STAR BOOKS: JUST THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST + IT’S NOT AN OPINION-BASED THING. THESE BOOKS ARE PERFECTION:

• Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
• What Doesn’t Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness – Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller
• Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
• The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun 

& A FEW PERSONAL FAVORITES:

• One Two Three by Laurie Frankel 
• Reel by Kennedy Ryan
• Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022 release)
• Fake by Erica Katz (2022 release)

OTHER BOOKS I GAVE 5 STARS TO:

• Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
• The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Cordova 
• Float Plan by Trish Doller 
• The Guncle by Steven Rowley 

BOOKS THAT WERE A LITTLE TOO SMART FOR ME:

• This Close to Ok by Leesa Cross Smith
• A Room Called Earth by Madeline Ryan
• The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (love all her others!)
• Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T Lee 

POLARIZING BOOKS I FELL ON THE SIDE OF LOVING:

• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
• Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
• Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

BOOKS Y’ALL LOVED BUT DIDN’T HIT WITH ME:

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
•  The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton (this book was too long! I’m sorry!)
• Body Talk: How to Embrace Your Body and Start Living Your Best Life by Katie Sturino 
• The View was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements
• Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney 
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES THAT MADE ME WANT TO READ AN AUTHOR’S ENTIRE BACKLIST:

• Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King 

I LIKED THE BOOK, HATED THE CHARACTERS:

• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
• Animal by Lisa Taddeo 

THE BEST HISTORICAL FICTION:

• Infinite Country by Patricia Engel 
• Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

A DECENT WW2 BOOK MY GRANDMA GAVE ME:

• The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 

NON-FICTION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE:

• Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
• Burnout by Emily Nagoski 
• The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

NON-FICTION THAT BLEW MY MIND:

• Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
• Vagina Problems by Lara Parker 
• Word Slut by Amanda Montell
• Cultish by Amanda Montell 

NON-FICTION THAT I FORGET EVERYTHING ABOUT:

• Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes by Elizabeth Lesser
• Brag Better: Master the Art of Fearless Self-Promotion by Meredith Fineman
• Wintering by Katherine May 

BOOKS I READ ON IDENTITIES THAT ARE NOT MY OWN THAT I REALLY ENJOYED:

• Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
• Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes From a Trap Feminist by Sesali Bowen 

I READ MY FIRST GRAPHIC NOVEL & LOVED IT:

• Sunstone by Stjepan Sejić

CELEB MEMOIRS THAT I FULLY STAN:

• Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C Ford
• The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza 
• You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union 

CELEB MEMOIRS THAT I ENJOYED:

• One Life by Megan Rapinoe 
• Please Don’t Sit on my Bed in Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson

MEMOIRS THAT I ENJOYED BUT WAS TOO LATE TO ENJOY THE PARTY FULLY:

• Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
• This Will be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins
•  Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms by Shellye Archambeau (very corporate, couldn’t relate!)

NON-CELEB MEMOIRS I FUCKING LOVED:

• Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously by Jessica Pan
• The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell 

OTHER GOOD MEMOIRS:

• Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
• From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke

A MEMOIR IN WHICH PRIVILEGE WAS TOTALLY OVERLOOKED AND IT RUINED THE WHOLE BOOK FOR ME BUT I’M HAPPY YOU LIKED IT!

• Live Your Life by Amanda Kloots 

THE BEST IN YOUNG ADULT:

• Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 
• Yolk by Mary HK Choi 
• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Abíké-Íyímídé

OTHER REALLY GOOD YA:

• Cool For The Summer by Dahlia Adler 
• The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons 
• Anna K Away by Jenny Lee
• If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales
• Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
• Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
• It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
• Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins
• Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus
• The Cousins by Karen McManus
• You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen McManus 

JUST ALIGHT YA IF I’M BEING HONEST:

• Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
• Camp by Lev Rosen (not my fav, good for a teen boy!)

A BOOK I LOVED SO MUCH WHY DID THE AUTHOR HAVE TO GO AND SAY OFFENSIVE SHIT 🙁

• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ROMANCES:

• Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
• The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
• Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert 
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
• Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters 
• The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams 
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
• Grip by Kennedy Ryan 
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry (2022 release) 

HOT AND STEAMY BOOKS I RECOMMEND:

• American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera 
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang 
• Neon Gods by Katee Robert
• One Week to Claim it All by Adriana Herrera 
• Him by Elle Kennedy  
• A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria 
• Hook Line & Sinker by Tessa Bailey
• The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert (DON’T LISTEN ON AUDIO)
• Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey 
• Every New Year by Katrina Jackson 
• American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera 

ROMANCES WITH ZERO STEAM I STILL LOVED:

• First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
• Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
• If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy  
• The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer 

SUPER SOLID REALLY GREAT ROMANCE:

• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
• Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur 
• Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall 
• Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez 
• Isn’t it Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (2022) 
• The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese 
• Always Only You by Chloe Liese (Bergman Brothers 2)

ROMANCES I THOUGHT WERE GOOD:

• The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon 
• An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole 
• Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
• Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren
• Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian
• While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory
• Island Affair by Patricia Oliveras 
• The Spy in 3B by Nana Malone
• His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto 
• Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur 
• Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy (2022)
• The Dating Plan by Sara Desai 
• Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese (Bergman Brothers 1)
• Just For the Holidays by Adriana Herrera 

I BECAME ADDICTED AND READ ALEXA MARTIN’S ENTIRE BACKLIST:

• Intercepted by Alexa Martin
• Fumbled by Alexa Martin
• Blitzed by Alexa Martin
• Snapped by Alexa Martin
• Mom Jeans & Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin

ROMANCES THAT LET ME DOWN:

• Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James (I read for research!)
• The Simple Wild by KA Tucker (sorry I effing hate your man!!!)
• Haven by Rebekah Weatherspoon (this is on me for being a prude)
• The Marriage Game by Sara Desai (unforgivable love interest)
• Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren 
• Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne 
• My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren
• Love at First by Kate Clayborn 
• The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
• Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey  
• Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper 

BOOKS I LIKED THAT ARE DECIDEDLY NOT ROMANCE BUT MARKETED AS SUCH:

• Just Last Night by Mhari McFarlane
• In Five Years by Rebecca Serle 
• The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
• The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang 
• Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (2022)

NOT A BIG THRILLER GIRL, NOT SURE IF THIS EVEN COUNTS AS A THRILLER BUT I LOVED:

•  The Boys Club by Erica Katz

THRILLERS THAT WERE WHATEVER:

•  The Siren by Katherine St John 
• The Husbands by Chandler Baker

BOOKS I REALLY ENJOYED BUT ALSO ????

• Fierce Femmes and Notoriois Liars by Kai Cheng Thom
• Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Sutanto 
• Cackle by Rachel Harrison 

BOOKS I’M STILL READING: 

• Amor Actually: A super sexy anthology written by all of our favorite latinx romance authors such as Adriana Herrera, Alexis Daria and Pricilla Oliveras 
• The Sentence by Louise Eldrich: Literary fiction by a Pulitzer Prize winning author about a menacing ghost, a complicated marriage and more.