The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
293 Pages, Published In 2023
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The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is a delightful second book in the Maid series, just as captivating as the first, The Maid. Told from the perspective of Molly, the neurodivergent head maid, the novel features beautiful, precise writing and an intriguing plot that keeps the mystery unsolved until the very end. When a famous writer is murdered at the hotel, Molly’s keen eye and ear for detail helps unravel the crime. Molly’s unique perspective make her an endearing and memorable protagonist.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
385 Pages, Published In 2022
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Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson tells the story of two siblings uncovering their mother’s past and their Caribbean roots after her death, guided by a recording and a black cake left as inheritance. The novel weaves an intriguing plot with rich history and a compelling family saga, though the second half drags slightly.
The Joy of Connections by Dr. Ruth Westheimer
176 Pages, Published In 2024
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The Joy of Connections by Dr. Ruth, the renowned sex therapist, offers 100 practical tips for creating and deepening meaningful connections, addressing the epidemic of loneliness in our era. Organized into five sections—self, family, friends and lovers, community, and technology—the book reminds us that ‘Connection is not a luxury—it is essential to our well-being.’
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
253 Pages, Published In 1890
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Set in late 19th-century Victorian London, Oscar Wilde’s classic presents an intriguing premise—an aristocrat who retains his youth by transferring aging to a portrait—and unfolds through dramatic turns that are deeply philosophical in their examination of life, beauty, and morality. The novel probes consciousness as the inescapable awareness of one’s wrongdoing, revealing how corruption permanently marks the soul even when it remains hidden. The stark, dramatic ending leaves much unsaid.
Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury
480 Pages, Published In 2024
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A compelling biography of Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American actress to rise to Hollywood stardom. Born in 1905 in LA to Chinese immigrants, Wong battled racism and anti-miscegenation while navigating Hollywood, working across film, radio, and TV, and achieving international fame in Europe and Asia. Embracing her Chinese heritage as a modern American woman, talented, resilient, and far ahead of her time, at great personal cost, she paved the way for future Asian American performers.
A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber
272 Pages, Published In 2025
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A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber is a cozy, warm 272-page holiday read about a group of strangers stranded on a ferry to Seattle for hours on Christmas Day. What begins as ruined plans and shared frustration slowly turns into unexpected connections and small Christmas miracles. Comforting and easy to read, the story delivers exactly the seasonal warmth you’d expect—though its feel-good turns are largely predictable.
The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
320 Pages, Published In 2025
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A chilling memoir set in the age of social media that exposes the hidden trauma of a family of six raised under constant mental and emotional abuse by a controlling mother and her trusted relationship coach. Behind the viral 8 Passengers family YouTube vlog—which reached 2.5 million subscribers by 2020—the eldest daughter recounts a childhood shaped by fear, manipulation, and silence. The narrative culminates in the 2023 arrests of the two women and the shutdown of the viral channel.
You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren
171 Pages, Published In 2020
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The book proves you don’t need a gym or endless hours to achieve elite shape. The author, a former trainer for U.S. Special Operations forces, translates his military-proven method into a practical fitness guide for everyone. The core idea is to leverage your own body weight for effective training—anywhere, anytime. Building lean muscle is crucial to keep fat and weight in check. Workouts are organized into four movement categories—Push, Pull, Legs, and Core—to ensure a balanced approach.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
352 Pages, Published In 2025
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Atmosphere follows the first female astronauts at NASA in the 1980s, weaving a love story through the high-pressure world of early spaceflight. For a 352-page novel, it feels a bit too ambitious—taking on heavy issues such as gender inequality, sexuality, parenting, loss, life meaning, and NASA politics and bureaucracy all at once. Loved the plot structure, told through two alternating timelines, with a shocking opening and an excellent ending. The middle, however, is more predictable.
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
560 Pages, Published In 1983
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A young family moves from Chicago to a small town in Maine, settling into a home shadowed by a small cemetery on the hill behind it—where generations of locals have buried their beloved pets. The town and its burial ground carry a long, unsettling history, gradually tightening its grip on the family. Fast-paced. Action-packed. An ending leaving readers to extend the horror in their own minds. Dark. Horrific. Dramatic. “Sometimes, dead is better.” And it proves true. One of King’s scariest!
Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville
720 Pages, Published In 1851
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Moby Dick (1851) is an ageless classic about the relentless hunt for the elusive white whale. At 751 pages, it reads like an encyclopedia of whales: types of whales, the history of whaling, whale anatomy from jaw to sprout hole to tail, plus the laws and lore of the whaling world. The middle section moves slowly, but the action picks up toward the end, and the finale is unexpected and dramatic. It’s a novel of brutality and beauty, of obsession and the sheer tenacity of its characters.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
184 Pages, Published In 1995
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I Who Have Never Known Men is a short, haunting dystopian novel built on a chilling premise: one child and 39 women escape a mysterious underground cell and struggle to survive in a empty, desolate world. The child, who has never known any life before captivity, contrasts starkly with the other 39 women, who carry memories of the world they lost. Dark and hopeless in tone, the novel lingers on a profound existential question: is the purpose of life to live, or merely to postpone death?