Hey, friends! Just your resident bookworm here with some recent books that were FABULOUS that I 100% recommend! My absolute favorite pastime, aside from actually reading, of course, is to browse used bookstores. Almost every single book on my shelf has come from a secondhand store. To me, it's more fun to come across a book you've been searching for, rather than give in and purchase it from Amazon. The best part? On average, used books are between $3-7 per book! 

"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I had crashed a burned on a few of Liane Moriarty's other novels before picking up "What Alice Forgot." I was extremely pleased to find that this one broke the curse for me! Alice is a thirty-nine year old soon-to-be ex-wife and mother of three. Except she doesn't remember any of that, because due to a nasty fall at a spin class, she wakes up believing she is twenty-nine, happily married and pregnant with her first baby. I was hooked from page one!

"Other People's Houses" by Abbi Waxman

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

"Other People's Houses" was published just last month and is taking the Bookstagram world by storm. This is Waxman's second novel, but the first I've read. "Other People's Houses" follows a too-close neighborhood block. "Saint" Frances Bloom walks in on her neighbor, Anne Porter, having an extramarital affair and swears to secrecy. The cat gets out of the bag (quickly) and what follows is a juicy, gossipy tale that will leave you turning pages until the very end. 

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple

⭐⭐⭐/5

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" is written entirely in letters, postcards, notes, and empirical research gathered by Bernadette's daughter, Bee, after Bernadette's mysterious disappearance. Bernadette is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. She's a troubled woman, with high anxiety and a mistrust of others. She goes missing and it's up to fifteen-year-old Bee to put the pieces together to find her mother and bring her home. 

"The Nest" By Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

⭐⭐⭐/5

I am HERE for some family drama! "The Nest" follows the four Plumb siblings who have been patiently waiting for years for their inheritance, dubbed "the nest" to come to full maturity. After an accident involving the eldest brother, the others learn that almost their entire inheritance was spent on the lawsuit as "hush money." I was surprised by this one's quirks and charm. Many can relate to the frustrations and joys of large, dysfunctional families.

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrick Backman

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Backman has quickly become one of my "auto-buy" authors. I've never met a book by Fredrick Backman that didn't grab me by the heart strings, pull me in for a good, long hug, and then let me down gently, as I sob into the pages of my paperback. "A Man Called Ove" is about your typical curmudgeon. Ove is grumpy, very set in his ways, and also extremely lonely following the death of his beloved wife. He is making plans to leave this world to join Sonja, when rowdy neighbors move in next door. "A Man Called Ove" is a story of unlikely friendship and I was not prepared for the heartache at the end of this one. This is already my favorite book of 2018, and I read it in January! 

(P.S. It's also a movie - It's in Swedish, but I promise you get used to reading the subtitles!)

What are you reading? As always, I'm on the hunt for a great book to dive into! Share with us in the comments!