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<\/div>\nNeed a new book to read? Add these books to read to your book list and be prepared to be blown away by adventure, current events, and action. There\u2019s something for everyone on this constantly updated list of book recommendations!<\/p>\n Enter your email below and we\u2019ll send this idea straight to your inbox (plus you\u2019ll receive tons of fun weekly ideas from us!)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Ever since I was a kid, I\u2019ve been an avid reader. It\u2019s one of the major reasons I decided to major in English at college (reading was my kind of homework) and one reasons I ran a book review blog for a long time. <\/p>\n Reading has always given me a way to escape from the real life stress and jump into another world that I can watch from a distance without having to be truly involved.<\/p>\n I used to read so much that my mom would literally ground me from reading. It\u2019s a habit that\u2019s stuck and I still read way more than any other hobby. <\/p>\n I used to be a huge fan of buying actual books but once I started traveling, I realized carrying a book or five in my bag just wasn\u2019t practical, so I\u2019m now an electronic reader all the way, although I still love the feel of a good book. I don\u2019t go anywhere without my Kindle! <\/p>\n Or my Airpods because honestly I listen to books as much as I read actual books these days! <\/p>\n This year I went through tons of lists on Facebook to create my must-read list for the year. I\u2019ve already read a handful of these \u2013 the others are ones that other people have said are their top books for the year! <\/p>\n Since I see people regularly ask what book they should read next, I thought it might be helpful to put together a book list for people who need a new book to check out! <\/p>\n Bookmark this post and come back to it if you ever need new books to read. It\u2019ll be constantly updated with more books to read as I read ones on this list and others that I absolutely love this year! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n I tried to include a little bit of everything (other than non-fiction) since my reading tastes are eclectic so I hope you can find something you love! <\/p>\n These are the books designed to keep you turning pages and hyped with anticipation. They\u2019re called thrillers for a reason \u2013 they\u2019ll thrill you! <\/p>\n I listened to this book earlier this year and I still had no idea what was going to happen until the very end of the book. That\u2019s rare for me \u2013 the entire thing was full of twists and turns, and I enjoyed it from the first chapter to the end. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon <\/p>\n If you listen to Audiobooks, this is a great book to listen to because portions of the book are talking about a podcast and they treat it like an actual podcast in the audiobook. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon (it\u2019s also included on Kindle Unlimited right now)<\/p>\n I read this book earlier this year as well. The basic premise is that a young couple goes to a cabin and he comes home and she doesn\u2019t. The book is all about figuring out what happened to the girl, Nina, during that weekend. It reminds me a bit of some of the actual crime stories that have been in the news in recent years, and I found it thought-provoking and easy to read. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon <\/p>\n This is a thriller that I haven\u2019t read yet. It came out last year and was the Goodreads #1 Thriller of the year and a Good Morning America book club pick, so it\u2019s been on my TBR ever since I heard about it. The description basically says that Jet Mason will be dead in seven days but before then, she\u2019s going to solve her own murder. That alone sold me on it! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n These books are all take place during historical events. Some are based on true stories, others take liberties with the history of the times. But they all share a sense of history. <\/p>\n As someone who is part of a book club and someone who lived in Northern Virginia all growing up, the description of this one sounds fascinating to me. It\u2019s the 1960s and Margaret wants to get to know the new woman in the neighborhood so she invites a bunch of women over for a book club and this changes everything when they read the book The Feminine Mystique. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I loved Daisy Jones and the Six by the same author so when I saw everyone recommending Atmosphere I knew I wanted to read it. The story was beautiful, extremely well written, and focuses on women\u2019s role in the space shuttle program as well as on family and romantic relationships. It wasn\u2019t quite the thriller I thought it would be, but I still really enjoyed it. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard so many amazing things about this book that is part thriller, part romance, and part historical fiction. This is at the top of my TBR right now! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This is the book I\u2019ve seen recommended the most out of the entire year. Colette has been stealing jewels for years but everything goes wrong one night when her mother gets arrested, her sister dies, and a bracelet they had with them disappears. Seventy years later that bracelet reappears and the book follows what happens after it reappears. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n These books are the ones that don\u2019t necessarily have a genre \u2013 they\u2019re just books that come highly recommended and make you think. <\/p>\n After reading and watching The Housemaid, I had to add Freida\u2019s new release to my reading list for this year. Debbie has been providing advice in a column called Dear Debbie for years but when things start to unravel in her life, it\u2019s time for her to take back control and give payback to people in her life who deserve it the most. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon <\/p>\n This is probably my favorite book I\u2019ve read in the past year. I read it early this year after seeing the trailer for the new movie adaptation starring Ryan Gosling, but I wasn\u2019t prepared for how good it was. I laughed, I cried, and I got even more excited about watching the movie. Absolutely recommend this one! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This one just came up on Libby after waiting for like 3-4 months because it\u2019s so popular. It was the Goodreads readers choice award for general fiction for 2025 and at the top of so many of my friends\u2019 book lists from 2025. Louisa is determined to find out the story behind three friends sitting on the end of a pier in one of the most famous paintings in the world \u2013 and this is the story we get. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I\u2019m a sucker for a story that revolves about letters and this one is all about the letters written by a woman by the name of Sybil Van Antwerp and what we learn about her life and the lives around hers through those letters. This is another one that I saw on tons of peoples best of 2025 lists, and I can\u2019t wait to read it. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard this one is just beautiful in descriptions, in settings, and in the writing. If it\u2019s anything like the moody, brooding, and beautiful book cover \u2013 I\u2019d guess I\u2019ll love it. It\u2019s about a family that lives on a remote island outside of Antarctica and what happens when a mysterious stranger washes up on their shore. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n When I read the description of this one and saw that it includes a challenge of sorts to win an inheritance, I was in. I\u2019m also a sucker for anything that includes games (for obvious reasons) and this one follows a group of siblings as they complete a series of assigned tasks to earn their inheritance. It\u2019s supposed to be messy, chaotic, and unputdownable. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n While these books would be good to read by the pool or beach, they\u2019re also great for reading at home or during the day. Love stories, stories that make you think, and books that might just be a great read for a beach or pool day. This doesn\u2019t include Romantasy or fantasy, I\u2019ve included a section for those below this! <\/p>\n Also, for the all of the romance books \u2013 I wish I could tell you the spice level but I skip a lot, don\u2019t remember a lot, and really just don\u2019t trust myself to make a judgement on that. If you\u2019re concerned about spice, there are plenty of websites out there that will give you the rundown on specific books and spice levels. <\/p>\n I just finished this book and I loved it. It\u2019s not your typical romance, not a ton of romance at all to be honest, but I loved that it had more of a story than just a Hallmark film. I was actually kind of shocked by some of the twists at the end of the book, which is very rare for romance. I was pretty disappointed when I realized that this book and the movie Great Big and Bold Journey were not the same thing.<\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This is the second book in a series (read First Time Caller first) that I adored, so I definitely want to read the second. The first book is about a radio show host and this one seems like it\u2019ll have a similar feel but with two people who work at the TV show instead. Definitely a beach read for me! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This one kept coming up on Instagram and TikTok for book recommendations as a favorite romance of the year. I\u2019m about 75% through listening to it on audiobook and it\u2019s one of the few books I actually recommend reading over listening to because I just haven\u2019t enjoyed the narrators that much. It\u2019s about a photographer who has lost her spark so she spends the summer helping out her nan in a place she spent time at in her childhood. We\u2019ll see how it ends up but so far, it\u2019s definitely worth a read (not a listen). <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n Call it Winter Olympics hangover but this story about an ice skating pair that includes a regular girl and a foster home boy just peaked my interest. It\u2019s also a top romance book for Goodreads in 2025, so I\u2019m definitely adding it to my list for the year! <\/p>\n This deserves its own category because if you don\u2019t want werewolves and vampires and fae, you probably want to stick to normal romance and not romantasy. These books all include a combination of fantasy elements with romance in some way. Think ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, and Blood and Ash. Again, I don\u2019t know the spice levels on these so know that going into reading any of these books. <\/p>\n I first thought this was just a romantasy version of The Secret Garden then realized it said Secret in the Garden. I\u2019m excited about this one because it\u2019s supposed to be a dark, whimsical, standalone romance \u2013 that means I don\u2019t have to wait for book two, three, six. It\u2019s about a botanist who makes a gamble with a billionaire heir and agrees to restore a conservatory that\u2019s full of magic, thorns, and disturbances that are impossible to ignore. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the colors of the books covers or the story in this book but it grabbed me from the moment I saw it in a local bookstore. Aurora has a powerful magic within her and when the Starmaker senses it, he demands she come and study in his castle. She spends her days exploring the castle alone while getting closer and closer to the secrets the Starmaker is hiding. Kind of reminds me of a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story but with a sun and star! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon <\/p>\n I love a good magic school story and this one is all about the villains and secrets of the Royal Elite school. I did see that this one has quite a bit of spice so if that\u2019s not your cup of tea, maybe skip this one. But reviews are good if you\u2019re comfortable with spice. <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had this one on my list for a few years but a friend reminded me about it a few days ago so it\u2019s going to the top of my list! It\u2019s a second chance paranormal romance about a witch and someone she thought she\u2019d never get the chance to love. It\u2019s supposed to be super witty, funny, and just cute. I need cute in my life! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This book has been all the talk on Booktok lately. It\u2019s by an author new to the Romantasy scene and supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the year. Every year selected humans are forced to journey into the Immortal Realms but this year Rune gets herself selected and joins a cutthroat college to try and find her family. It\u2019s supposed to be a great debut novel!<\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n This is a slow-burn romantasy that\u2019s set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by vampires. That in itself was enough for me to be intrigued! It\u2019s a brand new book by the author of the popular Kingdom of Lies series and has been highly recommend by plenty of people I know who read Romantasy, so it\u2019s on my TBR list for the year! <\/p>\n Get it on Amazon<\/p>\n Want more fun ideas like this one? Enter your first name and email address in the form below to join the Play Party Plan community! You\u2019ll receive weekly recipes, party ideas, games, and more directly to your inbox!<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.playpartyplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/books-to-read-pin2-copy-2-1.jpg\")
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWant to save this Idea?<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n2026 Book list<\/h2>\n
Tip!<\/h2>\n
Thrillers to Read<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n1 \u2013 Alice Feeney \u2013 My Husband\u2019s Wife<\/h3>\n
2 \u2013 Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera<\/h3>\n
3 \u2013 What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTiernan <\/h3>\n
4 \u2013 Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson<\/h3>\n
Historical Fiction Books<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n1 \u2013 The Book Club for Troublesome Women<\/h3>\n
2 \u2013 Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid <\/h3>\n
3 \u2013 Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall<\/h3>\n
4 \u2013 The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel <\/h3>\n
General Fiction Books<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n1 \u2013 Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden<\/h3>\n
2 \u2013 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir<\/h3>\n
3 \u2013 My Friends by Fredrick Backman <\/h3>\n
4 \u2013 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans <\/h3>\n
5 \u2013 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy <\/h3>\n
6 \u2013 The Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean<\/h3>\n
Beach Reads & Romance<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n1 \u2013 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry<\/h3>\n
2 \u2013 And Now Back to You by B.K. Borison<\/h3>\n
3 \u2013 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune<\/h3>\n
4 \u2013 The Favorites by Layne Fargo<\/h3>\n
Romantasy Books<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\n1 \u2013 Secret in the Garden by Jeneane O\u2019Riley<\/h3>\n
2 \u2013 The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin <\/h3>\n
3 \u2013 Cruel King by Rina Kent<\/h3>\n
4 \u2013 The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling<\/h3>\n
5 \u2013 The Vow in the Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez <\/h3>\n
6 \u2013 We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark <\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWant More Fun Ideas?<\/h2>\n