With so many reading suggestions out there in Internet Land, I wanted to share some of my favourite books I found at my library through the Libby app.

Some of these were suggested on my feed in #booktok, while others came from friends’ suggestions on Goodreads, but no matter how they got into my hands, they were all five-star reads to me! Now, I know everyone has their preferred genres since I honestly have friends who only read romance, but when I say that I read basically everything, I really do mean it. Fantasy is probably my very top pick, but as a mood reader, I will go through anything I find to be interesting. This means I often judge a book by its cover since I rarely actually read what a book is about before I start it. Crazy, I know. With that in mind, here are my top 15 picks that are five-star reads, in my opinion. Hopefully, I can interest you in at least one… but mostly, I just suggest reading outside your preferred genre every once in a while. You never know what you may enjoy. 

“Fantasy is probably my very top pick but as a mood reader, I will go through anything I find to be interesting. This means I am often judging a book by its cover since I rarely actually read what a book is about before I start it. Crazy, I know.”

1. A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe (Historical Fiction)

   This read is set in 1954 in New York, where a young woman becomes a spy and courier between the FBI and the KGB. This book mixes romance with empowerment as she breaks the boundaries set by society.  

2. The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (Historical Fiction)

   This book literally made me cry, which is a feat in itself, as very few books get so emotional. It is the story of two sisters during World War II, and how they both broke the rules set by the Germans to do what’s right.

3. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (Fiction) 

   This book was suggested to me by one of my students, and oh my goodness… I was not expecting such a soul-wrenching story. It follows a girl going through her healing journey after a major trauma. Big trigger warning here.

4. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Mystery Thriller)

   Woof… This is a crazy thriller that makes you question everything with all the twists and turns. The level of psychological-ness that builds over the storyline may seem like nothing in the beginning but is revealed in a great way at the end. A great page-turner for someone who enjoys this genre.

5. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson series (Young Adult Mystery)

   This trilogy was a cute development since it’s YA while also satisfying that mystery genre itch. An easy-to-follow storyline that you probably won’t be able to put down. It had good twists and turns and held all five stars throughout the trilogy.

6. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (Thriller)

   This book was very surprising. A woman who can’t leave her home watches a murder in her neighbour’s home, and everything goes down from there. This suspenseful thriller was a great read that concludes in such a creepy way. It’s hard not to spoil this one.

7. Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Romance)

   Ok BookTok, for once, I enjoyed your suggestion. This was an adorable small-town romance cliché of two “enemies,” one literary agent and one brooding editor, and was so cute! Romance is probably my least-read genre, but this book satisfied every craving in a great way. 

8. Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score (Romance)

   Small-town bad boy meets a sweet girl who cleans up after her messy and evil twin. This book has to be the reason I want a small-town romance now. I can’t believe the character development and adorable community this book has, even when the fun becomes dangerous.

9. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline series (Science Fiction) 

   As suggested by my previous boss, this science fiction series was insane. In 2044, reality sucks, but VR has developed into a utopia. There’s a crazy competition to basically win a large inheritance from the creator of this VR world. I wish I could re-read this again.

10. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Science Fiction)

    You can’t have science-fiction without space travel, right? Andy Weir, writer of The Martian, starts this book off with a character who remembers nothing and slowly has to piece information together to save the world—such a great read.

11. Educated by Tara Westover (Biography)

    An eye-opening biography about the conditions of education in the USA and why it is so important to be educated. This book also helped me to understand the difference with indoctrination and education. Beautiful story of accomplishment and overcoming your bounds.

12. Becoming by Michelle Obama (Biography)

    I am not usually one for biographies of celebrities, but both Michelle and Barack Obama had great stories to tell. Barack’s bio was more about his rise to the presidency, but Michelle spoke about life stories and every struggle she went through. If you read or audiobook anyone’s biography, this is the one.

13. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Biography)

    While this is marketed as a biography, this feels more like general non-fiction. This is an awakening to a natural consciousness of the earth and society around us. I listened to this book first as an audiobook, but it was so good that I immediately went to the bookstore to get a physical copy to reread and write notes in.

14. A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout series (Fantasy)

    Fantasy is my jam… and if it involves fairies or similar entities, oh, I am in love. It reminded me of the Shadowhunter’s, but in another dimension and very liberally. All of the books in this series are intriguing between the spicy romance and creative story. I cannot wait to read more from this author. 

15. Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Fantasy)

    Fairies are great, but so are dragons. I grew up falling in love with the Eragon series, so this book was orgasmic for me. While it’s a big boy and complicated to follow in the beginning, it made me so happy to read. If you can handle it, do it. 

Thank you for making it this far in my list of probably way too many books. I enjoyed taking another look at some of my favourites, and I hope you either fall in love with them too or simply try a book outside of your usual genres. 

Main Photo Credit:  Olga Tutunaru on Unsplash