5 Books I’d Recommend to Literally Everyone 📚

As someone who reads a little bit of everything, asking me for a book recommendation can be dangerous.

Because I will ask what you normally read.

I will ask what mood you’re in.

And there’s a pretty good chance I’ll start pulling books off my shelves while saying, “Okay, but hear me out…”

That being said, there are a handful of books that I find myself recommending over and over again.

They’re not necessarily my five favorite books of all time, and they’re definitely not all the same genre. They’re simply books that have stuck with me—stories I had an absolute blast reading and would happily shove into someone else’s hands.

So if you’re looking for something new to read, here are five books I think are absolutely worth trying.

📖 Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Read this if you want: coming-of-age, college life, fandom, awkwardness, and a main character who would rather stay home and write than socialize.

Fangirl will always have a special place in my bookish heart.

Cath is a freshman in college, a writer, an introvert, and deeply involved in the fandom surrounding her favorite fictional series. Meanwhile, her twin sister is ready to branch out and experience college without her attached at the hip.

And Cath?

Not so much.

There’s something incredibly comforting about this book. It’s about growing up without suddenly becoming a completely different person. It’s about family, relationships, anxiety around change, creativity, and figuring out who you are when the person you’ve always had beside you starts walking in another direction.

It’s sweet, awkward, bookish, and wonderfully human.

Basically, if you’ve ever chosen fictional characters over leaving the house…

Cath gets you.

☕ My recommendation level: Please just read it.

⚔️ The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Read this if you want: pirates, magic, adventure, mythology, questionable decisions, and a badass grown woman leading the entire thing.

THIS BOOK.

Amina al-Sirafi is a retired pirate who has already lived through enough adventure for several lifetimes. She’s older, she’s a mother, and she’s perfectly content leaving her infamous pirating days behind her.

Naturally, that lasts approximately five minutes.

What follows is a huge, messy fantasy adventure filled with dangerous seas, old crew members, supernatural creatures, complicated history, and one woman who is entirely too capable of getting herself into trouble.

One of my favorite things about Amina is simply that she feels different from so many fantasy heroines. She’s not an eighteen-year-old discovering she’s secretly the most powerful person alive.

She’s experienced. She’s made mistakes. She has responsibilities. Her knees hurt.

And she’s still an absolute badass.

I loved the world, the adventure, the characters, and the sheer FUN of this book.

🐉 My recommendation level: Drop what you’re doing. We’re becoming pirates.

🎬 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read this if you want: Old Hollywood glamour, complicated relationships, secrets, ambition, heartbreak, and extremely messy people.

There are books you enjoy while you’re reading them.

And then there are books that make you sit there afterward thinking,

Well…what am I supposed to do now?

This was one of those books for me.

Evelyn Hugo is an aging Hollywood icon who finally decides to tell the truth about her life—and specifically, about those seven husbands.

But obviously, there is much more to Evelyn’s story than the men she married.

This book is glamorous and dramatic, but underneath all of that, it’s incredibly human. Evelyn is complicated. She makes choices you might completely disagree with. She’s ambitious, selfish, loving, calculating, vulnerable…

And that’s exactly why I couldn’t stop reading.

Come for the Hollywood drama.

Stay because suddenly you have a LOT of feelings.

❤️ My recommendation level: Prepare for emotional damage.

🌹 A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Read this if you want: fae, romance, fantasy, danger, magic, and the beginning of a series that might completely consume your personality for a while.

At this point, recommending A Court of Thorns and Roses feels a little like asking, “Have you heard about this tiny little thing called coffee?”

😂

But there’s a reason this series has become so popular.

When Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, she’s taken across the wall into the faerie lands as punishment—and quickly discovers that practically nothing she’s been taught about the fae tells the whole story.

You’ve got curses. Magic. Romance. Dangerous faeries. Interesting creatures. A mysterious world that gets much, MUCH bigger as the series continues.

Is this book going to be everyone’s favorite fantasy novel ever written? Probably not.

Do I think it’s a ridiculously fun gateway into romantasy?

Absolutely.

And if you finish the first one and aren’t entirely convinced yet…

I have two words for you:

Keep. Going.

✨ My recommendation level: Welcome to the rabbit hole.

🧙 Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur

Read this if you want: adorable witches, magical adventures, gorgeous artwork, siblings, friendship, and something a little different from your usual novel.

Hooky is probably the wildcard on this list, which is exactly why I wanted to include it.

It’s a graphic novel following twin witches Dani and Dorian after they miss the bus to magic school—which, naturally, turns into a much bigger problem than missing the first day of class.

There’s magic, family drama, friendship, adventure, ridiculously charming artwork, and a story that becomes much deeper than its adorable appearance initially suggests.

It’s whimsical and cozy while still having plenty of stakes, and I flew through it.

If you’ve been curious about graphic novels but don’t know where to start, this is one I’d happily hand you.

Also…

Tiny witches.

Do I really need another argument?

🍄 My recommendation level: An underrated little gem.

🐉 Okay, But Which One Should You Read First?

That’s the impossible question.

If you want something comforting and character-driven, pick up Fangirl.

If you want a giant fantasy adventure, go with The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

If you want drama and emotional destruction, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is waiting.

If you’re ready to fall down the romantasy rabbit hole, start A Court of Thorns and Roses.

And if you want something whimsical, magical, and completely charming, try Hooky.

Honestly?

You can’t go terribly wrong here.

These books are all completely different, but that’s exactly what I love about reading. Sometimes I want pirates and sea monsters. Sometimes I want romance. Sometimes I want devastating Hollywood secrets.

And sometimes I just want cute little witches.

There’s room on my bookshelf for all of it.