Thanks to non-stop social media recommendations and the book’s silly cover design, I didn’t expect The Wedding People to have so much emotional depth or narrative finesse. However, it ended up being my favorite read over the winter holidays. So if you’re like me and get skeptical when a book is ‘too’ popular, don’t let that stop you from reading Alison Espach’s delightful novel.

When a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright publishes her first novel, and that novel is recommended by Lin Manuel Miranda, it doesn’t take long for me to request it from my local library and devour it as soon as it arrives. This slim and poetic debut is heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure, and certainly not to be missed.

Two friends recommended The Correspondent to me and it was one of my favorite books of 2025.  I’ve since learned that its journey to becoming a bestseller mirrored the experience I had.  The book wasn’t picked for any celebrity bookclubs or placed on anyone’s most-anticipated books list.  Maybe because the novel consists entirely of letters and emails, some readers were scared away.  But, wow, for those of us who took the plunge, what an incredible book!

For those of you who read and loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and can’t believe there is another new novel about octopi, you can rest easy because in The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, the octopus is a metaphor, not a character.  Emma Knight’s The Life Cycle is a brilliant coming-of-age novel about a young Canadian woman who sets off for the University of Edinburgh to complete her undergraduate study. 

In this beautiful, pastoral novel, the main character Bo lives on his own in the small house he was born in, with only his dog Sixten and his caregivers for companions.  Bo is in the late stages of his life and just barely managing to live independently.

With our matching names and home states, I have always supported Lily King’s books, and a little clue in the dedication makes me think we also both have a daughter named Eloise! King reliably balances an inventive and surprising plot with a  romantic view of her protagonists and an insightful perspective on human nature. Heart the Lover is the latest in her wonderful collection.