This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through my links, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend the products I love and trust.
17 Unforgettable Books I’ve Read as a Book Blogger
As a total bookworm, I’ve read a ton of books like, way too many to count. I’ve DNFed a few, cried over a bunch, and laughed harder than I’d care to admit. Some of these books are just unforgettable.
So, I thought it’d be fun to put together a list of books that really stand out. The books I am sure, I wouldn’t be able to forget. Honestly, picking them out was super fun and easier than I thought. I knew A Little Life would be at the top of my list. From there, I mixed in a variety of genres, thrillers, romance, literary fiction, you name it. I feel like these aren’t just books; they’re experiences that every bookworm should check out.
Also check out : 10 Devastatingly Sad Books to Read This Autumn
11 Most Rated Winter Books On Goodreads
17 Unforgettable Books To Read
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
A Little Life is about four friends living in New York City, but it really focuses on Jude, who has a mysterious and painful past. This is the saddest book I have ever read. I don’t know how the author managed to write something so emotional and impactful. The way the characters’ lives unfold is heartbreaking and powerful. It really makes you think about friendship, trauma, and resilience.
When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables is a classic story about a girl named Anne who gets adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Anne is imaginative and a little bit dramatic, but I adore her!!
This heartwarming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. Anne Shirley, an eleven-year-old orphan, has arrived in this verdant corner of Prince Edward Island only to discover that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his stern sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl. But before they can send her back, Anne—who simply must have more scope for her imagination and a real home—wins them over completely. A much-loved classic that explores all the vulnerability, expectations, and dreams of a child growing up, Anne of Green Gables is also a wonderful portrait of a time, a place, a family… and, most of all, love.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE | READ with Kindle Unlimited
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing tells the story of two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, and their very different lives in Ghana and America. Effia lives in luxury with an English officer in Cape Coast Castle, while her sister Esi is trapped in a dungeon, waiting to be sold as a slave. The book shows how horrible life was for people in these situations, losing their identities and freedoms. The story makes you think about what it means to be free. I don’t think I will ever be able to forget about this story.
A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.
Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.
Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi’s magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller that really made a fan of this genre. The story revolves around Alicia, who stops speaking after killing her husband. A psychotherapist named Theo becomes obsessed with her case and wants to find out why she won’t talk. This was such a good, fast-paced thriller.
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE | READ with Kindle Unlimited
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone is set in Alaska and follows a family trying to survive the wild and harsh winters. The main character is Leni, a girl who faces tough times at home because her dad is a Vietnam War veteran who struggles with PTSD. The landscape is almost a character in itself. I loved Hannah’s writing. Also enjoyed the themes of family, love, and survival
Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE | READ with Kindle Unlimited
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Verity is the most intense psychological thriller I’ve ever read. It starts with a struggling writer named Lowen who gets a job to finish a series by the famous author, Verity. When Lowen finds Verity’s autobiography, she uncovers some dark secrets about the family. And let me tell you, the twists in this book are absolutely wild! You won’t see them coming at all.
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night her family was forever altered.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
It Ends With Us is a powerful love story that follows Lily, who falls in love with a neurosurgeon named Ryle. This was my first book by Colleen Hoover, and I absolutely loved it! The writing is really simple, but I totally enjoyed the story . She has a way of making you feel so connected to the characters. Lily was such an amazing character that I won’t be able to forget her.
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
This book definitely had to be included. I mean, who doesn’t know the story about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard on his 11th birthday and gets to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From the moment he steps into that magical world, everything changes for him. You’ve got spells, friendships, and even a bit of danger.
Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.”
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE | READ with Kindle Unlimited
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men is a classic story about two friends, George and Lennie, who dream of owning their own land during the Great Depression. Their friendship is heartwarming, and you really feel for them as they face tough times. I found it really touching, especially the way it explores the idea of friendship and loneliness. It’s also one of the shortest and least boring classics.
They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.
While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck’s work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful.
A unique perspective on life’s hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry is an empowering story about a female chemist named Elizabeth Zott in the 1960s. She faces challenges in a male-dominated field and finds her voice through cooking. The book is filled with humor and strong messages about gender equality. I loved how Elizabeth combines her scientific knowledge with cooking. I also loved the dog with the most unique name, which definitely made the book unforgettable.
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Demon Copperhead is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. It follows a boy named Demon as he grows up in foster care in a small town in Virginia. The story is both heart-wrenching and inspiring as he faces many challenges but continues to fight for a better life. The characters are really well-developed, and the writing pulls you right in. Plus, there are so many funny moments throughout the book.
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.
Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a fascinating story about an aging Hollywood star who decides to tell her life story to a young reporter named Monique. Evelyn is a complex character, and her journey through love and loss is captivating. I loved how the book takes us to the glamorous yet often harsh world of fame.
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
Room by Emma Donoghue
Room is a powerful and emotional story told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy named Jack. He lives with his mother in a small room, where they are held captive. The way Jack describes their life and the love he has for his mom is incredibly moving. As they escape and enter the outside world, everything changes for both of them. This book was really heartbreaking. It made me think a lot about freedom, family, and the strength of the human spirit.
To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world….
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience—and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough … not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE | READ with Kindle Unlimited
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Book Lovers is a fun rom-com that revolves around Nora, a literary agent who believes her life is all about work. But when she meets Charlie, a rival literary agent, everything changes. This book totally made me a fan of Emily Henry! I loved the witty banter and clever dialogue. Plus, the themes of love, ambition, and finding balance in life were really well done. It’s perfect for anyone who enjoys a lighthearted romance with fun bookish references.
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
City of Girls is a vibrant story set in 1940s New York City, following a young woman named Vivian. She moves to the city to live with her aunt and quickly gets involved in the theater world. There is so much to love about the book. The colorful characters he rich descriptions of New York during that era, female friendships. It was also a really emotional book too. I will never be able to forget Vivian. Elizabeth Gilbert is a fabulous writer and I can’t wait for her new books.
In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves-and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.
Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life – and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore
The Temptation of Gracie is a charming story about Gracie, who finds herself at a crossroads in life. As she finds the strength to fight for love and family, the book highlights the importance of following your heart. Gracie’s journey was really uplifting and exciting. It’s a feel-good read that I absolutely loved. Santa Montefiore is one of my favorite authors, and this book is definitely one of many of hers that I would love to reread as well.
Never give up on your dreams, no matter how long you hold on to them . . .
Gracie Burton is a grandmother, living quietly in Devon. She has rarely left the village over the past forty years. Her daughter, Carina, is immensely high-powered with her own fast-paced business in London. She has very little time for her 17-year-old daughter, Anastasia, away at boarding school, and even less time for her aging mother. In many ways, the three of them barely know each other. Then Gracie stumbles upon an advertisement for a weeklong cookery course in the heart of the Tuscan countryside. She cannot resist and ploughs her life savings into the trip. Carina and Anastasia accompany her. They have no idea why Gracie has been drawn to this venture. They have no sense of her past; she has never spoken about it. They have no idea that Gracie is harbouring the secret of an extraordinary life that preceded them
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
One Italian Summer follows Katy, who travels to Italy after losing her mother. The trip is meant to be a healing journey, but it turns into something magical. While in Positano, she unexpectedly meets a younger version of her mother. The way the book explores the relationship between mothers and daughters is really beautiful. It made me think about memories and how they shape who we are. And the best part about the book was Positano. It’s just stunning! After reading the book, I really wanted to pack my bags and head there. I would definitely love to explore that beautiful town.
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.
And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON | LISTEN FREE ON AUDIBLE
More Books To Read