Favorite Books of 2026 (so far!)

We are more than halfway through the year, so I thought I would share some of my favorite books...so far! There are a few backlist reads that I was completely absorbed in, so I thought I would include them, too. 

 

 

My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney - This novel is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to this year and one of my favorite psychological thrillers/domestic thrillers. 

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger - This backlist gem I listened to on audio and it did not disappoint. Talk about a family drama! It's such a smart read that truly gets readers to think about the consequences of AI.

Kin by Tayari Jones - This memorable novel read like a modern classic to me and had excellent character development. The story follows Nicey and Annie and their strong friendship over the years. It also brings attention to Southern culture and the realities of the Jim Crow era.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan - This novel is a favorite beach read of the year for sure! Annabel Monaghan never disappoints and I adored this heartwarming romance set in Rhode Island.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune - I'll read anything that Fortune writes! Her latest beach read is an emotional romance and includes a gorgeous Canadian setting.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett - This audiobook was also one of the best of the year. If you love historical fiction, this shouldn't be missed.

Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen - This one is a young adult novel that will surely resonate with teens. Dessen writes another coming-of-age story about a transformative summer that is heartwarming and memorable.

When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams - This book is written by another favorite author of mine, so I savored every detail. This novel combines elements of a beach read + historical fiction + a romance. A gem! And did I mention there's pirate treasure?

JFK: Public, Private, Secret by J. Randy Taraborrelli - This is a fantastic audiobook that dives into JFK's relationships with Jackie, his parents, his friends, etc, and how they shaped him as a person. 

 

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What books are on your best of 2026 list so far? Let me know in the comments below.  

 

 

Book Review: Love You More by Emily Giffin

 

Pages: 336

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: July 7, 2026

Publisher: Ballantine

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: The Summer Pact,

Meant to Be, The Lies that Bind, First Comes Love, 

and Something Borrowed 

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Billie has built the perfect life. Her practice as a doctor in New York City is thriving, and she’s finally found the right partner in Dean after years spent trying to move on from her high-school sweetheart, Mick. Their young love had been intense and true, but distance and ambition pulled them apart when she left Wisconsin for medical school.

Then one morning, just after accepting Dean’s romantic marriage proposal, Billie’s phone rings. It’s Mick—calling for the first time in nearly a decade. His news is urgent, and in a moment, everything changes.

As Billie boards a plane back to Wisconsin, the past comes rushing in—her friendships from home, the love she shared with Mick, and the choices that shaped them. What awaits her is a reckoning with what she’s lost, what she’s built, and what she still wants.

Gripping and deeply moving, Love You More is a story about the plot twists life throws at us—and how love, in all its forms, has the power to change everything."

 

 

Billie is an established doctor in New York City; she owns her own fertility clinic, and she is married to Dean, a successful surgeon. Things are going well for her, and she is newly engaged. A perfect life? Pretty close. But she receives a phone call from her ex-boyfriend back home in Wisconsin. Mick calls her with some upsetting and life-altering news, and she has to return to her hometown. Once there, she is reunited with her parents, her friends, and of course, Mick. Being in this close proximity to Mick brings back a lot of memories, and spending more time in Wisconsin adds to the nostalgia; New York City feels like a world away. Some big decisions and big changes are in store for Billie as she tackles the family friend emergency, and the more time she spends in Wisconsin, the more she is questioning what she wants. Emily Giffin's Love You More is being described as a Midwest Sweet Home Alabama, and that description fits it perfectly. Even though the novel tackles some depressing issues, the story kept me flipping the pages, and I wanted a happy ending for Billie. 
 
Giffin does a good job developing Billie in Love You More, as there are many flashbacks to high school and her close friend group, including her blossoming romance with Mick. It spans all of high school and college, so Giffin takes us through it all. She also develops the friendship between Erin and Billie, which also spans many years. Billie leaves both Mick and Erin behind, though, as she pursues her dreams of being a doctor. While she tries to make things work with Mick, the extended absences and all the studying, tests, etc, have her spread too thin. But the question in the back of her mind was always what would her life look like if she decided to stay or even pursue medicine closer to home? What about the path not taken?
 
While the flashbacks to high school and their romance were a bit rushed and felt like choppy narrative at times, I really enjoyed it. The summers they spent together, Mick's family orchard, and the descriptions of a Wisconsin summer were some of my favorite aspects of Love You More. Once Billie gets that phone call, things start to get serious and, in turn, a bit more melancholy.
 
My only issue with Love You More is the unrealistic turn of events after the phone call. I just don't see a successful doctor who owns a clinic in New York City upend her life as quickly as Billie did. I don't want to give too much away, but the whole thing felt rushed and really unrealistic; however, once I suspended my disbelief, I enjoyed the story a bit more.
 
While this isn't my favorite of Giffin's, I tend to enjoy some of her earlier works a bit more, I still thought Love You More was a solid beach read, especially for fans who like a story about the different paths we take in life and ultimately the question of what if? Let me know in the comments if you are a fan of Emily Giffin and if you plan on reading Love You More this summer.   

 

Book Review: Wasp's Nest by Kat Stoddard

 

Pages: 272

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: June 23, 2026

Publisher: Celadon

Source: Publisher for review

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Tess wants nothing more than for her upcoming society wedding to overshadow the failure of her first marriage. Her fiancé Warren, a steady soon-to-be state senator, is nothing like her first husband. Tess’s relationship with working-class artist Peter was a passionate crash-and-burn, and a chapter of her life that she's ready to forget.

Peter hasn’t seen Tess in five years, so he’s shocked to receive an invitation to her wedding. But he’s moved on too, and it wouldn’t hurt to prove it by showing up with a handsome younger man as his plus-one. Mitch, an aspiring writer, is intrigued by Peter and jumps at the chance to pry into the lives of his Waspy ex-in-laws. What he’s not bargained for is developing serious feelings for both Peter and Peter’s ex―Tess, the bride. But Peter and Tess have complex desires of their own, and Mitch is dangerously close to uncovering them.

Wasp's Nest is a fast-paced, humorous, and heartfelt exploration of the shape of our affections that proves real love triangles connect on all sides.

 

 

 

Tess Lowell is planning her second wedding on her family's gorgeous Cape Cod estate. Her society wedding will be quite an affair, especially since her future husband has senate plans. Except things aren't going quite as planned. Her mischievous brother, Sebastian, has invited her ex-husband, Peter, to the wedding. Tess divorced Peter years ago when he was dealing with his addiction issues and Peter hasn't heard from her since. Peter isn't as acceptable to her high-achieving family as he is merely an artist, but he wants to attend the wedding to get some closure. He decides to bring Mitch, an aspiring writer, whom he met at a dinner party; this should throw them all off! Mitch agrees to attend as he needs inspiration for his next writing project. What ensues over the next seven days on Cape Cod is anything but a simple family wedding. Kat Stoddard's debut, Wasp's Nest, is inspired by The Philadelphia Story and is a juicy, if somewhat, superficial beach read.
 
Much like The Philadelphia Story, Tess comes from a well-off family and her parents have high hopes for her second marriage. However, the sparks are still there between Tess and Peter and things get complicated when Mitch is thrown into the mix. This triangle (it's messy!), plus a wealthy Cape Cod wedding, is sure to keep readers flipping the pages as this is a juicy beach read. But that's where the sparkle ended for me. 
 
I am a huge fan of The Philadelphia Story, so I had high hopes for Wasp's Nest, but the characters weren't nearly as endearing as the original story, not to mention the lack of humor like the original tale. Wasp's Nest felt a little more serious at times. While I did appreciate the allusions to the original story, the new touches definitely modernize the story, as there is bisexuality, current politics, and more. Unfortunately, the Wasp's Nest characters were unlikable, and I didn't find myself caring what happened to them, which ultimately made the story never really take off.
 
I love the idea of a modern The Philadelphia Story, but unfortunately, Wasp's Nest didn't hit its mark or capture the magic of the original story, and it ended up being just an ok read. Have you read the debut novel, Wasp's Nest? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.  

 

Can't Wait Wednesday: Hollywood Ending

 

Hollywood Ending by John Green

Pub. Date: September 22, 2026

 

 

 

Goodreads says, "For rising young actors Kai Laramie and Juniper Castillo, being cast in the buzzy biopic Andy Warhol Never Gets Old is the opportunity they’ve both been waiting for. They’re on the verge of breaking out, and maybe even falling in love. Soon, the movie is blowing up, and so are their lives—in exciting, but also terrifying, ways.

John Green artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy. Told through dual points of view, the novel follows Kai and Juniper from the first days on location to the movie’s premiere, brilliantly juxtaposing their story with the on-screen study of Warhol’s life at the dawn of celebrity culture.

Hollywood, Ending is a deeply observed novel about the tension between a public and a private life, and finding your safe someone to hold onto. Tender, heartbreaking, and shrewdly funny, this is a story as only John Green can tell it."

 

 

John Green, author of some of my favorite YA novels, is back to writing fiction and I am ecstatic. This adult novel is a love story set in the entertainment industry. I'll read anything he writes, so I can't wait to dive into this one. Are you a fan of John Green? Let me know in the comments below.  

 

Book Review: When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams

 

Pages: 464

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: June 23, 2026

Publisher: Ballantine

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: A Hundred Summers, 

Husbands & Lovers,  The Secret Life of Violet Grant, 

The Summer Wives, The Beach at Summerly, and Under the Stars

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers the property’s buried under a mountain of debt, and Ben Ressler has just turned up on her doorstep.

Thirteen summers ago, a teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing next door at the Peabody estate, and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy’s best friend. Those two weeks with Ben were the best and worst of Lucy’s life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now Ben’s returned to live quietly in the Peabodys’ caretaker lodge, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career. He’s also the last person who saw Lucy’s father alive.

As Lucy reconstructs her father’s troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of how to forgive yourself for the mistakes of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy’s long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder.

A timeless story of love and atonement, When You Loved Me maps both a centuries-old treasure hunt and the intimate territory of the human heart, weaving together past and present as only Beatriz Williams can."

 

 

Lucy Cooper returns home to Winthrop Island after her father's mysterious death. She hasn't seen him as much as she would have liked to in past years due to her relocation to Europe and her father's preoccupation with treasure hunting, which she thinks is a dead-end road. But when she returns home to her father's house along with her daughter, Elise, she starts to wonder if her father was right all along, as many clues are pointing to a possible treasure. Also on the island is her former boyfriend, Ben Ressler, whom she spent a summer dating. Once they reconnect, Lucy realizes that there still may be something there. However, Ben is dealing with his own issues as he is now divorced, and his stint in NFL football has come to an end due to some upsetting circumstances. Quickly, Lucy realizes someone is stalking her on the island, and she starts to realize that perhaps it's someone who wants the information her father had regarding the treasure. Williams also includes flashbacks to the summer Ben and Lucy first dated, as well as a flashback to 1717 on Winthrop Island. When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams is an engaging tale that combines elements of a beach read + romance + historical fiction; her fans won't be disappointed.
 
I really enjoyed Lucy from the start of When You Loved Me. She has had a difficult time after her husband's death and now must sort out her father's death and his house on her own while raising her precocious daughter. She takes a teaching job on the island and falls into the everyday routine on Winthrop. Except things aren't going smoothly with trying to sell her dad's house; plus, there are the clues he has left behind that start her thinking about an actual treasure. Also, the slow-burn, second-chance romance between Ben and Lucy was so very well done. I really enjoyed it, and the flashbacks to their first summer together further illustrated their romance and backstory.
 
As always, Williams does a wonderful job developing Winthrop Island; it was very atmospheric, and the pirate treasure only added to that feeling. Fans of her previous novels might remember a few characters who show up in When You Loved Me, which I appreciated. 
 
My only issue with When You Loved Me was the flashback to 1717 and the story involving Hephzibah and pirate Ramsay. At first, it was really jarring as I didn't feel it meshed very well with the story in both style and pacing. I almost wanted to skim it to get back to Lucy and Ben's story, but I knew that Williams would bring it all together. And she did! So be forewarned, the 1717 subplot is a slow start, but keep with it.
 
I love a good second-chance romance, and Williams delivers with When You Loved Me. Let me know in the comments if you plan to read When You Loved Me this summer and if you are a fan of Beatriz Williams.