We Recommend (book recs from our guests)
One of the best takeaways from our reading retreats are all the book recommendations and exchanges over what to read next. I find part of the joy of book clubs and the retreats is to share that story experience with others and the excitement out convincing someone else to rad a book you loved.
It turns out, authors read a lot of thrillers and crime books to keep their brains engaged throughout the year, but I also asked for top recs for what each author has read in the last year or so:
AUTHOR RECS:
Chloe Houston kept with the theme sentient houses and recommended North Woods by Daniel Mason that examines the same house, through different centuries and the different people who lived there. Its been on my TBR for a long time and this is just the push I need to pick it up
Adam Smyth – recommend You are Here by David Nicholls as just the story to take you out of more serious academic reading he is used to on a daily basis. It’s a charming romance set in the British countryside with walking and traditional British bants.
Jessie Elland gave us lots of recommendations – but mentioned that AfterTaste by Daria Lavelle is a sensory story that will resonate with fans of her book – a little but dark but with lots of humour and romance. Jessie also recommend our past retreat book, The Artists, by Lucy Steeds as one of her favs of the year and also the Book Of Guilt.
Sangu Mandanna was able to put a new release on our radar as she had ARC access to The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri out 21 October 2025. It’s a sapphic love story featuring a witch and a knight who are doomed to repeat the same history of destroying one another and the quest to break that cycle. One for the fantasy fans in the group! Sangu also mentions she reads a lot of thrillers to keep her mind out of her own workspace had high praise for ‘We Are All Guilt Here’
Lucy Steeds also recommended one of my top books of the year, Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead as a sweeping epic that takes you to another era with many characters and lives to explore. The storytelling is well done, always entertaining and vast.
Anna Bailey is a fan of horror and had praise for all books by Mariana Enriquez with our February retreat guests especially interested her 2019 Novel, Our Share of Night which alternates between the swinging 1960s in England and the aftermath of the dictatorship in Argentina. With a father and son questing to their dead mother’s family home and learning unsettling truths about her family…its highly rated and perfect for spooky season.
Sanam Mahloudji was drawn to 'Writers & Lovers' by Lily King which looks to a women exploring her creativity and writing at a critical junction in life after the death of her mother and with 2 men presenting 2 different futures. As Sanam left the legal world to write her book I can 100% see the similarities and have immediately added this to my TBR pile.
Our guests are also a well-read bunch and have a lot to share so its worth looking at our top books of the year to see how the line-up to what you have read.
The most common book mentioned is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab which is a great lean into magical realism for people on the fence about it. This is an epic tale about a women who is granted the ability to love forever but cursed to be forgotten by all those who meet her. This tale spans centuries, continents and historical moments and all changes when 1 man seems to remember. Its too highly rated to be ignored, give it a shot (I still need to)!
We also have guests recommending in the following genres – our favs seem to lean to both romance and historical fiction (I’m 100% here for it).
Fantasy:
Lunar Love, Lauren Kung Jessen a modern rom-com offering Chinese astrology combined with dating apps and the madness that insues. It is a warm hug with a bit of everyday magic – perfect for fans of our retreat book ‘The Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping’.
Arcana Academy, Elsa Silver First in a series, with tarot cards and an academy setting, court intrigue and enemies to lover plot line. Ticks a lot of boxes and a unique magic system if you are keen on the romantasy trend right now!
The Grace Year, Kim Liggett writes a sharp dystopian story where 16 year old girls are banished together for a year to lose their magical allure. Its YA at its best and 2 retreat guests read this in the last month and loved it so much, I was given a copy!
Historical Fiction:
Still Life by Sarah Winman – a heartfelt story looking at post war Europe that spans East London and Florence…Its character driven and comes together for a satisfying ending.
· Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is one of the original STEM books that helped reset the genre. A powerful and uplifting story of a woman that builds her empire using her brain and heart equally. Worth a read even if you saw the Netflix show.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka is a clever mystery with the main character working from the afterlife to solve his own murder and bring to light truths for a country. Set in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the 1990s its an important and enlightening story for those unaware of the politics of the place. Also a Booker prize winner so extra talking points in certain crowds.
Thrillers:
Lots of shout-outs for Richard Osman – and his cosy crime empire…The Thursday Murder Club, We Solve Murders
Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey is a southern gothic mystery at its core…choose from a lineup of potential suspects that is unique to the location. As thrilling as it is relevant in its subtle cultural commentary
Contemporary Fiction
Gunk by Saber Sims looks at modern love, desire and family in all its forms. I have yet to read this but it’s a contemporary fiction that opens up your views on what it means to love.
All Fours, by Miranda is a road trip, turned into a midlife awakening of sorts. This book is full of surprises and laughs – buckle up it’s a wild ride.
That’s 18 books to seriously consider adding to your TBR pile from a range of genres, styles and for any mood reader. Thank you all for contributing!
