Monday, August 17, 2026

This month’s best new popular fiction

 
Readworthy by BookBub
This Month’s Best New Popular Fiction
 
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Book cover for The New People by Andrea Uptmor
New homeowners Emma and Rachel have no idea their predecessors are still living in the attic
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Emma and Rachel are hoping to find a fresh start when they buy a flipped foreclosure in a Midwestern town. But Charlotte and Dirk are hiding out upstairs, and Charlotte is plotting sabotage…
  • “A timely, propulsive, and bighearted debut” penned by “a master storyteller” (Bruce Holsinger)
  • “The heart of this book is about marriage: what it is, what it has been, and what it can be” (Booklist starred review)
Learn more...
Media mentions for The New People by Andrea Uptmor MEDIA MENTIONS: Time Magazine, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist
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Book cover for You’ll Love It Here by Natalie Sue
‘A lovely look at finding belonging in the most unlikely of places’ (Kirkus Reviews)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • From the author of I Hope This Finds You Well, who Taylor Jenkins Reid recommends “for someone who needs a good laugh”
  • All Mona wants is to move out of her crumbling apartment building — but when she loses her job, she becomes the property’s super instead! Will her quirky, nosy neighbors help her discover her true self?
  • “Book groups will find lots to discuss in this warm, humorous, and deeply touching novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy Fredrik Backman, Shelby Van Pelt, or Elinor Lipman” (Library Journal)
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Media mentions for You’ll Love It Here by Natalie Sue MEDIA MENTIONS: TODAY Show, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for The Forest Becomes Her by Julie Carrick Dalton
Parade calls this ‘the perfect choice for book clubs around the world’
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • In an idyllic Massachusetts town, a centuries-old forest is removed to make way for new housing — and three women across generations set out to save the last remaining oak tree
  • Praise from Kristy Woodson Harvey, Sarah Penner, and Lily Brooks-Dalton, who says, “Julie Carrick Dalton has conjured a landscape that remembers everything — and gives us characters we won’t soon forget”
  • Explores themes of family, grief, and humanity’s powerful connection to nature
Learn more...
Media mentions for The Forest Becomes Her by Julie Carrick Dalton MEDIA MENTIONS: Parade, The Boston Globe, Booklist
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Single Girls by John Searles
Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians, recommends this ‘irresistibly fun, sparkling novel’
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Oprah Daily and Harper’s Bazaar agree: This is one of summer’s best books
  • This “exuberantly imagined” read (Kirkus Reviews) is “brimming with retro New York glamour” (The Boston Globe)
  • Cosmopolitan is struggling — until a trailblazer unafraid of a little scandal takes control… With a team of savvy women, can Helen Gurley Brown revive the magazine in just three issues?
Learn more...
Media mentions for Single Girls by John Searles MEDIA MENTIONS: TODAY Show, Oprah Daily, People, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, The Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison
Four estranged friends reunite for a funeral — and wind up trapped in a time loop
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • You’ll be swept away to a dilapidated yet charming pink beach house on a sleepy island off the Georgia coast!
  • From the author of The Other Side of Now, hailed as “one of the funniest writers working today” (Bustle)
  • “Packed full of wit, charm, a delicious amount of tension, and characters you won’t want to say goodbye to” (Sophie Cousens)
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Media mentions for Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison MEDIA MENTIONS: People, Library Journal, Booklist
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle
Roxie makes a wish to live in a swoon-worthy romance novel — but gets stuck in a thriller instead
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • With zero experience in the genre, Roxie ropes Grant, a professor who loves crime fiction, into her fight to survive against a murderous stranger
  • This “unputdownable” genre mash-up (Publishers Weekly starred review) examines familiar tropes in a fresh, exciting new light
  • “If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be trapped inside your favorite novel… you will absolutely love this book” (Alicia Thompson)
Learn more...
Media mentions for If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle MEDIA MENTIONS: Smart Bitches Trashy Books, Reactor, Library Reads, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty
Fans of The Midnight Library will fall in love with this heartfelt, enchanting tale
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • At the Time Travel Agency, you can revisit any moment in the past — but which would you choose?
  • People and Southern Living name this one of summer’s most anticipated books
  • Take it from Liane Moriarty: “I could wish I wrote it but then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of reading this truly extraordinary, exquisite novel… I just have to say it, my sister is a literary genius”
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Media mentions for Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty MEDIA MENTIONS: People, Library Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist
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Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Take What You Can by Naima Coster
This GMA Book Club pick is a ‘delicious page-turner’ (Kirkus Reviews starred review)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • One of summer 2026’s most anticipated books, according to The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and Time
  • As best friends Val and Milly navigate life and motherhood in New York City, their bond is tested — and they must face painful secrets from the time they spent together in France many years ago
  • Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich, says, “Take What You Can is so brilliantly, unbelievably good I have a burning in my heart from gulping it down too fast”
Learn more...
Media mentions for Take What You Can by Naima Coster MEDIA MENTIONS: Good Morning America Book Club, Time Magazine, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, Electric Literature, Literary Hub
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for A Thousand Little Goodbyes by Lucy Gilmore
Two best friends set out on the road trip of a lifetime — but one is hiding a devastating secret…
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • As Chrissie and Scarlett traverse across the country, Scarlett is determined to show Chrissie how to live without her
  • A moving and heart-tugging read from the author of The Lonely Hearts Book Club
  • Firefly Lane meets PS, I Love You
Learn more...
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
Book cover for Natural Disaster by Lisa Owens
A ‘witty and poignant novel’ (Kirkus Reviews) about the highs and lows of motherhood
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • A woman sets out to have one perfect day with her children before her maternity leave ends — but over the course of 24 hours, her plan goes awry
  • “I absolutely loved it… Insightful, propulsive, unputdownable” (Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina)
  • “Relatable on so many levels, parents and nonparents will devour this novel” (Marie Claire)
Learn more...
Media mentions for Natural Disaster by Lisa Owens MEDIA MENTIONS: The Guardian, The Times, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Literary Hub
GET EBOOK ON:
Amazon Other formats and retailers
 
   
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This month’s best new popular fiction

Don’t miss the best new popular fiction from the past month, hand-picked by our editors! You’ll love this month’s popular fiction picks — wh...