There’s something about book recommendations that always feels a little bit like opening a private drawer in someone’s life. Not just “here are the books I liked,” but more like: here’s what I was craving, what I escaped into, what I couldn’t stop thinking about while I was making coffee or walking through the city or trying to fall asleep.
This post is a collection of five different reading phases in my life — five videos, recorded at different moments, when I was reading very different things but somehow circling the same questions: what makes a story addictive, what makes it disappointing, and why do some books stay with us long after we’ve turned the last page.
I’m a millennial woman in my thirties writing this mostly for other millennial and Gen Z women who love stories that feel like an escape but also somehow like a mirror. These are thrillers, messy romances, literary fiction, and the occasional book that completely surprised me (for better or worse).
Some I loved. Some I didn’t. All of them, I think, say something interesting.
🎥 Watch the full video compilation
This post goes hand in hand with my YouTube video, where I talk through all 25 books in detail.
You can watch it while you read along, or just save it for later when you’re in the mood to add five more books to your TBR (we both know that’s probably happening).
📚 PART 1: The thrillers that pulled me in first (and more!)
This first set of books is very much “classic me in a thriller phase” — stories with secrets, unreliable characters, and plots that make you want to keep reading just one more chapter before bed… which turns into five.
I started with Anatomy of a Scandal, a courtroom drama wrapped in privilege, power, and scandal. I liked the idea of it more than I loved the execution, but it still kept me turning pages — especially because of how it connects politics and personal history in a way that feels uncomfortably believable.
Then came Daisy Jones & The Six, which completely shifted the tone. Told through interviews, it feels like stepping into a documentary of a band that never actually existed. There’s something so nostalgic and immersive about it, especially if you love music, fame, and complicated creative relationships.
The Silent Patient was next, and this one fully belongs to that category of “I need to know what happens right now.” A woman who stops speaking after a violent crime, and a therapist obsessed with getting her to talk again — it’s tight, addictive, and very twist-driven.
Then there’s Something in the Water, which starts with a honeymoon discovery that spirals into moral chaos. I remember being intrigued by the premise, but also slightly frustrated by how long it takes to get to the core of the story.
And finally in this group, The Lying Game, which leans into female friendship, secrets, and a past that refuses to stay buried. It’s atmospheric in that very British, foggy, boarding-school-adjacent way.
🏔️ PART 2: Dark hotels, missing people, and locked-room energy
This second phase of reading felt like I had accidentally booked myself into a series of slightly cursed vacations.
The Sanatorium is exactly what it sounds like: a former sanatorium turned luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, where things are definitely not okay. It has that isolated, snowed-in tension that makes everything feel slightly claustrophobic in the best way.
In The Last House Guest, we move to a coastal town in Maine where class divides quietly shape everything. It’s one of those stories where you slowly start realizing that everyone is hiding something.
The Midnight Library is very different from the rest — more reflective, more emotional, and less thriller. It explores the idea of parallel lives and regret in a way that feels very personal even though it’s fictional.
Then there’s The Last Mrs. Parrish, which is pure manipulation, ambition, and identity swapping in a world of wealth and appearances.
And Still Lives, which brings in the art world and a missing artist at the center of a museum exhibition. It’s quieter, but unsettling in a slow-burning way.
💭 PART 3: The books I had complicated feelings about
This section is a mix of disappointment, frustration, and occasional admiration — the kind of books where you keep reading because you want them to work more than they actually do.
Dark Places has all the ingredients of a great thriller, but didn’t fully land for me emotionally.
Truly Madly Guilty and Nine Perfect Strangers both explore group dynamics and hidden tensions, but in very different settings — one domestic, one in a wellness retreat gone wrong.
This Is Not a Fashion Story feels like a snapshot of influencer culture and personal branding, more diary than deep reflection.
And It Ends with Us, which I know is beloved by many, just didn’t fully connect with me emotionally in the way I expected it to.
🌊 PART 4: Friendships, nostalgia, and emotional twists
This group of books feels more emotional, more character-driven, and in some cases more memorable.
Anxious People surprised me with how tender and funny it is underneath the chaos of a hostage situation.
One Last Stop brings romance, time displacement, and New York subway magic together in a way that feels both chaotic and sweet.
Malibu Rising is all about family, fame, and a single night that changes everything.
The Cousins leans into family inheritance drama and generational secrets.
And The Last Thing He Told Me, which explores disappearance, trust, and motherhood in a very emotional way.
📖 PART 5: Love, identity, and unforgettable endings
This final group is probably the most emotionally charged — the books that stayed with me the longest after I finished them.
The Last Letter from Your Lover moves between timelines and explores love letters, memory, and missed connections.
They Wish They Were Us and They’ll Never Catch Us both sit in the YA thriller space, full of competition, secrets, and ambition.
You’ll Be the Death of Me brings together old friendships, a school-day gone wrong, and a mystery that escalates quickly.
And finally, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which is easily one of the most emotionally expansive books I’ve read — about memory, identity, and what it means to be remembered.
Closing thoughts
Looking back at all 25 of these books, what stands out to me is not just which ones I loved or didn’t love, but how specific reading feels at different moments in life. Some books are about escape. Some are about curiosity. Some are about wanting to feel something very intensely for a few hours.
And honestly, I think that’s the whole point.
If you’ve read any of these, I’d genuinely love to know what you thought — especially if we completely disagree. Those are always the best conversations.
See you on the next post.
xx, Flor.
