Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always had a soft spot for books on sisterhood. Perhaps itā€™s because I have a sister, but itā€™s partly because Iā€™ve also lucked out on wonderful girlfriends whoā€™ve taken the role of sisters at various stages of my life. There is an immense power in female relationships, and itā€™s a theme I often explore through my writing. Both my novels, The Marriage Clock and The Retreat center around strong women who consistently and generously show up for each other. Iā€™ve compiled a list of books to celebrate the many sisters in our livesā€”through blood and friendship. I hope you find them as enjoyable to read as I have!


I wrote

The Retreat

By Zara Raheem,

Book cover of The Retreat

What is my book about?

Nadia Abbasiā€™s marriage is falling apart. It starts with a gifted Roomba, but when she stumbles upon some questionable photosā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Candid Life of Meena Dave

Zara Raheem Why did I love this book?

My husband is a native Bostonian, so when I discovered this novel takes place in the historic Back Bay neighborhood of the city, I was immediately intrigued.

The story follows Meena Dave, an orphan who has inherited an apartment from a woman she has never met. As she attempts to figure out their connection, she forms an unexpected friendship with a trio of meddling aunties who also live in the building and have been in each otherā€™s lives since birth.

Through these women, Meena learns not just of her past, but of the importance of community, culture, and the sacrifices of sisterhood. 

By Namrata Patel,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Candid Life of Meena Dave as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A woman embarks on an unexpected journey into her past in an engrossing novel about identity, family secrets, and rediscovering the need to belong.

Meena Dave is a photojournalist and a nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments, preferring to observe the world at a distance through the lens of her camera. But Meena's solitary life is turned upside down when she unexpectedly inherits an apartment in a Victorian brownstone in historic Back Bay, Boston.

Though Meena's impulse is to sell it and keep moving, she decides to use her journalistic instinct to follow theā€¦


Book cover of The Key to Happily Ever After

Zara Raheem Why did I love this book?

As someone perpetually in search of a good romcom, I found this story of three sisters who have inherited their familyā€™s wedding planning business delightful.

While there is no shortage of spats and disagreements as each sister attempts to define her role within the business and family, when disaster strikes, itā€™s lovely to see them rally together and help each other find her own happily ever after. 

By Tif Marcelo,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Key to Happily Ever After as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of BuzzFeed's "Books Coming Out This Summer That You Need to Seriously Read" * One of Bustle's "New Romance Novels to Make Your Spring Reading Even Dreamier Than You Imagined"

A charming romantic comedy about three sisters who are struggling to keep the family wedding planning business afloat-all the while trying to write their own happily-ever-afters in the process.

All's fair in love and business.

The de la Rosa family and their wedding planning business have been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, DC area for years, making even the most difficult bride's day a fairytale. But whenā€¦


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Book cover of Dulcinea

Dulcinea by Ana Veciana-Suarez,

DolƧa Llull Prat, a wealthy Barcelona woman, is only 15 when she falls in love with an impoverished poet-solder. Theirs is a forbidden relationship, one that overcomes many obstacles until the fledgling writer renders her as the lowly Dulcinea in his bestseller.

By doing so, he unwittingly exposes his museā€¦

Book cover of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

Zara Raheem Why did I love this book?

The Shergill sisters were never close, not even as children. But when their mother leaves a final letter instructing her daughters to spread her remains in her homeland of India, the three of them reluctantly agree to carry out this task.

As a child of Indian immigrants, I appreciated the rich descriptions of the setting and cultural traditions. I also loved how the Shergill sisters started off their journey estranged and distant but ended with a deeper understanding of themselves, their mother, and each other.  

By Balli Kaur Jaswal,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Grab your passport and let the Shergill sisters take you on a journey...

Meet the Shergill Sisters.

The know-it-all, Rajni.
The drama queen, Jezmeen.
The golden child, Shirina.

They have never been close. But their mother's dying wish was for them to take a pilgrimage across India together, to carry out her final rites. And so, the sisters are thrown together for one last (and very strange) family holiday.

The three women seem to have nothing in common, apart from the fact that each of them has a secret she would prefer to keep hidden. But as one unlikely adventureā€¦


Book cover of These Impossible Things

Zara Raheem Why did I love this book?

This novel shows us how the sisters in our lives arenā€™t always connected by blood. That sometimes, our chosen sisters are the ones who carry us through lifeā€™s difficult moments.

Malek, Kees, and Jenna have been lifelong friends, but when a single argument threatens to pull them apart, can they find their way back to one another? Alternating between each womanā€™s story, the novel explores deeper themes of love, family, and faith while also shedding light on both the strengths and fragility of female relationships.

By Salma El-Wardany,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked These Impossible Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A *Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club pick* and razorā€‘sharp debut novel of three best friends navigating love, sex, faith, and the one night that changes it all.

Itā€™s always been Malak, Kees, and Jenna against the world. Since childhood, under the watchful eyes of their parents, aunties and uncles, theyā€™ve learned to live their own lives alongside the expectations of being good Muslim women. Staying over at a boyfriend's place is disguised as a best friendā€™s sleepover, and tiredness can be blamed on studying instead of partying. They know theyā€™re existing in a perfect moment. With growing olderā€¦


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Book cover of Follow Me to Africa

Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw,

Historical fiction inspired by the story of Mary Leakey, who carved her own path to become one of the world's most distinguished paleoanthropologists.

It's 1983 and seventeen-year-old Grace Clark has just lost her mother when she begrudgingly accompanies her estranged father to an archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge on theā€¦

Book cover of The Fortunes of Jaded Women

Zara Raheem Why did I love this book?

This year is a pivotal one for Mrs. Mai Nguyen.

According to her psychic, there will be one pregnancy, one funeral, and one marriage. But unless she repairs her relationships with her estranged sisters and daughters, thereā€™s a chance she could lose it all.

This is a story not just of sisters, but of mothers and daughters, and the inexplicable bonds between generations of women who are ready to fight with and for each other. Humorous and heartwarming, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions that kept me laughing, crying, and cheering for these women all the way until the end. 

By Carolyn Huynh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fortunes of Jaded Women as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL-GOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR

For fans of Amy Tan, KJ Dellā€™Antonia, and Kevin Kwan, this ā€œsharp, smart, and gloriously extraā€ (Nancy Jooyoun Kim, author of The Last Story of Mina Lee) debut celebrates a family of estranged Vietnamese women who experiences mishaps and unexpected joy after a psychic makes a startling prediction about their lives.

Everyone in Orange Countyā€™s Little Saigon knew that the Duong sisters were cursed.

It started with their ancestor, Oanh, who dared to leave her marriage for true loveā€”so a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursedā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

The Retreat

By Zara Raheem,

Book cover of The Retreat

What is my book about?

Nadia Abbasiā€™s marriage is falling apart. It starts with a gifted Roomba, but when she stumbles upon some questionable photos in her husband Amanā€™s office, everything makes senseā€”the late-night texting, the sudden interest in fitness, the new clothes. Aman is having an affair.

Determined to find out what went wrong in her marriage, Nadia enlists the help of Zeba, the estranged sister she hasnā€™t seen or spoken to since their momā€™s funeral a year ago. As the two sisters fight to reconcile their past, Nadia realizes her relationship with Aman is not the only one that needs mending. Somewhere in between falling out of tree pose and choking down plant-based meals, Nadiaā€™s plans unravel again when she discovers more than she expected about herself, her husband, and the nature of love.

Book cover of The Candid Life of Meena Dave
Book cover of The Key to Happily Ever After
Book cover of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in sisters, curses, and travelers?

Sisters 210 books
Curses 79 books
Travelers 24 books