Here are 30 books that I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness fans have personally recommended if you like
I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness.
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I was born and grew up in Seoul. My bestselling debut novel has been longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. My book is inspired by my great-aunt, one of the oldest women who had escaped alone from North Korea. It is available from Harper Perennial in the U.S. and Virago in the UK. The novel’s translations continue to meet readers worldwide, including in Italy, Romania, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and South Korea.
Eileen is one of the most twisted and unconventional literary heroines I’ve ever read. Behind her quiet demeanor and dull face hides her mind, which is like a killer’s, always furious and seething.
While working at a juvenile correctional facility, Eileen meets Rebecca, another key character far removed from most women of their generation. Seductive and deceitful, Rebecca cajoles Eileen into joining her act of crime–a violent, underhanded plan to restore her idea of justice.
Shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize and chosen by David Sedaris as his recommended book for his Fall 2016 tour.
So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes-a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to…
I’m a sucker for unlikeable. A charged word that’s sometimes used about protagonists but mostly only about female protagonists. When they don’t fit a template. When they are imperfect. When they push back. When they are too emotional or too distant or too interior or too driven or too obsessed or too mean or too nice or too smart or not smart enough. The protagonists in these novels are flawed—period. But flawed is complex and perfect is simple and simple is boring and no one wants to read a boring novel.
“I wonder how I would have to behave, how many changes I would have to make, to tip myself over the edge into this endless abyss of perm.”
Millie is a temp and she wants to find a permanent job. Or so she says. Her real goal? “It should be easier to feel good.” Millie is snarky, sometimes bordering on cruel, recounts minutiae, revels in loneliness, and savors her own dark side. She knows she wants to be a better version of herself but only needs to find her way.
The New Me masterfully paints the frustration brought on by the inevitable passage of time and being unable to see a tangible change in oneself.
I’m a sucker for unlikeable. A charged word that’s sometimes used about protagonists but mostly only about female protagonists. When they don’t fit a template. When they are imperfect. When they push back. When they are too emotional or too distant or too interior or too driven or too obsessed or too mean or too nice or too smart or not smart enough. The protagonists in these novels are flawed—period. But flawed is complex and perfect is simple and simple is boring and no one wants to read a boring novel.
Marie—a young mother with a young child—is trying to make her way in the brutal restaurant industry toward a more settled life but is constantly battling her own self-destructive tendencies.
“I ask my memory, why did I take each next step?” she says near the beginning of the book, but readers feel that each next, disastrous step seems almost pre-ordained.Love Me Back is an unflinching and hyper-interior deep dive into why people are sometimes their own worst enemy.
"Sharp and dangerous and breathtaking.... A defiant story about a young woman choosing the life and motherhood that is best for her, without apology.” —Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Bad Feminist
Marie is a waitress at an upscale Dallas steakhouse, attuned to the appetites of her patrons and gifted at hiding her private struggle as a young single mother behind an easy smile and a crisp white apron. It’s a world of long hours and late nights, and Marie often gives in to self-destructive impulses, losing herself in a tangle of bodies and urgent highs as her desire for obliteration…
I’m a sucker for unlikeable. A charged word that’s sometimes used about protagonists but mostly only about female protagonists. When they don’t fit a template. When they are imperfect. When they push back. When they are too emotional or too distant or too interior or too driven or too obsessed or too mean or too nice or too smart or not smart enough. The protagonists in these novels are flawed—period. But flawed is complex and perfect is simple and simple is boring and no one wants to read a boring novel.
Joan abandons her life and moves across the country on a quest to find a stranger from her past, convinced it will help her find peace.
In a savagely honest style, Animalrecounts Joan’s affairs, family history, a traumatic incident from her youth, and a gaping emptiness within herself that she’s desperate to understand. “If someone asked me to describe myself in a single word, depravedis the one I would use.”
Depraved, sure. Maybe. But it’s impossible to be angry at her because she’s so candid about what she’s doing and why. The prose itself is fresh and stark and haunting.
From Lisa Taddeo, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon Three Women, comes an “intoxicating” (Entertainment Weekly), “fearless” (Los Angeles Times), and “explosive” (People) novel about “what happens when women are pushed beyond the brink, and what comes after the reckoning” (Esquire).
Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles,…
My career as an executive and leadership coach led me to recognize the cost of living in misalignment to what holds meaning for us. This incongruence leads to stress, illness, organizational failures, and a lack of honest connection. My work as a coach, and now designing bespoke, restorative experiences and retreats in Portugal, is to hold space for courageous conversations around meaning, purpose, and human connection. My writing has inspired others to be unapologetic about the life they desire and deserve.
Although this is not a book, I found the audiobook insightful and full of practical ideas for those of us who prefer a quiet life. With so much noise and distraction in the world, it is easy to be swept into turbulent tides that take us nowhere.
For those who find the world overwhelming, Susan's 7 steps give us permission to have lives of purpose and meaning without being loud and honoring our preferred approach to life.
I am an award-winning writer based in Southern California who creates internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird West stories. Dozens of my short stories have appeared in podcasts, magazines, games, and Stoker-nominated anthologies, and I’ve authored several books. I am the co-chair and founder of the Horror Writers Association San Diego chapter, a short story instructor, co-creator of the Monster Gunslingers game, and member of writing organizations, including the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. I find speculative horror a fascinating lens by which to view challenges faced by underrepresented groups and women. I hope you enjoy these tales.
This was a true page-turner—I could not put it down. From the first few pages, I was immediately pulled into the mystery and characters’ plights. I loved how the author kept a fast pace, keeping the action and tension high throughout.
Technically, this book is not comprised of short stories; it features segments of shorter narratives that gradually weave together to reveal a larger picture. The author skillfully played with tropes in the mystery and horror genres, presenting a thoughtful commentary on issues women face.
Imaginative and deftly told, this clever and satisfying book had me nodding along in grim recognition.
A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.
Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers…
Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip—but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is…
I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a teenager. Love is a universal feeling, and there is no better emotion in the world than falling in love. While I read a variety of novels in different genres, I always come back to read romance. I write romance as I believe we all deal with different things in our daily lives, but an emotional connection and love bring us all together and make the world a better place to live in.
What a fun read about a doctor and a rodeo cowboy who find love on the side of the road when she gets a flat tire. Of course, life is never simple. She’s older than him and has reservations about getting involved with a younger man.
Love me an age-gap romance! I love this author’s writing and will read anything of hers. The steam factor is off the charts in this spicy love story. The characters are likable and engaging, and they have great chemistry. I would recommend this novel to those who love humor and steamy romance.
I'm very passionate about teaching children's financial literacy and business because with social media, it's easy for children to get caught up in the flashy and shiny materialist things. I like to teach kids about business and how to use the mistakes in business to scale and grow. I have expertise in this area as I've written three books, taught financial literacy & business at schools, and own a few different businesses. After I graduated college, I was thrown into the 'real world' with a good job and learned my lessons the hard way by spending too much money on things that did not matter. Hence my passion to want to help The Misguided.
I recommend this book because it Ty's character Danny Dollar has a unique and fun way of connecting with children in a language they can understand. The colors and images really help the young reader stay focused and engaged.
This is another great book wanting to teach your children money! The ideal age range is 8-12 years old.
Saving money for something? Then this is the book for you! Danny Dollar, the “King of Cha-Ching,” will teach you to make money, save money, and spend money wisely—and to dream big! Maybe you get an allowance (clean the bathroom anyone?) or have been gifted money (birthday present?) but did you know that you can actually start a business and make your own money? Even as a kid! It’s called being an entrepreneur.
Danny shares tips for starting your own business, like how to write a business plan and raise start-up money (the money you need to get your business…
I’ve been passionate about horses and adventure since I was a little girl. I’ve owned many horses over the years, and they all forever live on in the pages of my books. I wrote my book in 2001 while recovering from major surgery. The story was inspired by a young lady I met while volunteering with Nanaimo Therapeutic Riding and a frostbitten Mustang that arrived at Thunderbird Show Park en route from Wyoming to northern British Columbia. I lost my father to cancer a year before the book’s release. In many ways, Hannah Storey’s learning to cope with loss is based on my own. Life is like that, though, isn’t it?
Nothing puts me in the mood for the Holidays like holiday-themed hanky-waving, happy-ending Christmas stories about family, life, horses, and the holidays. Everyone needs inspiration. Pick-me-up stories are the name of the game when the winter blues set in, and a page-turning series of tales is needed to keep you going.
There is nothing like the fresh smell of manure in the morning when the outside world is covered in white. Inside the barn, the frosty breath of the horses waiting for their morning feed reminds you that you have a cup of hot chocolate and a great book waiting for you once you’ve done your chores.
Get in the holiday spirit with this Christmas-themed set of short stories from some of your favorite equestrian writers! Some of the top authors in the genre have banded together to share Christmas stories from the heart. Look for best-selling authors Maggie Dana, Mary Pagones, Mara Dabrishus, Brittney Joy, Kim Ablon Whitney, Kate Lattey, and Natalie Keller Reinert -- plus an exclusive Canterwood Crest holiday short story from Jessica Burkhart!
And in the true spirit of the holidays, all proceeds will go to benefit Old Friends, a Thoroughbred retirement home providing life-long homes for former racehorses.
I grew up in a small town, with wonderful librarians who introduced me to books I remember fondly to this day. The Flicka, Ricka, Dicka series, the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, and, of course, Little Women shaped my love for stories about relationships and the simple pleasures of daily life. Whether it’s a mystery or a memoir, I want interesting interactions between the main characters, meaty descriptions of daily activities and affairs, and, of course, a happy ending. As I’ve gotten older, I like books with older protagonists; those are hard to come by—one reason I wrote a novel about the adventures of five middle-aged girlfriends!
I’m always looking for books about older protagonists; this one is set in a nursing home, so many of the characters are seriously older, but the main character is an endearing, middle-aged janitor and his interactions with the residents made this book a hard one to put down.
Ben’s obsession with numbers and patterns figures throughout the whole story, as does a previous life he’s attempted to leave behind. His relationships with various residents, a local podiatrist, and a woman from his past keep the story fast-paced and funny, but there’s an intriguing undercurrent of solemnity and a wonderfully satisfying surprise ending that left me with a big smile on my face.
Ben thinks the retirement home where he works should be called “Heaven Can Wait a Little Longer While I Golf” instead of Heritage Gardens. But who asked him? He’s just the janitor, after all. Of course, his inept boss, the cantankerous residents, and even his attractive podiatrist friend don’t know one important thing about him: he was recently a cardiothoracic surgeon, not a broom-pushing custodian.
Ben is in search of a stress-free life with a little freedom from the past thrown in. But will it be that simple to escape who…
