The most recommended contemporary fiction books

Not only is this novel about death and dying (10,000 times, to be exact), but it also features Death as a main character. So it gets bonus points for hitting both of those marks when it comes to my love of dark comedies about death. But it’s also a story about finding a reason for living, that reason being the aforementioned Death, who just so happens to be the main character’s love interest. It’s complicated. At turns both thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. Reincarnation stories have always intrigued me and this one does it in a fashion unlike any other.

This was my first delightful introduction to Susan Elizabeth Phillips's romantic comedies. I adore genre-benders, and this romance also has suspense and mystery.

I was curious by the unconventional set-up: a female ventriloquist who talks to her puppets has to live on a remote island off the coast of Maine in winter. There, she encounters an unlikable boy from her childhood—now a man who’s become a huge horror author and may or may not be a killer. The rugged island setting and its quirky cast of characters let Phillips have some fun with gothic tropes, a favorite of mine. 

Rescuing Her Ranch is one of those books in which I felt heroine Macy Stone’s frustration and anger over the threat of losing her ranch to her longtime friend’s uncle.

The poor woman just lost her job and comes home to a huge fight on her hands. To make matters worse, Cole Crawford, said longtime friend, begins to work for his uncle. All while she’s taking care of Cole’s precious daughter. Not good. Cole quickly shoots from friend to enemy. Yet the ending is very, very satisfying.

This book made me cry and laugh and cheer for Macy and Cole. 

This is one that’s often recommended in the “best climate fiction” lists, and I can see why. 

Set in a depressed area of Appalachia, the story hinges on the arrival of a huge number of monarch butterflies, whose annual migration pattern has been disrupted, and the effect this has on the local community.

But worked into the main story are some important, closely observed messages: how climate change feels insignificant to people who are struggling to cope, how journalists and others can promote climate change denial, and how scientists need to get angry.

As with other Kingsolver novels like The Poisonwood Bible, the characterisation is closely-observed and highly believable. A rich and rewarding read.

My mom used to give me a lot of propaganda to read like Little Women and the Bobbsey Twins. Good books but obviously intended to form me into a well-behaved and compliant little angel. I preferred MAD Magazine, Captain Blood, and anything I could get my hands on about magic and witches. While witches were almost always the villains, the wicked witch of the west never scared me—I thought she was totally justified in her pursuit of Dorothy and her gang of thugs. My own sister and I have our differences, but if someone dropped a house on her I’d be out for revenge, too. Wicked takes another look at Elphaba and how she became the Wicked Witch of the West. I’ve waited decades for this story.

Can we say HOT! This entire series was spicy and full of smut. I love the romance in this book. The building of the backstories of the characters that left you wondering what would happen next and how where they going to end up together in the end.

The incorporation of folklore and tales from history hooked me right away. Each character had a different struggle that you could relate to or empathize with. Even though they were morally gray, you ended up routing for each of them in the end.

It's a super fun series and an easy read that will definitely keep you up at night. 

Most fantasies are set in a quasi-medieval landscape, but Hunt has chosen a deliciously different canvas: the Wild West. His hero is Ross, the estranged son of a famous fantasy author. When dear old dad is murdered, Ross grudgingly attends the funeral organized by the fantasy geeks and role-playing nerds who loved the old man's books. That much, he can handle. But being told that the fantastical world described in those books is real? No way! That disbelief is shattered, though, when Ross himself crosses over and is quickly drawn into the hunt for his father's killer in a nightmare world of gunslingers and monsters where the rules make no sense.

And to make matters worse: he hasn't read the books.

This book is such an usual book, and I love it for how strange and unexpected it is.

The story takes place in a near-future Edinburgh, where the world has dramatically changed due to an undefined apocalyptic event but has more of a gothic sensibility than a post-apocalyptic one.

There’s magic, history, and an extremely likable narrator wrapped in an almost-crime-novel package. 

One of the things a series starter has to do is build a world readers want to revisit. Chelle Sloan has done an amazing job of that with this book.

I loved the characters and universe, which is crucial for drawing me into the rest of the series. This book is perfect for readers who adore witty characters and swoony romance, which I absolutely do!

This book combines romance and suspense, humor, and action, all in one package. Shane, a P. I., and Gabriel, a security expert, are separately investigating a person of interest. They eventually cooperate to catch their villain. This is a slow-burn romance with a stiff-upper-lip Brit, working for Cipher Systems in Chicago and an amputee who takes no prisoners. Their explosive mix makes for an exciting ride with a great love story. 

I loved that both Gabriel and Shane live in The Manor, which is the former British consulate. I’d live there myself if I could afford it. Having characters situated in neighborhoods that I know makes the reading experience more authentic. I also loved how Shane handles being an amputee. Her scenes with her prosthetics designer are hilarious.