100 Books Like Homestead

This 2022 psychological thriller was a fun read in so many ways. Like Maum’s novel, it takes a slightly unique approach to the typical affair story, following a young woman whose life is torn apart when her married lover and his wife die, and she is blamed for it (despite not knowing the man was even married!)

In this book, Collins explores the most archaic notion known to man: that people have been blaming women for things since the dawn of time. Literally, since Eve’s consumption of an apple in the Garden of Eden, through the twentieth century, women paid consequences, and men went on their merry way. Flora Collins gives this notion a modern twist. Yes, some things never seem to change—but technology has increased both the risks and the consequences of any relationship.

Vera’s entire life is destroyed by what happens to her; she can’t even return to… show more.

This book made me laugh, cry, and swoon…so it’s basically everything I want from a romance. It’s about living in the present and realizing that all of our experiences shape who we are. Every element of this story is pitch-perfect, in my opinion, with just the right balance of introspection, heart, and humor.

The characters are endearing and relatable, and I was rooting for them the whole time.

As a person with strong ties to biology, I love that in this book, vampires and werewolves are no more magical or supernatural (and therefore also no more immortal) than any human; they just came from different branches down the evolutionary tree.

What I really liked were the dialogues–the sarcasm, verbal power games, and dry humor. And the character development, where an isolated person learns that opening up and accepting friendship and the feeling of belonging requires courage because it also makes one more vulnerable.

Ahh, Tia Williams, how I love thee. Out of the two perfect New York-set romances she has written, this one is the one that has a somewhat unexpected magic realism twist. This Harlem-based beauty follows two timelines—the present day of our protagonist Ricki, an impulsive, artistic florist with a mission to revitalize Harlem with flowers, and the 1920s jazz-soaked Harlem Renaissance era of our romantic hero Ezra, a grumpy, mysterious jazz musician.

The perplexing nature of how their worlds intersect and the deep passion of their relationship gives this romance so much fire and drive. It’s also very much a love story to Harlem, with a fabulous sub-plot about Ricki’s community initiative and how her colorful friends get on board. I honestly couldn’t put this one down!

I’m a firm believer that a fulfilling, interesting, adventurous life isn’t just for the young, and that’s one thing I loved about this book and its dual storyline between a young woman and her grandmother.

It reminded me that a change in perspective often does wonders and that love can often be found in unexpected places. 

Cara Bastone is one of my auto-buy authors; any of her books would make this list. Her magnetic prose and fully realized characters always draw me in. In this book, Eve discovers she’s pregnant after a one-night stand.

I’m not usually a fan of pregnancy romance, but this story captured my heart and made me sob by the end. And the hero, Shep, is one of my favorite romance heroes ever! I love how Cara writes about men with big hearts who aren’t afraid to show their feelings, and Shep fits that description to a T. 

Years ago, before we had books out in the world or even deals to publish them, I once saw Gretchen Schreiber describe her book as The Breakfast Club set in a hospital. I was immediately beyond sold, and since then, I’ve enjoyed watching every step of that book coming into existence.

This novel explores something about chronic illness and disability that I think about often–the way we almost divide ourselves into two people. For Ellie, that’s who she is in the hospital versus who she is outside of it. For me, that’s one person who’s allowed to be sick and one who isn’t. 

I loved this book by Sarah Adams; it made me laugh out loud on an airplane. Cue odd looks from seatmates.

Sarah’s voice is fresh and original, so funny, yet sweet and sexy. I particularly adored her hero because he was masculine but not overly macho. He is a brother with three sisters. The family has a close, charming dynamic. The secondary characters made me hope for future books!

With Laura Warrell’s lyrical book, I discovered a different sort of narcissist dad—the musician kind! Also, the womanizer kind. 

I don’t know much about jazz, but you don’t need to know about it to get swept up in Warrell’s story of a trumpeter with the great name Circus Palmer and the female players around him, including his yearning daughter Koko. I admire how Warrell brings you close to Circus and the many women characters: this is no simple story about a man ignoring or abandoning his loved ones.

Circus comes to life, you can almost hear him play, and the novel leaves you with the awareness that a young woman can love and be shaped by a dad, even an absent, maddening one—and even that relation can have a sweet melody.

This is a quiet, subtle novel that gives you insight into the dynamics of Japanese culture, family, and community. Also, the main character is bordering on what the Japanese call a day-old Christmas cake. I particularly resonate with her perspective, and I bet a lot of other women do, too.

In Japan, they have a term for any woman who is over the age of twenty-five and not married, and this is… you guessed it, a day-old Christmas cake! When I lived there, I had already shown up in the country as a day-old Christmas cake, and that’s one of the reasons I love this novel and its tackling, albeit softly, of these types of issues.