100 Books Like The Good Part

This is the kind of book I like to read in a day, curled up in my favorite chair or stretched out in a backyard hammock. From the moment I opened the cover, I was immersed in this funny, sweet story and captivated by the endearing characters.

I love a romance that has some shadows to balance out the lightness, and this finds that balance.

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. 

I adored this romantic and layered story. The characters were grounded, realistic, and loveable.

The conflicts and tension in the story felt true to life and kept me turning the pages, as did the heart-thumping—and non–traditional—romance. I stayed up way too late devouring this novel, which, in my world, is the highest praise. 

This was a really lovely, feel-good story about a grieving woman who finds comfort for her tender, bruised heart in the most unexpected place.

I loved it because it celebrates community, friendship, forgiveness, and the beauty of an ordinary life.

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.

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. 

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!

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. 

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.

Okay, this book has a plot that you may find a bit difficult to believe, but that’s what I love about it. Daphne moved to her fiancé’s small hometown, where she knew no one to start a new life with him. Except, he dumps her for his childhood friend, Petra, who dumped her fiancé, Miles. And Daphne and Miles become roommates.

Emily Henry makes it work. I love how she defined the characters, especially Miles, who’s brooding and listens to sad music. But there’s another side of the man; he’s outgoing and knows everyone in town.

I do like a good forced proximity trope, and Henry has written a fine one. But this works for me because, like all of her work, the story is expansive. She tugged me into this universe, and I couldn’t let go. I was totally invested in Daphne and Miles’ relationship.