10 Great Books for Fans of “Jane the Virgin”

Jane is a published author! Accomplishing one of her life-long dreams, Jane's debut novel SNOW FALLING hit shelves (way) back in 2017. Inspired by the real life love story with Michael Cordero Jr., this sweeping historical romance is set in 1902 Miami. Much like her own tumultuous life, Jane's novel features crime lords, scandal, heartbreak, and a sumptuous love triangle.

If you’re a die-hard JTV fan, you probably recognize WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE as one of Jane’s favorite books (it was even one of her book club’s picks). In Maria Semple’s zany novel, Bernadette Fox is missing and it’s up to her 15-year-old daughter, Bee, to find her by compiling clues in email messages, official documents, and secret correspondence, which makes for a compulsively readable and touching novel.

Read the full review of WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Jane the Virgin is its ruminations on faith, sexuality, and motherhood—because what’s more fascinating than a pregnant virgin? THE PURITY MYTH is Jessica Valenti’s in-depth cultural and social analysis of our obsession with virginity. This is the perfect book to understand the social implications—and dangers—of placing a girl’s worth entirely on her sexuality and puts unique stories like Jane’s into perspective.

Agatha Christie’s EVIL UNDER THE SUN is set at the Jolly Roger, a posh vacation resort for the rich and famous. Sound familiar? There’s never a shortage of mysteries (or dead bodies) at the Marbella, the fictional hotel where Jane works. In Christie’s page-turning mystery, a young bride is brutally murdered and only the meticulous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, can unravel the macabre mystery. This is the perfect book for Jane to turn to when putting on her amateur PI hat.

When Jane’s abuela, Alba, falls down a flight of stairs (or was she pushed?) and is rushed to the hospital, she’s worried about her status as an undocumented immigrant. Diane Guerrero, who plays Jane’s best friend and co-worker, Lina, perfectly captures the plight of undocumented immigrants and their families in her moving memoir IN THE COUNTRY WE LOVE.

As Jane's inches closer and closer to her dream of becoming an award-winning author, she might want to turn to Philippa Gregory—a master of historical fiction—for some guidance. WIDEACRE is Gregory’s scandalous debut about Beatrice Lacey, the beautiful and rebellious woman willing to go to any means to inherit her family fortune and protect her family name. Notes for Jane: seduction + betrayal + murder = winning historical novel.

Jane meets one of her heroes, Isabell Allende, in a bookstore and gets valuable author advice from one of the best! But you might also remember (because how could you not?) Jane’s highly unethical but totally imaginary (so, it’s okay) make-out session with her academic adviser, Professor Chavez. Their shared love of Isabel Allende’s classic THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS is, understandably, what kicked Jane’s crush into high gear. Anything from Allende’s inspired backlist will win over Jane the Virgin fans, but this one is just right for fans of universal stories of love, magic, and fate.

In the short time we’ve known her, Jane has transformed from an unassuming virgin and waitress to a passionate single mother and aspiring writer. In THE IDIOT, Selin is a young woman dealing with the terror and joy of becoming a person in a world that is as intoxicating as it is disquieting. She’s a lot like Jane—just without the modern-day immaculate conception.

What do Jane and the protagonist of CRAZY RICH ASIANS, Rachel Chu, have in common? Their unexpected plunges into the lifestyles of crazy rich boyfriends and baby daddies have thrown them for a loop because, as we all know too well—more money, more problems. On the arm of the most eligible bachelor in Singapore, Rachel’s visit to her boyfriend’s family home turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers. The outlook isn’t looking too great, but let’s hope things fare better for Jane.

Not only does Britt Bennett’s debut touch on how mistakes can be inherited through generations; more important, it brings abortion to light in a very real way much like Jane the Virgin. Jane’s ambivalence over aborting her unexpected pregnancy; her mother’s uncertainty over aborting Jane; and Alba’s crisis of faith in the face of such weighty decisions remind us that either choice could have potentially damaging and life-altering consequences. In THE MOTHERS, it isn’t just Nadia Turner’s life that is changed by her decision, but the lives of many in her Southern California community.

Read the full review of THE MOTHERS.