The other day, I walked into my local drugstore and was met with a wall of red hearts, cards, teddy bears, and more. That’s right, Valentine’s Day is approaching, and businesses have already gotten the decorations ready. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a romantic at heart and believe in the power of love, but there’s just something about Valentine’s Day that makes me want to unplug from it all. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be on the lookout for distractions, so check out the five titles listed below. They’ll do the trick: They aren’t about romance, they’re just good reading!
5 Fantastic Books That Aren’t About Romance To Read This Valentine’s Day
The Last House Guest
Megan Miranda has done it again with this chilling mystery of unexpected twists that focuses on the complexities of female friendships in a small resort town. THE LAST HOUSE GUEST is the perfect book for fans of intricately plotted missing-persons thrillers.
The Last House Guest
**A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller**
“Once again, Megan Miranda has crafted the perfect summer thriller.” —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Time I Lied
The summer after a wealthy young summer guest dies under suspicious circumstances, her best friend lives under a cloud of grief and suspicion in this “clever, stylish mystery that will seize readers like a riptide” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) featuring “dizzying plot twists and multiple surprise endings” (The New York Times Book Review).
Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.
Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl—but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable—until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.
Another thrilling novel from the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read with a strong female protagonist determined to make her own way in the world.
“A riveting read…from master of suspense, Megan Miranda,” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl) The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read that brilliantly explores the elusive nature of memory and the complexities of female friendships.
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The Falconer
Dana Czapnik has given us a modern heroine with a raw and honest voice in this coming-of-age story set in New York during the 1990s. THE FALCONER successfully captures the city and its inhabitants at a certain moment in time that will resonant with today’s readers.
The Falconer
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Three Things About Elsie
A poignant whodunit about the wonders of friendship, aging, the way in which time changes memories, and letting go of the past.
Three Things About Elsie
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Difficult Women
In each of the stories here, Roxanne Gay sets readers down in the middle of a woman’s life and asks you to stay for a while to go beyond her tough exterior, loneliness, and heartache. DIFFICULT WOMEN is a visceral collection written with a daring rawness that will linger long after the last sentence.
Difficult Women
On the heels of her bestselling essay collection BAD FEMINIST, Roxane Gay delivers a collection of stories of rare force and beauty. Portraying women who live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail, DIFFICULT WOMEN is a wry and beautiful vision of modern America.
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The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath’s THE BELL JAR is a modern literary classic that chronicles the mental deterioration of Esther Greenwood. An impactful and haunting look at depression and the unraveling of a young woman’s mind. This P.S. edition features an additional sixteen pages with insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
The Bell Jar
A haunting classic that chronicles the breakdown of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under. This deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and makes us mourn Sylvia Plath’s tragic suicide at age thirty all the more.
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