Recent books I've read that I loved

Like most writers, and avid readers, I have a bit of a book problem. My To-Be-Read (TBR) pile is large enough that I could read a book every single day for at least the next two years and still have books left over. I was also in a reading slump for a while, which allowed the pile to grow exponentially.

The slump is over now, and I loved the last three books that I've read and wanted to share them with you all.

Fiction Books:

Bright Young Women

by Jessica Knoll

You may know Knoll as the author of Luckiest Girl Alive. In this novel, we follow multiple timelines as the heroine's, and the victims, tell their stories of a brush with pure evil.

Knoll isn't content to let the serial killer steal the spotlight, as so many true crime shows and movies have done over the decades. She reminds us that these men who are lionized in all forms of media are never as handsome or intelligent as they're portrayed.

One of my favorite scenes involves a protagonist pointing out that if the killer were so intelligent, why did he fail out of the only law program he could gain entry into in the first semester? Knoll shines a light on the inherent misogyny of serial killers, the media, and the psychopathy of the "fans" of those killers as they follow the trial like The Beatles groupies.

Follow Me

by Elizabeth Rose Quinn

Unless you've lived under a rock the last decade and a half, you know about mommy influencers. Their brands are often imperfect-perfection, with 3.5 kids and a handsome husband, a house that always looks put-together, coordinated holiday decor, and aspirational "easy" crafts and DIY's that test patience, skills, and relationships when their followers attempt them. These women's blogs, Instagram, and TikTok pages often overlap and intertwine, blurring the lines between friendship and commerce until they're indistinguishable.

But what happens when someone new to their ranks goes missing?

The book dissects these relationships and points out the inherent hypocrisy of women telling their followers they can have it all, without disclosing the massive amount of money that backs their pages.

But just when you think it's skewered these women succinctly, it also points out that these are real women with wants, dreams, and rage. Their anger is directed at their endlessly needy children, whom they love and loathe in equal measure; at their husbands, who are often content with letting them do all the work of running the home and taking care of the children, while wanting praise for every chore they do as though they've scaled Pike's Peak; at a society that often fails them in nearly every way.

The ending is hysterically funny. If you like action/comedy/horror movies like Day Shift, you'll love the final scenes of the CoMOMunity retreat. I was laughing so hard I started crying and wheezing.

A Survivor's Education: Women, Violence, and the Stories We Don't Tell

by Joy Neumeyer

Society has come a long way when it comes to recognizing domestic violence. But however far it's come, it has not come nearly far enough to truly help victims and survivors.

Neumeyer writes about her experiences with domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend, a fellow graduate student in her history doctorate program. In her quest to escape him, she files a Title IX case and finds that those who should be her biggest supporters are either sitting on the sidelines, or siding with her abuser.

Neumeyer weaves her mastery of history, particularly that of Russia, throughout the tale. When she arrives in Russia and tells another passenger that she's researching a certain influential man, the woman speaks of him as though he's scum. And during her own research, Neumeyer begins to wonder at the life of his wife and finds undercurrents of an abusive relationship covered up by a society eager to lionize yet another man.

I hope that some of you check these books out, as I think they're all well worth a read. And drop your recommendations in the comments- I'd love to add even more books to my towering TBR pile.