I’ve always been aware of Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. When I’m checking out the latest book news, her newest picks often pop up in the headlines.
I began to notice that some of the books I picked up coincidentally had her book club seal. And those books were often ones I really enjoyed. So earlier this year, when I needed to mix up my suggestions for our IRL book club I decided to browse her list of picks for inspiration.
Every month Reese spotlights a book with a woman at the center of the story. The picks are across all genres and even include some nonfiction selections. It appears that last year the book club also began to select a young adult pick for each season.
After scanning the list, I was surprised to find even more books I’d read and loved included. I noted down a few suggestions and then, of course, wound up checking a few out from the library immediately because I just couldn’t wait!
There’s an app for that too…
This summer when I was searching for online bookish communities trying to find one that might fit the hole I was feeling in my reading life, I discovered there’s an app for Reese’s Book Club.
I gave the app a try and enjoyed the shelf part immediately. Users can organize book picks into ones already read, ones on the TBR, current reads, and those to pass on.
There are also virtual book club events for current picks, club chats, discussion threads, and highlight articles from each book selection. The deeper dive in articles and author interviews is interesting. I haven’t participated in any events yet. Partly because I’m a technophobe and mostly because I really disliked the most recent pick I finished.
Recent Reads from the Book Club List That I Enjoyed:
With this new source of recommendations, many backlist at this point and easily available from the library, I made my way through several Reese’s Book Club Picks this summer. I even fit in a few recently published summer reads thanks to the extra push.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Rating: 5 stars
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams was published this June and the June 2021 book club pick. It’s tagline is “a sexy, modern love story to start the summer off right.”
Paranormal erotica author and single mother, Eva Mercy, is struggling with a looming deadline, chronic pain, and a blast from her past when she crosses paths with award winning writer Shane Hall at a literary event.
Twenty years ago as teenagers, Eva and Shane shared a passionate week together, both seeking comfort from their troubled family life through destructive behavior. Eva thought they were madly in love until he disappeared.
Now over the next seven days, they reconnect and are given a second chance. First they need to make peace with the past and deal with the fact that they’ve been writing to one another in their mutual books over all these years.
I listened to this book on audio and could not turn it off! While there are some breathtakingly romantic moments throughout this story, I would not consider it a typical love story. The way the two main characters are drawn together seems so much bigger than that as are the issues they struggle with.
The book deals with some very dark themes like the cycle of abuse, addiction, self harm, violence in schools, and sexual assault. Still Williams was able to maintain humor, sizzling chemistry, and hope through the story. These characters will stay with you.
You Have a Match by Emma Lord
Rating: 3.5 stars
You Have a Match by Emma Lord came out in January of this year and was the young adult book club pick for winter.
To encourage her best friend and crush, Leo, to look into his own roots, teenage Abby signs up for a DNA test. She is shocked when the results come back showing she has a full blood sister only a year and a half older than her, Instagram influencer Savannah Tully.
Wanting to get to the bottom of this reveal and figure out why her parents gave Savvy up for adoption, Abby applies for the same summer camp. Things get complicated when the two don’t exactly see eye to eye, Leo arrives unexpectedly, and Abby can’t keep up with the lies to her parents.
This one was borderline successful for me. While I enjoyed listening to it, I don’t think the characters or story are going to leave a lasting impact.
It was a very promising premise though and the camp setting makes it a great read for summer. The cover is very cute! I also enjoyed Abby’s reflections on her relationship with her grandfather and her love of photography.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Rating: 4.5 stars
Published in May of 2021, The Last Thing He Told Me was also Reese’s Book Club selection for that month. My library hold didn’t come through until earlier this month. It was one of the summer reading picks I hoped to check out and is featured in my August Quick Lit.
After a year of marriage, Owen disappears without warning. He was able to get a note to his wife, Hannah, that only says: Protect her. Hannah knows the note refers to Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who wants nothing to do with her new stepmother.
When Hannah finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation she realizes her husband isn’t who he claimed to be. She needs Bailey’s help to put together the puzzle of his true identity and why he vanished.
This book did not disappoint! The premise and the main character, Hannah, drew me in immediately. Hannah’s relationships with Bailey, Owen, and her grandfather were touching. I was also very intrigued with her art career as a wood turner.
I thought the pacing was perfect for keeping the reader engaged. While the story went in a direction I totally wasn’t expecting, it worked for me. That’s only of the best indicators of a successful thriller for my reading taste.
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Rating: 4 stars
Published in June of 2018 and that month’s book club pick, Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman was a backlist read for me this summer.
Erin is a documentary filmmaker about to start a promising new project and Mark is a driven investment banker. They’re young, successful, in love, and planning the wedding of their dreams. While on their honeymoon in Bora Bora, they find something in the water that may turn their new life upside down.
It’s best not to discuss this one too much because of spoilers. Something in the Water was a wild twisty ride that delivered for me. At times I was quite lost but the protagonist and intrigue kept me invested. I thought the journey was worth it.
I recently heard this author discussed on a book podcast, Literally Reading, and this was the host’s least favorite of Steadman’s books so I’m excited to check out more from her.
The Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell’Antonia
Rating: 4 stars
The Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell’Antonia was the December 2020 book pick, the same month that it published.
In small town Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi’s and Chicken Frannie’s have a fried chicken rivalry a century old. It isn’t reserved to the food as Amanda Moore knows all too well. She caused quite the scandal years ago when she married into the Pogociello family, leading to her banishment from Mimi’s, her mother’s chicken shack, and switching sides to run Frannie’s with her in-laws.
Now a widow raising two teenagers and tired of the feud, she applies for the reality TV competition, Food Wars, so a winner can be declared once and for all. The last thing Amanda expects is her sister, Mae, to show up back home and double down on their mother’s recipe. With all eyes on them in the midst of filming, family secrets are revealed and rivalries are taken to new levels.
I listened to this book on audio with moderate expectations and was completely charmed. While the premise was intriguing I really didn’t expect to fall for these characters and these establishments like I did. Perhaps I should have had more faith because I do love a family saga and this one covers at least three generations.
I was fascinated by the way the author redeems the most unlikable characters – they all take a turn. The family ties, baggage, and the drama that the reality TV angle brought to it were so entertaining. I hope K.J. Dell’Antonia has something else in the works for us!
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Rating: 4 stars
Published and picked for the book club in September of 2017, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng made a huge splash. It was nominated for several literary awards and had been adapted into a Hulu series.
I really enjoyed Celeste Ng’s first book, Everything I Never Told You. I think I was saving her follow up novel for when I needed a sure thing read. This book was part of my May Quick Lit.
Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Little Fires Everywhere shares the story of the progressive idyllic Richardson family and the nomadic Warrens, a mother daughter pair, who rent one of the Richardson homes. Brilliant Pearl Warren develops a close friendship with one of the Richardson sons and is drawn into their world making her artist mother, Mia, uncomfortable.
As the year progresses, all four of the Richardson children find themselves pulled to Pearl and Mia through different events. When a custody case involving the adoption of a Chinese-American baby divides family members and friends across town, Mia draws the attention of another mother, Elena Richardson, who begins to dig into Mia’s mysterious past with devastating consequences.
I listened to this book on audio. Although it started out slow, I was completely enthralled with these characters and happy to be along for the ride. Celeste Ng has a talent for really digging into her characters and establishing the smallest details while still keeping the attention of readers who might prefer a faster paced story.
I loved being immersed in this town, the lives of the Richardson children, and the artistic mind of Mia Warren. As a former photography student the long section on Mia’s development as a artist and mother was fascinating!
Recent Books that Missed:
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Rating: 1.5 stars
Married mother of three Elle wakes up one summer morning at their family’s vacation cabin “The Paper Palace” and everything has changed. The night before she snuck away and began an affair with her oldest friend Jonas.
This book flips back and forth covering the present 24 hour period and Elle’s childhood, unraveling the events that lead her to this crossroads.
The Paper Palace was the July 2021 pick and should come with nearly ever trigger warning you could imagine! I thought I was getting one story, a woman grappling with two future paths laid out in front of her. I felt a bit tricked into a totally different story with dark events I hadn’t prepared myself for.
What made it even worse was they all seemed to be included in the story for the shock factor. There was very little point or resolution to them and they didn’t further the story. Only one event actually had to do with the main character. I also was not a fan of the ending.
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
Rating: 2.5 stars
Published in June of 2019, The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda was Reese’s August 2019 book club pick.
The summer after Sadie Loman’s supposed suicide, her best friend Avery Greer still deals with grief and confusion over what happened that night. Suspicions follow her around in the small New England town as a local detective and the Loman family blame her for Sadie’s death.
When new information comes to light, Avery knows someone is hiding something. She becomes determined to find out what really happened that night and clear her name.
The Last House Guest was a so so book for me. I listened to it on audio and it was a quick read. After really loving All the Missing Girls also by Megan Miranda and an IRL book club selection, this mystery thriller was a huge disappointment. It felt lacking in character development, atmosphere, and the overall plot.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Rating: 2.5 stars
Published in June 2020, this book was the first young adult pick and selected in August 2020.
Liz Lighty has big plans for life after high school. She wants to get into Pennington College, play in their renowned orchestra, and become a doctor. But first she has to get out of her small prom-obsessed town of Campbell, Indiana where she’s always felt like she’s too black, too poor, and too awkward to fit.
When her financial aid package doesn’t come through, she has to problem solve. Her solution is to win prom queen and the scholarship that goes along with it! She only has to deal with her fear of the spotlight, run a campaign, and not be distracted by the new girl, Mack, also her competition.
You Should See Me in a Crown sounds better in the description than it read for me. It was another just ok one. It might have been the format I choose. I listened to it on audio and I never really connected with the characters.
Past Reads That Were Wins for Me:
If you missed these the first time around, the good news is they’re backlist now and likely easy to get your hands on from the library! A few even made it on my best for book club discussion list.
- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
- Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- One Day in December by Josie Silver
- This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
- This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
My TBR Pile:
- Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Recommended by everyone, I’ve been saving it for a rainy day!
- The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Have you read any Reese’s Book Club picks? Do you give any attention to various celebrity book recommendations when you’re choosing your next read?
