Three Five-Star Novels in a Row?

If you’ve been hanging around here for long, it’s no secret that I L-O-V-E books.

I read them. I write them. I buy way too many of them. Let’s just say my TBR pile is always out of control.

If you ever came over to my house for dinner, you will notice we have not one, but two ginormous bookcases in the dining room. I’ve got two more bookshelves in my office. My husband has another plus-sized one in his. Plus his entire office closet is, you guessed it, jam-packed with books of all genres.

We’re a book-loving family, what can I say?

But in all my years of loving books, I don’t ever remember reading three novels in a row that I would award a coveted five stars to.

Now before you think I might be a book snob, I’m totally not. I love the high-brow and commercial. Classics and contemporary. I’m a sucker for a good laugh and a meet-cute. I’m no respecter of genre or tropes and have read some truly exceptional works in every genre but horror.

Note: I’m sure there are plenty of outstanding horror novels, I’m just not one of those people who likes to be scared. And it doesn’t take much, trust me.

Back to those five-star books, the reason I’m stingy with a five-star rating is because I think that designation is reserved for what’s really special. Extraordinary. A story that wows me from the beginning and won’t let go. One filled with characters I care about and transports me somewhere new. Like the three I mentioned.

I was a little late to the party on all three of these, truth be told. But if you haven’t read Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow or Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry, or Taylor Jenkins Reid’s One True Loves, I can’t recommend them enough.

They are all so different from each other, but are beautifully written, utterly surprising, and pack an emotional wallop (and not in a way that feels manipulative, thank goodness).

Now how about you, dear reader? What makes a five-star read for you? Have any recommendations?