This spring's hottest authors reveal their most anticipated quarantine reads
Their books are coming out at a strange time, but this spring's hottest authors are still finding plenty to look forward to. Here, they tell EW about the spring and summer books they're most excited about.
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Amanda Eyre Ward on I'd Give Anything
A recent Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine pick for The Jetsetters, Ward praises Marisa de los Santos' relationship novel: "There's nothing I love more than a novel about long-buried secrets. De los Santos' new one begins with a marital scandal and becomes a luminous exploration of wanderlust, friendship, and fire. The perfect novel to sink into this spring!" (May 12)
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Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt on The Gift of Presence
Schwarzenegger Pratt, whose new book is The Gift of Forgiveness, finds much to recommend in Caroline Welch's wellness guide: "Being present is always a huge goal of mine and especially in these uncertain times, finding ways we can be more present in our lives, find meaning and purpose in our lives, feels especially relevant."Â
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Andrea Bartz on Little Secrets
Bartz (The Herd) recommends the new thriller from Jennifer Hillier. "I've always been a huge fan of Jennifer Hillier — her chilling, twisted, and totally original Jar of Hearts was crowned Best Hardcover Novel in the prestigious International Thriller Writers Awards, and she has a long history of taking creepy, get-under-your-skin concepts and turning them up to eleven," she says. "So I can't wait to read her latest, Little Secrets, about a woman who'll stop at nothing to save her once-perfect marriage a year after their son's disappearance tore their world apart."Â
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Angie Cruz on Fiebre Tropical
The Dominicana author offers an intriguing taste of Juliana Delgado Lopera's story about a teen uprooted from Colombia to Miami: "'Mami always says you gotta look into the futuro, el pasado está enterrado, we sold it, buried it and bought new flowery bedspreads at Walmart instead.'" (Now available)
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Byron Lane on The Book of V
Buzz is high on Anna Solomon's centuries-spanning new novel, and the A Star Is Bored author has some thoughts on why: "The Book of V is a seamless and compelling tale through time and cultures, a whirlwind of meeting three unforgettable women facing high stakes challenges with suspense and contemplation. I didn't want their adventures to end." (May 5)
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Caroline Leavitt on Queen of the Owls
The With or Without You author says of Barbara Linn Probst's fictionalized novel about Georgia O'Keeffe, "It's gorgeously written, plus it not only opens a new doorway to O'Keeffe's genius and humanity, but it also explores what it really means to be creative, and what price we sometimes have to pay to be really seen and understood — and how it is always worth the cost." (April 7)
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Fiona Davis on A Hundred Suns
The author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue can't get enough of Karin Tanabe's latest page-turner: "The luscious setting combined with a sinister, sizzling plot kept me up all night. It is a haunting, evocative tale that is captivating, suspenseful, and full of surprises." (April 7)
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Jen Gotch on The Untethered Soul
Gotch, whose new book is The Upside of Being Down, plans a re-read of Michael A. Singer's best-seller to match the times: "This book is about your relationship with your thoughts and emotions. Essentially, it explains how to understand the voice in your head and why you react the way you do. It helped me drastically reduce the anxiety I had lived with for decades. The basic message is that we can choose to be happy at any time in any situation. A simple, useful reminder I feel like we can all use at the moment." (Available now at Bookshop.org)
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Jennifer Hillier on Behind Every Lie
Hillier teases of Christina McDonald's latest, "Nothing entertains me more than an intense domestic thriller featuring highly dysfunctional family relationships. Not sure what that says about my own family, but the twists in Christina McDonald's Behind Every Lie left me emotionally spent. And I've never had so much fun." (Available now at Bookshop.org)
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Jenny Lee on Antkind
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Kimmery Martin on The DNA of You and Me
The Antidote for Everything author loves Andrea Rothman's brainy new novel: "The DNA of You and Me is an unapologetic ode to the inherent beauty of a life devoted to science, the ache of rejection, and the entanglement of career and love. It's a thoughtful, gorgeous book, told from an insider's view of the world of academic research."Â
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Sarah Pekkanen on Summer Darlings
She's but half of a best-selling thriller writing team (whose latest is You Are Not Alone), but felt fully transported by Brooke Lea Foster's period piece: "I was swept away by Summer Darlings, set in 1962 on Martha's Vineyard, and its fiercely unforgettable heroine, Heddy Winsome. This perfect summer read blends it all: intrigue, romance, a gilded atmosphere, and gorgeous writing." (May 5)
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Steven Rowley on Greek to Me
The witty author of The Editor enjoyed the getaway provided here: "Mary Norris, the longtime copyeditor at The New Yorker, transports us to Greece with the get-up-and-go spirit of a solo traveler in Greek to Me. The book shines as a wholly original hybrid, part travelogue, part celebration of language, with plenty of gods, muses, and wine in-between. As a travel companion, Norris is all fun." (In paperback April 14)
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Susie Orman Schnall on The Jane Austen Society
The We Came Here to Shine author is ready to get meta-literary with her next spring read: "Though the novel had me at 'Jane Austen,' I'm charmed by the prospect of this wonderful debut which promises characters who celebrate Austen, the human spirit, and the universal love for literature." (Available May 26)