Recommendations: If You Like That, Try This Vol 1

Hi and welcome to the reading world!

I’ve been wanting to start a recommendations series on the blog (so far I’ve suggested 10 recent audiobook reads I’ve enjoyed), and today I’d like to expand on that with a few recommendations in the form of “If you like that book, try this”!

As a disclaimer, none of these books are duplicates of each other and I would never want these recommendations to come off in that way. The incredible range of books available today means that for me personally, these books are ones that I have found some elements that I think are interesting and can complement another book in some ways but not all!

March is Women’s History Month, so I’m going to be highlighting female authors and stories in this post!

If you like Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn, try Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.

Both of these stories explore complex relationships between mother and child. There are discussions that center around the difficulties of motherhood in a unique lens with protagonists who struggle with becoming mothers and make major life decisions that impact their children. In addition, we see these decisions play out over the child’s life and the complexities of the individual identities and relationships subsequent to this.

If you like The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, try  Well Met by Jen De Luca.

The Hating Game has become a well known romance across many bookish social media platforms. If hate-to-love with banter and tension is a trope you enjoy, check out Well Met! This one has a Renaissance Faire flair, but features two individuals who definitely don’t get off on the right foot but seem to have something more there. Well Met is also the start of a series of companion novels, with the 3rd one coming out this year!

If you like The Vanishing Half  by Brit Bennett, try Sula by Toni Morrison.

The Vanishing Half was a recent read of mine, and has this mysterious element of where Stella goes and what becomes of her established early on in the novel. Stella is a character that becomes an elusive figure, and her choices are ultimately ones that all of the characters grapple with and impact her relationship with them. This made me think of another recent read where Sula is also somewhat of an enigmatic character. Both of these books are excellently written and the characters and the aftermath of their choices are examined and explored throughout the work in their communities and close relationships. Both books’ plots and thematic elements deal with different issues, but both feature characters and stories I definitely plan to revisit again. Many people also pair The Vanishing Half with Passing by Nella Larsen which I plan to pick up soon as well!

So, there are 3 pairs of recommendations I think you may enjoy. Have you read any of these? I’m especially curious if you’ve read both in a recommendation what you think of the two!

Thank you for stopping by!

-Rae