Contemporary Fiction
There are a lot of buckets that fiction books can be sorted into. Some of them are admittedly niche, but how would we categorize the titles that we are seeing on the NYT bestseller list today?
“Contemporary fiction” refers to works set in the current time or the very recent past and can cover everything from romance to sci fi, with a pointed focus on narrative and the craft of storytelling. It is a broad category, and one of our favorites to write about because there really is something for everyone! If that phrase feels like it is too much for you, you can basically think of it as the exact opposite of Wuthering Heights (which is what we call “classic literary fiction”). Set in the now with much less…surly moodiness.
Here’s what we are reading right now:
The River Is Waiting
by Wally Lamb
Starting this list with a bang! There are four authors for whom I will take a day off of work for when their new book drops. Wally Lamb is at the very top of that list. The very first time I read She’s Come Undone, I kept looking at the cover to marvel over the fact that a male author was able to write a messy, imperfect woman with such insight and clarity.
Things are not going well for Corby. He’s lost his job, his marriage is on the rocks, he has a new baby to support, and he is grappling with a secret addiction that could ruin everything. When a tragic event lands Corby in prison, he struggles with life on the inside. He witnesses violence and brutality every single day, but he also experiences small acts of kindness from other inmates and bonds with the prison librarian.
Corby wants to grow and become a better person. He feels that reconciliation with and mercy from his family is possible, if they can ever forgive his crimes.
Don’t miss I’ll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison, essays facilitated by Lamb in a writing workshop in a maximum-security correctional institution.
The Love Haters
by Katherine Center
If you need some actual laugh-out-loud action after reading one of the more serious books on our list, don’t sleep on The Love Haters. Katherine Center, referred to by BookPage as “the reigning queen on comfort reads” has delivered a book with some romance, some time in Key West, a rescue dog, and two super-sexy brothers that turn Katie Vaughn’s world upside down.
She has definitely been burned by love before, and now Katie is watching her career go down in flames, too. Neither of the options in front of her feel especially appealing: she can wait to get laid off from her current role as a video producer, or at a colleague’s request, she can cover Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, coast guard rescue swimmer in Key West, in what will most certainly be a career-making project. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Turns out that Katie can’t swim. But even being underqualified in this area can’t be that big of a deal, so she decides to pretend that she can. Yikes.
The colleague that asked Katie to do the profile happens to be Hutch’s brother, Cole. The two men don’t get along, which is how Katie finds herself on the way to paradise. She does eventually become emotionally entangled with Hutch, who is a love hater but actually is the most scientifically good-looking man she’s ever seen, and of course, her lie comes back to haunt her in a big way. Then another one traps her. So two lies.
Katie has one opportunity to tell the truth and be the brave person that she has always wanted to be. Will old fears keep her from finding a New Katie?
We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Osman introduces a brand-new detective duo in this thrilling book that will take you around the world!
Steve Wheeler loves being a retiree He likes his routines: the same stool at the same pub, the same bench at the park. He does still dabble in detective work, but it is more to keep his brain engaged than it is about the money. He’s out of the adventure business!
Amy Wheeler, Steve’s daughter-in-law, works in private security. Yes, every day could be dangerous, but Amy thrives on stress and adrenaline and understands the risks completely. She’s currently protecting a mega-bestselling author on a remote island, but Amy spends all of her time on high alert, waiting for something to go wrong. And it does.
When she discovers a corpse AND an actual bag of actual money, Amy knows she is in over her head. She sends a desperate message to the only person she can trust. Can Steve be persuaded to join forces again? And if so, can he and Amy really outsmart a killer?
Dream State: Oprah's Book Club
by Eric Puchner
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
Another Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection!
Cece is traveling to Montana to her fiancé’s family home to finish planning their wedding. Charlie has a brilliant medical career ahead of him, so Cece can’t understand why he asked someone so…well, beneath him…to act as the officiant. But Charlie and Garret have a past with a shared tragedy, so Cece decides it isn’t worth arguing over. It’s Charlie’s wedding, too!
As Garret and Cece spend more time together, he begins to feel human again. His mask slips, and she is able to see the man he really is. And Cece is becoming increasingly confused about what she really wants in her future. The wedding approaches, but a contagious and disgusting stomach flu threatens to ruin almost everything. The deepening bond between Garret and Cece is threatening to ruin everything else. How can Cece choose between the life she’s mapped out for herself and a life she never imagined?
Don't Believe Her
by Nicola Sanders
Everyone believes her. Except you.
My life has never been better. I have a beautiful little girl, and I am engaged to be married to the man I've had a crush on since I can remember.
So when Nick, my handsome fiancé, announces that his sister Carla is finally coming home, it's truly the icing on the cake.
Carla was my best friend growing up until she ran away at sixteen. That was twelve years ago, and no one has seen her since.
Everyone is ecstatic about Carla's return. But as I spend more time with her, I can't shake the feeling something isn't right. Her behaviour is a little off, her childhood memories don't align with mine, and she's oddly evasive about her lost years.
But no one will listen to my concerns - not Nick, not Carla's mother, Marjorie, not even our old friends. They all say I'm imagining things. But I can tell something is wrong. And before long, I know without a shadow of a doubt...
It's not her.
Fire Exit
by Morgan Talty
A TIME, The New Yorker, ELLE, NPR, Harper’s Bazaar Best Book of the Year
Finalist 2024 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award
Longlisted for the 2025 VCU Cabell First Novel Award, 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize, and the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
With accolades like this, and after reading a whole slew of positive reviews, I was relatively sure I’d love this book. And with a quote like this from a Pulitzer finalist, I was 100% in: “A gift of many lifetimes” – Karen Russell
Charles Lamosway has spent his entire life near the river on the Penobscot Reservation, tucked away in deep Maine. He knows that he may have missed some opportunities, but watching his neighbor, Elizabeth, grow and mature over a 20-year span has allowed him glimpses at another present.
Charles has a secret, and it is one that could hurt people. But he’s no longer willing to keep it to himself and decides to tell Elizabeth that she is his daughter. Elizabeth suddenly disappears before he gets a chance to speak with her, and Charles does not see her for weeks.
Charles is worried. He doesn’t have a lot in this life, but he does his best to care for his home, his property, his raging drunk of a friend, and that friend’s mother, who is slowly slipping away into the fog of dementia. Can he really consider Elizabeth HIS though? And should he share the secret about her conception, knowing that it might cost her everything she’s ever known, and some things that she hasn’t even thought of yet. If you loved Night of the Living Rez, be sure to pick up this tale of bloodlines, the preservation of culture, and the true meaning of legacy.
Variation
by Rebecca Yarros
Instant USA Today, Amazon Charts, and Publishers Weekly bestseller
You’ve probably already delved into Fourth Wing, but Variation showcases a whole new side of Yarros’ writing.
Allie Rousseau’s mother is always watching her. And as an elite ballerina, Allie is familiar with pressure. But things come to a head when an injury requires a lengthy healing time. Allie isn’t great with staying still, and her memories of the past are threatening to take her under.
Hudson Ellis prides himself on being in the right place at the right time. Timing is everything in his job as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, when a second can mean the difference between life and death. He’s never had great timing when it comes to Allie, though, and Hudson wants more than anything to right his wrongs and face up to the biggest regret of his life. Is that possible when he knows that there is no way that he and Allie can ever be together?
The Last One at the Wedding
by Jason Rekulak
“Part conspiracy thriller, part family drama, The Last One at the Wedding kept my heart racing and my mind reeling.” ―Riley Sager
"The ultimate middle-class Dad battles the 1% for his daughter's soul in the best thriller I've read all year." ―Grady Hendrix
Frank is very surprised when his daughter reaches out to him for the first time in years. He’s even more surprised when Maggie invites him to her imminent wedding in New Hampshire, because he was convinced that their estrangement would last for the rest of his life.
Her wedding to Aidan is at a private estate, very much out of Frank’s comfort zone. He decides to ignore the discomfort and focus on reconnecting with Maggie, but there are a lot of factors working against him.
Aiden is oddly evasive whenever Frank tries to engage him in conversation. Maggie doesn’t have a whole lot of time to spend with him. And he just found out that the locals definitely do not care for the wealthy Gardner family. In fact, some of them are downright hostile.
Something is off, but he can’t put his finger on it. He does not want to push Maggie too hard, but he is determined to find out more about the Gardners. Frank knows that if Maggie finds out he was digging around, he will lose her forever. Will the risk be worth it?
This list contains quite a few recent releases, but the contemporary fiction category is as deep as it is wide. Let us know what your favorite contemporary fiction read is. The more emotionally devastating, the better!