Brilliant books by women to read now

Spanning across cities and decades, this is a story of the lives we almost live and the choices we don't make. Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her Ph.D. at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. When they meet on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur, Erica and Laure form an undeniable connection that will determine the course of their lives – almost. 

Rome, 1953. David is young, handsome, charismatic and sworn to celibacy. He is freshly ordained, and about to return to England to begin life as a priest. Devotion to God is all he’s ever known. In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair. Committed to living on her own terms without sacrificing her faith, she becomes drawn to a women’s movement challenging the archaic rules of the Church. When their lives are thrown together at a Catholic college in a quiet village, an undeniable connection forms between them. And so begins a story of forbidden love, sacrifice and secrets, with consequences that will reverberate across the generations.

When fifteen-year-old Hana meets Kimiko, she sees her as a bright light in her dark, unstable world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that becomes a haven: a job, friends, the promise of money and security. But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana’s hope, her optimism, and her drive, will be tested to the limit . . .

Barri is getting ready for a year of paid maternity leave. Only she isn't pregnant. With seven foam bumps, a wardrobe full of smock dresses and a great pregnancy heist planned, all Barri has to do is blag it until she can disappear for good. Without getting caught and being sent to prison for fraud. Child’s play.

The three Ryan sisters are all together at their family's Long Island house for the first time in years. Each brings with them a secret. Cait still feels guilty for her role in a boat accident two decades earlier, an accident that drove their brother to suicide. Alice's career, and marriage, are under threat. And Maggie is finally bringing the woman she loves home to meet her devoutly Catholic mother. As they prepare for Thanksgiving dinner, old tensions boil over and new truths surface. 

Award-winning nurse Dorcas Gwata reveals the impact of gang culture on mental health through the lives of ten of the young people she has worked with. We meet Fuz, who is on trial for aggravated assault. There's Abdul, who’s exploring his sexuality and has been humiliated online. Louise's promising future is compromised by her controlling boyfriend. And there’s Zane, whose parents’ divorce opens up an emotional hole in his life that’s plugged by an ill-chosen new friendship. Drawing on her own experiences of loss and social injustice, and twenty-five years on the NHS frontline, Dorcas offers a bird’s-eye view of London: its multicultural population, wealth inequalities, tireless healthcare professionals, and an NHS that doesn’t always work for everyone. This is a story of uncomfortable truths, resilience and hope. 

Los Angeles, 1964. Del and Dinah Newman and their two sons, Guy and Shep, have been America's Favourite Family for two decades. Every week, they play perfect, monochrome versions of themselves on TV for an adoring public. But now the Sixties are in full swing, and the Newmans’ perfection is starting to feel embarrassingly out of touch. And with car crashes, explosive secrets and very real life troubles all in the mix, it's not just their ratings that are in free fall. . . Dinah decides to take control and hires a young reporter to help them go out on a high with a brilliant final episode. But the two women have starkly different views on what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1960s America.

Careless People pulls back the curtain on one of the most powerful companies of our time: Facebook. A young diplomat from New Zealand, Sarah Wynn-Williams believed in the platform's potential to change the world for the better. But as she ascended the company’s ranks, she discovered a vastly different reality – one in equal parts absurd, maddening, and jaw-dropping. From wild schemes hatched on private jets to narrowly avoiding prison abroad, this memoir is both darkly funny and deeply unsettling. It isn't just a story about tech – it’s a warning about what happens when responsibility is outsourced and ambition goes unchecked.

This new novel from bestselling author Alice Feeney is a dark, clever read built around the ultimate domestic deception. Artist Eden Fox returns to her new home, Spyglass, from a run, to find her key doesn’t fit, and a woman who looks eerily like her answering the door. Worse, her husband insists this stranger is his wife. . .

Growing up in a sheltered, conservative family Frances “Frankie” McGrath has never imagined a life for herself outside her idyllic, albeit boring, California town. But when war is declared in 1965, she realises that women can be heroes too. Joining the Army Nurses Corps, Frankie lands in Vietnam, a world of destruction and death she could never have fathomed. As she cares for the wounded, she learns the power of female friendship and discovers a side of herself she never knew existed. The Women, the unputdownable new story from Kristin Hannah, is set to be adapted into a blockbuster film. 

Part-memoir, part-inspirational guide, Simply More is a reflection on growth and perseverance from the multi-talented Cynthia Erivo. The acclaimed actor reflects on her personal growth and the powerful lessons she has learned both on stage and in life. Erivo uses personal vignettes and her experiences running marathons, real and metaphorical, to demonstrate that it is never too late to build the life you are seeking.

This explosive collection from Samanta Schweblin is a masterclass in unnerving, tightly-wound storytelling. Each tale is a perfectly constructed snare, luring you in with a deceptively simple premise before snapping shut. Whether it's a mother surfacing from a lake after seeing something awful yet alluring, or a father haunted by a moment of distraction, Schweblin’s work explores the sinister undercurrents of everyday life. With her precise and uncanny prose, she confronts the unspoken bonds of family and the monsters that lurk in the shadows – and within ourselves.

This darkly funny novel about ambition and privilege is the latest must-read from Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Olivie Blake. Student Nina Kaur and professor Dr Sloane Hartley both believe they'll find the answer to their problems inside The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus. However, as they're drawn further into the sisterhood’s arcane rituals, they learn that collective perfection comes with bloody costs. . .

One of the biggest new fantasy books of 2025, the latest novel from V. E. Schwab is a dark, morally ambiguous tale of vampires that, thanks to its real-world setting and multi-timeline narrative, is also a great piece of historical fiction. Weaving together the stories of three young women, whose lives become entangled across the centuries, it will take you from Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532, to London in 1837, and Boston in 2019, its character-driven narrative exploring female rage, hunger, freedom and fate.

In an exquisite love letter to Iceland, Hannah Kent reflects on her life-changing experience as a seventeen-year-old exchange student from Australia, and the creative process behind her celebrated novel Burial Rites. When she first arrived in Iceland, the author had never seen snow before. Living through a dark winter in a remote part of the country, she found herself in love with the island, in a way that remains strong twenty years later. This book is an ode to the transcendent power of creativity and an exploration of how a place can shape a writer's life. 

For readers seeking insightful literary essays from a distinctive voice, Jamaica Kincaid's Putting Myself Together is a landmark collection. Spanning over five decades, this book showcases Kincaid’s witty and fearless style through essays on subjects from Muhammad Ali and Diana Ross to gardening and motherhood. A compelling read that demonstrates how Kinkaid became one of the most influential writers of her generation.