fictional friend groups you’ll want to join

Written in the Stars

by Alexandria Bellefleur

Darcy Lowell and Elle Jones had a disastrous blind date, but Darcy's brother will keep bugging her until she finds love. With a little convincing, she gets Elle on board for a fake relationship to benefit them both. The plot of this contemporary romance doesn't mimic Austen, but the characters do feel like Darcy and Elizabeth. Catching the subtle nods to Pride and Prejudice in this breezy, page-turner adds a delightful layer to the reading experience, but you don't need any prior knowledge of Austen's work in order to fully enjoy it. (Open door.)

Chirp

Love at First

by Kate Clayborn

With winning characters, a multigenerational found family, and a fun Chicago setting, this romance is going to make a whole lot of readers happy. Will and Nora live two floors apart from each other, where late night balcony chats bring them closer together—and their clashing plans for the building spark a surprising rivalry. I expected an absorbing plot and engaging characters from the returning SRG author’s Romeo and Juliet-inspired second-chance love story; I did not expect it to get me right in the feels. (Open door.)

One Last Stop

by Casey McQuiston

A twenty-something overcomes the impossible to find love and the family she longs for in this feel-good novel inspired by Kate & Leopold. Adrift and lonely, 23-year-old August moved to New York City with hopes of leaving the past behind and building a new life. To her great surprise, things start going well. She bumps into Jane (literally) on the Q line, developing a serious crush on the beautiful girl with the retro punk rock look. August is terrified she’ll never see Jane again, but then she does—on the Q line. It turns out Jane is always on the Q line, and if August and Jane are to get their happy ending, Jane needs to figure out how to get her unstuck—with the help of her friends, of course. Delightfully frothy and feel-good.

Rise to the Sun

by Leah Johnson

Following her triumphant debut You Should See Me in a Crown, Johnson delivers another YA novel full of friendship, romance, and music. Indiana teenagers Olivia and Toni stand on the precipice of change—but first, unbeknownst to each other, they can’t wait to attend the massive Farmland Music Festival with their respective best friends. Neither has finding love on their mind: Olivia is getting over a bad breakup; Toni is about to leave for college, and is still grieving a terrible loss. But each pair of friends desperately wants to win the #FoundAtFarmland scavenger hunt, and so they all team up—and when they do, sparks fly. Unfolding over a single weekend, this delightful story boasts a fast-paced plot, a whole lot of heart, and literary references to Jane Austen, Jo March, and Zora Heale Hurston. (Content warnings for gun violence, death of a parent, and sharing explicit images of a minor.)

Honey Girl

by Morgan Rogers

Morgan Rogers takes her characters on a deeply emotional journey in this contemporary fiction debut. While on a girls' trip to Vegas, Grace Porter upends her carefully constructed life with one spur-of-the-moment (and intoxicated) mistake, waking up married to a complete stranger. She could rush to reverse it all, but her new wife Yuki takes her by surprise. Frustrated with her job and yearning for something new, Grace decides to see where this relationship might go and follows Yuki to New York for the summer. While they navigate their budding romance and their respective pasts, Grace's friends share hard truths with her in a way only people who have known you a long time can. But they never stop looking out for one another.

The Gilded Wolves

by Roshani Chokshi

This historical fantasy set in 1899 Paris is part heist, part treasure hunt—with a crew of friends at its center. In this world, the Order of Babel rules. Some people are divinely gifted with Forging affinities, allowing them to change or enhance creation. Séverin, the denied heir of House Vanth, delights in reclaiming the items sold off from his House and tracking down Order items for those who will pay him. He’s capably assisted by Zofia, Laila, Tristan, and Enrique. As thrilling as it is to read about their adventures, read this for the way they look out for one another.

Neanderthal Seeks Human

by Penny Reid

This smart contemporary romance series follows a group of seven friends in Chicago, whose relationships blossomed thanks to Knit Night. They rally around each other no matter what's going on and their relationships continue to be a priority even as they each fall in love. Penny Reid's characters have distinct personalities and quirks and it's delightful watching them grow individually and as a group as the series progresses. You'll wish you could be friends with them in real life! (Heads up: the first two books are on the "closed door" side, but the series grows in steaminess as it progresses and is considered "open door" after book 3.)

Chirp

The Bromance Book Club

by Lyssa Kay Adams

This second chance love story is so much fun—and gave me a new appreciation for the romance genre. Baseball star Gavin Scott is successful on the field, but at home? He's struggling to make his marriage work. Desperate for help, he turns to his best friends, who—unbeknownst to him—have a secret romance book club in which they read and discuss romance novels. The guys give him a historical romance to read, Courting the Countess, portions of which appear between chapters, and tell him to use it as a guide to win his wife back. Through big gestures and fumbling attempts at vulnerability, Gavin learns how to love his partner better. (Open door.)

The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club Book 1)

by Richard Osman

This book remind me so much of Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote. It's a fun mystery that will appeal to readers of all ages. Plus, it looks like the first in what will be a series! It's set in a retirement community, where four friends meet in the Jigsaw Room every week to chat about unsolved crimes. This group of 70-somethings call themselves "The Thursday Murder Club." When bodies start piling up in a live and local case, they set out to catch a killer. Completely charming, and so well-narrated by Lesley Manville.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers Book 1)

by Becky Chambers

A rollicking, big-hearted, constantly surprising space opera set in a future that feels good. This friendly and soothing sci fi story features the patched-together ship Wayfarer and its motley crew, who take on a mission so lucrative they’ll be set for years, should they succeed, but so dangerous they might die trying. The mission drives the story, but is almost beside the point in a book widely beloved not for exciting intergalactic exploits but for its seamless worldbuilding and palpable feeling of love and community. Like so many great science fiction writers, Chambers builds her story on big themes—friendship and love, gender and politics, mortality and prejudice—making the story every bit as smart as it is kind. This book kicks off the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series; the whole series is inclusive, diverse, and barrels of fun.

fictional friend groups you’ll want to join

a gateway

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summer reading starts May 16th