12 female friendship novels Archives

This Motherless Land

by Nikki May

I’m a sucker for a Jane Austen adaptation, but even so the Wahala author’s decolonial retelling of Mansfield Park surpassed all my expectations. May’s update spans two decades from the late 1970s to the late 1990s and moves between Lagos and the U.K. (with an important scene set at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics). There’s much to appreciate: a coming of age story, a scathing social critique, a time capsule, and a story about the bond between first cousins. This emotional tale is by turns humorous and gutting: I read it with my heart in my throat. You need not have read Austen to enjoy this retelling, but a skim through the plot summary wouldn’t hurt—and don’t be surprised if you want to read Mansfield next!

The Other Side of Now

by Paige Harbison

Cross The Holiday with Sliding Doors and you’ll get a sense of Harbison’s adult debut. After a disastrous thirtieth birthday party, Meg books a getaway to the quaint Irish village where she had once dreamed of moving. That’s when things get weird: everyone seems to know her already. She has an apartment and friends and a hot ex who’s none too pleased to see her. Most shocking of all: in this version of her life, her best friend, who died in a car accident just before college, is alive and well. So why isn’t Meg happy? Harbison asks important questions about choice, contentment, and what makes for a meaningful life. I found it utterly unputdownable.

The Wilderness

by Angela Flournoy

At long last, Flournoy follows up her 2015 debut, the National Book Award finalist The Turner House, with this coming-into-middle-age novel about four Black women navigating the tumultuous years from their twenties to their forties in New York and L.A, from 2008 to 2027. Flournoy describes herself to be fascinated by group dynamics, and here she portrays the complex and ever-shifting friendship between these four friends and chosen sisters as they make their way through the “wilderness”—the unclear path each woman must navigate as she finds her way in work, love, and life. Read this 2025 Fall Book Preview spotlight title for the expertly drawn character development and the nuanced exploration of gender expectations, romantic entanglements, class concerns, caregiving, and the evolving dynamics of city life.

The Invisibles: A Novel

by Cecilia Galante

A wonderful exploration of four friends who lived in a group home together and formed a found family they dubbed The Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after high school graduation, they go their separate ways ... until circumstances bring them back together fifteen years later. It's their chance at a do-over, but each must decide it’s worth the risk. This novel offers terrific insights on friendship, as well as how the secrets we keep from ourselves and others impact us and our relationships. (Content warnings apply.)

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.)

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Beginner’s Luck

by Kate Clayborn

This series opener centers Kit, a steady scientist who, because of her peripatetic childhood, wants to use her winnings to create a home for herself and develop roots in her community. So when Ben shows up in his role as recruiter her to entice her to leave it all behind and move to Texas ... well, it's a disaster. But as they keep talking, their connection grows. I loved watching Ben and Kit work through their respective baggage over the course of the story, and the large cast of well-developed secondary characters gives this series life.

The Boyfriend Project

by Farrah Rochon

I devoured this fun and thoughtful romance. After witnessing many live-tweet moments on Twitter over the years, Farrah Rochon decided to turn live-tweet-gone-viral into a fabulous rom com premise: her heroine Samiah Brooks catches her three-timing boyfriend after reading about his date with another woman—on Twitter. When the three “girlfriends” Samiah, London, and Taylor go viral, they meet up, become besties, and vow to focus on their single selves by not dating for six months. With her newfound free time, Samiah pours herself into developing her passion project. But just as her dream app starts to take shape, she meets a sexy coworker who seems like he could be perfect boyfriend material. Steamy, smart, and centered around friendship, I’m so glad Rochon is continuing the series with books for London and Taylor, too.

Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love

by Kim Fay

Set in the 1960s, the publisher aptly compares this novel to 84, Charing Cross Road. When L.A.-based Joan writes a fan letter to Camano Island, WA columnist Imogen to thank her for her column in a Pacific Northwest-based magazine, enclosing a packet of saffron and a recipe, a lasting friendship is born. The women become pen-friends, exchanging letters that move from the topic of food to books (so many books!) to the troubles (and occasional triumphs) of their personal lives. This just may be the gentle, feel-good novel you're looking for.

Fellowship Point

by Alice Elliott Dark

This sprawling saga featuring two octogenarian protagonists reads like a 19th century novel. Agnes Lee and Polly Wister have been friends their whole lives, growing up alongside each other in Philadelphia Quaker families and summering together in Maine. Agnes is beloved by the world as a bestselling children’s author, but not a living soul—including Polly—knows she also pens the popular and critically praised Franklin Square series. Polly knows Agnes sees her as a pushover, especially when it comes to her family, but Polly never lets on she’s wiser than her friend gives her credit for. When an enterprising (and nosy) young editor begins pestering Agnes to write a memoir, she sets in motion a chain of events that tests the women’s lifelong friendship, and threatens to expose the long-buried secrets each has so carefully kept from the other. If you want a big, rich, and immersive novel to sink into this summer, this 592-pager is just the ticket. For fans of Virginia Hume’s Haven Point and Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.

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Skin & Bones

by Renee Watson

Piecing Me Together author Watson wows with her adult debut. Things are finally going well for forty-year-old Lena: she has a good job, loving relationships with her parents and daughter, and a handsome fiancé she’s set to marry in just a few weeks. But his shocking confession the morning of her would-be wedding sends her reeling, and destabilizes the once-firm foundation she’s carefully built. Close female friendships and familial relationships feature prominently as Watson unpacks the beliefs surrounding beauty, love, fatness, and faith handed down from each generation to the next. Lyrical and kaleidoscopic, Watson compassionately explores what it means to love yourself, love your body, and love others, while showcasing Portland’s rich Black history.

Just for the Summer

by Abby Jimenez

From the publisher: "Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work. Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka. It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?"

Anne of Green Gables

by L.M. Montgomery

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Prince Edward Island, Canada decide to adopt an orphaned boy to help them on their farm. Their messenger mistakenly delivers a girl to Green Gables instead—an 11-year-old feisty redhead named Anne Shirley. The series follows Anne from her childhood at Green Gables until she is a mother herself. Don't miss the final books of the series when Anne's own sons set sail to fight for Canada in WWI.

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