Inspire Great Reading for Spring 2020

If you're like the rest of the world, you probably have more time on your hands due to the coronavirus outbreak. We're staying home (at least, you should be!) and we're finding enjoyment in simple activities, like reading.

Reading can distract you from the continuous news about the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, the pandemic is very serious and we need to be cautious, but we sometimes need a break from the news and the worry. We need to read now more than ever before.

Luckily, there are plenty of new books to read this spring season. You can sip some lemonade, appreciate the incoming warmer weather, read a good book, and listen to the chirping birds that have returned from a long winter season.

Just like I always do with each season, I have five new book recommendations for the spring season. These books will make you feel better and delight your spirits. There's a book for everyone, and you certainly have plenty of time to find the right book for you.

1. "In Five Years" - Rebecca Serle

Rebecca Serle's "In Five Years" (photo/Amazon.com).

For fans of Me Before You, One Day, and One Day in December, you will love The Dinner List author Rebecca Serle's newest novel, In Five Years. Set in New York, Dannie Kohan has her whole life planned out. She has a loving fiance, her dream job, and a great group of friends. Everything is perfect...until it's not.

One day, Dannie wakes up and it's five years later. She's in bed with a different man and there's a different engagement ring on her finger. She spends an hour in this parallel universe and she has no idea what to make of this bizarre hour. When the hour ends, she's back in bed next to her current fiance and she's determined to move past the strange experience. Life goes on as normal.

However, four-and-a-half years later, Dannie meets the man from her strange dream. Now she's questioning everything. Is she supposed to be with this man? Dannie tries to live normally, but the bizarre dream keeps affecting her. She can't focus on anything else besides knowing that the day from her dream is just six months away. How will things change? Can she let it change? Does she want to be with the man from her dream?

In an unexpected love story, Serle delivers a book you won't be able to put down until you reach the final page. That's exactly the kind of book you need to read right now.

2. "Woman on the Edge" - Samantha M. Bailey 

Samantha M. Bailey's "Woman on the Edge" (photo/Amazon.com).

In Samantha M. Bailey's debut novel, Woman on the Edge, is a major thrill ride from the very first page. Morgan Kincaid is standing on a subway platform, waiting for the train to arrive. But just as it barrels into the station, a stranger addresses Morgan by her name, hands over her baby, and jumps in front of the train.

You can just imagine how Morgan feels. She's embroiled in a nightmare, and now she's a suspect for murder. Morgan has multiple questions: How did the woman know her name? Why did she choose her to care for her child? What was going on in the woman's life to cause this? How can she care for this child when she's still trying to understand her own life?

You'll be on the edge of your seat with this captivating thriller. Just like Morgan, you'll want to find out the answers. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

3. "The Holdout" - Graham Moore

Graham Moore's "The Holdout" (photo/Goodreads.com).

In the most sensational case of the decade, 15-year-old Jessica Silver disappears on her way home from school. Her teacher, Bobby Nock, a 25-year-old African-American man, is the prime suspect in this case. In The Holdout, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Graham Moore (for The Imitation Game) takes readers right into this intense trial that taps straight into America's most pressing issues: race, class, sex, law enforcement, and more.

It seems like this will be an open-and-shut case, and a quick conviction seems guaranteed--until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, is convinced of Bobby's innocence. She persuades the rest of the jurors to vote "not guilty." This is a controversial decision that will change their lives forever.

Flash forward ten years. Maya is now a defense attorney and a true-crime docuseries reunites the jury to discuss the famous trial. One of the jurors is found dead in Maya's hotel room, and all evidence points to her as the killer. Now, Maya must prove her own innocence--hoping someone on the jury could see her innocence just like she saw Bobby's innocence ten years ago.

Fans of true crime novels and courtroom trials (and perhaps even Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird) will love this smart novel.

4. "Anna K" - Jenny Lee 

Jenny Lee's "Anna K" (photo/Amazon.com).

Whenever a book happens to be a modern re-telling of a literary classic, it's bound to be successful. Jenny Lee's Anne K is no exception. It's regarded as one of the most highly-anticipated novels of the spring season.

A modern re-telling of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, the novel begins with 17-year-old Anna K at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society. She has the perfect (yet perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander. She has made her Korean-American father proud, even though he can be a little controlling.

Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are involved in a sexting scandal. Lolly's younger sister, Kimmie, tries to return to normal life after an injury ended her ice dancing career. Steven's best friend, Dustin, is in love with Kimmie, but she doesn't return the feelings. Anna always finds herself in the middle of these problems, but she somehow manages to sail gracefully above it all.

That's until she meets Alexia "Count" Vronsky at Grand Central Station. A notorious playboy who has bounced from boarding school to boarding school, he lives for his own pleasure. Alexia is the complete opposite of Anna, but once he meets her...He's hooked. He's never fallen in love before because he's been too busy living his own life. But everything changes when he meets Anna, and everything changes for Anna, as well.

The two are pulled irresistibly together, and Anna has to decide if she's willing to give up her glamorous Manhattan life to be with Alexia. But when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, Anna will have to make tough decisions she has never had to make.

In a dazzling re-telling of a classic love story, Lee offers a heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.

5. "The Honey-Don't List" - Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren's "The Honey-Don't List" (photo/Amazon.com).

The popular The Unhoneymooners writing duo Christina Lauren (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) are back with another highly-anticipated novel, The Honey-Don't List. Carey Douglas works for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp. She has worked for the couple since she was 16 years old, and she helped them build an empire. They have a TV show, a book deal, and America can't get enough of them. The Tripps are the fictional version of HGTV's Chip and Joanna Gaines. They're a sensation.

But there's one problem: Melissa and Rusty's relationship isn't as perfect as it once was. In fact, they seem to be headed for a divorce, but America can't know about that. Carey is heartbroken, so she must do whatever she can to heal their marriage.

Enter James McCann, a MIT graduate who is hired by the Tripps as a structural engineer for their designs. He's not too happy with the work, but it's a job. Both he and Carey must go on the book tour with the Tripps to make sure the couple stays together and poised for their followers.

While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses' secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. They don't particularly like each other at first, but as they attempt to keep their bosses together, they soon find comfort in each other. Could this be the start of another love story?

Christina Lauren delivers a romantic comedy that proves if it actually is broken, you might as well fix it.

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Reading is so important, especially now. It's the perfect distraction from everything going on in the world. As you read, you'll discover new perspectives, imaginations, life lessons, and more. Relax this spring (we need it) with a new book while welcoming the changing season. We could all use a little change right now. Have fun reading these five books, and so many more.

Read on.

-KJL-