Looking for book club recommendations for August 2023? I’ve got 5 book club recommendations that I used for my work book club this month! Since we’re nearing the end of summer, I’m trying to squeeze in a few last minute summery reads. Which makes sense, as Happy Place (beachy read) narrowly won over The House in the Pines (thriller/mystery) for this reason alone in my work book club!
If you missed last month’s summer book club picks – check it out here!
Everything’s Fine – Cecilia Rabess
I really wanted this one to win my book club – it was my top choice! It just sounds so good and like there would be a lot to talk about in a book club setting! Plus enemies-to-lovers? Yes, please.
Official Blurb
On Jess’s first day at Goldman Sachs, she’s less than thrilled to learn she’ll be on the same team as Josh, her white, conservative sparring partner from college. Josh loves playing the devil’s advocate and is just…the worst.
But when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, it’s Josh who shows up for her in surprising—if imperfect—ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship—one tinged with undeniable chemistry—forms between the two. A friendship that gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.
Banyan Moon – Thao Thai
My friend actually sent me this synopsis to read to help her decide between two books to read. I thought it sounded like a great book club pick – and it’s on Read with Jenna’s list!
Official Blurb
Sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family’s inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.
When Ann Tran gets the call that her fiercely beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life is already at a crossroads. In the years since she’s last seen Minh, Ann has built a seemingly perfect life—a beautiful lake house, a charming professor boyfriend, and invites to elegant parties that bubble over with champagne and good taste—but it all crumbles with one positive pregnancy test. With both her relationship and carefully planned future now in question, Ann returns home to Florida to face her estranged mother, Huơng.
The Celebrants – Steven Rowley
This book sounds like it has an eclectic group of friends that will provide a lot of discussion! Also, another Read with Jenna pick!
Official Blurb
It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.
Happy Place – Emily Henry
A great book club read, but not my taste. See why in my full spoiler-free review!
This book is incredibly popular this summer. Emily Henry is such a hot author right now! This won our book club poll – so expect a book review next month!
Official Blurb
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
The House In the Pines – Ana Reyes
The runner-up in my book poll! I think we’ll pull this one back in closer to spooky season! Also, it’s set in Boston and the Berkshires in Massachusetts which is a fun throwback for me!
Official Blurb
Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed. . . .
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for…
Final Thoughts
Let me know if you read any of these books for a book club or on your own – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked these book club book recommendations for August 2023, I’d love for you to share this post!
