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The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Here are the five most read books on Goodreads this week! These are the buzziest books of the moment, from thrillers to romance.

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Colleen Hoover had only recently ended her reign over the bestseller and most read lists, and now she’s back. The movie adaptation of It Ends With Us has rocketed it to the top of this week’s most read books on Goodreads, unseating the recent queen of thrillers, Freida McFadden.

Still, McFadden is holding onto two of the top five spots, with a couple romance novels rounding out the list. Other than Hoover’s reemergence, the titles are almost identical to last week, so I’ve added some of the most read books from countries around the world for some variety. This time: Croatia, Mexico, and Greece.

#5:

Just For the Summer Cover

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Summer might be winding down, but this summer romance is still going strong! Start with Part of Your World if you want to read the series in order. This was read by almost 17,000 readers this week and has a 4.4 rating.

Croatia: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Mexico: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Greece: Beach Read by Emily Henry

#4:

Cover of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden continues to take up two of the top five with her Housemaid series, which starts with this title. It was read by over 17,000 users and has a 4.3 average rating. Overall, this has close to 1.5 million ratings!

Croatia: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Mexico: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Greece: Twisted Love by Ana Huang

#3:

The Housemaid Is Watching cover

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

The other McFadden title on this test is the newest book in the Housemaid series. It was read by almost 18,000 users and has an average rating of 3.9.

Croatia: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Mexico: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Greece: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

#2:

cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Another romance in the top five this week is Emily Henry’s newest. It was read by almost 18,000 Goodreads users and has a 4.3 average rating.

Croatia: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Mexico: Play Along by Liz Tomforde

Greece: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

#1:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover Cover

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover has resumed her spot at the top of the most read list following the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us. Almost 30,000 Goodreads users marked it as read, and it has a 4.2 average rating.

Croatia: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Mexico: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Greece: Happy Place by Emily Henry

Two New Books Out This Week You Should Know About

Unfortunately, the most read books on Goodreads tend not to be diverse by any definition of the word. So, here are a couple of new books out this week that deserve wider readership. These are both Erica Ezeifedi’s recommendations, and you can find more at her roundup of The Best New Book Releases Out August 13, 2024.

cover of The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya

The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya

In the summer of 2020, Sophia is a young playwright whose latest play has been a hit. All that’s left is for her father—an author of yesteryear whose novels haven’t aged well—to see it and give his opinion. Little does he know it brings to life an argument the two of them had while vacationing in Sicily a couple years ago…and it cuts him up.

the maid and the crocodile book cover

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko

If you haven’t already read Ifueko’s Raybearer duology and you love fantasy, please do. It’s got demons, and queer characters, and a magic system that I connected with on a spiritual level. The Maid and the Crocodile takes place in the same world as the duology, but you don’t necessarily have to have read the first books. It would be better, though, because they’re so good.

Here, Small Sade is looking for a job in the magical city of Oluwan. She hopes to work as a maid for people who won’t give her trouble for her disability or her appearance. Before she can find them, though, she accidentally becomes bound to the powerful god Crocodile, who she has to impress lest she become the latest pretty girl he devours. Crocodile, pretty himself, realizes the two of them are bound by fate once she reveals she’s a curse eater. Once she gets away from him, she starts a career as a curse eater to the wealthy, but Crocodile still has plans for her, and they may even involve a revolution.

If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

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