The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
If you follow this weekly feature, you’ll know that usually, it stays pretty similar week to week. This time, though, the most read books on Goodreads include some new titles! Interestingly, three of the top five are short stories—that’s one way to have your book read quicker.
As usual, Freida McFadden has two of the top five spots, but this time the second title is a new release: The Housemaid’s Wedding, which is a short story in the Housemaid series. The other two short stories included here are both in the Under the Mistletoe Collection, an Amazon Original collection of holiday romance stories. All five stories in the collection make this week’s most read books on Goodreads full 50-book list, but only one has a rating over 3.5.
As usual, this list is looking very white—even the full 50-book list of the most read books on Goodreads has almost no authors of color. That’s why I’ve also included a couple of new releases by authors of color that deserve a wider readership.
Now, let’s get into the most read books on Goodreads this week!
#5:
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
This is book two of the Under The Mistletoe Collection, starring a single mom and a “gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit” who get into a “friends-with-holiday-benefits” arrangement. Tessa Bailey is best known for her Bellinger Sisters series, starting with It Happened One Summer. This one was read by more than 13,000 Goodreads users last week and has a 2.9 average rating—one of the lowest ratings in the 50 most read books on Goodreads, second only to another story in the Under The Mistletoe Collection.
#4:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
This romantasy series about a dragon-riding academy is one of the most popular in the genre. There are often two Empyrean books in the top five, but the holiday romances pushed book two into sixth place. Rebecca Yarros’s new contemporary romance novel, Variation, came out November 19th and is also in the top 50. Fourth Wing was read by almost 14,000 users last week and it has a 4.6 average rating with two million total ratings.
#3:
The Housemaid’s Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5) by Freida McFadden
This 84-page short story came out November 4th and takes place between book two, The Housemaid’s Secret, and book three, The Housemaid is Watching. As the title suggests, it follows the main character during her wedding—when she suspects someone is trying to kill her before she can make it to the altar. It was read by 19,000 users last week with an average rating of 3.4
#2:
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
McFadden’s newest thriller has been reigning over the #1 spot for quite a while, but it seems like even it can’t compete with the allure of a seasonal romance read! The Pumpkin Spice Café is out, at least until next October, and Christmas romances are in. Still, The Boyfriend has held onto the #2 most read spot. It had almost 20,000 readers on Goodreads this week and it has a 4.0 average rating.
#1:
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood is best known for her STEM romances, like The Love Hypothesis. This new 73-page holiday romance story came out November 12th. In it, Jamie gets snowed in with her brother’s best friend, Marc—who also happens to have grown up to be a tech billionaire. This one had more than 21,000 readers this week, with a 3.8 average rating.
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.
Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe
I loved this literary speculative story about two sisters who began their lives together as snakes in Tang Dynasty China. Now, they couldn’t be more different: Su is a conservative politician’s wife in Singapore while Emerald scrapes by as a queer sugar baby living in New York City with an artist friend. It’s a beautiful and bruising story about racism, assimilation, and the complexities of found family. I don’t know how to talk about this one succinctly, but you can get my full thoughts on All the Books.
Content warnings: Rape, assault, transmisogyny (this is a significant plot, not just mentioned in passing), pregnancy trauma, misogyny, homophobia. —Danika Ellis
Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat
Nettie, a young Haitian student in 1960s Oakland, puts her public health skills and revolutionary spirit to good use at the free health clinics created by the Black Panthers. Soon, she’s swept up in the movement and her love for the party’s defense captain, Melvin. Pregnant, Nettie follows him to Chicago. But there, she finds herself overwhelmed with the city’s harsh segregation, police brutality, and Melvin’s growing unfaithfulness. A violent tussle with the police that ends Nettie’s pregnancy is the last straw. Can she find who she was before all this while still fighting for a better tomorrow? —Rachel Brittain
If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
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