Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Female Friendships

Click on the buttons below to filter by subgenre/theme, time period and setting.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 224

Page 1 of 28
Reset Filters
Filter by Genre
Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 135
Historical Fiction - 66
Thrillers - 18
Mystery - 5
Romance/Love Stories - 4
Short Stories - 4
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 13

Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 63
1st in Series - 9

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 10
Humor & Satire - 7

Families
Generational Sagas - 31
Parenting & Families - 24

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 11
Coming of Age - 73
Mid-Life Onwards - 14
Dealing with Loss - 43

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 2
Immigrants & Expats - 26
Black Authors - 19
Latinx Authors - 2
Asian Authors - 32
Jewish Authors - 7
Middle-Eastern Authors - 1
Native and Indigenous Authors - 1

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 224
Strong Women - 135
LGBTQ+ - 24

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 5
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 11

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 12
Magical Realism - 1

Miscellaneous
Small Press Titles - 13
Books about Books - 7
Physical & Mental Differences - 14
Books About Animals - 1
War Related - 32
Nature & Environment - 2
Music and the Arts - 6
Activism & Volunteering - 8
Heroes - 5
LibraryReads Picks - 30

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 13
250-400 Pages - 224
Less Than 250 Pages - 21

Filter by Time Period
Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 8
18th Century - 5
19th Century - 21
20th Century (multiple decades) - 16
Early 20th Century - 11
1920s & '30s - 15
1940s & '50s - 20
1960s & '70s - 15
1980s & '90s - 23
Contemporary - 88
The Future - 4
Across The Centuries - 2

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 112
Canada - 6
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 3
Europe - 33
Asia - 21
Africa - 3
Pacific, inc. Hawaii, Aus & NZ - 4
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 1
Global - 3
Imaginary Locations - 4

USA (48 States)
N.H. Vt. Maine - 3
Conn. & R.I. - 2
Mass. - 5
Penn. - 3
New York State - 28
New Jersey - 2
Washington DC - 4
Tenn. Va. W.Va. Ky. - 4
N & S Carolina - 4
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 6
Florida - 1
Texas - 2
Ark. La. Ok. - 3
Kas. Mo. - 2
Illinois - 2
Ind. Mich. Ohio - 4
Minn. Wis. Iowa - 2
Nebr.& Dakotas - 1
Colo. Wyo. Mont. - 1
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 1
California - 27
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 7

USA Regions
New England, USA - 16
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 31
South, USA - 26
Midwest, USA - 11
West, USA - 36

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 35
Scandinavia - 1
France - 6
Spain - 1
Germany - 1
Italy - 3
Eastern Europe - 2

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 6
Central Asia - 1
East Asia (except China) - 4
China - 5
India - 9
South-East Asia - 2

Africa by Region
Middle & Southern Africa - 1
Northern & Western Africa - 2

Select your view:
Order books by:
  • Hot Springs Drive
    Lindsay Hunter
    Paperback: 11/12/2024
     
    The third title in Roxane Gay Books' inaugural list, Hot Springs Drive is an urgent, vicious blade of a novel ...
  • The Frozen River
    Ariel Lawhon
    Paperback: 11/05/2024
     
    From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping ...
  • Absolution
    Absolution: A Novel
    Alice McDermott
    Paperback: 10/29/2024
     
    A riveting account of women's lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the ...
  • Women's Hotel
    Women's Hotel: A Novel
    Daniel M. Lavery
    Hardcover: 10/15/2024
     
    From the New York Times bestselling author and advice columnist, a poignant and funny debut novel about the ...
  • Those Pink Mountain Nights
    Jen Ferguson
    Paperback: 10/15/2024
     
    In her remarkable second novel following her Governor General's Award-winning debut, The Summer of Bitter and ...
  • The Dance of the Dolls
    Lucy Ashe
    Paperback: 09/10/2024
     
    A novel about obsessive love featuring two ballet dancers—identical twin sisters Olivia and Clara ...
  • Mina's Matchbox
    Yoko Ogawa
    Hardcover: 08/13/2024
     
    From the award-winning, psychologically astute author of The Memory Police, a hypnotic, introspective novel ...

Full results are for members only - but you can cross-reference more than one theme by using the buttons in the right column. Members please login. Interested in becoming a member? Explore the many benefits of membership here.

The reviewer of each book decides which categories it belongs in - but we're only human, mistakes happen. If you see a book that you think is in the wrong place, tell us!

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.