10 Escapist Reads to Cuddle Up With
With the stressful holiday season approaching, a lot of us are looking for an escape from reality. What better way to do that than getting lost in a new book? Here you will find a list of 10 books that will be sure to give you just the escape you need. You need this stack of escapist reads ASAP!
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Travis Wren has an unusual talent – he can locate a missing person with just one single object. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James, he is led to a place that many didn’t believe existed. Pastoral is a community of people looking for a simpler way of life – and the commune shouldn’t exist anymore. When Travis stumbles upon the town, he disappears just like the others. Years later, Theo, a member of Pastoral finds Travis’s abandoned truck. Uncovering this mystery uncovers secrets between Theo, his wife and her sister and proves that their perfect little town isn’t all they thought it was.
The London House by Katherine Reay
Caroline Payne’s world is turned upside down when she gets a call from an old friend and historian who informs her that her British great-aunt betrayed the country and her family to marry her German lover in World War II. Caroline feels that she must get to the bottom of this and rescue her family’s reputation. She goes to their ancestral home in London where she uncovers several revealing diaries written by her great-aunt and grandmother. Was Caroline’s great-aunt really a traitor or was this a misunderstanding? The truth comes out when Caroline reads about one fateful night in 1941.
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
Ellice Littlejohn seems to have it all, but everything changes when she finds her boss shot dead in the executive suite on one cold morning. Ellice’s response is to walk away like she never saw anything. Why? Because she is keeping her own secrets and has a kid brother who has spent time on the other side of the law. She doesn’t want any extra attention. Instead of grieving, everyone is gossiping, and police are suspicious. Ellice, the company’s only Black attorney, is promoted to replace her boss. Ellice’s past and present lives collide as she uncovers dark company secrets and is faced with stopping a sinister conspiracy.
Christmas in Peachtree Bluff by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Ansley takes immense pride in being a reliable mother. When her daughter, Caroline, and her husband announce their divorce, their own daughter, Vivi, begins acting out. Ansley offers to take Vivi under her wing for the holiday season. Ansley and her husband, Jack, were planning to take Vivi with them on vacation to escape an incoming hurricane. This doesn’t go as planned. Vivi’s antics force the trio to remain in Peachtree Bluff. As the hurricane hits, Ansley’s daughters take it upon themselves to rescue the trio and the destroyed town. They set sail on Caroline’s boat and have no idea what they are getting themselves into.
My Famous Brain by Diane Wald
Jack had a thing for psychic connections and a prodigious memory, which allowed him to memorize books. Unlike others, his gift never gave him a free ticket to fame or riches in life – he simply just went through life as anyone else would. Jack died in 1974, and now he tells his story from beyond the grave. Jack’s penchant for psychic connections now gives him a new, unusual perspective on his past life and makes him fiercely curious of his current existence. Jack discusses tales from his childhood and dives deep into his life experiences including a study he conducted on the intellectually gifted and his past relationships. Through all of this, Jack is brought to another level of brilliance.
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
The phantoms of Marigold’s old life are haunting her, and it seems like she’s always running from ghosts. A move from her small California beach town to the embattled midwestern city of Cedarville may be just what she needs for a fresh start. Mari is forced to share a bedroom with her bratty new 10-year-old stepsister, Piper. The house has its own secrets, but that’s just the beginning of it. Things vanish, lights turn on and doors open on their own, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls and there’s a foul smell in the house that only Mari seems to notice. Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone, and Mari soon realizes that the entire town has secrets, not just the house.
No Beauties or Monsters by Tara Goedjen
Rylie left a lot of memories at the military base in Twentynine Palms but hasn’t been back since her father died. When her mom’s new work assignment sends them back to Twentynine Palms, Rylie is in a place she never wanted to return to. It seems her old friend Lily is gone – vanished into the desert, and there is gossip around town about a mysterious killer on the loose. It isn’t just the town that’s frightening, though, Rylie is having visions of monstrous creatures that lurk in the night. Everything seems to be tied to the cabin her grandfather left behind. Rylie wants the truth, but she doesn’t know what’s real. The deadliest thing in town could be Rylie herself.
A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil
Annie Beyers has everything she has ever dreamed of. When Annie suddenly wakes up one in the hospital after a devastating car accident, her life is completely turned upside down. She wakes up dazed and confused and her first instinct is to ask for her daughter, Hannah. Annie is utterly shocked when she hears the nurse and then everyone around her telling her that she has never had a daughter. This isn’t the only thing that seems to have changed, though. It seems as if five whole years of Annie’s life has vanished into thin air.
Couples Wanted by Briana Cole
Bridget and Roman are newlyweds and want to make sure they do everything in their power to keep their relationship feeling new and exciting. They immediately hit it off when they meet another couple, Corinne and Patrick. They make the unusual decision to swap spouses for just one thrilling night. After this, Bridget and Roman feel closer than ever. The couple thinks this is just going to be a harmless fling – until Corinne and Patrick start wanting more from Bridget and Roman than they ever wanted to agree to. They are pushed the edge and forced to uncover the true intentions of Corinne and Patrick, or they won’t have anything left.
The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a glamorous Shanghai nightclub in 1940. Ernest Reisman is a poor Jewish refugee, sent out of Germany and looking to make it in a new city.
Aiyi hires Ernest to play piano at her nightclub and gains instant popularity, giving Ernest fame and making Aiyi’s nightclub the hottest in Shanghai. The pair soon realizes they share a connection, but Aiyi is engaged to another man. As the war escalated, they are torn apart but a chain of events will soon change their lives forever.
