5 Star Books To Add To Your TBR

I am such a snob when it comes to giving books ratings. Earning a coveted 5 stars is very RARE as I am extremely picky about giving a book a five star rating. Recently I had a friend ask me what books I actually DID rate five stars. I figured creating a blog post that lists all my books, and even maybe why it’s rated a 5 star was worth a go! Here are all the 5 star books to add to your TBR!

Non- Fiction 5 Star books

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When I went to Goodreads to determine what books over the years I actually had rated 5 stars, one thing immediately stood out: I remember almost every single one of them. Even years later, these stories still stick with me. To me, that’s the true mark of a great book. It makes you think, lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished or touches you in a way you’ll never forget.

Scrolling through my 4-star reads, though? I can barely recall the plots or even the characters names. Were they good books? Yes, absolutely. I have tons and tons of solid 4-star reads on my list. But truly GREAT books I cant’ stop thinking about? Those are rare.

So… Without further ado, here are the ones that earned my coveted 5-star rating. Listed in no particular order.

The Wedding People

When we went on a cruise this year I devoured The Wedding People. I never opt for the Wifi on the cruise so all I had to entertain me was this book. There were a few moments where I was literally laughing out loud and people came over to ask me what I was reading. This book is a heavy topic that has the quirkiest characters and has some funny parts as well.

The Housemaid

Not all FRIEDA books are created equal, but this book got me HOOKED on reading Frieda (although no book has measured up to the Housemaid). This is a great Thriller and one of the few Ive ever rated a 5 star.

Lessons In Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry is adorable and I loved it. Didn’t love the TV adaptation as much but it was a great read, and an interesting look at some on the surface women’s rights things of that era.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

I loved the nostalgia of the 80’s and 90’s and video game culture I grew up in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I loved the writing in this book and still think about it often.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

A talking Octopus, are you kidding me? I know what you are thinking this sounds ridiculous, but Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of those books I recommend to everyone. Something about it just works so well and I just love books that have an interesting plot and point of view.

Verity

I honestly don’t even know what to say about this book. It’s the only book in my life I have read in one day. Verity has GRAPHIC language and depictions in the book, but I HAD to know how it ended and to this day am stunned by the ending. This book is very polarizing to some people and I get that! Definitely not for everyone!

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is truly one of my favorite books. In some ways I wish we could have gotten a sequel where Evelyn marries an additional 7 husbands, or even a prequel maybe? Either way what an interesting plot twist and I just absolutely love everything Taylor Jenkins Reid.

The Women

I love The Women and finished this book in two days. I love the way Kristin Hannah can tell a story while weaving history into it and making it so interesting.

Broken Country

Broken Country BROKE me, and I have never rated a book five stars fasted. I audibly GASPED outlaid to a part of this book that my husband came in and asked if I was ok! Interesting plot, great writing. Come prepared with tissues.

Midnight Library

The Midnight Library is a heartfelt “what if” story about life, death, and all the choices in between. The Midnight Library made me pause and really think about what it means to truly live.

Atmosphere

Another TJR makes the cut as a five star read. Atmosphere might be my second favorite TJR book. The writing is amazing, I was LOCKED in, and couldn’t wait to go back and read this book each night.

Lula Dean’s Library of Banned Books

This book really make you think about a lot of things. It was a really great read and again I am still thinking about it all these months later.

The Measure

I initially rated The Measure as 4 stars, but since it’s been years since I have read it, and I still think about it all the time. I decided it was time it got bumped up to a 5 star read. Again, we have the craziest plot, everyone wakes up one morning and they have a string at their door and no one knows what it represents. Some peoples strings are long, some peoples are short. It’s SUCH a good book that makes you think about all sorts of things.

The Silent Patient

Silent Patient also got me out of a reading slump and got me REALLY into thrillers. I love when a book totally surprised me at the end where I am actually shocked.

The One

This Book is SO WEIRD but so interesting, and ahhh I think about it all the time. John Mars is such an interesting Sci-Fi writer (which totally is not my genre) but he writes in such a way that I am hooked. Really makes me think outside the box.

Where the Crawdads Sing

This book came out when I was in a two year reading slump and pulled me right on out. If you haven’t read it is fantastic. The movie doesn’t do the book even half the but if justice it deserves.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I think this book probably is more of a four star read, but another Thriller where I was SHOCKED at the ending. It made me scan be back over the book to see where I went wrong in trying to figure it out! The fact I still think about it leads me to believe it deserves a place on my five star list.

Part of Your World

I had a very hard time determining if Part of Your World is actually five star read, and I honestly have no clue. I love Abby Jimenz’s writing and this was the first book of hers I read and got me hooked to the others. There is character overlap in many of her books, and I just really enjoyed this a lot. Is it really five stars? I am not sure, but felt it deserved to me on this list of books I loved.

5 Star Memoirs

I have a general rule that I do not rate non-fiction books especially memoirs. But I have a few that I do think could hold up to five stars and I highly recommend.

Educated

This book got me out of a few year reading slump one time. I had no idea what It was about but her life story was so interesting I was sucked in.

Open Book

This book is so long, I switched to audio where Jessica narrates and I loved every moment I didn’t want it to end. I love all things pop culture, and I was very into the Newlyweds so I think that led to me being invested into this book. But there is so much about Jessica’s life no one realized.

5 Star List Wrapped!

So there you have it, my small but mighty list of 5-star books. The ones that stayed with me long after I turned the last page. If a book can make me laugh, cry, or think about it years later, that’s a true 5-star read in my book (pun intended). Let me know in the comments which books I should read next to see if they make it to this list!

Here were my must read books of 2021! Hoping to continue to do a recap and update the blog post as I discover new five star reads and also yearly recaps.

When I can’t use the library to get my books, I love thrifting my books from Thrift Book, Ebay or buy/trade/sell sites or Facebook market place.