Fun + weird summer reads (continued)

A thriller for people who don't like thrillers?

(Note: If you missed the first installment of my summer reading recommendations, you can find it in the tinyletter archive here.)

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

Since we’re all talking about the now-iconic American southern gothic short story collection that is Taylor Swift’s new record, folklore, it seems like a fine time to recommend some strange, dark, dreamy adventures. I love short stories with magical realism, worlds that are grounded in contemporary reality but have some curious and fantastical twist to them. I did a month of short stories for my year of fiction project, and Vampires in the Lemon Grove was probably my favorite collection. I’m still thinking about “Reeling for the Empire,” a haunting story about young women who sign a contract for factory work and end up slowly being turned into human silkworms. This collection is a wonderful mix of fully realized story arcs and stories that are exercises in mood, concept and imagination, and I loved seeing where Russell’s creativity could take me. For fans of Neil Gaiman, B.J. Novak, and Kelly Link.

In the Woods by Tana French

I’m breaking one of my own newsletter rules with this recommendation because French is a well-known, bestselling author, and I was very aware of her before I started a month of reading thrillers. But I want to recommend this specific book as someone who doesn’t like thrillers per se and wouldn’t have picked it up if I hadn’t assigned myself an unfamiliar genre to read. In the Woods reads like something in between beautifully written true-crime nonfiction (think Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark) and literary fiction that happens to have a twisty plot. With structure, pacing and character development this good, it almost seems like too much for French to be such a beautiful damn writer, but I found myself lingering over sentences and phrases, wanting to turn the page to see what happens next but also not yet ready to leave the mood she’s created in a few words. In the Woods is many things: a great example of an unreliable narrator, a psychological suspense-thriller for people who don’t like thrillers, and an important setup for French’s incredible follow-up, The Likeness. For fans of Laura Lippman and Sophie Hannah.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

There is some sort of alchemy that goes into the making of a really great romantic comedy. You can plug in the traditional elements only to present a story that falls flat, but with an extra indefinable something, a rom com can be magic. The Unhoneymooners has that extra something. Olive has always been unlucky, but somehow when her identical and perpetually lucky twin sister has her dream wedding (paid for by winning a bunch of contests), Olive is one of two people who doesn’t get food poisoning. Unfortunately, the other person is Olive’s nemesis and her sister’s new husband’s best man, Ethan. Can she put up with Ethan for the chance at an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii (aka the honeymoon her sister can’t go on)? I’ll be honest – I’m someone who loves cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies and I’m completely down with suspending some disbelief for a rom-com premise. But The Unhoneymooners delivers on its setup with a story that is lighthearted and funny and headed for a happy ending but also has some touching, important themes that were cathartic for me to experience in a fun book (and might resonate with you too): how the way we see ourselves shapes the world, for better or worse, and why sometimes we make our own luck by setting aside our fear and insecurity and allowing ourselves to be open to new possibilities. For fans of Sophie Kinsella and Helen Hoang.