Welcome to my third day of TBR Love!
I apologize that I am a day behind. I don't know why, but my memory and planning failed me. I genuinely thought this blog party ran from Friday-Sunday, even though I knew the dates were the 12th-14th. I am currently on a break from Instagram because my mind, soul, and body have needed some time off, but apparently it hasn't been enough.
If you are reading this late blog, I truly appreciate you! I love doing these. Writing and books are two of my happy places and I've been trying to lean into happy spaces lately.
Another thing I've been trying to lean into is community, and one way for bookish people to do that is through today's TBR topic, 5 TBR Books I Want to Buddy-Read!
For today's Buddy-Read books, I have chosen titles that were recommended to me by others. I have shared the social media for each person who recommended me the book and managed to find their posts for three of the five books, so you can read their thoughts too. I wanted to make this a very community-oriented blog.
Every book on this list was recommended to me by another reader. Four out of the five books were recommended to me on Instagram. During last November and December, I solicited book suggestions for the 12 Recommendations from 12 Friends reading challenge. I got a few dozen book suggestions and did some research into each book. I checked Goodreads reviews, mostly looking at the writing and content for if it were something I would enjoy. Next, I checked to see if I could I get it through my local library as an audiobook, because I still haven't finished the one title I tried to read as a physical book in 2025. For today, I picked four from the 12 that I thought would be good buddy reads. The final book I'm sharing is one my sister recommended. We have our own semi-buddy-read going. We recommend books to each other that we've already read. Here are the 5 TBR books I want to Buddy-Read.
*Side note: TBR is an acronym for "to be read."
1. The Crash by Freida McFadden
With the movie release of her book,
The Housemaid starring Sydney Sweeny and Amanda Seyfried, the thriller author, Freida McFadden has been a popular topic on Bookstagram. Thiller is now one of my go-to genres, but I haven't read any of her books. I had two of her stories recommended to me,
Ward D and
The Crash. After looking up both titles to check content and reviews, I decided to pick
The Crash. I would like to thank
@Reading2A_T for this recommendation, you can read about her thoughts on
Instagram.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A brand new psychological thriller from #1 New
York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden!
The nightmare she's running from is nothing compared to where she's headed.
Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her
crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay
with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn't
realize she's heading straight into a blizzard.
She never arrives at her destination.
Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she's
made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle occurs: she is rescued by a couple who
offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.
But something isn't right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as
time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven
isn't what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly
mistake yet.
And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself―and her unborn child.
A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations,
#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers
a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.
2. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
When
The Wedding People by Alison Espach was suggested to me, I had already heard of it because it was a Read with Jenna celebrity book club pick. However, when I read the synopsis and reviews, I was very surprised by what it was about. The range of words used this describe this title is astonishing, everything from chaotic, to heartfelt, to comedic, to deep. Frankly, what finally sold it was that I could get it as an audiobook from my library, with no wait. I would like to thank
@ReadBetweenTheLines021 for your recommendation. You can read her review on
Instagram.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one
unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the
grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight,
alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the
wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t
here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for
years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only
now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last
decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every
detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well,
Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two
women can’t stop confiding in each other.
In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The
Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look
at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance
encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
3. The House on Foster Hill by Jamie Jo Wright
Before
The House on Foster Hill by Jamie Jo Wright was recommended to me on IG, I had seen it shared as one of someone's Five Fall Favorite books. If I remembered who it was, I would also link to their page, sorry. What I do remember is that that the blogger had made this book sound interesting enough that I checked to see if it was available from the local library. Then when it was recommended to me for one of the 12 Friends picks, I had to add it to my reading list. In addition to thanking the blogger, I wish I could remember who it was, I would also like thank
@JanyreTromp for her recommendation too. She is also an author, you can learn about her most recent book on Instagram,
The Scorpion Thief.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Kaine Prescott is no stranger to death. When her husband
died two years ago, her pleas for further investigation into his suspicious
death fell on deaf ears. In desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an
old house sight unseen in her grandfather's Wisconsin hometown. But one look at
the eerie, abandoned house immediately leaves her questioning her rash
decision. And when the house's dark history comes back with a vengeance, Kaine
is forced to face the terrifying realization she has nowhere left to hide.
A century earlier, the house on Foster Hill holds nothing but painful memories
for Ivy Thorpe. When an unidentified woman is found dead on the property, Ivy
is compelled to discover her identity. Ivy's search leads her into dangerous
waters and, even as she works together with a man from her past, can she
unravel the mystery before any other lives—including her own—are lost?
4. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Young Adult is my comfort genre, so I keep my eyes on popular releases.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez was one that I heard about first when it was released. I don't remember where. I might have initially seen it while checking out the new and upcoming releases on Goodreads. Since then, it's been a "might read" for me. When it was recommended I read some reviews and added it to my list. Thank you,
@Baby_Got_Stacks for recommending it. Check out her thought as she was partway through it on
Instagram.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River
Knows, Isabel Ibañez's lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and
filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of
nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is
steeped in old world magic that's been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez
has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most:
her globetrotting parents-who frequently leave her behind.
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive
fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his
Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing
her sketch pads and a golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before
he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls
her down a path where she soon discovers there's more to her parent's
disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.
With her guardian's infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every
turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent's
disappearance-or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
5. Predator Vs. Prey by Lisa McMann
While the first four books were recommended by friends from Instagram, this fifth book is different,
Predator Vs. Prey by Lisa McMann is different. This fifth book was recommended to me by my sister, you can read all about
Reb's Recs on my blog; however, I'm behind on it. Last year's blog is published but not finished. Meanwhile, I haven't even started this year's blog. For this year, I asked Rebecca to suggest a couple of sequels for books I read last year, that she would recommend. I have started
Predator Vs. Prey but haven't finished it yet. I'm only thirty-five minutes (6%) into the audiobook. Charlie and her friends are back and, in even more trouble, but now they all have animal powers to help them. Lisa McMann is an author from the state where I live, and her daughter Kennedy McMann played Nancy Drew in the recent CW show, fun fact 😉. I would also like to thank my sister, Rebecca for her recommendation, however she doesn't have a Bookstagram, so I can't tag her here.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
In Predator vs. Prey, Charlie Wilde’s dad has been abducted
by masked figures who might not even be completely human. And it will take more
than her incredible bracelet—which gives her powers from the animal kingdom—to
rescue him.
Luckily, Charlie’s friends now have bracelets of their own with all-new
abilities… they just have to work through a few issues first. Maria’s device
has hair-raising side effects. Mac can’t wait to hack into his. And their
frenemy, Kelly, swears hers is a dud. If Charlie is going to have any hope of
saving her dad—and the world—from their beastly foes, she’ll have to help her
friends master their powers and come together as a team.
Conclusion
These are the five books, I think would make good buddy-reads. Even if I don't buddy read them, I have already engaged with the bookish community to find these recommendations. Frankly, that's one of the most fun ways to get reading suggestions. This year I am hosting a
12 Recs From 12 Friends book challenge and engagement group. If it goes well, so far, it's been alright, I will reopen the group for new and returning members in fall 2026 for 2027. That's a great way to get book recommendations and a few buddy reads have been initiated by that group. If that interests you, give me a follow me on Instagram or check back here later in the year.
Another way to get buddy reads is by asking your reader friends or family for suggestions, like my sister and I do. This month I'm reading
Predator Vs. Prey by Lisa McMann, and my sister has already finished
Finlay Donovan by Elle Cosimano. I recommended it to her because I read it and loved it last year as one of my 12 Recs from 12 Friends titles.
Looking forward, I plan to post the next Love Your Library on Monday, February 23rd, and I think I will be returning to Instagram either this coming week (February 16th) or the following week (February 23rd).
Thank you so much for reading and if you were also blogging this weekend, for joining me on this exploration of the books we would like to read. I hope to see you again this fall for Five Fall Favorites, and I promise I will try to have my stuff better together, so my blogs aren't all a day late. Finally, thank you, Kate for this mini-blog party. I'm sure you blessed everyone. I know this has been such a blessing for me. Thank you so much for putting this together.
Which book do you think I should start with? Would you like to buddy read any of these with me? Or what books would you like to buddy read?
Read Friday's blog here:
Day 1 | TBR Love Party 2026: Books I'm Scared to Read
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