'I read 52 books each year and these are the ones I'd buy in the Amazon Prime Day sale'

Have you spotted this vivid butter-yellow cover in people’s hands this year? This unique novel is a delicious takedown of misogyny, fatphobia and the impossible standards expected of women in Japan.

It follows journalist Rika Machida as she gets sucked into the world of ‘Kajimana’, a gourmet cook and femme fatale convicted of murdering lonely businessmen. What follows is an evocative, sometimes unsettling journey into self-indulgence and freedom.

This is a witty, silly, dark and disturbing account of a woman trying to get back to her real self after years of slipping through her own fingers. Her midlife mission to become a 'driver' rather than a 'parker' in life – to steer herself towards her own destiny rather than closing her eyes on the rollercoaster – becomes a hilarious journey of self-discovery that could never have happened in the naivety of youth.

Each sentence is crafted with wisdom and wit and the central character's eccentricity becomes more and more relatable with every page. What at first seems to be a story of a madwoman destroying all that is dear to her, soon becomes a searing and honest account of the mental toll of menopause and the hormonal chaos that people with wombs experience. This truly unique protagonist will stay with me for a long time, and I plan to keep coming back to her for a good giggle.

Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club mega-series has become a bit of a literary phenomenon and the books are still on every sun lounger this summer.

Now, Osman's back with another series, which is equally as exciting and centred around a familiar theme – catching killers. Get yours for half price this Prime Day.

A delicious family drama luring you from page to page at first, quickly becomes darker that it seems on the surface. Told from the perspectives of three women from different generations of the same family, this explores themes of abandonment, coercion and everything women have to sacrifice to bring up a child – and what can happen when they don't.

Wow, what a book! This multilayered thriller manages to pull off both a twisty, race-through-it plot and wonderful characters that stay with you. Saint Brown is devastated when her childhood best friend is abducted – not knowing that when he’s finally found, nothing will ever be the same again.

In the GH offices, you could barely move for copies of The Bee Sting on editors' desks for the whole of 2024. When I was proudly displaying my copy, colleagues came up to me with such an array of opinions.

It's a little bit Marmite but I personally loved the family saga, told from the perspective of a mother, father, daughter and son in what seems on the surface like a 'normal' nuclear family. If you're into your Jonathan Franzen and love learning about the intricacies of family relationships, you'll find this hilarious and gripping.

You might know her from The Poisonwood Bible fame, but Barbara Kingsolver won the Women's Prize in 2023 for this absolute epic of a novel about a little boy named Demon. Born in a trailer park in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, his traumatic entry to the world seems to be a symptom of the life he's destined to lead.

This is a book that allowed me to learn about a character so far removed from my own life, to seethe with frustration when they're met with injustice and melt with gratitude when they're treated with kindness. For me, they're the best kind of stories. Demon has changed me for the better, and he will you, too.

If you’re looking for a romance with edge, this is the book for you. The writing is as intelligent and funny as you’d expect from the author of classics such as American Wife and it’s a properly swoonsome love story, too.

Sally Milz is an award-winning writer on a TV sketch show who has sworn off relationships – until pin-up pop star Noah comes on as a guest…

You'll still find Lessons in Chemistry in every book chart over a year on from its original release, so if you haven't read it yet, here is your reminder to do so.

Elizabeth Zott is not your average 1960s woman; this is the story of someone going against the status quo at every opportunity — and you can't help but root for her.

Another Irish author joining the mix, Claire Kilroy writes the kind of novels I really wish I'd thought of first. This absolutely searing depiction of new motherhood is a tonic to all the unrealistic 'Trad Wife' standards modern mums see on social media, and a real reminder of the responsibilities that come with having kids.

The book delves into the frustrations and resentments we hold for our partners who may get to go to work and withhold a semblance of normality, while the primary caregiver gets catapulted into a life of chaos. It does all of this in 233 pages. I've read Soldier Sailor twice now and am about to pick it up a third time for my book club. Put it on the syllabus.

Blue Sisters is a poignant and beautifully told story of grief and complex family relationships. It shifts between the perspective of three sisters, Bonnie, Avery and Lucky, who are left reeling after the death of their fourth sister, Nicky. The three are reunited a year later in New York when they try to prevent their mother from selling the apartment they grew up in. This journey home compels them to face not only the trauma they share, but also the personal battles that continue to haunt each of them.

Expect to laugh and cry as the pages divulge both the deep love and vulnerabilities of sisterhood.

If you're a rom-com reader, you're probably used to stories of how couples end up head over heels in love, but Really Good, Actually tells the tale of a couple who didn’t make it.

This hilariously honest novel explores what it’s like to go through a divorce in your early 30s — from the ex-wife's perfective, we hear about her experience from texts, Google searches and far-too-relatable dating app messages. If you loved Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know about Love, you’ll adore this.

You'll likely have seen this book — on people's social media feeds, in their hands on the Tube, or in Amazon's bestsellers list for weeks.

You don't need to be a nutrition fanatic to benefit from it either – it's an eye-opening exploration of ultra-processed foods. In a world that makes the most unhealthy foods the most appealing, addictive, and affordable, how can we make better choices? You'll find it all in here.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the now-viral (fictional) story of three friends who go into business making games together in the 90s.

It follows the fluctuating relationships between them, set against the backdrop of past and present trauma, as well as attempting to balance runaway success.

It doesn't matter if you're not into gaming; this is an in-depth character study with a pacy narrative that will break your heart.

Prepare to be utterly bereft after this story draws to a close – you come along with Shuggie for his tumultuous childhood, tackling an alcoholic mother and the tests and stresses that growing up in the slums of Glasgow give him.

That this was Stuart's first ever foray into novel writing is hard to believe – you can hear Shuggie's voice so clearly throughout the book and it's won the Booker prize, among many others, since its release. These characters will stay with you long after you close the back page.

Feeling low in the aftermath of her divorce, Phoebe checks into a hotel with the aim of ending her life. But, unbeknown to her, a wedding party has taken over the hotel and an encounter with the bride changes everything for both women. A novel that’s by turn sad, wise and mordantly funny – I loved it.

Notes on an Execution is, arguably, a book that everybody should read. It follows the life of convicted serial killer, Ansel Packer, through the eyes of the women whose lives he has affected or taken.

The book is a well-written reflection on a man's life as he sits on death row, and a thought-provoking exploration of the concept of capital punishment.

Matt Haig’s newest book takes us on a warm and wise odyssey into magical realism. Seventy-year-old widow Grace discovers a whole new side to the island of Ibiza when she inherits a house there after the mysterious death of an old colleague.

Following a brush with an intriguing piece of local nature, she discovers newfound powers, which takes her on a life-altering journey.

Set in the 1870s, this gothic thriller opens with a shocking court scene in which Lady Clara Gethin is accused of killing her son, before flashing back in time.

The drama unfolds through the diary entries of young housemaid Harriet, newly employed by the Gethin family, who soon begins to realise that all is not well at grand Finton Hall.

Clover Stroud is one of the very best writers on the light and dark of motherhood and if you enjoyed her debut, The Wild Other, you’ll love this new memoir.

The book follows the first year of her fifth child’s life as she juggles looking after a newborn with dealing with her teenage son’s problematic behaviour. The writing is sublime and honest, as is typical of her work.