What Books to Read, Based on Your Favorite Taylor Swift Era

If Ghost and Back to the Future had a book sibling, it’d be the romance novel The Seven Year Slip. Clementine is reeling after the death of her beloved aunt. Now, left only with her aunt’s N.Y.C. apartment and her memories, Clementine is grappling with the past to make it through her present.

Though her aunt always assured her that the apartment was magical, she found it hard to believe. That is, until she comes back to the apartment and finds a strange man, Iwan, in the kitchen. Apparently easier than taking the subway during rush hour, Iwan traveled through time to visit Clementine from seven years in the past. As Clementine and Iwan learn more about each other, chemistry fizzes, seasoning the story with just the right level of spice. With an ending that’s sure to produce more than a couple of tears, this rom-com is an ideal comfort read.

Whenever a poet writes a novel, we do a happy dance, knowing that the prose will sing off the page. Such is the case with DéLana R.A. Dameron’s debut novel, Redwood Court, which follows a constellation of characters anchored by Mika Tabor, a young woman living in Columbia, South Carolina. Mika, with the help of some brief appearances from her ancestors, unfurls her family history spanning post-World War II to the ‘90s.

From living in the Jim Crow South to enduring verbal attacks en route to Disney World, the family turns not only to each other for support, but their community, too. Showcasing one fictional family’s journey through generations, Dameron expertly demonstrates how Black families have not only survived but triumphed in the face of incessant racism and other related injustices.

There’s nothing quite like an enemies-to-lovers story to keep you turning the pages. Red, White, and Royal Blue epitomizes this trope—and then some. At the top of the novel, U.S. First Son Alex and U.K. Prince Henry are frenemies at best and full-blown rivals at worst. While this type of petty conflict is just another day on Instagram for some, it begins to take on more weight when the clash could jeopardize important world politics and alliances. Tasked with feigning friendship for the sake of, well, world peace, Alex begins to develop real feelings for Henry. Alex is left wondering if Prince Henry might show up on a white horse, or if he'll be sitting in the bleachers. A delightful romp, have fun reading this after you’ve (re)watched Chasing Liberty.

If you’ve been looking for a sign to venture into the Sally Rooney-verse, here it is. The sophomore novel from the great millennial whisperer (JK), depicts the messy uncertainty of finding love when you’re too young to appreciate it—and what comes after.

Enter Marianne, a wealthy girl living with her distant and cold family, and Connell, a boy brought up by a loving single mother, who happens to work for Marianne’s family as a house cleaner. Crossing paths when Connell meets his mother after school at Marianne’s home, he and Marianne begin a relationship. One snag: Connell is popular, and if he were discovered going out with Marianne, the class outcast, he too might find himself out of the school’s inner circle. While they might be diametrically on opposite ends of the social ladder, their interests collide over philosophy and literature, and, yes, a shared mutual attraction.

But as these things tend to go, Connell brings another girl to a dance, leaving Marianne to suffer through the special heartbreak and humiliation reserved for teenagers. However, Connell and Marianne aren’t through—remaining in each other’s orbit as they progress through school and relationships, showing that some love can weather even the harshest storms.

At long last, Heart the Lover, the newest novel from Lily King, author of books like Writers & Lovers and Euphoria, has arrived. Wonderfully, as with a Swift album, the book features more than a couple of Easter eggs. For one, King revisits the topic of a love triangle: Tangled in the web are college roommates and best friends Sam and Yash, and “Jordan,” who received her nickname from her then-boyfriend Sam. But, as time progresses, it becomes clear that Yash is more curious about Jordan as a person, and soon enough, difficult decisions are made.

Dripping with tension that’ll make you want to speed read and savor simultaneously, Heart the Lover investigates the limits of young relationships, the imprint they leave behind, and the future they inform.

If you continue to be one of the folks unpersuaded to pick up a novel about gamers, let us be the next in line to say: Read it. Childhood friends Sadie and Sam have seen each other at their lowest, pining after the other throughout the years, without ever doing anything about it. And so, together with Sam’s college roommate Max, they channel their passion into designing video games, becoming creative partners during the early tech boom. But working with your best friend can have its drawbacks, and tension inevitably fissures within the triad. With a surprise twist that’s a gut punch to the heart, this novel showcases how close friends can buoy you through even the toughest times.

This way for some healthy female rage. In 1980s New York, Anita de Monte was an artist to watch. But then, her trajectory is cut short, tragically dying well before her time. At first, the art world was left reeling. Grieving the loss of a young and promising talent. And then, as so often is the case, she’s forgotten. Fast forward to the late '90s, and Raquel, the first in her family to attend college, is in her third year of studying art. Often overlooked or othered by those teaching and attending her school, Raquel becomes involved with an older student who helps her notoriety soar.

But when she stumbles across Anita’s story, Racquel is confronted with uncomfortable similarities between their stories. At once a searing condemnation of revisionist history, specifically in the art world, and also race, class, and gender, this novel pulls no punches. Get ready to rage read (in the best way ever).

If laughing instead of crying came in book form, it might be Green Dot. Hera Stephen is a recent(ish) college grad, making her way in Sydney, moderating comments for a newsroom. Torn between believing she’s mapping her own course and resisting stereotypical life benchmarks, and also suffering from major Peter Pan syndrome, Hera finds herself entangled in a love affair way more complicated than fishing out online trolls.

Arthur is everything she isn’t: Older, settled, and married...very married. After learning about his ball and chain, Hera does the unthinkable: She continues with the affair. Crumbling clichés and excising taboos, Gray defeats predictable plotlines, presenting the path less traveled, if no less considered.

For many going through a breakup, there comes a point when the other half of the partnership is unrecognizable. Where was the charming, impressive person from the first date? Out of Love takes this concept and runs with it. Starting at the end of the relationship, an unnamed narrator retraces her time spent with her now ex-boyfriend. As each chapter moves back in time, the narrator revisits cherished and terrible moments alike. If you’ve ever wondered what went wrong in a past ‘ship, this novel might be for you. But give it a couple of weeks if your heartbreak is super fresh.

What do ex-boyfriends, a Magritte painting, and new psych-tech have in common? In Sloane Crosley’s second novel, quite a lot. Lola is an editor, navigating the rocky media landscape with the focus of a boxer. After her former employer, Modern Psychology, folded, she found a job covering arts and culture, swept up in drafting more listicles and roundups than she can count.

But there is a bright spot: her fiancé, Max. Except one night, the thing she cares most about is threatened, coming face to face with an ex. The next night, same place, different ex. The following? Rinse and repeat.

Becoming more predictable than a Lifetime movie, Lola suspects that something is afoot. And sure enough, she discovers that a few former colleagues are joining forces, applying psychology, AI, and other tools to help others find closure. But which relationship will Lola find closure for? And how will this serve her current 'sitch? At times inciting full belly laughs and others total stomach knots, this novel is a nail-biter to the end.

Remember that Anne Hathaway movie, The Idea of You (about a woman involved with a younger pop star )? Imagine that, but with a comedic edge, and you’d get Romantic Comedy.

Sally Milz is a comedy writer for a late-night show. Hardboiled and sardonic, she’s long given up on love, settling for fulfilling work, friends, and family. But when a male colleague starts dating a female mega star, she can’t resist penning a sketch about the absurdity of the situation and how society embraces a dude punching above his weight, but not a woman who did the same. When A-lister Noah Brewster (think, Harry Styles or MGK) shows up to act in the sketch, sparks fly. Tackling gender roles in relationships, comedy, and society, Curtis Sittenfeld proves that she’s an expert social critic who leaves it all on the page.

In the '60s, long before Swift had wheels down at JFK, Patti Smith moved to N.Y.C. to become a poet. In her first memoir, the mother of punk recounts her early days in the city, and crossing paths with a boy who would, ultimately, change her life: artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Instantly hitting it off, the two quickly became friends—sometimes more. Regardless of the state of their relationship, they spurred one another in their creative projects and often collaborated. When the work was done, they’d flit around the hotspots of the time, like Max’s Kansas City and the Chelsea Hotel, where they lived for a stint.

Elegantly capturing the disappointment, elation, and thrill of discovering your found family, the devastation of first heartbreak, and the joy of seeing your dreams realized, Just Kids belongs on everyone's bookshelf.

The aughts may have invaded our closets, but according to Sophie Gilbert’s new book about the time, they invaded our minds, too. A writer for The Atlantic, Gilbert delves into the mass sexualization, degradation, and humiliation of women during the late '90s and early 00s: what caused it, who was impacted, and what effect it continues to have today.

Expertly tying together various sources like internet porn, reality TV, and bro-coms, Gilbert makes the case for how these moments set the stage for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, #MeToo, and more. Chapters like “Show Girl: Overexposure in the New Millennium” and “Gossip Girls: The Degradation of Women and Fame in Twenty-First-Century Media” can be read individually or in one big bite, depending on how much fury you can handle that day.

Once you hop on this wild ride of a novel, you won’t want to get off. Lillian is a 29-year-old who works in marketing. On the surface, she’s like everybody else. She celebrates her birthday (in the office), has a decent (if not soul-crushing) job, and is even in the process of converting her situationship to a full-fledged boyfriend. But then, her could-be BF pulls the plug on their relationship, sending Lillian into a tailspin. (We’ve all been there.) But she takes it one step (okay, several steps) forward. She places a hex on her ex, who winds up dead. Oops!

With tart prose that tastes like sour candy, Kirsten King’s debut is a home run. Commenting on everything from corporate culture to dating and gender roles, this novel had all the ingredients of a must-read.

Nothing like getting embroiled with a married, middle-aged white dude to shake things up a bit. Edie, a young Black woman living and working in N.Y.C., meets Eric randomly. While the sexual tension is front and center, so is Eric’s marriage, which is (allegedly) open.

Edie's relationship with Eric becomes strained as he flip-flops between the women in his life, and when Edie loses her job and her Brooklyn apartment. Where is one to go in such a situation? The married boyfriend's house, obviously. With its sexy undertones, high-key messiness, and poignant racial commentary, this book will make you want to pop a bag of popcorn and grab your cozy clothes because you won’t want to put it down.

Nothing is quite as devastating when the idealized version of a person, a relationship, or a family dissolves. Megan Nolan’s debut peels back the layers of how a romantic fantasy is crafted—and destroyed. At the top of the novel, the anonymous narrator meets an older man, Ciaran, and immediately becomes obsessed with him, even becoming a glorified housekeeper at his place, all to stay near him. But she’s not as doe-eyed as her performance may suggest. She bristles at the vulnerability surfaced by this obsession. And yet, proceeds anyway.

With glinting prose and sharp observations on gender roles, sexism, and sexuality, Acts of Desperation is an unflinching portrayal of unrequited love and the interiority of a young woman as she confronts her life choices.

So you’ve read Good Material by Dolly Alderton, but have you checked out her memoir, Everything I Know About Love? Recounting her graduation from childhood to adulthood, Alderton unspools the relatable missteps she made at the time and how, ultimately, they led to crucial self-discovery. A reporter, Alderton turns the lens onto her past, examining it with a critical, yet loving eye. Funny, cringey, and big-hearted, this is the ideal gift for your besties, work wife, and pretty much anyone in between.

While several songs on folkmore can feel like individual movies wrapped into one, Trust is a nesting doll of an epistolary novel. Featuring a fictional novel and segments of (fictional) memoirs and diaries, this unique tome tells the story of financier Andrew Bevel and his wife, Mildred, who are at the center of controversy after a popular novel is published ostensibly about them, their wealth, and the means by which it was earned. Sections of the book include the novel in question, Bevel’s rebuttal to said novel, and Mildred’s diaries that paint a different picture. Impressively woven, intricate, and captivating, Trust is a triumph.

Set mainly in India and N.Y.C. in the '90s, this doorstopper is the family epic you’ve been waiting for. Unbeknownst to her, Sonia had been presented to Sunny’s grandfather as a prospect for an arranged marriage—and turned down. It’s likely for the best; she’s fallen for an older man while in the U.S. for college. Meanwhile, Sunny is off with his own American girlfriend, whose existence he hides from his very judgmental, very doting mother.

Then, a chance encounter brings Sonia and Sunny together, and chemistry sparks. However, Sunny lives in New York, while Sonia has returned to India. So, when the two have to decide how (and if) to move forward, their once “simple” relationship becomes complicated. Funny, tender, and gripping, this novel also explores themes such as nationalism, race, and gender.

If you’ve ever listened to both sides of a fight, you know how perspectives on the same situation can dramatically vary. Fates and Furies takes it a step further: Depicting a marriage through the lens of both husband and wife. Like The Affair (but better), this novel showcases how communication can become tangled by emotion and history.

Lotto and Mathilde’s marriage seems idyllic on the outside, but within the relationship lurks deception, manipulation, and selective ignorance of what the other is capable of. The novel begins by looking through Lotto’s eyes, his challenging yet comfortable life, his playwriting, and his marriage to the ingenue Mathilde. Soon, his star rises until his untimely death. The second half of the book is dedicated to Mathilde, who reveals that she’s much more than the shrinking violet she often played at dinner parties. Quite the contrary. Spotlighting fissures that can lead to a rupture within a relationship, Fates and Furies persists as one of the best books about modern marriage, sexuality, class, and more.

It’s the year 2000, and the unnamed narrator, a recent Columbia grad, has become increasingly disaffected. Or, perhaps she’s not disaffected—maybe she’s depressed. And so, she goes in search of a psychiatrist, finding one who’s willing to bend the rules and try unique forms of treatment. Namely, overmedicating the narrator until she’s so blitzed out she loses her job. But she’s not concerned about money. She has an inheritance and now unemployment to live off of.

With little responsibility and few friends, the narrator decides to use the medication to sleep for an entire year to process her trauma and wake up feeling renewed. What could go wrong? Well, a lot. She hadn’t accounted for the fact that she might sleepwalk. And so much worse. A blistering story about misogyny, girlhood, and grief, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is darkly funny yet haunting.

This way for a phenomenal piece of feral girl literature! The novel was a hit on #BookTok when it was released in 2022 and is still widely discussed years later. And for good reason.

Meet Joan, a young woman who’s encountered more than her share of tragedy in her life. Having survived a horrific event as a child, Joan has decided to never be a victim again and has lived her life according to a zero fucks mantra. That has served her until tragedy comes knocking on her door again, forcing her to leave her home in N.Y.C. and drive to L.A. in search of the one girl who might be able to help her make sense of everything that’s happened in her short life. But when she finds herself ensnared in yet another problematic scenario, Joan decides to take matters into her own hands, risking it all—and then some.

Read this book if you’re looking for a spooky-lite novel, or if you loved Yellowjackets, Gone Girl, or often find yourself humming “Anti-Hero” in the shower.

Delivered in spare, unfettered scenes, Aysegül Savas’s novel, The Anthropologists, is deceptively simple. Asya and Manu, a young married couple, are house hunting, searching for a place to call their own in a city where neither comes from. As they tour houses between everyday tasks and work, the topics of home, place, and belonging emerge in striking clarity. Assisted by Savas’s restraint, this thin novel investigates what constitutes a happy, good life, and how to know when one’s accomplished it.

Shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker prize, Perfection follows a young couple, Anna and Tom, who live in Berlin, where they work as “creatives.” If you glanced at their social media, you’d think they’d built a swoon-worthy existence. On the inside, though, something is rotten—only they can’t decipher what, exactly, it is. Perhaps if they zoomed in on their Instagram, they could figure it out. In the meantime, their disenchantment festers.

Aiming at millennials who have sacrificed art in the name of content, Vincenzo Latronico is unsparing yet moving all the same. At times reading like a Sofia Coppola film, folks who enjoyed The Virgin Suicides or other coming-of-age films, like Igby Goes Down and Boyhood, will likely appreciate the book.

Nila is 19, growing up in contemporary Berlin. Once a devoted, quiet daughter to her Afghan parents who immigrated to Germany, Nila breaks ties with her former self, finding a flock of friends (along with a toxic boyfriend) in the famous Berlin club scene.

Shaking off her past persona as a “good girl,” Nila ignores red flags and spirals out of control, partying and cavorting with people who definitely don’t have her best interest in mind. Stocked to the brim with prose that will make you gasp and scenes that will leave you squealing, Good Girl is a debut you’ll find yourself returning to, time and again.

Published nearly 20 years ago, this novel remains a barn burner. Jacob is a veterinary student at Cornell who, due to a family tragedy, must leave the university before completing his studies. Hastily departing the campus, Jacob discovers he inadvertently boarded a circus train, full of performers and, yes, animals. He stays on board.

Brought on by the resident circus vet, Jacob joins a distorted, new family. He learns who to avoid (August) and who to consider a friend (Camel). But when he falls in love with a married stage performer, Jacob risks derailing his new life, even if it means standing up for who and what he cares about. This book vibrates off the page, rich with well-drawn characters, high stakes, and surprises at every turn—almost like a day at the circus.

If you binged The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or mark every holiday season by seeing the Rockettes perform, this epistolary novel is for you. Vivian is reflecting on her youth living in N.Y.C. in the 1940s. A college dropout, Vivian became swept up in the exciting scene of theater showgirls. This book beams with old-world glamor, quippy dialogue, and so much atmosphere, you’ll look up from the page, shocked to find that you aren’t in a smoky theater bar.

As WWII encroaches and Vivian becomes embroiled in tense circumstances, she evolves from a bratty teenager to a woman. Penned by Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, that Elizabeth Gilbert), the prose doesn’t disappoint. This is a book to get lost in.

There were few actresses more captivating than enigma Evelyn Hugo. She reeked of old Hollywood, fiery relationships, and talent that spouted from her fingertips. That’s why, as she approaches her autumn years, she’s decided to have an official biography written about her. And no one is more shocked than Monique Grant herself that she was hired for the job.

Unfolding over seven parts, each dedicated to a husband, Evelyn Hugo finally reveals the true story behind the marriages, what spurred them, what broke them, and how they affected Evelyn.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a master at crafting exceptional female characters who break barriers and challenge stereotypes. Here, she set her sights on the entertainment industry, celebrity gossip, and sexuality. A novel you’ll absolutely tear through, be sure to pack some tissues for the final pages.