'I'm obsessed with this book.' The 11 books we couldn't put down this month.

This month, I got stuck into a light-hearted enemies-to-lovers rom-com made by a book lover, for lovers of books. 

The rest of the Mamamia team have been reading feminist literature and royal family-inspired old favourites.

Here are the 11 books we couldn't put down this month:

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

If you're looking for an escapist chick lit read, meet Book Lovers. I got an early release copy of Emily Henry's brand new novel and it is just as lovely as her previous novel, Beach Read.

It follows Nora Stephens, a cut-throat literary agent who's never the main character of her love stories. And she keeps coming face-to-face with Charlie Lastra, a just-as-unlikeable book editor. 

If you need some light-hearted fun, you can read Book Lovers, out on May 3. 

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

This book is entirely different to anything I've ever read before. 

It's almost a mixture between a poem and a novel, but don't let that deter you. 

It's a quick read (I got through it in an afternoon), and it's in two parts, one that will make you laugh and one that will make you cry. 

No One Is Talking About This sums up the experience of being 'very online' so profoundly, exploring the paradox between the social media world and the real world. 

It's a stunning, original, deeply moving book that will stick with you for weeks after finishing. Please read it and then slide into my DMs to discuss! I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Clare Stephens, Executive Editor.

Thursday Murder Club: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

This is the second book in well-loved British TV personality Richard Osman's entertaining Thursday Murder Club series. 

This time, the crime solving club - comprising Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim - four senior citizens living in a Kent retirement community, are pursuing a new mystery.

The plot, involving one of Elizabeth's ex-husbands, MI5, the mafia and a missing bag of diamonds, is ridiculous, yet suspenseful. 

But for me, the joy in these books is the beautifully drawn characters and the affection and camaraderie between them. 

Osman had me laughing out loud one minute, then stunned into silence with a moment of deep insight about ageing, grief, loss, and more the next. 

Polly Taylor, Commissioning Editor.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell follows the family life of Shakespeare, however, it focuses on his wife and the death of their son — the one whose name inspired Hamlet — rather than the famous playwright himself. 

Separating into two timelines, the story explores how her husband’s need to pursue a life and career in London impacts her marriage, and the anguish and grief of a mother who loses her son. 

Maggie O’Farrell’s writing is absolutely beautiful in its subtly and vulnerability. It’s stunning and heartbreaking and I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again.

Brydee Goodall, Branded Content Coordinator.

Honeybee by Craig Silvey

I recently finished Honeybee by Craig Silvey. 

I couldn’t put it down. 

It’s a beautiful and uncomfortable coming of age story set in Western Australia. 

It follows Sam Watson, a young person struggling with their identity in a turbulent family dynamic but not without some beautiful and unlikely friendships forming throughout. You can tell a lot of research and care has gone into this book.

Renny Beazley, Video Producer.

Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold

The day Ben Harper's brother was murdered his life changed forever. 

20 years later, as a true crime journalist, Ben decides to write the story. But when he returns to his hometown, a second murder is linked to his brother's, turning the case upside down. 

Soon, everyone he knows and loves is a suspect. This was an absorbing whodunnit that kept me guessing until the end. 

Polly Taylor, Commissioning Editor.

The Queen and I and Queen Camilla, by Sue Townsend

I am re-reading two old Sue Townsend books this month: Queen Camilla and The Queen and I. 

They are both political/social satires about the British Royal family and the republican movement. 

The recent discussion about Kate and Will's awkward royal tour motivated me to re-read. It's set in the 1990s and early 2000s, but it's still so current and funny.

Hannah Mansur, Head of Consumer Revenue.  

Sheilas, Badass Women of Australian History by Eliza Reilly

This book is all about badass Aussie women you probably haven't heard of - which is the point. 

It's funny and clever and I've bought a copy for a lot of women in my life, but buy it for men too (or get it to buy for themselves because of the wage gap y'know). 

Emmeline Peterson, Podcast Producer.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

I'm obsessed with this book, it's unforgettable. It has so much heart and soul. 

If you love Where The Crawdads Sing, this read is most definitely for you.

The beautiful cover drew me in first, and inside the book is just as beautiful too with flower illustrations to start each chapter. 

Each flower is a carefully chosen Australian native to reflect a certain meaning/theme of the chapter ahead (about the inner struggle Alice is navigating at the time).

The language of flowers throughout the book is the lifeblood of the story, and helped articulate the pain, grief, growth, release and healing so incredibly.

The descriptions of Australian landscape are so intense and potent too you can taste the eucalyptus and salt! I can't rave about this book enough. 

The story captures you from the first line, and I always found it hard to put this book down. And it's the author's debut!

Shell Webb, Branded Content Manager.

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante.

I had heard a lot about this story because of the Netflix film with Olivia Colman and spotted the book at a second-hand bookshop. 

It's a short book and I read it very quickly. 

It was such a surreal story where nothing much really happens: the main character Leda, a middle-aged divorcee, is on holiday and befriends a local family on the beach before she does something decidedly odd. 

It's got this underlying sense of building unease that kept me turning the page and wondering what would happen. 

I really enjoyed the honest and sometimes confronting writing about motherhood and how much anger and bewilderment Leda felt when she describes her old life in flashbacks. Relatable but also shocking. 

Laura Jackel, Content Producer.

Feature Image: Mamamia