Every single book Holly Wainwright and Jessie Stephens read on their holidays.

If you're a keen listener of Mamamia Out Loud, then you'd know Jessie Stephens, Holly Wainwright and Mia Freedman are voracious readers. This information isn't that surprising either, considering they're also all bestselling authors. 

Over the years, we've devoured their recommendations and even read their very own accomplished works. 

Recently, Holly and Jessie went on holiday and read a bunch of novels they couldn't help but praise. 

Listen to Mamamia Out Loud, where Mia, Holly and Jessie often share what they're loving this week. Post continues after audio.

Here are the books Holly and Jessie recommended:

Jessie read: The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

"It was a Reese Witherspoon pick, and I grabbed it at the airport somewhere and read it in one sitting. The premise is, that it's a wedding set in Ireland and it takes course over the weekend. It starts and you know there's something wrong from the beginning. Oh my god, it will be made into a film ASAP." 

Jessie read: Electric and Mad and Brave by Tom Pitts.

"I have had the great experience of sometimes being sent books early and being asked if I want to endorse them. It takes a lot for me to endorse a book... but I read this book in one sitting. It's about memory, alcoholism, and mental illness... If you're looking for a book that's really plotty and fast-paced, this is it. Highly recommend."

Jessie read: Magpie by Elizabeth Day.

"I read it on the flight home, picked it up, four hours later, finished it. It’s Magpie by Elizabeth Day… it’s so good. It’s women’s fiction but it has an incredible, did-not-expect-it, ‘Gone Girl’ level twist. But what it’s really about is what issues of infertility does to women." 

Jessie read: Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor.

"It is a crime-thriller and it’s set in a remote town a school girl goes missing and it shifts from different perspectives throughout. Full of suspense, you do not know what happens. You won’t be able to put it down." 

Holly read: Girl A by Abigail Dean.

"I never read crime, and yet apparently it consumed my holiday. That might have something to do with the fact that the book I've just written - The Couple Upstairs - is as crime-y as I've ever got and it's got me all crime-curious. Anyway, this is a brutal but brilliant sensation - the story of a woman who escaped a brutal upbringing by abusive parents, a case that became very high profile, and it explores what happens to her and her siblings as adults after their mother dies in prison. It's twisty and gripping and the writing is impeccable." 

Holly read: Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bubblitz.

"I read this is in a day. That never happens, because I never get the opportunity to binge read. But on holiday, I did. This is a book by an Australian writer, set in New York. The protagonist is dead, a young woman murdered in a riverside park, and the woman who finds her body is a 30-something Melburnian who is fleeing an affair she's been having for years. It's sad, it's confronting, and I couldn't put it down. The ending is deeply satisfying." 

Holly read: French Braid by Anne Tyler.

"I have read almost every one of Anne Tyler's many, many novels. She's probably my favourite writer even though by current plot standards she writes about... nothing much. This one is about a matriarch who, when her youngest child leaves home, does the same. She doesn't leave her marriage, as such, she just quietly begins to remove herself to a small, plain studio where she looks after NOTHING. Not a cat. Not a plant. The book follows the impact of that on her family over a generation. It's about women's loads, but it's also about the stories we tell ourselves about the roles we play within our families, what we discuss, what we don't... it's beautiful." 

Holly read: A Recipe For Family by Tori Haschka.

"Tori is a friend of mine but I loved her writing before she became one. She's the queen of nailing maternal overwhelm, but also, she writes with such elegance and so much heart. This one's about a family who welcomes an au pair into their home to buy another pair of hands for a very stressed-out mother. Unfortunately, things don't go as expected. Tori's a food writer as well as a skilled novelist, so her books (the last one - Grace Under Pressure is great, too) are peppered with the bonus of delicious recipes." - Holly

What books do you recommend Mia, Holly and Jessie should read? Let us know in the comments below.

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