Today’s round of the most read books on Goodreads this week looks a lot like the previous one: in fact, it’s identical. As the summer approaches, we seem to all be in a romance and romantasy reading mood. Romantasy queens Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros hold onto their spots in the top five. Emily Henry continues to be a big name in romance, continuing her domination of this list. The only book outside of the romance/romantasy in the top five is the historical fiction novel The Women by Kristin Hannah.
Like last week, I’ve decided to shake things up by reporting on the most read books last week in different countries around the world. Often, these overlap with the worldwide list, but the differences are always interesting to note. I also highlighted a couple of books on the StoryGraph Most Popular This Week list.
If you’re looking for more buzzy books to browse, check out the bestselling books of the week. While most of these are also on that list, Fourth Wing — surprisingly — is not. Funny Story is also only on three of the five biggest bestseller lists, showing that “bestselling” and “most read” are not interchangeable categories.
Now, let’s get into the books!
#5:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosThis romantasy series started in 2023, with book three coming out in 2025. Fourth Wing is a fast-paced and steamy story set at a competitive academy for dragon riders. Last week, it was marked as read by more than 15,000 people. Australia: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas Brazil: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Malaysia: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1) by Holly Jackson |
#4:
A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. MaasYou can’t talk about romantasy without mentioning Sarah J. Maas. This is the first book in a series that started almost 15 years ago, but it keeps getting new readers. Last week, it was marked as read by more than 15,000 Goodreads users — it has 2.7 million ratings total. Australia: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros Brazil: Uma família feliz by Raphael Montes Malaysia: King of Sloth (Kings of Sin #4) by Ana Huang |
#3:
Just for the Summer (Part of Your World #3) by Abby JimenezEmily Henry may be the big name in romance, but Abby Jimenez is giving her a run for her money. This summer romance is the third book in a series that started with Part of Your World, but it can be read as a standalone. Last week, it was marked as read by almost 19,000 people. Australia: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas Brazil: Tudo é Rio by Carla Madeira Malaysia: Aku Bukan Ustazah by Lyna Masud |
#2:
The Women by Kristin HannahKristin Hannah’s most popular book is The Nightingale, which won the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. The Women is also historical fiction, but set during the Vietnam War. It was marked as read by 20,000 people last week. Australia: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Brazil: Bride by Ali Hazelwood Malaysia: Funny Story by Emily Henry |
#1:
Funny Story by Emily HenryFinally, our number one spot goes to Emily Henry’s most recent romance novel. Happy Place and Beach Read also make the top 50. This one was marked as read by an astonishing 34,000 readers last week. Australia: Funny Story by Emily Henry Brazil: Funny Story by Emily Henry Malaysia: Bayang Sofea by Teme Abdullah |
Two of the Most Popular Books on the StoryGraph This Week
The StoryGraph doesn’t have quite as many users as Goodreads, but it’s still worth taking a look at — not least of all because the most popular this week list seems to have a little more diversity than the Goodreads most read this week list. So, here a couple a couple of books on the StoryGraph’s most popular this week page. It doesn’t specify how it determines this page — is it most read, the books most added to the “to read” shelf, or a combination? Regardless, it says something about the books their users are paying attention to now.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-MohtarThis is an award-winning, well-respected novel by any metric, and a romantic queer sci-fi book with a big fandom…but I have to admit that every time I think about this book, my first reference is Bigolas Dickolas — aka, the most charming bookish moment on social media in recent memory. |
There There by Tommy OrangeThis 2018 novel is about 12 Indigenous people who attend the Big Oakland Powwow and got a ton of buzz and acclaim the year it came out, including being named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times, NPR, Oprah Magazine, Kirkus, and many more. A companion novel, Wandering Stars, just came out this year. |
If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
