The Villa, Once Beloved is a gothic horror novel set in a Spanish colonial manor in the Philippines. After the death of his grandfather, Adrian invites his college girlfriend to join him at Villa Sepulveda for the funeral. Sophie is a transracial adoptee who grew up disconnected from her Filipino heritage, so this trip is not only an opportunity to learn more about Adrian’s family but also about herself. But when a landslide traps everyone together in the villa, dark family secrets and hidden resentments emerge. —Emily Martin

From the bestselling author of Beasts of a Little Land comes a collection of stories that looks at humans and their relationship with the natural world. Ten stories jump from different places and times to give views on our broken world. A near-future Seoul has air pollution that is so bad that the city is encased in a biodome; a disenchanted New York City painter goes to France and finds a romance and maybe even a whole new color; and a boy struggling to survive on the landfill island he calls home becomes famous for K-pop inspired dances. —Erica Ezeifedi

Taylor Jenkins Reid is best known for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. Now, she’s back with a love story between two women astronauts in the 1980s. It came out in June and became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. It’s also a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. Almost 12,000 Goodreads users marked it read this week, and it has a 4.3 average rating.

A new entry to the top five is Brimstone, book two in the Fae & Alchemy romantasy series. This sequel came out on November 18th, and it’s a whopping 672 pages. You can probably guess what the #1 most read book on Goodreads is based on this title taking the #4 spot. It was read by almost 15,000 users and has a 4.4 average rating.

This is the first book in Freida McFadden’s Housemaid series, followed by The Housemaid’s Secret and The Housemaid Is Watching. It’s about a housemaid who cleans for a wealthy family, takes care of their child, and lives in their attic bedroom. She’s soon pulled into the family’s dangerous secrets, but her employers may have underestimated what she’s capable of. A movie adaptation is coming out in December. This was read by almost 15,000 Goodreads users, with a 4.3 average rating.

Freida McFadden has two books in the top five this week. This is her newest thriller, which came out October 7th. It’s about Casey, who is weathering a hurricane in her rundown cabin in the woods when she sees a girl outside her window. She is covered in blood and clutching a knife. “The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.” 16,000 users read it this week, and it has a 3.9 average rating.

This is the first book in the Fae & Alchemy series, and it’s about Saeris, a 24-year-old woman who is transported to a different world and accidentally binds herself to a Fae warrior named Kingfisher. Book two, Brimstone, came out on November 18, which has given the series a boost in readership. Book three comes out in November 2026. It was read by almost 22,000 Goodreads users and has a 4.3 average rating.