25 New Women's Fiction Books with Midlife Protagonists to Read This Women's Fiction Day
Because I like my fiction with a side of midlife.
Happy Women’s Fiction Day to all who celebrate! And by “celebrate” I mean…what are you reading today?
I don’t usually post on a weekend, but today it felt like the perfect time to share this round-up. For a while I’ve been meaning to compile a list of books featuring a female main character in midlife because…well, probably because I’m a female main character in my own midlife. That’s not to say I can’t appreciate a book with a younger protagonist—I can and do—but in women’s fiction there seems to be so many MCs in their twenties and thirties, and we all like to see ourselves represented on the pages of the books we read.
I know I’m not the only one. I recently gave a presentation on women’s fiction to a group of women writers, and many if not most of us were in midlife. One of the attendees asked about the visibility of women in midlife in fiction. I later shared more of my thoughts on this in a Note, which generated some more conversation on the topic. The main takeaway? More books featuring women in midlife, please!
So for your reading pleasure today or any other day, I did a little digging and compiled a list of books published this year that feature a female main character in midlife or later. Enjoy!
The Heart Is a Star by Megan Rogers (January 2025) I love this cover so much!
Never Say Never by Danielle Steele (January 2025)
The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy (February 2025)
Diana in Love by Jen Besser and Shana Feste (February 2025)
The Mulligan Curse by Diane Barnes (February 2025)
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (February 2025)
We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes (February 2025)
Tilda Is Visible by Jane Tara (February 2025)
The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page (February 2025)
The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe by Catherine Greer (March 2025)
The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo (March 2025)
Happy Land by Dolan Perkins-Valdez (April 2025) I was so excited for this to come out and it didn’t disappoint!
Middler by Marlene Lee (April 2025)
Didn't You Use to Be Queenie B? by Terri-Lynne DeFino (April 2025)
The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon (April 2025)
Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer (April 2025)
The Summer That Shaped Us by Lori Wilde (April 2025)
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (April 2025)
Don't You Want Me by Derlys Maria Gutiérrez (April 2025)
In the Beautiful Dark by Melissa Payne (April 2025)
Annapurna by Meg Serino (May 2025)
HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy by Kathy Lette (May 2025)
Where You Once Belonged by Lorna Graham (May 2025)
Family & Other Calamities by Leslie Gray Streeter (June 2025)
There But For Grace by Anne Whitney Pierce (June 2025)
Have you read any of these? What did you think? And what am I missing? Please add any others in the comments…even if they weren’t published this year. We midlife readers (and writers) want to know!
Heather Garbo is a book coach, editor and writer with a background in communications, book publishing, and nonprofit work. Heather specializes in working with women’s fiction writers who are discovering (or rediscovering) their writing voice in midlife. Find her at www.garbobookcoaching.com.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase a book by clicking on that link, I may earn a small commission.
Midlife heroines are great, but we also need, boomer over 65 heroines (also big book buying demographic and even more neglected protagonists).
Hi Heather! What a great list! I look forward to checking out these titles. I'd love to add my own, Claire Casey's Had Enough, which came out on Tuesday. (Audiobook fans can request a free listen on Netgalley https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/650865 )
Thanks and happy summer reading and listening!