Best recent dual-timeline bestsellers

Book recommendations
Written By The Bookish Bulletin
 
Image of two women in different time periods. Test reads: Recent dual-timeline bestsellers
 

Dual-timeline stories have a way of pulling me in… there’s just something fascinating about watching the past and present slowly collide, especially when both timelines are equally compelling. Lately, I’ve noticed that many of the biggest recent bestsellers are leaning into this structure, and honestly, I’m quite happy about this!

Why dual-timeline stories are dominating recent bestseller lists

In these books, secrets buried decades earlier resurface at just the right moment. A forgotten love story, a long-hidden family truth, or a single decision made years ago can suddenly reshape everything in the present day. Dual-timeline stories give us the chance to examine societal mistakes, shifting norms, and injustices of the past—and to see how those moments continue to shape the world we live in now. By placing history alongside the present, these novels invite us to reflect on how far we’ve come, what hasn’t changed nearly enough, and why those stories still matter.

I’ve consolidated a list of some of the most popular recent bestsellers that use the dual-timeline format especially well, or sometimes in a fascinating manner. Take a look, I hope you find a few new favourite story here.

The most popular dual-timeline bestsellers to add to your reading list

Featured
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author The Book of Lost Names and The Sweetness of Forgetting

Jewelry thief Colette Marceau's past resurfaces when a long-lost diamond bracelet linked to her sister's disappearance reappears in a Boston museum. She must confront old ghosts to uncover the truth.
Read my book review

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Alchemised by SenLinYu
CA$0.00


A 2025 bestselling dark fantasy debut

Helena Marino awakens with fragmented memories in a world ruled by magic-wielders who manipulate the dead. She must uncover hidden truths before the remnants of the Resistance are destroyed.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
CA$0.00


From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove

Louisa investigates the story behind a mysterious painting depicting three figures at a pier, uncovering the intertwined lives of four teenagers from a past summer.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Skylark by Paula McLain
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of The Paris Wife

Centuries apart, a confined dyer’s daughter and a wartime doctor risk the Paris tunnels—one to flee captivity, the other to smuggle a family to safety.
Read my book review

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Mate by Ali Hazelwood
CA$0.00


Companion novel to the bestselling Bride

Hunted by Weres, Vampyres, and Humans, Serena—the only hybrid of her kind—finds her only hope lies with Koen, an Alpha whose protection demands a bond she isn’t sure she wants.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard
CA$0.00


Longlisted for Canada Reads 2026

June and Adam must live together for a month to claim a coveted West Village home, but unfinished business turns every day into a test of love.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of Lilac Girls

Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Under the Stars by Beatriz Williams
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers

When Audrey and her famous mother return to Winthrop Island, they discover a secret trove of paintings that connect them to a mysterious woman who vanished on a luxury steamship two centuries earlier.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, The Girl from Widow Hills

Twenty years ago, two men died and Beckett’s roommate vanished while she studying at Wyatt Valley. Now, Beckett’s daughter is attending the school.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
CA$24.00


From the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic

Minerva's research into author Beatrice Tremblay's lost roommate unearths a witch's curse. Now, the same ancient evil from her Nana's tales haunts Minerva herself, stalking her campus.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
CA$18.00


From the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask

Lauren Parker, a widowed mother, finds hot chemistry with actor Ben Walsh. Their simple fling unexpectedly complicates her small-town life, forcing her to confront her past and forge a new future.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
CA$0.00


From the award-winning and bestselling author of My Darkest Prayer

A family running a crematorium is threatened when their father's accident reveals dangerous debts and a hidden danger. To save his family, Roman will do anything– even burn everything down.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
CA$0.00


June 2025 GMA Book Club Pick. From the bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six

Joan Goodwin, a reserved physics professor, pursues her dream of becoming an astronaut in NASA's Space Shuttle program. As she trains, unexpected friendships and love challenge her understanding of the universe.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
CA$0.00


JUNE 2025 REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

Monica, a lonely college freshman, seeks to reconnect with her grandmother Yun and her lost cousin, uncovering magical family secrets and memories woven through Yun’s past in wartime Shanghai.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram
CA$0.00


A national bestseller

Tess Murphy, a rebellious teen, falls for Grant Alexander, her affluent neighbor, igniting a passionate summer romance. Twenty years later, their political ambitions threaten to expose long-buried secrets and rekindle old heartbreak.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

Maya, a struggling grad student, secretly falls for her brother’s charismatic biotech friend Conor, whose hidden past and shifting feelings threaten to challenge their age gap and power dynamic.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Sirens by Emilia Hart
CA$0.00


APRIL 2025 GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

2019: Lucy flees to her missing sister’s eerie coastal town and makes a startling discovery.
800: Mary and Eliza, sent to Australia as convicts, realize the ocean is changing them—and it won’t let them go.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
CA$0.00


JANUARY 2025 REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

Cate Kay, a secretive bestselling author, confronts her past and the tragedy that shaped her.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

In 1532, María escapes her fate in Santo Domingo through a desperate choice. In 1827, Charlotte's forbidden love leads to unexpected consequences. In 2019, Alice confronts her past after a reckless night.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
CA$0.00


From the bestseller author of Then She Was Gone and The Family Remains

Nina finds solace in charming Nick after her husband's death, but her daughter Ash suspects him of hiding dark secrets. Meanwhile, Martha questions her husband Alistair's frequent absences, leading to a shocking truth.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
CA$0.00


MARCH 2025 REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

A woman's past resurfaces when her love returns, unraveling secrets and leading to deadly consequences in a small village.
Read my book review

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris

In 1953, Louise discovers a necklace linked to her friend's mysterious wartime death, prompting a desperate act that leads her to Paris and unravels dark secrets about a Nazi prison.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young
CA$0.00


Companion novel to the viral TikTok sensation Out on a Limb

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb embark on a challenging hiking trip to reconnect and rediscover themselves.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of Black Cake

After witnessing her brother's death, Ebby Freeman grapples with family trauma and public scrutiny. Fleeing to France for escape, she uncovers her family's past.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
CA$0.00


MAY 2025 REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

Alice and Hayden compete to win a biography project with reclusive heiress Margaret Ives, but as secrets unfold and tension ignites, their rivalry turns complicated.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
CA$0.00


A National bestseller

Ryan and Lillian seem to have it all, but secrets and addiction tear their family apart. Years later, Georgette must face her past when Lillian's son comes looking for his birth family.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Favorites by Layne Fargo
CA$0.00


A Best book of the year: Marie Claire, Book Riot, She Reads, CrimeReads

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, childhood sweethearts and skating partners, rise to fame as ice dancers until a documentary on their past stirs up buried truths and reveals their tumultuous relationship’s impact.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
CA$0.00


From the bestselling author of First-Time Caller

Assigned to haunt kindhearted Harriet, ghost Nolan Callahan starts to fall for her. As Christmas Eve nears, they uncover a shared past that could change everything.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

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