Today’s Top Five Wednesday focuses on books in a favorite genre of mine that don’t get a lot of hype, and that genre is British Contemporary. I’ve been reading adult contemporary books that take place in the UK for the past few years now, but I think I really fell in love with the genre in 2017. My dream is to travel abroad to England and buy all the books and editions that aren’t so easy to get here in the US. While I wrote a Fierce Fangirl Friday post in December about my love for British contemporaries, the following books are hidden gems that supplement my love for the genre.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan/ anything by Jenny Colgan– One of the best hidden gems (at least here in the US) that I discovered in 2017 was Jenny Colgan’s books, including The Bookshop on the Corner. Why had I not walked down her section of the adult section at the library sooner?? Many of Jenny Colgan’s focus on baking and food, but The Bookshop on the Corner is a bit of an exception, with our main character, opening her own traveling bookshop. There’s so much in this novel that any contemporary lover would enjoy: Scotland, friendship, romance, and of course, BOOKS AND READING.

Something Like Happy by Eva Woods- My go-to elevator pitch for this gem highlights that Something Like Happy has the perfect amount of heart-warming and heart-breaking moments, with our two main characters attempting to complete a 100 happy days project as one of the women suffers from a serious illness.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan- Anyone who loves to follow the British royal family would adore The Royal We. The Royal We follows an American girl’s relationship and engagement to her college sweetheart. What makes it so unique? Rebecca is to marry Britain’s future King and must adjust to life in one of the world’s biggest spotlights.

Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher- I think Giovanna Fletcher might be like Jenny Colgan in the sense that she’s probably considered more of a hidden gem in the US than the UK—my county library only has two of her books in their system. Billy and Me follows small village girl Sophie’s romance with an A –list actor. The book was quite cute and satisfying to my contemporary reads heart, and the romance was done right–I’m looking back on my Goodreads review pre-Fangirl Fury, and apparently I called the romance “not gag-worthy”, so take that as another plus?!?!

London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton- I’m changing this list up a bit to include a new-adult read. While London Belongs to Me has received a lot of attention in the Booktube community, I think it’s a bit of a hidden gem (I’m 90% sure that it’s self-published). Anyways, I personally enjoyed London Belongs to Me for taking place in London, as the name suggests, and for its fandom aspects, as our main character loves to read and is a huge Doctor Who fan.

Top 5 Wednesday is a collaborative group of book bloggers from various platforms who love sharing lists on Wednesdays. The T5W group can be found here on Goodreads.