Housemaid Author Freida McFadden Finally Reveals Her Real Identity
Sometimes, life truly imitates art.
And for TikToker-turned-podcaster-turned-author Brooke Averick, writing her forthcoming debut novel Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It—and the book’s lovably anxious protagonist—had more of an impact on her real life than she could’ve imagined.
Because while readers may find inspiration in Phoebe’s determined journey to lose her virginity in the final month before she turns 30—after a lifetime of crippling dating-related anxiety—Brooke, too, walked away with a lesson from her protagonist.
“As far as dating goes,” she told E! News in an exclusive interview, “I had had pretty limited dating experience, like Phoebe, before I started writing. And it was actually writing Phoebe that inspired me to start putting myself out there a lot more.”
But while Brooke, too, has been candid about her own experience with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), her and Phoebe’s journeys quickly diverge.
“I think that Phoebe's thought spirals really mirrored my own, but the way that I was able to create a boundary between me and Phoebe was that she reacted to her thoughts spirals very differently than I do,” the 29-year-old explained. "I'm very type B."
As she put it, "I'm kind of a slob, I'm very unorganized and any sort of stress sends me into complete paralysis—I could just like, rot in bed for weeks in order to avoid something.”
When it comes to her character, however, "any sort of anxiety or stress really propels her into action,” Brooke continued. “And she's very organized, and type A and always needs a plan.”
Brooke Averick/Instagram
Because indeed, in Phoebe’s quest to pop her cherry, she creates a laminated to-do list with various contingencies and back-up plans depending on her potential level of success.
A to-do list has, historically, not been Brooke’s MO, which made the Phoebe “really fun to write, just kind of myself, but in a different world.”
But one thing that did come straight from the Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast co-host’s real life and into the pages of her novel—out May 26— is Phoebe’s friend group, inspired by Brooke’s own inner circle.
“I kind of channeled the way that I feel about my friends into Phoebe, so the way that she loves her friends is very much the way that I love my friends,” she explained. “And I think over the years—as somebody who's single—I’ve learned that that type of love is just as valuable. And that's a journey that Phoebe goes through as well.”
Brooke Averick
But at the end of the day, the social media star’s book is not a replica of her own life: “When I started writing it, I thought it was going to be a lot more similar to my life than it actually ended up.”
And as readers get to know Phoebe when the book publishes nationwide on May 26, Brooke has the perfect companion to make the reading experience all the more sweet: Crystal Light’s new Book-Tok inspired flavors.
Indeed, readers can choose from three exciting new flavors, “Romance” Hibiscus Lemonade, “Mystery” Prickly Pear Lemonade and “Fantasy” Passion Fruit.
The first, romance-inspired flavor is, of course, Brooke’s favorite, with her noting, “It's very light and fresh and I'd like to think Phoebe is, too.”
Plus, the new line “speaks to how much people have been loving romanticizing their lives,” Brooke mused. “This is just a really good way to make your reading experience a little bit more elevated and fun and romantic—and make yourself the main character.”
Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It will be available in stores May 26.
And for more books to settle down with alongside a refreshing glass of Crystal Light’s Book-Tok flavors, available now, read on.
Mariner Books
Whidbey by T Kira Madden
Release: March 10
T Kira Madden's book starts with Birdie setting out for the remote island of Whidbey, off the coast of Seattle, running away from her past. Namely, one man in particular: Calvin Boyer, who abused her as a child. However, news soon surfaces that Calvin has been murdered. As the murder mystery unfolds, the story follows three perspectives: Birdie, Linzie—another survivor of Calvin’s abuse who detailed her experience in a best-seller—and his still-devoted mom Mary-Beth.
The debut novel from the author of memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, Whidbey is purposefully an, at times, difficult read. However, she handles this difficulty with such care, making it an insightful, commanding read.
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer
Release: March 10
For most readers, Judy Blume has been there every step of the journey—from children’s classics like Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to her more mature reads like Wifey and Summer Sisters. But now, the iconic writer’s life itself is making way to TBR lists thanks to Mark Oppenheimer—and adding to the intrigue? An apparent falling out between the biographer and his subject over the course of the writing.
Viking
The Keeper by Tana French
Release: March 31
The Irish novelist has been a fan-favorite among thriller enthusiasts since In the Woods, and with good reason: they’re addictive and unpredictable. And years after ditching her Dublin-area settlings for the West of Ireland and the tales of Cal Hooper, Tana French is back with what purports to be her final outing for the retired American cop as he investigates the death of a young woman in his small town—and gets tangled in the long-simmering tensions that come to a boil as a result of this local tragedy.
Knopf
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Release: April 7
To her millions of followers, influencer Natalie Heller Mills projects a life of traditional family perfection: a doting husband, a brood of perfect homeschooled children and a farm that doubles as a chic Instagram backdrop. However, her pioneer life masquerade is no match for the real thing as she awakens in the early 19th century with no idea how she got there—or how to get back to her reality. The dual timeline novel, tracking her rise to social media notoriety and navigating life in 1805, is a wild, twisty ride through the world of tradwife influencing.
Doubleday
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Release: April 7
When Patrick Radden Keefe published his 2024 New Yorker article about the death of British teen Zac Brettler—whose secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch ultimately ended in tragedy—it could have been easy to question what more there is to say. However, this is the author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain we’re talking about. So, unsurprisingly, Keefe more than delivers with gripping, unflinching examination at the seedy world of money and power Zac became enmeshed in—and his family’s quest for the truth in the years following his 2019 death.
Berkley
The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
Release: April 7
Charlie Jones arrives at her new job managing in farm shop in a remote island only to meet Charlie Jones, who has turned up for his new job at the farm shop. Beyond their shared name, they’re each desperate for a fresh start far away from home. However, unable to work out which of the Charlie Joneses is actually meant to be running the shop, the owners have a proposition: they both take on the job for a few months and at the end, whoever is the best fit gets the job. But as they set out to prove they’re the one meant to last, they may find they have more in common than a name.
Ballantine Books
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
Release: April 7
Prepare to dive into your favorite books—quite literally. Rainy March is, as the title suggests, a book witch with the ability to journey into the worlds of beloved books to fix malicious changes. There’s just one rule: Book Witches can visit but never linger too long in a book. But after her grandfather—and a precious book—go missing, must risk it all by travelling through countless classic novels with the fictional detective Duke of Chicago to help find him. And in the process, she not only has to confront the unearthed family secrets but confront her feelings for the Duke.
Penguin Random House
American Fantasy by Emma Straub
Release: April 7
Prepare to set sail on a thoughtful examination of fandom in Emma Straub’s latest, which follows 50-year-old divorcée Annie on a cruise centered around the boy band of her youth, Boy Talk. Without ever looking down on upon Stan culture, the book is an honest portrayal of aging, celebrity and the culture that shaped our youth.
Although, what truly makes Straub’s book work so well—aside from its 360-degree examination of the cruise through the lens of Annie, Boy bander Keith and cruise employee Sarah—is that it doesn’t matter what boy band stole hearts as the reader came of age, as she captures that magical feeling in a timeless way.
William Morrow
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
Release: April 14
Imagine your ex has turned your life together into fodder for his semi-autobiographical graphic novel—which has become a massive sensation and parlayed him into internet fame. At least, that’s what Cherry is going through as she picks up the pieces of the dream life they were supposed to share. As she takes steps forward, she runs into someone from her past, Russ, who may just be the key to moving on from the heartbreak.
Atria Books
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
Release: April 21
Sure fall is considered spooky season but there’s always room for a spring scare. And in The Caretaker, the We Used to Live Here author introduces readers to Macy, who desperate for a job agrees to a three-day stint as the caretaker of a property in the Pacific Northwest, despite the ominous signs that something is afoot. Indeed, it soon becomes clear that something is very, very wrong.
Flatiron Books
Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez
Release: April 21
Take a step back just a few years into 2007 Brooklyn, where Alicia Canales is back home in Fort Greene and looking ahead into the next chapter of her life. During this time, she becomes ensnared in the world of her mysterious artist neighbor, who throws legendary parties. Set amid a changing neighborhood landscape at a precarious time to be coming of age—after all, the financial crisis looms just ahead—Xochitl Gonzalez delivers yet another can’t-miss story.
Grove Press
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Release: May 5
After barely scraping by in Edinburgh, John-Calum returns home to his insular, deeply religious community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, of which his father John is a revered member and his Glasgow-born grandmother Ella is forever an outsider. Beyond trying to avoid cracking under the scrutiny that comes with being home—especially as a still-closeted queer person—Cal’s relationship with John is a complicated web of love, resentment and frustration, which occasionally turns violent.
However, at the root of this fractus dynamic is the similarities neither is willing to acknowledge. It’s a really moving, unflinching story about fathers and sons, legacy and homophobia in ‘90s Scotland—continuing to cement Douglas Stuart as a must-read.
Berkley
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Release: May 5
The day before her wedding, Frankie wakes up to a note from her fiancé calling off the wedding. With the honeymoon already paid for, she decides to decamp the lush rainforests of Tofino, a quiet inlet on the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She doesn’t go alone, however, as her childhood best friend George reluctantly tags along. And after years of distance growing between them, the week serves as an opportunity to rebuild their fading friendship—or let it blossom into something more.
Cardinal
Prestige Drama by Séamas O'Reilly
Release: May 5
American actress Monica Logue arrives in Derry to immerse herself in the community before filming on her new show about The Troubles commences—only to go missing. Naturally, the TV star’s disappearance is talk of the town, and everyone has an opinion or theory about where she is. And that’s where the heart of the story lies, as each chapter follows a different person untangling their relationship with the show and the events it is depicting, with the beleaguered screenwriter’s attempts to complete his scripts serving as a throughline.
It’s a heart-wrenching and at times deeply funny examination of The Troubles’ lasting imprint in the North of Ireland—and the complicated experience of seeing a painful moment in time become commodified for public consumption.
Forever
Score by Kennedy Ryan
Release: May 19
Five years after the first installment in her Hollywood Renaissance series, the beloved romance writer is back with a follow-up, this time centered around screenwriter Verity who must reunite with the composer behind her biggest heartbreak to collaborate on a Harlem Renaissance biopic that may make or break both of their careers. With stakes higher than ever, they set out to create a story and score that captures hearts—and possible Oscar glory. Although, in order to move forward Verity and Monk may just have to come to terms with their past.
Bold Type
My Bad by Hugh Ryan
Release: May 26
Years after breaking out with When Brooklyn Was Queer, the historian candidly details his own journey as a queer person in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Weaving through his own experiences with AOL chatrooms and navigating the nightclub scene as a broke student, Hugh Ryan examines the Queer experience in run up to Y2K and the internet boom. It’s compelling, unfiltered and takes a thoughtful approach to detailing the complicated time in a person’s coming of age.
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