ARMSTRONG, KELLEY
Women of the Other World [AR]
This series is about another part of our world that involves vampires, werewolves, half demons (kind of like x-men) shaman, witches, warlocks (drastically different that witches.. talk about your race-wars) and just normal people trying to make it through the magic world. It starts out with just werewolves, and becomes so much more. I love this series because it was written before the craze of vampires and werewolves, it is a logical atmosphere (if you can call a supernatural book that) and it has the feel of murder mysteries. Has a lot of adult content, so I would say be cautious if you want to dive into this monster of a series.
ARMSTRONG, KELLEY
Casey Duncan [AR]
Another Armstrong book, not a surprise there. This series is another murder mystery-type. Casey, a detective, and her best friend, victim of domestic abuse, find themselves in need of a place to lay low. When they find out about a place in the middle of a Canadian forest that is so off the grid that you can’t even see it from a plane and there is not electricity, they jump on the chance to get in. Little do they know that this town doesn’t just hide victims of violence, but also criminals from the law. Someone is killing, and Casey needs to find out who. Considered an adult novel, but the sexual content is at a minimal in this series.
ASHTON, BRODI, HAND, CYNTHIA, MEADOWS, JODI
The Lady Janies [YA]
I have never been more excited about a series. This trilogy of authors put their beautiful heads together and made a historical event magical, kind-of accurate and comedic. The first book, My Lady Jane, is about the short reign of Queen Jane. Instead of Catholics and Protestants, you have normal people and those who can shift into animals. The second one is about the fictional character Jane Eyre (My Plain Jane) who can see dead people. I honestly can’t wait to read it and the third one, My Calamity Jane. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS BOOK. THE NARRATOR MAKES THE BOOK 100% BETTER.
BARDUGO, LEIGH
The Grisha Trilogy [YA]
Bardugo made a land of utter diversity, magic-wielding warriors, ordinary girls and swoon-worthy pirates (RIP my heart). The Fold, a gash in existence that is dark and full of shadow creatures, is expanding and they have to stop it. Only someone who can wield light can do that though, and no one has been born with that ability for a long-while. Not only do you need someone to wield light, but they need these things call amplifiers. The whole book is full of conflict and brooding men (trying to hold back about The Darkling) that you just find yourself gushing over.
BARDUGO, LEIGH
Six of Crows [YA]
This is like X-Men meets Mission Impossible meets a fist in my heart. This duology is probably in my top five favorite reads. The diversity with race, sexual orientation, trauma and relationship-hazards is outstanding. A group of completely different young adults have to break into the most guarded prison, steal a high-profile prisoner, and get out alive while doing that, all while dealing with their own turmoil. This book is placed in the same land as The Grisha Trilogy above, and some characters do make an appearance from it as well, so it is smart to read them in written-order if you don’t want spoilers.
BLAKE, KENDARE
Three Dark Crowns [YA]
This series is pretty dark, so it might not be for everyone. The triplet queens are born, and one has to kill the other two in order to get her throne. In this set, we have Katharine, the poisoner, Arsinoe the naturalist, and Mirabella, the elemental. There is a lot of world building, twist to make your heart punch itself out of your chest and gore. There’s a lot of gore. From the first time I read this series, I was completely obsessed with it. I can’t wait to get my hands on the third book!
Side note: Novellas are important in this series.
BRAY, LIBBA
Gemma Doyle Trilogy [YA]
This series holds a special place in my heart because I read it when I was in middle school along side my sister, who you can see her photography blog here. Basically, there are four catholic school girls that find their way to a place called The Realms that kind of acts as a in-betweener between life and death. But where there is beauty beyond imagination, there is cruelty beyond your wildest dreams. Some of the evil spirits are wanting to break free, and their leader is nothing but cunning enough to do just that. It’s a pretty dark series, which Bray is very famous for, but it is something that I will throw at the face of anyone who will stop and listen.
The Diviners Series [YA]
I’m not sure how I haven’t read this series until 2017 and why it took me so long, because I have only fan-girled over Bray for the majority of my poor life, but I am so happy to have this brain child of a series in my life now. It is set in the 1920s with kids with supernatural powers called Diviners fighting spirits that are causing chaos in the living world. There is something darker brooding beneath all of these random attacks and there is a reason why so many people are finding out that they are Diviners, and my heart can only take so much Bray please don’t kill my hopes and dreams.
CARMACK, CORA
Stormheart [YA]
This book stole my breath away in 2017 and I have not been able to get it out of my head. THESE PEOPLE FIGHT STORMS. Like literal storms. The whole idea of this book is so extraordinary and beautiful that I can’t stop dreaming about it and wondering if there is more to the storms in our own world when there is a thunderstorm outside of my room. This book as set the second book up to absolutely destroy its readers (mostly me) and I am hoping for more of a certain prince. This was just so unique that I can’t stop raving about it.
CLARE, CASSANDRA
The Shadowhunter Chronicles [YA]
I’m not going to tell you about every single one of these series, because it would be absolutely pointless because you kind of have to read them all to get to the other anyway. I will be completely honest, The Mortal Instruments is not one of my favorite series. To be more blunt, I kind of don’t like it because of the stretched out last-three books and the writing style. But I have nothing but love for The Infernal Devices and The Dark Artifices. Clare’s writing morphed astronomically with her last two series and the story telling is just as strong as ever (because she has always been a strong story teller). There are a race of people who have the blood of angels. These people are called Shadowhunters. They fight the evils of the world and the Downworlders (warlocks, vampires, werewolves and fairies). Each story has a heart-quenching love story, a eye-widening horrible situation that has to be solved and extraordinary character development and diversity.
Side note: Novellas are important in this series.
The Mortal Instruments [YA]
The Infernal Devices [YA]
The Bane Chronicles Novellas [YA]
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy [YA]
The Dark Artifices [YA]
DAO, JULIE C.
Rise of the Empress [YA]
An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen in Snow White came to power… an anti-hero.. and it’s creepy and dark and delicious and I did not know I would love this series as much as I did when I started. I thought it was going to be another over-hyped book but it deserves all the love it gets.
GRAUDIN, RYAN
Wolf by Wolf [YA]
Plot Twist: What if Hitler won the war and his experiments in the concentration camps could actually end up being his downfall? There’s a motorcycle race and a shape-shifting assassin is going in to claim her price: a knife in the heart of man who plagues her nightmares.
HALE, SHANNON
The Books of Bayern [YR] [YA]
Another series I read when I was younger with my sister Michelle. It is more of a middle-grade read, but I enjoy it as an adult too and don’t believe in labels so. This book is so magical because there are different types of languages that just leave me in a dream. Can you imagine being able to speak with horses? Or the wind? How about Fire? How about swaying people to your will? A small-voiced princess is overcome by her handmaid’s big plans, and it just might be the death of her.
KAUFMAN, AMIE, KRISTOFF, JAY
Illuminae Files, The [YA]
This is a science fiction novel. BUT BEFORE YOU SCROLL PAST LET ME TELL YOU MORE. The whole story is told with emails, chats, surveillance footage, files, etc. Not to mention journal entries, graphs, maps and pictures. It is just a great experience. I also tell people to listen to this book while you read along with it. But, forewarning, it is a little creepy. Think Walking-Dead in space.. or The Host by Stephanie Meyer on crack… in space.
KEPNES, CAROLINE
You [AR]
Have you seen Criminal Minds or Dexter or literally anything about someone who kills people because in their warped sense of thinking it was the only way to deal with the problem? Enter Joe, who has self-image problems while also knowing he is the best person to bless anyone’s presence. What’s different about this series, is that it is told in second-person. I tried other second-person perspective books, but I could never bring myself to actual enjoy them. With YOU, it is a whole new experience. To be in the mindset of someone who kills because he believes he has to… to be rooting for him…
LEVINE, GAIL CARSON
The Queen of Retellings
Levine is the queen of retellings. This is more of a middle-grade reading, but it is just as enjoyable as any series to me. Another beloved childhood read with my sister Michelle. I have never read a retelling that I didn’t enjoy when it comes to Levine. She takes a very unoriginal idea and makes it extraordinary. But, I beg you, please do not watch the movie Ella Enchanted and believe you have read the book. The only similar thing is the curse that Ella has; literally nothing else is the same. Who’s idea was it to have an evil uncle and a talking snake? Or the fan club?
Gail Carson Levine Novels [YR]
The Princess Tales [YR]
The Two Princess of Bamarre [YR]
MAAS, SARAH J
Throne of Glass [YA] [NA] [AR]
Maas is the queen of fairies, if you ask me. This series starts out with just an assassin playing a game to gain her freedom, and turns into a fight for the throne and free will and takes yet another turn in freeing the world from the hands of a being of pure evil. There ends up being adult content in this series, so if that is something you are not a fan of, I’m not sure this series will be for you. One of my favorite things about this series is the realistic relationships the main character has. She has more than one relationship through out the book instead of one-true ship. You’ll either love or hate this series; there really isn’t any gray area involved.
Side note: Novellas are important in this series.
MAAS, SARAH J
A Court of Thorns and Roses [NA] [AR]
This starts out as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast… and takes about twelve turns, six jumps and a massive leap into a completely different story. Set in a different world of faeries, or main girl Freya has to live among the Fae-folk, and figure out why the entirety of the Spring Court is being ridiculous with their never-taking-their-masks-off. Little does she know that the mystery of the masks is only the first step in the mess she is going to tangle herself in. This series is completely over-flowing with the adult content, so be aware if that is something you don’t want to dip your toes into.
MANISCALO, KERRI
Stalking Jack the Ripper [YA]
Murder mystery.. a female protagonist fighting her way into a male-dominated time and solving the crimes of Jake the Ripper, Prince Dracula and Houdini. This series is gory, beautiful, descriptive and lush with content and character development. Maniscalo did her research when it came to these novels, but she definitely did take liberties with her own story. There is a lot of twist in these as well, but it is fun to try and figure it out before the big reveal at the end. Also, swoon worthy love interest.
MEYER, MARISSA
The Lunar Chronicles [YA]
Retelling of Cinderella, Little Red Riding-Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White.. but all in one story plus moon-people called Lunars who can basically control your thoughts, human-engineered Wolf-Hybrids who are blood-driven, cyborgs and robots and royalty. And Personally, Captain Thorne is enough reason to dive into this series. There is a major war, race-issues are brought up, and people who were thrown out to the side because they were different being the ones who will, hopefully, save the day.
MEYER, MARISSA
Marissa Meyer Novels [YA]
Another beautiful retelling, but this time of the Queen of Hearts. This was the first book I actually read by Meyer, and I will never forgive myself for not reading her sooner.
MEYER, MARISSA
Renegades [YA]
It’s about superheroes and supervillains. Who actually ends up labeling people hero or villain? And what do you do when those lines are so blurry, you can’t tell who is good and who is bad?
PAOLINI, CHRISTOPHER
The Inheritance Cycle [YA]
I guess I really read a lot of books with my sister Michelle. This book is about dragons and overthrowing an evil king. You have your typical beginning: a small little nobody becoming the only hope for the world. But then the whole book kind of takes its own turn and becomes this beautiful work of art about dragons and their riders, elves and dwarves. Really though, Eragon’s brother is my dream man. Can’t go wrong with a hammer, am I right?
RHODES, MORGAN
Falling Kingdom [YA]
I’m just going to through this out there: Magnus is every girls wet dream of a brooding man. This is kind of a prank gone bad — whoops I started a war — whoops I just awoken the gods of old. There are a bunch of kids that make really stupid decisions but for some reason I just love them anyway?
ROWLING, J.K. [ROBERT GALBRAITH]
Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling) [AR] [YA] [YR]
It’s Harry Potter… what rock have you been living under? Wizarding-world… man without a nose trying to kill anything that isn’t pure… love conquers all…
ROWLING, J.K. [ROBERT GALBRAITH]
Cormoran Strike (Robert Galbraith) [AR]
Written under a different name, Rowling take on the adult-genre of murder mysteries with a private detective and his secretary. There is a lot of gore, a lot of back stories, a lot of names and a lot of relationship turmoil. But there is also a lot of great twist and character development.
SCHWAB, VICTORIA [V.E. SCHWAB]
Shades of Magic (V.E. Schwab) [AR]
Four layers of Londons: You have your Grey London, that has no magic, you have your Red London, that has a balanced-magic system, then comes the White London, that has an unbalanced-magic system, and last you have Black London, who was overcome by magic. You have a piece of black London make its way over to White/Red/Grey which is just a domino for the adventure that happens in this book. There is a cross-dressing pirate, a black-eyed boy who can cross the lines of the Londons, a prince that likes it both ways and a lot of characters you just fall head over heels for.
SCHWAB, VICTORIA [V.E. SCHWAB]
Monsters of Verity (Victoria Schwab) [YA]
Romeo and Juliet – the romance + monsters = this duology. I’m just going to leave that there for you to ponder…
SHVARTS, ANDREW
Royal Bastards [YA]
A bunch of throw-aways and a princess see their parents do a very bad thing that will start a war (which was their plan all along). So what do they do? Well, they run and try and save the princess who is all daises and flowers and rainbows and has never had to fight for anything in her life. This series caught me off guard when I first started reading it. To be perfectly honest, the title itself just caught my eye. I didn’t expect to fall in love with it and to lose my head with how many twists that happened.
TAHIR, SABAA
An Ember in the Ashes [YA]
You have a girl who is trying to break into the most secure prison in the land to free her brother, and a born-killer finding out that he has a conscious and a heart after all. When their worlds collide, they find that their problems are small compared to what is waiting for them below. These books can get pretty dark, but they are the kinds of books that you will be on the edge of your seat for the whole time because these characters that you grow to love, are never safe.
TAYLOR, LAINI
Strange the Dreamer [YA]
Taylor is known for her whimsical writing, but Strange the Dreamer absolutely took my breath away. You have a Lost City that needs the help of a Librarian boy with this.. thing that is hoovering over it and forever leaving them in darkness. Then you have a blue-skinned half goddess who is trapped in a tomb with her god-siblings trying to break free without the people below knowing; because if they found out they were alive, they will most certainly be dead.
THORNE, SALLY
Sally Thorne Novels [AR]
This is a book about how close hate is to love. How close loathe is to obsession. Completely and utterly full of adult content.