Book Recommendations For Every Genre
Updated: Oct 20, 2020
We all have experienced a bit of cabin fever recently with all the current stay-at-home orders in place. I know for me, even as a homebody by nature, I have found it difficult not to be able to go out anywhere. During all of this, I think the natural bookworm thing to do is to binge read, whether that's proceeded by a mild existential reading slump or not.
For me, romance is forever my comfort genre so I've been making the most of my kindle unlimited subscription. But since not everyone enjoys romance as their primary reading genre I figured I would compile a list of recommendations for each genre. A book for every bookish person.
Disclaimer: This blog post will contain affiliate and referral links. I may earn a small commission to feed my book hoarding tendencies if you use these links to make a purchase. This in no way impacts my opinions of the books listed - they are all my own.
* minor spoilers ahead
Mystery Novels For Your Inner Detective
Mysteries were some of the first full-length novels I read as a kid. When I was younger I spent much time at my grandma's and she had an entire library dedicated to ex-library copies of murder mysteries that she'd get for $0.50 a bag. She started letting me take some home when I was about eleven or twelve and I fell in love with this genre from the start. Since then, while I have branched out from it more and more, mystery is still one of my number one favorite genres.
Mystery Recommendation 1:
I've Got My Eyes On You by Mary Higgins Clarke
TW: Murder, Violence, Death, Mentions of Rape
Mary Higgins Clarke's books are of course a classic mystery novel choice. They are the most foundational in the genre in my opinion. She didn't earn her title 'queen of suspense' for nothing after all. Her books were some of the first mysteries people read, but I don't know if as many people go toward her newer works.
One of these newer works that I've come to love is I've Got My Eyes Eyes On You. It was published in 2018 and is such a great addition to her catalog. This book has all the best qualities of a Mary Higgins Clare murder mystery. It also has a really good family angle which I love in her books since reading her other story Daddy's Little Girl.
Another aspect I think that some readers may enjoy is that, while there's technically a romance involved in this work as well as her others, it's by no means the main focus. The romance is almost non-existent with only slight hints toward what could be. Even as someone who loves a good romance I can't commend I've Got My Eyes on You enough.
Description:
After a party when her parents are away, eighteen-year-old Kerry Dowling is found fully dressed at the bottom of the family pool
The immediate suspect is her boyfriend who had a bitter argument with her at the party. Then there is a twenty-year-old neighbor who was angry because she didn’t invite him to the party.
Or is there someone else who has not yet been seen on the radar?
Kerry’s older sister Aline, a twenty-eight-year-old guidance counselor, is determined to assist the Prosecutor's Office in learning the truth. She does not realize that now she is putting her own life in danger...
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Mystery Recommendation 2:
Little Sister by Isabel Ashdown
TW: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Mental Illness, Abortion (I believe)
I have some mixed feelings about Isabel Ashdown's books in general. I love her book Little Sister which is why it made the list. Saying that, I was not a fan of her recent book Beautiful Liars. It was such a let down because she knows how to craft a great story.
With all of that aside, The story of a missing child in Little Sister is a bit different from your average mystery novel. It is the best case of morally grey characters and unreliable narrators that I have ever seen. Psychologically this book is on another level. You also never know what to expect from anybody in the book which isn't so much lazy writing as a clear choice by the writer to make the characters erratic and unpredictable.
Description:
After sixteen years apart sisters Jessica and Emily are reunited. With the past now behind them, the warmth they once shared quickly returns and before long Jess has moved into Emily's comfortable island home. Life couldn't be better. But when baby Daisy disappears while in Jess's care, the perfect life Emily has so carefully built starts to fall apart.
Was Emily right to trust her sister after everything that happened before?
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Mystery Recommendation 3:
The Sun Down Motel
TW: Murder, Violence, Mentions of Rape, Paranormal
The Sun Down Motel was one of my first book of the month picks. It was the first I actually read so I was putting a lot of pressure on this book to decide if BOTM had good judgment. Boy did this book sell me on that because it was beyond good and I never would have picked it up without their site.
The Sun Down Motel combines all the best elements of a classic mystery with the paranormal and otherworldly. This book is one that takes you on a complete journey. Every detail is thought of down to the smallest of evidence that is used to weave this wonderful tale.
If you're a fan of lightly horror-esque books, I recommend this one. I, as an adamant disliker of horror, found it to be the perfect touch of spooky while still maintaining an enthralling mystery. The twists will get anybody and the shock is very real when each new revelation is uncovered.
Description:
The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Romance For The Hopeless Romantic
Romance is possibly my favorite genre to read - even if I'm perpetually single. I love for character relationships, family or romantic, to be at the center of a story, and romance is the genre I find delivers. I don't even need a HEA to be satisfied. I just want to experience the ups and downs of whatever trials the main couple faces. Because of this, I lean more toward angstier romances myself.
Romance Recommendation 1:
Vicious by LJ Shen
TW: Dark Romance, Bullying, Abuse, Sickness
LJ Shen as an author is someone who I find is consistently releasing top-notch books. Her writing is constantly impressing me no matter which one of her stories I'm picking up. Vicious was the first book I read by the author and it did not disappoint. It demonstrates all her strongest points as an author.
Vicious definitely isn't a sweet rom-com by any stretch of the imagination. It is filled with morally grey characters who use questionable means to get what they want. Vicious, the title character, being the main person in question, but with a nickname like Vicious do you expect anything else? On the other hand, Emilia grounds him in her unconventional goodness. She is selfless for those she loves and fights for them at her own expense.
They make such a perfect example of night-and-day characters. Their relationship plays on this fact and uses their differences to the advantage of the story. LJ Shen also uses their differences as a source of both humor and tension in the perfect way to balance all the drama in the book.
Description:
Emilia
They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover.
Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him.
Vicious
She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price.
Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me.
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Romance Recommendation 2:
After by Anna Todd
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a massive fan of After by Anna Todd. I love these books and liken them to a train wreck you can't look away from in the best possible way. These books, in particular, are some of the most addicting I've ever read. Very bingeable for sure.
The characters are no doubt morally grey. They aren't meant to be people you aspire to or see as role models. They're conflicting characters who can become downright unlikable. But these characteristics also lend themselves to each person in the books having depth and dimension to them.
If a rollercoaster of emotions is your preference in romance, I can't recommend this series enough.
Description:
Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way.
But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.
But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.
He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.
Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?
Unless…could this be love?
Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!
There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER... Life will never be the same.
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Romance Recommendation 3:
Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines
The Fallen Too Far series by Abbi Glines is a throwback for me. It's one I'd classify as an oldie but a goodie. The series is one I talk about fairly frequently because it is one of my classic romance go-tos.
If you haven't read this series yet, it's definitely one I'd consider adding to your list. It is the perfect summer romance in my opinion with plenty of good humor and, of course, angst. There's a lot of family conflicts in this book and the ties that bind these characters are so unique in that I've never seen a similar execution in another book.
The Fallen Too Far series is certainly trope-filled in terms of a forbidden romance and all the complications that appear throughout the book. But Abbi Glines manages to keep the classic soul of a good trope while making it her own. I recommend anyone interested in the romance genre give this one a shot.
Description:
To want what you’re not supposed to have…
She is only nineteen.
She is his new stepfather’s daughter.
She is still naïve and innocent due to spending the last three years taking care of her sick mother.
But for twenty-four year old Rush Finlay, she is the only thing that has ever been off limits. His famous father’s guilt money, his mother’s desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no.
Blaire Wynn left her small farmhouse in Alabama, after her mother passed away, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. She isn’t prepared for the lifestyle change and she knows she’ll never fit into this world. Then there is her sexy stepbrother who her father leaves her with for the summer while he runs off to Paris with his wife. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous. He is also getting under her skin. She knows he is anything but good for her and that he’ll never be faithful to anyone. He is jaded and has secrets Blaire knows she may never uncover but even knowing all of that…
Blaire just may have fallen too far.
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Fantasy Escapism For The Everyday Dreamer
I know it may seem like I don't talk about fantasy enough, but I always enjoy this genre when I dive in. For me, fantasy takes a little longer to become immersed in considering the usual need to establish the world. This usually results in me dragging through the first few chapters only to binge read the last 3/4 in one sitting.
Fantasy Recommendation 1:
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh
TW: Violence, Murder, Graphic, References to Rape
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh brought back my excitement for vampires. This book had everything you want in a vampire novel, Twilight sparkles excluded. The atmosphere is unrivaled by any novel I've ever read. It portrays a lush and dark illustration of New Orleans in a period piece setting.
This book is one of a woman heading to a new country after a traumatic experience. But she is no fleeing doe to be taken as prey. She is a lion, as her newfound friends point out. Her character is strong and resilient so as to carry the story through its various stages from introduction to climax to ending. There's never a moment when you know what to expect for a tale as richly intoxicating as this one.
If you're someone obsessed with vampires, I mean who isn't really, The Beautiful could be the perfect addition to your collection. I even recommend this to non-vampire lovers, those rare few, who want to give the genre a try. It's the perfect mixture of the idolized vampire novels we grew up with and a dash of heavy fantasy.
Description:
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Fantasy Recommendation 2:
Twisted Fate Jessi Elliot
Jessi Elliot's book series Twisted Fate was the focus of one of the first reviews I posted on my blog. This book was such a nice find for me as an indie title. The author's social media platforms are as splendid as the books themselves with her self-proclaimed title of authorpreneur.
These books follow the romance of Tristan and Aurora in an exciting tale of fae and magic. The series actually diverts into multiple spin-offs if you find yourself inclined to read them with characters you can't turn your back on. Extraordinary is one way to describe the author's writing and execution of the story she wanted to tell.
Fans of Fae stories and indie titles will love this gem of a series.
Description:
Being kidnapped by the leader of the fae really puts a dent in your senior year.
Aurora Marshall is sharp, witty, and always has a plan. Currently, it’s to finish her business degree and graduate. And she’s right on track—until fate brings her to Tristan Westbrook.
The overbearing yet undeniably gorgeous fae leader—who’s also admired by humankind—is all kinds of dangerous. He finds Aurora intriguing, and her refusal to bend to his will only captivates him further.
Entering into a deal with Tristan is the only way for Aurora to escape his clutches—or so she thinks. Only, it plunges her deeper and deeper into the fae world. With her future at stake, she finds herself battling his arrogance and extraordinary presence while reflecting on her own mundane life.
Not to mention her struggle to ignore the growing attraction she knows she shouldn’t feel for the man who kidnapped her.
Even though people often claim college to be an exciting part of life, Aurora is certain that none of them—herself included—ever dreamed this as a possibility.
Purchase Link: Book Depository