Last year we shared A Jump (O)ff Reading List by Genre Of Faves [Vol. 1] and we’re back with another edition, showcasing books we’ve read and loved in various different “sub-genres.” If you’re looking to jump out of your comfort zone and try a new to you genre, here are recommendations for getting started.
Gothic Horror – What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher
Wow! This little novella is quite chilling. I’d consider this to be ‘gentle horror’ and perfect for those who are looking to explore the genre but not wanting a lot of gore. It’s not really scary. Just perfectly creepy and strange. It’s a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Fall of Usher and follows a ‘curse’ of sorts that is slowly sucking the life out of all those who live in the Usher mansion.
Classic Horror – The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
If you read any classic horror at all, let it be this gem from Shirley Jackson. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers and soon it will choose one of them to make its own. This is psychological terror at its best!
Paranormal – The Dead and the Dark, Courtney Gould
All three books in the photo above have paranormal aspects but The Dead and the Dark was my favorite!
Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV’s ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there’s more secrets buried here than they originally let on.
Detective Fiction – The Night Shift, Alex Finlay
This is such a twisty, fun thriller! Two murders, decades apart, and an FBI agent determined to solve them both. The first murder takes place at a Blockbuster in 1999 and only one teenager survives. The second murder happens fifteen years later in an ice cream shop and again, only one teenager survives. With several POVs, this book will keep you guessing and page turning.
Dystopian – Fragile Remedy, Maria Ingrande Mora
This was such a clever alternate reality book. I loved this imagined world that Mora created where some people are GEMs (genetically engineered medi-tissue). Basically they were created by scientists to help cure the elite and privileged communities from a fatal disease ravaging everyone. The story follows a group of kids who are GEMs but have ran away and are in hiding, trying to survive. The book is beautifully written and full of all the feels.
Mystery – The Last to Vanish, Megan Miranda
This mystery had the perfect amount of suspense and slowly unraveled secrets.
Ten years ago Abigail Lovett shows up at The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass and never leaves. A string of unsolved disappearances has haunted the town for years. The Inn was at the center of these disappearances and is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself. Abby somehow finds herself in the middle of the investigation.
YA Fantasy – This Poison Heart, Kalynn Bayron
A creative fantasy world involving poisonous plants used to cure modern ailments, ancient curses, and generational secrets.
Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined.
Science Fiction – Crownchasers, Rebecca Coffindaffer
Hunger Games in space! This book is so much fun.
When Alyssa Farshot’s uncle, the emperor, falls ill and dies, she knows she’ll be expected to step up. Except everyone is surprised when it is announced that there will be a Crown Chase. Each elite family in the galaxy will submit an heir to compete for the throne. What follows is a rip roaring battle of wits, where long held friendships are put to the test and old grudges resurface.
// Comments are closed //