Fiction books

Dark Fantasy & Grimdark

• "The First Law" (Trilogy) – Joe Abercrombie
  A brutal, character-driven fantasy series with morally gray characters, political scheming, and intense battles.

• "The Broken Empire" (Trilogy) – Mark Lawrence
  Follows Jorg Ancrath, a ruthless antihero prince carving his way through a grim world of violence and magic.

• "The Poppy War" (Trilogy) – R.F. Kuang
  A dark, military fantasy inspired by Chinese history, featuring war, gods, and the cost of power.

• "The Lies of Locke Lamora" – Scott Lynch
  A fast-paced story about a group of elite con artists in a Venetian-style fantasy city, blending crime and adventure.

• "A Song of Ice and Fire" (Series) – George R.R. Martin
  The inspiration for Game of Thrones, a political fantasy full of intrigue, war, and morally complex characters.

• Game of thrones

Urban & Contemporary Fantasy

• "American Gods" – Neil Gaiman
  A modern fantasy that blends mythology and contemporary America, following a mysterious war between old gods and new.

• "The Dresden Files" (Series) – Jim Butcher
  A detective-noir-meets-fantasy series featuring a wizard private investigator solving supernatural crimes in modern Chicago.

• "Neverwhere" – Neil Gaiman
  A dark, whimsical journey through a hidden London beneath the city, filled with strange creatures and forgotten gods.

• "The Rivers of London" (Series) – Ben Aaronovitch
  A fun, fast-paced series where a police officer in London discovers he has a talent for magic and investigates supernatural crimes.

• "The Night Circus" – Erin Morgenstern
  A beautifully written tale about a magical, mysterious circus and the two illusionists bound by a secret contest.

Romantic Fantasy

• "From Blood and Ash" – Jennifer L. Armentrout
  A steamy fantasy romance featuring a sheltered warrior-princess, a brooding guard, and a world of gods and war.

• "A Touch of Darkness" – Scarlett St. Clair
  A modern fantasy retelling of Persephone and Hades' love story with dark magic and forbidden romance.

• "The Bridge Kingdom" – Danielle L. Jensen
  A thrilling enemies-to-lovers fantasy about a spy princess sent to seduce and destroy a powerful enemy king.

• "House of Salt and Sorrows" – Erin A. Craig
  A dark, gothic fantasy inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses, filled with eerie mysteries and romance.

• Icebreaker" – Hannah Grace
  College hockey romance with a lot of heart and plenty of spice.

• "Before We Were Strangers" – Renée Carlino
  Second-chance love told across time; poetic, emotional, and deeply romantic.

• "Credence" – Penelope Douglas
  Controversial, edgy, and dark—set in a snowy wilderness with taboo tension.

• "Birthday Girl" – Penelope Douglas
  Age-gap romance done with vulnerability and slow-burn heat.

High Fantasy with Strong Heroines & Romance

• "Daughter of the Pirate King" – Tricia Levenseller
  A feisty pirate heroine, a forbidden romance, and an adventure on the high seas make this a fun, action-packed read.

• "An Ember in the Ashes" – Sabaa Tahir
  A brutal world inspired by Ancient Rome, featuring a slave girl turned spy and a soldier questioning his loyalty.

• "These Hollow Vows" – Lexi Ryan
  A dark fantasy romance where a girl infiltrates the fae courts to save her sister, caught between two powerful fae princes.

• "The Wrath & The Dawn" – Renée Ahdieh
  A retelling of A Thousand and One Nights where a girl marries a deadly king planning to avenge her best friend.

• "Dance of Thieves" – Mary E. Pearson
  A fantasy romance about a thief and an outlaw leader who get handcuffed together and must survive the wilderness.

• "The Queen’s Rising" – Rebecca Ross
  A slow-burn fantasy romance with court intrigue, betrayals, and a girl trying to reclaim her stolen kingdom.

Action-Packed + Emotional General Fiction

• "The Silent Patient" – Alex Michaelides
  A woman shoots her husband and never speaks again. Emotional unraveling meets psychological suspense.

• "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" – Taylor Jenkins Reid
  Glamorous, tragic, and raw—follows the complex life of a starlet through love, ambition, and heartbreak.

• "Where the Crawdads Sing" – Delia Owens
  A girl raised in the wild becomes the center of a murder case. Lush prose, survival, love, and mystery.

• "The Paper Palace" – Miranda Cowley Heller
  A woman must choose between passion and stability—layered, emotional, with flashes of trauma and intensity.

• "Before We Were Strangers" – Renée Carlino
  A poetic, second-chance romance full of yearning, memory, and fate.

• "Then She Was Gone" – Lisa Jewell
  A mother's search for her missing daughter uncovers a chilling truth. Domestic suspense meets emotional heartbreak.

• "The Night Swim" – Megan Goldin
  A true crime podcaster investigates a rape case with eerie ties to her own past. Emotional, urgent, and gripping.

• "Small Great Things" – Jodi Picoult
  A Black nurse is accused of a crime after a white supremacist refuses her help. Powerful courtroom drama meets social commentary.

• "The Paris Library" – Janet Skeslien Charles
  Historical fiction set in Nazi-occupied Paris and modern-day Montana. Emotion, danger, and resilience through books.

• "The Chain" – Adrian McKinty
  A mother is forced to kidnap another child to save her own. Fast-paced, morally twisted, and emotionally tense.

• "Anxious People" – Fredrik Backman
  A failed bank robbery leads to a hostage situation. Funny, sad, and deeply human—with emotional gut punches.

• "The 5th Wave" – Rick Yancey
  Aliens, apocalypse, and a teen girl on a mission. YA-leaning, but action-packed and emotional at its core.

Fantasy:

• The Shadows Between Us – A cunning girl plans to marry and kill the Shadow King, but ends up falling for him in this dark and seductive tale.

• The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air series) – A mortal girl raised in the fae realm must navigate deadly politics and a magnetic, cruel fae prince.

• From Blood and Ash – A chosen maiden destined for the gods starts to question her life and falls for a mysterious guard who changes everything.

• The Bridge Kingdom – A princess trained as a spy is sent to marry a rival king, but love and betrayal blur her mission.

• An Enchantment of Ravens – A mortal artist paints human sorrow in a fae prince’s eyes, drawing her into a dangerous magical realm.

• Daughter of the Pirate King – A clever pirate lets herself be captured to hunt a hidden map, but meets her match on enemy waters.

• The Serpent & the Wings of Night – A human girl adopted by a vampire king enters a brutal trial to win immortality, falling for a rival warrior.

• The Bone Season – A dreamwalker is taken to a prison-like city run by alien overlords and forced into a complex relationship with her captor.

• The Prison Healer – A healer imprisoned in a death camp must survive magical trials to save a rebel queen and discovers her own hidden power.

• These Hollow Vows – A girl infiltrates a fae court to save her sister, torn between two alluring and dangerous fae princes.

• Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti – A reverse harem academy romance with mystery, murder, and celestial magic.

• A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene – A spicy, curse-filled retelling with dragons, steamy enemies-to-lovers, and sarcastic banter.

• King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair – A mortal woman is forced to marry a brutal vampire king, and discovers lust, love, and war.

• The Night Hunt by K. Alex Walker – A spicy romantic fantasy with mythic beasts, deadly secrets, and a scorching slow-burn romance.

• The Plague King by C. M. Nascosta – A monster fantasy where a human scholar and a terrifying plague fae must work (and live) together.

• Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti – Twin sisters discover they’re fae royalty and must survive a brutal school of magic, full of bullies, politics, and forbidden romance.

• Crave by Tracy Wolff – A human girl at a vampire boarding school falls for a mysterious and deadly classmate.

• House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein – A fae academy romance with dark secrets, elemental magic, and a magnetic enemies-to-lovers plot.

• Dark Fae by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti – A prequel series to Zodiac Academy, packed with dark fae mischief, intense romance, and supernatural trials.

• Wicked Fae by Ivy Asher – A dangerous fae college, hot professors, and a heroine caught between magic and murder.

• Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas – Childhood pen pals turned high school enemies with a sizzling love-hate dynamic and emotional depth.

• Bully (Fall Away series) by Penelope Douglas – A former best friend becomes her worst enemy in high school, until buried feelings rise to the surface.

• The Deal (Off-Campus series) by Elle Kennedy – A college hockey star convinces a smart, sarcastic girl to tutor him — and sparks fly.

• Misfit (Kings of Carnage series) by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen – A rebellious teen is sent to a boarding school for elite misfits, where romance and secrets simmer.

• Twisted Love (Twisted series) by Ana Huang – A broody, protective brother’s best friend and the sunshine girl he can’t resist fall into a forbidden slow-burn romance.

• After by Anna Todd – A college freshman falls for a mysterious, tattooed bad boy in a love story full of drama, heartbreak, and obsession.

• In Harmony by Emma Scott – A shy girl and a brooding outcast connect through Shakespeare and shared trauma in a small-town high school.

• The Secret History by Donna Tartt – Not a traditional romance, but features dark academic vibes, obsession, and a tight-knit group at an elite college.

• The Ivy by Lauren Kunze – Set at Harvard, this series follows drama, relationships, and secrets among the elite students navigating love and pressure.

• Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire – A good girl in college gets pulled into the wild world of an underground fighter — messy, passionate, and addictive.

Plated Prisoner series:

Gold

Goldfinch

Monica Murphy books:

The arranged marriage:

• The reluctant bride

• The ruthless groom

College years:

• The freshman

• The sophomore

• The junior

• The senior

Dating series:

• Save the date

• Fake date

• Holidate

• Hate to date you

• Rate a date

• Wedding date

• Blind date

The Callahan’s:

• Close to me

• Falling for her

• Addicted to him

• Meant to be

• Fighting for you

• Making her mine

• A Callahan wedding

Forever yours:

• You promised me forever

• Thinking about you

• Nothing without you

Damaged heart:

• Her deant heart

• His wasted heart

• Damaged hearts

Friends:

• Just friends

• More than friends

• Forever

The never duet:

• Never tear us apart

• Never let you go

The rules:

• Fair game

• In the dark

• Slow play

• Safe bet

The Fowler’s sisters:

• Owning violet

• Stealing rose

• Taming lily

Reverie series:

• His reverie

• Her destiny

Billionaire bachelor’s club:

• Crave

• Torn

• Savor

• Intoxicated

One week girlfriend:

• One week girlfriend

• Second chance boyfreind

• Three broken promises

• Drew and fable forever

• Four years later

• Five days until you

• A drew and fable Christmas

Standalone YA titles:

• Daring the bad boy

• Saving it

• Pretty dead girls