Recommended Reads

I always recommend writers read current books, not just within their genre but within their SUBGENRE. This helps you understand what is currently being published and will inspire you to greater heights within your own projects. Here are the books, published within the last ten years, that I recommend reading, organized by subgenre, because they are either big hits, extraordinarily written, or both.

Note: These are not necessarily good comps, because many are too popular.

Fantasy

Contemporary

  • The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd (2022)

  • Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (2016–present)

Cozy

  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (2020)

  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (2022)

Dark Academia

  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Dark

Epic

Fabulism / Magical Realism

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Fairy Tales

Gothic

Historical

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Horror

Middle Grade

Mythological

Paranormal & Supernatural

Retellings

Romantasy

YA

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