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These books are in no particular order but are ones I’ve loved and remember long after I’ve finished reading them. Warning for younger readings, many of these books contain mature content and may not be suitable for all audiences.
- Fourth Wing (The Empyrean Book 1) by Rebecca Yarros. This book sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until you can get your hands on the next book in the series. Violet in super relatable and is an overcoming-the-odds female lead. This book has dragons, magic, a sexy-dark male and plenty of challenges leading to an epic series. The first book is by far my favorite in the series so far. Iron Flame (The Empyrean Book 2) is also an excellent read with our favorite characters (mostly) returning for further adventure.
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. If ever there was a fiction book written about the akashic records and timeline hopping, this would be it. Pick up a book and decide which future you want. Maybe take some time along the way to try on different lives too.
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. A witch creates a social media account performing magic that she thinks no one will take seriously … until another witch finds her and hires her as a nanny to 3 orphan witch children. She has to overcome tradition to do what’s right and save her found family.
- Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory. This is not my usual female-heroine preferred book and I will admit, I had to start reading it about 3 different times before I was finally able to get into it. I’m very glad I did though – this is the story of some astral travelers on a mission to save their family.
- Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. Everything this man does it magic. This is about a reaper coming to collect souls and the owner of a magical tea shop steps in and says he’ll keep an eye on the latest soul that isn’t ready to cross over yet.
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I was skeptical of this book being too close to harry potter with magical children in an orphanage, but it was such a good and sweet story. As of this writing, I’ve just learned that there’s a sequel to this book being published very soon, so that will be added to my list of must-reads. Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles Book 2)
- The Lost Apothecary: A Novel by Sarah Penner. One of my other secret categories of books is murder mystery novels. This is a lovely cross between the world of spirituality and murder mysteries. I also enjoy the women-helping-women setup of this story and female empowerment.
- Suddenly Psychic: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel (Glimmer Lake Book 1) by Elizabeth Hunter. This is all about a woman that was thrust into a psychic awakening and now she can see everything. I read the first book as well as Semi-Psychic Life: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel (Glimmer Lake Book 2) and Psychic Dreams: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel (Glimmer Lake Book 3) all very quickly and thoroughly enjoyed them all.
- The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle Book 1) by Patrick Rothfuss. This is one of my top favorite books ever, but beware the series is not finished yet and is many years overdue for the next book in the series… so the likelihood of it being finished anytime soon is low. However, it is literally about learning the name of the wind and once you know it’s true name, you can command it. The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2) is the second in the series and is also excellent. There’s also a novella about a side character: The Slow Regard of Silent Things: Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2.5. This was a fun taste back into the universe but I did not love this book as much as I had hoped. Auri is quite aloof and this book very much feels like her.
- Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch. This is a book about changing timelines and trying to get back to the correct reality. It adds a nice scientific perspective to things that are still out of reach by science today.
- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. This one is intended for a younger audience with the main character being 16 years old. This has all the elements a magical story might want – being a princess, dark enemies, romance, and crystals that help her harness magic. This is a full completed series too with the rest of the books being: The Crown of Embers The Bitter Kingdom and The Empire of Dreams
- Graceling (Graceling Realm Book 1) by Kristin Cashore. Another novel intended for younger audiences, but still an excellent book. Katsa is born with a Grace aka a special talent and she’s off to save the world! Sequels include Fire Bitterblue Winterkeep and Seasparrow
- Off to be the Wizard by Scott Meyer. This is great for the computer/excel nerds out there. Imagine being able to change timelines and make dragons and food appear. That’s what this computer wizard does on his adventure back to the middle ages with lots of humor and laughing along the way.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling. There’s a reason this book is so wildly popular and has been for so long. The author has problematic world views. Regardless, Harry takes us on many adventures and is another underdog overcoming the odds while learning to navigate a whole other culture of a magical world he knew nothing about until he was thrust into the depths of it’s many great problems. The entire series is worth the read
Have you read any of these books? Are there any missing from this list? Leave a comment and let me know!
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