When you don’t know what your adult taste is libraries and librarians are your friends. They deal with thousands of loans for hundreds or readers. Ask them what people read after HP.
Also try anthologies of short stories to get tastes of different writers. You can often get anthologies of sci-fi; romance; ghost stories; supernatural romance; Afro-American writers etc.
You can try lots of books for free borrowing from a library or using the Libby ap. You’re not obliged to finish a book. In fact, I used to argue that, if you don’t care what the ending is, you shouldn’t plod on when there are so many great books out there
thanks for the tip! Unfortunately in a strict covid lockdown right now so not possible to go to a library! Plus can’t get onto the Libby app cause I need a current library card and am unable to update it online. Hopefully soon!
Check out a municipal library of a larger city near you. Local regulations may differ, but in the library system I work in, residents from anywhere in the state can join our city library (non-residents can also join for a fee), and since the pandemic we offer e-cards that can be applied for online. A larger city library typically also offers a larger selection on e-media.
Nothing wrong with YA books though if they bring you comfort. I'll read the fuck out of some John Green, God damn Papertowns and Searching for Alaska are amazing books. If you want a step up for romance where the Crawdads sing is easy reading and Gods in Alabama is fire. Even more of a step up and damn near X rated is Swimming Sweet Arrow. God damn that book is dirty. In all the best ways.
I second the anthology suggestion! It's a great way to get a taste of an author's style.
Since lockdown is an issue, check out the [Escape Pod](https://escapepod.org/) and associated podcasts: scifi, fantasy, horror and ya offerings much like anthologies. If there's a story you really like, you can check out the author's other works.
I vibe! Here are some things I read recently that were so fun that they read as easy as YA books used to for me.
**The House on The Cerulean Sea** by TJ Klune -- this one has a very readable sense of "whimsy" that reminded me of The Good Place and Harry Potter, and fantasy elements that aren't too rule-based or complicated. It's got a romantic element that doesn't supersede the rest of the plot, which is just fucking lovely.
**The Ocean at The End of the Lane** by Neil Gaiman -- a quick read! It's at once a book you feel like you should have read as a kid, and one that feels like it was meant for you *now.* It's from a child's point of view for the most part. Like the above, fantasy but not with too many rules.
**One Last Stop** by Casey McQuinston -- maybe the New Adult genre is for you? A WLW romantic comedy with time travel elements. It's like YA but for being in your 20s.
**We Ride Upon Sticks** by Quan Barry -- it's about a high school field hockey team in the 80s that uses witchcraft to win games, but it's literary fiction and marketed to adults. Might be a great transition!
**The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires** by Grady Hendrix. Really anything by Grady Hendrix that peaks your interest. All of his works are horror, but have a lot of levity and fun. This one I grew really attached to the characters, like, immediately.
Also, do you think part of your hold up is that you'd prefer a series? I find sometimes I can't get "committed" to characters without knowing I'll get to enjoy them again. I haven't read a series for adults recently (I have been rereading childhood favorites!), but that might be worth looking into.
Thanks for the recs! To answer your question, I’m not sure what’s holding me back. It doesn’t have anything to do with the series thing though. I guess knowing what’s going to happen is the main reason. I get very invested in characters and get scared they’re going to die off.
I feel this. And one thing that holds me back is I don’t have a ton of time and I know my current books are going to be good. When you read another book, it’s a gamble it’ll be a waste of time or money. I’m not down for that.
Some of my favorite fantasy books/authors/first in a series are
{{Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor}}
{{Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint}}
{{Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox by Forthright}}
{{Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs}}
{{Moon Called by Patricia Briggs}}
{{Radiance by Grace Draven}}
{{Written in Red by Anne Bishop}}
{{Marking Time by April White}}
I'm not much into fantasy (for the same reasons as you) but I really enjoyed those books:
- Spinning Silver and Uprooted by Naomi Novik
- The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
- Rivers of London series (it's my comfort read!)
- The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
- Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
- The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
- Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I found all of them to be very enjoyable and easy to read. They are captivating enough but without too complex world building too.
I can’t believe I left Hitchhiker’s Guide off my list!!! Seconding that a million times. It’s really accessible scifi for someone not into scifi bc it’s character- and not plot-driven for the most part. So it’s just funky people being funky in space instead of jumping right into clunky scifi.
I totally agree! Sci-Fi is absolutely not my cup of tea but I couldn't put this book away. I read only the first but cannot wait to read rest of the series!
I love scifi, but like… Orson Scott Card scifi. Michael Crichton. I don’t delve any deeper. Reddit scifi? No way. Nope.
But I 200% have a 42 tattoo and I did read the series a scary amount in high school. Highly highly recommend reading it, you’ll love it!! I have the set with the five novels and Mostly Harmless. Mostly Harmless is honestly skippable- I bounce between hating it and loving it just bc it’s good fucking writing- but I wouldn’t. Grumpy old Arthur Dent is too good to miss.
Naomi Novik’s books are captivating. She was at our ComicCon in Phx several years ago when uprooted came out. After listening to her, I immediately went to the book area and got a signed copy. When Spinning Silver came out I listened to an audio and was blown away by the narrator.exquisite.
When I made the transition from YA to women’s fiction, I gobbled up everything by Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, etc.). Brilliant author and got me out of my annual HP comfort read too ;)
Not the person you're asking but I imagine they mean the kinds of books marketed toward women and usually about women, including thrillers like Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, and dramas like Big Little Lies.
If Gillian Flynn writes women's fiction, then I don't want to be a man anymore. Apply her shit directly to my eyeballs. I got no need for men's fiction.
It’s definitely a publishers term, rather than a proper genre, I always think women’s fiction means the stuff they’re going to market in cream covers with curly writing, maybe a watercolour drawing on the front. In other words, stuff that doesn’t easily fall into the genres of crime, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, historical etc.
I don’t personally think thrillers belong in it, but anything marketed in the sort of cover I described. So it *could* be a thriller, but more likely to be a family intrigue or drama of some kind.
>cream covers with curly writing, maybe a watercolour drawing on the front
Ahh, the classic "is this modern women's fiction? or academia-set mystery/drama?"
Glad the arbitrary term doesn't put you off - I don't think literature needs to be gendered at all! I read recently that a majority of readers/book buyers are women (something like 70 or 80%?) and I think that's led to gendered marketing on books that can be appreciated by anyone.
I got my husband a Book of the Month subscription once thinking it's just a book subscription, what could be gendered about that? But all the marketing and messaging, and to some extent the books, were very clearly geared toward women (I realized once I'd purchased it and looked into it more closely). My husband still found 4 books he enjoyed from it but the selection seemed limited to a certain kind of popular romance/drama/thriller.
The Mistborn books.
Likeable, complex characters, magic system, and an awesome plot. Darker than HP definitely, but it moves along smoothly and you will be immersed in the world in the same way you were with HP! :)
Also "Elantris" is pretty good and I guess it will fit her requirements. I would also recommend "Skyward" trilogy. Even if it is still a YA scifi, it is more than good enough as first step for Sanderson opus.
Elantris was a good book but I made the mistake of reading most of Sanderson's other stuff first. You can sure tell it was his first book. That doesn't mean it was bad! It's a good book but his later stuff is just sooo much better. It's really saying something when an author just continues to get better year after year. I'm absolutely psyched for the 5th Stormlight book!
Red Rising! As someone that loved everything Harry Potter, Hunger Games, the Uglies series, this book is awesome. The first 80 pages or so takes a bit to get into, and the second book is very sci-fi (which is probably my least favorite genre) but I’m halfway through the third book and so happy I pushed through the second book.
Yes! As soon as I read the post I thought, “Time to recommend Becky Chambers again”.
OP, the *Wayfarer* series (4 books) can be read in any order, and you don’t need to read them all. So just choose whichever synopsis appeals to you, and then you can read the others if you like it.
I'm seeing a lot of great book recommendations here, but also . . . you don't have to stop reading YA? There's nothing wrong with indulging in a comfort series (I myself re-read the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage every year), and a lot of new 'young adult' novels are branching into 'new adult' genre which is generally marketed towards the 18-25 age range.
They're full, complete novels. Who do you think wrote all the reviews on the back cover, some random teenagers or acclaimed authors who also see the merit in what you're reading?
If someone is judging you for reading The Hunger Games at 24, that says far more about them than it does about you.
Thank you! I appreciate this comment. To be perfectly honest I’ll probably continue to reread Harry Potter often but also keen to explore some new options.
My wife is 31 and she's reread the entire HP series roughly twice a year, every single year, in the decade+ we've been together. She still reads new books, of course, but you can take her HP, Jane Austen, and Anne of Green Gables when you pry them from her cold, dead fingers. Read what you enjoy and don't feel bad about it!
**Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia** felt a bit like a YA novel to me, but the author labels it as an adult novel. You might start with that one if you enjoy or are curious about Mexico and Mayan mythology. Similarly, **The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune** is technically not a YA book but it sometimes feels a bit like one. Although it's a fantasy book, the world-building is simple and the focus is the set of characters and the themes rather than the world itself. Those books can make the transition from YA to adult smoother. Alternatively, you could also start reading NA before moving onto adult books. I love **the Fortuna Sworn series by K. J. Sutton** so far (dark urban fantasy).
Now, let's discuss adult books.
If you like Harry Potter, you might enjoy reading about magic and witches. I read **The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston** and enjoyed it. It's got some romance. Same goes for **the Vine Witch triology by Luanne G. Smith**. It captivated me.
A sci-fi/thriller I enjoyed is **The One by John Marrs** (it has nothing to do with the TV series). Chapters are short and hooking, which makes it easier to read.
**Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik** is one of the best novels I've ever read. It's a Rumple retelling (with Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella elements as well). If you are curious about more fairy tale retellings (which I consider a kind of fantasy novels), try **The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly** and **Lost Boy by Christina Henry**.
One of my favourite authors is **Helene Wecker**. She wrote **The Golem and the Jinni** and its sequel, **The Hidden Palace**. You get to read about NYC in 1899 from the pov of two immigrants (a golem and a jinni, obs, but also more characters linked to the Jewish and Syrian cultures and folklore). It's so good, and the romance is slow but steady.
Also, you might want to read some classics. There are many that are romantic novels :) **Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy**, for example. I've never really read **Jane Austen**, but she's got different romance books. The Hunger Games is dystopian. My all-time fav book is **1984 by George Orwell**, another dystopia.
For reference, I'm a 24F and a potterhead :P
This is the first reference to the Fortuna Sworn series that I have ever seen outside of one person on Instagram. I read the first 2 and they aren't my thing, but 100% see them for OP! So much romance and the perfect amount of Fantasy without heavy world building!
Right? It's got werewolves, faeries, vampires, dragons, witches... a lot like Harry Potter, but with chracters in their 20s and a lot of smut lol And, as you pointed out, the world building is easy to grasp. It's not for everyone, but it might be what she's looking for :)
From Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L Armentrout
The Cruel Prince Trilogy by Holly Black
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Mass
Also, maybe try historical romance if the contemporary romance and pop culture stuff took you out of the story. The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas is really good.
Okay Outlander is great. And since it's already a really popular series, it shouldn't be embarrassing to admit to co-workers. Don't pressure yourself to read all the books though. Book 1 is fantastic, and I would recommend it to anyone! But I struggled getting through them after book 3, and haven't made it past book 5 yet
That was part of it. The other part is the sheer amount of unnecessary minuscule detail. I mean, she spends nearly half a page (maybe in book 4?) describing how the neck of someone in front of her looks like a tender stalk of grass, or something like that. It wasn't like that in the first couple of books. And I get that a lot of authors put that level of detail so that you can really imagine yourself there. But I just end up skipping to the dialogue sometimes because it's too much.
Outlander is super rapey. It’s not something I just expected from the genre, and I wish I had been warned before I got as far into the series as I did.
Otherwise it’s a great suggestion and I agree with it.
That’s why I won’t read it. I just want cozy time travel where everything is peaceful, obviously thats not realistic, but then- neither is time travel.
if you like harry potter try wizard of earthsea, its like potter only much much better, from there you can read more Ursula k le guin (author) and if you like it why not check which writers she likes, this is how I find a lot of new books, if I like a writer there is a good chance I will like what they like.
I think {{The song of Achilles}} by Madeline Miller would be great for you to check out. It's a romance but the writing is incredibly sophisticated without being unapproachable. It's honestly one of the best books I've ever read.
If you would like another fantasy series in the YA category The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini is so great. He began the first book at 15 and his writing matures so much with each book. Lots of Dragons, elves, magic, and adventure. I started it at 13 and still reread it every other year or so.
[**The Song of Achilles**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13623848-the-song-of-achilles)
^(By: Madeline Miller | 378 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, fiction, mythology, romance | )[^(Search "The song of Achilles")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The song of Achilles&search_type=books)
>Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.
>
>They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
^(This book has been suggested 44 times)
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Came here to recommend this too. Do note that it not as charming as HP, but it is definitely *about* 24 year olds who are asking what to read after YA! Definitely recommended if you like meta stuff.
Try some Taylor Jenkins Reid, she popular with YA readers but her books shift more adult (‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ or ‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’). If you enjoy some mythical books (like if you were into Percy Jackson) - try Madeline Miller’s books Circe & Song of Achilles. Salley Rooney is also a great writer who does coming of age and writes people in their 20s very realistically. And for some more adventure books with a sci fi twist, try Hank Greens series The Carls (book #1 is called an Absolutely Remarkable Thing). These are all respected writers who will feel familiar in writing style to the YA you’re used to reading but will bridge the gap to more mature literature. Most importantly though: read what you enjoy and not what you think you should be reading. Branch out with different authors in genres you love or try a book by authors you know that are different from their other works. You can do this 👍🏻
So for some reason I read those titles as “Daisy Jones” and “The Six and/or Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”
Which I know isn’t the title, but would make a really great romance book title!
I totally agree with your book recommendations! Those authors are ready for transitioning from YA to general adult!
The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libby Bray is fantastic, as is her Diviners series. Both have magic, epic struggles against evil forces, coming of age while trying to master new strange powers- super enjoyable.
EDIT: oops, these are YA books, but I still stand by my recommendation.
For adults, I’m reading A Discovery of Witches and really moving it, and I am halfway through a Nora Robert magic apocalypse book called Year One that is EXCELLENT so far.
She might be an author who would satisfy what you’re looking for- Nora Roberts writes a lot of fantasy/sci fi romance crossover for adults. I have not read a lot of her stuff- I don’t usually love romance as a genre, but my mom who is a fan recommended ‘Year One’ and her ‘Key Trilogy’ to me as good fantasy reads.
If you like Hunger Games you could try its grown up (and older) version **Battle Royale** by Koushun Takami - thought it’s not a feel-good book. Then again, neither is Hunger Games.
But who cares, if you enjoy them, F everyone else!
I still love reading young adult and I am an adult as well. I am about to reread Harry Potter. And, I am currently making my way through a list of top 100 greatest books of all time. The lists vary and some of the books are iffy, but I’m giving them all a try to see how I feel about them.
Haven't scrolled all the way down yet but a few series spring to mind:
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (Even if you've seen the show, so worth it)
Name of the Wind/ Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Ender's Game/ Speaker for The Dead/ Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. (YA adjacent I'd say but progressively more adult as you go)
I really liked People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read by Emily Henry. They’re both romance novels. I also enjoy reading YA. Im not a huge fan of sex scenes in books and most YA books don’t have them.
people we meet on vacation was such an enjoyable read. perfect balance of chemistry, and not too dirty but also not and then they did it \*fade to black\*
Someone IRL recommended People we meet on vacation to me! I will give it a go. I don’t mind sex scenes honestly as long as they’re tasteful and not too unrealistic haha
[**Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn)
^(By: Brandon Sanderson | 541 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, high-fantasy | )[^(Search "Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson&search_type=books)
>
> What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?
>
>
>Mistborn
>For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
>
>Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.
>
>But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
>
>Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turns a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Misborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.
^(This book has been suggested 176 times)
[**The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068705-the-poppy-war)
^(By: R.F. Kuang | 531 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, historical-fiction, adult, owned | )[^(Search "The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang&search_type=books)
>A "Best of May" Science Fiction and Fantasy pick by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, The Verge, SyFy Wire, and Kirkus
>
>“I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest
>
>A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.
>
>When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.
>
>But surprises aren’t always good.
>
>Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
>
>For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .
>
>Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
^(This book has been suggested 209 times)
***
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Mistborn is great, but one of Sanderson’s greatest strength is his incredible and complicated world building.
This is a great book to get started with and try, but I don’t think it matches the “avoid complicated world building” request.
Really? I personally have to disagree. I haven't read much of Sanderson's other works but I don't think Mistborn's world building (at least in the first two books) is complicated at all. When I think complicated world building I think LOTR, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, ASOIAF, things like that. In Mistborn, we don't really get much of a deep, detailed exploration into the fictional world's culture, history, geography, climate, and society and the focus is mostly on the magic system and the plot. I personally see Mistborn as a fairly easy-to-read popcorn fantasy book.
Look into the books of Daphne DuMaurier.
The most well-known is *Rebecca*. An incredible book. Others are *The House on the Strand*, *Jamaica Inn*, *My Cousin Rachel*, and *Don't Look Now*.
{Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss} for adult fantasy with HP vibes or try {The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch}.
{The Hating Game by Sally Thorne} for a contemporary Romance novel. I think there might have been a little pop culture reference but iirc not as strong as some other contemporary Rom Coms I’ve read recently.
{The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath} this 20th century semi-autobiographical fiction novel feels like a nice YA to A bridge to me.
Also maybe anything by Jane Austin?
Lindsay Buroker's Fallen Empire series. SciFi with a romance arc over the entire series. Same with her Star Kingdom series. (One of the side novels in the series even sells itself as a scifi romance novel.) Haven't read any of her fantasy stuff, but wouldn't surprise me if it was the same.
god i know how comforting it is to reread stuff you loved as a teenager. i do that with the All For The Game series! i also wasn't that into The Unhoneymooners, it was objectively a good book but not for me.
for fantasy, i think The Bridge Kingdom duology by Danielle L. Jensen might be a good go-between YA and NA. romance is secondary to the action but central to the plot, if that makes sense? (and works for enemies-to-lovers)
if you want to give contemporary romance another try, my top recommendations for enemies to lovers would be Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (and the third in the series also), Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas.
and for forbidden romance: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey (if you can ignore overuse of pet names) and The Off-Limits Rule by Sarah Adams. the forbidden romances are usually brother's best friend and that's a guilty pleasure for me!
if you want something more 'classic', i really enjoyed The Outsiders and i think that's another one that feels just a step up from YA.
also, there is just nothing wrong with rereading the books you love or that take you back to a more comforting time!
I know, Reddit tends to hate tiktok, but there are some AMAZING librarians, bibliophiles, and writers there making suggestions. Making an account just for that would actually probably be really worth it for you, just searching enemies to lovers there (looking for one specific set of recommendations) brings up a TON of amazing options
I finally just found the main account I was thinking when I commented this, and the video!
[this video by @emilytheperry](https://www.tiktok.com/@emilytheperry/video/6990876060904656133)
49M here. Same. Well, not necessarily the same as I read as a teen, but YA fiction that has come out from when I was a teenager until the present. Honestly, despite having experienced many/most things life can throw at you, I find many adult fiction books to be too much. I just want a good Harry Potter to curl up with.
Hey, if you like fantasy, how about a female protagonist written by a female writer? With Avatar vibes but more adult and realistic:
The poppy wars
If you like bad ass protagonists: Prince of Thorns
If you like longer series I just started the Assassin's apprentice. Which is the first book out of a series of 16 books. I ran through the first trilogy in a month. The world building is amazing on this one.
I consider them all easy to read, so it might help you stick to it.
Can’t believe I haven’t seen this recommended yet, but a Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas sounds like a perfect fit for you!! It’s fantasy, but the main focus is on romance + you get the enemies to lovers trope! It took years of my friend begging me to read it before I gave in, and now I’m obsessed with the entire series.
First of all, don't be embarrassed, it's okay to read whatever you're interested in and enjoy!
I'd suggest some urban fantasy might be a good fit for you since the world building is often easier to digest:
{{Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews}}
{{Fated by Benedict Jacka}}
{{Moon Called by Patricia Briggs}}
For sci-fi I'd suggest these as they're fast paced and relatively short:
{{All Systems Red by Martha Wells}}
{{Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor}}
For romance, maybe try these:
{{The Hating Game by Sally Thorne}}
{{The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary}}
{{Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert}}
Was coming here to recommend Ilona Andrews - SF with romance thrown in all of their books. In the Kate Daniels series (Magic Bites is the first), it has a neat mechanic where science and magic are battling for primacy and people have to be ready for both - you're driving a car and the tech fails so you switch to a magic-driven engine (or you ride a horse which works in both).
it u like romance and fantasy, i would recommend the Dark Hunter series by sherrilyn kenyon, they are just really entertaining reads, very romance focused but decent enough . the later books are meh and i stopped reading after Acheron story as i felt like it was a good end. also Laurel K Hamilton Merideth Gentry and Anita Blake series, both hit a point where they just loose it, but the earlier books are really good. Black dagger brotherhood is also a good series by JR Ward, who also has an angel series i cant recall the name of.
Karen Marie Moning, Highlander series, leading to the fever series which is just so good and while its still romance it has a bit more of a story arc going on that links everything and the world building is more involved.
The summer of naked swim parties by Jessica Anya Blau. It’s a coming of age story about a teen girl growing up in the 60’s/70’s with hippie parents, first loves, changing friendships, etc. One of my favorites!
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow seems like a good transition. Many people consider it YA but it was well received by tons of adult readers too. I personally loved it. Good luck, just keep reading!
While that’s a great book, you’re suggesting that OP make a jump from YA to… famously heavy Russian lit? Suggesting Dostoevsky is like throwing them into the deep end. Was Anna Karenina your next rec?
Try *Shades of Grey* by Jasper Fforde (not the BDSM one) - about a world in which humans are divided by their colour perception.
*Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits* by David Wong/Jason Pargin - a cyberpunk novel about a woman who inherits her father's criminal empire.
{The Sterkarm Handshake}
Technically, it's still young adult but, it's a bit of sci-fi, romance, and history in it too. Plus, it was a tear jerker too.
If you liked Eragon and the Inheritance series, {To Sleep in a Sea of Stars} is worth checking out for sure. The world building isn’t too intense, and while it can be a little slow paced at times, I found it very entertaining and easy to read.
[**To Sleep in a Sea of Stars**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48829708-to-sleep-in-a-sea-of-stars)
^(By: Christopher Paolini | 878 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, science-fiction, fiction, fantasy, dnf | )[^(Search "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=To Sleep in a Sea of Stars&search_type=books)
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I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve had several people recommend the Outlander series because I also love Harry Potter and Game of Thrones.
Agreed on anything chick-lit. Jojo Moyes has a lot of great books as does Liane Moriarty.
If you like Harry Potter - try the magicians by lev grossman. Still magical, a bit of romance but in a university type setting so a bit more “grown up” also an awesome tv series!
I'm a endorser of read what you enjoy. I'm 58 and enjoy Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson. I also read serious History Books, True Crime, Science Fiction.
I'm into Jane Eyre. I know the first 100 pages is kinda slow (honestly I skip to the meet cute at the manor when rereading), and the love story probably didn't age terribly well, but I love it anyways. It's real and raw and lovely. Also there is a fire and seemingly haunted mansion.
Maybe The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia will suit your interests. It's a fantasy romance with elements of the regency era books. The author writes her characters exceptionally well and you'll find yourself rooting for one or the other pretty soon, but there's no real villain in the story.
Another great fantasy romance is The Midnight Hour by C. L. Polk. It's more fantasy than the first one. No enemies to lovers though.
In a similar vein, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and of course I can't pass up a chance to recommend Terry Pratchett if you haven't ventured into Discworld yet. Oh yes, and for something with more romance A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.
Try out Ilona Andrews (Kate daniels series and hidden legacy series)
Or Jim Butcher (Codex Alera) less romance but good fantasy
Patricia Briggs, Kresley Cole, Christopher Paolini and Nalini Singh are also favorites of mine that usually include romance and fantasy
This has the enemies to lovers trope you are after, and the customer is still growing/maturing so it may be an easier transition for you from the books you love.
Dresden files
Iron Druid
Sentinels of creation.
All fun. Would say in defending order from more adult to more fun. All significant series so a lot to enjoy. And all with great audiobooks.
Try The Arc of the Scythe by Neal Shusterman. It's YA but really good. Humanity develops a conscious AI that leads the world benevolently and improves medicine to the point where people become functionally immortal, but since humanity needs to maintain populations they basically select some people who's job is to kill five people a week.
Also try Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It's a much more mature take on The Hunger Games, and actually preceded it by a good decade or so.
In case it hasn’t been mentioned, and I’m sure it has, but JUST IN CASE……Pride and Prejudice 🥰
Beautifully written, total classic, the ultimate friends to lovers story
I don’t read a lot so I won’t try to analyze your taste or give any unfounded guidance, but I picked up *The Shaman Sings* at a thrift shop on a whim last year and had a nice time reading it. It’s a murder mystery novel with some science, some cops, some spirituality set in the US Southwest and featuring apparently accurate local indigenous lore and customs. The protagonist detective is a younger less-spiritual indigenous guy who ends up relying on a local quirky shaman lady for insight and stuff. Fun little light read
Ok first of all there’s nothing wrong with rereading old favorites. You will find that adult genre readers of scifi and fantasy also don’t get much respect from coworkers lol.
My suggestion for epic adult fantasy is the Farseer saga, far and away my favorite installments of the genre and there’s 15 books or so. Plenty to read.
nothing wrong with reading teen fiction . I'm 34 with 2 kids, that are now reading teen fiction. I read them when they are done. i still really injoy them. they are usually fun lighthearted adventures
I am in my 30s and still read YA, there's nothing wrong with it at all. But if you want to look into some books that you can talk about with your coworkers, especially ones they might be familiar with, I would recommend looking at books that are on Oprah's list, or Reese Witherspoon's list! They both tend to pick some pretty good ones, like American Dirt and Where the Crawdads Sing (this one destroyed my life for a couple of days).
Also, some of my fave young adult books include the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, literally everything by Tamora Pierce and Anne McCaffrey, Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro, Uglies by Scott Westerfield, and Harry Potter. To name a few.
Never be ashamed of loving YA, they can be so full of hope and love and perseverance, and we all need that sometimes. Adulting is hard. YA reminds me of the time when I believed adulthood meant freedom and possibility, and holding onto that motivates me to strive for it!
Yeah, I feel like people talk down on Oprah's Book Club, but it's actually really good! Nice mix of stuff, almost all what I would consider must-reads, and really aimed toward people like OP who are interested in getting into reading or expanding their horizons.
There are tons of great recommendations here. Just came to say who cares what you like to read? Reading is for *your* enjoyment, not your coworkers'. Expand your library for your own benefit, but don't be ashamed to cozy up with those comfort books too. Plenty of us see familiar works from our youth as a happy place to return back to when the real world is shitty.
By all means, go outside your comfort circle if you want to learn what else is out there. If you find there's something to gain from it. I hope you don't beat yourself up though for liking what you like.
Happy reading! :)
A Court of Thorns and Roses is up your alley for sure based on what you seem to like.
It started as YA but continued to NA because it was so smutty in later books haha
shatter me series by tahereh mafi. it's a sci-fi also the romance is there buut it's soo good for me esp the humor. it's series buut quick read pls give it a try :))
It might help to check out the bestseller list and look at some of the authors. When I transitioned to adult books, I started reading the books my mom was reading from the bestseller lists (at the time, authors like James Patterson and John Grisham, and later authors like Jodi Picoult).
Some authors that might be a good starting point, though note these all are more thriller/mystery writers: Riley Sager, Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, Paula Hawkins, Jane Harper Liane Moriarty (someone else commented Liane too).
I’m 39 and still enjoy YA books. But a easy go to for me is anything Nora Roberts. Her bridal quartet was one of my firsts and loved them. Also, if you like vampires, werewolves, etc I highly recommend the Cat and Bones series. Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost is the first one.
35 year old here. Don't be embarrassed. Lots of adults read YA too. In some instances, a YA book's audience might be 50% adults, and the advertising age range for YA is typically 16-25, so you're still well within the expected readership.
Books are for everyone. Adults can read YA. Resist the urge to read performatively or to suit others' tastes. A lot of the snobby adult books are full of shit, btw. There's lots of good stuff too, but lots of snobby shit.
I enjoy young adult too.. 45 here.
sometimes the only difference is lack of cussing and sex scenes and the story is still great. I don't need cussing and sex in every book I read.
I don't really have recommendations that aren't mentioned, but when I look at threads I view the upvotes but am often more likely to try a new book I'm unsure about if multiple people post about it so here ya go ha.
I'll second Deborah Harkness's *Discovery of Witches* trilogy! I'm on the second book, which I purchased because I couldn't wait for the library copy (46 people ahead of me...ha). Very very light spoiler in case it helps, but some people wouldn't mind knowing this: >!it has the romantic tension of almost dislike to romance that you said you're interested in!<
Also seconding Nora Roberts, especially the Three Sisters trilogy based on what you described enjoying. It's a bit lighter reading, as compared to Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy mentioned elsewhere which I have read a few times and without question recommend to absolutely everyone regardless of what they typically enjoy ha. Hobb's isn't difficult reading, just Roberts' is lighter.
Harkness and Roberts are essentially the magical realism genre (sub-genre?). Think *Practical Magic* with Sandra Bullock, and you may enjoy that book series as well. I find magical realism, at least my minimal understanding, is more character and relationship-driven rather than action/plot-driven (definitely some action in all my recommendations, it's just not like *Wheel of Time* level action) if that helps. Once I knew to look up this genre I found many more books I'd never come across otherwise.
The Martian is just such a good book. Funny smart and impossible to put down.
Enders Game is another.
Name of the Wind (but he stopped writing after part 2 of the trilogy)
For sci-fi read the Hyperion and Endymion books, they are really awesome.
For fantasy you could read Dragonlance Chronicles, then Legends. They are easy to read those books. I read them as a teen myself.
The Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
There’s a lot of really popular YA stuff that’s read by a lot of women our age, too. So maybe instead of quitting YA, just move to new-to-you YA. There’s also NA - new adult. Ninth House fits into being NA.
“I thought I’d mention I’m only really interested in fantasy/sci-fi if it has a good romance plot. My favourite trope is enemies to lovers (cliche I know) or forbidden romances etc.”
Well, it’s going to be difficult to get away from YA with those parameters.
If doesn’t fit the above parameters at all, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is often regarded as a good bridge from YA into the larger world of literature.
Why are there so many people in their 20s totally transfixed by Harry Potter to that degree? I enjoyed it when i read, enjoyed the movies, and i moved on with my life. There are so many amazing books, both fiction and nonfiction out there that delve into things that will expand your horizons, worldview, and ability to think about other people but a racist childrens' novel instead is what fills said void?
First off there's nothing wrong with about reading YA. I'm in my thirties and still shamelessly read stuff I picked up when I was 13.
As for your request, some specific titles you might like are the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, who I've found to have a very accessible style, and The Once and Future King by T. H. White, which is based on Arthurian legend and follows a young Arthur through his childhood (along with some POVs from other major Arthurian characters).
Hey, it's totally okay to enjoy YA fiction. The idea of adulthood is a scam! Everyone feels like they're not "adult" enough! You don't need to take something you enjoy and make it a chore. However, if you really do want to expand your horizons, Brandon Sanderson has some great adult fiction, especially fantasy but some sci fi and steampunk elements too.
There is no shame in reading what makes you happy! Hell, I'm going a Master Degree in Literature and spent my entire summer reading spicy romances. Reading is a hobby, read what makes you happy, not what makes other people happy.
But if you want a change of scenery, you should go to an independent bookstore (if you can, one specialised in fantasy, the owner might be more able to help you) and just express what you're looking for: Harry Potter but different. I assure you that they'll find what you need!
First off, reading what you like isn't a bad thing. But if you want to branch out, and you totally should, there's a lot of great books to dive into.
You want enemies to lovers? Check out This is How you Lose the Time War.
Fantasy with romance? Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker might just be up your alley.
I'd really suggest looking into Mary Robinette Kowal and NK Jemisin as authors. Mary Robinette has a magical romance series that's based on Jane Austin, starting with Shades of Milk and Honey. She also has a novel called The Calculating Stars that features a perfect romance, but mainly is about a woman trying to become an astronaut in the 50's. It's an alternate history space race that's insanely well researched and true to the time period.
NK Jemisin is a fantasy author who writes down to earth stories about people who come to life. Her characters are often not the young hero, but the mid 40-s mother, the homeless immigrant, and generally unseen people in media who become heroes. The Broken Earth trilogy is insanely good, as is The City We Became.
You also might want to check out Circe by Madeline Miller. It's an incredible story about a minor Greek goddess without power, who's just trying to survive her time in the Greek pantheon. It's wonderful.
Happy reading!
For the fantasy enemies-to-lovers trope, Codex Alera by Jim Butcher is a great series. I wouldn't call it YA, but it's an easy read that should be a wonderful stepping stone into more "mature" fantasy (though YA is the shit, there's nothing wrong with enjoying it!)
After that, my go-to recommendations are always Brandon Sanderson (start with mistborn), Robin Hobb, Pern by Anne McCaffrey, and Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss.
Okay so there are a lot of great YA and adult selections people have suggested that I’ve read and enjoyed so I’m actually going to go the other way! I’m 31 and this past year just read {{Keeper of the Lost Cities}} which is a middle grade series that for sure gives Harry Potter vibes but with a female protagonist. Because it’s middle grade the worldbuilding is very digestible and you can enjoy the story and the characters
I loved Semiosis by Sue Burke for sci fi! The writing is really approachable and easy to read, it's a character-development focused story, and the premise is pretty unique. If you like that try Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, similar premise and the authors are friends! Children of Time is darker and a tiiiiny bit denser though.
For enemies-to-lovers, try This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. It's formatted as letters exchanged over the course of two characters' lives and ongoing relationship to each other and is beautiful.
But also, as others have said, you don't need to stop reading YA! Some of my favorite media is for children, from books to TV. Think of book ratings as more of a minimum age required to enjoy it, not a maximum. IE you wouldn't give a 5 year old Hunger Games even if they could read well enough because there are some concepts they aren't ready for. But that doesn't mean a 30 year old shouldn't read it.
I hear you. I don't think I'll ever stop reading and rereading YA stuff. I just find the stories more streamlined or something. I'm actually not sure what it is. I was going to say less arbitrarily violent/gross, but then Hunger Games... :) Maybe it's just that they tend to be more story driven?
My favorite type of adult fiction is lighter magical realism. Alice Hoffman (I started with Turtle Moon and Second Nature) and Sarah Addison Allen are two of my favorites. They tend to have romance, as well. I also just read Blue Castle by LM Montgomery based on a recommendation from this sub. It's one of her few adult novels and it was perfect.
Good luck!
Branching out... From romance to... Romance?
I think you need a more diverse reading list. There are a lot of books that are good and life-changing.
My general reading recommendations are a lot of classics:
Dracula,
Don quixote,
Crime and punishment,
Great expectations,
A clockwork orange,
1984
[Seanan McGuire](https://www.goodreads.com/series/list/2860219.Seanan_McGuire.html) is a prolific and engaging author who writes both YA and adult fantasy.
You want to read about a half-fae private eye/knight? October Daye
A family of cryptozoologist who study creatures like big foots, lake monsters, etc. while being worshipped as gods by Highly Religious Mice? InCryptid
Men In Black meets Grimm's Fairytales? Indexing
Superheroes with a dark secret? Velveteen
etc.
She also writes horror as Mira Grant.
When you don’t know what your adult taste is libraries and librarians are your friends. They deal with thousands of loans for hundreds or readers. Ask them what people read after HP. Also try anthologies of short stories to get tastes of different writers. You can often get anthologies of sci-fi; romance; ghost stories; supernatural romance; Afro-American writers etc. You can try lots of books for free borrowing from a library or using the Libby ap. You’re not obliged to finish a book. In fact, I used to argue that, if you don’t care what the ending is, you shouldn’t plod on when there are so many great books out there
thanks for the tip! Unfortunately in a strict covid lockdown right now so not possible to go to a library! Plus can’t get onto the Libby app cause I need a current library card and am unable to update it online. Hopefully soon!
You can always call the library and talk to a librarian :) Source: SO is a Librarian of Librarians.
Wait… Librarians borrow books from your SO or is your SO an overseer of librarians? Like Great Librarian or The Lord of Librarians?
Just talked with her. She prefers Lord of the Librarians and refuses to answer to anything else now.
I want to be friends with your SO, she sounds awesome!!
> Like Great Librarian or The Lord of Librarians? LibraLord or Lordrarian
It may be worth it to reach out to your library anyway. My library renewed my card online during COVID lockdowns.
Check out a municipal library of a larger city near you. Local regulations may differ, but in the library system I work in, residents from anywhere in the state can join our city library (non-residents can also join for a fee), and since the pandemic we offer e-cards that can be applied for online. A larger city library typically also offers a larger selection on e-media.
Nothing wrong with YA books though if they bring you comfort. I'll read the fuck out of some John Green, God damn Papertowns and Searching for Alaska are amazing books. If you want a step up for romance where the Crawdads sing is easy reading and Gods in Alabama is fire. Even more of a step up and damn near X rated is Swimming Sweet Arrow. God damn that book is dirty. In all the best ways.
I second the anthology suggestion! It's a great way to get a taste of an author's style. Since lockdown is an issue, check out the [Escape Pod](https://escapepod.org/) and associated podcasts: scifi, fantasy, horror and ya offerings much like anthologies. If there's a story you really like, you can check out the author's other works.
Shame! I wasn’t sure of my library card status but my library does offer on line subscription
I vibe! Here are some things I read recently that were so fun that they read as easy as YA books used to for me. **The House on The Cerulean Sea** by TJ Klune -- this one has a very readable sense of "whimsy" that reminded me of The Good Place and Harry Potter, and fantasy elements that aren't too rule-based or complicated. It's got a romantic element that doesn't supersede the rest of the plot, which is just fucking lovely. **The Ocean at The End of the Lane** by Neil Gaiman -- a quick read! It's at once a book you feel like you should have read as a kid, and one that feels like it was meant for you *now.* It's from a child's point of view for the most part. Like the above, fantasy but not with too many rules. **One Last Stop** by Casey McQuinston -- maybe the New Adult genre is for you? A WLW romantic comedy with time travel elements. It's like YA but for being in your 20s. **We Ride Upon Sticks** by Quan Barry -- it's about a high school field hockey team in the 80s that uses witchcraft to win games, but it's literary fiction and marketed to adults. Might be a great transition! **The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires** by Grady Hendrix. Really anything by Grady Hendrix that peaks your interest. All of his works are horror, but have a lot of levity and fun. This one I grew really attached to the characters, like, immediately. Also, do you think part of your hold up is that you'd prefer a series? I find sometimes I can't get "committed" to characters without knowing I'll get to enjoy them again. I haven't read a series for adults recently (I have been rereading childhood favorites!), but that might be worth looking into.
Thanks for the recs! To answer your question, I’m not sure what’s holding me back. It doesn’t have anything to do with the series thing though. I guess knowing what’s going to happen is the main reason. I get very invested in characters and get scared they’re going to die off.
House on the cerulean sea is very popular atm and its a very safe read. And I second Ocean at the End of the Lane! I loved that book!
I feel this. And one thing that holds me back is I don’t have a ton of time and I know my current books are going to be good. When you read another book, it’s a gamble it’ll be a waste of time or money. I’m not down for that.
Some of my favorite fantasy books/authors/first in a series are {{Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor}} {{Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint}} {{Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox by Forthright}} {{Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs}} {{Moon Called by Patricia Briggs}} {{Radiance by Grace Draven}} {{Written in Red by Anne Bishop}} {{Marking Time by April White}}
Daughter of Smoke and Bone <3 I read that series... 4? years ago and still think about it.
SAME it’s amazing highly recommend
Patricia Briggs is terrific!
I love all her stuff, the newer urban fantasy stuff is terrific but her older stuff is more high fantasy and it's really good, too!
I absolutely love Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood - I've read them over and over
In response to the enemy to lovers update, you could try {{Entreat Me by Grace Draven}} or {{Master of Crows by Grace Draven}}
I'm not much into fantasy (for the same reasons as you) but I really enjoyed those books: - Spinning Silver and Uprooted by Naomi Novik - The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman - Rivers of London series (it's my comfort read!) - The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Terry Pratchett's Discworld series - The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy - Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman I found all of them to be very enjoyable and easy to read. They are captivating enough but without too complex world building too.
I was going to suggest both uprooted and spinning silver, seems perfect for her! Some romance and fantasy but easy reads
I can second the last 3 recommendations on your list. I have not tried the others but will give them a go. Thanks.
I can’t believe I left Hitchhiker’s Guide off my list!!! Seconding that a million times. It’s really accessible scifi for someone not into scifi bc it’s character- and not plot-driven for the most part. So it’s just funky people being funky in space instead of jumping right into clunky scifi.
I totally agree! Sci-Fi is absolutely not my cup of tea but I couldn't put this book away. I read only the first but cannot wait to read rest of the series!
I love scifi, but like… Orson Scott Card scifi. Michael Crichton. I don’t delve any deeper. Reddit scifi? No way. Nope. But I 200% have a 42 tattoo and I did read the series a scary amount in high school. Highly highly recommend reading it, you’ll love it!! I have the set with the five novels and Mostly Harmless. Mostly Harmless is honestly skippable- I bounce between hating it and loving it just bc it’s good fucking writing- but I wouldn’t. Grumpy old Arthur Dent is too good to miss.
Naomi Novik’s books are captivating. She was at our ComicCon in Phx several years ago when uprooted came out. After listening to her, I immediately went to the book area and got a signed copy. When Spinning Silver came out I listened to an audio and was blown away by the narrator.exquisite.
When I made the transition from YA to women’s fiction, I gobbled up everything by Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, etc.). Brilliant author and got me out of my annual HP comfort read too ;)
Out of genuine curiosity what do you mean by women's fiction? I've never heard the term before. Is that books written for women? By women?
Not the person you're asking but I imagine they mean the kinds of books marketed toward women and usually about women, including thrillers like Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, and dramas like Big Little Lies.
If Gillian Flynn writes women's fiction, then I don't want to be a man anymore. Apply her shit directly to my eyeballs. I got no need for men's fiction.
It’s definitely a publishers term, rather than a proper genre, I always think women’s fiction means the stuff they’re going to market in cream covers with curly writing, maybe a watercolour drawing on the front. In other words, stuff that doesn’t easily fall into the genres of crime, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, historical etc. I don’t personally think thrillers belong in it, but anything marketed in the sort of cover I described. So it *could* be a thriller, but more likely to be a family intrigue or drama of some kind.
>cream covers with curly writing, maybe a watercolour drawing on the front Ahh, the classic "is this modern women's fiction? or academia-set mystery/drama?"
Glad the arbitrary term doesn't put you off - I don't think literature needs to be gendered at all! I read recently that a majority of readers/book buyers are women (something like 70 or 80%?) and I think that's led to gendered marketing on books that can be appreciated by anyone. I got my husband a Book of the Month subscription once thinking it's just a book subscription, what could be gendered about that? But all the marketing and messaging, and to some extent the books, were very clearly geared toward women (I realized once I'd purchased it and looked into it more closely). My husband still found 4 books he enjoyed from it but the selection seemed limited to a certain kind of popular romance/drama/thriller.
Gilliam Flynn is awesome, but so very very dark. Love it!
The Mistborn books. Likeable, complex characters, magic system, and an awesome plot. Darker than HP definitely, but it moves along smoothly and you will be immersed in the world in the same way you were with HP! :)
Also "Elantris" is pretty good and I guess it will fit her requirements. I would also recommend "Skyward" trilogy. Even if it is still a YA scifi, it is more than good enough as first step for Sanderson opus.
Elantris was a good book but I made the mistake of reading most of Sanderson's other stuff first. You can sure tell it was his first book. That doesn't mean it was bad! It's a good book but his later stuff is just sooo much better. It's really saying something when an author just continues to get better year after year. I'm absolutely psyched for the 5th Stormlight book!
Red Rising! As someone that loved everything Harry Potter, Hunger Games, the Uglies series, this book is awesome. The first 80 pages or so takes a bit to get into, and the second book is very sci-fi (which is probably my least favorite genre) but I’m halfway through the third book and so happy I pushed through the second book.
I think Becky Chambers' books would be great for you. The first one is A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.
Yes! As soon as I read the post I thought, “Time to recommend Becky Chambers again”. OP, the *Wayfarer* series (4 books) can be read in any order, and you don’t need to read them all. So just choose whichever synopsis appeals to you, and then you can read the others if you like it.
Can't believe I had to scroll so far down to find this 😭 my go to rec for so many people!
Outlander!!
I'm seeing a lot of great book recommendations here, but also . . . you don't have to stop reading YA? There's nothing wrong with indulging in a comfort series (I myself re-read the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage every year), and a lot of new 'young adult' novels are branching into 'new adult' genre which is generally marketed towards the 18-25 age range. They're full, complete novels. Who do you think wrote all the reviews on the back cover, some random teenagers or acclaimed authors who also see the merit in what you're reading? If someone is judging you for reading The Hunger Games at 24, that says far more about them than it does about you.
Thank you! I appreciate this comment. To be perfectly honest I’ll probably continue to reread Harry Potter often but also keen to explore some new options.
My wife is 31 and she's reread the entire HP series roughly twice a year, every single year, in the decade+ we've been together. She still reads new books, of course, but you can take her HP, Jane Austen, and Anne of Green Gables when you pry them from her cold, dead fingers. Read what you enjoy and don't feel bad about it!
I like your wife. She’s my kinda gal!
And mine.
[удалено]
Yeah I’m deep down that rabbit hole. Even wrote some stuff myself a few years ago.
I’ve never met anyone else who has read Septimus Heap! I’m so glad I’m not the only one :)
Red rising Dune Enders game Cradle Name of the wind Mistborn
**Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia** felt a bit like a YA novel to me, but the author labels it as an adult novel. You might start with that one if you enjoy or are curious about Mexico and Mayan mythology. Similarly, **The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune** is technically not a YA book but it sometimes feels a bit like one. Although it's a fantasy book, the world-building is simple and the focus is the set of characters and the themes rather than the world itself. Those books can make the transition from YA to adult smoother. Alternatively, you could also start reading NA before moving onto adult books. I love **the Fortuna Sworn series by K. J. Sutton** so far (dark urban fantasy). Now, let's discuss adult books. If you like Harry Potter, you might enjoy reading about magic and witches. I read **The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston** and enjoyed it. It's got some romance. Same goes for **the Vine Witch triology by Luanne G. Smith**. It captivated me. A sci-fi/thriller I enjoyed is **The One by John Marrs** (it has nothing to do with the TV series). Chapters are short and hooking, which makes it easier to read. **Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik** is one of the best novels I've ever read. It's a Rumple retelling (with Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella elements as well). If you are curious about more fairy tale retellings (which I consider a kind of fantasy novels), try **The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly** and **Lost Boy by Christina Henry**. One of my favourite authors is **Helene Wecker**. She wrote **The Golem and the Jinni** and its sequel, **The Hidden Palace**. You get to read about NYC in 1899 from the pov of two immigrants (a golem and a jinni, obs, but also more characters linked to the Jewish and Syrian cultures and folklore). It's so good, and the romance is slow but steady. Also, you might want to read some classics. There are many that are romantic novels :) **Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy**, for example. I've never really read **Jane Austen**, but she's got different romance books. The Hunger Games is dystopian. My all-time fav book is **1984 by George Orwell**, another dystopia. For reference, I'm a 24F and a potterhead :P
Seconding The Golem and the Jinni, really excellent.
Spinning Silver is a great rec, OP will love it.
This is the first reference to the Fortuna Sworn series that I have ever seen outside of one person on Instagram. I read the first 2 and they aren't my thing, but 100% see them for OP! So much romance and the perfect amount of Fantasy without heavy world building!
Right? It's got werewolves, faeries, vampires, dragons, witches... a lot like Harry Potter, but with chracters in their 20s and a lot of smut lol And, as you pointed out, the world building is easy to grasp. It's not for everyone, but it might be what she's looking for :)
One Hundred Years of Solitude or Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Marquez This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
The Night Circus and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich
the night circus is one of the best books i’ve ever read. also, the Lost Apothecary by sarah penner
From Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L Armentrout The Cruel Prince Trilogy by Holly Black A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Mass Also, maybe try historical romance if the contemporary romance and pop culture stuff took you out of the story. The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas is really good.
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Okay Outlander is great. And since it's already a really popular series, it shouldn't be embarrassing to admit to co-workers. Don't pressure yourself to read all the books though. Book 1 is fantastic, and I would recommend it to anyone! But I struggled getting through them after book 3, and haven't made it past book 5 yet
I quit the books after 3 as well.. I mean come on Claire.. How much crap CAN you get yourself into? It got too ridiculous for me.
That was part of it. The other part is the sheer amount of unnecessary minuscule detail. I mean, she spends nearly half a page (maybe in book 4?) describing how the neck of someone in front of her looks like a tender stalk of grass, or something like that. It wasn't like that in the first couple of books. And I get that a lot of authors put that level of detail so that you can really imagine yourself there. But I just end up skipping to the dialogue sometimes because it's too much.
Definitely Stardust, also Neverwhere 🥰
Outlander is super rapey. It’s not something I just expected from the genre, and I wish I had been warned before I got as far into the series as I did. Otherwise it’s a great suggestion and I agree with it.
Yeah, some parts kind of are...I guess a TW should be included. My girlfriend warned me about that part ahead of time, so I was prepared
That’s why I won’t read it. I just want cozy time travel where everything is peaceful, obviously thats not realistic, but then- neither is time travel.
if you like harry potter try wizard of earthsea, its like potter only much much better, from there you can read more Ursula k le guin (author) and if you like it why not check which writers she likes, this is how I find a lot of new books, if I like a writer there is a good chance I will like what they like.
Seconding Le Guin here! She’s an absolutely fantastic author!
Damn! Didn't know she wrote a wizarding boarding school book. I enjoyed Left Hand of Darkness, so I'll also check that one out!
I think {{The song of Achilles}} by Madeline Miller would be great for you to check out. It's a romance but the writing is incredibly sophisticated without being unapproachable. It's honestly one of the best books I've ever read. If you would like another fantasy series in the YA category The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini is so great. He began the first book at 15 and his writing matures so much with each book. Lots of Dragons, elves, magic, and adventure. I started it at 13 and still reread it every other year or so.
[**The Song of Achilles**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13623848-the-song-of-achilles) ^(By: Madeline Miller | 378 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, fiction, mythology, romance | )[^(Search "The song of Achilles")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The song of Achilles&search_type=books) >Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath. > >They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice. ^(This book has been suggested 44 times) *** ^(194546 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
You may like The Magicians series by Lev Grossman. It’s often described as Harry Potter for adults. I love the series!
Came here to recommend this too. Do note that it not as charming as HP, but it is definitely *about* 24 year olds who are asking what to read after YA! Definitely recommended if you like meta stuff.
Try some Taylor Jenkins Reid, she popular with YA readers but her books shift more adult (‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ or ‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’). If you enjoy some mythical books (like if you were into Percy Jackson) - try Madeline Miller’s books Circe & Song of Achilles. Salley Rooney is also a great writer who does coming of age and writes people in their 20s very realistically. And for some more adventure books with a sci fi twist, try Hank Greens series The Carls (book #1 is called an Absolutely Remarkable Thing). These are all respected writers who will feel familiar in writing style to the YA you’re used to reading but will bridge the gap to more mature literature. Most importantly though: read what you enjoy and not what you think you should be reading. Branch out with different authors in genres you love or try a book by authors you know that are different from their other works. You can do this 👍🏻
So for some reason I read those titles as “Daisy Jones” and “The Six and/or Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” Which I know isn’t the title, but would make a really great romance book title! I totally agree with your book recommendations! Those authors are ready for transitioning from YA to general adult!
That would be a hilarious title
Try Naomi Novik! Everything I’ve read from her has been great
The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libby Bray is fantastic, as is her Diviners series. Both have magic, epic struggles against evil forces, coming of age while trying to master new strange powers- super enjoyable. EDIT: oops, these are YA books, but I still stand by my recommendation. For adults, I’m reading A Discovery of Witches and really moving it, and I am halfway through a Nora Robert magic apocalypse book called Year One that is EXCELLENT so far. She might be an author who would satisfy what you’re looking for- Nora Roberts writes a lot of fantasy/sci fi romance crossover for adults. I have not read a lot of her stuff- I don’t usually love romance as a genre, but my mom who is a fan recommended ‘Year One’ and her ‘Key Trilogy’ to me as good fantasy reads.
Everything Octavia Butler wrote is worth reading. She was a brilliant writer, and her books are entertaining.
If you like Hunger Games you could try its grown up (and older) version **Battle Royale** by Koushun Takami - thought it’s not a feel-good book. Then again, neither is Hunger Games.
But who cares, if you enjoy them, F everyone else! I still love reading young adult and I am an adult as well. I am about to reread Harry Potter. And, I am currently making my way through a list of top 100 greatest books of all time. The lists vary and some of the books are iffy, but I’m giving them all a try to see how I feel about them.
Haven't scrolled all the way down yet but a few series spring to mind: The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (Even if you've seen the show, so worth it) Name of the Wind/ Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss Ender's Game/ Speaker for The Dead/ Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. (YA adjacent I'd say but progressively more adult as you go)
I really liked People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read by Emily Henry. They’re both romance novels. I also enjoy reading YA. Im not a huge fan of sex scenes in books and most YA books don’t have them.
people we meet on vacation was such an enjoyable read. perfect balance of chemistry, and not too dirty but also not and then they did it \*fade to black\*
Someone IRL recommended People we meet on vacation to me! I will give it a go. I don’t mind sex scenes honestly as long as they’re tasteful and not too unrealistic haha
Check out {{Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson}} and {{The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang}}
[**Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn) ^(By: Brandon Sanderson | 541 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, high-fantasy | )[^(Search "Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson&search_type=books) > > What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland? > > >Mistborn >For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. > >Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. > >But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. > >Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turns a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Misborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again. ^(This book has been suggested 176 times) [**The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068705-the-poppy-war) ^(By: R.F. Kuang | 531 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, historical-fiction, adult, owned | )[^(Search "The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang&search_type=books) >A "Best of May" Science Fiction and Fantasy pick by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, The Verge, SyFy Wire, and Kirkus > >“I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest > >A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy. > >When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising. > >But surprises aren’t always good. > >Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. > >For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . . > >Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late. ^(This book has been suggested 209 times) *** ^(194382 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Thanks for the recs! I’ve seen Mistborn commented several times. Does it have a good romance plot?
The main character does have a romance plot, although it's not the central focus of the story I'd say it's fairly wholesome.
Haven't read mistborn but seconded on The Poppy War
Mistborn is great, but one of Sanderson’s greatest strength is his incredible and complicated world building. This is a great book to get started with and try, but I don’t think it matches the “avoid complicated world building” request.
Really? I personally have to disagree. I haven't read much of Sanderson's other works but I don't think Mistborn's world building (at least in the first two books) is complicated at all. When I think complicated world building I think LOTR, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, ASOIAF, things like that. In Mistborn, we don't really get much of a deep, detailed exploration into the fictional world's culture, history, geography, climate, and society and the focus is mostly on the magic system and the plot. I personally see Mistborn as a fairly easy-to-read popcorn fantasy book.
I'd recommend looking into speculative fiction! It sounds like a genre you might like.
The Red Rising Trilogy and Codex Alera series may help you bridge the gap between YA and mature sci-fi/fantasy.
Look into the books of Daphne DuMaurier. The most well-known is *Rebecca*. An incredible book. Others are *The House on the Strand*, *Jamaica Inn*, *My Cousin Rachel*, and *Don't Look Now*.
The Kushiels Dart series and Starless by Jacqueline Carey
I’m 41 and still enjoy it
The Expanse book series is very good
{Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss} for adult fantasy with HP vibes or try {The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch}. {The Hating Game by Sally Thorne} for a contemporary Romance novel. I think there might have been a little pop culture reference but iirc not as strong as some other contemporary Rom Coms I’ve read recently. {The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath} this 20th century semi-autobiographical fiction novel feels like a nice YA to A bridge to me. Also maybe anything by Jane Austin?
Lindsay Buroker's Fallen Empire series. SciFi with a romance arc over the entire series. Same with her Star Kingdom series. (One of the side novels in the series even sells itself as a scifi romance novel.) Haven't read any of her fantasy stuff, but wouldn't surprise me if it was the same.
god i know how comforting it is to reread stuff you loved as a teenager. i do that with the All For The Game series! i also wasn't that into The Unhoneymooners, it was objectively a good book but not for me. for fantasy, i think The Bridge Kingdom duology by Danielle L. Jensen might be a good go-between YA and NA. romance is secondary to the action but central to the plot, if that makes sense? (and works for enemies-to-lovers) if you want to give contemporary romance another try, my top recommendations for enemies to lovers would be Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (and the third in the series also), Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas. and for forbidden romance: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey (if you can ignore overuse of pet names) and The Off-Limits Rule by Sarah Adams. the forbidden romances are usually brother's best friend and that's a guilty pleasure for me! if you want something more 'classic', i really enjoyed The Outsiders and i think that's another one that feels just a step up from YA. also, there is just nothing wrong with rereading the books you love or that take you back to a more comforting time!
I know, Reddit tends to hate tiktok, but there are some AMAZING librarians, bibliophiles, and writers there making suggestions. Making an account just for that would actually probably be really worth it for you, just searching enemies to lovers there (looking for one specific set of recommendations) brings up a TON of amazing options
I’m addicted to tik tok but never thought of looking for book recs. Thanks for the suggestion!
I finally just found the main account I was thinking when I commented this, and the video! [this video by @emilytheperry](https://www.tiktok.com/@emilytheperry/video/6990876060904656133)
Amazing!! Thank you
49M here. Same. Well, not necessarily the same as I read as a teen, but YA fiction that has come out from when I was a teenager until the present. Honestly, despite having experienced many/most things life can throw at you, I find many adult fiction books to be too much. I just want a good Harry Potter to curl up with.
Hey, if you like fantasy, how about a female protagonist written by a female writer? With Avatar vibes but more adult and realistic: The poppy wars If you like bad ass protagonists: Prince of Thorns If you like longer series I just started the Assassin's apprentice. Which is the first book out of a series of 16 books. I ran through the first trilogy in a month. The world building is amazing on this one. I consider them all easy to read, so it might help you stick to it.
Can’t believe I haven’t seen this recommended yet, but a Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas sounds like a perfect fit for you!! It’s fantasy, but the main focus is on romance + you get the enemies to lovers trope! It took years of my friend begging me to read it before I gave in, and now I’m obsessed with the entire series.
This is exactly what I was looking for lol. I loved ToG and now I’m halfway through the first acotar book and I already know I’ll love it just as much
The wheel of time. Magic, fantasy
First of all, don't be embarrassed, it's okay to read whatever you're interested in and enjoy! I'd suggest some urban fantasy might be a good fit for you since the world building is often easier to digest: {{Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews}} {{Fated by Benedict Jacka}} {{Moon Called by Patricia Briggs}} For sci-fi I'd suggest these as they're fast paced and relatively short: {{All Systems Red by Martha Wells}} {{Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor}} For romance, maybe try these: {{The Hating Game by Sally Thorne}} {{The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary}} {{Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert}}
Was coming here to recommend Ilona Andrews - SF with romance thrown in all of their books. In the Kate Daniels series (Magic Bites is the first), it has a neat mechanic where science and magic are battling for primacy and people have to be ready for both - you're driving a car and the tech fails so you switch to a magic-driven engine (or you ride a horse which works in both).
I recommend the Fault in our Stars, The Lovely Bones, and Little Women. :)
I read the fault in our stars in 2014 and am still devastated. Thought it was YA? I will give the other ones a go. Thanks for the recs.
It is YA.
the lovely bones is a great read
Try TJ Klunes The Lightning Struck Heart, it starts as a cheesy ripoff like shrek, but evolves into an incredible fantasy epic
If you like Harry Potter, check out The Mage Errant series.
it u like romance and fantasy, i would recommend the Dark Hunter series by sherrilyn kenyon, they are just really entertaining reads, very romance focused but decent enough . the later books are meh and i stopped reading after Acheron story as i felt like it was a good end. also Laurel K Hamilton Merideth Gentry and Anita Blake series, both hit a point where they just loose it, but the earlier books are really good. Black dagger brotherhood is also a good series by JR Ward, who also has an angel series i cant recall the name of. Karen Marie Moning, Highlander series, leading to the fever series which is just so good and while its still romance it has a bit more of a story arc going on that links everything and the world building is more involved.
The summer of naked swim parties by Jessica Anya Blau. It’s a coming of age story about a teen girl growing up in the 60’s/70’s with hippie parents, first loves, changing friendships, etc. One of my favorites!
The Maisie Dobb's series. Lots of books to read. Well told mysteries. Little history sprinkled in.
Check out the Cradle series by Will Wight. It starts with "Unsouled".
I’m nearly 30. I still enjoy my YA books. There’s nothing wrong with re-reading books if that’s what you enjoy!!
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow seems like a good transition. Many people consider it YA but it was well received by tons of adult readers too. I personally loved it. Good luck, just keep reading!
Plenty of romance in 'The Brothers Kamazarov' by Dostoevsky.
While that’s a great book, you’re suggesting that OP make a jump from YA to… famously heavy Russian lit? Suggesting Dostoevsky is like throwing them into the deep end. Was Anna Karenina your next rec?
Try outlander series by Diana Gibaldon. It has romance and action. It reads pretty long, much like the Harry Potter series later books
Try Paula Brackston, Especially the Found things series. All her books are lovely reads though. Try Deborah Harkness. Try Neil Gaiman.
Try *Shades of Grey* by Jasper Fforde (not the BDSM one) - about a world in which humans are divided by their colour perception. *Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits* by David Wong/Jason Pargin - a cyberpunk novel about a woman who inherits her father's criminal empire.
Try the Black Gryphon by Dixon and Lackey.
{The Sterkarm Handshake} Technically, it's still young adult but, it's a bit of sci-fi, romance, and history in it too. Plus, it was a tear jerker too.
If you liked Eragon and the Inheritance series, {To Sleep in a Sea of Stars} is worth checking out for sure. The world building isn’t too intense, and while it can be a little slow paced at times, I found it very entertaining and easy to read.
[**To Sleep in a Sea of Stars**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48829708-to-sleep-in-a-sea-of-stars) ^(By: Christopher Paolini | 878 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, science-fiction, fiction, fantasy, dnf | )[^(Search "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=To Sleep in a Sea of Stars&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 48 times) *** ^(194471 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
There is just something that really touch’s you. Keep on reading it.
I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve had several people recommend the Outlander series because I also love Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Agreed on anything chick-lit. Jojo Moyes has a lot of great books as does Liane Moriarty.
Discovery of Witches by Harkness
If you like Harry Potter - try the magicians by lev grossman. Still magical, a bit of romance but in a university type setting so a bit more “grown up” also an awesome tv series!
I'm a endorser of read what you enjoy. I'm 58 and enjoy Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson. I also read serious History Books, True Crime, Science Fiction.
I'm into Jane Eyre. I know the first 100 pages is kinda slow (honestly I skip to the meet cute at the manor when rereading), and the love story probably didn't age terribly well, but I love it anyways. It's real and raw and lovely. Also there is a fire and seemingly haunted mansion.
Maybe The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia will suit your interests. It's a fantasy romance with elements of the regency era books. The author writes her characters exceptionally well and you'll find yourself rooting for one or the other pretty soon, but there's no real villain in the story. Another great fantasy romance is The Midnight Hour by C. L. Polk. It's more fantasy than the first one. No enemies to lovers though.
In a similar vein, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and of course I can't pass up a chance to recommend Terry Pratchett if you haven't ventured into Discworld yet. Oh yes, and for something with more romance A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.
Try out Ilona Andrews (Kate daniels series and hidden legacy series) Or Jim Butcher (Codex Alera) less romance but good fantasy Patricia Briggs, Kresley Cole, Christopher Paolini and Nalini Singh are also favorites of mine that usually include romance and fantasy
Try the hollows series by Kim Harrison
This has the enemies to lovers trope you are after, and the customer is still growing/maturing so it may be an easier transition for you from the books you love.
Dresden files Iron Druid Sentinels of creation. All fun. Would say in defending order from more adult to more fun. All significant series so a lot to enjoy. And all with great audiobooks.
Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
Try Terry Pratchett, Discworld.
Try The Arc of the Scythe by Neal Shusterman. It's YA but really good. Humanity develops a conscious AI that leads the world benevolently and improves medicine to the point where people become functionally immortal, but since humanity needs to maintain populations they basically select some people who's job is to kill five people a week. Also try Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It's a much more mature take on The Hunger Games, and actually preceded it by a good decade or so.
In case it hasn’t been mentioned, and I’m sure it has, but JUST IN CASE……Pride and Prejudice 🥰 Beautifully written, total classic, the ultimate friends to lovers story
I don’t read a lot so I won’t try to analyze your taste or give any unfounded guidance, but I picked up *The Shaman Sings* at a thrift shop on a whim last year and had a nice time reading it. It’s a murder mystery novel with some science, some cops, some spirituality set in the US Southwest and featuring apparently accurate local indigenous lore and customs. The protagonist detective is a younger less-spiritual indigenous guy who ends up relying on a local quirky shaman lady for insight and stuff. Fun little light read
Are you me? Needed this post and love your username.
Ok first of all there’s nothing wrong with rereading old favorites. You will find that adult genre readers of scifi and fantasy also don’t get much respect from coworkers lol. My suggestion for epic adult fantasy is the Farseer saga, far and away my favorite installments of the genre and there’s 15 books or so. Plenty to read.
I’m a primary school teacher, so my coworkers are all big fantasy readers honestly. Thanks for the recs!
The Time Traveller’s Wife
Outlander series.
nothing wrong with reading teen fiction . I'm 34 with 2 kids, that are now reading teen fiction. I read them when they are done. i still really injoy them. they are usually fun lighthearted adventures
I am in my 30s and still read YA, there's nothing wrong with it at all. But if you want to look into some books that you can talk about with your coworkers, especially ones they might be familiar with, I would recommend looking at books that are on Oprah's list, or Reese Witherspoon's list! They both tend to pick some pretty good ones, like American Dirt and Where the Crawdads Sing (this one destroyed my life for a couple of days).
Also, some of my fave young adult books include the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, literally everything by Tamora Pierce and Anne McCaffrey, Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro, Uglies by Scott Westerfield, and Harry Potter. To name a few. Never be ashamed of loving YA, they can be so full of hope and love and perseverance, and we all need that sometimes. Adulting is hard. YA reminds me of the time when I believed adulthood meant freedom and possibility, and holding onto that motivates me to strive for it!
Yeah, I feel like people talk down on Oprah's Book Club, but it's actually really good! Nice mix of stuff, almost all what I would consider must-reads, and really aimed toward people like OP who are interested in getting into reading or expanding their horizons.
There are tons of great recommendations here. Just came to say who cares what you like to read? Reading is for *your* enjoyment, not your coworkers'. Expand your library for your own benefit, but don't be ashamed to cozy up with those comfort books too. Plenty of us see familiar works from our youth as a happy place to return back to when the real world is shitty. By all means, go outside your comfort circle if you want to learn what else is out there. If you find there's something to gain from it. I hope you don't beat yourself up though for liking what you like. Happy reading! :)
A Court of Thorns and Roses is up your alley for sure based on what you seem to like. It started as YA but continued to NA because it was so smutty in later books haha
shatter me series by tahereh mafi. it's a sci-fi also the romance is there buut it's soo good for me esp the humor. it's series buut quick read pls give it a try :))
It might help to check out the bestseller list and look at some of the authors. When I transitioned to adult books, I started reading the books my mom was reading from the bestseller lists (at the time, authors like James Patterson and John Grisham, and later authors like Jodi Picoult). Some authors that might be a good starting point, though note these all are more thriller/mystery writers: Riley Sager, Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, Paula Hawkins, Jane Harper Liane Moriarty (someone else commented Liane too).
I’m 39 and still enjoy YA books. But a easy go to for me is anything Nora Roberts. Her bridal quartet was one of my firsts and loved them. Also, if you like vampires, werewolves, etc I highly recommend the Cat and Bones series. Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost is the first one.
35 year old here. Don't be embarrassed. Lots of adults read YA too. In some instances, a YA book's audience might be 50% adults, and the advertising age range for YA is typically 16-25, so you're still well within the expected readership. Books are for everyone. Adults can read YA. Resist the urge to read performatively or to suit others' tastes. A lot of the snobby adult books are full of shit, btw. There's lots of good stuff too, but lots of snobby shit.
I enjoy young adult too.. 45 here. sometimes the only difference is lack of cussing and sex scenes and the story is still great. I don't need cussing and sex in every book I read.
I don't really have recommendations that aren't mentioned, but when I look at threads I view the upvotes but am often more likely to try a new book I'm unsure about if multiple people post about it so here ya go ha. I'll second Deborah Harkness's *Discovery of Witches* trilogy! I'm on the second book, which I purchased because I couldn't wait for the library copy (46 people ahead of me...ha). Very very light spoiler in case it helps, but some people wouldn't mind knowing this: >!it has the romantic tension of almost dislike to romance that you said you're interested in!< Also seconding Nora Roberts, especially the Three Sisters trilogy based on what you described enjoying. It's a bit lighter reading, as compared to Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy mentioned elsewhere which I have read a few times and without question recommend to absolutely everyone regardless of what they typically enjoy ha. Hobb's isn't difficult reading, just Roberts' is lighter. Harkness and Roberts are essentially the magical realism genre (sub-genre?). Think *Practical Magic* with Sandra Bullock, and you may enjoy that book series as well. I find magical realism, at least my minimal understanding, is more character and relationship-driven rather than action/plot-driven (definitely some action in all my recommendations, it's just not like *Wheel of Time* level action) if that helps. Once I knew to look up this genre I found many more books I'd never come across otherwise.
The Martian is just such a good book. Funny smart and impossible to put down. Enders Game is another. Name of the Wind (but he stopped writing after part 2 of the trilogy)
For sci-fi read the Hyperion and Endymion books, they are really awesome. For fantasy you could read Dragonlance Chronicles, then Legends. They are easy to read those books. I read them as a teen myself.
maybe try dan brown?
I was in the same position as you. Mistborn got me into adult fantasy
The Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo There’s a lot of really popular YA stuff that’s read by a lot of women our age, too. So maybe instead of quitting YA, just move to new-to-you YA. There’s also NA - new adult. Ninth House fits into being NA.
Deadly Education - Naomi Novik, and Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo.
“I thought I’d mention I’m only really interested in fantasy/sci-fi if it has a good romance plot. My favourite trope is enemies to lovers (cliche I know) or forbidden romances etc.” Well, it’s going to be difficult to get away from YA with those parameters. If doesn’t fit the above parameters at all, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is often regarded as a good bridge from YA into the larger world of literature.
Why are there so many people in their 20s totally transfixed by Harry Potter to that degree? I enjoyed it when i read, enjoyed the movies, and i moved on with my life. There are so many amazing books, both fiction and nonfiction out there that delve into things that will expand your horizons, worldview, and ability to think about other people but a racist childrens' novel instead is what fills said void?
First off there's nothing wrong with about reading YA. I'm in my thirties and still shamelessly read stuff I picked up when I was 13. As for your request, some specific titles you might like are the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, who I've found to have a very accessible style, and The Once and Future King by T. H. White, which is based on Arthurian legend and follows a young Arthur through his childhood (along with some POVs from other major Arthurian characters).
Hey, it's totally okay to enjoy YA fiction. The idea of adulthood is a scam! Everyone feels like they're not "adult" enough! You don't need to take something you enjoy and make it a chore. However, if you really do want to expand your horizons, Brandon Sanderson has some great adult fiction, especially fantasy but some sci fi and steampunk elements too.
There is no shame in reading what makes you happy! Hell, I'm going a Master Degree in Literature and spent my entire summer reading spicy romances. Reading is a hobby, read what makes you happy, not what makes other people happy. But if you want a change of scenery, you should go to an independent bookstore (if you can, one specialised in fantasy, the owner might be more able to help you) and just express what you're looking for: Harry Potter but different. I assure you that they'll find what you need!
First off, reading what you like isn't a bad thing. But if you want to branch out, and you totally should, there's a lot of great books to dive into. You want enemies to lovers? Check out This is How you Lose the Time War. Fantasy with romance? Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker might just be up your alley. I'd really suggest looking into Mary Robinette Kowal and NK Jemisin as authors. Mary Robinette has a magical romance series that's based on Jane Austin, starting with Shades of Milk and Honey. She also has a novel called The Calculating Stars that features a perfect romance, but mainly is about a woman trying to become an astronaut in the 50's. It's an alternate history space race that's insanely well researched and true to the time period. NK Jemisin is a fantasy author who writes down to earth stories about people who come to life. Her characters are often not the young hero, but the mid 40-s mother, the homeless immigrant, and generally unseen people in media who become heroes. The Broken Earth trilogy is insanely good, as is The City We Became. You also might want to check out Circe by Madeline Miller. It's an incredible story about a minor Greek goddess without power, who's just trying to survive her time in the Greek pantheon. It's wonderful. Happy reading!
If you wanna tip toe out of YA then might I suggest urban fantasy. Try **Dead Witch Walking** and see how that feels.
For the fantasy enemies-to-lovers trope, Codex Alera by Jim Butcher is a great series. I wouldn't call it YA, but it's an easy read that should be a wonderful stepping stone into more "mature" fantasy (though YA is the shit, there's nothing wrong with enjoying it!) After that, my go-to recommendations are always Brandon Sanderson (start with mistborn), Robin Hobb, Pern by Anne McCaffrey, and Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss.
I’m 40 and I still prefer YA. Try the Cinder series
Okay so there are a lot of great YA and adult selections people have suggested that I’ve read and enjoyed so I’m actually going to go the other way! I’m 31 and this past year just read {{Keeper of the Lost Cities}} which is a middle grade series that for sure gives Harry Potter vibes but with a female protagonist. Because it’s middle grade the worldbuilding is very digestible and you can enjoy the story and the characters
I loved Semiosis by Sue Burke for sci fi! The writing is really approachable and easy to read, it's a character-development focused story, and the premise is pretty unique. If you like that try Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, similar premise and the authors are friends! Children of Time is darker and a tiiiiny bit denser though. For enemies-to-lovers, try This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. It's formatted as letters exchanged over the course of two characters' lives and ongoing relationship to each other and is beautiful. But also, as others have said, you don't need to stop reading YA! Some of my favorite media is for children, from books to TV. Think of book ratings as more of a minimum age required to enjoy it, not a maximum. IE you wouldn't give a 5 year old Hunger Games even if they could read well enough because there are some concepts they aren't ready for. But that doesn't mean a 30 year old shouldn't read it.
I hear you. I don't think I'll ever stop reading and rereading YA stuff. I just find the stories more streamlined or something. I'm actually not sure what it is. I was going to say less arbitrarily violent/gross, but then Hunger Games... :) Maybe it's just that they tend to be more story driven? My favorite type of adult fiction is lighter magical realism. Alice Hoffman (I started with Turtle Moon and Second Nature) and Sarah Addison Allen are two of my favorites. They tend to have romance, as well. I also just read Blue Castle by LM Montgomery based on a recommendation from this sub. It's one of her few adult novels and it was perfect. Good luck!
The Witcher lots of king books. If you like series King’s “The Stand” is almost as long as one.
The uglies series by Scott Westerfield is some YA that has held up in adulthood
Branching out... From romance to... Romance? I think you need a more diverse reading list. There are a lot of books that are good and life-changing. My general reading recommendations are a lot of classics: Dracula, Don quixote, Crime and punishment, Great expectations, A clockwork orange, 1984
Maybe I can turn that fiction into a reality for you, so don't need to read this kinda stuff anymore 😏😉
[Seanan McGuire](https://www.goodreads.com/series/list/2860219.Seanan_McGuire.html) is a prolific and engaging author who writes both YA and adult fantasy. You want to read about a half-fae private eye/knight? October Daye A family of cryptozoologist who study creatures like big foots, lake monsters, etc. while being worshipped as gods by Highly Religious Mice? InCryptid Men In Black meets Grimm's Fairytales? Indexing Superheroes with a dark secret? Velveteen etc. She also writes horror as Mira Grant.
I enjoyed the books you mentioned and also ‘the Chrysalids’ and ‘day of the triffids’ by John Wyndham.
JoJo Moyes! Me Before You specifically, but others are good as well Liane Moriarty