Every book lover has a long list of books they love more than anything. This list also changes all the time because how can you not find new favorites. Instead of posting another review today, here are my current top ten books.
1. Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn
I got this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago. A lot of the books I asked for this year were not my favorites upon reading, but this one went above and beyond my expectations. It is a thriller with a supernatural twist. It follows a reporter, Edward Clark, as he attempts to expose fake mediums in postbellum Philadelphia. Before long, he must solve the murder of one of the mediums he set out to expose. I love mystery thrillers and supernatural/paranormal stories. Things Half in Shadow perfectly blends the two.
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I don’t need to explain how much I love this book. I have a whole separate post on this book already. But for those who haven’t read that, The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson series. It follows the titular character as he discovers the truth of who he is, and the quest he goes on to return Zeus’ lightning bolt and prove that he was not the thief.
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Years ago I found a Tumblr post that basically said something along the lines of: “there are certain books that we read where we may forget the title or author’s name, but they stick with us.” The Perks of Being a Wallflower is that book for me. Obviously, I still have the book and know the title and author’s name; this book has just stuck with me though. This breathtaking coming of age novel is just so poignant, and heart breaking, and beautiful, and ugh I can’t talk enough about it. The subject matter is super relevant, even more so today, and I just feel that many people can learn something from this book.
4. The One by Kiera Cass
Based on my love of horror and mysteries, a romance is the least expected genre to appear on this list. The One is the last book of Kiera Cass’ The Selection trilogy. You might also be wondering why I listed the third book in the series. Firstly, have you seen the cover of the book?! Just look it up and look at the beauty that is that wedding dress! Please bury me in that gown. Secondly, this series isn’t just straight romance. It’s actually a dystopian series that in the past has been described as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor. Yes, a group of women are fighting to the death for a man. I’m just kidding. But a group of 35 young women compete for the hand of the crown prince. The One, like I said, is the finale of the trilogy where readers find out if the heroine of the series, America Singer, ends up with the prince or not. There is drama, fancy gowns, rebellion, and a love triangle of the ages. Ten out of ten. Love it.
5. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
By Dutch author Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Hex was first published in 2013 before being published in English in 2016. As I have also written a full post on this book as well, I shall keep this short. The cursed residents of Black Spring, New York fear the day that a 17th century witch breaks free of her binds and unleashes unknowable horrors upon the town. Heuvelt masterfully showcases the horrors that human beings are capable of implementing on one another. If you are a horror fan, I cannot recommend this book enough. A trigger warning is necessary; Hex deals with abuse, rape and sexual assault, and self harm.
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
As I’m writing this list, I realize that the common theme in a decent part of the books I’ve listed thus far is fancy dresses. Taking place predominantly in the Victorian era, The Night Circus tells the tale of two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who are caught in a magical duel with Le Cirque des Rêves as the backdrop. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, this book has magic, mystery, and many romances. But mainly for me, the aesthetically pleasing nature of the novel and mystery of the circus are the reasons I keep coming back to this book.
7. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
This is my favorite Stephen King novel, and I find it to be vastly underrated. Seriously, virtually the entire town in this book gets turned into vampires! And not the sparkly Twilight kind of vampires, I’m talking bonafide creepy, will kill you given the chance kind of vampire. Yet no one talks about this book! It’s the second novel Stephen King wrote, and I feel that it gets overshadowed by both Carrie and The Shinning; the first and third of King’s novels respectively. It deserves more praise. It’s such a good modern vampire story with some of the classic vampiric elements.
8. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
If you were a fan of Scooby Doo when growing up, and have kinda wondered what the original script for the live action Scooby Doo films are, do I have a great book for you. Cantero creates a group of four kids and a dog who spent their summers growing up solving mysteries in a small town. Despite a man going to jail at the end of their last mystery as children, it never seemed solved to them; thus causing them to go back to the small town years later to get to the bottom of it. This book has a ton of dark humor, great characters, and a tad bit of fan service for Scooby Doo fans. This is the modern take on Scooby Doo we deserve!
9. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
Poe is one of my favorite authors of all time, and it would be wrong if one of his tales didn’t end up on this list. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a near perfect Victorian Gothic tale. There are all the traditional gothic story tropes: the haunted house, cursed family, depressing setting, a mysterious illness, the un-named narrator, death and the afterlife; the list goes on. If you haven’t read this, and want a good scare I highly recommend this story.
10. Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister by Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is one of my favorite contemporary authors, I think I have all of his books except his takes on Alice in Wonderland solely for the fact that I’m not a fan of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Throughout college, this was one of the books I would answer with when asked what my favorite book was. I adore the fact that you actually don’t know which sister is the narrator throughout the majority of the book. I love the fact this Magurie chose to base his version of the Cinderella story more so on the original fairy tale version instead of the Disney version. I just love his take on these classic fairy tale characters and stories.
I could go on for hours talking about how much I adore each and every one of these books, but I think it's best I stop right here and let everyone experience some of these absolutely amazing books.
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