The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.
This book is: amazing.
Other elements: loneliness, love, far away places.
Read it: if you want to read something out of the ordinary.
Find my full review here.

Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore.
This book is: wonderful.
Other elements: femininity, love, moral imperatives, right vs wrong, family, duty, beauty.
Read it: if you’re a Tamora Pierce fan. If you love a strong, intelligent, complex heroine.
Find my full review here.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
This book is: the most fun you’ll ever have witnessing the Apocalypse.
Other elements: angels, demons, condensed milk, dogs, aging mediums, talkative Satanist nuns, the nature of humanity, impending doom, hijinks.
Read it: if you enjoy wry humor.
Find my full review here.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor.
This book is: an enthralling, beautifully written story.
Other elements: hope, magic, sexy angels, creation myths, a star-crossed-lovers romance, blue hair.
Read it: if you appreciate wonderful writing, vivid description, creative storylines, magic, Prague, art, or romance between people who are very different.
Find my full review here.

Shadow and Bone & Siege and Storm (Grisha trilogy books 1 and 2) by Leigh Bardugo.
These books are: fantastic.
Other elements: friendship, sacrifices for the greater good, loyalty, sunshine, scary monsters, darkness, royal intrigue, Russian folktales.
Read it: if you like your adventure with a dash of magic and romance.
Find my full review here.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel.
This book is: completely fascinating and exceptionally well-written.
Other elements: giant mysterious statues, improbable medical procedures, aliens.
Read it: if you like great stories with perfect pacing.
Find my full review here.

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
This series is: utterly spellbinding, impeccably crafted epic fantasy that will melt your face off.
Other elements: worldbuilding like you’ve never imagined and a badass ladyhero.
Read it: If you enjoy epic fantasy and don’t have anything urgent to do (because you won’t want to put this down).
Find my full review here.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
This book is: simply wonderful.
Other elements: Wizards, politics, the dark desires of humankind, love, misguided impulses, being yourself, power.
Read it: if you love a good story, the feeling of a real fairy tale (the scary kind) and strong female heroines.
Read my full review here.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.
This book is: Awesome.
Other elements: Humor. Being a woman, being yourself. Life.
Read it: If you admire smart, sane women who have smart, sane things to say about life.
Read my full review here.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
This book is: a well-written, engaging story with multiple badass women characters.
Other elements: duty, fate, violence, revolution, doing what is right vs what you’re expected to do.
Read it: if you like stories about revolution, sword-fighting, adventure, or really interesting, strongly crafted characters. Bonus: women kicking butt.
Read my full review here.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
This book is: terrifying and brilliant.
Other elements: parenting, marriage, children, psychopaths, motherhood, school shootings.
Read it: if you enjoy really chillingly brilliant characters. If you’re not prone to nightmares.
Read my full review here.

Midnight Riot (Peter Grant #1) by Ben Aaronovitch.
This book is: precisely my cup of tea.
Other elements: Sarcasm, dark humor, crime, mythological figures, complicated blending of the supernatural and science.
Read it: if you like crime shows and fantasy novels.
Read my full review here.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.
This book is: quiet, eerie, beautiful.
Other elements: growing up, sisters, art, alcoholism, AIDS, family secrets, being a teenager, music, being an outsider, the sacredness of objects, Mozart’s Requiem.
Read it: if you can identify with a young girl who likes to hide in the woods alone so that she can pretend to be in the Middle Ages.
Read my full review here.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
This book is: beautiful.
Other elements: fate, destiny, following your dreams, love.
Read it: if you enjoy a healthy dose of magical realism.
Read my full review here.

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon.
This book is: a historical fiction time-travel romance.
Other elements: Romance! Adventure! Manly men in kilts! Rebellion. Sex. Botany.
Read it: If you like the idea of adventuring (and romancing) with manly men in kilts.
Read my full review here.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.
This book is: a raucous yarn.
Other elements: elephants, communism, hijinks, bibles, murder, explosives, centenarians, crime, politics, atom bombs.
Read it: if your brain wants a treat.
Read my full review here.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman.
This book is: sad and gritty but ultimately beautiful.
Other elements: car crashes, rescued dogs, unlikely friendships, self-discovery, hope.
Read it: if you like vividly written characters.
Read my full review here.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer.
This book is: a futuristic, dystopian reimagining of the Cinderella story.
Other elements: cyborgs, people who live on the moon, global pandemics, hot Princes, strong and admirable women.
Read it: if you love a good fractured fairy tale.
Read my full review here.

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey.
This book is: an extremely cool take on the global pandemic SciFi trope.
Other elements: Almost-zombies, scientific experiments, David Attenborough, fungus, survival.
Read it: if you love flawlessly-crafted narratives and fascinating fictional science.
Read my full review here.

The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson.
This book is: a jewelry-centered novel! A fictional family drama, historical romance, and jewelry adventure rolled into one.
Other elements: the love of a difficult family, relationships over time, family history, the Florentine diamond.
Read it: if you love beautifully-woven interpersonal relationships, layered family stories, or jewelry.
Read my full review here.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
This book is: excellent and strange.
Other elements: God(s), destiny, the true power behind the universe, fate, knowledge, fatherhood, love, lions.
Read it: if you like the idea of a really well-written story that is like nothing you’ve ever read before.
Read my full review here.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan.
This book is: loosely William-and-Kate-inspired and exactly what I hoped it would be.
Other elements: my own personal fantasies, the English Royal family, weddings, an American exchange student in England.
Read them: if you like a good love story and especially if you find the idea of princes interesting.
Read my full review here.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente.
This book is: delightful!
Other elements: spoons, keys, ominous hats, little girls, paternal libraries, flying felines, heroines who save themselves.
Read it: if you love fairy tales: the kind that are beautiful but can also give you nightmares, not the Disney kind.
Read my full review here.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King.
This book is: bright and sharp.
Other elements: teenage love, not wanting to repeat your family’s mistakes, what it means to be responsible, dealing with your baggage.
Read it: if you enjoy crisp writing and a good story.
Read my full review here.

The Moment of Everything by Shelly King.
This book is: a story you can sink your teeth into.
Other elements: used books, a mean cat named Grendel, someone who reads as many historical romance novels as I do, all kinds of nerds, book clubs, a lady who is figuring out her life.
Read it: if you like hearing about smart, independent women (or if you are one). Bonus if you love used bookstores.
Read my full review here.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
This book is: charming.
Other elements: walking, befriending strangers, what’s really important in life, marriage, growing old, mortality.
Read it: if you’d enjoy witnessing the adventures of an aging, mild-mannered Englishman.
Read my full review here.

Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson.
This book is: almost like a chick flick but too smart and well written to feel trite.
Other elements: Aspergers, Southern manners, virgin birth, robberies, death, chemicals, poetry, flowers.
Read it: if you like good stories about vivid, interesting characters.
Read my full review here.

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore.
This book is: A YA fantasy novel, the first in a series, about a girl with a supernatural gift for killing.
Other elements: Right vs wrong, romance, friendship.
Read it: If you like YA fantasy, if you enjoy ass-kicking women, if you liked The Hunger Games.
Read my full review here.

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole.
This book is: an enthralling and multi-layered YA fantasy series kickoff.
Other elements: tarot mythology, YA love triangles, plants, magic, fate, Louisiana, zombies.
Read it: if you like a good epic YA fantasy series.
Read my full review here.

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older.
This book is: different in a good way.
Other elements: family legacies, street art, Brooklyn, art, how race affects personal identity, magic in the real world.
Read it: if you like the idea of magical that works through the art on the streets of NYC.
Read my full review here.

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine.
This book is: a 1920’s dance hall retelling of the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.
Other elements: family, sisters, duty over love, self-identity, dancing, the 1920’s.
Read it: if you enjoy historical fiction, 1920’s dancing, and stories about sisters.
Read my full review here.

Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas.
This book is: fascinating.
Other elements: brain chemistry, sociopaths, the myth of “normal”, how people live their lives, parenting, psychology
Read it: if you are fascinated by the differences of people; if you think you, someone you know, or someone you have given birth to may be a sociopath.
Read my full review here.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
This book is: a well-written, totally insane psycho/mystery/love/crime story.
Other elements: Lies. Marriage. Public opinion. Love.
Read it: If you enjoy crime shows. If you like having your mind blown.
Read my full review here.

The Escape by Mary Balogh.
This book is: refreshing and delightful.
Other elements: slightly illicit romance, war veterans, widows, narrowly-avoided scandal, Wales.
Read it: if you like historical fiction and character-driven romance novels with interesting plots, and strong female characters.
Read my full review here.

Life of Pi Yann Martel.
This book is: about a boy and a boat.
Other elements: tigers, prairie dogs, turtles, boats, survival, religion, science, biology, human and animal relationships, the human mind.
Read it: if you’re interested in zoology, tiger taming, lifeboat survival, or religions. If you enjoy wonderfully precise description.
Read my full review here.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen.
This book is: genuinely heart-warming without being cheesy.
Other elements: family, self-acceptance, being different, mother-daughter relationships, body image.
Read it: if the cockles of your heart are chilly
Read my full review here.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson.
This book is: heartbreaking and beautiful.
Other elements: PTSD, depression, broken families, drug addiction, trying to be a normal teenager when your family is damaged.
Read it: if you’re in the mood for something sad and strong.
Read my full review here.

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan.
This book is: entertaining.
Other elements: jewelry, marriage, advertising, engagement rings, relationships, diamond rings.
Read it: if you love jewelry or books about relationships.
Read my full review here.

The Diviners by Libba Bray.
This book is: lustrous and absorbing.
Other elements: flappers, slang, the occult, belief, legends, magic in the real world, a Museum of Creepy Crawlies.
Read it: if you love the idea of 1920’s NYC with a dash of magic.
Read my full review here.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
This book is: a love story with several different love stories happening around it.
Other elements: old Hollywood glamor, scenic Italian coastlines, curses, Richard Burton.
Read it: if you’re in a romantic mood (or a bubble bath. I read most of this in a bubble bath.).
Read my full review here.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.
This book is: an bright, engaging, character-driven novel.
Other elements: friendship, philosophy, being middle-aged.
Read it: if you are fascinated by excellent characters.
Read my full review here.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll.
This book is: sharp and engaging.
Other elements: school violence, rape, eating disorders, the effect that violence has on the people who experience it.
Read it: if you like meaty, gritty, well-written stories.
Read my full review here.

Dreamhunter and Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox.
These books are: bright, fresh, and creative.
Other elements: dreams, family, the greater good, government corruption, golem-esque creatures.
Read them: if you enjoy reading fantasy with interesting and unusual magic.
Read my full review here.

The Vampire Academy series (1-6) by Richelle Mead.
This book (series) is: marvelously entertaining.
Other elements: ass-kicking ladies, vampires, world-saving, star crossed lovers, misunderstood teenagers, political plots.
Read it: if you like the idea of a sassy supernatural teenage heroine who is good at beating people up.
Read my full review here.

Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema.
This book is: sweet, wonderful YA perfection.
Other elements: friendship, self-acceptance, fish, failure, body image, swimming.
Read it: if you want a good, quirky, entertaining story with undertones of heart-warmingness.
Read my full review here.

The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez.
This book is: truly strange but rather delightful.
Other elements: ninja thief ex-boyfriends, alternate universes, rogue fairy godmother ghosts trapped in pens, destiny, friendship.
Read it: if you’re in the mood for a totally off the wall tall tale of a novel.
Read my full review here.

The Lies of Locke Lamora (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1) by Scott Lynch.
This book is: giving me conflicting feelings.
Other elements: fabulous con men, creative fantasy world, thieves, friendship.
Read it: if you like a good con man and you don’t mind a lot of description.
Read my full review here.

The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green.
This book is: silly.
Other elements: urban fantasy, magic, adventure, saving-the-world, conspiracy theories, humor.
Read it: if you have the right sense of humor (do you enjoy Terry Pratchett? Monty Python?).
Read my full review here.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.
This book is: A book about college and relationships.
Other elements: Some degree of bildungsroman, life with manic depression/life with a manic depressive, how your parents affect who you are, the role of religion in a modern world, unrequited love.
Read it: If you are interested in early prescription treatments for manic depression, if you miss college, if you sympathize with characters having religious crises.
Read my full review here.

Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Anne Helen Petersen.
This book is: an academic look at some of classic Hollywood’s controversial figures.
Other elements: the changing attitudes of society, social trends, the ever-changing nature of what is acceptable to the public eye, the evolution of the publicity machine.
Read it: if you like your classic Hollywood scandals with a bit of psychology and anthropology.
Read my full review here.

The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro.
This book is: a great story.
Other elements: art, crime, forgery, Degas, Isabelle Gardener, the Gardener museum heist, Boston.
Read it: if you have any interest in the art world or if you don’t but you love a good story.
Read my full review here.

The Assassin’s Curse (The Assassin’s Curse, #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke.
This book is: the opening of a intriguing YA fantasy series.
Other elements: pirates, magicians, pirate gender roles, supernatural islands, aspiring lady pirates.
Read it: if the draw of a burgeoning 17-year-old lady pirate sounds awesome enough to get you through a slow-starting story.
Read my full review here.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan.
This book is: about a boy who suddenly finds out that myths are real and he’s related to one. Adventure ensues.
Other elements: Parent/child relationships, Greek mythology, learning disabilities.
Read it: If you like YA fantasy, if you enjoy Greek myths, if you are 10 years old.
Read my full review here.

Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan.
This book is: like a cupcake for your brain.
Other elements: designer clothes, bleached teeth, protein bars, LA, rich kids.
Read it: If you have a sense of humor and like the idea of a Clueless/O.C./Gossip Girl mashup
Read my full review here.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
This book is: creative and haunting.
Other elements: peculiarity, mental health, family dynamics, sheep murderers, reality vs fantasy.
Read it: if you like the idea of fantasy and the real world colliding.
Read my full review here.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.
This book is: light and dreamy.
Other elements: hats, magic, sisters, love, green slime.
Read it: if you like whimsy and aren’t in the mood to think.
Read my full review here.