I'm mostly a fantasy/sci-fi reader who wants to branch out into other genres, but the sheer amount of books is somewhat intimidating so I thought I'd ask the esteemed members of this sub for suggestions. Decades of reading mostly speculative fiction set me up for enjoying more action/plot-driven books I think, so I'm looking for more action than character-driven recommendations. I haven't read very much outside of the speculative fiction genre so anything you will suggest will probably be new to me, but a few books that I recently liked were Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio and They Never Learn by Layne Fargo.
What I like:
– plotty action
– plot twists and mysteries
– queer characters
– villain-protagonists / antiheroes / morally grey characters
– female characters as protagonists / in prominent roles
What I don't like:
– straight romance (it's cool as a subplot, but when it comes to romance as a genre, I prefer queer relationships since I can actually relate to those)
– books focused on characters talking to each other and interpersonal relationships (I need action!)
– books where women are only sexual objects and exist to be love interests for men
– detective/spy stories (open to really good ones that may change my mind though!)
– magical realism (idk, I love 'proper' fantasy but magical realism just never really grips me)
Generally I'm open to trying most genres, so any and all suggestion will be valuable! I haven't read many classics (especially not ones from the Anglosphere as English is not my first language, though I did try Austen and did not enjoy her at all) so those are welcome too.
by pu3rh