I (30f) have no idea what to read. I’ve just started reading as an adult this year and have pretty much done all romance. I’d like to venture out to non-romance but I don’t have any idea where to start. Romance aspects are still great, but just not the whole story. I do not like fantasy though. I just want to fall into a book like I’m binge watching my tv shows just about people’s lives. I usually enjoy sitcoms and Bravo. Please give me some good recs. Bonus if it’s kindle unlimited
by CouldNvrGiveUPeace
11 Comments
I am a huge romance reader, truly it is my favourite genre. Here are some non romance books I recommend:
Heart the Lover by Lily King (okay, so this definitely has romance as a main plot point but I wouldn’t really call it a romance book. Either way, read it. I promise you will never be the same.)
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (genuinely incredible)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (I know it’s sci fi but it’s VERY accessible and so so good.)
The favourites by Layne Fargo (I did this as an audiobook and it was great!)
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sadie by Courtney Summers (highly recommend on audio! My favourite book of last year, but it’s dark).
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and a Beautifully Foolish Endeavour by Hank Green
The Reading List
How to Read a Book
All of Allen Eskens’ books – read in publication order
Razorblade Tears
Lucas Page series by Robert Pobi
Jane eyre
Phantom of the opera
Other boleyn girl
The Guncle and sequel
Anne of Green Gables
The Secret Garden
Rebecca
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She is Sorry
Educated and The Glass Castle (non fiction)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Convenience Store Woman
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Never Let Me Go
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
I feel like the celebrity book clubs like Oprah and Reese Witherspoon have lots of popular options from different genres so you can figure out what you like
Buckeye. Two families in Ohio, from the end of WWI through to the 1980s. It deals with loss, guilt, secrets kept for decades. Lovely book.
Not a big King fan but 11/22/63 is a good story with some romance aspect.
Wellness by Nathan Hill is about a married couple wondering what happened to that romantic spark. As someone who’s been married for a long time it really resonated with me.
I really appreciated that there is and wasn’t any ill will by either party- no one is at fault, no one is the bad guy. It’s just the product of growing older with someone and and getting too comfortable.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason
From the publisher:
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The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia in this snarky-smart space opera that puts a feminist twist on classic fairy tale tropes.
Princess Rory Thorne must use the fairy blessings gifted to her at birth to change the multiverse—or possibly destroy it.
Rory Thorne is a princess with 13 fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.
Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.
When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairy tale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.
I think Lessons in Chemistry is a great starting point. It was very popular recently. It does have a romance aspect, and I feel reads more similar to a romance novel without being one. Another option might be The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. It revolves around a mystery, but is not necessarily focused on that part. It follows the dramatic lives of 5 different women who live in the house.
The Four Winds and The Women by Kristin Hannah