17 Oddly Specific Types Of Books That Make Me Go “Yes! I’d Like More Of That Please!”

I have a very specific taste when it comes to the books I’m attracted to.

Other bookworms might say, “Oh, I really like books that contain music!” or “I love it when authors write about robots!” I say, “One of my favorite types of books are the ones where a plague or disease has overrun the world, and the protagonist is the cure, and, oh no, what should they do now??”

(I swear, I’m normal.)

Today, I’m going to be talking about specific types of books that I’m seriously addicted to, and I hope I’ll see more of in the future. I’M DESPERATE HERE, PEOPLE.

1.) cons conning their way into the families of missing kids.

On this blog, I often complain about the surprising lack of books where a down-on-their-luck character cons their way into a nice, unsuspecting family, and, whoops, who could’ve guessed that everything would go oh-so-horribly wrong (I did)?

There are only about four or five out in the world, and I’ve only liked two (!!!), so this must immediately be fixed, specifically by Gillian Flynn and Marisha Pessl (AHEM.)

2.) extremely stabby and sassy assassins.

To my horror, I realized that I have not talked much about my love for assassins on this blog, and I have decided to fix that. I absolutely love assassins and murder and mayhem and sass.

There. It’s out in the air now.

(Bonus points if an assassin academy exists!!!)

3.) contemporary novels dealing with current events.

If you know me, you know I tend to hate strongly dislike contemporary novels. BUT (!!!) my exception to contemporary comes when it deals with current events. An #ownvoices novel dealing with the Black Lives Matter movement or police brutality? GIMME. A debut novel talking about feminism? Sold. A book that talks about the balance of being religious and a part of the LGBTQ+ community? Hell yeah!

4.) fantasy books dabbling with war and politics.

Definitely not something I’ve been quiet about on this blog, but books like Red Rising, The Cruel Prince, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Half A King, anything written by Sarah J. Maas…I could go on and on. I love being challenged in that way, and there’s something about the bleariness of war that really pulls me in.

5.) monsters and humans cohabiting in the same universe.

Literally the only books dealing with this concept are This Savage Song and the Shadowhunter Chronicles, and I don’t know why? There’s an endless amount of concepts and ideas that can be explored in that type of universe.

Also, I just really like monsters. WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE.

6.) revised historical fiction.

My strong dislike of historical fiction is 99.99% driven by the horrors I’ve dealt with when it comes to reading classics for school, but when it comes to historical fiction via time travel or if it explores an alternate timeline or if there’s an abnormal aspect thrown in, I’m totally in love.

7.) a whodunnit mystery among a lying ensemble cast with secrets.

This is only my second favorite type of thriller to ever exist. I AM VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT THESE TYPES OF THINGS. But I love it when murder strikes among a group of people with secrets up their sleeves, and we’re left to figure out whodunnit.

 (Bonus points if it takes place in a closed environment or all the characters get a point-of-view!!!)

8.) group of strangers stuck on a ship with the horrors of space.

My obsession with this stems mostly from an array of movies where a group of astronauts is stuck in space and their dumb asses decide to explore the shiny thing on the surface of the unexplored planet and oops, they’re all dead now. (It’s a niche. ) I want more of these types of books immediately.

9.) competitions, contests, and conspiracies.

It seems like everyone is completely exhausted with these types of stories. WELL, I’M NOT.

I will read every book out there that mentions the word “competition”  in the synopsis and absolutely no one out there can stop me.

10.) fae that will eff with your life without remorse.

I am not quiet about my encompassing love for all things fae-related. I am also not quiet about the lack of faerie books that exist out in the wild.

I DEMAND MORE FAE IN THE MARKET.

11.) all the ya horror.

Two years ago, I did a special reading challenge in October where I read only horrors and thrillers, and when searching for books to add to my reading list, I realized that there is a surprising lack of horror novels that exist. And that is SO DISAPPOINTING.

 I understand that there doesn’t seem to be a market for it out there, but it feels like no one even tries? The television industry has the exact same problem. I want all the horror shows…and they’re are only about four or five true horror shows out there. #GiveMeHorrorOrGiveMeDeath

12.) villains and anti-heroes have powers.

In general, I love me some books dealing with superpowers. But the idea and unpredictability of the bad guys having the powers instead of the good guys? I AM ABSOLUTELY SOLD.

 (Bonus points if the author delves into frequent discussions of morality!!!)

13.) missing kids come back.

And I mean the ACTUAL missing kids, not the con artists this time around. There’s something about the psychological influence that affects not only the missing person, but the family, and the secrets behind what actually happened to them during those awful years that really gets to me.

(I am a terrible person.)

14.) weird, surreal urban fantasy with gorgeous writing.

A la Maggie Stiefvater, Laini Taylor, and V.E. Schwab. It’s honestly so hard to put into words, but these three authors capture that feeling so freaking well. It’s no shocker that I wish they’d all team up and write a book together (if they’re reading this, pls do it.)

15.) main characters making the awful decision to visit their small, messed-up towns.

SMALL TOWNS ARE MY MOST FAVORITE THING.

I blame Gillian Flynn for bringing this trope into my life. This is easily my number one favorite thriller scenario, and if all the thrillers of ever went with this premise, I would die happily.

16.) weird, creepy, or magical carnivals and circuses.

I’m looking at you, The Night Circus (and Erin Morgenstern. Pls come back to writing.)!

Despite how uninteresting carnivals, fairs, and circuses are for me in real life, I really dig this concept in fantasy books. Probably because there’s no magic involved in real life.

17.) thrillers jumping between the past and the present.

I don’t care how many people unfairly hate on this plot device – it is my absolute favorite thing.

Why be satisfied saying, “What the heck is going on?” once…when you can say it TWICE after every single chapter? It’s genius, really.

what are some types of books that you want to see more of? any specific buzzwords or premises that really get you going? do you agree with any on my list? do you have any good recommendations for me (hopefully you do)?

bloglovin’ | twitter