Fox – Dream Read Repeat

Adult books with YA appeal!

There’s nothing that drives me batty quite like artificial boundaries! Whenever I hear, “I only read YA,” or equally, “I would never read YA,” I stare in complete disbelief. There are so many stories that bring excitement, introspection, or perspective across all the target age brackets. If you yourself find that you never read Adult fiction, maybe you want to give some of these fantastic stories a try.

Here are the Dream Read Repeat picks for Adult fiction with appeal to a YA reader.

The Nightrunner Series

By Lynn Flewelling
Picked by: Fox

The first book in the series is Luck in the Shadows.

Why would a YA reader like this book?

Epic adventures, thievery, spies, magic, chosen families + LGBT+ rep (the first few books were written in the 90s).

What YA books or authors are similar?

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, perhaps The Six of Crows (but I have not read it so I can’t confirm for sure), Isle of Blood Stone, Rook by Shannon Cameron

Find it on Goodreads!

Swordspoint

By Ellen Kushner
Picked by: Fox

Why would a YA reader like this book?

High fantasy, a fantasy novel of manners that reminds me at times a lot of The Three Musketeers (for some reason), LGBT+ rep (also written in the 80s).

What YA books or authors are similar?

The Three Musketeers (Although it’s not YA), Isle of Blood Stone. It is fantasy of manners but few YA fantasy books fit the bill.

Find it on Goodreads!

Shades of Magic trilogy

By V.E. Schwab
Picked by: Marlou

Why would a YA reader like this book?

It’s filled with magic and has a sassy and grumpy character working together, which is basically the perfect combination.

What YA books or authors are similar?

Leigh Bardugo and Jay Kirstoff

Find it on Goodreads!

Nevernight

By Jay Kristoff
Picked by: Marlou

Why would a YA reader like this Book?

It has a badass female with a seriously troubled past who shows you’re still awesome despite it.

What YA books or authors are similar?

There’s nothing quite like Nevernight tbh….

Find it on Goodreads!

Dragon Teeth

By Michael Crichton
Picked by: Inopinion

Why would a YA reader like this book?

An 18 yo, entitled college boy has to grow up in perilous circumstances. Set in 1870’s just as Custer is defeated by the Sioux and when Deadwood was at it’s most violent, this story touches on the violence without diving deep into it. Brings the west alive through the perspective of the young protagonist.

And yes, this is the same author that brought us Jurassic Park, but it’s definitely not Science Fiction.

What YA books or authors are similar?

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

Find it on Goodreads!

The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archives)

By Brandon Sanderson
Picked by: Inopinion

Why would a YA reader like this book?

Several characters that are younger – 17-22 who are coming into their own during a protracted war. Accessible fantasy with strong female characters, characters with disability, and good moral messages.

What YA books or authors are similar?

Fantasy writers like Susan Dennard, Victoria Schwab, and Sanderson, himself, who wrote the Mistborn series and The Rithmatist.

Fans of Laini Taylor and her books Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares will also likely enjoy this slightly more mature character set.

Find it on Goodreads!

Young Adult books that need more love!

There’s no surprise that this team loves YA fiction. We read it. We talk about it. We follow it on social media. And, sometimes, we just don’t see enough attention cast towards our favorites. Or at least we think there should be more.

Here are several books that we here at Dream Read Repeat feel need a little more love.

The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu
Picked by: Marlou

Why should more people read this book?

Simply put? Because it’s awesome!

The villain is the main character but she’s not really a villain but just a girl who’s always been treated awful and decided she didn’t need anyone in her life telling her what to do. She thinks she’s a hero and that she is saving her country from a corrupt ruler. It also has a very interesting magic system that has always stuck with me even if I can’t quite remember the details of the story anymore.

For people who like…

People who like Shatter Me will like this trilogy!

Find it on Goodreads.

Books in this series

Timebound

Author: Rysa Walker
Picked by: Inopinion

Why should more people read this book?

Time travel, a love story (or three), a World’s Fair with a serial killer! This is a great start to an energetic series. Each book in the trilogy advances the overall plot to stop the end of the world. It gets better and better with each book.

For people who like…

People who likes the straight forward and demonstrative writing styles of Marissa Meyer, Brendan Reichs, or Marie Lu or if you like anything time-travel-y will enjoy this series.

Find it on Goodreads.

Books in this series

The Wicker King

Author: K. Ancrum
Picked by: Fox

Why should more people read this book?

Amazing writing style that blends the borders between reality and fantasy. Visually beautiful. Heartbreaking. Multilayered.

For people who like…

People who like books with unconventional storytelling will like this one.

Content Warnings

Abuse, hallucinations, dysfunctional relationships

Find it on Goodreads.

Photo used with permission from @FoxCloudsBlog

Other books by this author

Moribund

Author: Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
Picked by: Renee

Why should more people read this book?

Fast paced enemies to lovers story where Rouen, the dark Fae princess, is under a Contract of Blood and Bone to kill all fair Fae sleeper-princesses. The problem? Syl is the last sleeper-princess and they kind of have feelings for each other. Dark Fae and fair Fae are also supposed to be mortal enemies, but they can change that, right?