Hi, I’m back with my favorite type of recommendations: finding alternatives for popular books we already love!
Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
To save her business, private investigator Nevada Baylor takes on a "suicide mission" to capture a dangerous fire-wielding Prime. She is soon intercepted by the billionaire Connor "Mad" Rogan, forcing the two into an alliance where they must navigate a deadly case and a mutual, unexpected attraction.
Similarities: unexpected partnership, murder mystery, slow-burn, urban fantasy
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa
Seven years ago, a siren named Callie made a series of desperate deals with the Bargainer, a powerful entity who collects magical IOUs in the form of black beads on her wrist. After years of silence, he finally returns to collect on those favors—not just to explore their long-simmering attraction, but to recruit her help in solving a mystery involving disappearing Fae warriors and cursed women in the Otherworld.
Similarities: different species, mystery solving, mates
City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards
In the city of Angelthene, human Loren Calla is thrust into a dangerous world when she narrowly escapes a kidnapping that claims her friend instead. To rescue her, Loren must strike a desperate bargain with Darien Cassel, the leader of a ruthless bounty hunter circle. As the pair descends into the city’s corrupt underbelly, they uncover a conspiracy that threatens the entire realm. Amidst the chaos, Loren must navigate her growing feelings for Darien and discover if her love can empower an ordinary human to achieve the extraordinary.
Similarities: urban fantasy, tattooed male lead, heroine’s friend missing, unexpected partnership, slow burn
Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning
After her sister is murdered, MacKayla Lane travels to Ireland and discovers she is a sidhe-seer, one of the few humans capable of seeing the dangerous Fae hiding in their world. As the barriers between realms collapse, Mac must navigate a deadly alliance with the mysterious Jericho Barrons while evading the predatory Fae, V'lane. Her personal quest for vengeance transforms into a race to find the Sinsar Dubh—a book of immense dark powers—before it falls into the wrong hands and dooms both worlds.
Similarities: heroine’s relative missing, protagonist starts as a party girl and is forced to get serious, looking for a magic item, urban fantasy, slow burn, alpha male
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
After dying in a freak accident, tech entrepreneur Bob Johansson wakes up a century later as a "replicant"—a digital consciousness owned by a theocratic state. Uploaded into a self-replicating starship, he is sent into deep space to find a new home for humanity. To succeed, Bob creates numerous clones of himself, forming a "Bobiverse" of distinct personalities who must juggle interstellar exploration, 3D-printing space battles, and the protection of a dying human race.
Similarities: humor, problem solving, pop-culture references
Artemis by Andy Weir
Jazz Bashara is a struggling porter and small-time smuggler living in the moon's only city. Desperate to escape debt, she accepts a high-stakes job to commit the "perfect crime," only to find herself entangled in a massive corporate conspiracy for control of the lunar colony. To survive, Jazz must pull off a dangerous, high-tech heist that puts the fate of the entire city at risk.
Similarities: problem solving, survival, humor
The Long Way to A Small Planet by Becky Chambers
Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer—a patched-up ship manned by humans and aliens—hoping to escape her past and find a quiet place in the galaxy. When the crew accepts a high-stakes job to tunnel a wormhole to a distant planet, Rosemary is forced out of her shell and into a series of dangerous adventures.
Similarities: interspecies friendship, optimistic, deep space
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
A sudden lunar catastrophe turns Earth into a ticking time bomb, forcing humanity to launch a desperate effort to preserve the species in orbit. As the planet becomes uninhabitable, the survivors must overcome technical failures and the complexities of human nature, eventually dwindling to just a few individuals.
Five millennia later, the descendants of these survivors have evolved into seven distinct races and return to explore a transformed, alien Earth.
Similarities: engineering challenges, orbital mechanics, long-term survival, humanity’s last hope.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
After the Empire of Masks conquers her island home and dismantles her family and culture, Baru Cormorant resolves to liberate her people by infiltrating the very system that oppressed them. She ascends the imperial hierarchy, eventually being tasked with suppressing a rebellion in the province of Aurdwynn to prove her loyalty.
Similarities: colonialism, assimilation, institutional violence, revolution, identity
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
In the Scholomance, a magic school with no teachers and a near-zero survival rate, El must navigate a lethal curriculum where monsters lurk in every corner and "graduation" is a literal fight for life. Though isolated and friendless, El possesses power capable of mass destruction; her ultimate challenge is surviving the school's hunger without accidentally unleashing her power and killing every student inside.
Similarities: dark academia, systemic inequality, magic cost, resistance, outsider protagonist
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Set in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars, we follow the revival of English magic through two rival magicians: the reclusive Gilbert Norrell and his impulsive pupil Jonathan Strange. As they move from aiding the war effort to exploring the forgotten arts of the past, their partnership devolves into a dangerous rivalry. Their obsession with restoring magic eventually leads them into a perilous struggle with ancient supernatural forces that threatens to consume them both.
Similarities: historical fantasy, dark academia, imperial arrogance, identity
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
Jebi, a non-binary artist, is hired by an occupying regime to paint the magical sigils that power their mechanical army. However, upon discovering the horrific, blood-soaked secrets behind the government’s technology, Jebi abandons their neutrality. To spark a revolution, they team up with Arazi, a sentient dragon automaton, to turn the ministry’s greatest weapon against the oppressors.
Similarities: anti-imperialism, language as power, working for the oppressor, identity, blood cost of magic/technological progress
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
Flock by Kate Stewart
Cecelia Horner moves to the small town of Triple Falls to live with her estranged and wealthy father. The arrangement is purely transactional: if she survives a year working at his factory, he will grant her the inheritance she needs to support her mother. However, her predictable life is upended when she meets Sean Roberts and Dominic King. They belong to a mysterious brotherhood known as the « Ravenhood ».
Similarities: exclusive inner circle, angst, toxicity, secrets
A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner
After years of harboring a secret crush on her best friend, Brecks Kennedy has to watch him fall for her best friend instead. Despite the missed timing, the two remain close. Spanning from college to adulthood, they struggle to bridge the gap between friendship and romance. Ultimately, both must decide if they are willing to risk their stable connection for a chance at love.
Similarities: years-long pining, cheating, toxic cycle
Addicted to You by Krista & Becca Ritchie
To protect their reputations and wealthy families, college students Lily Calloway and Loren Hale maintain a fake relationship to hide their respective addictions to sex and alcohol. As their self-destructive behaviors spiral out of control, the lines between their charade and reality blur.
Similarities: codependency, high society, self-destruction, childhood sweethearts, substance abuse, chaotic friend group, trauma bonding
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
Lucy Albright arrives at college seeking an escape from her mother’s past betrayal, only to fall into a volatile, decade-long entanglement with the charming but manipulative Stephen DeMarco.
Similarities: obsession vs. love, narcissistic dynamics, toxic cycles, secrets
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Amber Patterson is a master manipulator who thinks she deserves a life of luxury. She targets Daphne Parrish—a wealthy socialite and philanthropist—with the goal of befriending her, usurping her life, and becoming the next Mrs. Parrish. However, as Amber gets closer to Daphne’s husband and their glamorous world, she realizes that the "perfect" life she’s trying to steal contains secrets she didn't bargain for.
Similarities: « perfect » husband, wife/husband/employee, dual POV, revenge
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
When a Parisian couple hires Louise, a quiet and devoted nanny, she seems like a godsend who fixes every problem in their household. As Louise becomes indispensable, an inevitable tragedy involving the children occurs.
Similarities: live-in worker, wealthy family, obsession, savior complex
The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White
Kit Darling is a maid who snoops through her wealthy clients' belongings and records their darkest secrets in her diary. While working for a seemingly perfect couple, Kit discovers a secret so explosive that it puts her life in danger. When the police arrive at a blood-soaked crime scene, they find the diary—and a web of lies that suggests everyone in the house has a motive for murder.
Similarities: past trauma, wealth, snooping
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Rowan Caine stumbles upon a too-good-to-be-true nannying position at a "smart house" in the Scottish Highlands. The job offers a massive salary, but the dream quickly turns into a nightmare involving malfunctioning technology, ghostly sightings, and rebellious children. Writing from prison, Rowan recounts the events that led to her being charged with the murder of one of the children, maintaining that she isn't the only one with secrets in that house.
Similarities: attic, smart home, gaslighting, wealth
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene
Finley travels into a forbidden, curse-stricken kingdom to save her village. She encounters a shapeshifting Dragon Prince who needs her unique magic to break the curse over his land.
Similarities: arranged marriage, political alliances, forced proximity, beastly male character
A Little Too Familiar by Lish McBride
Looking for a fresh start, Louise "Lou" West, a powerful but struggling witch, takes a job as an assistant to a werewolf named Declan. Due to a magical mishap, they end up "familiarly bonded," forcing them to share space and emotions.
Similarities: humor, cozy, spicy, soft but powerful male character, forced proximity, mutual respect
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Lachlain MacRieve, a Lykae (werewolf) king who has been imprisoned and tortured for centuries catches the scent of his predestined mate. He is shocked to find she is Emmaline, a timid half-vampire/half-valkyrie and kidnaps her.
Ali Hazelwood herself praised this series and considers it the OG alpha werewolf + vampire romance.
Similarities: vampire/werewolf rivalry, historical grudges, relentless hero
Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross
Mateo Cruz, a powerful werewolf, has been cursed by a witch, leaving him unable to shift and stuck with a talking wolf spirit in his head. Desperate, he seeks help from Evie Savoie, a hex-breaker from a family of powerful witches.
Similarities: pop culture references, found family, modern setting
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed
After her wealthy grandmother passes away and leaves her nothing, Lily Rosewood discovers she must compete in a final, elaborate scavenger hunt to win back her inheritance. To solve the cryptic clues, Lily is forced to team up with three other students—including her ex-boyfriend and a rival—only to realize the game is hiding a family secret that someone is willing to kill to protect.
Similarities: inheritance, scavenger hunt, family secrets, wealthy setting
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington
Desperate to regain her spot at a prestigious college after a public scandal, Adina Paris enters a secretive, high-stakes competition hosted by the ultra-wealthy Edemond family. What begins as a series of social challenges quickly turns into a fight for survival where the elite players treat Adina and the other contestants as disposable entertainment.
Similarities: competition, wealthy setting
Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
Rosalyn Quest, a teenage thief, enters the "Thieves’ Gambit"—a global competition for the world’s best heist artists—to win a wish that could save her kidnapped mother. As she circles the globe pulling off impossible jobs, she must decide if she can trust her fellow competitors, especially one who might be her biggest rival or her only ally.
Similarities: competition, enemies to allies to lovers, intelligent characters, legacy
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
This book is the original inspiration for The Inheritance Games.
When eccentric millionaire Samuel Westing dies, sixteen unlikely heirs are gathered for the reading of his will, which reveals they must play a game to win his $200 million fortune. Divided into pairs and given sets of cryptic clues, the players must figure out who among them murdered Westing before the killer strikes again.
Similarities: inheritance, wordplay & puzzles, pairing
If you want more book recommendations based on novels you already like, check part 1 here!
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