With the overwhelming noise of the internet, it is often hard to find book recommendations that do not fit within the carefully curated lists shared by online bookish communities. Lists that, more often than not, overlook books by classical authors such as Shirley Jackson, or even poets like Richard Siken. In this list, you will find everything from poetry to lesbian vampires to Arthurian rivals. While you may have heard of some of these in passing, each book is underrated in its own right. To dive headfirst into these somewhat unknown worlds, you need only to keep reading.
Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour
While Nina Lacour may have dazzled you with We Are Okay, or her adult contemporary fiction novel, Yerba Buena. This novel takes you back to Northern California and into the life of Mila, a high school graduate who has aged out of the foster care system. Mila finds herself on an isolated farm on part of the Northern California Coast. She is content to live there, but soon finds that it is supposedly haunted by the trauma of its past residents. Lyrical and imbued with all the complicated feelings of its predecessor, Watch Over Me is meant to be read in one sitting.
On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn
In this fantasy romance, Medra Pendragon finds herself at Bloodwing Academy, a school made up of mostly vampires. A dragon rider in a world with no dragons, she must learn to navigate a new world of fierce competition and a forced betrothal to arrogant Blake Drakharrow. Can she survive Bloodwing Academy and its dark secrets? Or will Medra bend under the weight of it all?
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
Seventeen-year-old Natalie Waite longs to escape from under the eye of her egotistical writer father and into the romantic life of a college student. Her wishes are soon answered, but Natalie finds that college life isn’t all she dreamed it would be. Reality begins to unravel, and Natalie can no longer distinguish between what is real and what is the inner workings of her dark imagination. Loosely based on a real-life case of a missing Bennington College student, Hangsaman is Jackson’s most underrated novel.
War of the Foxes by Richard Siken
You may have heard of the poet Richard Siken and his first poetry collection, Crush. But what more do you know about the poet beyond the snippets that have probably come across your Pinterest feed? In this second collection, Siken paints us into a blurry landscape holding a box that grows soft and weak at the bottom. His poetry lulls you into a dream of a different world, and asks the age-old question: Why paint a bird?
Eternal Reign by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
In this dystopian vampire novel, twins Callie and Montana live in a world where humans are merely blood sources. When they are chosen for an annual testing, their father decides to flee with them, but that dream of freedom is short-lived. Separated from each other, Callie and Montana are set on different paths. One of them is being held captive by a charming, yet malicious, original vampire. The other is at the mercy of another monster. Will they find each other and escape? Or will the blood and lust prove to be too much?
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
Vampires are very much having their moment. In this Dracula retelling, we follow Lucy Westenra trying to escape the clutches of Dracula to truly figure out what she wants out of her undead life. Lucy finds herself in twenty-first-century London, where she meets a woman named Iris, with whom she falls in love. Lucy is then met with the challenge of a mother who won’t let her daughter go without a fight, and of a Dracula that’s on the prowl again. Can Lucy find the strength to destroy him? Or will her heart lead to her own undoing?
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
Seen as one of the most influential queer books, The Gilda Stories tells of a girl escaping slavery and being turned into a vampire by two women in a brothel. Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home, taking her as far as into the dystopian future of 2050. Exploring and expanding on the vampire, Jewelle Gomez’s novel is one that you won’t want to miss. An unapologetic portrayal of Black identity and queerness, Gilda sees right into the heart of the vampire and its eager audience.
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
Over the course of a winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace in a small town. Nora’s recently estranged best friend, Becca, is one of these four. As she tries to solve her disappearance through the coded messages left in her wake, Nora begins to uncover the dark truth of their town. A dark truth that reveals a forgotten piece of folklore about a goddess who played a role in Nora and Becca’s childhood games.
Death’s Kiss by M.M. Reeves
In this underrated entry into romantasy, comes a story about twenty-year-old Merena Boreas and the aftermath of having fought tooth and nail out of Cardinal North. Her fight has earned her the title of Captain, just in time to compete in the Pillar Trials. Facing off against seven other captains, and the captains from the three rival Cardinal Orders of South, East, and West, Merena must rely on her strength to get her through each deadly trial. Something is also coming, a warning, perhaps?
While some of these books were penned by recognizable authors, each book is considerably underrated in its own right. From a collection of poetry to stories about interesting vampires, this list has something for everyone. Be sure to check them out and add them to your TBR! Happy reading!
Interested in more book recommendations to add to that ever-expanding TBR? Check out some more recommendations here.
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