My favorite books for people who like to be emotionally tortured by fiction

Why am I passionate about this?

As an avid reader since childhood, I’ve always hunted for books that deliver the most epic emotional experiences. Stories that you can’t put down even when your eyelids ache for sleep or the page is blurred with tears. The ones where fiction becomes reality and the room around you disappears with every page. Cupid’s Compass was inspired by these all-consuming novels and I expect my future works will follow the same mission: to evoke laughter, tears, and the ever-expansive qualities of humanity.


I wrote...

Cupid's Compass

By Ashley Weiss,

Book cover of Cupid's Compass

What is my book about?

Cupid’s compass is the enchanted tattoo that links soulmates and reveals when they will first meet. Most seekers such as fifteen-year-old Lacey Baker are thrilled to wake up to their sealed fate, but not everyone’s future is clear. Her best friend is cursed by a compass that never moves but can’t figure out why. Her mother’s soulmate link spontaneously changes, leaving their family in shambles. And Lacey’s soulmate... that’s another story.

A city away, Jaylynn Clare has a different problem. After a haunting prediction from a local psychic, her life becomes a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Promised unavoidable tragedy if she meets her linked partner, she takes it upon herself to run at all costs. But can fate be avoided, or only prolonged?

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Saltwater Heir

Ashley Weiss Why did I love this book?

With ever-increasing stakes, The Saltwater Heir is by far the best self-published fantasy book I’ve ever read.

The story follows a lost princess, war-torn kingdoms, and a love interest fated to die. It has the perfect balance of banter and sass, slow-burn romance, hilariously relatable sibling dynamics, and gut-wrenching plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. I laughed a lot; I sobbed even more.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy having their hearts captured in an emotional vise of stress, hope, and heartbreak.

By Cassidy Clarke,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Saltwater Heir as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Princess Soren of Nyx is no stranger to loss after a decade-long war with the neighboring kingdom of Atlas. But with her best friend slowly succumbing to a cruel Atlas poison, she hatches a reckless plan: kidnap the enemy prince from the battlefield and use his life to barter for the antidote.


But when that prince calls her by a different name...the name of his sister, whose death began the war ten years ago...everything changes.


Stolen away to Atlas, trapped behind enemy lines, Soren must navigate a kingdom she knows nothing about, surrounded by a family she doesn't remember, and…


Book cover of The Song of Achilles

Ashley Weiss Why did I love this book?

The Song of Achilles is perfect for people who love stories that leave you with a hangover.

Featuring a beautifully executed plot of male lovers, Madeline Miller takes the horrors of Greek mythology and paints them with rose-colored tones of yearning and passion. Her use of poetic language is unparalleled, making this timeless retelling of the Trojan War hard to put down.

However, it’s the heart-wrenching plot twist ending that will stay with you forever. Even if you know how the story of Achilles goes, have a box of tissues nearby at the end of this one.

By Madeline Miller,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked The Song of Achilles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD**
**A 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR**

WINNER OF THE ORANGE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION
A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Captivating' DONNA TARTT
'I loved it' J K ROWLING
'Ravishingly vivid' EMMA DONOGHUE

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms…


Book cover of The Mark of Athena

Ashley Weiss Why did I love this book?

Am I deranged for loving horrifying cliffhangers? If you do too, book three of five in The Heroes of Olympus is the epitome of jaw-dropping endings you will both love and hate.

This series follows Percy Jackson from the original middle grade content to a young adult era. The stand-out cliffhanger of the series, The Mark of Athena, is bursting with page-turning action and follows multiple characters, but it’s the steadily growing romance between Percy and Annabeth that drives the stakes.

I consider this couple one of the best executed healthy romances in modern youth content. My biggest recommendation is that if you start The Heroes of Olympus series, make sure you have all the books on hand first, because you will need the next one on hand.

By Rick Riordan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mark of Athena as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

The Mark of Athena is the explosive third part in Rick Riordan's number one series - Heroes of Olympus.

ONE FATAL PROPHECY
SEVEN BRAVE DEMIGODS
A QUEST TO FIND - AND CLOSE - THE DOORS OF DEATH.

Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship.

She looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight.Part of her wanted to kidnap Percy right now, get on board and get out of here while they still…


Book cover of Project Hail Mary

Ashley Weiss Why did I love this book?

When talking about books rich in emotion and reader investment, Project Hail Mary will always make the list.

This book is perfect for both youth and adults with easy to consume space travel science and the most perfect, platonic friendship ever written. From grinning ear to ear to sweating in stress, don’t be surprised if you find yourself fiercely praying for the side-character’s safety and well being.

I would recommend this emotional rollercoaster to any reader who wants a stand-alone novel that will leave you saying “just one more chapter” over and over until you finish the whole book.

By Andy Weir,

Why should I read it?

21 authors picked Project Hail Mary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…


Book cover of Lord of Shadows

Ashley Weiss Why did I love this book?

I’ve never thrown a book across the room harder than this one. While book one of The Dark Artifices had a fabulous cliffhanger, nothing could ever compare to the utter devastation book two, Lord Of Shadows, managed.

I would recommend this Young Adult series to people who love a blend of action and romance in contemporary-fantasy, value modern representation such as trans characters and autism awareness, and readers who like to have their hearts tortured in the cruelest of ways. 

By Cassandra Clare,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lord of Shadows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare's Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight. Lord of Shadows is a Shadowhunters novel.

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she'd be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a…


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Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

By Marsali Taylor,

Book cover of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

Marsali Taylor Author Of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Sailor Women’s historian Cat-lover Temporarily limping But determinedly recovering

Marsali's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she can run from the past no longer: Cass and her family come under intense scrutiny from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Gavin Macrae.

Even if Cass’s local knowledge and sailing wisdom help to clear the Lynch family of suspicion, they may not be enough to stay ahead of the murderer’s game... and avoid becoming the next victim.

Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

By Marsali Taylor,

What is this book about?

When she wangles the job of skippering a Viking longship for a film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, which she ran away from as a teenager. Then the `accidents' begin - and when a dead woman turns up on the boat's deck, Cass realises that she, her family and her past are under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Cass must call on all her local knowledge, the wisdom she didn't realise she'd gained from sailing and her glamorous, French opera singer mother…


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