The best books to escape into another world

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by things paranormal and supernatural. There is so much in the “real” world that we don’t understand and can’t prove their existence, but there is enough video and photos, as well as stories, that I don’t see how we can say there’s not more beyond our five senses. Many of my own books center on paranormal abilities and events, and I do love reading about them as well!


I wrote...

Until I Die Again (Love and Light)

By Tina Wainscott,

Book cover of Until I Die Again (Love and Light)

What is my book about?

After a deadly accident, Chris awakens in the body of another woman, the wealthy and glamorous Hallie. But as she falls in love with Hallie’s husband, an unforeseen threat could shatter her second chance at life… 

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Outlander

Tina Wainscott Why did I love this book?

I was swept away by the drama, trauma, and the magical situation that placed a woman way back in historical Scotland. The writing was amazing and evocative, allowing me to see and experience the world she was giving us a peek into. The research was thorough. But mostly it was the romance and characters of Claire and Jamie that captured my attention.

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

33 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…


Book cover of On the Edge

Tina Wainscott Why did I love this book?

This is a second series for the writing team of Ilona Andrews. Though I do like the Kate Daniels series, like so many others, I liked the world here a little better. Each book focused on a different couple, and the two main characters felt real in a fantasy landscape full of nightmares and danger.

By Ilona Andrews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On the Edge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Step into a whole new world in the first Novel of the Edge from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Daniels series.

The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny...

Rose Drayton thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out the way she’d planned, and now she works an off-the-books job in the…


Book cover of Creatus

Tina Wainscott Why did I love this book?

Carmen has created a more “ordinary world” in which extraordinary people exist in the shadows. There is romance and danger and suspense, but I like that there’s no graphic violence here. Each book in this series focuses on a different couple.

By Carmen DeSousa,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Creatus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Derrick's desire to save one human girl will ignite a war...

For four thousand years, creatus have concealed themselves from the humans who hunted them almost to extinction. Unwittingly, one creatus will endanger them all...

As with most of his family, Derrick Ashton knows his future and what position he's destined to fill within his unique society. Everything changes, however, when he breaks one of his family's strictest laws and falls in love -- with a human.

In his quest to protect the woman he can never have, a twist of fate propels him into a new role that will…


Book cover of First Frost

Tina Wainscott Why did I love this book?

This book is also set in an ordinary world in a small Georgia town (I think it’s Georgia!), with an extraordinary family whose lineage has women with magical powers. The townsfolk know about the “odd” family, but they aren’t wholly shunned. Each woman has her own vulnerabilities and life journey. I loved the magic and cranky apple tree!

By Sarah Addison Allen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked First Frost as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Readers fell in love with Sarah Addison Allen's debut novel, GARDEN SPELLS. Now the tale of the Waverley women is to be revisited with a magical sequel.

Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beaten-up suitcase. He has stories to tell, stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever. But the Waverleys have enough trouble on their hands. Quiet Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley's Candies, but it's nothing like she thought it would be, and it's slowly taking over…


Book cover of The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved to Me There's Life After Death

Tina Wainscott Why did I love this book?

This is an outlier book here, the “true” story about a man who led a rather messy life, was killed in an accident, and communicated with his sister from the other side. The core messages are uplifting: we never really die, and no matter the mistakes we make in our life here, we are always loved and on track with our soul’s journey and growth. 

By Annie Kagan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Afterlife of Billy Fingers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 2004, bad boy Billy Fingers Cohen, a homeless small-time drug dealer and addict in a state of drug induced euphoria ran into a busy intersection and was killed instantly by a speeding automobile. He left behind a grieving sister. For weeks she struggled with grief and tried to make sense of Billy's seemingly wasted life and tragic death.

A few weeks after his death, William Cohen, aka Billy Fingers, woke his sister Annie at dawn. 'I'm drifting weightlessly through these glorious stars and galaxies and I feel a Divine Presence, a kind, loving beneficent presence, twinkling all around me.'…


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Snow on Magnolias

By Betty Bolte,

Book cover of Snow on Magnolias

Betty Bolte Author Of Notes of Love and War

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Author Editor Traveler Crocheter Reader

Betty's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Magnolia Merryweather, a horse breeder, is eager to celebrate Christmas for the first time after the Civil War ended even as she grows her business. She envisions a calm, prosperous life ahead after the terror of the past four years. Only, all of her plans are thrown into disarray when her secret lover returns and starts asking questions she can’t answer without disaster following.

Bryce Day comes home to Alabama after he’s discharged from the First Alabama Cavalry USA with guilt weighing on his heart. His neighbors won’t cotton to his Unionist bent, and the woman of his heart likely won’t give him a second chance after his silence during the war. Only, she’s hiding something from him.

How can they have any hope of a loving life together with lies and secrets between them?

Snow on Magnolias

By Betty Bolte,

What is this book about?

One terrible lie, a desperate measure to save her past, just might destroy her future…

Award-winning author of historical fiction presents a new novel of love and lies, secrets and sensuality, and the hands of fate weaving it all together.

The American Civil War is finally over and Christmas beckons. Magnolia Merryweather, backyard horse breeder, is eager to celebrate for the first time since the war began even as she continues to grow her business. She envisions a calm, prosperous life ahead after all the terror of the past four years. She’s preparing to follow in her mother’s matriarchal footsteps,…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in romantic love, Georgia (USA), and spirituality?

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