75 books like A Rush of Wings

This is a pen pals turned to best friends turned to enemies turned to lovers story. And no one could write this mess better than Penelope Douglas. Punk 57 follows the friendship of two kids who only talk through letters until Misha transfers to Ryen’s school and discovers she’s nothing like in the letters. You can blame the hormones, but this book has the same amount of angst as it has of pure goodness.

Freefall deals with some really heavy issues facing a lot of young adults, and because this is one of the few books I’ve ever picked up where the hero is into rockabilly and physcobilly. He even plays a standup bass in a garage band. This book is also very age-appropriate, so it can be enjoyed by a wider audience than my books and some of my more grown-up recommendations.

I loved it because I felt like it dealt with the subject of depression and self-harm in a really relatable and compassionate way. I could feel the struggle of these kids through the pages. I also liked how it relayed that music can be healing no matter what genre the music may be.

I read this book as an adult and remember thinking that I wish I had something similar to read when I was younger. And as an adult, I… show more.

I love that it clearly shows you can have everything at your fingertips but still be unhappy and unfulfilled. It’s a great story that normalizes anxiety and depression, even for those who seem to be on top of the world. I also adore how open and accepting the heroine is. Not that she’s a pushover, she’s just very understanding of the hero's struggles.

As a romance writer and reader, I… show more.

I cannot resist a man who loves poetry, much less Pablo Neruda's poetry. Grip, a songwriter/musician, and Bristol his manager, have room-melting-attraction. I agonized over the unrequited love story and the push-pull of a destined-to-be-together love that stands the test of time, as well as social commentary, thoughts, and feelings that cannot be avoided when love crosses different cultures.

Did I say this novel is chock full of sugar and spice? I haven’t even discussed all the things trying to pull them apart as they cling together for dear life. This story gives tension, release, and satisfaction until the very last lyric.

When I was in middle school, middle-grade fiction didn’t really exist in the way it does now. There weren’t a ton of options for a young person who loved horror. So once I outgrew Goosebumps and Fear Street, I started reading adult horror. Stephen King. Dean Koontz. Anne Rice. I’ll never forget reading Interview with a Vampire for the first time. I had never been to New Orleans, but I was instantly transported. It was magical – electric. I could feel each word in my bones. Thus, you can only imagine my excitement discovering The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh. To that point, I hadn’t read anything that reminded me more of Anne Rice’s writing style. Just like the title, this book was beautiful. And haunting. With a New Orleans setting, a forbidden love trope, and lots of animated characters that I immediately fell in love with. If you… show more.

Interview with the Vampire is rather dark yet mesmerizing at the same time.

I love stories that take your mind to another world, and this one is at the top of the list. To be perfectly honest, I never really had any interest in learning about the mysterious world of immortal vampires until I read this book. Just remember that this book is intended for mature audiences due to its dark and mature themes.

I recommend this book because it touches upon many exciting subjects, including the desire for immortality and it takes an interesting perspective about humanity through a supernatural lens. This book is an absolute must-read that will leave you chilled to the bone and spellbound.

With an awesome nineties vibe that took me right back to my own teen years, Mina and the Undead is about a British teen girl battling vampires (obviously) in New Orleans. A great Gothic horror written by a fantastic new British writer, filled with gore and references to 90’s pop culture. A ton of fun!

While this urban fantasy series isn’t Japanese per se, it’s full of realistic martial arts action. I love this series because of the unique mixture of concepts, and the well-imagined and likeable characters, even the bad guys. Jane Yellowrock is a shotgun-toting, motorbike riding, kick ass woman. She’s also a Cherokee Skinwalker (shapeshifter) and a security professional who works for vampire organizations to hunt down and kill their rogues; those who can't control themselves from biting humans. The books are set in modern New Orleans, which is quite an interesting location for me. I just don’t think you can get a better or weirder combination of ideas: Cherokee mythology and vampires. It may sound like a weird concept, but there are 13 books in the series. It works. 

I recommend all of Anne Rice’s vampire books. Rice’s vampires are attractive, alluring, but dangerous and deadly. The reader can’t trust what Lestat says, as he will say at one point that he only kills evildoers, or only takes small sips from people and leaves them unharmed. Then he tells stories about his actions which completely contradict what he’s said. There’s something worse than vampires in this book, however. A much older vampire, Marius, has been caring for Those Who Must be Kept. These are precursor vampires, more bloodthirsty and far less civilized than the vampires like Lestat. These creatures have slept for centuries, appearing to be statues, but what sleeps can be woken.

In Grey, Gabrian doesn’t believe in magic. She’s a psychologist, and proud to be one. She bases her life on logic, but when things start to happen that she can’t explain, she finds herself in a whirlwind of magic. The way that Gabrian slowly comes to the truth is probably my favorite part of this book. As a Borrower, she’s considered not just a magical being, but a dangerous one. At first, she doesn’t handle this well and takes on the role of an anti-hero, nearly villain which was an interesting way to not only build Gabrian’s character but to introduce the truth of the magical world as well.