51 books like Explosive Chemistry

If we want to talk about weird found families, this wildly original nautical fantasy knocks it out of the park.

Pazel signs up to serve as a tarboy on the Chathrand, a centuries-year-old ship bound to deliver a “treaty bride” to the prince of a foreign nation. The ship shortly falls off the known map, and Pazel is left to survive turbulent seas, strange new lands, and truly bizarre curses and mutinies along with the other passengers of the Chathrand: among these are an intelligent rat, a wizard from another world hiding in the body of a weasel, the treaty bride herself, and her secretive warrior bodyguard.

Along with this motley crew, the book features some of the most captivating, satisfying prose and dazzling twists of the imagination I’ve ever read. 

Camuto’s supple prose draws the reader into a journey toward mountains that no longer exist, although they are named on some old maps: the southern Appalachians not as they are, but as they were before the European invasion. A keen historian and observant naturalist, Camuto walks deep into “what’s left of the backcountry,” documenting the hopeful reintroduction of the nearly extinct red wolf and reflecting on Cherokee place names, culture, and history. "Needless to say,” he confesses, “I never got to the Cherokee Mountains”—and, in sad irony, shortly after the book’s publication the red wolf reintroduction failed. Still, Camuto has succeeded in recording resonant reminiscences of places, peoples, and biotic populations now lost.

This recent release is a deep dive for young readers into the history of popular desserts, from brownies to biscotti. The gorgeous colors and charming character design make Yummy a joy to page through, but it's a great way to introduce to kids that people are responsible for the foods that we love – and sometimes our favorite dishes were complete accidents!

A British musicologist opens the windows to her country home and lets wild birds come in and nest there. This unique study allows her (and us) to observe these feathered sprites up close and personal. Many befriend their human hostess, with remarkable revelations.

Christopher Moore’s Shakespeare-themed novels are a hoot! He takes the hallowed works of the Bard and turns them into hysterical adventures starring Pocket (King Lear’s fool), Drool, and their pet monkey Jeff. The second in a trilogy is Shakespeare for Squirrels, Moore’s take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s irreverent and hilarious and left me breathless with admiration for Moore’s incredibly fertile imagination.

When I first entered the heady world of Regency romance in January 2021 (yes, Bridgerton was the spark but I read the books first!), Merry Farmer soon became an instant inspiration. She writes M/M, F/F, and F/M historical romances and is one of the very few people who manage to write all three and have a beloved following. So, of course, I wanted to become an ARC reviewer for her and managed to snag some of the books in her After the War series, which follows a group of gay men returning back to England for a house party reunion after, you guessed it, the Napoleonic Wars. 

This is not the first installment in the series, but it’s the sweetest. Merry Farmer has created a loveable, enchanting hero in Declan Shelton, the reticent, odd young gamekeeper who draws the attention of Lord Spencer Brightling, a gruff and stern man who… show more.

This book has had a profound impact on me, as a child reader, as an artist, and as a parent. (It was initially published in 1978 and was reissued more recently.) The images are stunning. Each spread is a sweeping perspective of a surreal, Edenic valley. When I first read the book as a kid in the 1980s, I was transfixed. It’s a thriller! In a tension-filled operation, seven goblins are trying to steal the colors of the rainbow.

When I read the book now, I see the story as a parable about resource exploitation and environmental stewardship. The Rainbow Goblins (I won’t spoil the ending, but it is spectacular) has nestled its way into my brain and has become a touchstone for me in thinking about the most effective ways to tell a story.

A formative book from my childhood, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen kick-started my love of all things magic, heroic, and fantastical. Not only that, but the setting was close to where I grew up – these were locations I knew but viewed through a mythic lens. Loosely based on the legend of the Wizard of Alderley Edge, Alan Garner creates a fantasy world that feels so real as two children are pulled into an adventure where the very future of the world of men is on the line. It remains so influential on my own writing that I still return to the old dwarf caves of Fundinvale as an adult and enjoy the tale every bit as much as I did when I was a ten-year-old reading by torchlight under the duvet.

Life Reset follows a once-dominant player of the game NEO named Oren who is betrayed by his guildmates and ends up trapped as a goblin NPC within the game. This setup allows the story to focus on unique, goblin-specific abilities.

However, what I found most interesting about this book was its emphasis on an almost real-time strategy system of constructing and upgrading various buildings to manage his goblin tribe. While that wasn’t something I drew upon too heavily for my own story, I did love Oren’s frequent creative problem-solving, as well as the ways he tried to bend or even break the game’s systems to his advantage.

I personally feel that stories like this work best when the protagonist has limited options but the freedom to apply those options in a variety of surprising ways.

For Fantasy readers who wonder why goblins are always at war with humans.

The three books together are epic in scale and the friendship between the leader of the humans and one of the old wise ones among the goblins will be awesome for Dark Fantasy readers who recognize that goblin culture is very different from humans.

Some recognizable mythology is worked into the story and makes perfect sense, especially the purpose of changelings. Also there are dragons, especially in the second book. A strange symbiotic relationship between dragons and goblins is very original and the diversity of different types of goblins makes this Fantasy world one of a kind!