90 books like Thirteenth Child

So, this was one of the first ‘adult’ books I read as a younger twenty-something, and it had me laughing out loud all the time.

Jane is hilarious, down to earth, and a great character. The book is the first book in a series of four books that document Jane’s growth into a ‘grown-up’. Not only was the humor spot on (Molly Harper’s humor is usually spot on for me), but the narrator brought all the characters to life in such a way that I was dying to get back to the story anytime we had to stop listening (I was buddy reading with my mom and sister for the first read through).

I’ve read this book over a dozen times, and I really think it’s because as Jane goes through the transformation from human to vampire, she builds her own family around her that accepts her, loves her, and… show more.

This book is a really great, cozy mystery with a little bit of a twist.

Dani, the main character and amateur sleuth, inherits this house from her grandmother’s best friend, and conveniently enough, there is a fully licensed commercial kitchen inside the husk of what the woman was trying to make a B&B. Dani takes on a group of college students as borders while she gets her new food service business up and going, and the first catering job Dani’s company gets, her client dies.

I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. I thought the uniqueness of her business was sweet, and I absolutely adored the found family that Dani and the college students created for themselves. I think it was a really well-done aspect of the story. 

This book is every fairytale and classic story turned on its head.

I absolutely love the way the author weaves apparently unrelated adventures into an epic tale by the end. It also has a very strong found family feel to it. They’re mercenaries with rules, and they will fight you if you come after one of their own.

It’s amazing, and if you like audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to it; the voice actors are amazing.   

While this book is a middle-grade fantasy, I love it so much.

Two enemy clans working together to save their world from a threat bigger than either of them is great, but when you also make it so that each representative is an outcast, well, it’s that much better. Not only do these kids work together, facing fear and prejudices head-on, but they become their own family, and it’s oh-so magical.

I again recommend the audiobook, as it’s narrated by the great David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr., Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, and Crowley on Good Omens), so it is fantastic. 

So many of the books I read flinch from letting there be truly bad consequences to the protagonist’s actions, but this one is impressive in how little it pulls its punches.

When I picked it up, I wasn’t as familiar with the Persian folklore that inspired it as I am with other novels, but it made me want to go read the tales it’s based on. I also found the writing lovely, a cut above many of the novels I read. And for bonus points, it has queer representation, too!

A boy without a name, referred to only as “The Human Childe”, lives in an underworld of magical creatures. Stolen from his true parents and kept almost as a pet or a trophy by the Fay King and Queen. He knows he is different and that he doesn’t belong here. 

In the world above is a boy named Edmund. Not really his name, for he is a changeling and replaced the true Edmund long ago, but this is the only family he’s ever known, and he loves them, and they love him. However, he can speak to birds and cats and accidentally sets his sister’s hair aflame.

This book is a very complete magical world with beautiful art throughout. The pacing is just excellent, and the story is really engaging.

Within fifteen pages of picking up this book, I was stressed. The plot began on the first page and did not stop until the last. 

While Elias is a soldier and Leia is a slave, neither are free. They are both servants of a cruel and brutal empire that shows no mercy on its people. A rebellion rises, and Leia and Elias find themselves thrown together while fighting on separate sides of the conflict. 

There is no good stopping place within this book to break for food or change the laundry. Each chapter ends in such a way that you’re compelled to read the next to find out what happens. I still think about these characters and everything they went through. 

Holly Black has taken me into the world of fairies—not Disney’s sparkly version of fairies, but a darker world of fairy lore that stems back into our ancient past time and time again.

With this book, I immediately fell in love with the blending of dark magic with a modern, sassy twist. Two human girls are pulled into the fairy world when their parents are murdered, and they are adopted by the killer, who also happens to be a fairy.

Jude, one of the adopted girls, is bullied all through school in this magical land for being human. She must learn how to be just as vicious, if not more vicious than her magical schoolmates to survive. Jude is everything I wish I could be. I find myself revisiting this series from time to time to remind myself how to be tough in the face of adversity.

It was fun to follow this pink-tinted journey—even though I can’t tell if it's pink from all the leotards or all the blood. I'm a sucker for atmosphere, and a bad girl story set against a backdrop of the cutthroat world of Parisian ballet was always going to be a win for me.

Immediately, I felt suffocated by Laure's world and her need to scrape for, claw for, and demand everything she deserves. I watched Laure put so much work into her craft only to be faced with ridicule and microaggressions, so when she finally decides to take what's her right – I’m egging her on.

At the core of the story, I had to admit I was happy to let the monster win.

Probably one of my favorite reads of all time; I have read it more than once, if that tells you anything about my love for it.

The fantasy elements in this story are subtle and have a mythical legend vibe more than outright powers. But the world and story is so richly built it’s perfect. Told from various POVs with layers of secrets, deception, and assassination attempts, I love how you don’t quite figure out who is who until the end.

All this combined with the thick romantic tension happening in this story and it was over far too soon for me.