Book Recommendations - Adult Fiction

Hi guys! Today I want to recommend to you some of my favorite adult books. Whether you used to read predominantly YA and now want to get into adult fiction or you already read adult fiction and just want some book recommendations, I hope you'll find this post useful. 

I chose books that belong to a wide array of genres so I hope you'll find something in here from a genre you already enjoy.

For those of you who enjoy fairy tale retellings

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Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister by Gregory Maguire

Set in 17th century Holland, this book challenges everything you thought you knew about the story of Cinderella in a brilliant mix of fairy tale retelling and historical fiction. In this book, Cinderella becomes Clara, a spoiled and alarmingly childish young woman who’s never stepped in the outside world and Iris, the stepsister from whose POV the story is told, emerges as a character as smart as she’s unique. This ugly stepsister is a dreamer and a painter. She knows of her ugliness but she’s too busy trying to paint the world to dwell on it. And yet, in the end, she too will find her life touched and changed forever by the legend born from her famous stepsister’s beauty. I recommend it to fans of beautifully written fairy tale retellings with unique spins.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

It is 1920 and Jack and Mabel, a childless middle-aged couple, are trying to build a life for themselves in Alaska. As each day in the harsh wilderness of Alaska becomes harder to pull through, Jack and Mabel begin to fall apart. Then, one day, as they witness the first snowfall of the season, they decide in an unexpected moment of playfulness to build a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child has disappeared. Soon, though, they find a little girl in the woods, wearing the same scarf as the one they had wrapped around the snow child’s neck. And with this strange child’s arrival, things begin to change for Jack and Mabel. This book is a loose adaptation of a Russian fairy tale and I’d recommend it both for its magical realism elements and its gorgeous world building.

For those of you who enjoy bookish books

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The Storied Life by A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Since the death of his wife, A.J. Fikry has become quite the bitter man. His business is bordering failure, his health is a doctor's nightmare due to poor eating habits and a drink too much per night, and he has taken to shutting out the people who have been reaching out to him. And then one day, as he enters his bookstore, fulling expecting another slow business day, he's shocked to find a very unique package left to his attention right in the middle of the place. Recovering from his initial bemusement, A.J. realizes that someone just dropped off a baby in his bookstore. Thus ensues a series of decisions and events that will forever change not just the grumpy bookseller's life but also the quiet little community he lives in.

This book also happens to be a modern adaptation of Silas Marner by George Eliot, which I also read and really enjoyed. I just thought I would mention it because I didn't know at the time that Silas Marner was the inspiration for The Storied Life and ended up reading them almost one after the other, wondering why the hell these two stories felt so familiar XD. 

For those of you who enjoy Historical Fiction

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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In Barcelona, 1945, a young boy named Daniel is mourning the recent death of his mother. To help him with his grief, his father, an antique book dealer, takes him to a secret library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There, his father tells him that he will be allowed to take one book back home and that the book he picks will be his to guard forever. Daniel chooses a mysterious book called The Shadow of the Wind by an equally mysterious author, Julian Carax. Intrigued by the book, Daniel tries to find more about its author. To his shock, he then realizes that someone has been destroying every copy of every book ever written by Carax. With a masterful blend of mystery, romance and historical fiction, this is a book that all book lovers are bound to fall in love with.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Set in 17th century Amsterdam, 18 years old Nella arrives at the house of her recently wed husband Johannes Brandt, ready to begin a new life as the rich merchant’s wife. As soon as she arrives though, she is greeted with coldness by Marin, her sister-in-law and finds her husband to be distant and barely interested with her. As a way to relief his new wife of her loneliness though, Johannes gives her a miniature replica of their splendorous house as a wedding gift. To Nella’s shock though, the miniature house soon begins to mirror things that start to happen in the real house. I really can’t tell you more without spoiling this very unique book but you should definitely check it out if you enjoy historical fiction with elements of mystery and magical realism.

For those of you who enjoy unique romances

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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is a book that will give you all the feels, gut you mercilessly and make you feel all warm and fuzzy again, all within a few pages. Henry has a rare disease that makes him uncontrollably travel back and forth in time. Clare is his soulmate. While Henry was 28 when he first met her, Clare actually met him for the first time when she was 6 when an older Henry time-traveled to her. This book brings a new take on the subject of time-traveling and shows how these two people fall in love, more than once, and move ahead despite the uncontrollable forces in their lives. A truly beautiful book that I would recommend to everyone.

I've recently heard that a sequel is being released for this book. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm not even sure if I'll even be reading the sequel. It's just that I really loved The Time Traveler's Wife and while the book doesn't quite come to a conclusive ending, considering the unique nature of the plot, I thought that actually worked rather well with the story.

For those of you who enjoy coming-of-age stories

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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Tsukuru Tazaki’s adult life is haunted by the loss of his best friends, who inexplicably cut all ties with him years ago. Now, pushed by a woman he’s been seeing, he decides to go seek his old friends and find the answers he believes will finally help me let go of this burden and move on with his life. The way I see it, this is a coming of age story for adults. It explores themes such as friendship and heartbreak and the writing is as gorgeous as ever, as is everything that flows from Murakami’s pen. 

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So those were some of my favorite adult books. I hope you found this post helpful and if you have recommendations for me based on the titles listed here, feel free to drop me a line in the comments below ^^