The best action-packed YA sci-fi with hate-to-love romance

This book is the first in a series and has such a unique premise. It feels part sci-fi, part dystopia, and part fantasy which makes for a fascinating read. Set in a dismal future, humanity lives inside a controlled domed city called Reverie. Our main protagonist—Aria—has to leave its protection when things go awry for her and venture into the wilderness outside. She meets Perry, a member of the tribes that claim the outside world as their own. Sparks fly as they work through their prejudices and come to understand one another, and help each other to survive. Always a fabulous recipe for a breathtaking enemies-to-lovers romance.

Lauren Oliver is the queen of beautiful prose. Her writing reads like near-poetry, so you can bet you’re going to get a lot of gorgeous angst in this story. A bit of dystopian sci-fi, Delirium is set in a future Earth where the emotion of love has been “cured.” As members of society reach adulthood, they are sent to receive a vaccine that will strip them of any pesky emotions that are too difficult to live with. Like passion, love, and our favorite—lust. It becomes a bit of a problem when our protagonist—Lena—meets and falls for a guy just weeks before she’s due to take the cure. You know she fights the feelings at first, especially when she finds out he’s a rebel who thinks we just all need therapy, but in the end the heart wants what the heart wants... to take down the overreaching totalitarian government with love on her side.

Stephenie Meyer may get some flack for Twilight, but this book in her arsenal is a true gem. Set in a future world where aliens have arrived on Earth and essentially body-snatch out brains (they’re tiny lil organisms that hop inside our heads), one alien called Wanderer finds out that the girl whose body she chose to inhabit—Melanie—isn’t going down without a fight. Clocking in at 624 pages, this book will last you a while and is full of moral dilemmas and tough decisions. Especially when Wanderer meets a human guy who tries to kill her the first time they meet (he doesn’t really dig the fact she’s invaded his planet). And then realizes she might still have feelings for the other boy who Melanie loves, too…. Look, it’s complicated. Bottom line is, the character development is great and we really see some 180s in this story. Give it a try—you won’t be disappointed. 

This book is a true gem, set in a futuristic world that gives off real Ready Player One vibes. There’s this virtual game called Warcross that everybody and their mom watches, including our down-on-her-luck protagonist, Emika. She just so happens to be a techy hacker who accidentally finds a backdoor into the game servers. She’s whisked away by the sexy bachelor game creator, Hideo, to compete in the big Warcross tournament and fix some security issues. This is a dope world with all kinds of Easter eggs for gamers, and technically it’s a lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers switcheroo that gets more complicated as the series goes on. Definitely a fun ride with dope world building!

Look, Marissa Meyer is the queen of action-adventure found-family stories. No matter which of her books you pick up, you’re going to have a good time. The Renegades series is a dope sci-fi, superhero genre story that has a surprisingly serious theme. Our two protagonists, Nova and Adrian, live on opposite sides of the villain-hero dichotomy in a world where superheros and supervillains are commonplace. Cue angsty literal enemies-to-lovers drama and some pretty amazing character building. Seeing the way Meyer dives into the backstories and drives of these characters means the romance is absolutely stellar. Buckle up for this ride.