40 Books Like Dark Fae

I was obsessed when I read ACOTAR, but this book brought my obsession to a whole new level. Why am I recommending this book? Rhysand. I love a complex, layered character, and he is one complicated male.

What I loved most about this book is that it started out going in one direction but then spun on its axis and went in a totally different direction than I anticipated. When a book can surprise me in every way, that’s special.

I. Love. This. Book.

Imagine if Rapunzel was kidnapped by a vampire king but then hunted the people who could kill her with one bite.

This is a fantastic book with vampires, magic, wings, and a female main character that’s realising not everything is as she was led to believe. There wasn’t a moment that I doubted it would be 5 stars. 

One of my favourite things is how she struggles to accept the truth about the people she thought were her family. She also has to ally with a vampire who has a dangerous curiosity for her, and I loved trying to work out why.

This is a post-apocalyptic first world fantasy that was so, so dark it scared my friends.

I loved every book in the series, but Death has a special place in my heart for that dark-winged angel boyfriend.

The unique part of Death too was that in all the other books of the series, the girls are the horseman’s captive, but in this one, she hunts him back.

It makes for a thrilling enemies to lovers moment when we realize just how much Death has fallen for this girl who pursues and murders him frequently.

Seriously, be warned. This series is dark.

This is a first world post-apocalyptic dark romantasy that is the fluffiest of the bunch.

It’s not going to make you think too hard, but it’s loaded with spice, fun action scenes against a horde of demons, and heartwarming character growth.

You’ll definitely be able to relate to the FMC’s struggles with this huge hunk flaring his wings and unaliving everyone who touches her.

The book pushed all my buttons. Marlowe has brief-ish relationship with heroin in NYC in the ’90s and apparently, can “just stop.” Her studied reflections on heroin and its culture are cemented in absolute resistance to the idea that addiction is a disease. For me, this is a dangerous concept that makes me cringe, as much of her book did. But her resolute intelligence and ego make for fascinating reading. With a frown, I reflected on phrases like, “Living in an eternal present is not good for us, no matter how much we want it.” Her book reminded me of the many ways people define addiction. It inspired me to get crystal clear on my viewpoint before I took pen to page.

Another underrated and underread book, this memoir traces one woman’s descent into heroin hell and, ultimately, her recovery and redemption. I’ve known many heroin addicts in my day, and I hate to say it, especially publicly, but very few have been able to turn their lives around. Mitchell is one of the exceptions, and she sets a wonderful example for others to follow and not lose hope. Many memoirists simply make a record of their lives, or, worse, glorify their drug addiction, but not Hanson. Her book is one of insight and soul-searching into the madness of addiction. She pulls no punches about the ugliness of the addict’s life, yet at the same time, she offers hope to the most seemingly hopeless among us. At the heart of this book is a powerful message of recovery by someone, who by all accounts, should be dead.

Bourgois’ and Schonberg’s accounts opened up the ‘parallel world’ of homelessness for me and inspired me to do my own research on homelessness.

They spent years trying to understand people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, following them on their daily journeys through institutions and city landscapes; they intimately understood their struggles, from mental health and addiction to systematic exclusion.

Their long, in-depth, and grassroots accounts of people on the street made me grasp their varied experiences for the first time.

This is an “episode”; three episodes make a “season”. Yep, this series is patterned off of a tv show. What else would you expect from a series that was inspired by two different monster hunting shows: Supernatural and Scooby-Do?

Humor. Epic levels of teamwork… and drama in the team. A revolving door of baddies. Moments that make you want to just wrap our hero/heroin up and hold them forever.

The Hunter Chronicles series has all of that. This first episode is an excellent introduction to Val and all of her guys… Some of whom aren’t human. The whole team’s delightful.

And sexy. Don’t forget sexy.

These shorter stories—that make a much longer one—are like rich little snacks that I love to savor.

RH: Monster Hunters

In the 70’s, two journalists from a prominent Berlin newspaper went to Zoo Station, a section of the city where hookers and junkies hung out where they met Christiane F. Over months they documented her story and helped her get it into book form. It’s a typical tale, abusive and/or indifferent parents, marijuana at 12, heroin addict and prostitute by 13. Her story is compellingly told and more tragic than most as we get to know the other 13-year-old boys and girls she hangs out with who also sell themselves for their next fix. The original mass market paperback came out in 1982 and was never reissued. Used copies are over $100. Fortunately, a new translation came out a few years ago under the title Zoo Station a memoir by Christane F that is readily available. 

Another ultimate post-apocalyptic quest novel is The Stand, one of King’s most read (and longest) books, but I was more heavily influenced by (and love more) The Waste Lands (book 3 of The Dark Tower series). This is because the latter focuses less on the how of the collapse than the aftermath. King’s casual prose and quick, realistic dialogue have always been an inspiration in my writing. The found family connection between Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake is at the heart of The Waste Lands. It is palpable and endearing, and something I strove to emulate with Delia, Gennero, Perth, and Mort in my own novel. There is an allusion to The Waste Lands in my book that big fans of The Dark Tower will catch.