Books like Djinn — picked by fans

Vera and Daniel are expecting their first child. To help supplement their income, Vera decides she can sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door. She’s very good at it, too. She plans to stop...after just one more house. Unfortunately, this particular house belongs to The Slob and things are about to get very, very ugly.

Beauregard puts the “gross” in “engrossing!” This may be the most disturbing book that I have ever read. What sets Beauregard apart from many other writers of extreme horror is his immense talent for creating well-developed, relatable characters within an actual horror story. I grew to care for Vera and Daniel. When you sympathize with and connect so well with the characters, the horrors become magnified and the tension grows palpable. This book is absolutely horrid—chock full of the worst atrocities. Yet, you will find yourself loving it nonetheless. It is truly unforgettable.

Sarah Temple has ended her relationship with an abusive boyfriend and is now stuck in a dingy apartment living next to some very peculiar people. When her ex is unsuccessful in his attempt at reconciliation, he hooks up with her neighbor. Several days later he emerges as a strange new man. Sarah decides to investigate. And so the adventure begins.

Sometimes extreme horror stories fall short because the authors just want to shock and disgust readers. That’s fine for some, I suppose. But when an author can create a truly good, horrific story and make it disturbing, to boot, It’s a truly winning combination. Harvey Click does just that in The Bad Box. This story is creepy, suspenseful, mysterious, full of action, gory, imaginative, and masterfully written with rich, descriptive language and great imagery:

"A stench of damp dirt and worms and fungus and rotting animals belched up from… show more.

Some might say that this is a really crappy story. I will agree only to the extent that this book does, in fact, center on feces. Sara Todd is pregnant and she’s not craving pickles and ice cream!

This book is brilliantly written. McCluskey presents a most vile and disgusting story—one that is ripe with imagery and depravity. There’s not much that shocks and disturbs me, to be honest, but this book had me muttering, “No, oh no, no, no” in anticipation of the nasty deeds. Each one seemed progressively worse. It will likely turn your stomach and surely disgust you!

Suzey suffered physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her deplorable grandmother, who used the Stork fairytale to convince her that she was a worthless, evil creature without a soul. Years later, Suzey is still battling the stork, convinced that it is responsible for her inability to have a baby.

McKenzie is another great author who can weave elements of gore and depravity into an engrossing story full of great, well-developed characters. This one was especially superb and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you witness Suzey’s downward spiral.

The start of an epic fantasy adventure. Filled with djinn, magic, and myth, Dalen Pax and the Beads of Fire pulls you into an engaging fantasy world where time unravels and reforms a world of wild imagine. The protagonist begins his adventure as a normal teenager trying to find his place in the world. A world that expands with the revelation that magic exists, that time is a construct. Joined by a band of engaging characters I highly recommend joining the adventure.

Now here is a fantasy mixed with Rom-Com like you’ve never known before. I laughed and felt my heart throb the entirety of this book.

Sometimes it’s good to step away from the morally gray love interest and fall for the sweet one. Velis is a hot genie who becomes attached to his “master” (the conjurer of his genie lamp). Dolly is a heavily self-disciplined girl with a tragic story. With a deep need of mending her struggle, Velis is the supportive, compassionate, and respectful love interest perfectly capable of such a task.

Add in a hot genie bad boy brother and you have a dramatic story worth reading.

While some people may not think of genies (or jinn) as monsters in the same category as Bigfoot or dragons, from a cultural and folkloric point of view they definitely are.

Most Americans probably think of the wisecracking genie in Disney’s Aladdin, but belief in genies is both serious and widespread. In his book Legends of the Fire Spirits journalist Robert Lebling describes how the creatures appear in the Koran (hint: it’s closer to the recent film Three Thousand Years of Longing).

They are in some ways the Muslim equivalent of Christian angels, imbued with magical powers and viewed by the devout not as real and tangible as you or I. What I love about this book is how Lebling reveals the real stories of jinn—in both their wonder (granting wishes) and terrible vengeance (mass murder).

As with all monsters, whether you believe in them or… show more.

There’s not enough Muslim historical fantasy in the world, and this one is so lavish and full of aching romance—my favorite kind! It takes us from 18th-century Cairo, where con-girl Nahri accidentally summons centuries-old deava warrior Dara, to the fabled City of Brass, its walls covered in enchanted statues, home to rival clans of djinn.   

I love how the tribes of Deavabad reflect different parts of the Islamic world and its pre-Islamic culture. For example, the main djinn faith reflects Islam, whereas the deava faith with its fire temple reflects the Zoroastrianism of ancient Persia. It’s a complex, believable world in which I can immerse myself, full of revelations, betrayals, tugs of loyalty, and dilemmas of love.

The description opens with “When the snarky Glory St. Pierre,” so I’m all over it right there. A. Star is an author I’ve read a lot of, and she cultivates both snark and take-no-crap female leads…with a frequent dash of hot hero. Where can you go wrong with that? This series is a sort of cross between urban and epic fantasy, following a modern girl who stumbles into a Djinn and ends up entangled in his world, with danger, suspense, and all the snark you can handle along the way.

This book reads more like a thriller with heart than a historical novel, which makes it the perfect historical fiction for those just dipping a toe into the genre. 

Set in 1969 in Malaysia, during the historic race riots, the story follows a Beatles-obsessed teenage girl with OCD as she struggles to survive and get back to her family. I devoured this story over a couple of nail-biting days – and I bet you will too.