100 Books Like Grave Mercy

I like happy endings. There, I’ve said it. I love books. I’ve written more than sixty to date, and I read all the time in every genre. I also love history, and World War II is a particular passion. It was an era rich with drama, horror, and heroism, with stories begging to be told. So many of those stories, real and fictional, end in heartbreak. But the great thing about being a writer is that I can take the characters I love through hell and back, then, in the end, have them come shining through. That’s what I want as a reader, too.

I am a writer and novelist who comes to storytelling via several curious paths. I am a historian trained in archival research and the collection of oral histories. I also come from a long line of ghost magnets–all of the women in my family have been for generations. And while I am living in blissful exile on the West Coast, my heart remains bound to my childhood home, the Great State of Texas. 

I’ve loved epic fantasy ever since discovering The Hobbit and David Eddings as a teenager. I’ve also always loved a good old-fashioned slow burn and/or antagonistic romance. As I’ve grown (much) older, I’ve come to understand that the sweet spot for me is a perfect blend of world-building and a complex romance that makes sense in the context of that world.

As an author and a lifelong lover of books, I read all genres. My favorites are set in fantastical worlds with unique settings. The mash-up of history and fantasy is endlessly compelling to me, and I always want to see a romantic subplot (or main plot!) in the books I read. I want a happily-ever-after even when the strange world and its villains are conspiring against the main characters. 

Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved anything fantasy-related, and I especially loved stories where the world around you would completely melt away as you read. I used to write my own stories then, too, and I’ve always had a passion for diving into it headfirst and immersing myself in the world entirely. I went through a period in my life where I was dealing with depression, and fantasy books that I could escape into were very important to me at that time. 

I've been book-besotted my entire life. I've read, studied, taught, reviewed, and written books. I went to “gradual” school, as John Irving calls it, earning a PhD in literature before gradually realizing that what I really loved was writing. For me, books contain the intellectual challenge of puzzles, the fun of entertainment, the ability to fill souls. They have changed my life, and the best compliments I have received are from readers who say my books have changed theirs. I read widely and indiscriminately (as this list shows) because I believe that good books are found in all genres. But a book about books? What a glorious meta-adventure. 

Hi, I’m E.C. Glynn. I love writing stories that tackle the messiness of religious societies and belief systems through a fantasy lens. What qualifies me for such an endeavour? Well, with a Master's in International Relations, a decade as a Recovering Catholic, a career as an Officer in the Army, and an unhealthy fascination with cults, I think that’s not a bad place to start for developing a nuanced and interesting perspective on the topic. I am a very picky reader and need to read books that have beautiful prose, interesting worlds, complex and convoluted concepts, and believable dialogue to enjoy my reading experience.

People behave rationally and irrationally. Observing and thinking about human nature is the sport of my lifetime. In literature and art, I worship real wit. I thirst for the unusual, the deadpan, the acknowledging of one thing while another slips in unseen. Wit has been, for me, a shield and a tool for good. I try not to use it as a weapon because wit as a weapon often damages a wider target than one intends. I strive to endow my fictional women, my protagonists, with sharp yet understated wit that spares no one, not even themselves. Especially not themselves. The books I recommend here live up to my standards.

I’ve always been drawn to stories where characters discover the magic within and channel it to confront overwhelming odds. Dystopian fantasies meld the intricate worldbuilding of an oppressive world with a character’s unique abilities to fight back. When I was a young adult, these types of books made the most challenging moments in life manageable, not only for the escapism but for their message of hope. They reminded me I wasn’t alone and that my voice mattered. At their core, they’re made for the dreamer in all of us. They inspired me to become an author and write about the transformative power of self-discovery.

Spy stories have always captivated me. This fascination grew after I learned that throughout history, many women worked behind the scenes as key spies. How cool is that? So, I decided to write a girls' spy school set in Jane Austen's world. Junior Library Guild said this about A School for Unusual Girls, “An outstanding alternative history series entry and a must-have for teen libraries.” Scholastic licensed the series for their school book fairs. Ian Bryce, the producer of Spiderman, Transformers, Saving Private Ryan, and other blockbusters, optioned it for film. To date, more than 600,000 copies of my award-winning historical novels are in the hands of readers around the globe.