Books like The Moose Paradox — picked by fans

I've been reading romance since I was a teenager; historical, modern, fantasy, you name it, I devoured it. Give me all the books with epic love stories, will they or won’t they, and happily ever afters. Although I didn’t tell anyone besides my mom about my writing for years, I can’t remember a time when I wasn't crafting my own love stories. In my books, I like to keep my readers guessing and challenge assumptions about people and what love can accomplish. The best romance stories include heartbreak and misunderstandings along the way, but that makes the endings that much sweeter. Happy Reading XO

My name is Elle Rivers, and I’ve been a romance reader and writer for over ten years. I started reading when I was in high school because I was a lonely kid who loved watching people fall in love. I love the romance genre because it always has a happy ending, and reading about characters overcoming their struggles reminds me that I can also face any hard moments in life. I try to write the same kinds of characters in my books. They’re all a piece of me, and I am so excited that others can read them, too. 

Fresh from college, I arrived in South Korea in 1976 to teach English as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and despite my naivete, or maybe because of it, I fell in love with the country—the people, the food, the culture, the history. I have since lived and worked in many other countries, but Korea will always be my first love and I have returned many times for both work and pleasure. When I became a fiction writer, I was keen to read the work of Korean novelists who, naturally, had an even better understanding of their culture than I did, and I love staying connected to the country in this way.

I’ve always loved magic and pirates. As I kid, I made up games incorporating the two. As a teenager, I wanted to read about them. But at the time, I couldn’t find anything that had both pirates and magic, so I decided to write one myself. As the years blurred past and the young adult book scene exploded, more and more books with pirates and magic have been published and of course, I try to read them all! I read them not only to study books similar to my own, but because I love them and I can’t get enough. 

Even as an overachieving student, I struggled with true/false tests, always writing short essays explaining why the answer wasn’t quite clear cut. Some teachers loved my need to blur the lines. Others not so much. But this aversion to boundaries—the idea that something (or someone) must be this or that—it’s part of my blood. I read everything in the library, nonfiction, fiction, all genres. I like books that cross from real to fantasy, history to fiction. I love characters who refuse to be told who and what they can (or can’t) be. I want love to break boundaries, too. That’s what this list is all about.

There’s never been a time I haven’t had a pen in my hand, crafting a good story. And as the YA literature movement grew, so did my love of it. There’s not a more “blooming” time of life when life and love and friendship can grow with such authenticity and excitement. And true to my Deep South roots, I write and gravitate to romance novels that capture the beauty of first love and Southern culture in tandem, from the slow, relaxed pace to the sometimes gritty culture to the never-meet-a-stranger, colorful personas. Where humidity is thick but the accents are thicker, that’s where you’ll find my Southern-fried heart!

I am an author, American Sign Language interpreter, librarian, and signing storyteller. I write picture books, children’s nonfiction, middle grade, and young adult fantasy, and resource books for educators, librarians, and parents. In my books, I highlight strong female characters, both fictional and from real-life. Here I am sharing 5 of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi books with female characters who – by the end of their journeys - absolutely do not care what you think of them.

I wrote my book and selected the five other books listed because I am passionate about women’s agency and how women may be empowered to achieve such. I started my career in a male-dominated profession and have many memories of differential treatment from my male peers. There are a few #metoo tales in there as well. I also grew up shy and studious, too timid to seek out empowerment or speak truth to power. If I could go back in time armed with these wonderful stories of girls and young women overcoming adversity, prejudice, assault, and other gender-based barriers, I think I would take that trip. 

When I was in elementary school, I was poor at writing essays. My mother believed that reading could help to improve my school performance, and started collecting short stories suitable for me. Incidentally, my interest in reading and writing was fostered. I grew older and became passionate about books that led me to see new worlds, to experience lives unknown to me before, and to empathize with other people regardless of race. With hindsight, I realized that all the books I’d read had something in common–that is, love, with its profound meaning and influence on our forever imperfect world, is the eternal theme and always inspiring me.

I am passionate about historical romance and romance readers. My favorite era in history is the Regency, the period during which the Prince of Wales was named Regent. It is also the time during which Jane Austen wrote. Austen readers are particular about details so it’s daunting to write Regency fiction. Still, I love to write it and read it. I’m also passionate about Scotland, its history, the land, the people, the customs, the folklore, the food, and the music. If you’ve never been, put Scotland on your bucket list. They say it’s the oldest rock on earth. There’s magic there, too. Really and truly. Magic.