Take a Step Outside the Box

We all know by now that pitch black dark romance is my comfort genre. We know erotic horror and splatterpunk are right there too. But what most don’t know, I read fantasy and contemporary or more morally grey dark romance too. 

And I feel it’s so important to, yes, have your favorite genre, but it’s also great to step out of it and try a book that wouldn’t usually be on your radar. Maybe a book someone you know has hyped up, or an author you found scrolling through TikTok or Instagram reels, or even one you saw at a book convention. 

Some of my favorite reads are by my core 10 authors - but I also have my new to me authors list, and I love to see it grow. You can call them palette cleansers or a break from your normal, but don’t discredit or be scared to talk about a book that isn’t in your preferred genre. 

I actually never thought I’d read a cowboy romance, but thanks to one of my favorite bookstagram accounts, I started reading one, finished it, and knew immediately I needed to finish the series. 

Or let’s take the example of me reading three short novellas, and then turning around and grabbing one of the authors full novels and devouring it, instantly knowing I had to read the rest of their backlog, and anxiously awaiting their next new book. 

Neither of those examples are in my usual comfort genre, but that’s okay because it got me excited. (Not in that way- get your heads out the gutter though the spice was spicing!) I was excited to read these new to me authors and check out their backlogs and start stalking their pages to see what they are coming out with next. 

But that excitement? That’s what reading is about! Stepping into a new world, and it may not be your comfort genre, but you could find it quickly sliding into your top genres. You can be dark, but have a soft side. You can like gore, but swoon over angst and love notes. 

Reading is a journey, and sometimes you have to just take a small step out of your comfort genre. Explore a new genre. A new author. A new sub genre. You might be shocked and amazed. You might find that joy or that spark you have been searching for could be in that small step outside of that box. 

Don’t keep thinking it’ll mess up your image or aesthetic. Reading is YOUR journey and your profile, your reader space, is just that. YOURS. 

For those that are like me, but want to give it a go to step out and try something new, I have a few books to recommend to you. 

• Chasing the Wild by Elliott Rose (the whole series is chefs kiss honestly)

• Fallen Gods by Rachel Van Dyken 

• The Story of Us by Lesley Jones

• The Savage Six series by KC Kean

• Where We Started by Ashley Munoz

• Run with Me by KT Madden 

• The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

• How to Marry a Lich by Lizzie Strong

• Game Over by LE Eldridge and Bex Deveau 

• Holiday for Six by Kelly Finley

• Quicksilver by Calli Hart 

• Storm by Carian Cole (Ashes & Embers series is top notch)

• Between Never and Forever by Brit Benson

• Dear Love I Hate You by Eliah Greenwood

• The Pieces We Leave Behind by Elle Mitchell

• The Pinehollows trilogy by KM Moronova