Book Tag || Top 2 Books From 6 Genres

I really need to work on posting more. It's just that this month has been crazy busy. So I thought I'd do a book tag to spice things up.

I found this a while ago on booktube and thought I'd give it a go. It was created by Benjaminoftomes and the original video is here.

The gist is to recommend 2 books from each of the 6 genres. I'm going to try to work a little outside the box and do what I can to pick books I haven't already gushed all over the place about. We'll see if that works!

Dystopia

1. The Darkest Minds Series by Alexandra Bracken
   (Give book 1 a chance to get rolling and I promise you won't regret it. Some of my favourite ensemble dynamics ever come from these books.)
   
2. Wool by Hugh Howey
   (While I do think the latter parts of this sort got off track, there was something so unique and different about the Silos. I picked up the first few parts for free or cheap digitally on Amazon...)

Honourable mention to Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse which actually made me terrified to get on an elevator for a while.

Romance

1. Anything by Rainbow Rowell. No, I'm serious.
   (Though I have a special place in my heart for Fangirl.)
   
2. Pivot Point by Kasie West
   (This may seem surprising, but I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. And it was an interesting twist on the predictable YA love triangle set up.)

I don't really read a lot of straight up romance. Unless it's fanfiction. I mean, what.

Fantasy

1. Cold Magic by Kate Elliott
   
   (I desperately need to reread this book and continue the series, but I remember just loving it.)
   
2. The Belgariad Series by David Eddings
   (A great intro to high-fantasy. Full of all the wonder, magic and tropes you'd expect. And starring an unforgettable cast of characters.)

I feel like this section was harder than it should have been. I need to read some more fantasy stat!

Sci-Fi

1. Redshirts by John Scalzi
   (Ridiculously fun and funny. If you even have a passing interest in Star Trek, check this out.)
   
2. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
   (Parallel Earths, speculative fiction, and a dynamite collaboration--what's not to love?)

It was really difficult not to mention Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles here, but I figured you already knew I adored those books!

Paranormal

1. Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series by Laini Taylor
   (Okay, so maybe this is predictable, but this series is amazing and I am dying waiting for book 3.)
   
2. The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater
   (... Again, surprising no one. I love the complexity of this series.)

I don't read a ton of this genre, or at least not much has caught my eye.

Historical

1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
   (I'm sorry, it's impossible not to mention this book. I am just so in love with this portrayal of Patroclus. And I just have so many feels.)
   
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
   (This totally took me by surprise. It's not a book I would've picked up on my own, but it came recommended. I really like the epistolary style--it had me thinking in letter format for days!)

Gail Carriger's Soulless and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan are also highly recommended. But those are more alternate history than true historical, so!

And that's the tag! What do you think? Have you read any of these books? Feel free to hit me up with some of your own recommendations too!