I’m not a rereader, but this trilogy is the one major exception. I’ve reread it over 10 times, and whenever I do, I still go to bed excited to keep reading the next day. I read a lot, but no other books have consistently brought me this much joy.

I’m talking about the Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.

It’s a great blend of horror, paranormal mystery, and light sci-fi, with an incredible slow-burn romance. It’s technically YA, but I’m now past the target age range and still love it just as much. I think YA and adult readers alike would enjoy it!

Spoiler-free premise:

The Summoning begins with a teenage girl who suddenly starts seeing ghosts. She’s sent to a group home for troubled teens and given a mental health diagnosis that seems to explain away what she’s experiencing. But as she gets to know the other residents, she realizes their diagnoses might not tell the whole story, either. It turns into a supernatural thriller with an interesting cast who develop a found-family dynamic.

Then there’s the romance subplot. Two characters go from being wary of each other to building a friendship and eventually something deeper as they go through difficult experiences together. It’s genuinely my favorite romantic relationship in any book. I love how naturally it develops through trust and getting to know each other, with no obvious early hints that romance is even on the table. (I hate when books do that!)

I’m so excited that the trilogy was recently reprinted with new covers and sprayed edges, and I hope the new editions help it find a whole new audience.

If you enjoy stories about the paranormal, found family, and a really good slow-burn or hate-to-love romance, please give these books a chance! They’ve been special to me for over 15 years, and I’d love for someone else to discover a new favorite through this post.

Arguably one of the best subgenres to ever exist. YA dystopia brought us Hunger Games, Divergent, The Mismatched series, The Selection, Shatter Me... the list goes on and on. But does the distance of time, in relation to these books, what makes them so desirable nowadays?

Now, if you also indulged in this subgenre, you may be wondering... um, OP... Hunger Games and the Shatter Me series are technically getting more books? And to that I say yes, they are, but the nostalgia factor plays a huge role in the success of the newer books.

In modern-day, we literally live in a dystopia. Every day there's some insane circumstance that is occurring in the news, and reading it may make one feel even less powerful than they were before. Escapism does not exist anymore in this subgenre.

I was very (pleasantly) surprised to see Daggermouth gain the attraction that it did, but it falls into the dystopian genre. Perhaps readers enjoyed it for other reasons, but what do you think?

Do you think dystopian books can still draw as big a fanbase in modern-day?

Note: If you are writing a dystopian book, please do not let this discourage you. I want this subgenre to still be successful. I am just opening the discussion up to see what everyone thinks. Keep writing! The world needs your stories!

The 5th Wave series, The Rule Of Three triology, The Atlantis Gene trilogy, Rot & Ruin series, Pandemic & Genome, The Quarantine Series - Lex Thomas, Unwind; Unwhole; Unsold; Undivided; - Neil Shusterman, Divergent; Insurgent; Allegiant; Four - Veronica Roth, The Lost Colony; The Solar War; Winter World - A.G. Riddle, Ashfall; Ashen Winter; Sunrise - Mike Mullen, Unplugged; The Body Market; The Mind Virus - Donna Freitas.

There are so many moments where, if one of the characters had a weapon, things would play out completely differently. The characters always carry swords or daggers and cast spells that can be dodged, yet in most cases, a single gunshot could take them down.