Trying to figure out what to read is always such a tedious process, especially for mood-readers like myself. It’s either one of two things all the time: I either have no options or I have too many to choose from. Regardless, both scenarios usually leave me too overwhelmed to make a decision and I go weeks without even thinking about a book. One thing that helps me decide are BookTube videos that recommend books based on hyper-specific scenarios/feelings (click here to watch my favorite). So that is what I’m going to do for you, except this is mostly an excuse to recommend to you some of my favorite books based on their hyper-specific vibe. These scenarios may or may not be summarized based on my personal experience reading these novels.
A creepy small town where you can’t trust the main character and you get kind of confused and dizzy trying to figure out what’s happening:
I told you these recommendations would be hyperspecific. So, if by any chance you’re looking for a book that is this specific, you’re in luck, because I have three. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn follows an unreliable narrator trying to solve the mysterious killings that have been happening in her hometown that she fled earlier in her life. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is not your average high school requirement. This classic follows the main character struggling through life during World War II in a fictional small town. Even now, despite its content being somewhat difficult to describe, be prepared to expect the unexpected, lots of time travel, and confusion of the good kind. Bunny by Mona Awad is a beloved Cool Girl Book, tackling the likes of mean girls in college. The main character is sucked into the world of the Bunnies and chaos ensues from there (think Heathers meets Frankenstein).
Semi-trauma inducing prose where you love the main character so much you can’t stop crying because bad things keep happening to them:
So, these next three are a bit difficult because I cannot outright recommend you these books without revealing at least a subtle hint of the subject material they may contain. With that being said, please, please, please check trigger warnings before even considering reading these books. I mean it when I say you will be emotionally attached to characters who go through the worst of times. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been my favorite movie and book since my middle-school crush recommended it to me. I will never forgive him for making me love the main character Charlie so much and watching him experience the most difficult things in his life. My Dark Vanessa left me haunted for months after reading it. More than loving its protagonist, I felt such a strong feeling of needing to protect her; which is probably why navigating through the darkest parts of her life was challenging for me. Now, while I don’t necessarily recommend A Little Life to anyone, it does fall under this very specific category.
Dark Academia plot where there’s a secret group of students who are mostly insufferable and the author expects you to know entirely too much about a niche academic topic:
I think that if I had to pick a hyper-specific trope to read about for the rest of my life, I would pick this one. This one is controversial and there are so many ways it could go terribly wrong, although on the rare occasion when it’s actually executed right, it’s good. The Secret History is a cult classic that has the most insufferable group of characters I have ever had the displeasure of reading, yet I couldn’t help staying up until dawn on more than one occasion just reading. Did I know anything about Greek Mythology before reading this? No. Did I know anything after? No, but I still had an enjoyable time reading it regardless. If We Were Villains is eerily similar to The Secret History, except our insufferable cast of misfits are into Shakespeare instead of Greek Mythology and I know way more about Shakespeare than about Zeus. Ninth House, on the other hand, has less insufferable characters but so much dark fantasy and dark academia vibes throughout Yale’s campus. Admittedly, this is one of my favorite books, so I could very much babble about it for hours but I’ll keep it at this: ghosts, magic, secret societies, and a moody main character.
Queer romances where you love one character and would give your life up for them, but loathe the other no matter how hard you try to like them:
New age queer contemporary romance novels are my favorite kind of books and serve as a perfect palette cleanser between novels that discuss difficult topics. But, oftentimes, I hate ½ of the main couple for different reasons. Astrology is one of those reasons. One Last Stop’s main character August is a Virgo and it shows. No hate to Virgos, (maybe just a little) but reading through August’s POV was so frustrating I couldn’t enjoy the novel as much. The miscommunication third act breakup trope always solidifies which of the main couple I end up disliking. The same was true when I read McQuinston’s debut novel Red, White, and Royal Blue (I’ll let you guess why I disliked Alex so much). Last but certainly not least, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a beloved BookTok classic that everyone (including me), loves. But, I cannot deny the fact that Celia St. James sucks and is so unlikable compared to Evelyn. With that insanely hot take, I leave you be.
No matter the oddly-distinct category these books may belong to, all of them are special in their own way. Coincidentally (and hilariously) they fall into my hyper-specific categories in one way or another. I hope to bring you another segment of book recommendations based on other hyper-specific tropes sometime. Until then, my friends, happy reading!