Clean Romantic Suspense

Read these books if you're looking for:

• romantic suspense
• clean read
• strong plot
• female protagonist

Rebecca 
By Daphne Du Maurier
F DU MAURIER
A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house's first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted. 

Pride and Prescience 
By Carrie Bebris
MYSTERY BEBRIS Mr & Mrs #1
Just after their wedding, the newlywed hero and heroine of Pride & Prejudice become involved in a bizarre mystery involving wedding guest Caroline Bingley, who has become engaged to wed a wealthy, charismatic American. 

My Brother Michael 
By Mary Stewart
MYSTERY STEWART
Camilla Haven and her mysterious companion are plunged into a deadly adventure as they search Delphi for the truth implied in a letter Simon’s brother, Michael, had written before his death. 

A Killing Frost 
By Hannah Alexander
ROMANCE ALEXANDE
Haunted by a terrible secret, Dr. Jama Keith returns to her hometown of River Dance, Missouri. After the young niece of her former fiancé Terell Mercer is abducted, the search puts Terell and Jama in peril. 

All Through the Night 
By T. Davis Bunn
F BUNN
A young lawyer named Tatanya hires Wayne Grusza, who has a background in special-ops, to investigate whether her wealthy employer has been visited by an angel or is the target of a hoax, and, as he attempts to solve the mystery, Tatanya and her boss battle unknown enemies.

Three Memoirs and Three Westerns

Try these books if you're looking for:

• memoirs
• westerns

A Natural Woman: A Memoir 
By Carole King
BIO KING 2012
This book is a memoir by the iconic singer-songwriter chronicling her story from her beginnings in Brooklyn through her remarkable success as one of the world's most acclaimed musical talents, to her present day as a leading performer and activist. 

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story 
By Ree Drummond
BIO DRUMMOND 2011
American blogger and food writer Ree Drummond relates the real life story of how she met and married her "Marlboro Man." Her stories about her husband, family, and country living paint a warm and touching picture of life on an Oklahoma ranch. 

The Glass Castle: A Memoir 
By Jeannette Walls
BIO WALLS 2005
The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities. 

Close Range: Wyoming Stories 
By Annie Proulx
F PROULX
Annie Proulx is an award winning author and a journalist. Her "westerns" are not typical at all--nevertheless they are evocative and beautifully written stories of the West featuring compelling characters, bleak landscapes, and interesting storylines. 

All the Pretty Horses 
By Cormac McCarthy
F MCCARTHY
McCarthy is a literary Western author whose psychological stories focus on characters. The stories are invariably set in the Southwest and are often both picturesque and bleak. This story features John Grady Cole and a friend who head across the Texas border into Mexico looking for adventure. 

Cold Mountain 
By Charles Frazier
F FRAZIER
Frazier skillfully captures the landscapes and mindset of 19th-century America, with evocative details of the mountains, farmland, and frontier wilderness of rural North Carolina and its inhabitants' rough, melodic speech. This story, winner of the 1997 National Book Award, tells of Inman, a Civil War soldier who escapes from a war hospital in 1864 and starts walking to Cold Mountain.

Adventurous historical fiction/escape to other worlds

Try these books if you're looking for:

• adventure
• historical
• romance
• new worlds

Maid of Fairbourne Hall 
By Julie Klassen
ROMANCE KLASSEN
Margaret is set to receive an inheritance on her next birthday. Her stepfather wants to make sure the money stays in the family. In desperation, Margaret disguises herself as a maid and runs away. She finds work at Fairbourne Hall, the home of not one but two of her former suitors. Can she manage not to be recognized until her birthday and what will her heart tell her to do? Likeable characters and an enjoyable plot. 

Violins of Autumn 
By Amy McAuley
YA F MCAULEY
Lying about her age, Betty, alias Adele, becomes a Special Operations Executive and parachutes into France to serve as a courier for the French Resistance. Adele is well-trained but nothing can prepare her for the dangers of spying. There’s a good mix of adventure, suspense and a bit of romance. Adele is a well-developed protagonist and she is accompanied by good supporting characters. 

The Summoning 
By Kelly Armstrong
YA F ARMSTRON
When teenaged Chloe starts seeing ghosts, she is sent to Lyle House, a group home for mentally disturbed youth. Making both friends and enemies there, she discovers there is something strange about the home and its inhabitants. Fast moving and twisty plot with solid characters. First in the Darkest Powers series. 

Inspirational Magical Realism

Try these books if you're looking for:

• inspirational
• magical realism

Kafka on the Shore 
By Haruki Murakami
F MURAKAMI
Murakami is a master storyteller, capable of blending the real and surreal with ease. In this specific story a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, runs away from home in order to escape a prophesy and finds that his fate intertwines with that of an old simpleton, Nakata. Murakami is known for his intricate plots, incredible imagination, and ability to play with reality. 

Midnight’s Children 
By Salman Rushdie
F RUSHDIE
In Rushdie’s now classic tale, Saleem is born on the stroke of midnight as India gains its independence. Part of a band of children endowed with exotic magical powers, Saleem’s winding saga mirrors that of his country. Rushdie’s creative, evocative language and epic storylines will appeal to fans of other magical realism heavyweights, such as Marques’ One Hundred Years of Solitude. 

All the Names 
By Jose Saramago
F SARAMAGO
Senhor José works as a clerk in his city’s central registry and lives an insipid life until he becomes obsessed with a mysterious record of an anonymous woman. His obsession takes him on a journey of metaphysical and personal discovery. Saramago has perfected the skills of telling strange, uplifting tales in sparse, beautiful prose. 

Like Water for Chocolate 
By Laura Esquivel
F ESQUIVEL
In this inspiring story of love and family, Esquivel bends reality around the feminine arts of cooking and housekeeping. Through reading about the romantic tragedy of the main characters, the reader unconsciously learns about turn of the century Mexican culture. 

Life of Pi 
By Yann Martel
F MARTEL
Pi finds himself a lone survivor of a shipwreck with a 450 pound Bengal tiger as a traveling companion. His 227 day trip across the sea is recounted twice: once as an irrational, impossible tale, and again as a mundane story of survival. The reader is left to find the real story for himself.

YA Action Fantasy

Try these books if you're interested in:

• YA action fantasy
• male hero
• good vs. evil

Hero 
By Mike Lupica
YA F LUPICA
Fourteen-year-old Zach learns he has the same special abilities as his father, who was the President's globe-trotting troubleshooter until "the Bads" killed him, and now Zach must decide whether to use his powers in the same way at the risk of his own life. 

Mister Monday 
By Garth Nix
YA F NIX Keys #1
Although Arthur Penhaligon is supposed to die, he is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock, and now some bizarre creatures--including Mister Monday, his avenging messengers, and an army of Fetchers--will stop at nothing to get the key. First book in the Keys to the Kingdom series. 

The Amulet of Samarkand 
By Jonathan Stroud
YA F STROUD Bartiame #1
Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. First book in the Bartiameus Trilogy. 

The Hunchback Assignments 
By Arthur G. Slade
YA F SLADE Hunchbac #1
In Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing hunchback, becomes a secret agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to protect the world from the evil machinations of the Clockwork Guild. First book in the Hunchback Assignments series. 




You might also like to try these titles of heroes that fight against evil without powers:

• The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen 
• Dark Life by Kat Falls
• Foundling by D. M. Cornish 
• Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin.