If you loved The Selection as much as I did, you might be wondering what to read next. With a wide selection of books that follow similar themes, I’ve picked out a few of my favorite books that hold their own in terms of engaging fantasy.
The Selection is a futuristic, dystopian fantasy that had readers everywhere hooked from start to finish. The five-book series was revered, and the series left fantasy and romance lovers wanting more.
So, if you’re looking for a book or series of books that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat, these books have got you covered. And with each one having a unique and gripping storyline, you’ll find yourself picking up more than just one of the books on my list.
Related: 22 Different Types of Books (Genres and Non-Fiction Options)
The Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard
Seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow is no different, although she is one of the lucky few Reds that are given the opportunity to work inside the Silver Palace. To the surprise of Mare and the Silvers that take residence in the palace, it is there that she discovers her own unrealized potential and her new superpower.
To avoid an uprising from the Reds, the Silver-bloods hide Mare under their noses by declaring her a long-lost princess and announcing her engagement to one of the Silver princes.
Now Mare has to decide what is most important to her – supporting her people in the Red resistance or letting her heart guide her in her unexpected affections for the prince.
The Cruel Prince – Holly Black
Jude Duarte is a mortal girl that wants nothing more than to be part of the Fey and the Faerie world. There’s just one catch – the Fey have a disdain for mortals, and faerie prince Cardan Greenbriar is no exception.
The book follows Jude’s journey to win her place in the Court of Faerie and maybe win the prince’s fondness on the way.
A Court Of Thorns And Roses – Sarah J. Maas
Young Feyre has a knack for hunting, but after stalking and killing an unsuspecting wolf in the middle of the woods, she is approached by a terrifying beast who insists he must punish her for her actions.
Taken against her will, the beast steals her away to a land that she has only ever heard of in old legends, where her keeper reveals himself as one of the immortal faeries of the old world.
Feyre’s fiery hatred for her captor quickly turns to passion, and the two form bond that is soon tested by the threat of an ancient curse that could wipe out the Faerie Lands that her beloved calls home. Feyre must find a way to stop the threat and save her newfound love.
Song Of Blood & Stone – L. Penelope
For centuries, the kingdoms of Elsiria and Larimar have been divided by a magical shield that is known by citizens as the Mantle. But now, the Mantle is slowly cracking, and some of the more cunning members of the kingdoms are starting to slip through to the other side.
Jasminda, a bearer of the gift of Earthsong and a long-time outcast because of the color of her skin, lives a simplistic life all on her own. But when Jack, an Elsirian spy – and one of the few to slip past the veil- alerts her of the impending danger, the two must team up to restore the veil and restore the balance between the rival kingdoms.
Delirium – Lauren Oliver
What would you do if you believed love was a deadly disease? Delirium poses the question in a way that will have you second-guessing everything you thought you knew about love and sacrifice.
In an alternate version of the United States, love has been branded as a sinister and dangerous illness. Because of the dangers that love poses to the population, the government has made it mandatory for all citizens to undergo a procedure known only as the Cure once they reach the age of eighteen.
For protagonist Lena Haloway, her appointment to undertake the Cure can’t come soon enough. After watching her mother be destroyed by love, she vowed never to let the same awful fate befall her.
But less than 100 days before her procedure, she has a chance encounter with Alex – a wildly exciting nomad that lives under the government’s watch. The two quickly realize their feelings for one another but struggle to decide on how to navigate their fate if they are crazy enough to let themselves do the unthinkable and fall in love.
Serpent & Dove- Shelby Mahurin
After running away from her coven and forsaking her magic, ex-witch Louise has made a life for herself by living off of whatever she can steal. Content in her life of crime and trickery, her mischievous antics land her in one of the most unexpected situations she can think of – married to a notorious Church Huntsman.
Reid Diggory has lived his life with one dutiful goal, and that’s to purge the world of any and all witches he comes across. Now married to Louise, the couple is faced with their conflicting ideologies.
Louise understands that she can’t change who or what she is, but her growing feelings for Reid are undeniable. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she will need to decide what matters most – her past or her forbidden love for a man who wants all of her people dead.
Pawn – Aimée Carter
Kitty Doe has always been opposed to the barbaric rating system that her society has followed for as long as she can remember. But in a world where your rank determines your place in society, receiving your number can change your fate.
On the day of her ranking, Kitty’s stubbornness leads her to walk out of her test and forever be branded with a “III” on the back of her neck. Realizing that her new ranking has doomed her to a life of a commoner and separated her from her long-time love, Kitty is desperate for a way to escape her fate.
And that’s just what she gets – a second chance. The unexpected offer for Kitty to be transformed into the late Prime Minister’s niece, Lila, and become a level VII member of the Hart family seems too good to be true.
But after discovering that Lila died raising a rebellion against the powers that be, Kitty will have to take on the responsibility of putting an end to the uprising as her new role as part of the prolific Hart family.
Torn between the promise of a new start and the task of ending a rebellion that she believes in, it becomes more and more obvious that Kitty’s selfish desires could mean the damnation of society as she knows it.
Compliant – M.J. Kaestli
In a state that plans out your entire life, it is easy to resign yourself to a life that has been pre-determined for you. After all, knowing where you’ll work and live and who your spouse will be seems more straightforward than having to figure it all out for yourself, right?
Seventeen-year-old Freya seems to think so. So when she moves into her new home and is introduced to her assigned husband, Colin, everything seems to be falling into place.
But her blossoming romance with her new spouse is short-lived when Colin reveals a dark secret that threatens their future and, ultimately, their love. Despite the overwhelming odds, Freya must find a way forward without having to sacrifice her future or her only chance at love.
Wither – Lauren DeStefano
Imagine a world where your lifespan is pre-determined and where escaping the hands of time is nothing short of impossible. Rhine Ellery doesn’t have to imagine.
Raised in a society where men live to 25 and women are fated to die at the young and delicate age of 20, Rhine is just four years away from her inevitable demise. While the world is in a panic over finding a cure, the after-effects of the population’s predestined curse have left orphans roaming the streets and women being captured and sold as polygamous brides in an attempt to bear more children.
After being sold as a bride to Linden, Rhine develops an unexpected fondness for her new spouse. And Linden is just as smitten with his new bride. But her father-in-law is hellbent on finding a cure and his horrifying secret leaves Rhine with no choice but to escape her new home and try to find her own freedom in a rapidly decaying world.
The Kiss Of Deception – Mary E. Pearson
All First Daughters of the king are expected to have the gift of sight. But when Princess Lia realizes she doesn’t have the gift, her life becomes more complicated than she thought possible.
Knowing of her parents’ plan to deceive the neighboring kingdom by arranging a marriage between their prince and herself, Lia questions the strength of an alliance that is born out of trickery.
On the morning of her arranged wedding, Lia runs away and finds herself settling in a village far from the home she is used to. Content in her new life, it seems nothing could destroy Lia’s happiness. That is until two handsome strangers arrive in her village.
Unbeknownst to Lia, the men are not strangers at all, but rather an assassin that has been hired to kill her and the scorned prince that she was supposed to marry. Lia will have to uncover the secrets that the mysterious men are hiding while also guarding her heart against an unexpected love.
The UnTied Kingdom – Kate Johnson
After going through a portal to an alternate dimension, Eve Carpenter finds herself in the middle of the Thames. As if the shock of going through a portal wasn’t enough, she soon realizes that the England she has landed in isn’t the England that she has known all her life.
In this England, nobody seems to know what technology is. And when Eve begins to question her surroundings, the people around her begin to suspect that she’s a spy, including the foolhardy Major Harker.
But Eve isn’t the only thing on Harker’s mind. He’s also been tasked with the capture of a wild and mysterious computer, which he is sure must be roaming somewhere in Yorkshire.
Enlisting the help of Eve, who seems to know an awful lot about his formidable foe, Harker finds himself drawn to Eve and the peculiar world she comes from.
The Book Of Ivy – Amy Engel
After the tragic nuclear war of decades past, the United States was left devastated with only a handful of survivors. These survivors banded together to build a new government but soon came to blows over which family would rule their new country.
More than fifty years after the Westfalls lost the battle to the Lattimers, peace is kept through an annual ceremony. The ceremony pairs a daughter from the losing family with a son from the winning family in an arranged engagement.
And now it’s Ivy’s turn. But Ivy has other plans. Plans for revenge and to restore the Westfall legacy by killing the president’s son and her soon-to-be husband.
Ivy’s plans take a different turn when she meets the kind-hearted Bishop Lattimer and realizes that he may not be as bad as her family has made him out to be. Faced with the choice of restoring her family name or following her heart, Ivy must decide to follow her head or her heart.
Wintersong: A Novel – S. Jae-Jones
Liesl has always been inspired by stories of the Goblin King, and it’s never more apparent than when she puts her inspiration into her musical compositions. But when she turns eighteen and starts to work in her family’s inn, her dreams of writing music are put on hold.
That is until her sister is taken by the Goblin King so that he can make her his bride. Fearing for her sister’s life, Liesl journeys deep into the Underground and into the strange and unusual world where the King rules all.
Wanting nothing more than her sister’s safe return home, Liesl is soon faced with an impossible decision that could change her destiny. Impossibly drawn to the Goblin King and the magic of the Underground, she must find a way to save her sister while ignoring the true feelings of her heart.
The Belles – Dhonielle Clayton
In the city of Orleans, Belles are revered for owning one of the most desirable commodities in society – Beauty. Camilia Beauregard is also a Belle, but her ambitions extend far beyond being just a Belle.
She wants to be chosen by the Queen and live alongside the royalty residing in the palace. Her dreams are soon realized, but it doesn’t take long for Camilia to uncover the dark secrets that are kept within the palace walls.
When the Queen asks her to use her Belle powers to save the ailing Princess, Camilia must decide whether she should risk her life or change the way of her world forever.
Cinderella Is Dead – Kalynn Bayron
Two hundred years after Cinderella found her prince, the kingdom has implemented an annual ball where all the eligible women in the land are required to display themselves to be chosen as a wife.
But what happens to the girls that aren’t chosen? Rumors have spread through the townsfolk that the girls that don’t secure a husband are never heard from again.
Sixteen-year-old Sophia doesn’t want to parade herself in front of suitors, though. She has plans to marry her childhood best friend, Erin. Taking it upon herself to decide her future, she flees from the ball and finds herself face-to-face with Cinderella’s last known descendant.
Together, Sophia and Constance vow to bring an end to the kingdom’s customs and discover that there was much more to Cinderella’s story than they were told.
Girls Of Paper And Fire – Natasha Ngan
Being a part of the Paper caste – the most persecuted class of people in Ikhara – has made life challenging for Lei. Living in a remote village with her father, the trauma of her past has haunted her for almost a decade.
After her mother was taken by the royal guards and suffered an unknown fate, Lei has always been on her guard. But now they’re back, and they’re there for Lei.
Taken to the palace to train with eight other girls, she learns just what it means to be a member of the king’s consort. While living in the palace, she aches for nothing more than justice and revenge for her late mother. But she can’t deny her feelings for the king.
Lei’s internal battle over her affections for the king and seeking retribution for her mother leads her to make an impossible choice.
The Shadows Between Us – Tricia Levenseller
After the Shadow King was crowned, the people of the kingdom lived in fear. Nobody knows the extent of his power, but Alessandra is less interested in where his power comes from. She wants the power for herself and at any cost.
And she seems to have hatched the perfect plan. To woo the Shadow King and earn the title of Queen through marriage. Then, once all is said and done, she’ll kill him and take the throne and the kingdom for herself.
There’s just one problem. Alessandra isn’t the only one who wants the King dead, but she needs him alive for her plan to work. In fighting to keep him alive long enough to marry her, Alessandra finds herself falling in love with the man that she had wanted dead.
With her plans now foiled, she starts to reassess her scheme. After all, with her sinister nature and wicked ways, she may just be the best person to claim the title of Shadow Queen. And with the King by her side, their power can only grow.
Blue Fire – Amity Thompson
Adara lives in the shadows as a secret noble. Only the nobles have powers, and after discovering her own power of blue flames, she hid herself away in an attempt to keep her true identity a secret.
Seeking help from the Dragonmaster, he agreed to give her a new identity – for a price. But now that a war is threatening their home, the kingdom is desperate to find a blue mage that could change their fate.
While Adara holds the power to save her people, her magic is dormant. And without a way to bring her powers to the surface, she is helpless against the inevitable devastation the war could cause.
There is one man who could help Adara fix all of her problems, though, and she soon realizes that he may be the key to destiny. There is just one thing standing in the way – the Dragonmaster’s request to kill the only man that could rewrite Adara’s future.
Numbers Game – Rebecca Rode
In futuristic America, where everyone wears a number, Treena is ready for her Rating day. Already in a top school with an amazing boyfriend, her number seems predictable.
In an unexpected turn of events, her number is announced, and she is doomed to a life lead only by those with the worst numbers in the country. To get her life back, Treena must expose a military spy while also avoiding whoever it is that seems to want her dead.
On her journey, she meets a mysterious soldier that helps her uncover a dark conspiracy that could change the way that society operates. Through trials and tribulations, Treena finds herself uncovering more than just a conspiracy – she’s uncovering her feelings for the handsome soldier who has helped her unearth the truth.
The Rejected King – Kortney Keisel
King Davin is one of the most hated men in all of the kingdom, and his poor approval ratings are affecting his ability to rule. To help him find a wife that could change the people’s opinion of him, he hires Emree Dutson and leaves the seemingly impossible task up to her.
With the promise of a permanent job in the palace, if she can find a suitable queen, Emree begins her search. Over time she feels her feelings towards the king growing, but her social class means that their forbidden romance could never come to light.
Finding herself sabotaging the search for a new queen, Emree gives the king an ultimatum: to let her go, or to risk his crown for their love.
Royal Replicas – Michael Pierce
After receiving word from the queen of Westeria, seventeen-year-old Victoria Sandalwood travels to the palace to claim her rightful place as the daughter of the queen and younger sister to Princess Amelia.
But once she arrives, things are not as simple as they seem. With six other girls that look exactly like her, Victoria realizes that she wasn’t the only girl to receive the royal summons.
The girls must impress the queen and win both her favor and the hand of the prince, but not to claim their birthright. It soon becomes clear that the girls are fighting for the crown to replace Princess Amelia, who has secretly passed away. But failing to win the crown may mean more than disappointment for Victoria – it may also mean her demise.
References:
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