#TopTenTuesday: Books To Read If You’re in the Mood for …

#TopTenTuesday is a weekly book meme started by The Broke and the Bookish. The link-up for all TTT posts are on their fabulous blog, so check it out if you want to see more Top Tens!

This week’s topic is: Top Ten Books To Read If You’re in the Mood for [X]

I’ve decided to make my post about Books To Read If You’re in the Mood for Historical Fantasy! I’m a big fan of historical fantasy and alternate history, and I feel like it’s a genre that doesn’t get enough appreciation. So here are five historical fantasy books that I love!

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1. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

An alternate history where the Nazis won WWII. A Jewish girl who has the supernatural ability to steal people’s faces. An epic motorcycle race. A plot to kill Hitler. THIS BOOK, MAN. THIS BOOK. It was one of the big surprises of 2015 for me. I got it out of the library knowing next to nothing about it, and it totally blew me away. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read, and I highly recommend it.

2. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Keith Thompson

Hey, speaking of alternate histories! Here’s another one. Leviathan is an alternate sci-fi/fantasy history that takes place during WWI, where everyone fights each other with war machines and giant genetically-mutated creatures. The world-building is incredibly cool, plus the characters are awesome and the illustrations are breath-taking. (Not enough YA/adult books have illustrations, if you ask me!)

3. The Diviners by Libba Bray

This book/series takes place in the 20’s and involves psychics, demons, and all kinds of other spooky stuff! While the books are a little lengthy and have a ton of characters, I find them super compelling and original. Plus the cast of characters is really diverse, and they’re all complex and interesting.

Also, honorable mention to Libba Bray’s other trilogy Gemma Doyle, which is a Victorian-era fantasy and also amazing!

4. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

You’ve probably heard of Rick Yancey’s very popular 5th Wave series––but if you ask me, his earlier series The Monstrumologist is a far greater achievement. Unfortunately it did not sell very well, to the point where Simon & Schuster nearly canceled the last book in the series. But in my opinion, this is one of the most unique and compelling series out there. It’s like Frankenstein meets Sherlock Holmes, but of course with its own original twists. It’s very graphic and gory, which is not the kind of thing I’m typically into, but the interesting characters and moral complexity are what make it one of my all-time favorite books.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Maybe I’m cheating a little with this one––the only fantasy aspect of this book is that it’s narrated by Death––but I figured I would squeeze it in because it’s one of my favorite books ever! And I’ve always thought it had a surreal aspect to it that makes it stand out from other historical fiction books for me.

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Thanks for joining me for another Top Ten Tuesday! Remember to check out The Broke and the Bookish for future topics and to check out all the other TTT posts!

How about you guys?

• Have you read any of the books I listed? What did you think of them?
• Do you have any other historical fantasy books to recommend?
• If you also wrote a TTT post, please link me to it and I will check it out!