Foundryside – The Infinite Library

Ever read a book you enjoyed so much that upon finishing it all you wanted was to find something just like it? Yep. Me, too. Well, here I am to save the day and give you a few book recommendations based on things you might have already read and liked. Maybe they have similar characters, settings or plots? Or perhaps they have some common themes? Regardless, hopefully one of these books will help fill the void.

Now, I should state up front, I haven’t read every book in this post and that’s where reviews, tags, blurbs, genres and other factors come into play. Still, I’m pretty confident that even the books I haven’t read will be suitable recommendations for the books below. If not, give me a heads up. Although, in my defense, just because the books may be similar that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll love every book in the group. Everyone’s got their own personal preferences after all!

One of Us is Lying – Karen M. McManus

The Cheerleaders – Kara Thomas: Like OoUiL, The Cheerleaders has a small town murder mystery type plot in which teens take on the investigating role because of a personal involvement in the deaths (in this case, the mysterious deaths of 5 cheerleaders within a short time period). Both books tackle some heavier topics and share a solid friendship element.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson: Again, more small town murder vibes. If you were a fan of Bronwyn and her sister Maeve in OoUiL, you’ll probably like MC, Pip. There’s also a romantic subplot if enjoyed that about OoUiL. I haven’t actually read this one yet but I’ve heard amazing things.
All Your Twisted Secrets – Diana Urban: This book also features a group of characters fitting high school stereotypes, The Breakfast Club style, being thrown into the deep end (here, a potentially deadly dinner party). AYTS is more thriller-y than OoUiL and less drawn out timeline wise, but they definitely share similarities.
Truly Devious – Maureen Johnson: If you’re looking for something in the YA mystery genre that isn’t exactly similar to OoUiL but still has quirky high school characters and a fun, out-there scenario, Truly Devious is a good pick. It also involves the death of a high school student, only this time it’s at a prestigious high school in the mountains and our investigator is a girl named Stevie who has a fascination with crime.

American Panda – Gloria Chao

Loveboat, Taipei – Abigail Hing Wen: If you really liked Mei in American Panda, you’ll probably also enjoy Ever. Both girls dream of dancing but their parents expect that they’ll become doctors instead. These books share similar themes of self-discovery, family, love and straddling two cultures. Loveboat is more drama filled, has a larger cast of characters and is set in Taiwan, but both are fun reads.
Frankly in Love – David Yoon: American Panda and Frankly in Love look at family dynamics and the difficulty in reconciling traditional cultural values with modern American ones. This is especially so where it comes to dating. Like Mei, Frank falls for someone he knows his family wouldn’t approve of and has a similar history of having a sibling cut off for their choice of partner. The characters handle things differently but the challenges they face are alike.
I Love You So Mochi – Sarah Kuhn: Like Loveboat and American Panda, this is another book featuring a heroine trying to weigh up her own creative dreams (fashion) against parental expectations. Again, we have a sweet story of journeying to self-awareness, romance and complicated family relationships. However, unlike AP this book is set in Japan.
Always Never Yours – Emily Wibberly & Austin Siegemund-Broka: Those who enjoyed the coming of age, identity and romance elements of American Panda, will find plenty to love in Always Never Yours. It involves a group of students putting on a production of Romeo & Juliet and an MC whose exes always seem to find ‘the one’ right after she breaks up with them.

Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo

The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch: While TLoLL is an adult fantasy, like Six of Crows it features a gritty city setting, band of likeable thieves pulling off a heist, and an intelligent, plotting, money-loving leader with a decent heart. There’s also the found family trope that SoC fans love so much.
The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson: The Final Empire is, again, an adult fantasy. Similarly to SoC, it has good world building, great action, a group of not so reputable characters carrying out a plan, and a witty, criminal mastermind. If you like the magical grisha elements of SoC you’ll probably also love the magic system here which is wonderfully unique and based around metals. And for the romance shippers, yes, there is a romantic subplot.
Foundryside – Robert Jackson Bennett: In Foundryside, you have another adult fantasy featuring some great world building, thieves with appropriate levels of snark stealing important artifacts, exciting magic, and fun action. Much like the women of SoC, this book also includes a strong, independent female lead with unique abilities.
The Diviners – Libba Bray: At first glance, these two books seem to be completely different. However, the strength of both lies in their cast of well crafted and loveable characters. SoC & The Diviners also share darker story elements, romantic subplots, strong friendships, magic, and rich world building. The plot & setting may be different but the vibes are similar.

What books would you recommend for lovers of these picks?

Like the typical bookworm that I am, I’m always stumbling across books which manage to catch my eye for some reason or another. Next thing you know, BAM..I’ve added them to the to-read shelf. Currently, my to-read shelf is at a much more manageable level than it has been in the past so I don’t feel so bad about throwing a few extra things on there now and again. After all, how else am I suppose to remember the massive amounts of books that I want to read?! Here are a couple of novels that have recently been added to the list.

Slay – Brittney Morris

This book caught my eye while I was searching for something else at the book store a few weeks ago. The cover is really striking and once I saw the blurb, I knew I’d have to add it to the to-read list. As a gamer myself, there’s just something about video game stories. Slay is about 17-year-old Kiera who has developed a multiplayer online role playing card game called SLAY which is popular among Black gamers. None of the people in her life know this though. However, after a teen is murdered over an in-game dispute, SLAY is picked up by the mainstream media and labelled as racist and exclusionist. Kiera is left to deal with the consequences of this, including one particularly vicious troll, all whilst trying to keep her identity a secret.

The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden

I remember being intrigued by TBATN a good while ago but for some reason never added it to my to-read shelf. I think I ended up falling on the side of: I don’t know if this will be my cup of tea. However, while writing my recent post showcasing YA books set in other countries, it came back onto my radar and I decided to give it a go. The book is based on Russian folklore and tells the story of Vasilisa, who lives with her family in a small village. Vasilisa is special in that she can see & speak to the creatures/spirits that live on the land. After her father re-marries and a new priest enters the community, attitudes towards these beings and Vasilisa’s abilities change, leaving her an outcast and previous superstitious practices abandoned. Soon things in the village begin to go wrong such as failing crops and sinister things emerging from the forest. Now Vasilisa must use her gifts to save her loved ones.

Foundryside – Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside is another book that I took note of a while back but for some reason just didn’t end up adding to my shelf for future reference. Having recently gone back, read the blurb and some reviews, and stared at the gorgeous cover for a good few minutes, I’ve decided this will probably be something I’ll like. The book is about a thief named Sancia who is hired to steal a magical artifact with immense power and the potential to revolutionise a magical technology known as scriving. However, in stealing it, Sancia angers the powerful merchant houses that control the technology and now they want her dead. Her only way out is to gather allies and learn to use the power of the artifact for herself.

Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid

Lately I’ve been adding more adult contemporary fiction to my TBR. Such a Fun Age has been popping up a lot over the last few weeks and I’ve heard some good things about it. It’s about two women – Alix & Emira. Emira is the 25-year-old, black babysitter to Alix’s daughter and currently juggling multiple jobs whilst trying to work out what to do with her life. Alix, on the other hand, is a wealthy, white, feminist blogger and influencer who has doubts of her own. After Emira is accused of kidnapping Alix’s daughter, Briar, whilst out at the supermarket one evening, the whole altercation is caught on camera. Emira wants to forget and move on but Alix is determined to get justice for her. So begins a story about race, friendship, white saviourism, privilege, and parenthood.

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb 1#) – Tamsyn Muir

This book could go very well or not so great at all based on what I’ve seen from reviews. Apparently there is a long period of not having a clue what’s going on. Yet, I can’t help but be super intrigued. It’s centred around a smart mouthed swordswoman named Gideon. Harrow, a necromancer, has been summoned by the emperor to compete in a set of mysterious trials to potentially ascend to something that will bring immortality. But, Harrow is unable to compete without a cavalier at her side. Enter Gideon. However, when the other necromancers and cavaliers start getting murdered, Gideon not only has to worry about assisting Harrow but keeping the both of them breathing and tracking down the culprit. It’s dark, queer, unique, and I’m super excited to read it.

There we have it, five additions to the list. Lord knows when I’ll actually get around to buying and reading any of them. Then again, I do have a habit of letting books skip the queue because I’m a serious mood reader. Guess, we’ll have to see.

Have you recently added anything exciting to your to-read shelf?

Tag: Foundryside

If You Liked This, Try These: One of Us is Lying, American Panda, and Six of Crows