The Anonymous books
I first stumbled across these books when I went through a phase where all I wanted to read was contemporaries surrounding eating disorders- this was like back in 2015, I believe. No idea why, but for the next 5 or so months I looked for contemporaries about eating disorders. This also kick started my dark contemporary phase, where I read tons of books about sexual abuse and rape and drug abuse and basically everything Ellen Hopkins throws into her books when she wants to add extra drama. Why the preamble? Because, that’s how I discovered these books. The first one I read was Letting Ana Go, about anorexia, and found it extremely readable. I then discovered that there were more of these books and they all were basically the same height with the same color scheme and as a result looked great on a shelf together so I gradually accumulated them to add to my collection. Essentially, these books are billed as being “in the tradition of Go Ask Alice” in that they are “true” stories of teenagers who ended up falling into things like drugs or prostitution or eating disorders or Satanism and it ends with them all dying. Yes, these books are your typical “warning” books and they are very moralistic and have an obvious formula, but they’re oh so addicting. The only one I don’t own and haven’t read is The Book of David. I probably will get it and read it eventually just for the sake of completion, but I’m not enthused by LGBT-themed books and I’ve grown out of issue contemporary mostly, but when I want some drama (feel kinda bad for saying that, but it’s true) I go straight to these. My favorite is still probably Letting Ana Go, followed by Calling Maggie May (which is about prostitution), since I was never really into books about drug use (which is what both Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky are about). I will say this though, Jay’s Journal is probably the only book I’ve ever read that has scared the shit out of me. Seriously, I consider myself to be mostly a skeptic, and if ghosts do exist then we should probably leave them the hell alone, but there’s just something about Satanism and (the evil side of) the Occult that freaks me the fuck out. But overall, these books are great for something on the same subject matter but far less exhausting than Ellen Hopkins’ work.
The A Circuit series by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka
These books are the quintessential guilty pleasure reads. I think I mentioned briefly that I am an equestrian, though I don’t show (not for my riding instructor’s lack of trying). Living on the East Coast means that I ride English and in my area hunter-jumper is the predominate discipline so that’s what I train as. I adore horses, always have, and when I stumbled across this book series described as being like Gossip Girl on horseback, I was hooked right from the first page. These books are no great works of literature, not by a long shot, and they have horrible covers but they’re like candy. These books are basically about three girls, one the daughter of the richest man on Wall Street, one the party girl daughter of a rock star and a West Coast transplant, and the last a lower middle class girl who got lucky and scored a job at Pelham Lane, a prestigious A circuit barn (for those who don’t know, the A circuit is the top showing circuit of the hunter-jumper world). These books might be a bit confusing for those who aren’t equestrians, because horse jargon is used very casually and often with little context, but for me they are the ultimate guilty pleasure. So much drama, but in the best way possible. They are like a grown up version of the Canterwood Crest books, though in my opinion a lot more factually accurate. If you loved those books as a preteen, these are highly recommended for a bit of turn your brain off fun.
The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen
These next three are for the historical fiction lovers out there, and The Luxe series is well known as being the archetypal historical fiction guilty pleasure series. Most people who love historical fiction have read these books at least once in their lives. I’m only halfway through the series, but I could tell from the first page of the first book that I needed to complete this series. The Luxe takes place in 1899, and I think ends in 1900 (the time period is one of the reasons why I knew I needed to stick with these books- I adore the early 20th century), and predominantly stars two girls, Elizabeth and Diana Holland, who are from the old New York Holland family. Other characters include Penelope Hayes, from the nouveau riche Hayes family, Lina Broud, an Irish-American maid who is trying to make herself into a socialite, and Henry Schoonmaker, Diana’s love interest. While I wasn’t in love with these books from the first book, and I don’t really like any of the characters, this series picks up with the second book and I think I’ll end up loving it. The writing is also decent, while I have noticed that Godbersen does have a problem with repeating adjectives, she does know how to sufficely mimic the styles of books from that time period. And, I must say that this book has one of my biggest guilty pleasures- costume porn. Historical costume porn. I can see how some people might be bored with lengthy descriptions of dresses, but I live for them. Overall, this series is deliciously addictive and a must read for any history lover.
Bright Young Things trilogy by Anna Godbersen
Anna Godbersen is well known for these fluff historical fiction serieses, and I honestly really want her to put out another series- maybe a 1950s New York cafe society or 1960s jet set series? Please? Anyway, despite my initial disappointment with The Luxe series I immediately fell in love with the Bright Young Things trilogy (how I wish it wasn’t a trilogy!), probably because I’m a little obsessed with the 1920s. These books star three girls (it’s usually three for some reason- don’t ask me why), Cordelia Grey, a small town girl who finds out her father’s a big time bootlegger in New York, Letty Larkspur who is Cordelia’s best friend and goes to New York to be a star, baby, and, my absolute favorite character, Astrid Donal, who is a socialite, the daughter of a former grande dame and the sister-in-law of Cordelia. These books are packed with drama, gorgeous dresses, and pretty decent Lost Generation imitation writing. While they do have some of the same problems as The Luxe, I still like them more than I will probably ever like The Luxe. I only have one book left, and am a little sad about it, but I’m sure it will be great. I do think the covers are horrible, though, so much worse than the covers for The Luxe, but that’s so minor compared to content. If The Luxe appeals to you, and you are as obsessed with the Jazz Age as I am, then these books are definitely for you.
The Royal Circle trilogy by Katherine Longshore
I’m a bit hesitant to put these on this list. While Godbersen’s serieses were automatic picks, both Gilt and Tarnish got lower mediocre ratings from me, mostly because of a few very persistent problems I have with her writing and character development. At the same time, though, these books are really addictive, and I am reading them because I wanted something I didn’t have to think too much about (same reason I picked up both of Godbersen’s serieses in the first place), and I got that from these books. Besides, I am more curious about the Tudors because of these books, so there’s that. I do love the descriptions of the dresses, and what court intrigue and drama there is, which probably is the reason I decided to just put them on here. Each book follows a different figure during the Tudor times, so really it’s more of a loose trilogy of companion novels rather than one that follows the same set storyline throughout all 3 books. Gilt follows Catherine Howard told through the eyes of her lady’s maid and friend Kitty Tylney, Tarnish follows Anne Boleyn and her rise to the position of Henry VIII’s mistress, and Brazen, which I haven’t read yet, follows Mary Howard who was married to Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII. I suppose the only thing they have in common is that they’re all Howards during the Tudor times. I’m sure other people would probably be more into this series than I am, but for what it’s worth I do think Longshore has great ideas but they lack in execution. I wouldn’t recommend these books if you hate romance, but if you loved The Luxe and the Tudors and always wanted to combine the two, then these books are for you.
The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
I feel like a lot of fantasy-loving people are going to be confused by this, so let me preface by saying these books are one of the few fantasy novels I have really liked. However, they aren’t very great content-wise. They’re very YA-y, very cliche, Alina is like most YA heroines, and frankly if it wasn’t for the Russian-inspired world (though I will say this, apart from some words and architecture it’s not really Russia at all, which was a bit disappointing not going to lie). I wouldn’t have picked these books up at all, let alone stuck with the trilogy. But I loved The Darkling, so there’s that, even though I still haven’t read any of the novellas because fuck that. I also love the covers, which is totally one of the reasons I picked up these books. So what are these books about? They’re about a girl named Alina who discovers that she has the power of light and… I don’t know. I can’t describe fantasy plots for the life of me, sorry. I picked up these books after reading Six of Crows, which isn’t on here because Six of Crows is honestly excellent and not a guilty pleasure at all. I would recommend these books for the lovers of dark fantasy, and the lovers of books like the Red Queen for just some fun escapist fiction, nothing really more than that. The name Grisha also makes me laugh, since the English equivalent of Grisha is basically Greg (Grisha is the diminutive for Grigori, which is the Russian version of Gregory).
Glitter duology by Aprilynne Pike
The best thing about this book is probably the cover. It is a pretty rocking cover not going to lie. But the actual book itself, described as being “Breaking Bad in Versailles” is really more historical fiction with some science fiction elements thrown in, with a throwaway love interest, a horrible female protagonist, and lots of fun court intrigue and pretty dresses. Glitter isn’t great, but it’s so much fun to read. It’s about a girl named Danica who, through her mother’s blackmail, finds herself engaged to the future king of Versailles, and something about murder and drugs, and yes, this story is confusing. It’s ridiculous, the worldbuilding is shaky and really makes no sense, and yet it’s so addictive. This is one of the few books where I actually preferred plot over characters, because the plot was so good and the characters were so bad. But it’s a fun piece of fiction for someone who is in the mood for something like that. I can’t wait for the sequel, especially the cover reveal.
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
I already have a review for this book up here, so I’ll make this one brief. This book is melodramatic, cliche, and absolutely engrossing. If you’re interested to hear my other thoughts on it, click the link above. And read it, you won’t regret it.
Drag Teen by Jeffery Self
I read this book back in June, about a week after I watched the excellent documentary Paris Is Burning. And if you expected Paris Is Burning, this is not it. I assume this is more on the RuPaul side of things, but I have only watched like .5 of an episode of RuPaul (though I want to watch more since it seems like a scream), so if you want some deep story about drag culture and what it means, then keep looking. If you want a fun and lighthearted read that circles around a teen drag pageant, then this is for you. I’ve always been fascinated by the world of gay men, especially drag, for some reason. My cousin is involved in drag. Whenever I do my annual reread of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I always look forward to the parts with Miss Chablis, the Grand Empress of Savannah. This book is about a boy who left his family in Florida to go on a road trip with his best friend and boyfriend to participate in a drag show in the hopes of winning enough money to go to college. I usually avoid books like these, very much YA contemporary, with quirky titles and LGBT main characters, because honestly they’re all the same, but I’m very happy I picked this book up. I do have a few reserves, like that it contains basically every gay cliche known to YA and that there is one part that they insult people who work on cars as being so easy any “idiot” could do it. That annoyed me, since it carries heavy implications of looking down on the working class of mechanics who usually aren’t college-educated as being mostly brainless idiots. The next time your car breaks down, Self, why don’t you try fixing it yourself instead of taking it to a mechanic, see how that turns out. But that’s just me, since I have a father who loves cars with a passion and loves talking about them and working on them and also happens to be a very successful engineer. But other than that, this book is nothing more than fun, but I highly recommend it.
The Cellar by Natasha Preston
Oh, The Cellar. How I love to hate you. This is really more of a love to hate read than an actual guilty pleasure read, but I’ve still reread it more times than I can count. This book follows a girl named Summer who is kidnapped by a guy that would make Disney characters laugh their asses off (get this, they actually call him Clover), with a snappy catchphrase and oh my God I’m giggling just thinking about this book. I think one of my favorite parts is Summer’s boyfriend, Louis, who makes me think of James Hurley, but even more of a drama queen (well I guess in Louis' favor he wasn’t kissing Summer’s best friend the same day she was went missing). Really, the “from the Wattpad sensation” on the cover probably should have tipped me off. Whenever I want a laugh, or need to get over a heavy read, I pick this book up. Recommended for those who want a bad parody of YA thrillers or realistic horror.
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