Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
As an avid reader of both fantasy and historical fiction, today’s topic is an idea one. I’m going to be discussing books set in another time, and to further challenge myself, I want to include more than just fantasy and historical fiction reads. Here are some of my favorite books set in another time/universe:
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown (sci-fi). This kicked off a series that I fell in love with, even though I’m not a huge reader of sci-fi. The book takes place in outer space, in a futuristic, Roman-influenced society.
- The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu (mystery). The series, set in a future, devastated, and largely lawless and dystopian version of Edinburgh, Scotland, is creative and entertaining. I dare you to pick this one up and not want to read the whole thing! Also, it’s outstanding as an audiobook.
- The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen (horror). This gothic masterpiece is set in the past, yet told in three separate timelines in various locations around Europe and Asia.
- Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (urban fantasy). It’s hard to classify this book into just one genre, and although it doesn’t actually take place in a different time period than our world, it very much gives off historical fiction vibes due to the way the characters interact, and the creatures that inhabit this alternate version of our universe.
- The Lost Queen by Signe Pike (historical fiction). I found this book fascinating. It is so much more than simply historical fiction, but also weaves in elements of fantasy and folklore. It brings to the forefront a pair of twins who have largely been forgotten about, one of whom would inspire the tales of Merlin, and the other a queen who bravely upheld the Old Ways even as Christianity is taking over their world.
- Night Owls by A.R. Vishny (YA paranormal romance). Seeing Jewish folklore in fiction is always a draw for me when the author is Jewish. This book is about two estries—female vampires who shapeshift into owls—and it’s emotional, sweet, and so interesting that I had to include it.
- The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (cozy romantasy). I can’t quite fit this into one clear-cut genre. If I had to describe it, I’d say it’s like a romance in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world with a dash of … low-stakes Western? It sounds weird, but trust me.
- The Secret, Book, & Scone Society by Ellery Adams (cozy mystery). Although nearly everything in this book makes me want to drop everything and move to Miracle Springs, North Carolina, I was heartbroken to discover that it isn’t a real town, and I’ll never be able to get hot springs and book therapy 😩 even if there are hot springs in North Carolina in real life.
- Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher (fairy tale retelling). Fairy tale retellings are one of my favorites, and I feel like there are so many out there, it should be a genre all its own. This one is my favorite version of Beauty and the Beast that I’ve ever read.
- How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler (humorous sci-fi). There isn’t a catchy term for this genre because I don’t know if I’ve ever read anything quite as entertaining or hilarious as this sci-fi-comedy. Davi is stuck in a time-loop and finally has had enough. Fair warning: There are a lot of footnotes which can be less than fun while reading a print or ebook copy, but the audiobook had me laughing out loud every time I read it.
What are some of your favorite books set in another world? Have you read any of these?
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Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
Visiting another world in a favorite book is always fun! Most of these are unfamiliar novels for me, but I’m thinking that cozy mystery is one I’ll need to mentally bookmark and take a closer look at. Seems like it might be cute. 🙂
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While I haven’t read any of these, I do have The Secret, Book, & Scone Society on my TBR. I hope to enjoy it as much as you did.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-historical-fiction-reads-from-2024/
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I think you’re going to love that one. It’s a solid series with all the things that I like in a cozy.
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I have How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying on my TBR – the concept really appeals, but I can be quite picky about humour, so I haven’t got to it yet. But I do love a footnote, so that’s definitely a potential plus in my book!
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I’m so curious about The Black Hunger.
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I cannot wait for you to read this one. It has so many of the things you enjoy in other books.
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The Secret, Book, & Scone Society looks really good! And I have been wanting to read How to Become the Dark Lord. It sounds hilarious!!!
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I feel like you would absolutely love The Secret, Books, and Scone Society – it involves a book club turning into a true sistership. And How to Become the Dark Lord was absolutely hilarious.
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I read and enjoyed Strange Practice; your descriptions of Bryony and Roses and Night Owls make me want to read them. There are so many books I could list for this prompt, I couldn’t possibly choose just ten, even ten favorites! Thanks for the list and happy reading.
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This was a really easy topic for me to do, and I’m so glad my descriptions made you interested in some of these. I could easily have listed a ton more.
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I have a copy of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying at home and now I must push it to the top of the list! If it’s even half as funny as anything I’ve read by John Scalzi, I’ll be good!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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I’ve never read anything by John Scalzi, but I’m going to have to check him out. And I hope you find it as fun of a book as I did!
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He’s hilarious. I highly recommend Starter Villain!
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I’m adding that right to the TBR. Thank you so much for the heads up!
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I’ve heard of several, but read none.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/02/25/top-ten-tuesday-books-set-in-another-time/
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Hopefully one of these caught your attention, then.
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I love a good, cozy setting. Too bad so many of them aren’t real! Boo hoo.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I know! I wish I could visit so many places, especially from cozy mysteries. Minus the murder, of course.
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Strange Practice and Night Owls are favorites so I’m glad to see them on your list. They both deserve more attention. 🙂
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I’m so glad you enjoyed both of those as much as I did. It feels like they’re criminally underhyped.
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I like the look of so many of these!! Beauty and the Beast is my favourite so any retelling of that gets my vote!
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
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You know I can’t miss out on a good cover, or any kind of Beauty and the Beast retelling.
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🤣
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I love how varied this list is, especially with books that blend genres in unexpected ways. While my reading tastes tend to lean in a different direction, I always enjoy seeing what others are passionate about. The mix of historical influences, folklore, and unique settings makes for an intriguing selection!
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Thank you, and I can completely understand where you’re coming from. I always try to include a mix of genres, although I do tend to lean harder into fantasy than anything else. I also like to see the books that others are into, even if I haven’t read them, a lot of the time I wind up adding at least one thing from the blogs I hop around to, hence the TBR longer than a CVS receipt.
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LOL! The CVS comment cracked me up.
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hahahahaha it’s funny because it’s true!
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Oooh love this list, Leah! I’ve actually never read Bryony and Roses, but you can bet that’s being bumped up my TBR now.
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Thank you so much, Becky! That was my second Kingfisher read, after Nettle & Bone, and I was hooked on her writing from the first chapter of Nettle & Bone. I’m slowly working my way through her backlist, maybe we should do a buddy read one of these days!
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Absolutely! She has a new horror coming out towards the end of this year… maybe we should plan that one seeing as we loved A House With Good Bones?
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Ooooh, that would be fantastic!
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