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.
Hey y’all! This week our prompt is a genre freebie, This can be a list of books sharing a common genre, or a narrowed list. We all know how much I love when books straddle the line between genres, so this week instead of picking a single genre or some aspect found in it, I will be talking about my top ten books that don’t easily fit into one single genre. If it’s a series, I’ll include the first book. Here’ are some of my favorite genre mash-ups:
- The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. This one is a historical fiction with significant elements of fantasy, and was an outstanding standalone read. Goodreads | Amazon
- Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. It’s hard to quantify this book into any genre really; it’s speculative fiction—a combination of fantasy, sci-fi, and dark academia, and the only way to describe it is mind-blowing. Goodreads | Amazon
- Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Historical fiction plus sci-fi plus discovering family secrets makes this one of my all-time favorite multi-genre books. Goodreads | Amazon
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. My own intro into multi-genre fiction included this book—a combination of historical fiction, fantasy, and some serious romance. Goodreads | Amazon
- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. The other major multi-genre series that I adore is this book, the start of an urban fantasy/mystery series that eventually includes a very-slow burn romance that never overshadows the plot. Goodreads | Amazon
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I originally thought this was going to be more fantasy, but it wound up being mainly sci-fi with bits of fairy tales and a little bit of romance too. Goodreads | Amazon
- Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. I can barely even quantify this book because it includes so many different genres, including sci-fi, historical fiction, and mystery/suspense. Goodreads | Amazon
- The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon. This book takes place in an alternate future, so it includes some sci-fi, along with mystery. Goodreads | Amazon
- Beloved by Toni Morrison. I read this in high school and was floored at how this historical fiction combined elements of paranormal fantasy. Even after a recent reread, I still felt just as blown away as I did at 16. Goodreads | Amazon
- A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. Actually, most of the Kingfisher books I’ve read fall into the cozy horror-fantasy-mystery-fairytale-romance categories, with some genres represented more than others. Goodreads | Amazon
What are some of your favorite multi-genre books?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
Kindred and Beloved were both very good books.
Thanks for stopping by earlier.
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They really were both so good. Have you seen the Hulu version of Kindred?
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I love what you did! Some of these books are indeed hard to put into one genre only!
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Thank you! I actually really like these kinds of reads that aren’t as easy to classify within one single genre.
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I’ve heard a lot of interesting stuff about Outlander!
Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-middle-grade-novels-ive-recently-reviewed/“>Top Ten Tuesday. </a>
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Outlander can be a lot, but if you can overlook the flaws, the love story is epic!
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I tried reading Rivers of London earlier this year, and found it to be such a struggle. I know people generally love it, and that always makes me feel bad when I don’t.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/football-reads-ten-books-to-prepare-for-football-season/
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I look at it like Monty Python – it has that British humor that some people love and others just don’t. You know? If it helps, the audiobook versions are narrated by an outstanding guy!
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These look good. I have Rivers of London on my 20 Books of Summer Challenge.
I both love and get annoyed at multi genres. I love a mix, but at the same time what do you categorise it as 🤣
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
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Oooooh I hope you love Rivers of London as much as I do – it’s such an incredible series! And I understand what you mean, I love the different elements each genre adds, but I never know what to classify it as on my reviews.
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I have high hopes for it!
Annoying isn’t it. Especially if people only read certain genres…
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These are all really mixed. I read romance with other genres in there. My list actually is something along those lines.
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That’s cool – I think romance might be the most common crossover genre, simply because it’s found in so many other types of stories!
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Whaaaaaat, Beloved has fantasy elements? I really must get around to reading it. I love how the Outlander books merrily mash-up genres, but I’ve always thought of them as more sci-fi than fantasy (probably because I just associate time travel very strongly with sci-fi).
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Yes! Beloved has elements of fantasy, and I highly recommend it. We read it in high school, and I was too young to really appreciate it the way I have more recently. It’s funny – time travel is almost always sci-fi, but I always think of these more like portal fantasy, especially since they don’t always choose to travel and where they are going. I think of sci-fi whenever there are space elements.
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Ah, I suppose portal fantasy does fit the Outlander books well. Plus historical/romance/family saga/war story!
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oh i love your twist on this freebie! My TTT
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Thank you! It gave me the chance to have some fun with switching things up. Feel free to take it on another freebie day if you want.
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What quickly comes to mind to Princess Bride- romance and fantasy
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Plus adventures and pirates and a giant! There are so many fun elements in The Princess Bride, but alas, I haven’t read the book yet.
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A story that has everything
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I love genre-crossing books, and you’ve highlighted some great ones. I really want to re-read Beloved.
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Thank you! Beloved is like a totally new read as an adult compared to being in high school. I hope you get to read it again soon.
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Great idea to look at books with multiple genres. I also have Outlander on my list (although I may have cheated as it’s not purely historical!)
https://clairehennighan.wordpress.com/2025/08/06/my-top-ten-historical-fiction-novels/
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Thank you! I figured it would make a more interesting read than having to see the same books posted on my page each week. Outlander is so many genres it isn’t even funny!
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I do enjoy books that are a genre mashup and have read many, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of any. I enjoyed Cinder as well, and agree, it has a lot to it, Leah.
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Its always so interesting to find which books we have enjoyed in common, since our reading tastes are so different.
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