As I’m sure you’ll know, it can be tricky to give a book an easy 5-star review, but once in a while, that perfect gem comes along and shakes your reality. It’s those books that make it impossible to focus on anything else and that have you reading until you hear the birds chirping, keeping you entirely engrossed for hours on end. Yes, you know exactly which books I’m talking about!

Well, this is my list of guilty pleasures that I will never stop recommending to anyone and everyone who cares. These are the books that have altered my brain chemistry – in no particular order, because each book is in a league of its own.

A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF) by Sarah J Maas

If you have been anywhere near the bookish world, you’ll have heard of this bad boy, and oh my soul, is it worth devouring, if even for the tropes alone. We have the classic enemies-to-lovers with the FMC and the MMC ‘antagonist’ (who is not an antagonist in the slightest) who play a dangerous game.

The slow-burning/yearning between these two is probably one of the best I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. We also have morally grey characters and forced proximity with fated mates, too, with their telepathic flirting and emotional intimacy.

And if this isn’t enough for you, we have the FMC coming into her full potential with a badass warrior woman training trope.

ACOMAF is a trope buffet!

A Court of Silver Flames (ACOSF) by Sarah J Maas

Okay, I must admit that when I found out who the FMC was going to be in this, I was not as excited to read it. And 0h my goodness was I completely and utterly wrong! When I tell you that this book had me feeling all the feels!

She has become one of my favourite FMCs I’ve ever read about, and I have so much respect for her. Not to mention the Queen, SJM herself, for the way she can take a story and a plot and run with it. She is truly extremely talented and is one of my favourite authors.

The tropes in this book are absolutely delicious and so easy to get on board with, too! Of course, we have the enemies-to-lovers trope between the FMC and MMC, as well as forced proximity as they live together and train together on a daily basis. We also have the beautiful ‘broken girl healing’ arc, which definitely takes you on a journey. And then, we have the gorgeous MMC, who is patient and devoted to the FMC and cheers her on to becoming her best self.

I could go on about this book forever, but I won’t, so make sure you read it!

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas

Can we tell that I love SJM?

This book is a sort of prequel in the Throne of Glass series and is a book that has a special place in my heart. When we talk about having a badass FMC, this is what we mean! It ends tragically and is packed with a whole lot of action and betrayal, and you cannot help but fall in love with the characters.

The tropes unfold magnificently in this book, and I can’t help but class this as the ultimate page-turner. We have rivals-to-lovers, a morally grey heroine (who carries the whole series), founded family and betrayal and the perfect ‘righting the wrongs’ trope.

I will definitely be re-reading this treasure!

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas

This is the last SJM book, I promise! (sorry, not sorry)

So, this is one of the tandem reads in the Throne of Glass series, but I actually read it on its own, and I am so glad I did this because it was such a breath of fresh air. The series as a whole is very long, and it was nice to be able to be in a different environment for a bit, and you discover characters on a deeper level.

We have a different set of tropes in this book, all of which are super interesting. We have grumpy/sunshine with the MMC going through his own emotional turmoil as a result of the previous book. We also have forced proximity with the FMC, who is forced to heal the MMC. This, of course, translates into a healing trope, too. It is such a beautiful book, and it takes you on a wild journey!

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Okay, I have ALL of the questions with this book! The ending left me flabbergasted, to say the least. I literally read the last sentence on the last page (not knowing it was the last page), turned it over, only to find the acknowledgements. Yes, it ended mid-conversation, and I found myself staring at the blank page, utterly speechless. I know this sounds dramatic, but it’s the honest truth.

Onyx Storm is the 3rd book in the Empyrean series, and it’s my favourite so far! With Violet and Xaden facing their most gruelling challenges yet, the tropes shift from ‘school-aged rivalry’ to ‘wartime survival and sacrifice.’

My favourite trope in this book is the ‘I’ll burn the world for you’ trope – because which bookish girlie wouldn’t want that? The MMC (Xaden) reaches a whole new level of protectiveness, and we explore a lot of this through their telepathic bonds, which is another beauty of a trope in this book. We also have a betrayal and secret societies trope, along with a training montage trope where the FMC reaches her potential with her Signet.

We are yet to wait for the next book in this series, and I am feeling as though it’s going to be a masterpiece!

Hopeless by Elsie Silver

Next, we move away from fantasy and into a whole other universe of cowboy romance – one I never thought I would find myself in, but here we are!

When I tell you that this book is beautiful, I mean nothing less. This book will have you giggling, blushing and in tears, too. Our MMC is a tortured hero (I mean, what else could we want in a cowboy romance?), and our FMC is a misunderstood small-town outcast virgin who has yet to experience love. We have an age-gap trope (he is 35, and she is 22), a ‘he-falls-first-and-harder’ trope, and a fake engagement trope, which, in my opinion, can easily pass for a forbidden love trope.

Just when you think Elsie Silver couldn’t create another unique love story, you open up another one of her books, and you’re instantly engrossed! The Chestnut Springs series is *chef’s kiss*, and I devoured all of those books!

Wild Side by Elsie Silver

Wild Side is the third book in the Rose Hill series by Elsie Silver and follows one of the most unconventional love stories I have ever read. We have a protective aunt (the FMC) who would go to war for her nephew, and a loyal friend who would do anything for the same kid (MMC). Somehow, these two are made for one another, and the way their love story unfolds is so special.

The slow-burning and yearning in this book is almost unbearable (in the best way), and it makes the ending of the book so completely worthit. You can expect tropes like enemies-to-lovers, found family, forced proximity (in the best way), and marriage convenience. Not to mention the spice levels 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ !

Do yourself a favour and read the Rose Hill series. You will fall in love with these characters as if they were your own friends.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The final book in my list of brain chemistry-altering books is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Very different, I know! But, in actual fact, I grew up reading this series, and this was way before any fairy smut entered my orbit.

I actually inhaled this series in one summer holiday, and I still find myself thinking about it often. As much as I have grown to be a bookish, enemies-to-lovers girlie, my first love is crime and thriller! Maybe this is why I love morally grey characters so much?

So, while this book is classed as a dark Scandinavian thriller, there are some gothic tropes that we can discuss. Our first trope is the odd-coupling, which involves the FMC and MMC who are from entirely different worlds, who find themselves working together to crack the case. We also have the reluctant hero trope and the ‘wealthy family gothic’ trope.

The plot is crazy interesting and so well put together, and is definitely worth a read if you haven’t yet!

So, there you have it; my list of books that have altered my brain chemistry and that have made me fall in love with reading time and time again. And, I am so excited to add some brain chemistry-altering books to this list as time goes on.