Looking for something delightfully different? These genre-defying books are wonderfully weird and calling your name. Picture stories that blur boundaries, making their own stamp in the literary world. It’s the perfect or not-so-perfect mix of fantasy, science fiction, history, and mystery that will keep you hooked until the end. So brace yourself, and happy bending.

The Bulgarian Training Manual by Ruth Bonapace

Guided by a magical book, Tina travels from her waterlogged Hoboken apartment to Bulgaria and back, ending in a unique contest that blends bodybuilding and poetry. This novel explores themes of self-improvement, personal insecurities, and dreams, as we follow Tina on her journey to discover her true parents and find the perfect-fitting jeans.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann

Imagine having an affinity for the supernatural in a world where almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. That’s the life of Lucky Hart. Estranged from her family, friendless, and rejected from graduate school twice, her luck seems perpetually down. But then, hope returns when she gets details about a troubled production company — all of the actors quit after three nights of staying inside a notorious old Victorian. This blend of supernatural mystery and romance is a quirky, can’t miss combination.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Fyrebirds by Kate J. Armstrong

Eudea’s secret is out: four girls wield magic unseen for ages. Whispers liken them to the legendary Fyrebirds, earth-shakers, and warriors. Unity grants them unimaginable power. Now, with a new leader seeking to legalize magic, the city boils. Church and criminals alike resist change, while a hungry king eyes Eudea. War looms, forcing the Nightbirds to choose. Their decision holds the fate of Eudea.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Tucked away in a treetop haven, a peculiar family thrives—a fatherly inventor bot, a cheerfully sadistic nursemaid, a lonely vacuum, and a human boy named Vic. Their peace shatters when a salvaged android, Hap, awakens a dark past Gio, the inventor, desperately wants to be buried. To save him from a fate worse than the shutdown, Vic and his mismatched family embark on a perilous journey through a strange land, forced to confront Hap’s betrayal and the strength of their own unconventional bond.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Consumed by vengeance, Kissen hunts gods after zealots devoured her family. But fate throws a trickster god, Skedi, bound to a fleeing noble, into her path. Together with a disillusioned knight, they race to Blenraden’s ruins, seeking aid from the last wild gods. Demons chase them, war simmers, and a deeper darkness threatens. Only this unlikely band can cleanse the world’s festering core.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Homecoming Queen by Chad Boudreaux

Homecoming queen turned fugitive, Anika races against a monstrous hurricane to save her sister. Miranda, Texas, harbors dark secrets, and the mayor fuels the flames. Anika must outrun the storm, her past, and a vengeful town before they all collide.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

America’s gladiatorial games pits prisoners agains one another in a battle to the death. CAPE is a brutal entertainment empire built on the suffering of those incarcerated. Fan favorites Loretta “Hammer” Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker fight for freedom, each victory a step closer to escape. But CAPE won’t give up its stars easily. Thurwar wrestles with leaving her comrades as the corporate machine tightens its grip. In this brutal arena, freedom is the ultimate prize; they’ll fight tooth and nail to claim it.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

Extinction’s grim harvest fuels a callous industry. Biobanks, humanity’s last-ditch hope, are wiped clean by a cyberattack. Biologist Karin Resaint and industry exec Mark Halyard, an unlikely duo, search for a single survivor, the intelligent, venomous lumpsucker, across a ravaged planet. Their quest for a lost species unveils a deeper ecological and technological conspiracy.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman

High above, Prince North commands a sky city. Below, Nimh, a goddess, guides her people. A prophecy, which tells of a love forbidden that could save or doom their worlds, binds them together. Torn between duty and desire, they must choose their path.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand

Gunsmoke hangs low in 1876 America. Calamity Jane, a garou hunter by day and, Wild West showstopper by night, chases legends while charming audiences. When Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler, the fastest draw in the West, crosses paths with sharp-shooting Annie Oakley, sparks fly. A thrilling garou hunt gone wrong leaves Jane with a suspicious bite, forcing her to Deadwood, rumored to hold a cure. Her friends race against time to catch her before it’s too late.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

On a terraforming mission Sask-E, Destry, an ERT analyst, stumbles upon a hidden city. Her discovery ignites a generational saga. Centuries later, Misha, Destry’s descendant, uncovers a real estate plot threatening alien life. Alongside a motley crew, they fight to preserve Sask-E, even if it means using a planet-altering weapon. Now, the fate of a new world rests on a single, crucial choice.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble