Books like 'The Summer that Melted Everything'
Readers who enjoyed The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror mystery magical-realism literary-fiction historical-fiction coming-of-age season-summer lgbtq
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Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAndy Gage was born in 1965 and murdered not long after by his stepfather. . . . It was no ordinary murder. Though the torture and abuse that killed him were real, Andy Gage's death wasn't. Only his soul actually died, and when it died, it broke in pieces. Then the pieces became souls in their own right, coinheritors of Andy Gage's life. . .Categorized as:
crime dark drama historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction magical-realism 21st-century -
Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDEL TIEMPO Y SUS DEMONIOS: PERSIGUIENDO LA VERDADEsta novela se desarrolla en un pequeño y misterioso pueblo. En un territorio hermoso, inhóspito a la luz de aquellas certezas que las mayorías consideran irrefutables. Lejos del tiempo que, arbitrariamente, tomara la sabia decisión de separar el bien del mal...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction paranormal historical-fiction crime dark mystery fiction -
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe complete volume of Robertson Davies's acclaimed trilogy, featuring Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders, with a new foreword by Kelly Link Fifth Business Ramsay is a man twice born, a man who has returned from the hell of the battle-grave at Passchendaele in World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross and destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and...Categorized as:
crime drama historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism religion spirituality 20th-century -
Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn Gabino Iglesias’ second novel, ghosts and old gods guide the hands of those caught up in a violent struggle to save the soul of the American southwest.A man tasked with shuttling children over the border believes the Virgin Mary is guiding him towards final justice. A woman offers colonizer blood to the Mother of Chaos... -
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The Witches of Santo Stefano by Wendy Webb
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn investigative journalist uncovers the haunting secret history of her own ancestors in a bewitching novel by the bestselling author of Daughters of the Lake.When Cassie Graves discovers her husband’s affair, it’s enough to chip away at the foundation of her life. But after researching her family’s Italian ancestry, it completely crumbles beneath her... -
The Awakening by Amanda Stevens
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsShush…lest she awaken… My name is Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered... -
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise... -
Moment of Truth by Phoebe Rivers
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSara’s friend Lily has a new crush…but he might be more of a fantasy than she realizes.Sara now understands who she really is—why she has paranormal powers, why she’s living in Stellamar, and why it’s important to have Lady Azura in her life. What she doesn’t understand is how her best friend, Lily Randazzo, can have a crush on a boy who’s not alive... -
Gravestone by Travis Thrasher, Kirby Heyborne
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHis fear will soon turn to anger…. At first, Chris Buckley was simply warned. And watched. But as Chris unravels the haunting riddles of the town of Solitary, he finds that much more than the life of a town is at stake. Whether facing a pastor with a house full of skeletons or a cousin he never knew existed, Chris is forced to choose between light and darkness, life and nightmarish death... -
Demon by Tosca Lee
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsClayton has just been hired to author a memoir for Lucian, a demon with an extraordinary story to share. The fallen angel chronicles a life of heavenly bliss and rebellion, human creation and salvation, and God's relentless pursuit of mankind...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal religion spirituality adult -
Reckoning by Cate Tiernan
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Alisa meets her mother's family, she finds comfort, conflict, and a greater understanding of Wicca. And she must make a choice that could change her future... -
Full Circle by Cate Tiernan
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsHunter, Morgan, and Alisa. All three are witches, and each is in turmoil. Hunter feels stifled by the small town world of Widow's Vale. Morgan is terrified of the possibility of life without him. And Alisa is still coping with the knowledge that she is a witch--by blood. Together, the three worked together to defeat the most unspeakable evil known to witches... -
The Magus by John Fowles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis daring literary thriller, rich with eroticism and suspense, is one of John Fowles's best-loved and bestselling novels and has contributed significantly to his international reputation as a writer of the first degree. At the center of The Magus is Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching position on a remote Greek island, where he befriends a local millionaire...Categorized as:
drama gothic historical-fiction literary-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal religion -
Redwood by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Season One finale of this riveting multisensory masterpiece from the visionary author of House of Leaves... -
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Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society...Categorized as:
dark gothic literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal 21st-century adult anthologies -
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe ghost of Sherlock Holmes is dead, but who will solve his murder?The Great Detective's ghost has walked London's streets for an age, given shape by people's memories. Now someone's put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. But what's the motive? And who - or what - could kill a ghost?When policing London's supernatural underworld, eliminating the impossible is not an option... -
Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, Patricia Sebastián Hernández
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWithin the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic.Magic is the first sin. It must be bound.Ever since Anna can remember, her aunt has warned her of the dangers of magic. She has taught her to fear how it twists and knots and turns into something dark and deadly.It was, after all, magic that killed her parents and left her in her aunt’s care...Categorized as:
friendship historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal audiobook book contemporary -
The China Garden by Liz Berry
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Clare moves with her mother from London to Ravensmere, an historic English estate, she can't shake the feeling that the residents already know her, especially Mark, a maddeningly attractive biker. Clare also feels compelled to take midnight walks in Ravensmere's abandoned China Garden. Then her mother reveals that their own past is tragically linked to the estate... -
Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide... -
Night's Child by Cate Tiernan
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsMorgan's saga continues in this double-length, stand alone SWEEP book. Moira's Story will shoot readers forward through time, where we will meet Morgan's daughter-raised as a blood witch-and follow her adventures as the progeny of one of the most powerful blood witches the Seven Great Clans have ever known... -
Eclipse by Cate Tiernan
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsHunter and Morgan join together with a surprising new ally to fight for the people they love... -
Lanny by Max Porter
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThere’s a village sixty miles outside London. It’s no different from many other villages in England: one pub, one church, red-brick cottages, council cottages and a few bigger houses dotted about. Voices rise up, as they might do anywhere, speaking of loving and needing and working and dying and walking the dogs...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama family friendship gothic historical-fiction literary-fiction -
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 85 ratingsSussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark family friendship literary-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal -
Shadowbound by Dianne Sylvan
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsSpread throughout the dark corners of our world lies the Shadow World, a society of vampires who feed off the living. In Austin, Texas, one woman must quell the cravings rising within her, as the very fate of the world rests in her hands… Ever since her Prime, David Solomon, returned from the dead, Miranda Grey has been hungry... -
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The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe spirits of Nordic folklore come calling in this entrancing tale of family secrets and ancient mysteries by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Haunting of Brynn Wilder.In Metsan Valo, her family home on Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s beloved grandmother has died. Among her fond memories, what Anni remembers most vividly is her grandmother’s eerie yet enchanting storytelling... -
The Sinner by Amanda Stevens
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsI am a living ghost, a wanderer in search of my purpose and place… I'm a cemetery restorer by trade, but my calling has evolved from that of ghost seer to death walker to detective of lost souls. I solve the riddles of the dead so the dead will leave me alone. I've come to Seven Gates Cemetery nursing a broken heart, but peace is hard to come by…for the ghosts here and for me...Categorized as:
crime dark gothic historical-fiction literary-fiction magic paranormal southern-gothic -
All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. 'This will be really embarrassing,' I kept saying to my family, 'when she shows up at the door in a week or two.'When Deena's wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears - presumed dead - her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It's just another bad thing to happen to Deena's family...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction lgbtq magic magical-realism paranormal religion -
Horns by Joe Hill
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIgnatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief... -
Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body by Megan Milks
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMeet Margaret. At age twelve, she was head detective of the mystery club Girls Can Solve Anything. Margaret and her three best friends led exciting lives solving crimes, having adventures, and laughing a lot. But now that she's entered high school, the club has disbanded, and Margaret is unmoored--she doesn't want to grow up, and she wishes her friends wouldn't either...Categorized as:
lgbtq coming-of-age magical-realism historical-fiction literary-fiction friendship dark fiction -
The Thread That Binds the Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTom Renfield, janitor-cum-taxi driver, has always had some weird abilities - seeing ghosts, perceiving other 'currents' of energy... but he's always tried to ignore them. Running from himself seems to be a large part of how he ended up in the tiny town of Arcadia... -
Passenger by Andrew Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBest friends Jack and Conner can’t stay away from Marbury. It’s partly because of their obsession with this alternate world and the unresolved war that still wages there. But it’s also because forces in Marbury—including the darkest of the dark, who were not revealed in The Marbury Lens—are beckoning the boys back in order to save their friends . . . and themselves... -
The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, Arkansas, the small town they all fled after high school graduation. Each is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter that reads, You promised... -
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsTravis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend... -
The Night Visitor by Dianne Emley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn bestselling author Dianne Emley’s chilling new paranormal thriller, a beautiful woman’s romantic past comes back to haunt her in the form of an otherworldly visitor seeking justice. Gorgeous and successful, Rory Langtry seemed to have it all. Daughter of a movie star and sister of a supermodel, Rory was engaged to sexy artist, Junior Lara... -
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The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFrom Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat.Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance... -
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsGeek Love is the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out—with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes—to breed their own exhibit of human oddities. There’s Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . .Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime dark drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism -
The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhile gathered together for the Christmas holiday, a large New Zealand family and their various guests find their lives suddenly invaded by three fascinating, but sinister brothers... -
Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNEW ORLEANS FANG FEST, 1995. MINA'S HAVING A SUMMER TO DIE FOR.17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in Whitby, the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can't wait to explore the city's darkest secrets - vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths.. -
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family."Mom seems off."Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps... -
Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"Run, Star Girl." BRYONY ADAMS IS DESTINED TO BE MURDERED, but fortunately Fate has terrible marksmanship. In order to survive, she must run as far and as fast as she can. After arriving in Seattle, Bryony befriends a tortured musician, a market fish-thrower, and a starry-eyed hero who is secretly a serial killer bent on fulfilling Bryony’s dark destiny. Mercedes M... -
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWho is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show -and discover the secret of its enigmatic host -in this dark supernatural thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide.Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children's program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on... -
Trespass Against Us by Leon Kemp
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPerfect for fans of Ace of Spades and The Taking of Jake Livingston, this young adult horror debut is told in dual timelines, following a group of teens as they visit an abandoned school for troubled youth and then return two years later to confront the supernatural evil they awoke there... -
Compulsion by Martina Boone, Joell A. Jacob
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family gothic historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal southern-gothic -
Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn this most gothic of Robert McCammon's novels, setting is key: the continuing saga of the Usher family (descended from the brother of Roderick and Madeline of Edgar Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher") takes place in the weird and picturesque heart of the North Carolina mountains...Categorized as:
crime gothic historical-fiction literary-fiction magic paranormal southern-gothic adult -
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A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPram Bellamy is special — she can talk to ghosts. She doesn't have too many friends amongst the living, but that's all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help... -
A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by John Hornor Jacobs
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales--both never-before-published in print--that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition...Categorized as:
dark gothic historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal southern-gothic -
جمجمهی حقیقت by Bruce Coville, محبوبه نجفخانی
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Charlie, a habitual liar, steals a skull from a magic shop, he discovers that the skull compels its owner to be honest. Working through several issues, Charlie realizes how complicated honesty is. Illustrations... -
Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHaunting and literary, Sarah Maria Griffin’s sophomore novel follows twins Mae and Rossa as they discover a house full of witches, experience devastating first loves, and face a dark power beyond all imagining. Fans of Libba Bray’s The Diviners and Maggie Stiefvater’s All the Crooked Saints will devour this dark tale... -
The Rattled Bones by S.M. Parker
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsUnearthing years of buried secrets, Rilla Brae is haunted by ghostly visions tied to the tainted history of a mysterious island in this haunting novel from the author of The Girl Who Fell.Maine-bred, independent Rilla Brae is no stranger to the deep. She knows the rhythms of hard work and harder seas...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama friendship gothic historical-fiction magical-realism paranormal -
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales--the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada...
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