Best Fish Out of Water Books

Azarinth Healer: Book One

Azarinth Healer • Book 1

by Rhaegar

When brawler Ilea faces the horror of college and becoming a "fully functioning member of society," waking up in a world full of monsters trying to kill her almost seems lucky. Andrea Parsneau perfectly captures Ilea's irreverent voice and love of combat in this LitRPG adventure.

More about this pick

When brawler Ilea faces the horror of college and becoming a "fully functioning member of society," waking up in a world full of monsters trying to kill her almost seems lucky. Andrea Parsneau perfectly captures Ilea's irreverent voice and love of combat in this LitRPG adventure.

Savannah

System Universe • Book 3

by SunriseCV

House Gracefall's surprising humility challenges Derek's assumptions about nobility, but another house waits to confirm his worst stereotypes. This System Universe installment balances political intrigue with personal character development.

More about this pick

House Gracefall's surprising humility challenges Derek's assumptions about nobility, but another house waits to confirm his worst stereotypes. This System Universe installment balances political intrigue with personal character development.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy • Book 1

by Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams turns the universe into an elaborate joke where dolphins are smarter than humans and the answer to everything is disappointingly simple.

More about this pick

Douglas Adams turns the universe into an elaborate joke where dolphins are smarter than humans and the answer to everything is disappointingly simple.

Shantaram

Shantaram • Book 1

by Gregory David Roberts

Roberts chronicles his transformation from Australian fugitive to Bombay slum doctor, weaving philosophy and adventure through heroin dens, Bollywood sets, and Afghan battlefields across 900+ pages.

More about this pick

Roberts chronicles his transformation from Australian fugitive to Bombay slum doctor, weaving philosophy and adventure through heroin dens, Bollywood sets, and Afghan battlefields across 900+ pages.

The Simple Wild

Wild • Book 1

by K.A. Tucker

Dissonance

Unbound • Book 1

by Nicoli Gonnella

A portal fantasy that asks what happens when life's biggest coward gets a chance to start over somewhere completely different. Felix's journey from failed relationships and tiny apartments to life-or-death choices on The Continent feels both escapist and emotionally real.

More about this pick

A portal fantasy that asks what happens when life's biggest coward gets a chance to start over somewhere completely different. Felix's journey from failed relationships and tiny apartments to life-or-death choices on The Continent feels both escapist and emotionally real.

The Idiot

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Epileptic Prince Myshkin returns from Swiss treatment to St. Petersburg, where his Christ-like innocence attracts fortune-hunters and destroys lives.

More about this pick

Epileptic Prince Myshkin returns from Swiss treatment to St. Petersburg, where his Christ-like innocence attracts fortune-hunters and destroys lives.

The Primal Hunter

The Primal Hunter • Book 1

by Zogarth

The universe hits an integration threshold and Earth joins the multiverse—suddenly Jake's office job matters less than surviving forests full of deadly creatures.

More about this pick

The universe hits an integration threshold and Earth joins the multiverse—suddenly Jake's office job matters less than surviving forests full of deadly creatures.

Shadeslinger

The Ripple System • Book 1

by Kyle Kirrin

Ned's corporate life implodes, so he escapes into Earthblood Online armed with exclusive early access and a ridiculously handsome talking axe with mysterious knowledge.

More about this pick

Ned's corporate life implodes, so he escapes into Earthblood Online armed with exclusive early access and a ridiculously handsome talking axe with mysterious knowledge.

Morrigan's Bidding

Binding Words • Book 1

by Daniel Schinhofen

What starts as a simple bar disagreement escalates when Sean finds himself the prize in a supernatural auction between gods and archangels, each offering different deals for his soul.

More about this pick

What starts as a simple bar disagreement escalates when Sean finds himself the prize in a supernatural auction between gods and archangels, each offering different deals for his soul.

The City of Brass

The Daevabad Trilogy • Book 1

by S.A. Chakraborty

Street thief Nahri's fake healing powers turn real when she summons a djinn, launching her into the political intrigue of magical Daevabad.

More about this pick

Street thief Nahri's fake healing powers turn real when she summons a djinn, launching her into the political intrigue of magical Daevabad.

Cultivating Chaos

VeilVerse: Cultivating Chaos • Book 1

by William D. Arand

High school martial artist Ash finds his earthly skills useless after being dragged through a portal into a world where power comes from magical cultivation techniques.

More about this pick

High school martial artist Ash finds his earthly skills useless after being dragged through a portal into a world where power comes from magical cultivation techniques.

Keeping Zita

Rescue Angels • Book 3

by Susan Stoker

Elite pilot Obi-Wan seeks excitement as a military advisor on a Hollywood blockbuster but finds himself way out of his element when real threats emerge. Stoker delivers Rescue Angels action where movie sets become actual battlegrounds for survival.

More about this pick

Elite pilot Obi-Wan seeks excitement as a military advisor on a Hollywood blockbuster but finds himself way out of his element when real threats emerge. Stoker delivers Rescue Angels action where movie sets become actual battlegrounds for survival.

Right of Retribution

Right of Retribution • Book 1

by William D. Arand

The Once and Future Queen

The Lives of Guinevere • Book 1

by Paula Lafferty

A contemporary woman finds herself thrust into Camelot as Guinevere in this time-traveling feminist take on Arthurian legend. Lafferty reimagines the famous queen as spunky and surprising rather than passive.

More about this pick

A contemporary woman finds herself thrust into Camelot as Guinevere in this time-traveling feminist take on Arthurian legend. Lafferty reimagines the famous queen as spunky and surprising rather than passive.

A Plain-Dealing Villain

Daniel Faust • Book 4

by Craig Schaefer

Broke and hunted by a rogue FBI agent, Daniel Faust flees Vegas for Chicago, where a promising heist hides the kind of risks that get sorcerers killed.

More about this pick

Broke and hunted by a rogue FBI agent, Daniel Faust flees Vegas for Chicago, where a promising heist hides the kind of risks that get sorcerers killed.

Gravesong

The Singer of Terandria • Book 1

by Pirateaba

Pirateaba sends a Galway actress from city streets to an ancient tomb where her songs become necromantic spells. Theater training meets magical resurrection in unexpected ways.

More about this pick

Pirateaba sends a Galway actress from city streets to an ancient tomb where her songs become necromantic spells. Theater training meets magical resurrection in unexpected ways.

Between You & Me

by Susan Wiggs

An Amish widower raising his orphaned niece and nephew confronts his community's strict rules when a medical emergency threatens everything.

More about this pick

An Amish widower raising his orphaned niece and nephew confronts his community's strict rules when a medical emergency threatens everything.

The Tapestry of a Heart

by Erin Zak

After losing her job at the family business, Finnley finds refuge with her uncle in Chicago, where meeting the enigmatic Emerson forces her to confront her true identity.

More about this pick

After losing her job at the family business, Finnley finds refuge with her uncle in Chicago, where meeting the enigmatic Emerson forces her to confront her true identity.

1632

Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 1

by Eric Flint

When Grantville, West Virginia mysteriously appears in 1632 Germany during the devastating Thirty Years' War, modern Americans must use 21st-century knowledge to survive in an age of famine, disease, and religious warfare.

More about this pick

When Grantville, West Virginia mysteriously appears in 1632 Germany during the devastating Thirty Years' War, modern Americans must use 21st-century knowledge to survive in an age of famine, disease, and religious warfare.

Off to Be the Wizard

Magic 2.0 • Book 1

by Scott Meyer

Computer programmer Martin discovers he can manipulate reality like software code, but when caught by authorities, he escapes to medieval times to masquerade as a wizard with predictably chaotic results.

More about this pick

Computer programmer Martin discovers he can manipulate reality like software code, but when caught by authorities, he escapes to medieval times to masquerade as a wizard with predictably chaotic results.

The Kaiju Preservation Society

by John Scalzi

COVID-era food delivery driver Jamie Gray accidentally lands a job protecting kaiju in an alternate dimension. Scalzi wrote this as pandemic comfort reading, and it shows in the best possible way.

More about this pick

COVID-era food delivery driver Jamie Gray accidentally lands a job protecting kaiju in an alternate dimension. Scalzi wrote this as pandemic comfort reading, and it shows in the best possible way.

Stranger in a Strange Land

by Robert A. Heinlein

Raised on Mars and possessing telepathic abilities, Valentine Michael Smith arrives on Earth as a stranger to his own species. Heinlein uses Smith's alien perspective to examine human society, sexuality, religion, and politics with both humor and profound philosophical insight.

More about this pick

Raised on Mars and possessing telepathic abilities, Valentine Michael Smith arrives on Earth as a stranger to his own species. Heinlein uses Smith's alien perspective to examine human society, sexuality, religion, and politics with both humor and profound philosophical insight.

Natural Born Hustler

Nikki Turner Original

by Nikki Turner

Desember Day refuses to repeat her mother's pattern of bad relationships, but the streets have their own rules about love and survival. Turner's hip-hop lit examines women's choices within harsh circumstances.

More about this pick

Desember Day refuses to repeat her mother's pattern of bad relationships, but the streets have their own rules about love and survival. Turner's hip-hop lit examines women's choices within harsh circumstances.

God's Junk Drawer

by Peter Clines

When Billy reappears decades after his family's disappearance, his story of a hidden valley populated by dinosaurs and ancient beings challenges everything about reality.

More about this pick

When Billy reappears decades after his family's disappearance, his story of a hidden valley populated by dinosaurs and ancient beings challenges everything about reality.

One Last Stop

by Casey McQuiston

Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen Collection)

Jane Austen's Novels

by Jane Austen

Seventeen-year-old Catherine's love of Gothic novels turns Bath society into a mystery adventure, complete with imagined villains and romantic intrigue. Austen's most playful novel skewers both literary conventions and social pretensions.

More about this pick

Seventeen-year-old Catherine's love of Gothic novels turns Bath society into a mystery adventure, complete with imagined villains and romantic intrigue. Austen's most playful novel skewers both literary conventions and social pretensions.

The Fifteenth Minute

The Ivy Years • Book 5

by Sarina Bowen

Agent to the Stars

by John Scalzi

Benevolent aliens want to make contact but face a PR nightmare: they're hideous and smell terrible, so they hire Hollywood's hottest agent to rebrand them.

More about this pick

Benevolent aliens want to make contact but face a PR nightmare: they're hideous and smell terrible, so they hire Hollywood's hottest agent to rebrand them.

The Fold

Threshold • Book 2

by Peter Clines

A brilliant loner with an eidetic memory reluctantly investigates what appears to be a breakthrough teleportation device, only to discover reality itself might be unraveling at the quantum level.

More about this pick

A brilliant loner with an eidetic memory reluctantly investigates what appears to be a breakthrough teleportation device, only to discover reality itself might be unraveling at the quantum level.

The Spellman Files

The Spellmans • Book 1

by Lisa Lutz

Isabel Spellman works for her family's detective agency where surveillance targets include each other—imagine Nancy Drew if she had commitment issues and a vandalism habit.

More about this pick

Isabel Spellman works for her family's detective agency where surveillance targets include each other—imagine Nancy Drew if she had commitment issues and a vandalism habit.

The Muse

by Jessie Burton

Trinidadian typist Odelle Bastien's 1967 London job at an art gallery connects her to a Spanish Civil War painting with secrets that span generations and continents.

More about this pick

Trinidadian typist Odelle Bastien's 1967 London job at an art gallery connects her to a Spanish Civil War painting with secrets that span generations and continents.

The Bride Test

The Kiss Quotient • Book 2

by Helen Hoang

Friday

Friday

by Robert A. Heinlein

Genetically engineered Friday works as a courier in a balkanized future America, questioning her humanity while navigating a world gone mad. Heinlein explores identity and belonging through an artificial person more human than her creators.

More about this pick

Genetically engineered Friday works as a courier in a balkanized future America, questioning her humanity while navigating a world gone mad. Heinlein explores identity and belonging through an artificial person more human than her creators.

1636: The Kremlin Games

Assiti Shards • Book 13

by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, Paula Goodlett

Modern Americans from displaced Grantville attempt to modernize 17th-century Russia, but 1600s court politics and cultural clashes prove as dangerous as any battlefield.

More about this pick

Modern Americans from displaced Grantville attempt to modernize 17th-century Russia, but 1600s court politics and cultural clashes prove as dangerous as any battlefield.

The Librarian's Gargoyle

Stone Awakenings • Book 1

by Evelyn Shine

Parkour-practicing Parisian librarian Viola battles magical creatures while dodging an arranged marriage and fighting to keep her library funded. Urban fantasy with actual stakes beyond romance.

More about this pick

Parkour-practicing Parisian librarian Viola battles magical creatures while dodging an arranged marriage and fighting to keep her library funded. Urban fantasy with actual stakes beyond romance.

Eric

Discworld • Book 9

by Terry Pratchett

Young Eric's attempt to summon a demon backfires spectacularly when he gets Rincewind the wizard instead of supernatural wish-fulfillment. Pratchett's shortest Discworld novel parodies Faust with his signature wit and wordplay.

More about this pick

Young Eric's attempt to summon a demon backfires spectacularly when he gets Rincewind the wizard instead of supernatural wish-fulfillment. Pratchett's shortest Discworld novel parodies Faust with his signature wit and wordplay.

Blood Moon

Vampire Vigilante • Book 1

by Nazri Noor

Vampire Sterling must abandon his hedonistic city life for a mountain town plagued by mangled corpses. Snooty nobles, territorial werewolves, and law-enforcing sorcerers complicate everything.

More about this pick

Vampire Sterling must abandon his hedonistic city life for a mountain town plagued by mangled corpses. Snooty nobles, territorial werewolves, and law-enforcing sorcerers complicate everything.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

Secret Projects • Book 2

by Brandon Sanderson, Steve Argyle

An amnesiac awakens in medieval England with no memory but plenty of enemies, relying on locals' 'superstitions' and a cryptic survival manual.

More about this pick

An amnesiac awakens in medieval England with no memory but plenty of enemies, relying on locals' 'superstitions' and a cryptic survival manual.

Ethan of Athos

Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) • Book 3

by Lois McMaster Bujold

A doctor from an all-male planet must venture into the wider galaxy to save his world's dwindling genetic stocks, discovering women and interstellar intrigue in equal measure.

More about this pick

A doctor from an all-male planet must venture into the wider galaxy to save his world's dwindling genetic stocks, discovering women and interstellar intrigue in equal measure.

Werewolf in Seattle

Wild About You • Book 3

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

A reluctant Scottish werewolf pack leader travels to the San Juan Islands to settle his aunt's estate, only to find himself drawn to a mysterious secretary with her own supernatural heritage.

More about this pick

A reluctant Scottish werewolf pack leader travels to the San Juan Islands to settle his aunt's estate, only to find himself drawn to a mysterious secretary with her own supernatural heritage.

Space Force

by Jeremy Robinson

Space Force gets populated by military misfits and troublemakers, including Captain Ethan Stone, who definitely shouldn't have slept with that general's daughter three times.

More about this pick

Space Force gets populated by military misfits and troublemakers, including Captain Ethan Stone, who definitely shouldn't have slept with that general's daughter three times.

Wolves

I Bring the Fire • Book 1

by C. Gockel

What starts as Amy's simple road trip becomes an interdimensional adventure when she encounters a prison-escaped Loki who's forgotten something crucial about Thor and Odin's latest scheme.

More about this pick

What starts as Amy's simple road trip becomes an interdimensional adventure when she encounters a prison-escaped Loki who's forgotten something crucial about Thor and Odin's latest scheme.

Travelling Light

by Tove Jansson, Silvester Mazzarella, Ali Smith

Jansson's newly translated collection captures women facing quiet upheavals with the same delicate touch that made the Moomins timeless.

More about this pick

Jansson's newly translated collection captures women facing quiet upheavals with the same delicate touch that made the Moomins timeless.

Skythief

The Realmwalkers • Book 1

by Matthew Wolf

Dystopian thief Dren lands in a world of elemental Seekers and divine conflicts armed with only tenacity and charm. Wolf forces his underdog protagonist to climb both literally and figuratively in this magical realm.

More about this pick

Dystopian thief Dren lands in a world of elemental Seekers and divine conflicts armed with only tenacity and charm. Wolf forces his underdog protagonist to climb both literally and figuratively in this magical realm.

A Werewolf in Manhattan

Wild About You • Book 1

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Fiction writer Emma Gavin's werewolf novels hit too close to home for a real New York pack, especially when heir Aiden Wallace discovers his attraction to her.

More about this pick

Fiction writer Emma Gavin's werewolf novels hit too close to home for a real New York pack, especially when heir Aiden Wallace discovers his attraction to her.

The Werewolf's 15 Minutes

Audible Original Stories

by Jonathan Maberry

Directionless slacker Gary Bruce has one thing going for him: he's a werewolf, and going viral might be his ticket out of epic loserness.

More about this pick

Directionless slacker Gary Bruce has one thing going for him: he's a werewolf, and going viral might be his ticket out of epic loserness.

Burkheart Witch Saga Box Set, Books 1-3

Burkheart Witch Saga #1-3 • Book 1

by Christine Sutton

What starts as a simple cross-country drive spirals into supernatural warfare as Kayla confronts vampires, werewolves, and evil witches threatening her world. Sutton launches an urban fantasy saga where ordinary people discover extraordinary destinies.

More about this pick

What starts as a simple cross-country drive spirals into supernatural warfare as Kayla confronts vampires, werewolves, and evil witches threatening her world. Sutton launches an urban fantasy saga where ordinary people discover extraordinary destinies.

Andorra

by Peter Cameron

After personal tragedy drives him from America, a man finds refuge in Andorra—where the small country begins reflecting his imagination and memories.

More about this pick

After personal tragedy drives him from America, a man finds refuge in Andorra—where the small country begins reflecting his imagination and memories.

Kingdoms' Corner: The Time of the Transition

by Jocelyn Sands

Victorian England gives way to a land filled with music, poetry, and dance as seen through foreign eyes. Cultural immersion drives this fantasy that prioritizes world-building over action sequences.

More about this pick

Victorian England gives way to a land filled with music, poetry, and dance as seen through foreign eyes. Cultural immersion drives this fantasy that prioritizes world-building over action sequences.