I went nuts for a few of these myself (Flesh by Kylie Scott, and Beyond Shame just to name a couple – and ummmm… HOT HOT HOT to boot!!! *blush*), and when Michelle and Kasey asked for ’em, I knew it was time for a dedicated reader recommendations list!
Kasey: …recently I’ve been on the hunt for Post Apocalyptic (doesn’t have to be zombie!) books to devour….think Flash Bang, Skin, Flesh, Thicker than Blood, Hell Squad series. There’s not a lot that I can find searching Amazon and Goodreads, I was hoping you could put the call out for suggestions from your Maryse followers for suggestions?!?!”
Michelle: I’m in a slight reading slump and need to get out of it, think I’ll switch up genres, any good recommendations for a Dystopian/Utopian book?
Jean: You guys really make me want to read a dystopian book now! Any suggestions? I really haven’t read many that I can even think of… does Maryse have a list? I gotta go check.
Amy: I’m kinda in the mood for dystopian or postapocalyptic or something like that… or maybe something with zombies? Hmmm….
Here’s a list of recommended Post Apocalyptic Romance (and non-romance) Reads!
Beyond Series Bundle (Books 1-3) by Kit Rocha <— MichelleS recommends this one! “I loved the Beyond Series by Kit Rocha (steamy steamy post apocalyptic world)… The Beyond Series is a filthy little secret everyone should indulge in just once. Post Apocalyptic world where sex is about the only thing that survived it seems like. It was almost too dirty, even for me… and that’s saying something! I got to book 3. have book 4 on my Kindle. Have to be in the right mood for that little dittie.” and Lindsey agrees! “Omg! I’m half way through, and it’s an anarchical post apocalyptic slutfest. I love it. Thanks for another great recommendation.” and MichelleF agrees, too: “Beyond Innocence… YEAH!!! (happy dance, happy dance) I absolutely love the Beyond series. Fantastic dystopian setting that’s gritty and dark, but the sexy debauchery is on fire! And I can’t wait for more Evan Arden in Irrevocable, even though I sort of want to kick him in the head right now.”
Until the End of the World by Sarah Lynn Flemming <— Kelly recommends it! “Until the End of the World Series by Sarah Lyons Fleming. You will NOT be disappointed!!!” and Tammie agrees! “Until the end of the world series by Sarah Lyons. I liked it a lot.” and Kelsie too! “Until the end of the world!! My absolute favorite” P.S. I KNOW my friend AMY agrees…. she goes CRAZY for this series.
Darkest Before Dawn (A Guardian’s Diary Book 1) <— Melanie: “You will not be dissappointed with this one.”
Promise Me Darkness by Paige Weaver <— Niki: “Promise Me Darkness (book 1) Promise Me Light (book 2) by Paige Weaver…”
The Maze Runner Series Complete Collection (Maze Runner) by James Dashner <— Niki also recommends this one! “The Maze Runner series by James Dashner (not a romance, but a great series)”
Rot & Ruin Series <— Jenny says: “The Ruin series!!! Very gritty!! but the stories of each character are so raw you just fall in love!”
The Holy Trinity Series by Madeline Sheehan <— And she recommends this one, too!-“…and The Holy Trinity series by Madeline Sheehan (unbelievably original)…. and
Station Eleven: A novel and she also recommends this favorite! “…of course, Station Eleven – just amazing writing and quietly eerie.”
Life As We Knew It Series by Susan Beth Pfeffer <— Kristy recommends: “Life as we knew it susan beth pfeffer its YA but sooo good. One book is in the country the other in the city. Its also a good diet book since ive read them multiple times and it makes me feel like gluttonous for a week after.”
Hollowland (The Hollows, #1) by by Amanda Hocking <— Magan: “Hollow land by Amanda Hocking is a fav of mine!”
Beyond the Night: Envy Chronicles, Book 1 (The Envy Chronicles) by Colleen Gleason, Joss Ware <— Lori likes this one! “Joss Ware’s, Envy Chronicles. I think there are 7 in the series. Very good!”
The Passage: A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin <— And Cindy recommends two! “The Passage by Justin Cronin. Its awesome, but be forewarned . . . Its long.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy <— and Cindy also recommends: “Also, The Road by Cormac McCarthy.”
Red Hill by Jamie McGuire <— Rebecca suggested: “Red Hill by Jamie McGuire. It’s not too much crazy zombie but it is a wonderful book.”
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher <— Fabi recommends this one! “I’ve had a favorite of mine on my mind… was a great twisting, turning and eventually a mind f***. It’s YA (of course), dystopian (of course), with a WTF reveal that leaves your head spinning. It’s called Incarceron. Have you heard of it before?”
Unwind (Unwind Dystology Book 1) by Neal Shusterman <— Fabi also recommends this one! “The Unwind Dystology is YA. I always feel obligated to point out when one of my recs is not strictly romance or is a different genre or YA. This one has some romance, eventually, but it is YA. It reads as more of a thriller than anything else. I guess most dystopians read as thrillers, but this one more than most.”
Uglies (The Uglies Book 1) by Scott Westerfeld <— and Fabi also recommends (yes she’s a huge fan of these!! LOL!!) “…if you’re going to try dystopian for the first time, knowing you prefer romance and a bit or more of angst, I’d say try Uglies along with Maryse. 
”
Branded (A Sinners Series Book 1) by Abi Ketner <— Tessa loved this one! “Branded was so good. It had editing issues, but nothing that a decent editor couldn’t fix. You can tell the author cleaned it, but needed that fresh set of eyes to perfect it. That said, I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved something that if revealed, would be a spoiler. Mostly, loved the fact pace. I cried, but that’s expected in a dystopian. And Zeus is a dog, a great Dane. I love myth too, but this dog was the much needed humor and comfort of the book. Timed not to be cheesy, but to keep you focused on the story without getting bogged.” and Amy agrees: I’m gonna second Branded (great dystopian read)
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1) by Marissa Meyer <— another Fabi recommendation! “I finished Cinder in one sitting last night…absolutely could not go to sleep until I finished! You have to…really have to…read it asap! It is so up your alley, and mine for that matter, that I really feel stupid that I let it sit in my tbr for so long. I’m going right into Scarlet tonight. Oh MichelleS you would like this series too…it’s a dystopian fairytale with a punch of scifi…hard to describe but so uniquely awesome!”
—-> And don’t forget to check out author K.A. Linde’s favorites. She may write angsty-drama contemporary romance, but she READS Dystopian and Fantasy! Here’s her own recommendations list: Author K.A. Linde shares her favorite books… <— (Fabi connected to this list BIG time): “I’ve read 90% of these and I am SO excited about the ones here that I’ll read next. I think Ms. Linde and I have identical reading tastes. Although mine tend to wander a bit. It is always so exciting to find someone else who enjoys the same type of books. Amazing to know she writes her own fantastic books.”
Maryse, did you post her fantasy list?
You cannot go wrong with Red Hill or the Until The End of The World series!
I loved them all.
bev, I haven’t gotten back with her about that list. But you know what? I will!!! 😀
What about Sole Survivors and After the Crux (Crux Survivors) by Dani Worth? After the Crux is MFM with M/M and Dole Survivors is M/F.
Oh Maryse, you did it now…here it comes…
*SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!* Until the End of the World!!!
Since you already know my love for UTEOTW, I’ll skip ahead and throw out some love for The Holy Trinity series…I can’t believe more people haven’t read it! *side-eyes Maryse* And here’s some love for Unwind and Branded, too! *tosses glitter around*
Oooooh, I am on a run of these after that Facebook post. I hadn’t read Flash Bang so I had a new one to read. The new series NOLA Zombies by Gillian Zane is good. The first two books are out Run and Fight set around New Orelans – the Third book is out soon. It has a love triangle/ alpha males. Also Chantal Fernando wrote one called Beyond that was good, I am still waiting for more though….
In fact there are a few out there that seemed to have stalled. Charlotte Stein has also written one called Reawakening, again I am still awaiting another. AJ has already mentioned After the Crux which is sitting a two books.
Oh geez, that’s embarrassing. But of course my name would be all over Dystopian recs. *blush*
BTW…this list just isn’t complete without mentioning The Hunger Games even though I assume most have already read that series.
Is that me or Michelle talking about Cinder up there?
I swore to myself I wouldn’t do this but apparently, I have no willpower.
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi – this one is NA with quite a bit of romance.
Wool Omnibus (Silo series)
by Hugh Howey – this is one of the few I’ve read that is not YA but it’s still more thriller than romance. Words that come into my mind are “gripping”, ” spellbinding”.
*backing slowly away from blog – fingers outstretched yearning to keep adding* (must stop, must stop…)
It’s the Fabi list! *grins*
I have to add two more. Divergent series by Veronica Roth. So much better than the movies, though it’s one of the better movie adaptations. 🙂 Also, The Arcana Chronicles. That series is so good and has me guessing on a lot of theories.
I never realized how many dystopians you all got me reading. I have to finish the Until the End of the World series, Beyond series was sexy as well as suspensful, Holy Trinity was so good and Darkest Before Dawn. Where is book two of that one? I loved it.
This is a great list! I loved Promise Me Darkness/Promise Me Light and UTEOTW (especially So Long Lollipops).
Need to check out Flesh. I already have the Holy Trinity Series and NEED to read Uglies!
I had Trapped on pre-order but it’s Kick, Push that just sent me flying over to Amazon. Everything from the title to the cover to the blurb is screaming my name. I can’t wait to read this one!
Fabi, I just checked out Kick Push and immediately 1-clicked! Sounds so good and lots of 5 star reviews.
Oh, I didn’t even notice the 5 star reviews. Yeeaa! I’m so excited about this book. I hope its as good as it sounds.
Although, I’m still reading Lips Like Ice because I still only have a little reading time. I may have to without sleepnthis week to read both. I don’t want to squirrel.
Fabi, just read the prologue and it sucked me right in! Squirrelling from Paper Swan for now even though everyone is freaking about it.
I think Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series could fit into this list too. It’s sort of post apocalyptic with paranormal mixed in. I also really like Stepanie Tyler’s Defiance series because you can’t go wrong with sexy alpha bikers trying to save the their women and families after the world falls apart. But the Kit Rocha series Beyond still kicks butt! So hot, sexy, wild, raw, gritty, wrong, and perfect. I’ve read all the books and novellas in that series and enjoyed them all.
Jean and Fabi…is Kick Push the one Kellie was talking about yesterday, the one with the single teenage dad?
Jean!!! You’re gonna make me squirrel and MichelleS will never forgive me. Waaaa *must be string*
Amy, I must have missed that post by Kellie. But yes, this book is about a teenage dad. It’s listed in Maryse’s Tuesday releases. That’s where I ran across it.
*string* ha! I meant *strong* but was probably thinking MichelleS will string me up if I squirrel
You guys! I am loving Kick Push! Thank you, thank you, thank you Fabi for bringing this one to my attention!!!!!!!!
That’s it. I’m squirreling. I’m gonna say its Jean’s fault. Lol
I’ll take the blame Fabi! I just hope you like it as much as I am…..that prologue…..never read anything like this before! Such a different storyline for us!
Nobody ever mentions the Love and Decay series by Rachel Higginson. They are YA but oh so good. She writes like 4 novellas around November thru February every year. Lots of zombies and action. I didn’t know about this series so when I first started got to overdose on 3 years of novellas. Please give them a try. Have to start at beginning.
Excellent list however you missed the best post-apocalyptic book ever Swan Song by Robert McCammon and the second best The Stand by Stephen King. This is my favorite genre.