You could argue there’s never been a better time to be a reader. BookTok and bookstagram accounts have turned readers into one of the internet’s most engaged and fervent communities. Online book clubs are everywhere. We can connect over our favorite novels anytime, anywhere. But this also often means the same type of book is being spotlighted by the algorithm (romantasy and gothic lit have definitely had their main character moments).
People are looking to expand their horizons. According to Everand’s 2026 State of the Reading report, “80% read a new genre this year, signaling a growing openness to exploration and a broadening of the stories we’re choosing, including niche subgenres.” So, if you’re tired of getting recommended the same few books over and over, these 6 niche subgenres will expand your TBR.
What Is a Subgenre?
As you may already know, a subgenre is a distinct, narrowed-down stylized version of a traditional genre. In music, indie-pop is a subgenre of pop; in film, “slasher” is a subgenre of horror. Literature offers a whole world of them, from basics like dystopian sci-fi and historical fiction to dark academia and fem gore. And they’re only getting more niche.
After conducting some research, I narrowed down the top subgenres worth adding to your TBR list if you’re in a reading rut, along with a mix of recommendations to get you started.
Sapphic Romance
Queer romance has been an important genre for ages, but it completely took hold of mainstream media last year (two words: Heated Rivalry) and has more readers hooked than ever. Sapphic stories (aka women-loving-women) are no exception, and they’re in particularly high demand right now. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid made millions fall for the subgenre when it hit BookTok (complete with a film adaptation on the way), and the platform has helped introduce this type of book to a larger audience. Over 250 sapphic novels are set to come out this year, according to the blog Lesbrary.
Darcy’s life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch’s upcoming DEI programs.
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Five queer women find each other in 1970s Uruguay under a brutal dictatorship, and what unfolds is one of the most beautiful friendship stories you’ll read this year. It spans decades and is absolutely sweeping in a way that’ll have you immediately Googling everything else De Robertis has written. A genuine “stay up too late finishing it” kind of book.
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Set in a small Irish village, this one is moody, atmospheric, and exactly the kind of literary fiction you want for a rainy Sunday. In January, 1965, the O’Leary siblings arrive in their new village desperate to make a new start and leave their troubled life behind. As they slowly settle in to town, the siblings are taken under the wing of Betty and Bill Nevan, a wealthy couple in their 40s who have always wanted children. However, as one O’Leary sister grows close to Betty, lines are crossed and their intense relationship becomes difficult to define.
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Cli-fi
Short for climate-fiction, this subgenre centers on the environment and depicts often dystopian worlds in which it’s endangered. You’ve probably heard of Dune, one of the most famous cli-fi narratives that explores themes of ecological ruin, water scarcity, and sustainability. It’s not surprising that these stories are having a moment, as they feel more real than ever, given the effects of climate change we’re experiencing. However, they also offer hope that we can save our planet from ourselves.
A woman follows the last of the Arctic terns on what may be their final migration, and somewhere along the way, this becomes one of the most haunting books you’ve ever read. It’s about climate grief, yes, but also love and loss and the kind of quiet, devastating writing that sticks with you for months. Bring tissues.
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15-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding social chaos and anarchy caused by climate change and economic crisis. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy—a debilitating sensitivity to others’ emotions. Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny. A must-read that absolutely belongs on every “books that changed me” list.
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A sweeping, climate-fiction epic from one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Two fugitives, a man and a child, drive all night across a stony desert. As dawn breaks, they roll into an abandoned mine site. From the vehicle they survey a forsaken place—middens of twisted iron, rusty wire, piles of sun-baked trash. They’re exhausted, traumatized, desperate now. But as a refuge, this is the most promising place they’ve seen. The child peers at the field of desolation. The man thinks to himself, this could work. Problem is, they’re not alone.
Afrofuturism
As described by the Met, “Afrofuturism is a genre that centers Black history and culture and incorporates science-fiction, technology, and futuristic elements into literature, music, and the visual arts.” While often set in the future, the subgenre can also reimagine the past and question the present (important as ever). It usually incorporates other subgenres like cyberpunk and mysticism, making the stories dynamic and limitless. With a focus on liberation, the worlds created are empowering and compelling to read.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
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Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying?
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A short story collection from one of the most exciting voices in speculative fiction working today. Each story stands completely on its own, which makes it perfect for picking up between bigger reads or for those nights when you only have 30 minutes before bed. Smart, imaginative, and surprisingly hopeful.
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Cozy Escapism
For me, reading has always been about retreating into someone else’s life and pretending reality doesn’t exist. The rise of cozy escapism suggests readers want to set aside the chaos of daily life and immerse themselves in stories that feel like a warm hug (rather than thrilling or unsettling). “A whopping 83% feel relaxed when they read, and 54% cite stress relief as the reason for reading more this year,” Everand’s report reads. “In an increasingly chaotic world, books remain a source of solace.” These books may or may not mix genres, but plots tend to involve fantasy, magic, romance, and/or mystery (think ghosts, summer love, talking creatures). What’s guaranteed: They pull you in with their comforting setting, and you’ll feel content whenever you pick it up.
Cozy Japanese fiction at its absolute best. Five strangers visit the same Tokyo library and leave with a book recommendation that quietly changes their lives. It’s a sweet, gentle read that genuinely makes you feel better about everything. The book equivalent of a warm cup of tea.
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A grumpy academic studies faeries in a remote village and meets her charming, frustrating rival along the way. If you’ve been chasing the cozy fantasy and academic vibes, this is the series for you. It’s whimsical, it’s smart, and the romantic tension is very well-earned.
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The ultimate beach read from the queen of beach reads herself. A historic hotel, a charming staff, a long-buried mystery, and all the summer-on-Nantucket details you didn’t know you needed. Pack it for vacation, your pool day, or any time you want to feel like you’re somewhere salty and warm.
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Female Rage
Women have a lot to be angry about! A small silver lining is that authors are channeling that emotion into creativity, and female rage books are a hot topic online. Featuring flawed female protagonists who allow themselves to rage and plot revenge against the patriarchy, these characters reject the polite and easygoing “cool girl” persona we’re socialized to embody. If you’ve ever smiled and nodded along while a man is speaking, forcing yourself to swallow what you actually want to say, reading female rage books will be a cathartic experience.
Strange, slim, and unsettling in the best way. Bernstein’s writing is hypnotic and her narrator is the kind you can’t quite trust, which makes the whole thing impossible to look away from. A young woman moves from the place of her birth to the remote northern country of her forebears to be housekeeper to her brother, whose wife has recently left him. Soon after her arrival, a series of inexplicable events occurs. She notices that the local suspicion about newcomers in general seems to be directed with some intensity at her. As she feels the hostility growing, pressing at the edges of her brother’s property, who knows what might happen, what one might be capable of doing.
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If you somehow haven’t read Toni Morrison yet, Sula is a perfect place to start. Sula and Nel are born in the Bottom—a small town at the top of a hill. Sula is wild, and daring; she does what she wants, while Nel is well-mannered, a mamma’s girl with a questioning heart. Growing up they forge a bond strong enough, it seems, to last a lifetime—until, decades later, as the girls become women, Sula’s anarchy leads to a betrayal that may be beyond forgiveness. A complete masterpiece in under 200 pages.
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On the Santa Cruz, California, waterfront, every house is a flawless glass monolith. Except for one. In a dilapidated bungalow, Mitty and her elderly roommate, Bethel, are the oddball pair who represent the last vestiges of a free-spirited town taken over by the tech elite. But their lives are about to be forever changed when a new couple, Sebastian and Lena, move in next door. Sebastian is a renowned tech founder and Lena is his spellbindingly perfect girlfriend. But Lena has secrets. As Lena and Mitty begin to form a close friendship, they are finally forced to face their pasts—and the urgent truths that could change everything.
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Sad Girl Fiction
Sad Girl Fiction being a top subgenre checks out: The girls are leading book clubs and publishing trends, and lit-fic, which generally features heartbreaking tales, has seen a renaissance. Offering a way for readers to get in touch with emotions and facilitate deeper conversations about female mental health, these stories are character-driven and examine societal expectations and relationships (romantic and platonic). My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh helped catapult SGF into the zeitgeist. For those who hesitate to give a book five stars unless it brings literal tears to your eyes, this is your subgenre.
Sally Rooney’s debut and arguably the book that made everyone obsessed with her in the first place. Two college friends in Dublin get tangled up with an older married couple, and what follows is the kind of emotionally messy, deeply observant fiction Rooney does better than anyone. A must if you somehow haven’t read her yet.
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A classic for a reason. The whole novel takes place over a single day in London, and yet Woolf manages to fit an entire interior world into it. If you haven’t picked it up since high school, give it another go. The writing genuinely sparkles, and the more life you have under your belt, the more it hits. Mrs. Dalloway chronicles a June day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway–a day that is taken up with running minor errands in preparation for a party and that is punctuated, toward the end, by the death of a young man she has never met.
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Two girls spend a summer in New York chasing parties, free drinks, and good outfits with almost no money to their names. It’s witty, it’s sharp, and it captures that very specific feeling of being in your twenties and convinced things will work out. Tailor-made for a sunny park day.
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Bryce Jones, Contributing Writer
Bryce is an LA-based journalist and freelance writer. She formerly worked as an editor at Better Homes & Gardens, covering topics ranging from lifestyle and food to entertainment and mental health. Her words have also appeared in Polyester, Cosmopolitan, Apartment Therapy, and more.
