I read a lot of New Adult. I truly love it. I feel like it was made for me; the twenty-something girl who still loves YA literature, and who doesn't quite relate to adult fiction yet. However, it's a genre that has exploded in the last few years, and with an explosion, you have to weed through all the rubble to find what you are looking for. And that is good NA fiction.


So here are some of my favorite New Adult novels:

1. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I have this novel first because it was the one that hooked me on the genre. It's funny and well-written and sexy as hell. It's a little cheesy, but that is what you expect from a romance novel.


2. Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. This is the only New Adult novel that I've ever given five stars too. Like I've said before, it takes a lot for me to give a book five stars--it's a right I reserve for my favorite books. And this is one of them. It's heart-breaking and beautifully written, and it just makes you feel. Hurt, mostly, but feel deeply. Plus, the cover is awesome. And the last lines of the novel are killer.


3. Easy by Tammara Webber. This is another New Adult gem in a sea of mediocre. The characters are flawless, not a single aspect about them you dislike. They've both experienced a lot of hurt and their lives, and you just want them to be together and finally find happiness. It's incredible.


4. Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn. This might be considered more Erotica than New Adult, but whatever it is, you need to read it and gush about it immediately. Again, this was one of the novels that started my obession with this genre, and for good reason. It's unbelievably sexy. Brian is the ultimate NA bad boy, tattoos and all, and he falls for the innocent, wished she was bad, Candace. It's gonna make you squeal and giggle and all that jazz. It's a guilty pleasure New Adult book if I ever saw one.


5. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. This novel is the opposite of the one I listed above; it's fluffy and cute and has zero sex scenes. But it's unlike any other New Adult novel I've read. The plot is super weird--I mean, a cardboard cut-out that they all pretend is real? But it's really funny and deeply moving.



Of course, there are always duds in a genre. Books that are too cliche or terribly written or just plain bad. Now, I don't want to rag on a book or an author too much, because that seems mean, but I also want to warn people of what they are getting themselves into. No one wants to read a terrible book, so I've picked just a couple that you should pass on.


Some of my Least Favorites:

1. Reckless by Priscilla West. This book was a god-awful mess. Everything about it was cliche and overdone, and sometimes, downright creepy. The love interest in the novel likes to just whip out his junk and show it off, and the girl swoons over it. Seriously?? When did that become an acceptable way to woo a woman? It was horrifying.


2. The Perfect Game by J. Sterling. Honestly, I couldn't even finish this book. The characters were cliche, and kind of terrible people. And I'm sorry, but if I guy cheats on you and ends up knocking up the other woman, WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO TAKE HIM BACK?!? Cassie was a doormat, and that's the worst part of this. Just, don't spread examples of weak-willed women, because it reinforces the belief that all women are doormats.


3. Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie. I know a lot of people really enjoyed this novel, but I thought it wasn't very good at all. These two people have serious addictions, yet they help each other by hiding them, until they get sicker and sicker and almost die? Yeah, that sounds like a good friendship to me. If you love someone, you should want to protect them from bad things--even if that means you have to protect them from themselves.