“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”
The first entry in her The Selection novella trilogy, Kiera Cass’ series is one of the most acclaimed Dystopian Romance stories from the 2010s. In the first entry of the series, forty-five women are given the opportunity to compete in The Selection, a competition that will see the winners swept up in the glitz and glamour of Prince Maxon’s court.
Readers follow America Singer, a woman who initially finds the idea of being selected a complete nightmare. Then she meets Prince Maxon, and quickly finds herself questioning the entire life she had previously mapped out for herself. If you loved the Dystopian Romance angle of Cass’ work, join us at What We Reading for the best romance books like The Selection!
The Siren – Kiera Cass
Where better to start with a list of the best books like The Selection than another one of the author’s most acclaimed works? In The Siren, Kiera Cass opens with a dreamy world of romance plucked straight from historical mythology.
In it, she introduces a siren named Kahlen who longs to be more than just a killer in the service of the sea. And when she meets the human Akinli, a boy who represents everything she ever wanted, she attempts to find a way of breaking the pair of them free for a life together. This standalone romance novel is an absolute must-read for anyone out there who is captivated by ancient Greek mythology as well as tales like The Little Mermaid!
Delirium (Delirium #1) – Lauren Oliver
Another acclaimed Dystopian Romance trilogy, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium kicks off with her 2011 Goodreads Choice Award-nominated debut. In an alternate America, love has been declared a dangerous disease, with everyone over the age of eighteen being forced by the Government to go through a procedure known as the Cure.
Lena lives in Portland with her family and, having seen love destroy her mother, is looking forward to receiving the Cure. But, when she meets the enigmatic Alex from the Wilds, she soon begins to feel a spark and starts to question what it might be like to fall in love.
Red Queen (Red Queen #1) – Victoria Aveyard
A Goodreads Award winner, Red Queen is the acclaimed 2015 Dystopian Romance book by Victoria Aveyard. In it, Aveyard introduces a world split between those with silver blood and those with red. The red bloods are the commoners, serving the silver elite who are blessed with supernatural powers.
Mare Barrow is a humble seventeen-year-old Red girl who begins working at the Silver Palace when she discovers she actually houses a power that could dismantle the delicate hierarchy her employers have attempted to preserve. Joining up with a Red Resistance group, Mare soon finds herself embroiled in a potentially deadly civil war of silver versus red, prince against prince and, potentially, herself against her own heart.
The Belles (The Belles #1) – Dhonielle Clayton
Dhonielle Clayton offers a similar book like The Selection with themes of love and competition in The Belles. Clayton whisks readers to the world of Orléans, a world where people are born grey, devoid of beauty. The Belles control all the beauty in the world, and only they are able to save the greys from being damned.
The most powerful Belles are chosen to work for Orléans’ Royal Family, and that is the situation Camellia finds herself in when she is invited to court. However, when Camellia begins to discover her powers are far beyond what she had first imagined, she finds herself thrust into a dangerous web of secrets and lies buried underneath the surface of the palace’s glitz, glamour and beauty.
Uglies – Scott Westerfield
Scott Westerfield introduces readers to a world of ‘Uglies’ and ‘Pretties’ in his Uglies series. In this dystopian YA story, anyone below the age of sixteen is regarded as an ‘Ugly’ and must undergo surgery to become ‘Pretty’. Readers follow Tally Youngblood who is fast approaching her sixteenth birthday and eager to kickstart her life as a Pretty.
However, she soon encounters Shay, a fellow Ugly who introduces her to a rebellious group going against the idea of enforced beauty. As Tally becomes more and more embroiled in the group, she begins to unearth more and more secrets about the seemingly idyllic society around her. In our days of filters and Photoshop, Westerfield’s Uglies is a timely commentary on conformity, individuality and societal standards.
Check Out The Best Books Like Uglies
Wither (The Chemical Garden #1) – Lauren Destefano
What would you do if you knew when you were going to die? In the first entry in her The Chemical Garden trilogy, Lauren Destefano introduces Rhine Ellery, a sixteen-year-old who knows she only has four years left of her life. With all females dying at 20 and all males dying at 25, the world has descended into anarchy, though Rhine is able to boast a life of glamour and decadence with her dedicated husband, Linden.
There are dangers everywhere though, and her father-in-law’s pile of corpses in the basement serving as test subjects for an antidote hint at more sinister secrets being in play. Torn between allowing the clock to tick down and forging a life of freedom, Rhine makes a desperate attempt to escape.
Sky In The Deep (Sky and Sea #1) – Adrienne Young
The first entry in the Sky and Sea series is far more Historical Romance rather than Dystopian however, for those who loved Cass’ snappy dialogue and vibrant storytelling, Adrienne Young’s Sky in the Deep is still one of the best books like The Selection.
Eelyn is a seventeen-year-old who has been trained her whole life to fight her clan’s greatest enemies, the Riki. Captured by the brother she thought dead, Eelyn is held in the Riki camp before being set upon by an enemy all had thought of as mere myth. Forced to grapple with the betrayal of her brother, the daunting prospect of uniting the clans against a common enemy and her growing feelings towards her brother’s friend, Fiske, Sky in the Deep is a part Vikings, part Wonder Woman tale that examines identity, loyalty and love.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
