Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Books without Romance

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Hosted by the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads Group

Hello, Strangers! It’s time for Top 5 Wednesday… on Thursday! I wasn’t feeling too hot yesterday, so I didn’t feel like writing up a post. But I didn’t really want to skip the topic. This week’s topic is your top five books without romance. Obviously, if a romance is mentioned in passing, it’s fine. It just can’t be a major part of the plot. Interestingly, this topic was harder than I thought it would be. Turns out romance is in a lot of my favorite books. But I was able to come up with a few good ones and here they are:

Vicious by V.E. Schwab- While we are told that Eli has a girlfriend in college, their relationship is hardly a focus. In fact, the most important relationship is the one between Eli and Victor. If you’re new to my blog or haven’t been paying attention, this book follows two college kids as they attempt to become ExraOrdinaries or EOs (think superhero abilities). It splits the narrative between two timelines: the first when they are in college and the second ten years later when Victor gets out of prison and Eli has become a vigilante. It tells the story of the birth of supervillains, whether they view themselves that way or not. It’s a twisted story with great characters and I love it.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt- This book took me a while to get into, but once it got good, it got really good. While hook ups occur and a relationship is mentioned, this book instead focuses on the terrible crime this group of friends committed and the fallout from it. It’s a strange and twisted story with remarkably unlikeable characters. They’re the characters you love to hate and hate to love. If you’re in the mood for a dark twisted tale with no relief, check this one out.
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis- Listen, Ellis is a misogynistic trash heap; however, this book was good. I had to read it for one of my classes and it was my favorite of the semester. Granted, finding out Ellis is such a disgusting pig tainted my view of the book, but I bought a used copy so he probably didn’t see any money from me anyway. This book follows a group of college-aged kids desensitized to the horrors of the world. They do drugs and sleep with everyone, all just trying to feel and see the worst. This is another book of unlikeable characters and I really enjoyed all of its fucked up-ness. The sequel was shit though.
The majority of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling- While romance played a role in Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows, it’s really only a major part of the story in Half-Blood Prince. And I, of course, adore Harry Potter. Don’t really need to go farther into it than that.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky- While there are a couple side relationships and crushes, this novel is really about Charlie’s coming-of-age story. Charlie is shy and doesn’t make friends well, so seeing him blossom is a beautiful thing. I really need to reread this book because I haven’t read it in six years and I want to experience it and the nature of infinity again.