It has been a stressful semester for us college students. And during the hell that was this semester, I had no time to read for fun, something that I used to do religiously. I think that in this entire semester, I have only read three books. I am going to make up for it over the summer and I know I'm not the only one, so here's a list of relatively unknown book recommendations based on the genres you might like.

1. Hard Fantasy: "The Traitor Baru Cormorant" by Seth Dickinson.

This book creates a universe that is as fascinating, ruthless and complicated as "Game of Thrones." The main character, Baru Cormorant, is the protagonist that Tumblr has always dreamed of, but doesn't know exists. She is a genius, calculating, lesbian woman of color that kicks butt and starts and ends rebellions using the power of banking!

The story is about Baru's rise to power. The Empire of Masks conquered her home when she was a child and outlawed all her customs, changed her entire culture, and killed her father. So she decides that instead of fighting them, she would join them and try to change them from the inside.

But before she can do that, she must prove her worth by becoming the Imperial Banker and bringing order to a land called Aurdwynn, a place notorious for killing anyone that tries to rule them.

This book is an intense roller coaster ride from start to finish and the ending will leave you reeling.

2. Romance / Magical Realism: "On the Other Side" by Carrie Hope Fletcher.

This novel is a lot more cute and lighthearted. It follows the story of Evie Snow, a woman who died of old age. But when she tries to open the door to her own personal heaven, she finds that it's locked. In order to truly pass on, she needs to let go of all of the things weighing her soul down, which means revealing some secrets that she has buried for decades.

This story is incredibly heartwarming. It touches on Evie's connection with her family but mostly focuses on her long-lost love.

It's got really mixed reviews, so it's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a nice, whimsical, romantic escape, this is for you.

3. Sci-Fi: "Improbable" by Adam Fawer.

"Improbable" tells the story of Michael Caine, a brilliant mathematician with a gambling problem and epileptic seizures. When he loses a lot of money, he goes into an experimental drug program out of desperation. But the side effects cause him to have visions of the past, present, and future.

This book does a great job at teaching you statistics while also remaining super interesting and suspenseful.

4. Memoir: "Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite" by Suki Kim.

The subject of North Korea has always been one that has interested me. This memoir is written by a woman who posed as a missionary in order to travel to Pyongyang, North Korea and teach English to the sons of the country's higher-ups.

It can be a bit all over the place, especially when Kim starts writing about her love life, but the look into what it's like getting to know young North Koreans is definitely worth the book's shortfalls. It's both fascinating and heartbreaking to second-handedly experience the oppression they have to go through.

5. YA Fiction: "InterWorld" by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves.

The mere concept of "InterWorld" is worth looking into this book for because, from what I've seen/read, the inter-dimensional sci-fi/fantasy genre has never been done like this.

This book tells the story of Joey Harker, a young teen that discovers that his world is only one of the billions of alternate realities. Some are more ruled by magic and others are more ruled by science. And he is the only one who is able to travel between these alternate worlds... well, he and all his alternate selves. So he teams up with all the alternate versions of himself (some which are female, robots, wolf-like, and pretty much anything else you can think of) to fight villains who threaten the stability of all the alternate worlds.

The alternate worlds and the in-between space all have amazing imagery and the whole thing is incredibly entertaining to read. This is a series, but I've only read the first book, so this is a recommendation to myself as well to finish the series!

6. Children's / Mystery: The "Sammy Keyes" series by Wendelin Van Draanen.

I read every single one of these books as a kid and I would still read them now as an adult. Sammy Keyes is a lot like Nancy Drew, but so much better.

I haven't read these in a while, so it might be the nostalgia talking, but these short children's books are funny, heartwarming, and entertaining! Also, a lot of the time, the guilty person isn't entirely obvious, like they are in most children's mysteries.

These books also explore relationships between best friends, grandmother and granddaughter, and estranged parents and daughter in a way that's still appealing to all ages.

If you're looking a short, easy, fun read, this series is definitely one to try out!

Which of these are you going to read?