Riverdale took many by storm when it premiered on The CW and Netflix in January last year. With its mystery, teen angst, gorgeous characters, and the dramatic family dynamics, Riverdale is most definitely an intriguing show to watch.
Set in the small town of Riverdale, we find there’s secrets, mysteries and murder lying beneath the town’s quiet exterior. The series is based on the popular Archie comics, which began in 1939 and spanned almost 80 years of comics along with the creation of films, toys and video games. However, The CW’s version takes the comics down a much darker path, which is a current trend in film and television adaptions as seen in recent live-action versions of Disney stories for example.
Ultimately, the series is often well-written to make it fun and addictive, but with it currently on a hiatus, we’ve found some great books to fill the coming weeks before its return!
Read on to discover these great books and tell us in the comments below if you have more suggestions!
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
Synopsis | Goodreads
A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something to lose. Leda’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug and a boy. Eris’ carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. Rylin’s job sweeps her into a world and a romance she never imagined. Watt is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone and finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies. Then there’s Avery, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But when you’re this high up, there’s nowhere to go but down….
If you love any of the family and friendship drama or the glamour of Riverdale, then The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee is a definite must read for you. Riverdale thrives on drama between family members and friends, and this book does it wonderfully. Both have been compared to Gossip Girl and both are perfect counterparts for each other.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Synopsis | Goodreads
Five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone’s a suspect, and everyone has something to hide. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Simon’s death wasn’t an accident as he planned to post juicy information, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder.
Season one of Riverdale focused on the murder of Jason Blossom and trying to find out who killed him. One of Us is Lying has the same mystery and thriller elements and keeps you wondering until the end to find out who killed Simon, just like we kept asking, “who killed Jason Blossom?”
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Synopsis | Goodreads
The circus arrives without warning. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway – a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. However, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love – a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
The creepy atmosphere of Riverdale really helps set the mood for every episode that airs. The Night Circus, contains a similar atmospheric setting with its combined twists and turns that leaves you without your grip on reality.
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Synopsis | Goodreads
Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by someone in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.
Pretty Little Liars is a series about the queen bee of a group of friends who disappeared several years ago and no one knows what happened to her. This series tries to answer, what happened to Alison? And who is A? Riverdale has similar mysteries in its’ seasons which captivate the viewers just like the readers with the Pretty Little Liars series.
The Amateurs by Sara Shepard
Synopsis | Goodreads
Five years ago, high school senior Helena Kelly disappeared from her backyard. Her family was left without any answers—without any idea who killed Helena, or why. So when eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier sees a desperate post on the Case Not Closed message board, she knows it’s time to change that. Helena’s high-profile disappearance is the one that originally got Seneca addicted to true crime. It’s the reason she’s a member of the site in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, she agrees to spend spring break in Connecticut working on the case with Maddy Wright, her best friend from Case Not Closed. However, the moment she steps off the train, things start to go wrong. Maddy’s nothing like she expected, and Helena’s sister, Aerin, doesn’t seem to want any help after all. Plus, Seneca has a secret of her own, one that could derail the investigation if she’s not careful. Alongside Brett, another super-user from the site, they slowly begin to unravel the secrets Helena kept in the weeks before her disappearance. But the killer is watching…and determined to make sure the case stays cold.
This other book by Sara Shepard is also filled with murder, mystery and small towns with chilling secrets has to be on this list. The Amateurs fits all those criteria, as it’s about Seneca trying to find out what happened to her sister Helena when she disappeared four years ago.
