Bonjour Bibliophiles!
First and foremost, I hope you all are safe and staying inside. I know these are tough times for all of us but we have been living with the COVID-19 for almost a year now and somehow, stumbling and falling, we have found some semblance of a rhythm in our new normal.
Anyway, I just felt that this was a great time to put out a list of great fantasy novels for that much needed escape from the real world these days.
So here goes...
1) Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi- This is an amazing fantasy series based on West-African mythology and their gods and goddesses, which hooked from the first minute because I love reading about all kinds of different cultures and mythologies.
Goodreads description:
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy
It is an explosive, action-packed fantasy world with rich world building and a brilliant set of characters. It's like Black Panther meets Avatar, which is honestly a great combination.
There is political intrigue, social commentary, banter, an amazing romance and intense action. It does the high levels of angst so well, and the mystery woven throughout the story keeps you invested till the very end. The sequel is equally incredible, though slightly shorter. In a nutshell- Read this book. It's exceptional.
Warning- The first book and the second book both end on torturous cliff hangers but the third book isn't out yet...
2) Carry On by Rainbow Rowell- See, SEE! THIS book is the vampire-trope done well!
Carry On is the in-book fan-fic written by Cath, the main protagonist of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, where there is a fantasy series called the Simon Snow series very similar to Harry Potter.
Goodreads description: Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.
Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.
TBH I didn't expect to like this book much, but afterwards I couldn't help but hopelessly fall in love with everything about it. The functional word here being 'hopelessly' (pun intended, well, atleast for those who have read the book...)
It was fun, quirky, quite action-packed and yet so deep and heartwarming. The romance was one of the cutest and most adorable I had ever seen 😍. I loved their hater-to-lovers transformation, and Baz being a vampire added the extra kick it needed.
Rowell takes the cliche Chosen One trope and expertly turns it over its head, creating "the worst Chosen One in the history of Chosen Ones".
The plot is obviously inspired from Harry Potter, but it is still vastly different and undisputedly original.
Every character is so well developed and likeable and so damn relatable you can't help but love all of them. The writing is hilarious, so much so you'll fall over laughing. The writing feels truly genuine, a lot of crazy stuff happens. This is truly a wild ride!
And now if you're wondering if you need to read Fangirl before you read Carry On, that's a no. Both of them can work just as well as standalones, but I definitely recommend reading both of them in whatever order you want, just because it is much more fun to know the whole behind-the-scenes story.
And don't even think of missing the sequel because contrary to popular belief, the sequel Wayward Son is just as entertaining and sweet and full of insane adventures!
In Wayward Son, we essentially get the aftermath of what happened in Carry On, when the proverbial "Dark Lord" has been vanquished and the heroes have to go back to their normal lives, which does not seem as easy as it sounds because they are far from normal...
You get more of Baz and Simon, and Penelope and Agatha and another really cute addition to the team.
Also, look out for Any Way the Wind Blows, the third book in the series coming out in 2021!
serpant and dove by SHELBYMAHURIN- THIS novel set in the 1700s France.his is aomance historical fantasy-slash-r3)
Because it's a romance, you can't really not talk about the characters, so let me begin by saying that they are amazing! It is a combination of haters-to-lovers turned star-crossed lovers...if you know what I mean.
Goodreads description: Bound as one to love, honor, or burn. Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cessarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony. The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
Lou is a free-spirited witch on the run from a mysterious past, hiding in a community that hates them. Reid is a loyal Chasseur or witch-hunter. Both of them come from extremely different backgrounds and a boiling hatred is ingrained in their mindset for the other. If you're a fan of Six of Crows, you will find that their dynamic is really similar to Nina and Matthias.
Even though it's heavily romance-based the fantasy elements are just as important. It has a complex magic system, with clear limitations rules on the use of magic.
The setting and society where the characters are placed is very dileberate and obviously done to make a statement about the corruption of the Church and the constraints on women.
The sequel, Blood and Honey is just as action-packed and has way more sizzling tensions and higher stakes.
Frankly, it's just really amazing and really fun to read.
4) Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson- I'm sure we can all agree that any fantasy list is incomplete without a Sanderson mention, and the Mistborn is the one that mostly falls into the YA category.
Goodreads description: For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?
This is an absolutely amazing fantasy series that completely subverted the Chosen One trope and made it into something new and unique. It explores the 'big if' , a world where the Chosen the One, the prophecised hero fails...What happens then?
It has great characters, brilliant world building and a distinctive and never-before-seen magic system that will blow your minds. It is set in a world where there some special people who can gain various magical powers by consuming different kinds of metals. Most people can only consume one kind of metal and are called Mistings while there are more rarer kind of people who can consume all 10 kinds of metals and are called Mistborn. They are also the most powerful among them.
It is written in third-person, with each of the characters in the ensemble cast coming into focus. Though don't let the synopsis fool you, because the book does rely heavily on Vin's perspective. I personally really liked Vin as a character, and if you're looking for a book with a strong female main character, then you would definitely like Vin, because unlike the stereotypical "badass" female character, Vin has a lot of layers to her. She can't be pigeon-holed in to just one category.
Then there's Kelsier, our other main character whom I loved just as much. For some really weird reason Kelsier just reminded me a lot of Iron Man, and not because they have any similarities, objectively speaking, except that they are both exceptionally brilliant geniuses with questionable moral values. Both of them have a slightly arrogant demeanor and yet they were ready to sacrifice themselves for other people. Of course they are really different from one another, more different than similar I guess, majorly because of their powers and motivations, which is obvious 'cause they are two characters from completely different worlds, and yet I could not just help but be reminded of Kelsier when I read about him..I don't know! It could be just me.
But moving on from that little rant, I'll just put it in a nutshell- all the characters are incredible. You might or might not love all of them but I can guarantee you will enjoy them coming together to plan an impossible heist, the witty banter, and how each and every one of the ensemble characters develop over the course of the book.
Just a small thing that I wanted to talk about was that if you are fond of romance in fantasy, this might not be your ideal pick because although I really liked the relationships in this novel, it wasn't really an intense-romance read.
But not to worry, because it has great political intrigue to make up for it. A high stakes plot, action-packed with lots of twists and turns that you will never see coming, an ending that completely throws you off and yet is very satisfying.
Note 1: Just to clarify some things, Final Empire (Mistborn #1) can be read as a standalone just because I think that some people might not like the relatively slow pacing of Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) because it is just a lot of political drama than fantasy, but trust me, if you stick throught it, it all pays off in the action-filled Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3).
Note 2: Some people also chose to not read Mistborn Era-2, which takes place 300 years after the events of Hero of Ages, which is totally okay if you're not into it, but personally I really loved this world, these characters and I wanted to get back into this world and see what was in store for me. It was mere curiosity that compelled me to start Alloy of Law (Mistborn #5) and fortunately I ended up really enjoying it! (Though not as much as the first three books, obviously)
5) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir- There's not much to say about this book except that it was AMAZING!
It had all the stuff to keep you turning the pages- a swoon-worthy hero, an explosive you-have-no-clue-what happens-next plot and just the amount of (well-done) angst to make you jump up and down in excitement. It is loosely based on Middle-eastern mythology, with Jinns and efrits, but set in a Roman Empire. The writing is beautiful, the plot is fast paced and spectacular world building. One of the very special things about thus book are the characters. They are so well-developed and complex, and not because they are strong and righteous, but because that are real and flawed just as much as actual people.
It also has great female main characters, like our protagonist Laia. In many YA novels you'll see that female characters are only considered strong because they can weild a sword and curse like pirates. But Laia shows us that their are so many different kinds of strong. Being so scared that you tremble, and yet have the determination and courage to move forward.
Goodreads description: Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Note: If you would like a more in-depth review of this series and would like to know more of my thoughts on this, you can check it out on my blog here.
6) The Grishaverae by Leigh Bradugi
Goodreads description: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
7) Monsters of Verity duology by Victoria Schwab-
Now this series doesn't necessarily always feel like a fantasy in some ways because it does have a sci-fi/dystopian vibe to it, but it is definitely a fantasy because it deals with magic and the existence of monster, so you can label it any way you want.
Anyway, it follows the story of this gurl named Kate, who is human, and a boy named August, who is a monster. Somehow their paths end up crossing and from there the action begins. That's pretty much all I'd say to say in terms of the synopsis of the book because you can get a good idea from Goodreads description as well, AND I think that knowing too much more about it doesn't make it as exciting to read because it is very much an action-packed book, with s plot twists and turns. But as you can tell as it's on this list, it's one my favourite fantasies I've ever read.
Goodreads description: Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.
The world is again just another very uniques one. As you can tell I'm super into worlds that just feel different from anything else I've ever read and I'm always on the look out for unique work building. I also loved the whole concept behind evil, morality and and how we really define monsters. "Does being a monster automatically make you evil?" is the question that is explores throughout the story.
The story is dark, gritty, and one of the most heartbreaking one I've ever read. It's also deep and thought-provoking and makes you question a lot of your perceptions about the world, which, if a book can do that, is truly amazing. It's also highly under-rated, which I was honestly so surprised to know because all of the other Victoria Schwab books are extremely popular and even though it's one of her best works, (let's admit it, if Victoria Schwab ever wrote a grocery list, I'd read that too 😉) this duology is one of her least talked about books!
So if you're looking for fantasy that is dark, addicting, slightly on the more violent side and will make you cry, this book is for you.
8) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman-
Ever just wandered into a bookstore and picked up a random book of the shelf, knowing nothing about it, but when you get to reading it, they absolutely blow you away?
I was one of the lucky ones with whom this happens a lot. I was 11 and had no idea their existed other fantasy books apart from Harry Potter and then came upon this gem, quietly sitting in a corner and was instantly enamored by the cover. Another 11, or maybe 12 year old gurl, holding a sword, standing on a snow covered ground and a fierce, armored bear beside her. That was the cover after the movie came out, and I simply couldn't help myself. And now here we are!
Goodreads description: Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavours? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.
With beautiful worldbuilding and a plot that will keep you turning the pages with sometimes mysterious, sometimes action-packed storylines, and a magic system that delivers one surprise after another. Just when you think you have understood what is happening, someone new comes to scene and everything goes to hell.
It is set in a world where people have a part of their souls in animal form outside their bodies who follow them around everywhere. These are called dæmons, and while you are a kid, they can change form, but at some point when you are growing up they permanently take the form of a single animal and stay that way forever. It is really interesting to see how this new concept pans out because I have never, till now, seen anything like it before.
I also absolutely loved Lyra as our main character. She is an incessantly curious, a little mischevious and alive little girl living among the dull scholars of Oxford University. You see her character develop so beautifully over the course of the three books as she goes on heart-stopping adventures and through hell of her destiny.
The ball really starts rolling when Lyra comes into possession of this device called the aletheometer, or Golden Compass. It looks pretty much like a compass, except that it has symbols instead of directions, and nobody knows how to read it except Lyra.
It is a world where witches roam the skies, armored bears live in fortresses and gypsies travel the seas and unimaginable horrors are being executed far North by her own loved ones.
9) The Diviners by Libba Bray- Many of you might already know about this series because it is fairly popular, but I don't know why it took me forever to get to this series, but I am so happy that I did because I loved it!
This series is perfect in every way and has something for everyone! It has mystery, action, great romance and representation, which you don't get to see in a lot of fantasy. It leans on the more paranormal side of things too as there are spooky ghosts and dangerous cults. It can really be called both, either historical fantasy or urban paranormal.
All the characters come from different backgrounds. They are all so well-rounded and realistic, all of them different in terms of race, body, color and ability.
It also touches on a lot of topics that most historical fiction misses out on, like the genocide of the American people, race, sexuality, representation, and all in the context of 1920s. And that's just incredible.
Goodreads description: SOMETHING DARK AND EVIL HAS AWAKENED…
Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realises her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened…
You're definitely missing out on a lot of laughing, crying and on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense if you don't read this series. Great news is that all 4 parts are out now so you can happily binge-read the whole series!!
10- 0) Shades of Magic by Victoria Schwab
If you're just getting into the fantasy genre and are looking for something less daunting, than this series is for you.
This is one of Victoria Schwab's most popular series, and rightly so, because it puts a yummy twist on the common elemental (air, water, land, fire) magic system and makes it into something very different from what we are all used to.
You might think that it is slightly slow in the beginning, but stick through it because it is extremely fast-paced and full of adventures and revelations throughout the trilogy.
Being a huge fan of character-driven stories, I was delighted to find that it was definitely one of them, and really high up there too. Lila, our protagonist, is honestly my queen and I love her! Even the side characters, like King Maxim feel as real as you and me.
Note:If you want a more in-depth review and rant for this book, I've also done that. You can check it out here.
Goodreads description: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.
Schwab is also a master world-builder, and even now she doesn't disappoint. The story is set in a world where there exist 4 parallel versions of London- Red London, which has magic, Grey, which once had but doesn't anymore, White London, which has very little magic left and is ruled by two very corrupt rulers (see my post about the Deadliest Villains in YA to know more about them here) and Black London, a world that was consumed by magic and has been locked away.
If that doesn't make make you wanna dive right into it, I don't know what will...
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So that was it for my post today. Hope you liked it. Don't forget to tell me your thoughts in the comments down below.
What are some of your favourite fantasy novels? Any authors you can't resist buying? I'd love to know what you think!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Aamna
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