Top 5… fantasy
Today’s Top 5 Tuesday is ‘fantasy (YA or adult)’. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by the super lovely Shanah over at the Bionic Bookworm. You can visit her here, and join in for Top 5 Tuesday by checking out all the amazing topics we have coming up!
Shanah, you are EVIL!!! How can you make me pick only five??? I have to double it… And then add some more…
First off the bat is (surprise!!) The Nevernight Chronicle by Aussie author Jay Kristoff (Nevernight is book one). I know, I know, you’ve all heard my love affair for this series, but I can’t help it! It’s dark and the characters are amazing and there’s so much sarcasm I could literally eat it with a spoon, and I want to be a darkin!! Just read it.
Number two is Magician by Raymond E Feist. This is such an amazing story (and by this I mean the giant version that is parts 1 and 2 of the Riftwar Saga). You could read it as a standalone, but the other books just keep adding depth to the story.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is just one of the best standalone books I have ever had the pleasure of reading, regardless of genre. However, it is also a fantastic fantasy book that depicts mythological creatures in a very ‘Stiefvater’ type style. I love the characters and the premise of this whole book.
I love Holly Black’s urban fantasy Fae books, starting with Tithe all the way through to The Cruel Prince. I love how the stories intertwine, and that you don’t need to have read the others beforehand, but it makes the experience so much more if you have. The whole world is amazing.
Rounding out my Top 5… No fantasy list would be complete without the 41 books that make up Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I think I started reading this when I was about 15 or 16, and I never stopped loving it, all the way to when The Shepherd’s Crown was released posthumously and I cried throughout my entire reading of it. If there was a world that I never wanted to leave, this one would have been it.
Now, I know that’s my top 5, however, please allow me to indulge in a few more series because fantasy is my absolute favourite genre!
Just sitting outside of my top five is Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. I LOVE this series so much, and the fantastical elements of it include the characters and concept. Brimstone is definitely up there for me, despite how little he is in this, and Karou and Zuze are my OTP of friendships.
The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Aussie author Isobelle Carmody absolutely make this list, despite the fact that there were nearly 30 years between publishing the first book (Obernewtyn, 1987) and the final book (The Red Queen, 2015). This series was amazing and broke my heart into teensy pieces so many times, but the concept of the ‘mutants’ was so beautifully done.
The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas makes this list as we are still yet to see the final book (but I may scratch it off if it’s got a sugary sweet ending like ACOWAR did). The characters are fantastic, and I love the magic of this series.
The Witches of Eileanan by Aussie author Kate Forsyth are absolutely fantastic. They were one of my favourite series growing up, and they had a YA female protagonist (which let me tell you, in 1997 was so amazing). These books will always hold a special place in my heart, and I’m close to needing a new set because I read them so much that they’re nearly falling apart (I believed in cracking spines when I was young).
Independently published series by M. E. Vaughan known as The Harmatia Cycle is a fantastic fantasy series, and one that I recommend to people all the time. It has everything you’d ever want from a fantasy series, including LGBTQ+ main characters and the most gorgeous cover art! I seriously cannot hype these books enough! Book one is The Sons of Thestian.
I know that everyone else will have this in their list, but Harry Potter by JK Rowling is a great fantasy series. It’s not in my top 5, and I now that I’m older I don’t love everything about this series (in fact, there’s a lot of stuff that I vehemently disagree with), but it’s still a great series. Also, the original UK covers are still my favourite as they’re the ones I have.
Maria V Snyder’s The Chronicles of Ixia series (starts with Poison Study) is a crazy great fantasy series. The characters are great and the world is amazing, but the concept of the magic is what makes this series so fantastic for me!
I know I need to stop, but I also want to mention the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. These books are amazing, and full of so many twists and turns that if you ever see anything coming, I will bow to your greatness!
Wow… I could list another fifteen series without breaking a sweat. Let me know if you’re looking for amazing worlds, great magic, paranormal whimsy or anything else that may fall into this category!! Until next time, happy reading! ☺️?
25 Comments
may
this is such a fantastic list, there are so many titles here i’ve never heard of and I NEED TO FIND OUT MORE
must agree with soc, percy jackson, tog, and nevernight. theyre all incredible series and i loved reading them so much!
great post!
Meeghan reads
YAY!!! Please read them all, I love each and every book on this list!!
Robyn Reads Books
I have only read the first book I the Obernewtyn series but I own the whole series. I only read the first book because I was meeting the author and wanted to at least have read the first one when I got it signed and since then I just haven’t continued with the series. I haven’t heard anyone talk about it before, is it really worth continuing?
Meeghan reads
Absolutely!! I read books 1-4 when I was about 12 (and they were all out then), and then I waited FOREVER for the others to be released. Carmody is a spectacular writer, but I will let you know that there was like 2 teensy discrepancies between books 4-6, but I assume that’s because she literally took 3 decades to write this series. I’m also still waiting for the final book in the Legendsong trilogy – books 1 and 2 of it are also phenomenal!! I highly recommend this series, it’s totally underrated.
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Shanah - Bionic Book Worm
Amazing list! One of these days I’ll get to Holly Black. So many people rave about her books! And Poison Study is on my TBR shelf – soon…… I hope lol
Meeghan reads
You can do it, I believe in you! Also when you go to read Poison Study, let me know because there’s a specific order and in between novellas and they all help you understand what is actually going on!!
Shanah - Bionic Book Worm
Thanks for letting me know. I had no clue!
Beware Of The Reader
OMG YES, YES, YES!!!!!!! I love them ALL! My favorite are Holly Black, SJM, Maggie and Jay 😉
Meeghan reads
ALL OF THEM!!! ?Sophie, we should be friends! x
buriedalivebybooks
I love Holly Black – she made my list too. And – Pratchett’s The Shepherd’s Crown – all the feels.
Meeghan reads
I cried so hard when reading it. It didn’t help that Granny is my fave character ever. ?
buriedalivebybooks
Made sense though, still – doubly in the feels.
Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky
Haha this really is an evil prompt. I’d have added like 10 more to list too! 😛 You’re introducing me to so many Aussie authors that I didn’t even know about! The Obernewtyn Chronicles sound great! I mean, there’s a girl with a sword and a cat on the cover–what more do I need? And I devoured Holly Black’s books when I was younger but haven’t checked out The Cruel Prince yet. I should seriously remedy that.
Meeghan reads
Oh Kathy! Let me tell you about ALL the amazing books! (Also, don’t forget Equal Rites because Mistress Weatherwax is legit my fave character EVER!)
Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky
I finished it several days ago and I am SAD we don’t get to see her in the next book! Though I’m excited for Mort too 😀
thebookwormdrinketh
Mort is absolutely one of the best books in the series!! ??
Meeghan reads
Mort is fabulous! All the Death books are!! I’m late getting to Equal Rites, but it’s starting today!
thebookwormdrinketh
YOU’RE late getting to it?? I’m just straying TODAY! ?? I CAN DO IT!! ??
Meeghan reads
She’s in there plenty, I think Sourcery is her next appearance. Or Wyrd Sisters… can’t remember the order!
Jina Bazzar
so many books. i’m going to go through this list on goodreads.
I loved Maria Snyder’s series too – both the glass and the study.
Meeghan reads
The combined Chronicles of Ixia are fantastic! I only finished Dan Study this year because I was waiting for it to be published in the matching paperback… ??
thebookwormdrinketh
Some amazing choices!!!.. I actually haven’t read a lot of them… I’m so behind on all of these popular series like the throne of glass and Holly Black stuff…. It’s shameful… But, I can never find the time for triple A titles when there are so many small indie books that are equally good and need their own exposure….. Reader’s dilemma! Ha ha! I’m so happy that Discworld made the list!! ??
Meeghan reads
I know what you mean, I’ve been trying to read a mix of indie, AAA and some in-between as well. My TBR looks like a mess, and I have more books on my wishlist than is reasonable!!
thebookwormdrinketh
Ha ha ha!!! Doesn’t that happen to all of us?? I’m sure I will eventually have too many books on my TBR to read in my lifetime! ????????????