I gobble up Young Adult Fantasy Novels as if they were leftover pieces of Halloween candy – aka very quickly!
I’ll go through spurts where I’ll read two to four books in less than two weeks then not pick up another one for a few more weeks to only repeat the same pattern. You could call reading my guilty pleasure, but I feel no guilt whatsoever when I find myself buried in a good book! Sure, I do tend to feel guilty when the rest of the world is calling my name and I’m down the rabbit hole (so to speak) in another realm, which is why I reserve my reading to strictly after Annie’s bedtime or early in the morning while the house is quiet as a mouse.
We just put up these new shelves from Crate & Barrel (pictured) above in our living room. It felt like meeting old friends again while unpacking boxes upon boxes of our most treasured books to put on display. Seeing my favorite reads sitting on our shelves is not only a visual nod to how much I love to read but if I’m ever in a book slump I’ll pick up an old favorite to flip through until I find a new book to deposit on the shelves again.
I’ve read some pretty fabulous young adult fantasy novels lately. So good, I simply had to share their titles with you all in the off chance you’re a fan of the genre or in a book slump looking to try something new too. This is a bit of a stretch from my typical fashion content you so here in Lone Star Looking Glass, but reading is a facet of my life that I love just as much (if not more) than playing dress-up.
So without further ado, I’m rounding up seven young adult fantasy novels I devoured and why I think you should check them out too!
7 Favorite Young Adult Fantasy Novels to Read
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
This 3-part series is so so so so SO good … I read it not once but twice all the way through. Sarah J. Mass is the brain behind this fantastical romance of humans and fey that takes readers on a journey through love, war, and everything in between – all set in a world nothing like the one we live in ourselves. One of the reasons why this series spoke to me so was because of the jarring plot twists you totally do NOT see coming. It’s not very often where the rug is pulled completely under me and I pause my reading to utter an audible, “WOW!”
The character development for our heroine goes above and beyond what you’d typically find in a “young adult” novel. Instead of the usual 16-year-old coming of age characters that you often see in this genre (which I am so over now that I’m *cough cough* 30!!) the protagonists are a bit older and deal with more mature issues. The supporting characters are just as colorful and interesting, some only introduced in later novels that become so rich and intrinsic to the story it’s like they were there the whole time. I recommend this series to all of my girlfriends!
Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
This book is a bit more “subtle” in terms of fantasy. It reads more as a historical fiction romance meets modern-day English countryside adventure. A combination of two things which I adore, so it was only natural I fell in love with this novel! Our heroine stumbles upon a beautiful old farmhouse dating back to 17th-Century England. Through unexplained means, she discovers the detailed history of the house and the people who once occupied it centuries ago, becoming part of their lives herself. Read this for a glimpse into the past, if you love stories about fixing up old homes and if you’re hankering for a surprise romance!
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
I liked this because it was a stand-alone book & picking it up didn’t feel like such a big commitment as most series do. Another novel about faeries (aka the “new vampires”), this page-turner tells the story of a human artist and her “craft” of portrait painting. A handsome faerie prince comes to get his portrait painted by the esteemed artist and upon their meeting chaos ensues. Because in this fantasy realm of immortal faeries and humans, the two different “species” are forbidden to fall in love. I read this one in about two days. I’m a pretty fast reader and have a tendency to stay up later than I should when something is this good!
SHOP MY CURRENT FAVORITE YA FANTASY NOVELS:
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
A fun twist to the Beauty and the Beast story we all know and love. A modern girl living in D.C. is plucked from the night accidentally and brought into a land of handsome princes, magic, and mystery in the hopes to break a century-old curse. This fantasy romance follows the storyline you’d expect knowing it’s loosely based on a familiar classic fairytale. However, plot twists are abundant with a little love triangle thrown in there too. The book ended on a cliffhanger which has me itching to pick up the sequel ASAP.
American Royals by Katherine McGee
Shoutout to a fabulous novel written by a (former fellow) Houstonian! Katherine McGee puts a mega twist on modern-day royalty by setting the story here in the United States. Instead of becoming president, George Washington was hailed “King” of America and Mount Vernon became the King’s palace where generations after him ruled our nation in style. The story follows two princess sisters vying for both the crown and a handsome prince’s heart. It took a minute for me to accept this version of America but once I did I was lost in the story until the very end.
Stain by A.G. Howard
A good blogger friend of mine recommended this fantasy novel, gushing over how wonderful it was, to me. I downloaded the audio version for a recent road trip and found I would have been content to have added 6 more hours to my drive that day, I was so hooked! Stain is about a princess who lives in a sunny kingdom yet can’t step under the sun’s rays without burning to a crisp. In an underground land lit only by the moon lives a prince who years from the sun but is trapped in darkness. This novel is definitely more on the “younger” side of Young Adult which made for a quick read (aka listen) and quick enjoyable escape. The fairy tale is more traditional – you know castles, princesses, princes from other lands vying for the protagonist’s hand. At first, it kind of frustrated me house obvious the plot seemed to be going until the story did a 180 and threw me for a mega-loop. At that point on I was hooked!
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Book one of a 3-party series by Holly Black, The Cruel Prince tells the story of a human girl named Jude and her twin sister growing up as “less than” mortals in a fairy kingdom (As I said, faeries are the new vampires!) Jude is in school with Cardon, the youngest son of the King, and is constantly picked apart by the prince and his squad – that is until she finds the means to stand up for herself and find her place in an important role in the realm. A shocking cliffhanger gives way to the book’s sequel, The Wicked King – which has an even more shocking cliffhanger! Thankfully the third and final fantasy novel in the series arrives in just two weeks to satisfy my curiosity! Read this one for court intrigue, spies, slow-burn romance and total escapism.
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Have you read any of the young adult fantasy novels above?! Or are you in the middle of something so good right now you simply must share?! I’m always open to trying something new in any genre and would love your recommendations. And as always thanks for stopping by the blog & following along!
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xo, alice
