Top Ten Tuesday | My favourite fantasy novels

Posted on by Jess @ Jessticulates Posted in Top Ten TuesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week’s theme is ‘Books From My Favourite Genre’. I struggled with this one at first because while I do love fantasy, and have particularly rediscovered that love over the past year, I also love historical fiction – but so far 2019 has been a fantasy year for me, so I couldn’t resist talking about my favourite fantasy novels.

There’s all sorts here, from high fantasy to post-apocalyptic fantasy to fantasy set in our world, and I love them all. Writing this post made me realise how much I want to re-read all of them!

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The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: We all knew this was going to be here. This is my favourite book and I try to re-read it every year. I have many favourite books, but this book has become a comfort read for me and I think it’s an absolutely gorgeous novel and I love Maia so much.

The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin: My fingers are already itching to re-read this amazing trilogy, and while I loved The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate there’s something about this third and final book that really got to me. I’m weak for books about mothers and daughters.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: THIS BOOK. I loved this book so much. It’s the Rumpelstiltskin-inspired novel I’ve been craving my whole life and it’s stunning and I can’t put into words how bloody perfect this book is. I adore it.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I fell so head-over-heels in love with this book last year, and it’s another book I’d love to re-read soon, actually, because it was so much fun to read.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier: This novel is absolutely gorgeous. It’s slow and sumptuous and often harrowing, but I loved it. Sadly the second book in this series ended up being a huge fail for me, so I’m just going to treat this novel as a standalone from now on.

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: Another series I’d love to re-read – I grew up on these books and they’re still so special to me – but a lot of the stuff Rowling’s been doing and saying lately having been making me roll my eyes so hard I don’t have it in me to pick the first book up. This instalment in the series meant a lot to me because of Professor Umbridge, funnily enough! I read this book at a time when I really needed it, because I was also being bullied by a teacher.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: As much as I love American Gods, The Graveyard Book is still my favourite of Gaiman’s novels. There’s something about it that’s so whimsical despite its dark subject matter – the novel begins with a baby escaping from a house where his family have been murdered – and I read it in one sitting and adored it.

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: If you thought I wasn’t going to mention this novel, you thought wrong. How many times do I have to yell ‘THIS NOVEL’S ABOUT A TEENAGER IN THE 1980s WHO CASTS SPELLS WITH VINYL RECORDS’ before everyone I know reads it? It’s SO GOOD.

Sabriel by Garth Nix: This is another series I really want to re-read! I first read Sabriel when I was about 14 and I loved it. This was the first time I read a fantasy novel with a young woman at the centre where her story didn’t revolve around romance, and teenage me was thrilled. (Although Sabriel and Touchstone are adorable.)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: “What has Hector ever done to me?” I’M STILL NOT OVER IT.

Which books made your list this week?

47 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday | My favourite fantasy novels”

  4. Reply
    Janina @ love letters says:

    SPINNING SILVER. I NEED TO READ SPINNING SILVER. But I’m so scared because I really adored Uprooted and my expectations are sky high now and bound to be disappointed. Also, The Song of Achilles’ cover is so simplistic and minimalistic and perfect and I LUV IT.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Jess @ Jessticulates says:

      Spinning Silver is so good! All I can say is don’t go into it expecting another Uprooted – I’ve seen a few reviews where people were disappointed in the lack of romance, but romance isn’t the point of Spinning Silver AT ALL. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! 🙂

      Like

  9. Reply
    Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky says:

    I adore so many of these!

    “How many times do I have to yell ‘THIS NOVEL’S ABOUT A TEENAGER IN THE 1980s WHO CASTS SPELLS WITH VINYL RECORDS’” Oh my god, SAY NO MORE. I’ve been in love with vinyls since forever and I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing. That’s going straight to the top of my TBR. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Reply
    Greg says:

    Signal To Noise sounds like such an intriguing premise! And The Song of Achilles, I have to admit, has my interest too. I’ve been slacking on fantasy lately but I find myself wanting to get back into it!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Reply
    Catherine@basedonthebook says:

    I’ve just started the Graveyard book and I’m loving it! Don’t let JK Rowling’s weird twitter personality ruin the books for you – i just try and remember that in years to come it’s the books people will remember and re-read, not Cursed Child and her weird asides about characters’ sex lives….

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Reply
    Sahi says:

    They may not have made it to my list but I totally adore The Stone Sky and Song of Achilles… and Order of the Phoenix is at the top of mine 😍😍😍 Nice choices !!!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Sahi says:

        I’m not sure if I can handle a reread… it was a difficult but phenomenal read even the first time around 😊😊😊

        Like

  20. Reply
    Kirstie Ellen says:

    I’m totally the same with fantasy and historical fiction! I think I’ve read a good amount of both this year so far, but still more fantasy than anything. What type of hist/fic do you like? I read The Librarian of Auschwitz this year and that was beautiful.

    I haven’t heard of The Goblin Emperor before and now I’m totally intrigue – especially if it’s your favourite book!! Here’s my TTT

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Jess @ Jessticulates says:

      I must admit I don’t tend to read a lot of WW2 era historical fiction, I’m not really into modern history as much as I am into earlier history. Ancient history up to and including the Tudor era are the kinds of historical fiction I tend to gravitate towards, but there are a lot of more modern books I’ve enjoyed, too. 🙂 I really want to try Ruta Sepetys’ Salt to the Sea, so I think I might read that one soon!

      I LOVE The Goblin Emperor! Definitely recommend it if you enjoy quiet, character-driven fantasy novels. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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