My Favorite YA Fantasy Books

Is it just me, or has fantasy REALLY become a well-loved genre over the last few years? Game of Thrones was the most watched show on television, and it's looking like Netflix's The Witcher is following suit.  Netflix is adapting Leigh Bardugo's GrishaVerse series into a TV show (Featuring Ben Barnes in, probably, his greatest villain role since The Punisher). Geek culture is IN, and fantasy books, movies, and TV shows are thriving.

While I definitely have a brain for fantasy in the TV and movies I watch, reading and staying engaged with Adult Fantasy is a struggle for me. I much prefer YA Fantasy because I find it easier to follow, and feel considerably less lost, and there's usually a romance that I swoon over. So I wanted to talk about my Five Favorite YA Fantasy Novels, with one honorable mention included. These are all five star reads for me, and though they aren't objectively flawless, they're flawless in my heart.

• "Unfit for marriage" heroine who is offered an apprenticeship with the matchmaker that burned her
• Spying!!! Deception!!! Politically Advantageous Marriages!!!!
• A handsome soldier who recruits Sage, our MC, as a spy to save her country from a coup.
• More deception from our love interest (but for the good of the kingdom, I promise!)
• Romance that will make your heart stop

My Honorable Mention had has to go to The Traitor's Kiss. This book is just *chef's kiss*. I read it for the first time in 2017, and I've reread it every year since (Which is 100% recommend, because I think you get more out of it the 2nd time around). It is such a promising start to a series, and the romance was one of the first that I remember swooning over. Now, full disclosure, I haven't yet finished the series, because the second book was just kinda meh, but THIS BOOK. It's easy to follow, and aside from being set in a totally different world than the one we're in, there aren't many fantastical elements to it. Plus, look how gorgeous that cover is!

 

• Powerful storms that destroy everything they touch, and Stormlings that can control storms to keep their kingdoms safe
• A princess with no Stormling magic being married to a powerful Stormling prince who's a total POS
• Aurora, our princess, learning that there are stormhunters who have obtained Stormling magic; and joining them and becoming Roar
• Found family/friendships, finding inner strength, and different kinds of strength!! 

This is another book that I've reread once a year since I read it initially, and it's another book that is so easy to follow. Cora Carmack managed to write a lush, beautiful world with super interesting characters, while also knowing how to show these things rather than info-dumpy explain them. Plus, Locke is such a fantastic love interest! Again, full disclosure, I haven't finished the series yet, but I'm getting ready to reread Roar AGAIN, because it's just phenomenal.

• Not one, but TWO perfect series take place in this world, so you can read Dance of Thieves as soon as you're done with The Remnant Chronicles
• Princess runs away from home on her wedding day to become a tavern wench in another kingdom
• Princess Lia meets 2 men in her tavern, Rafe and Kaden
• One of the men is the Prince she left at the alter, the other is an assassin sent to kill her.
• Romance where both parties are protecting their identities (why is that a trend with me??), Friendship and found families

The Remnant Chronicles is one of my favorite series because of the all-around character growth. Lia starts off the series as selfish, but evolves into one of the most mature YA protagonists I've ever read about. Our assassin reevaluates his loyalties and his dreams, our prince struggles to do what he knows is best for all and not just for himself. Plus, this isn't one of those series that introduces characters, has our MC or the Love Interest develop a friendship with them, and then they aren't brought up again,; they're ALWAYS being brought up. Also, Rafe is the broody, grumpy love interest of my 16 year old dreams. And, as I said before, you can reenter the world after you finish The Remnant Chronicles by starting Dance of Thieves!

• A world inspired by Ancient Rome where the Scholars are persecuted by the Martial empire
• Laia, a scholar, becomes a spy for the resistance after her grandparents are killed and her brother is arrested under suspicion of treason, and is assigned to the cruel Commandant.
• Elias, a Martial soldier, who wants to be free of the tyranny of the empire, but is roped into a competition to become the next Emperor.
• The two meet and soon realize that not only do they share a common goal, but they also have the power to change the Empire as they know it
• So much spying, learning that good and evil aren't always so black-and-white, and a female protagonist who is timid and scared but brave at the same time.
• There is a romance here, but it takes a backseat to everything else happening (and I love it, which has literally never happened before or since)

This is one of those books that I've reread and gotten something new out every. single. time. This is the most "involved" of the books on this list, and these books are chonky. But Sabaa Tahir really wrote a world that is terrifying and cruel, but that you can't help to get lost in. Again, full disclosure, I haven't finished this series, but it's one that I find new things to love about every time I even think of it. The final book in the series is released in 2021, so you have some time to read it before then!

• The Valorian's (The Colonizers) taking land from the Herrani (The Indigenous People) and making them their slaves
• Kestral, the daughter of a ruthless Valorian general, purchases Arin, a Herrani slave, on a whim after finding a kindred spirit in him.
• Arin is actually a spy for Herrani rebellion and is sent to gather intel on the general.
• Kestral and Arin become unlikely friends, and Kestral learns of the hardships that the Herrani face at the hands of her people.
• Sooo much longing by both Arin and Kestral, who are in love but know they shouldn't be.
• A successful rebellion that you can't help but root for

First off, this list has made me realize how much I love spying and deception in my fantasy romances. But I am a sucker for star-crossed lovers, and Kestral and Arin are at the top of my list of favorites. This is another example of a world that is so different from ours, but doesn't have any fantastical elements, so it's suuuper easy to follow. Plus, the slow burn romance between the two is reason enough to read this series. 

• A retelling of 1,001 Nights
• Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid, the king of her land who has killed each of his brides the morning after he marries them, to avenge the death of her best friend
• Shahrzad beats the odds and lives to see another sunrise.... and another, and another, and another
• Learns that Khalid is not the murderous monster she always thought him to be, but is quiet, thoughtful, and obviously tortured by the deaths of his other wives
• Shahrzad begins to fall for Khalid, and makes it her mission to understand why those girls had to die
• Magic, beautiful writing, a lush world, what more could you ask for??
• THAT ROMANCE, THO.

The Wrath & The Dawn is probably my favorite book. This, along with 2 other books, is the book I read when I need to cleanse my palate. I read this book constantly and love it so much more each time. Shazi and Khalid together are a force to be reckoned with, and though both love each other, they also sincerely respect each other. Plus, when Shazi finds out Khalid's secret about why his wives were murdered, she understands and feels for him, but doesn't excuse the fact that their deaths were senseless and wrong. If you only decide to pick up one book on this list, please let this be the one. 

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If you've read any of the books on this list, what did you think of them? Which YA Fantasies are you favorites? Leave your thoughts and recommendations in the comments or reach out to me over Facebook. And, as always, feel free to friend me on Goodreads to keep up with what I'm currently reading. See you guys soon, happy reading!