mybookishthrills: fantasy

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One thing about the bookish community is that we all read differently...Some of us enjoy reading contemporary after contemporary, and others can't imagine reading something other than fantasy series...And some of us ~~(like myself)~~ are somewhere in-between the two, where our obsessive fantasy-reading has to be interrupted by a fluffy contemporary in order to keep our sanity and not go flying off into Cosmos to fight unwordly monsters and dragons..yup.

Regardless on where on the scale you fall, you probably have reservations about your reading habits, and wish you could read a little bit of everything. But let me guess....you're intimidates as hell and don't know where to start...right?!

Well today's post is going out to all my contemporary, and non-fantasy readers. Today I am compiling a post/list (i'm obsessed with lists i know don't judge me too much) for all of you who are intimidates as hell about the thought of committing to a hefty fantasy series with a million characters and a whole new world.

The recommendations on this post include books that got me into fantasy, ones that I think weren't too intimidating, and ones that I just generally think everyone should read hehe...

"The Mistborn" series by Brandon Sanderson

I don't know if this is the most appropriate one to start with intimidation wise, but nevertheless, I'm going to start with it because this is the series that made me genuinely love and admire fantasy, and one that has stayed ingrained in my mind and my heart for months.

This series has the coolest magic system ever! 'Mistings' are persons who have one particular ability when they ingest one specific metal, and 'Mistborns' are the ones who have ALL the powers by ingesting all the known metals that bring forth the powers.

The series has 3 books with original cast of characters who face challenge after challenge, and the poor babies never get a minute to breathe before they're being attacked again. The series then continues in a few more books, hundred of years later after the main events of the series.

The magic system and the epicness of it will have you reading like a madman alone, and I haven't even started on the amazing, realistic characters, and even more beautiful relationships between them...the freaking romance that was one-of-a-kind. And the ACTION, the POLITICS, the STABBING...Oh my lord...this book just has it all and everyone needs to read it right now!!

It gives me so much joy just to rant about these books in a post, it's unbelievable!

"The Chaos Walking" by Patrick Ness

This might be a more reasonable place to start...Although I can't say that I loved this series as I did the above, it had something unique about it, and every now and then I still remember of it.

This one doesn't have so much of a magic system, but rather abilities acquired by mutation. It follows a boy who was born in a plantation on a planet which humans harvested years ago...the only rarity of this world that our character lives in, is that it makes every male thought audible to all, and females are scarce.

Also there's a corruption among the men, a horrible secret, and 'alien' natives who were suppressed by these humans, but that are now coming back in forces to fight for their lands.

If that isn't appealing enough for your contemporary-lovers' interest, there's a cute, young boy as our main character who goes on a wild, fast-paced run to survive and to save the planet, accompanied by a human girl who has literally just landed on this strange new planet. Basically, they're both clueless about different aspects, and it's adorable to watch them both develop and grow through the 3 books...It kind of gives me feels just to think how much they fought to save each other, wow...

"Six Of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

I'm sure everyone and their mothers have heard of this duology, no matter how much you turn away at the mention of fantasy... This one is also one that I adored and worshiped!

It has just one of the best cast of characters, that is literally diverse in almost every aspect...sexuality, race, shape, disability, mental illness...you literally freaking name it, and it'll be in here! This group of thieves, spies, soldiers and fighters go on a seemingly impossible mission to the world's most secure compound, with the goal of breaking-out the most wanted prisoner in the world.

It's set in a fantasy world of 'Grisha' which the author previously establishes in a trilogy. However, I attempted this trilogy and did not enjoy it...the author's writing is a lot more grown up and appreciable in this duolgy than her previous trilogy...

Obviously, you do not need to have read this trilogy to enjoy 'Six Of Crows'...but as the author herself said, if you want to give it a go - 'Some references in the duology won't fly over your head if you do'.

You might want to leave this one for after your first encounter with fantasy though, as I do believe that it does have some tricky fantasy-based-ideas that might just fly over your head if it's your first go at fantasy.

"Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah. J. Maas

This might be your safest bet at enjoying fantasy, if I'm being honest! This is technically a 'Beauty and The Beast' retelling, but boy does it take it's own wings somewhere along the way. This might aid you with the story, as you will probably know the basic of it, and be able to focus on the fantasy bits, and really enjoy it for what it is.

This is one I enjoy mostly for the fairy-tale retelling aspect, I won't lie. I adore analyzing the twists and turns that it takes away from the original story, but I'm also quite in love, and quite deeply invested with the characters of this series..

The series is about a world where courts and kingdoms are at rivalry, and our main protagonist finds herself quite torn between a few of them ~~*cough* and their lords hehe*cough*~~. It's simply entertaining, and fun to experience!

***

That concludes my list of fantasy recommendations. I hope I have given you some inspiration and direction if you're someone seeking for that when it comes to fantasy. I hope that you will be picking these up soon, and hopefully enjoying them too! Get obsessed with fantasy, it's a whole new world in reading once you do! ~~(literally hahahaha)~~

Tell me in the comments below if you've maybe already read one of these, and if not, which one caught your eye most? Isn't it obvious which one I love the most...hahaha. Tell me which other fantasy series you're hoping to read? Talk to me about the beauties I rave about above!

All the love,

Samanta. x

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Published by Simon & Schuster Books

Page Count: 416 pages (Hardback)

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction (Dystopia), Fantasy.

RATING: ★★★★☆/4/5

This is one of those books that is super hard to write an objective review for without spoiling the whole thing, but seeing as I decided to anyways, here is my attempt.

" The story follows our main character Nemesis. Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. The girl who has grown up by her side and who is as much as sister as a master. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.She must become her, and disguise her unhuman-like Diabolic qualities that will bring her closer than ever to humanity. "
- Goodreads

Why I Picked It Up

I'll admit that I had big doubts going into this book; I thought, "Oh here we go", another one about a robot girl who couldn't love but then did anyways, somehow, magically...by the power of love.

But then I thought 'galaxy travel' and 'spaceships'...That's why initially picked this book up. However as it turns out, in my opinion, this book was so much more than space and that robot girl concept.

Important Aspect That Make Me Love This Book

There's an aspect to this book that almost makes it an important book to have in YA fantasy/science fiction. This isn't a story of a robot girl, this is a story of a marginalized girl who is made to believe she is 'less human' than others, by the society that she lives in. It almost becomes a story of self-discovery and self-acceptance in a world where all of that is frowned-upon.

Reflecting upon our world today, Nemisis as a character, and the Diabolics as a community, can even take shape as a reflection of the minority groups that are oppressed in our society today, just as Nemisis is in "The Diabolic".

This realization made me immediately warm to the book, and to the author. Beforehand, I could have rambled about the stereotypes and the cliche aspects of it, but all of that was shadowed over by the heart-warming story of self-acceptance that took place throughout this book.

"The Diabolic" truly delves so much deeper than what might appear as firsthand as an elaborate dystopian setup for a flaming romance.

Let's talk about the romance...

The romance in this book I could have done without, I'll admit, and I had some minor issues with it. Some *rolling eyes* moments too like...

However, by the end of the book, I found myself having warmed to Tyrus, our stammeringly hot love interest and heir to the Empire. He was a mixture of 'exactly what you'd expect', and 'DID HE JUST DO THAT???DID HE JUST-'. It was quite endearing at times....~~and then he'll go and stab someone in the back hahahaha.~~

Their eventual romance was pretty predictable from their first interaction, and I was holding fingers against it, but eventually, the inevitable of YA books occurred, and there was nothing I could do but sit and take the ride with them.

You should definitely not be turned off the book by me rambling against the romance. I'm just a girl who wishes for more backstabbing than 'I LOVE YOU MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE'....so once you read this book, you'll understand why I'm a teeny tiny bit against it here heh.

THE PACING

I also found this pacing of this book to be on point. I was turning the pages one after the other, and before I knew it, it was one a.m. on a school night and I was done, screeching quietly into my pillow. The author didn't waste pages with unnecessary fillers, but rather drew me in with the action, whether it was the awesome scene of Nemesis facing off a genetically altered creature, or Nemesis and Tyrus gracefully twirling in their gowns in a zero gravity ball room ~~like Peter Pan and Wendy~~. Really, the images there are quite fascinating, and probably enough to get anyone intrigued!

"The Diabolic" - A TRILOGY?

Since finishing the book I've heard some talk, some happy, some frustrated, that this was initially a stand-alone, but that it will be now becoming a trilogy since the positive receive of this book.

Personally I am not opposed, and hope that the author will know how to make the best of the opportunity here, and will not simply regurgitate whatever happens to be in the mix for the sake of making it ' a series'. I'm excited to see what's ahead for Nemesis and the galactic fam ;).

So, tell me, have you read "The Diabolic" yet? If you have, are you excited for it to be a series? If you haven't, you most definitely should, and you should also tell me what persuaded you to pick it up, and which mentioned concept is most engaging to you? Tell me all that and more down in the comments below! :) It will all be greatly appreciated!

All the love,
Samanta.