ya fantasy

What a reading month! November is one of my favorite reading months usually, because I dive into all kinds of fantasy or whatever’s been staring at me from my bookshelf. After all the spooky books, before the holiday romances, I read 25 books this month!

Black Sun
The Hurricane Wars
Where the Library Hides
The Adventure Zone vol. 2
The Thousandth Floor
The Frozen River
The God of the Woods
📱 Truthwitch
🎧 Crown of Midnight
Thornhedge
House of Salt and Sorrows
Hell Followed With Us
🎧 Seeds of Starlight
🎧 Two Can Play
Quicksilver
The Will of the Many
Babel
Lightlark
Heartless Hunter
Song of the Six Realms
🎧 The Third Gilmore Girl
This Fatal Kiss
📱 Curse of Shadows and Thorns
Kingdom of the Wicked
🎧 Dinner for Vampires
I Hope This Finds You Well

phyiscal books read: 18
ebooks read: 2
audiobooks: 5

total: 25

5 Star Reads

Black Sun – The writing, the world-building, the characters, all so intricately done. I am excited to read the second in this series, and disappointed in myself for waiting so long to dive in.

Where the Library Hides – I waited for this for what felt like forever. This is one of the best duologies I’ve ever read. Where the Library Hides picks right back up where What the River Knows left us and gave us a great conclusion to this historical fantasy story set in Egypt in the late 1800s.

The Thousandth Floor – I first read this book and series in 2019, and it has been one that I remember so well. It’s so easy to keep turning the pages of this book. After convincing a friend to read it, I decided to reread it myself. This is a futuristic Gossip Girl-ish YA series, set in Manhattan in the year 2118.

The God of the Woods – I judged this book by its cover, and then it grabbed me and didn’t let go until I finished it. Mysteries aren’t usually my most favorite, but this one felt unique. I loved the time jumping, the plot unfolding slowly as we learned more from each person and time period.

Crown of Midnight – This time around, I listened to the audiobook. I don’t currently plan on listening to the rest of the series, as I’m hoping a Graphic Audio version comes out!

House of Salt and Sorrows – After becoming obsessed with Craig’s The Thirteenth Child, I felt the need to read more of her work. She did not disappoint! House of Salt and Sorrows is another retelling, this time of the Brother Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The atmosphere Craig created is enchanting and creepy. I’m so impressed this was her debut novel!

Babel – R.F. Kuang is masterful. She has blended fantasy, historical fiction, and nonfiction. I was immediately swept into this dense story and was left grieving.

Heartless Hunter – I seriously have to wait two whole months for book two? 😩 Ciccarelli did a fantastic job world building *and* developing characters, something not often seen in book one! Great pacing, banter, chemistry, and hard to put down!

This Fatal Kiss – A poly (holy love triangle) romantasy based on a Slavic folktale is a new one for me and I loved every minute of it! Gisela, a water nypmh, haunts the river where she drowned. Kazik, the son of a local witch, wants to exorcise Gisela. Gisela does not leave Kazik alone and strikes up a deal with him. The two end up sharing a lot. I love the whole premise and the set up, and Gisela’s character. The pacing was good, keeping me interested the whole way through, The setting is somewhat confusing, having both modern and antiquated elements but seemingly in our world. I only wish this was longer, or had a sequel, as it felt somewhat incomplete. I would love to read more about Gisela.

I Hope This Finds You Well – This office comedy was so good I breezed through it! Highly recommend if you’re looking for something more light-hearted.