Like Fantasy? LOVE these... Top pick's of 2015!

Hey everyone!

As you may have guessed, one of my favourite genres is fantasy. Who's isn't?

What I love about this genre is that you can become completely immersed in a unique new world, usually full of magical creatures and rarely are two books the same.

My favourite magical creature would have to be the Fae but I do love witches, dragons, demons and all the rest of it. Although there doesn't have to be creatures like dragons in fantasy books for me to love them, just some semblance of magic and I'm hooked.

So I've spend the majority of my summer reading this genre and I've put together some of my top reads which I think you guys should check out and hopefully come to love as much as me. 

Top picks for lovers of fantasy!

1) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Let's get my completely obvious and bias pick out of the way shall we? So yeah, the Throne of Glass series. This series follows assassin Celaena Sardothein from her harrowing year spent as a prisoner in a salt mine to entering a deadly competition to win her freedom and to become The King's Champion. This series get's better and better, as it's progressed we are introduced to more characters (therefore bigger books ;)), more of the magic element, more magical creatures such as the Fae and witches and so many plot twists that leave you reeling. Not only is this a great fantasy but the world building involved is superlative, there aren't many books that can enable you to easily imagine a whole new world, especially as detailed as this is. With Queen of Shadows just around the corner why not give this a try!

2) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Another Maas pick I'm afraid but this is definitely for you romance lovers. A Court of Thorns and Roses was newly released back in May and this quickly became an instant favourite of 2015 so far. This is all about Feyre who hunts to feed her family, one day she kills a wolf... only it wasn't a wolf at all but a member of the Fae! eeeep more fae. In exchange for the life she took Feyre must repay it with her own; spending the rest of her days living among the Fae folk. We travel to the Fae Court and meet some really great secondary characters and then it's basically a romance but just a things start to get good... and when I say 'good' I mean haaawwt... darkness descends, games are afoot and were introduced to some action. All in all this book has a lot going for it and the next instalment is first on my to buy list of 2016!

3) The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Next we have The Winner's Trilogy which I highly recommend to those of you who enjoy high fantasy. While the fantasy is pretty epic what I actually enjoy most is Kestrel Trajan, our heroine. Kestrel is strong but not in the psychical sense, she's much more suited to a battle of wits. As the General's daughter and her upcoming birthday Kestrel must decide whether to marry or enlist in the army but instead she rebels and buys herself a slave: Arin. She soon discovers that she hasn't really bought a slave at all but a whole 'lotta trouble, Arin to has a rebellious side and is hiding the most dangerous secret of all. I was completely hooked from cover to cover, it's highly addicting and ends with devastating cliffhangers. The Winner's Kiss will be released in March 2016 so you've got plenty of time to check this one out.

4) The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

This story is about the Caliph of Khorasan; Khalid, he marries a girl every night only to have her executed at dawn, hanged by a silk cord. Enter our heroine Shahrzad, when her best friend falls victim to this ruthless monster she’s heartbroken and is determined that the Caliph's reign of terror must end, she volunteers to become his next bride and kill him. This book is a gorgeous fantasy that will take you to a stunning world filled with a rich culture of food, music and twisting tales of Aladdin. This is a fantastic debut came out May 2015 and not only were the MC characters awesome but the cheeky secondary characters quickly became my favourites. I highly recommend this book to everyone and I can’t wait for Book 2: The Rose and the Dagger as it promises a lot more magic!

5) Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles is a series of re-telling's but they all have their unique twist, these books have become increasingly popular this year and with good reason. Cinderella goes intergalactic in this debut, Cinder is a cyborg living in New Beijing where human and androids live in a not-so-peaceful world. In keeping with the original fairy tale Cinder lives with her evil stepmother and stepsisters and is made to serve them, but instead of 'housework' being Cinder's 'thing' she actually a gifted mechanic. Soon the world is on the brink of disaster with the rivalled world Luna being run by the evil Queen Levana, during this Cinder soon meets the totally gorgeous Prince Kai. This is one of my favourite series and I definitely encourage fans of re-telling's to give this series a try. It's the perfect blend of the classic stories with a fascinating twist and the great thing about this series in the characters from each overlap and interact, adding to the drama! So we have Cinder Cinderella, Scarlet Little Red Riding Hood, Cress Rapunzel and soon to be Winter Snow White in November, pretty great right?

6) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

Looking for mystery, adventure, folklore, magic and a spot of romance? Then look no further.

This has this and much much more, following Blue who lives with her mother and aunts who are all physics, sounds pretty cool huh? Well not so when Blue's future has already been predicted; She is destined to kill her true love with a kiss. AWKWARD! The Raven Cycle follows Blue and four 'Raven Boys' from Aglionby Academy; Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah. Together they try to unravel and save the mystery of a long forgotten sleeping King. With intricate plot twists, multiple POV's and dark magic around every corner, you're sure to lose yourself in this epic adventure. The Raven King is set to release in March 2016 so get yourself on Goodreads, check out some reviews and see if this series is for you!

7) The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

After finishing The Heart of Betrayal a few weeks ago, I just had to include this series. The book starts off with Princess Lia preparing for her wedding day, she doesn’t know anything about her betrothal so decides to run away from the marriage and the pressure of being a royal. She soon settles in a little town and manages to hide her identity by getting a job at the local tavern. Whilst working two strangers enter: One is the prince she left on her wedding day, the other is an assassin sent to kill her. There’s a twist, we don’t know which one is which they are only referred to as ‘The Prince’ and ‘The Assassin’, so it keeps you guessing as your reading. There's a love triangle but I actually didn't mind this, I was much more focused on trying to figure out who was who. The final instalment The Beauty of Darkness will be out mid 2016.

8) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This story is told from two POV’s: Laia and Elias. Laia is a Scholar and because of this she is classed as subservient to the Martials. Elias is part of the Martial Empire and has spent the last fourteen years training to be a soldier, he is now a Mask. One night Laia’s brother is taken by the Martials and thrown into person, determined to free him Laia must seek aid from the Resistance. Once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. It's hard to describe this book, it's dark, twisted and just delicious to read with it’s completely addictive writing. I honestly read this with a pounding heart from start to finish into the wee hours of the night, with the added elements of magic, trials and old myths coming to life and now we're being treated to a sequel in 2016? Who could say no to this?

9) Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Grisha series, okay so this ended last year but it's definitely one I would highly recommend to anyone new to fantasy. This story is all about Alina Starkov who suddenly comes into her own powers after her best friend is attacked and she saves his life. Alina is then taken to train with the Grisha who all have different powers, strengths and weaknesses. This magical elite guard is led by The Darkling, who is possibly still the most talked about character ever. He's truly something and I won't spoil anything because you really must experience his gloriousness for yourself and first hand. Filled with myths, action and adventure this is sure to be an instant favourite.

10) Angelfall by Susan Ee

Lastly I give you the Penryn & the End of Days series, possibly one of the best YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopian out there, wow that's a mouthful.

In a post apocalyptic world we meet Penryn, possibly the most kickass heroine there is! Penryn's sister is taken by angels and it's here that Penryn literally demands an angel who has been stripped of his wings to take her to her sister for a rescue mission. From the very begging you become completely immersed in the gruesome world and really root for Penryn. The excitement never stops, plot twists never end and with a slow burn romance in the background because hello we have a sister to save and vicious angels to avoid, thank you very much. Sadly this fantastic series came to end in May 2015 but the good news is all these books will be shops... go now!

So these would be my top picks for fantasy 2015, they'll be sure to make you fall in love and become quite obsessed with.

What do you like about fantasy?

Do your book have to have magic and creatures in?

Or is a vivid new world enough to entice you?

Do you have any best/worst picks?

Any and all recommendation are welcome, I'm always looking to expand my bookshelves.

I do hope you guys will check some of these out,

Happy Reading!

Cody

xo.