my favorite genre is crossworld fantasy. like harry potter, narnia, miss peregrines, etc. it starts with a main character in our world, and then they cross over into a fantasy world.
I am also intimidated by the Name of the Wind.....I am almost done with Mistborn (IT IS SOOOO AMAZING) but for some reason I can't start NotW, I read the first 30-40 pages and then put it down and it sits on my shelf for about 2 years now ;-;
I hope Leigh will write more about those characters, love them so much. Also, about Mistborn, pretty much all of Brandon Sanderson's books start slow, but their endings are always crazy, Mistborn isn't his best work by far, but a great place to start.
This video is perfect! I'm trying to get into it but have had a couple of failed attempts... I have a few serious health things going on and struggle with memory etc., so this video is very welcome! I recently started my channel and its making me push my boundaries - which is amazing! I am quite socially isolated so books are my world. They engulf me, so I am excited to be taken to a fantasy world for a while. Thank you so so much xx
I think that Graceling, Uprooted and Poison Study are also really good books for people who are new to fantasy because they're all so fast paced and the fantasy worlds aren't too hard to get into 😀
I also think Maria V Snyder is a great place to start with fantasy! Poison Study was one of my first YA fantasy series and I've read pretty much all of her books since then.
Name of the Wind is a great recommendation! It is one of my all-time favorite books. The story is very character-driven and you experience the world through his eyes. So there's not a lot of info dumping or too many characters to wrap your head around. It's long, but it's so so engaging. Once I started, I could NOT put it down. Highly recommend it to any reader.
The Skulduggery Pleasant series !! The first book is about a young girl whose uncle is murdered by sorcerers, so she teams up with her uncle's best friend (who is a reanimated skeleton) in order to track down the people who did it. Then as the series goes on you see her grow up as part of the world of magic. It's an amazing series and I highly recommend it !!!
I'm scared to start reading Name of the Wind only because I've only heard so many freaking good things about it and I'm sure i'm gonna love it and then have to wait years for the 3rd book.....
Ana Maria i've been waiting for the third book for 7 years. Right now I all want is for him to take 5 more to publish it so I can say: "I did my waiting! 12 years of it!"
satisfying as that maybe I still hope he publishes it faster...cause omg 7 YEARS!!! i've only found out about it last year but I'm kinda glad i won't have to wait extra 7 years i;d die! But i''ll be reading it this summer, I can't wait
i think the Grisha trilogy is a pretty good place to start as well, and i'd recommend reading that before the Six of Crows duology. Also, the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. I read that series when i was in primary school and i loved it back then! awesome video Regan, i'm so glad i can always refer to your channel whenever i need fantasy recs!
Maliemania Agreed, Ranger's Apprentice was so good. I read it back in primary school as well but I never continued on with the rest of it. I actually plan on re-reading the first one so that I can read the rest. I remember enjoying it so much as a kid!
same, it was one of my favourite series! i think i stopped reading after Erak's Ransom when i was 12. I tried reading the next one in the series last year, but for some reason i had trouble getting back into John Flanagan's writing :( it's probably because i've read loads of books since then so the writing felt more middle-grade-ish for me. but it was still a lot of fun to start off with, and i really miss all the characters :D
Personally I'd recommend reading Six of Crows first and treating the Grisha trilogy as a sort of prequel. I know chronologically SoC comes later, but I found it was more interesting to hear about the legacy of the characters like Alina and the Grisha in Six of Crows and then go back and read what actually happened in the trilogy afterwards. My personal opinion at least.
Imo SoC is easier to like than the trilogy cause the characters are better developted and the you can feel how she grew as an author, the duology is a must read on my list meanwhile the Grisha is one of the series that I recommend just when the person really likes YA.
I love fantasy and I've already read all Sarah J. Maas's and Cassandra Clare's books plus the HP-series, but I also read many other fantasy books, but I'm seriously only about half way through The Name of the Wind, but it's amazing... nothing can compares! I highly recommend it 😍 oh, and I of course also recommend Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom - soooo goooood
Tamora Pierce is also a great beginner fantasy author! I would recommend starting with her series Song of the Lioness, it only has 4 books and they’re pretty short! She’s a fantastic author ❤️
I really love the idea of this video! Even as someone who reads mainly fantasy, I found I hadn't read some of these stories, like the Warrior Heir. That's definitely one series I'm going to be checking out and buying right away.
you and emma (emmmabooks) are probably one of the only booktubers i trust when it comes to fantasy... AND I APPRECIATE SO MUCH THAT YOU DIDN'T INCLUDE THE MAINSTREAM FANTASY BOOKS.. SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM are one of the best fantasy books i've ever read, it's also full of humor.. i bought the first 2 books of "the falling kingdom" because of you, hopefully i'll enjoy them as much as you did!
1:56 - Speaking of Rainbow Rowell, it was interesting to hear that she will be writing a new Runaways on-going series for Marvel, having never read any of her books, and only hearing her name come up multiple times among BookTubers.
Thank you! I am a so excited to start my fantasy journey! I have always loved fantasy but my genre is psychological thrillers.. i get overwhelmed when choosing fantasy. This is so exciting! I will be diving into these! 😍
YA Fantasy and fairy tale retellings are my favorite genres! I just read Kiss of Deception in May and I'm so excited to continue the series this month!
I thought I was a fantasy beginner but I guess i'm not since I have read almost all of these! Great recommendations! So many of these books are definitely great places to start in fantasy
I would recommend the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It's seven books and they follow Septimus and his family as he becomes a wizard apprentice. It's a fun series and one of my favorites.
I am in the middle of the Age of Legends trilogy by Kelley Armstrong and I came across it on a whim and LOVE IT. I'm definitely not new to fantasy, but this series is so well done in my opinion. You follow the perspectives of twin sisters in a fantastical asian inspired setting. There are politics, war, love, betrayal, and animal side kicks! I highky recommend it!!
Yes The Name of the Wind got me into adult fantasy! It's an incredible book and I'm now on book #3 of A Song Of Ice and Fire as it's got me in the fantasy mood. I also LOVED the Six of Crows duology. Great recommendations!
Hi! Great video, as always! I think that Holly Black's urban fantasy trilogy (Tithe, Valiant and Ironside) is also a very good place to start. The books are very fast paced, the characters are very relatable (even the good guys are flawed) and the magical element to our world is "fairies" and it's really cool to see how the old tales and folklore regarding fairies get mixed with the modern world and all of its implications.. The novels also deal with various themes (romance, friendship, politics, social outcasts) so I feel like there's a little bit for every taste. Love from Italy, bye!
I'm definitely not a beginner fantasy reader, and it's my favorite genre to read. But I love your fantasy recommendations and I love discussing the genre, so here I am. 😂
I'm glad you enjoyed The Name of the Wind so much. I just finished listening to it for the 3rd or 4th time. What I think is really interesting is that it's this legendary "hero" story that's mostly told in 1st person. Also, the magic in the story is told with such a scientific vibe to it is seems much more believable. Thanks for the video!
And I read The Name of the Wind a couple months ago, because you recommended it actually, and loved it, but waiting a little bit before I read A Wise Man's Fear.
kiss of deception is the book that got me on board with YA fantasy and now it's my favorite genre. I totally agree it's the perfect series to start with
Oh I'm so glad you made this video! Your reviews of books are already perfect so having this video as a guide is just so wonderful!! And now I finally know what urban fantasy is. :)
Im not much of a fantasy type reader, I can never get into the worlds these authors create but I just started A Game of Thrones and Im liking it so far, its been sitting on my shelf for about a year because I was intimidated but Im glad I finally picked it up!
I really want to read The Name of the Wind soon. You've been raving about it for so long and I've heard amazing things about it... so I need to go get it asap!
Fantasy is one of my favorite genres, too. Love that you put this together! Since I know you love fantasy, would you consider doing something like a "pro-level" fantasy recommendations video? Kind of like the reverse of this one for those of us who've been infected by the fantasy bug and just want more good fantasy.
The Young Elites by Marie Lu and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski are fast paced and super easy to read! And since there CANNOT be no mention of Brandon Sanderson in a fantasy recommendation I also recommend The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson for starters and Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson if you want a taste of High fantasy as I feel it might be the easiest one to get into compared to his other high fantasy books.
I recently read Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson and I was blown away by how good they were. I've never read high fantasy before and was afraid I'd get bored or confused by a new world but I found myself understanding it right from the start. Sanderson's writing is so well done. He shows things really well rather than just info-dumping on what something is and how it works. Only problem is it's going to be a 10 book series and each book is really long so you'll want to make sure you're up for the waiting and the long reads
I'm currently reading empire of storms from tog series and it's better then the last book and I have to say most of those you mentioned I have but have yet to read. I don't have a lot of time but I can't wait to get into all of them. You explained things so well. 😊
For me Eragon really got me into reading and fantasy specifically. The first book I think is really great. The way the world was described and the people in it I felt like I was part of it. Also I have a hard time sticking with books if it does not capture me in the first couple pages and I felt drawn in from page one. Now the other books in the series are not as good and seem to drag out more than they need to. I have yet to complete the final book for this reason.
No Brandon Sanderson? Much shame. Sanderson is a great place to start, especially if you want to dip your toe into adult fantasy. Mistborn is a great series to start because it's very YA but it's adult (for honestly really silly reasons). If you're intimidated by a six book series then Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson is a (kind of) standalone and it's also a great place to start. If you're still worried about the adult label then Rithmatist is a great YA book by him and the second book should be coming out in a year or two.
Taylor Ramirez Regan is a huge fan of Sanderson, don't worry. I'd imagine she felt that it wasn't a very good place to start, as his novels (especially the Stormlight Archives), are incredibly long and complex. The most accessible is probably Mistborn, but even that may be a bit much for people new to the genre. If she were making a general fantasy recommendations, or favorite fantasy reads, video, I'm sure it would be in it.
I got into fantasy with Mistborn and it wasn't too intimidating 😊I absolutely loved it so nothing I read now comes close to the awesomeness of Mistborn 😂😂😂😂
100% agree with all, and i need to read most of those too. BUT THE NAME OF THE WIND IS SOOO GOOOODDDD!! I was super intimidated to read it, but it was WAY TOO GOOD!
Great job with this video! I started out reading Alanna by Tamora Pierce, and that kind of started my love for fantasy. I've read all except Kiss of Deception and The Warrior Heir.
Oh ok. That explains my problem. I’m new to fantasy and I read a few books but once I got to Six of Crows, I started to get confused. I’m about 20 pages in and then I put it down. So then I started Falling Kingdoms and it had a lot of characters too, so I put that one down also. I’ll start the Kiss of Deception and see how that one goes
Every time I watch your videos I already know I'm going to leave with something in my Amazon cart and this video is NO exception! Love your recommendations!
I love anything by Brandon Mull! His books are a great place to start. Regan, if you have finished the Fablehaven series you should check out Brandon's spinoff series Dragonwatch! It follows the same characters and picks up about 3 months after the end of book 5.
Some more recommendations: -Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason. Set in late 19th century Victorian era London. It's the first in a series & the books are way shorter than most other fantasy books. Dual perspective books with two smart kickass female protagonists. Love!! -Uprooted by Naomi Novik. A standalone novel with a folksy fairytale flavor. Fantastical without being hard to follow. The female main character is brave, loving, and snarky. --The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. Standalone book. Under 400 pages so nothing scary to tackle. About a young boy whose mother dies & he ends up in a fairytale world with disturbing adult themes/elements. Coming of age tale. Poignant and moving, I cried a couple times.
Can you do an Epic/High Fantasy guide as well? I always see you RAVE about the Light Bringer and the King Killer Chronicles series and I actually bought them because I want to read them but I am so intimidated.
I would also recommend the "Snow Like Ashes" trilogy by Sara Raasch. There are kingdoms, the magic system is simple, the plot is great, and it's fast-paced!
I think it's very interesting how you didn't bother including the obvious ones, but still mentioned them. I gave them the attention they deserve, but it made it It stand out comparing to other similar videos I saw. It caught my attention and made me even more curious to watch. I was all ready to see Harry Potter be #1 lol And "Carry On" was a genius suggestion for being in between genres. Great job! I like Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Chidren, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Chronicles of Narnia, Insomnia, Beautiful Creatures, Vampirates, Goosebumps, peter Pan, The Thief Lord, Inkheart...
I have read The Name of The Wind but I feel like I need to reread it cause when I did read it before it was during school and over a long period of time. I'm torn between that and just reading the second book. I still loved The Name of The Wind when I was reading it though.
I recommend "Summers at Castle Auburn" by Sharon Shinn. Not recently published and not so well known, but a great YA read and really good for those fantasy-averse (or resistant!)
I just love it when Raegan talks about fantasy books. She's like the queen of fantasy and it always adds to my TBR list to watch one of her videos. Oh well 😂
If you like history and also love stories, the wrath & the dawn duology is SUPER good! It's a fantasy story set in the ancient Middle East and involves a cursed kingdom and a feisty girl and it's just super perfect. It's jam-packed, easy to follow, not too long and the characters are beautiful
The only problem with The Kingkiller Chronicles is that it sets a pretty high standard for fantasy writing, so if it's used as a segue into adult fantasy books, you might find other fantasy books a bit disappointing in comparison. Also, the third book is taking a long time to get to us, unfortunately. Also, PeruseProject, if you're reading this, I've noticed you mention the Mistborn series quite a bit, and how much you love it. My sister-in-law also loves that series, but she loves the Stormlight Archives even more. If you haven't read that series yet, you'll probably love it too.
I would recommend a few older series for new readers of fantasy. These are not YA. First would be the three original Dragonlance Chronicles novels by Weis and Hickman (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning). These are very quick and entertaining reads. They contain just about every fantasy trope that you would expect. They aren't in-depth or complicated, the character development is not great, but nevertheless, they were entertaining (at least to the 15 year old boy I was when they came out). Second series I would recommend is the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist (Magician, (later republished in two parts in the United States as Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master), Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon). These books focus on a young boy who becomes the greatest wizard, and a inter-dimensional rift war between two worlds. The third series I would recommend would be Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams (The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower). This epic fantasy is a coming of age story that has well crafted characters, with growth and development. Tad Williams is very good at creating characters that come to life.
Fab video reminding me what got me into fantasy. Have you read crown duel and summers at castle auburn. Loved them growing up and so beautifully written
Hey, great video, some good recommendations here :-) Some more recommendations of adult fantasy would be great, maybe you could do a video for more seasoned fantasy readers? There is so much YA fantasy out there (not that this is a bad thing) but adult fantasy I feel gets swept under the rug and I am always looking to see more recommendations for adult fantasy on booktube.
I also want to recommend a urban fantasy-ish serie which I love but I never see anyone talk about and that is A Thousand Pieces of you also known as The Firebird Series by Claudia Gray, I'm not a really big fan anymore of YA books but this is a serie that still stays close to me
This is a great video. I do already read fantasy but I'm kinda new to book tube and some fantasy is still intimidating. I own every one that you talk about but still haven't read them. 😂 I have read kiss if deception. I read the first raven boys. Im going to start throne of glass soon. I love the ember in the ashes series and I'm caught up in that one. I love this video because it helped me prioritize my fantasy series'.
Tamora Pierce. She got me into fantasy and I devoured her books in high school. Her world building is beautiful and her characters are kickass, especially since they are all women. Definitely give her books a try.
My problem with fantasy is dedicating myself to really long stories with multiple books. It's so hard to wait a year or more for a second book in a fantasy series because I will not remember a single thing that happened in the last book lol. That being said I LOVE fantasy!
the pellinor books by alison croggon! My all time favorite fantasy books. i would say they are are middle grade/ya books. It follows Maerad and we get introduced to the world as she does so its very easy to follow along and read. For adults I also really liked the inheritance trilogy by NK Jemison.
Two others for beginners to fantasy. For urban fantasy, there's the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. I read them in high school and really enjoyed them. There's fairies, but slightly more traditional kinds of fae, not happy Tinkerbell types. For a bit of a genre mix, there's a duology by Robin McKinley that's made up of 'The Blue Sword' and 'The Hero and the Crown'. They came out 20+ years ago and the Homelander world feels very British colonial India. The Blue Sword only has a bit of magic (because the inherited magical ability has become rare) and a villain with demon blood. But The Hero and the Crown (a prequel) has more magic and dragons.
Oh, and how could I forget the Study series and the Glass series b Maria V. Snyder? Fantastic books and very easy to read. Love Yelena and Opal's voices.
there was a bit of an emotional build up for me when you were leading up to your last rec for adult fantasy...I love Kvothe! I need to read Kiss of Deception and Fallen Kingdom soon!
I would recommend The Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann, a seven-book middle grade adventure series following the perspectives of two twin brothers - one who goes to magic school and one trained to hate those who do. Also, I would say Tamora Pierce and Diana Wynne Jones would both be great authors to start with, and they each have tons of books to go through.
I really recommend Waifs and Strays by Charles De Lint , it's a short story collection so you get a taste of all his diffrent styles of story telling . he's a Canadian author and very underrated
I would very much recommend the Septimus Heap series, The Inkheart trilogy, His Dark Materials trilogy, The Inheritance Cycle and any Pratchett book except for the Rincewind series really
I remember reading the Kiss of Deception and being so frustrated over not knowing who was the Assassin and who was the Prince. So after a mere 100 pages I put it down, might pick it up again now though.
You should do a video suggesting books for long-time fantasy readers, like myself.
Yessss that would be awesome! I think many of us watch Regan's channel mainly because she reads a lot of fantasy like us
my favorite genre is crossworld fantasy. like harry potter, narnia, miss peregrines, etc. it starts with a main character in our world, and then they cross over into a fantasy world.
Those are called Urban Fantasies
Isekai
@@h.a.5279 theyre called crossworld fantasy too.
SIX OF CROWS
I am also intimidated by the Name of the Wind.....I am almost done with Mistborn (IT IS SOOOO AMAZING) but for some reason I can't start NotW, I read the first 30-40 pages and then put it down and it sits on my shelf for about 2 years now ;-;
shyyn33 ahhh love SoC! I'm going to start Mistborn next! So excited! :)
Yeah the actual story in Name of the Wind doesn't get started until around page 50, so I'd recommend just powering through until you get to that part.
I hope Leigh will write more about those characters, love them so much. Also, about Mistborn, pretty much all of Brandon Sanderson's books start slow, but their endings are always crazy, Mistborn isn't his best work by far, but a great place to start.
Primo S. S. oh good to know :) thanks!
This video is perfect! I'm trying to get into it but have had a couple of failed attempts... I have a few serious health things going on and struggle with memory etc., so this video is very welcome! I recently started my channel and its making me push my boundaries - which is amazing! I am quite socially isolated so books are my world. They engulf me, so I am excited to be taken to a fantasy world for a while. Thank you so so much xx
Hannah Hodgson xoxo feel better what books did u read and like
@@Victoriacgx stay strong girl
hope youre better now bbg❤❤❣
I think that Graceling, Uprooted and Poison Study are also really good books for people who are new to fantasy because they're all so fast paced and the fantasy worlds aren't too hard to get into 😀
Uproored might be bit hard to read if you never read fantasy I think, tho it is indeed extremely amazing, one of my fav books of all times :)
I also think Maria V Snyder is a great place to start with fantasy! Poison Study was one of my first YA fantasy series and I've read pretty much all of her books since then.
Amy R I'm halfway through reading Uprooted and it's really good 💜
Alexandra Meininger Its so good!
Amy R Yes! Poison Study is a great one!
I can not recommend Six of Crows enough, I loved that book! Name of the Wind is also a really good one as well!
I LOVE Fablehaven! Good to know some booktubers out there love it, I feel like it's so underrated.
Reagan I just finished shatter me and I loved it. I'm going to start the second book soon.
Name of the Wind is a great recommendation! It is one of my all-time favorite books. The story is very character-driven and you experience the world through his eyes. So there's not a lot of info dumping or too many characters to wrap your head around. It's long, but it's so so engaging. Once I started, I could NOT put it down. Highly recommend it to any reader.
lol can we get a fantasy expert recommendations too?
Emma L. She dint put ANY of the BIG names of Fantasy this is really strange
Not really, Name of the Wind is one of the biggest name in adult fantasy genre, I think Mistborn should've been included though! :)
Petrik Leo would you recommend the books you mentioned for beginners?
Fateha Razak excluding Harry Potter which I read around 10 years ago, definitely yes. Name of the Wind and Mistborn is a great choice imo for beginner
For experts:
- Lord of the rings
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- Steven Eriksons series
....
I started reading fantasy with The Kiss of Deception, very happy that you mentioned because it really made me fall in love with the genre.
The Skulduggery Pleasant series !! The first book is about a young girl whose uncle is murdered by sorcerers, so she teams up with her uncle's best friend (who is a reanimated skeleton) in order to track down the people who did it. Then as the series goes on you see her grow up as part of the world of magic. It's an amazing series and I highly recommend it !!!
I'm scared to start reading Name of the Wind only because I've only heard so many freaking good things about it and I'm sure i'm gonna love it and then have to wait years for the 3rd book.....
Yeah the deal with third book is annoying! But you should still read it, it's really fast paced and super enjoyable :)
Waiting for book 3 is eating me alive. I've already reread this first two a few times. lol
Ana Maria i've been waiting for the third book for 7 years. Right now I all want is for him to take 5 more to publish it so I can say: "I did my waiting! 12 years of it!"
Ana Maria P.S. it's my favorite book, you really should read it!!
satisfying as that maybe I still hope he publishes it faster...cause omg 7 YEARS!!! i've only found out about it last year but I'm kinda glad i won't have to wait extra 7 years i;d die!
But i''ll be reading it this summer, I can't wait
i think the Grisha trilogy is a pretty good place to start as well, and i'd recommend reading that before the Six of Crows duology. Also, the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. I read that series when i was in primary school and i loved it back then! awesome video Regan, i'm so glad i can always refer to your channel whenever i need fantasy recs!
Maliemania Agreed, Ranger's Apprentice was so good. I read it back in primary school as well but I never continued on with the rest of it. I actually plan on re-reading the first one so that I can read the rest. I remember enjoying it so much as a kid!
same, it was one of my favourite series! i think i stopped reading after Erak's Ransom when i was 12. I tried reading the next one in the series last year, but for some reason i had trouble getting back into John Flanagan's writing :( it's probably because i've read loads of books since then so the writing felt more middle-grade-ish for me. but it was still a lot of fun to start off with, and i really miss all the characters :D
Personally I'd recommend reading Six of Crows first and treating the Grisha trilogy as a sort of prequel. I know chronologically SoC comes later, but I found it was more interesting to hear about the legacy of the characters like Alina and the Grisha in Six of Crows and then go back and read what actually happened in the trilogy afterwards. My personal opinion at least.
I read the first 2 books of the grischa triologie but I didn't like the second one, so I'm not going to read the last one :(
Imo SoC is easier to like than the trilogy cause the characters are better developted and the you can feel how she grew as an author, the duology is a must read on my list meanwhile the Grisha is one of the series that I recommend just when the person really likes YA.
SIX OF CROWS I need to read that so bad!!!!
Emily Honish It's amazing!!!
Maia Motionless YOU NEED TO! It is amazing!!!
I still need to get to plenty of these! Fantasy is my favorite genre as well. It's so vast that it is a bit intimidating.
I love how you mentioned more unknown books but also mentioned the bigger titles and not toss them aside.
Great video overal!
I love fantasy and I've already read all Sarah J. Maas's and Cassandra Clare's books plus the HP-series, but I also read many other fantasy books, but I'm seriously only about half way through The Name of the Wind, but it's amazing... nothing can compares! I highly recommend it 😍 oh, and I of course also recommend Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom - soooo goooood
Tamora Pierce is also a great beginner fantasy author! I would recommend starting with her series Song of the Lioness, it only has 4 books and they’re pretty short! She’s a fantastic author ❤️
I actually have a heavy adult high fantasy to read... I will power through it on my 2 24 hour flights I have this month. Wish me luck!
SpottyDog SevenOneFour 24 hour flights?? Wow! From where to where are you flying to? Good luck on your reading!
Isabel G.S UK to Australia... No break XD and thanks :)
This is exactly what I have been looking for! Just started Six of Crows and now have a nice fat TBR! Thank you!
I really love the idea of this video! Even as someone who reads mainly fantasy, I found I hadn't read some of these stories, like the Warrior Heir. That's definitely one series I'm going to be checking out and buying right away.
you and emma (emmmabooks) are probably one of the only booktubers i trust when it comes to fantasy...
AND I APPRECIATE SO MUCH THAT YOU DIDN'T INCLUDE THE MAINSTREAM FANTASY BOOKS..
SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM are one of the best fantasy books i've ever read, it's also full of humor..
i bought the first 2 books of "the falling kingdom" because of you, hopefully i'll enjoy them as much as you did!
I love Name of the Wind! I have the second book on my Nook to read this summer.
1:56 - Speaking of Rainbow Rowell, it was interesting to hear that she will be writing a new Runaways on-going series for Marvel, having never read any of her books, and only hearing her name come up multiple times among BookTubers.
Thank you! I am a so excited to start my fantasy journey! I have always loved fantasy but my genre is psychological thrillers.. i get overwhelmed when choosing fantasy. This is so exciting! I will be diving into these! 😍
YA Fantasy and fairy tale retellings are my favorite genres!
I just read Kiss of Deception in May and I'm so excited to continue the series this month!
I love your top! I totally agree with Carry On. It's a great gateway novel to fantasy.
I thought I was a fantasy beginner but I guess i'm not since I have read almost all of these! Great recommendations! So many of these books are definitely great places to start in fantasy
I would recommend the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It's seven books and they follow Septimus and his family as he becomes a wizard apprentice. It's a fun series and one of my favorites.
I am in the middle of the Age of Legends trilogy by Kelley Armstrong and I came across it on a whim and LOVE IT. I'm definitely not new to fantasy, but this series is so well done in my opinion. You follow the perspectives of twin sisters in a fantastical asian inspired setting. There are politics, war, love, betrayal, and animal side kicks! I highky recommend it!!
I was waiting for The Name of the Wind!! It was my first fantasy book this year and it was FANTASTIC. I'm 1/4 through the second one. Love it.
Yes The Name of the Wind got me into adult fantasy! It's an incredible book and I'm now on book #3 of A Song Of Ice and Fire as it's got me in the fantasy mood. I also LOVED the Six of Crows duology. Great recommendations!
it's been 2 minutes since she uploaded.. and it's 11:35 here.. I am so....very keen
His Fair Assassin is a great series as well, especially if you love kick-ass heroines. It's easy to follow but kept me hooked.
Hi! Great video, as always! I think that Holly Black's urban fantasy trilogy (Tithe, Valiant and Ironside) is also a very good place to start. The books are very fast paced, the characters are very relatable (even the good guys are flawed) and the magical element to our world is "fairies" and it's really cool to see how the old tales and folklore regarding fairies get mixed with the modern world and all of its implications.. The novels also deal with various themes (romance, friendship, politics, social outcasts) so I feel like there's a little bit for every taste. Love from Italy, bye!
I'm definitely not a beginner fantasy reader, and it's my favorite genre to read. But I love your fantasy recommendations and I love discussing the genre, so here I am. 😂
I'm so glad Fablehaven is on here, I love that series so much
I'm glad you enjoyed The Name of the Wind so much. I just finished listening to it for the 3rd or 4th time. What I think is really interesting is that it's this legendary "hero" story that's mostly told in 1st person. Also, the magic in the story is told with such a scientific vibe to it is seems much more believable. Thanks for the video!
And I read The Name of the Wind a couple months ago, because you recommended it actually, and loved it, but waiting a little bit before I read A Wise Man's Fear.
kiss of deception is the book that got me on board with YA fantasy and now it's my favorite genre. I totally agree it's the perfect series to start with
Oh I'm so glad you made this video! Your reviews of books are already perfect so having this video as a guide is just so wonderful!! And now I finally know what urban fantasy is. :)
I loved The Falling Kingdom books....awesome!!
I'm reading fablehaven and is great!
Im not much of a fantasy type reader, I can never get into the worlds these authors create but I just started A Game of Thrones and Im liking it so far, its been sitting on my shelf for about a year because I was intimidated but Im glad I finally picked it up!
I really want to read The Name of the Wind soon. You've been raving about it for so long and I've heard amazing things about it... so I need to go get it asap!
Yaaaaaaaas! Name of the wind is one of my favourite books of all time👌🏼
Great video. You spoke so eloquently about each book.
Omg your top is so cute! Where is it from?
It's a dress I believe from anthropologie
ShineBrightStars sorry urban outfitters
Fantasy is one of my favorite genres, too. Love that you put this together! Since I know you love fantasy, would you consider doing something like a "pro-level" fantasy recommendations video? Kind of like the reverse of this one for those of us who've been infected by the fantasy bug and just want more good fantasy.
The Young Elites by Marie Lu and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski are fast paced and super easy to read!
And since there CANNOT be no mention of Brandon Sanderson in a fantasy recommendation I also recommend The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson for starters and Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson if you want a taste of High fantasy as I feel it might be the easiest one to get into compared to his other high fantasy books.
I recently read Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson and I was blown away by how good they were. I've never read high fantasy before and was afraid I'd get bored or confused by a new world but I found myself understanding it right from the start. Sanderson's writing is so well done. He shows things really well rather than just info-dumping on what something is and how it works. Only problem is it's going to be a 10 book series and each book is really long so you'll want to make sure you're up for the waiting and the long reads
I'm currently reading empire of storms from tog series and it's better then the last book and I have to say most of those you mentioned I have but have yet to read. I don't have a lot of time but I can't wait to get into all of them. You explained things so well. 😊
I'm reading Falling Kingdoms right now. It is perfect for new fantasy readers.
For me Eragon really got me into reading and fantasy specifically. The first book I think is really great. The way the world was described and the people in it I felt like I was part of it. Also I have a hard time sticking with books if it does not capture me in the first couple pages and I felt drawn in from page one. Now the other books in the series are not as good and seem to drag out more than they need to. I have yet to complete the final book for this reason.
No Brandon Sanderson? Much shame. Sanderson is a great place to start, especially if you want to dip your toe into adult fantasy. Mistborn is a great series to start because it's very YA but it's adult (for honestly really silly reasons). If you're intimidated by a six book series then Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson is a (kind of) standalone and it's also a great place to start. If you're still worried about the adult label then Rithmatist is a great YA book by him and the second book should be coming out in a year or two.
Taylor Ramirez Regan is a huge fan of Sanderson, don't worry. I'd imagine she felt that it wasn't a very good place to start, as his novels (especially the Stormlight Archives), are incredibly long and complex. The most accessible is probably Mistborn, but even that may be a bit much for people new to the genre.
If she were making a general fantasy recommendations, or favorite fantasy reads, video, I'm sure it would be in it.
Agree! I loved Warbreaker and think it doesn't get enough love.
I got into fantasy with Mistborn and it wasn't too intimidating 😊I absolutely loved it so nothing I read now comes close to the awesomeness of Mistborn 😂😂😂😂
Taylor Ramirez i agree Mistborn is what got me into adult fantasy books too.
100% agree with all, and i need to read most of those too. BUT THE NAME OF THE WIND IS SOOO GOOOODDDD!! I was super intimidated to read it, but it was WAY TOO GOOD!
6th book in the Falling Kingdoms series is coming out this year!!
Great job with this video! I started out reading Alanna by Tamora Pierce, and that kind of started my love for fantasy.
I've read all except Kiss of Deception and The Warrior Heir.
Oh ok. That explains my problem. I’m new to fantasy and I read a few books but once I got to Six of Crows, I started to get confused. I’m about 20 pages in and then I put it down. So then I started Falling Kingdoms and it had a lot of characters too, so I put that one down also. I’ll start the Kiss of Deception and see how that one goes
Every time I watch your videos I already know I'm going to leave with something in my Amazon cart and this video is NO exception! Love your recommendations!
Fever Series by Karen Marie Mining, Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa, Trylle Series, I think, by I don't remember.
I love anything by Brandon Mull! His books are a great place to start. Regan, if you have finished the Fablehaven series you should check out Brandon's spinoff series Dragonwatch! It follows the same characters and picks up about 3 months after the end of book 5.
Some more recommendations:
-Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason. Set in late 19th century Victorian era London. It's the first in a series & the books are way shorter than most other fantasy books. Dual perspective books with two smart kickass female protagonists. Love!!
-Uprooted by Naomi Novik. A standalone novel with a folksy fairytale flavor. Fantastical without being hard to follow. The female main character is brave, loving, and snarky.
--The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. Standalone book. Under 400 pages so nothing scary to tackle. About a young boy whose mother dies & he ends up in a fairytale world with disturbing adult themes/elements. Coming of age tale. Poignant and moving, I cried a couple times.
Can you do an Epic/High Fantasy guide as well? I always see you RAVE about the Light Bringer and the King Killer Chronicles series and I actually bought them because I want to read them but I am so intimidated.
I so agree about Patrick Rothfuss - This is my favourite book of ALL TIME
I would also recommend the "Snow Like Ashes" trilogy by Sara Raasch. There are kingdoms, the magic system is simple, the plot is great, and it's fast-paced!
I think it's very interesting how you didn't bother including the obvious ones, but still mentioned them. I gave them the attention they deserve, but it made it It stand out comparing to other similar videos I saw. It caught my attention and made me even more curious to watch. I was all ready to see Harry Potter be #1 lol And "Carry On" was a genius suggestion for being in between genres. Great job! I like Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Chidren, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Chronicles of Narnia, Insomnia, Beautiful Creatures, Vampirates, Goosebumps, peter Pan, The Thief Lord, Inkheart...
I have not read any of these except Six of Crows. But The name of the Wind and Daughter of Smoke and Bone are on my TBR.
I have read The Name of The Wind but I feel like I need to reread it cause when I did read it before it was during school and over a long period of time. I'm torn between that and just reading the second book. I still loved The Name of The Wind when I was reading it though.
I recommend "Summers at Castle Auburn" by Sharon Shinn. Not recently published and not so well known, but a great YA read and really good for those fantasy-averse (or resistant!)
Seriously, all my TBR books are all your recommendations! They are all sooo good!!!!
I just love it when Raegan talks about fantasy books. She's like the queen of fantasy and it always adds to my TBR list to watch one of her videos. Oh well 😂
Fantasy is my favorite genre and I definately agree that the best way to start is with urban fantasy
If you like history and also love stories, the wrath & the dawn duology is SUPER good! It's a fantasy story set in the ancient Middle East and involves a cursed kingdom and a feisty girl and it's just super perfect. It's jam-packed, easy to follow, not too long and the characters are beautiful
Love all the things here!! Great recommends outside of the more popular fantasy reads.
The only problem with The Kingkiller Chronicles is that it sets a pretty high standard for fantasy writing, so if it's used as a segue into adult fantasy books, you might find other fantasy books a bit disappointing in comparison. Also, the third book is taking a long time to get to us, unfortunately.
Also, PeruseProject, if you're reading this, I've noticed you mention the Mistborn series quite a bit, and how much you love it. My sister-in-law also loves that series, but she loves the Stormlight Archives even more. If you haven't read that series yet, you'll probably love it too.
I would recommend a few older series for new readers of fantasy. These are not YA. First would be the three original Dragonlance Chronicles novels by Weis and Hickman (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning). These are very quick and entertaining reads. They contain just about every fantasy trope that you would expect. They aren't in-depth or complicated, the character development is not great, but nevertheless, they were entertaining (at least to the 15 year old boy I was when they came out).
Second series I would recommend is the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist (Magician, (later republished in two parts in the United States as Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master),
Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon). These books focus on a young boy who becomes the greatest wizard, and a inter-dimensional rift war between two worlds.
The third series I would recommend would be Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams (The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower). This epic fantasy is a coming of age story that has well crafted characters, with growth and development. Tad Williams is very good at creating characters that come to life.
Fab video reminding me what got me into fantasy. Have you read crown duel and summers at castle auburn. Loved them growing up and so beautifully written
Tolkein, Martin and Sanderson.
Hey, great video, some good recommendations here :-) Some more recommendations of adult fantasy would be great, maybe you could do a video for more seasoned fantasy readers? There is so much YA fantasy out there (not that this is a bad thing) but adult fantasy I feel gets swept under the rug and I am always looking to see more recommendations for adult fantasy on booktube.
if you make a part two, can you make it's main focus adult fantasy? I'm excited to read name of the wind, but I would love even more recommendations!
I also want to recommend a urban fantasy-ish serie which I love but I never see anyone talk about and that is A Thousand Pieces of you also known as The Firebird Series by Claudia Gray, I'm not a really big fan anymore of YA books but this is a serie that still stays close to me
This is a great video. I do already read fantasy but I'm kinda new to book tube and some fantasy is still intimidating. I own every one that you talk about but still haven't read them. 😂 I have read kiss if deception. I read the first raven boys. Im going to start throne of glass soon. I love the ember in the ashes series and I'm caught up in that one. I love this video because it helped me prioritize my fantasy series'.
“Six of Crows”
This book keeps popping up in pretty much every book recommendation video.Now I have to but it.
Tamora Pierce. She got me into fantasy and I devoured her books in high school. Her world building is beautiful and her characters are kickass, especially since they are all women. Definitely give her books a try.
My problem with fantasy is dedicating myself to really long stories with multiple books. It's so hard to wait a year or more for a second book in a fantasy series because I will not remember a single thing that happened in the last book lol. That being said I LOVE fantasy!
the pellinor books by alison croggon! My all time favorite fantasy books. i would say they are are middle grade/ya books. It follows Maerad and we get introduced to the world as she does so its very easy to follow along and read.
For adults I also really liked the inheritance trilogy by NK Jemison.
Two others for beginners to fantasy. For urban fantasy, there's the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. I read them in high school and really enjoyed them. There's fairies, but slightly more traditional kinds of fae, not happy Tinkerbell types.
For a bit of a genre mix, there's a duology by Robin McKinley that's made up of 'The Blue Sword' and 'The Hero and the Crown'. They came out 20+ years ago and the Homelander world feels very British colonial India. The Blue Sword only has a bit of magic (because the inherited magical ability has become rare) and a villain with demon blood. But The Hero and the Crown (a prequel) has more magic and dragons.
Oh, and how could I forget the Study series and the Glass series b Maria V. Snyder? Fantastic books and very easy to read. Love Yelena and Opal's voices.
there was a bit of an emotional build up for me when you were leading up to your last rec for adult fantasy...I love Kvothe! I need to read Kiss of Deception and Fallen Kingdom soon!
I would recommend The Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann, a seven-book middle grade adventure series following the perspectives of two twin brothers - one who goes to magic school and one trained to hate those who do. Also, I would say Tamora Pierce and Diana Wynne Jones would both be great authors to start with, and they each have tons of books to go through.
I'm not new to fantasy but I really need to read Six of Crows! It seems like a fantastic series! :D
Six of Crows has 5 perspectives, not 6 :) we don't get Wylan's pov until Crooked Kingdom!
Your top really suited you it's so nice!!
I would like to say if you start with name of the wind do only if like prose and writing style...
It is more like Rpg video game doing various tasks.
Fantastic recommendations! LOVE Laini Taylor's books.
I really recommend Waifs and Strays by Charles De Lint , it's a short story collection so you get a taste of all his diffrent styles of story telling . he's a Canadian author and very underrated
I would very much recommend the Septimus Heap series, The Inkheart trilogy, His Dark Materials trilogy, The Inheritance Cycle and any Pratchett book except for the Rincewind series really
the spiderwick chronicles is also a great series for fantasy beginners!
I remember reading the Kiss of Deception and being so frustrated over not knowing who was the Assassin and who was the Prince. So after a mere 100 pages I put it down, might pick it up again now though.