Prince Raoden wakes up one day with the disease that marks those who belong to the once great city of Elantris.  His betrothed Princess Serene has to take over protecting the kingdom from a tyrant king and a nearby oligarchy who is trying to take over.  3rd person. Dual POV. TW-religious/spiritual abuse, gore, violence.

Standalone (for now)

Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

Beauty and the Beast Retelling. Dual/Multiple POV. 

Rhen has to get a girl to fall into him or he will turn into the monster that destroys his kingdom. Harper is the girl who is kidnapped to fall in love with him. Enemies to lovers, Fairytale Retelling.

Trilogy

Young Adult Fantasy

3.5 STARS

Magic Libraries, books containing dangerous information that can turn into monsters, demons, dark academia vibes, enemies to lovers. 

TW-language, occult themes, witchcraft, demons, steamy makeout, violence

Standalone

Young Adult Fantasy

3.5 STARS

Cocky flawed hero, rags to riches, mega plot twists, quest for glory. Similar to The False Prince by Jennifer A Neilson. Medieval and Greek vibes.

TW- language and violence.

Book 1 of 7 (can be read as standalone)

Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

Mulan meets Pirates. Tropes include rivals to lovers. hidden identity, rags to riches, and more. Baddie main character who has to hide the fact that she is a woman due to unjust laws. Themes of honor, embracing femininity, hard work, etc.

TW- language and violence

Standalone

Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS 

Fantasy murder mystery. Rivals to lovers. Rags to riches. Four queens are dead, three days to catch whoever killed them, two forbidden loves, and one mega plot twist.  

TW- Language and Violence

Standalone

Young Adult Fantasy

4 STARS

Magic school, sweet romance, hilarious discourse. Pennyroyal Academy is a school where girls learn how to be princesses and fight witches. Boys learn how to be knights and fight dragons. Integrates classic fairytales into a singular world with new characters. Similar to School for Good and Evil by Soman Chanani and Once Upon a Time.

Trilogy

Middle Grade/Young Adult 

5 STARS

Creativity is banned. Children are sorted into groups of those who can contribute labor and those who are unwanted due to their creativity. The unwanteds are sent to their deaths. Do they escape? Idk you'll have to read for yourself.

Book 1 of 7

Middle Grade Dystopian/Fantasy

3.5 STARS

Sage the thief is chosen to compete with other boys for the honor of pretending to be the heir to their country. Rags to riches. 

TW-Language and Violence

Book 1 of 5

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

The fate of an entire torn country may rest on one young refugee girl who discovers that her powers are the ones prophesied to save it. Tropes- Friends to lovers, chosen one, rags to riches, elemental magic. Ancient Russian vibes with a unique magic system. Set in the same universe as Six of Crows and Rule of Wolves.

Trilogy

Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

Tessa and Scarlet escape their abusive father and participate in the annual Caraval performance in which the audience and actors play a twisted magical game. Tropes- Sister bonds, rivals to lovers, etc. Set in the same universe as A Ballad of Never After.

TW- Violence 

Trilogy

Young Adult Fantasy

5 STAR

Epic hero's journey, the quest for glory, amazing worldbuilding. Its a classic! Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure to find treasure guarded by a dragon.

Standalone (prequel to the Lord of the Rings)

Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

Royal babies are marked at birth but due to a mistake, Sarah has to be hidden so that her twin brother can take the throne. Tropes- Mild love trial, rags to riches. Very fairytale-esque. Sweet clean romance.

Standalone

Young Adult/New Adult/Adult Fantasy

Nonmagical Fantasy

4 STARS

Crowriders instead of Dragonriders. In this world, giant magical crows are the source of elemental magic that sustains the whole kingdom. After an attack, the princess must protect the last storm crow while also being shipped off to marry the enemy prince. Tropes- mild love triangles, enemies to friends, forbidden love, arranged marraige.

Duology

TW- violence

Young Adult Fantasy

4 STARS

Little Mermaid Retelling. Except both the prince, and the famous siren are trying to kill each other. Enemies to Lovers, Forbidden Romance.

Standalone

TW- Language and Violence

Young Adult Fantasy

4.5 STARS

An unlikely group goes on a quest to save the realm. Tropes- Villain romance, chosen one, friends to lovers, 

TW- Language and Violence

New Adult Fantasy

3 STARS

Brandon Mull is one of my all-time favorite authors. Beyonders is about two kids from Earth who find themselves in another world. They along with a group of rebels must find the word that will destroy the man who is threatening the safety of the world before they can return to Earth.

TW- Violence

Trilogy

Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult

5 STARS

6 angsty teenagers plan and execute an impossible heist to save the world, and make themselves rich. Set in the aftermath of the Shadow and Bone series and before the Rule of Wolves series. Tropes- enemies to lovers, found family, rags to riches.

TW- Drug use, language, violence, sexual abuse (not graphic, just mentioned), revenge, assassinations, death, gore.

Duology (for now)

Young Adult Fantasy'

3.5 STARS

Readers from the woods beyond are kidnapped to go to either the School for Good or the School for Evil to learn to be heroes and villains in their own fairytales. Similar to Pennyroyal Academy and Once Upon a Time. Tropes- Sisterly love, rivals to lovers, found family, not so accidental accident, rags to riches. 

TW- Violence, mild witchy stuff, maybe a tiny bit of language.

Book 1 of 6

Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

Four siblings have been whisked away through a wardrobe into a magical land where they are needed to save the country from an evil witch. Clear Christian themes. Sibling love. Righteous sacrifice.

Book 1 of 7 (can be read as standalone

Children's Fantasy

5 STARS

She's supposed to kill her soulmate so that she can live. He is supposed to hunt bone criers like her. Enemies to Lovers. Sister bonds.

TW- Violence, language, and maybe a makeout or two

Young Adult Fantasy

Duology

4 STARS

Dungeons and Dragons meets Jumanji. A group of kids starts playing a game in a fantasy shop and end up inside the game. 

Middle Grade Fantasy

Book 1 of 2 (for now)

4.5 STARS

Will gets chosen to be an apprentice ranger to the fabled Halt. He is learning all these skills while a war is brewing. Set in the same universe as The Early Years, The Brotherband, and The Royal Ranger.

Middle Grade/Young Adult/Adult Fantasy (old and young characters, older writing style)

Book 1 of 12 (in main series.)

5 STARS

A witch who saves abandoned infants feeds then starlight to make them strong. One day she accidentally fed one moonlight blessing her with powers. The witch has to raise the child for herself.

Middle-Grade Fantasy

Standalone

5 STARS

Groups of children are kidnapped to be cheap labor in another dimension. In the Outskirts, there are 5 kingdoms that are full of upheaval and rebellion. Cole and his unlikely allies have to save the kingdom so that He and his friends can go home.

Upper Middle Grade Fantasy

TW- violence

Book 1 of 5

5 STARS

Guinevere is sent to protect King Arthur under the ruse of becoming his wife. Follows Arthurian legend with some hilarious and genius deviations.

Young Adult Fantasy

TW- Violence, Language, Witchy Stuff

Trilogy

5 STARS

The Greek gods, but they are meddling in modern society? Odyseuss dupe? Found family, rivals to besties, chosen one, and more. Set in the Riordanverse.

TW- violence

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy and Mythology

Book 1 of 5 (in the main series not including crossovers and short stories)

5 STARS

The Egyptian gods but they're meddling in modern society? Sibling bond, wacky love story triangle thingy, defeating evil deities. Set in the Riordanverse.

TW- Violence

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy and Mythology

Trilogy (not including crossovers)

5 STARS

I think this one is popular enough to not need an  explanation on here. 

TW- violence, witchy stuff

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy

Book 1 of 7 (we don't talk about the cursed child here)

5 STARS

Two sisters descended from the famous Grimm brothers go to live with their grandmother in a town designed to preserve the characters from the Grimm fairytales. Sisterly love, rivals to lovers, found family.

Middle Grade Fantasy

TW- violence

Book 1 of 9

5 STARS

Finishing school but alongside lessons on being ladylike, the girls are also being taught how to kill, spy, use weapons, and create as much targeted chaos as possible. Oh, and their instructors are paranormal beings who teach in a hot air balloon. 

TW- Violence and Language

Young Adult Paranormal Victorian Fantasy

Book 1 of 4

4 STARS 

Sweet romance, borderline little mermaid retelling. A siren uses her voice to lure men, but when a man saves her and she has to live on land, she can no longer use her voice out of fear of hurting people. Dangerous romance.

Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Standalone

4 STARS

Paranormal beings meet Eastern Orthodox Christian mythology. Shadowhunters are descended from angels and are tasked with destroying demons. Part of the Shadowhunters universe- Violence, Demons, Language, Mild spicy talk

Young Adult Paranormal Urban Fantasy

Book 1 of 6 

3.5 STARS

Paranormal beings meet Eastern Orthodox Christian mythology, but in Victorian London. Tropes- one of the only acceptable love triangles, rivals to lovers.

TW- drug use, fade to black spicy scene at some point, language, demons

Young Adult Paranormal Urban Fantasy

4.5 STARS

Summery vibes, coming of age meets mermaid romance. 

Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

Book 1 of something (I only read the first 2)

3 STARS

In one of my all-time favorite series, Sophie is thrown into a world of magical creatures and wonders when she finds out that she is an elf. 

Middle Grade Fantasy- Turns more YA later in the series as the characters age

TW- Violence, Mental Health

Book 1 of 11 (the last book comes out in 2023

5 STARS

A classic fantasy. Must read if you want a good foundation of Arthurian Legend. 

Adult/Classic Fantasy

TW- Violence and adultery

Standalone

5 STARS

Humans come from the Earth, Greek naiads come from the water. The characters in this book are spirits of the wind. Tropes- forbidden love, arranged marriage, soul ties, etc.

Young Adult Fantasy

TW- some make-outs, maybe some language, mild violence

Trilogy 

4 STARS

After the events of Heroes of Olympus, Apollo is cast down to earth as a human and has to earn back his immortality.

 Set in the riordanverse after HoO and during Magnus Chase.

TW- Language and Violence

Book 1 of 5 (not including short stories)

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy

3.5 STARS

My favorite series of all time. Kendra and Seth go to stay with their Grandparents and find themselves in a sanctuary for endangered magical creatures. One mistake in a place as  dangerous as Fablehaven can lead to horrible things. Themes of forgiveness and redemption. A great representation of young siblings and their love for each other despite their squabbling. 

TW-Violence

Book 1 of 5 (precedes the Dragonwatch series)

Middle Grade/Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy(changes as the characters age throughout both series)

5 STARS

Sequel series to Fablehaven. As a result of the demon war, the dragons are rebelling against the caretakers. It is up to Kendra and Seth as well as their friends and family to stop the dragons before it gets too late. Christian themes (not explicitly) of forgiveness, redemption as well as surrendering to good. 

TW- Violence 

Book 1 of 5 (sequel to Fablehaven)

Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

Sequel series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The prophecy from the end of the Titan war is finally coming to pass. 

TW- Violence 

Book 1 of 5 (sequel to PJO, not including short stories and crossovers, prequel to ToA)

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Fantasy and Mythology

5 STARS

A few years after the events of Disney's Brave, Merida finds herself confronted with more beings from Scottish and Celtic lore. A god of destruction and one of creation task her with initiating change in her kingdom to prevent her destruction.

TW- Violence 

Standalone

Young Adult Fantasy

5 STARS

A very important foundation of Fairytale lore. Great if you want a background for reading retellings.

Classic Fantasy, Folklore, Fairytales

TW- Violence, adult-child marriage, pregnancy, curses, witchy stuff, etc.

Collection

Blue has been told her whole life that when she kissed her true love, he would die. She never thought that the true love shes been avoiding was one of the Raven Boys. Preppy, arogant, rich kids from the local private academy. She joins them in a search for an ancient sleeping king.

If the OBX friendship dynamic was at a private school with paranormal goings on.

Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy

Book 1 of 4 

TW- Language, Violence, Child Abuse, Murder

5 STARS

Books are illegal in the future. The government wants everyone to be numb and dumb, addicted to screens and paying no attention to anything going on in society. (Sound Familiar?)

Classic Adult Dystopian 

TW-Language, violence, mention of abortion, mention of sex, government abuse of power, tyranny 

Standalone

5 STARS

Cinderella retelling but it's set in the future, cinder is a cyborg, the prince is an emperor, and it's set during a deadly pandemic. Connects to other fairytale retellings later in the series. 

Young Adult Science Fiction and Dystopian

TW- Language, violence, and illness

Book 1 of 4 (not including novellas)

4.5 STARS

After a compromise between pro-life and pro-choice, it is decided that life begins at conception, but instead, teenagers can be "unwound" and be given completely over as organ donors. Themes of bodily autonomy, the nuances of the abortion argument, etc. presented in a non-biased way. 

Young Adult Dystopian and Science Fiction

TW- Violence, abandonment, child abuse, non-consensual organ donation, abortion, pregnancy, parental rights abuse, language, etc.

Book 1 of 5 (not including novella)

5 STARS

In the future, the government mandates a 2 child rule in order to combat food shortages and climate change. 3rd and further children are hunted and killed for bounty. Luke and Jen are 3rd children and they decide to do something about the fact that they have to constantly hide.

TW- Violence, child abuse, mass murder, abortion, government tyranny, mob violence, police brutality, etc.

Upper Middle Grade/ Young Adult Dystopian

Book 1 of 7

5 STARS

A bunch of kids who live in a perfect utopian society uncover a secret that connects some of the greatest criminal masterminds with their perfect town. Brings up topics such as nature vs. nurture and the morality of how children are raised. 

Upper Middle-Grade Science Fiction

TW- Violence, cloning, criminal activity

Trilogy

5 STARS

The government is in complete control of every single thing, down to what a person thinks. This book is a fantastic representation of what the high-ups are capable of and has shaped current culture. 

Adult Dystopian

TW- mild spicy scene, thought and speech censorship, violence, stalking, etc.

Standalone

5 STARS

People with silver blood have powers. People with normal red blood do not. That is until Mare Barrow discovers that she has electric powers and is forced into an arranged marriage with the prince. I wasn't really sure where to put this book because it is later in the series implying that it is set in the far future and that the powers are a result of science. 

Young Adult Sci-Fi/ Fantasy

TW- spicy stuff (fade to black, later in the series) violence, classism, murder

3.5 STARS

Book 1 of 4 

A utopian society where everything is perfectly planned out. Each child chooses their place in society when they reach the age of 12. Jonas is chosen to be the new GIver. The Giver's job is to hold all of the memories and information of past generations so that the current one can live worry-free. 

Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult Dystopian, literary fiction

TW-Infanticide, euthanasia, "birthing persons" mockery of the family unit and motherhood. 

Book 1 of 4

5 STARS

In a post-apocalyptic world, a man and his son travel for their survival as nomads through the destroyed cities and terrain of the once United States. 

Adult Speculative Fiction, Dystopian, Literary, Post Apocalypse

TW- Violence, cannibalism, gore, death, sexual violence (mild) 

Note- I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 15 read this although it is a work of literary merit and I strongly recommend.

Standalone

 5 STARS

After the internet evolves into an almost diety that rules over all humans removing the need for government, death is defeated. In order to keep the balance and population in check, Scythes are appointed to kill people at random. 

TW- Death, violence, and language

Trilogy

4.5 STARS

The alien invasion comes in 5 waves. Cassie has to find her baby brother who has been taken with the help of a boy named Evan in a world where aliens that look like humans are roaming, looking for people to kill. 

TW- Death, Mild spicy scene (fade to black), language, violence, child abuse.

Young Adult Science Fiction

Trilogy

4 STARS

The bachelor, but in a dystopian society that relies on a strict caste system. 35 girls selected by a lottery, have to compete for the queen's throne and the hand of the prince. America doesn't even want to be there, but while she is, maybe she can find a way to make some change.

TW- Violence and Poverty

Young Adult Dystopian Romance

Trilogy (we don't stan The Heir or The Crown here)

5 STARS

Since birth Michael has had a few things that make him different. First, he has Tourette's syndrome. Second, he has secret electric powers. When he finds out his crush Taylor also has powers they along with his genius best friend Ostin set out to find out who made them the way they are.

Young Adult Science Fiction

Book 1 of 8 (so far)

TW- Kidnapping, violence, narcissism, cultish themes

5 STARS

A prodigy called June is investigating her brother's murder. The top suspect? A rebel named Day who is infamous for fighting the republic's tyrannical reign. Day really just wants to save his family from the deadly pandemic that is racking the slums. Tropes- Enemies to lovers, forbidden love, revenge, found family. Themes of patriotism and protecting ones family.

TW- Disease, euthanasia, violence, rebellion, language, etc.

Trilogy

Young Adult Dystopian and Science Fiction

4 STARS

Thomas finds himself with no memories in a giant maze full of boys his age. It is up to him and his new found allies to solve the maze and escape. 

TW-violence, language, medical abuse, disease, etc.

Young Adult Science Fiction and Dystopian

Book 1 of 5 (original trilogy with 2 prequels)

At this point I don't think this book really needs a description. I will just say that I think this one will be considered a classic in the future, especially if you look a lot deeper then a love triangle that isn't even actually there. Tropes-forced proximity, fake dating, rags to running a rebellion, sisterly love, etc. Tons of parallels to where we as a society are headed.

Trilogy + prequel

Young Adult Dystopian

TW- Children killing each other, poverty, tyrannical government,  survival, language, forced to fake romance for survival, suicide, coercion, mutilation.

5 STARS