Teen-Focused Tuesday: High Fantasy

Happy Tuesday! If you love young adult (YA) books, you have come to the right post! Every Tuesday I feature a new YA theme that features five books that you should check out! Explore different YA genres including Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Non-Fiction, and more.

This week’s Teen Focused Feature Theme is High Fantasy! Now High Fantasy are the very specific fantasy books that take place in a fantastical new world. Less Percy Jackson, and more Lord of the Rings type books. If you love Dungeons and Dragons, these are the books for you!

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Summary: Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever. 

My Thoughts: So I love this book! It is a wonderful series with four books, but a new one is coming out that features one of her sisters!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Summary: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

My Thoughts: This book is about to be a Netflix series! I don’t know about you, but I love checking out the book to see if the series will be any good! If you love mysterious powers, you need to check out this book! It is also the first in a series! So if you like it you have more books to read which is always a great problem to have!

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Summary: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

My Thoughts: A book exploring African Mythology and Magic! This is a wonderful read that everyone who loves fantasy should check out! The world building is great the powers are amazing! The characters are so well developed. Is this the start of series? Yes! This is one of my favorite books of all time!

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Summary: The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real

My Thoughts: A fantasy novel featuring a librarian is what drew me to this novel! And it was worth it! Librarians can go on adventures too! It is so strange and interesting is had me hook. Warning this is a book for readers who love long fantasy book as this is a long amazing read, and the sequel is even longer!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Summary: Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

My Thoughts:Murder, Love, Hate, Betrayal all wrapped up into one little book! This is also the first in a series. Apparently High Fantasy calls for series. Holly Black is an amazing fantasy author so if you read this one, check out her others.

Let me know in the comments below which books interested you, what books should be on this list, and what themes I should do next!

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