Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
I started the Throne of Glass series at the end of 2019 and spent the first few weeks of 2020 finishing it! These may have been my first reads of 2020 … but I am literally still talking about them. I will fangirl about these characters to ANYONE who will listen.
Most novels follow one major plot line with a few subplots, but Maas effortlessly juggles multiple plot lines, each with their own sets of characters, and by the end of Kingdom of Ash, she brings them all together for an unforgettable ending.
I want to tell you everything! But you just have to discover this world and all it’s broken, beautiful characters for yourself. I’m not saying you won’t be emotionally devastated … but I am saying it will be more than worth it.
It seems like I’ve been waiting to read this series my whole life. Throne of Glass takes everything I love about YA fantasy and intensifies it. The stakes are higher, the magic system is intricate and deadly, the relationships are complex and ever-changing, and characters must learn to live and love again after trauma tears them to pieces.
*Give this to readers age 16 and up. There is some sexual content, but more importantly, the themes are quite dark. This series might be distressing to young readers, and I think a lot of the powerful, mature themes would be lost on a younger audience. I am actually grateful to have read this as a 20-something because I found so much of my own experience reflected back to me in its pages. I saw myself, found grace for myself, and discovered new ways to be courageous and hopeful.
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas
Next up: another Sarah J. Maas series! Throne of Glass certainly has some swoon-worthy romances, but at it’s heart, it’s still a fantasy epic. This series, on the other hand, is a romance first, second, and last. Sure, there’s a plot and some world building … but it all takes a backseat to the romance. And sometimes, a lush and dangerous romance is exactly what we need.
Maas is a master of character development. For me, Feyre isn’t a particularly likable character at first … but I don’t think she’s supposed to be. But as the books go on and she experiences the first measures of safety and comfort in her life, and then terrible trauma, she miraculously learns how to dream. Feyre used to only care about her own survival, but she becomes someone generous and brave and loyal, someone with grand dreams for her life and her world. It’s an honor to follow her on that journey over a few hundred pages.
Thankfully I haven’t been traumatized to the level of Sarah J. Maas’ poor characters, but I do know trauma, and reading TOG and ACOTAR has been a companion with me on my healing journey this past year. When I wake up sweating from nightmares, it doesn’t feel like a failure or a regression anymore. It feels like a normal response, and I hear Mor’s advice right alongside my therapists’: “There are good days and bad days. Don’t let the bad days win.” If Feyre and Rhys, Aelin and Rowan, can learn how to love and hope and dream on the other side of trauma, I can too.
So yes, this is a smutty romance series … but it’s also a lot more than that.
*This series has several very detailed sex scenes and lots of sexual language. Give it to mature readers.
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
A fantasy heist! As if that’s not enough to get your attention, this duology features a diverse cast of characters and plenty of sneaky twists and turns. No matter how much you think you know, you don’t know the half of it.
I loved this series for the banter, the adventure, and the slow reveal of characters’ intricate backstories and inner lives.
Crooked Kingdom dragged in the middle for me, but the ending was satisfying, and overall, I think this is an excellent series. I am excited to read the other books set in Bardugo’s Grishaverse!
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This is a book for people who loves stories and love to dream. It’s lyrical, funny, surprising, and moving. I cried at least four times reading this book, and never for the same reason.
Strange the Dreamer reminds us that heroes can be monsters, and monsters can be heroes. No one is just all one thing.
This book is so well written it *almost* seems like it should qualify as literary fiction instead of YA fantasy, but then again, I will be the first to say that YA fantasy is real literature. This book just proves it.
Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim
Scavenge the Stars is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo … which I know nothing about. So I’m not here to say whether or not it was a good retelling, I’m just here to say this was a fun read.
This YA romp is part pirate novel, part revenge story, part romance, and part spy book. Near the end, a few loose threads are left dangling, and a few are tied up too neatly, but overall, Sim really delivers a book that nearly every kind of reader will enjoy. This was one of my book club’s picks this year, and even our pickiest readers had good things to say about it.
On the surface, this book is all fluff and fun, but I really enjoyed the careful exploration of identity. No spoilers here, but if you pick up the book, pay attention to how Amaya and Cayo self-define and redefine throughout the story.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Without realizing they were written by the same author, I read Margaret Rogerson’s An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns nearly back to back this year! There was a lot to love in an Enchantment of Ravens: a relatable heroine, clever and gorgeous world building of the fae variety, and sassy banter. But the second half of the book wanders. The plot fizzles out and the ending left me confused and dissatisfied.
Rogerson is a gifted writer, she just needed some practice! And we are blessed with the results in Sorcery of Thorns.
Elizabeth is a refreshing twist on the “strong female character.” She is remarkably well-balanced! She is realistically naive about the world, and she is also brave, smart, kind, and resourceful. She does end up wielding a sword … but only to defend herself from books that transform into monsters, so I hardly think we can dismiss that as a trope.
Sorcery of Thorns balances important themes of love, sacrifice, and identity, but we also get libraries that come to life and sassy banter, so I’m really not sure how much more we could ask for!
Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
The Queen of Nothing is the final book in the Folk of the Air trilogy. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it was as delightfully wicked as the first two books in the series. I loved how twisty the plot and twisted the characters were in The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, and that’s exactly what was missing in this book. Instead of keeping me guessing and flabbergasted, the plot felt predictable, and even the darkest characters felt a little tame in the finale.
But, this book still made it into my favorite list! Black is a great storyteller, and even though I missed some of the darkness that permeated the first two books, The Queen of Nothing brings us to a satisfying end of this series.
Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
Normally, YA contemporary romance is not my thing, but the pandemic changed us all, and this winter, what I really needed was fluffy teen romance. Starry Eyes delivered and then sent me on a quest for more (leading to the next title on the list).
Cheesy, predictable, and satisfying as a slice of your favorite pizza: this is comfort food in book form. I mean, come on! Lennon and Zorie, once best friends and now something next-door to enemies, are left alone in the wilderness together when their friends ditch them during the night on a hiking trip? We know they’re going to fall for each other! And we are here for every delicious banter-filled moment of it.
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
A seriously swoony retelling of You’ve Got Mail written by one of the queen of the YA romance genre.
In addition to being a satisfying rom-com, Alex, Approximately attempts to take on some serious teen issues … and it mostly succeeds. The main character, Bailey, experiences some major character development, but at times her growth feels a little too sudden and unrealistic (especially without the help of a good therapist). Still. The flirting was on-point and this audiobook was the perfect companion for long, dark nights of puzzling alone in my apartment.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
I either love or hate John Green Books, and this one falls distinctly in the love category. You can tell when a YA author doesn’t actually know any real life teenagers, and if Green has a flaw, this is not it. He understands and even likes teenagers, and it shines through in his writing.
Turtles All the Way Down is alternately beautiful, haunting, and funny. It’s deeply honest. This book’s portrayal of friendship and mental illness, specifically OCD, will be with me for a long time.
Part of what makes Aza’s story so believable and moving is that, like her, John Green also has OCD, and Aza’s experience flows partly out of his own life. Even if you don’t live with mental illness, I think you’ll see yourself in Aza because ultimately, she’s not just a girl with OCD. She’s human, and this story is deeply, deeply human.
It’s a story about all of us. It’s a story about love in all its forms Like Green says, “Love is both how we become a person and why.”
And that’s it! Another year of reading is behind us. Now it’s your turn to tell me. What were your favorite reads this year? What are you looking forward to in 2020? What should I read next?
The Courage it Takes 