Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads
I read some entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic fantasy in the past year--enough to make up multiple Greedy Reading List roundups.
You can find other lists of favorite fantasy reads from past years here.
And you can click here for other science fiction and fantasy books that I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm.
If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite fantasy reads?
01 The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne
Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve, and revenge journeys. I loved this.
In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods, it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out.
There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: Elvar, a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; Orka, a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may seek revenge.
The three stories run along with plenty of steam, centered around violent battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main protagonists. The story is always shifting--shaped by betrayals and the flipped script when fate and destiny aren't what the characters thought and they must come into their own.
This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women who find their strength, and the perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger to build anticipation for book two. Spoiler: a dragon appears at the very end of the book, laying the groundwork for more dragon page time in subsequent books.
I listened to The Shadow of the Gods as an audiobook. Please click here for my full review of The Shadow of the Gods.
02 A Power Unbound (Last Binding #3) by Freya Marske
Marske's quirky, funny, richly imagined magical world, complex character-building, relationship exploration, and storytelling continues in this third and last installment of the Last Binding series.
Jack Alston (Lord Hawthorn) swore that he was finished with magic for good after his twin sister Elsie died. But when a dangerous ritual threatens the safety of all the magicians in Great Britain, he reluctantly dives back into the world to try and help procure the Last Contract to keep safe his remaining loved ones--and the public at large.
An unlikely (and wonderfully mischievous and complementary) group of allies fights to reveal the source of the evil at work, and favorite characters (and villains) from past books are present throughout. Through unexpected attractions to each other and the uncovering of weighty secrets, the group works to unravel the mysterious roots of British magic once and for all.
In A Power Unbound, Marske also explores class divides, gender-power imbalances, LGBTQ love, and the difficulty in--and sometimes necessity of--breaking long-held, outdated traditions.
The friends-like-family element and deep loyalty is strong among the members of Jack's group, and the magic of the situation is wonderfully imagined and rich in detail. There's danger, and justice served, and imperfect solutions, and compromise, and Marske's storytelling is yet again charming, funny, sometimes dark, and always fantastic.
Marske is also the author of A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth. For my full review, check out A Power Unbound.
03 The Stolen Heir (Stolen Heir #1) by Holly Black
In this return to the world of Elfhame (Folk of the Air trilogy), Holly Black takes us deeper into the story of characters Wren and Oak as they determine whether they can trust each other as they attempt to save Madoc.
As a child, Wren read lots of fairy tales. That’s why, when the monsters came, she knew it was because she had been wicked.
In The Stolen Heir, the first book in Holly Black's Stolen Heir duology, the story returns to the world of Elfhame. (It's important to first read the Folk of the Air trilogy--see link below in order to understand the plot and character development).
Suren (Wren), changeling child queen of the Court of Teeth, is forced to band together with the charming, untrustworthy Oak (fae brother of Jude), to try to save Madoc from Lady Nore's Ice Needle Citadel.
Wren and Oak were once betrothed, and Wren isn't sure how much of Oak's appealing vulnerability and honesty is real--or if she's being played for a fool. But Wren isn't content to let her fate be shaped by a beautiful, magical prince. She's going to need to wrest control of her own destiny.
I didn't feel particularly drawn in by Wren, who feels lost throughout much of the story, and I didn't feel as though Oak was as fully developed as I wanted him to be.
I loved the return of the storm hag Bogdana!
Click here for my review of Black's The Queen of Nothing; I mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series.
For my full Bossy review of this book, check out The Stolen Heir.
04 Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sarah Rees Brennan offers a funny, dark, clever story within a story in which the heroes and villains are redefined, redemption is always possible, revenge is sweet, and rewriting the story doesn't always shift the plot in the way you'd expect.
I love a story that flips a traditional setup, and Long Live Evil is my newest favorite in the Villains Are People Too book trend (check out two of my other recommendations in this vein below).
Rae has always taken comfort in books. But now she's dying, and in a panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her sister's favorite fantasy series.
But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures.
When Rae begins tinkering with characters, trying to shift the plot--posing as a prophet telling the future--she figures out that she's not the only one who came from the "real world" and has infiltrated the story. And she also realizes she may not be helping; she may be making everything worse.
This is so funny, sometimes dark, and it has lots of heart. I adore all of the twists on the heroine-villain setup.
I listened to Long Live Evil as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm. For other books that take a sympathetic, darkly playful view of a villain, check out Hench and Starter Villain.
Sarah Rees Brennan is also the author of the fantastic character-driven young-adult fantasy In Other Lands.
Please click here to see my full review of Long Live Evil.
05 A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
The first installment in Faizal's Blood and Tea series offers intriguing secrets, a swirling mystery, terrible betrayal, heartwarming found family, steady action--and vampires.
"It's teatime, scoundrels."
In the first book of Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea, Arthie Casimir collects secrets--and by doing so, amasses enough power to become a criminal mastermind, exerting her influence within the city's dark underbelly.
Her exclusive tea room becomes a posh hangout for vampires each night, but when her bloodhouse is threatened, she must work with one of her enemies in order to protect her livelihood and power.
A Tempest of Tea layers heartwarming found family, heartbreaking emotional barriers, and reluctant vulnerability to build characters that I cared about, funny gems, tantalizing moments, and an intriguing build-up to the books to come in this series.
For my full review, check out A Tempest of Tea.
06 Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood brings her wonderful banter and an intriguing mystery to this steamy interspecies romance that has lots of heart and kept me hooked throughout.
Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre in the region, and she'd prefer to literally and figuratively stay in the shadows--but she's been called to take part in the building of a peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and the Weres--in the form of an arranged marriage between Misery and a Were.
Lowe Moreland is the Alpha of the Weres, and he's as unpredictable, volatile, and unforgiving as any Were stereotype Misery has ever heard.
As a child, Misery was given up by her family and community as collateral to keep the peace.
But Misery has her own reasons for willingly entering into this marriage--her best friend's safety may be on the line--and she's willing to do anything to get her questions answered.
I forgot how steamy Hazelwood's books are, and Bride and its interspecies love is no exception.
I listened to Bride as an audiobook. Ali Hazelwood is also the author of Love, Theoretically and other books.
Click here for my full review of Bride.
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