We have officially reached the halfway point of Summer! I don't know about you all, but my favorite genre to read during this season is fantasy. So, here is a list of some of my favorite books I've read recently with amazing world building and fantastical themes! Let me know your favorite fantasy books in the comments below... Happy reading!
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
This story follows the mundane life of a government case worker, Linus Baker. Under the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), Linus investigates the conditions of orphanages that house magical children - banshees, sprites, shapeshifters, etc. While Linus cares for the children he reports on, he often views life in extremely black and white terms - objectively. He often refers to and trusts his superiors to make key decisions that shape the future of these children. Due to his lens of objectivity, Linus is given a confidential case in which he is sent to a secret orphanage that houses the world's most "dangerous" magical youth. The orphanage's most notable residents include an unidentified anthropomorphic, green blob and, ahem... the antichrist. Instead of finding a terrifying, doomed household - as one might expect the antichrist to be living in - Linus finds a group of misunderstood children who are hidden away from the real dangers of the world - people. Along the way, Linus also finds a love - both romantic and platonic- so foreign from his current dispassionate life, he is overwhelmed with a sense of belonging.
Notable Quote(s):
“The world is a weird and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away?”
“When something is broken, you can put it back together. It may not fit quite the same, or work like it did once before, but that doesn't mean it's no longer useful.”
“I know you don’t see it, Linus. But I see it enough for the both of us. You make me feel like I’m burning up from the inside out.”
Bordel Zone | Pinterest
Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
I think the joke goes: A sometimes-bad angel and a sometimes-good demon walk into a bar... aaaand now the bar is on fire. This is loosely the premise of Good Omens. In actuality, this story is a somewhat irreverent retelling of the book of Revelations, i.e. Armageddon, as told through the perspectives of the aforementioned angel and demon, a witch, a witchfinder, the antichrist and a gang of fearless 11-year-olds; all of whom absolutely do NOT want to world to end. It's two main protagonists - demon, Crowley and angel, Aziraphale - are long-time, higher being best friends who have become too attached to Earth and humans. Therefore, when the time of Armageddon comes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse begin to ride, they devise a plan to do anything in their powers to stop the end of the world. Luckily, they are not the only ones with tricks up their sleeves
Notable Quote(s):
"I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset cos' they act like people... Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.”
"Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft are written by men."
The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern
The amount of sheer storytelling in this book is destined to make any bibliophile swoon - stories of pirates and maidens, Fate and Time, the Moon and her lover, and a rich, underground world filled with the legends of story guardians, keepers and tellers. Morgenstern weaves an intricate tapestry with her storytelling that is filled with gold, doors that lead to nowhere and everywhere, and at the center of it all, epic queer love. I found myself relating to the protagonist, Zachary, more than any fictional character I've ever read. He is a serious academic, enjoys craft cocktails, suffers from severe social anxiety but can command a room and above all, enjoys reading more than any other activity in his life. He finds himself drawn to Dorian, a misplaced book guardian who can tell stories that might as well transport Zachary to another dimension... is this a spoiler? Maybeeeee.
Notable Quote(s):
"That his religion is buried in the silence of freshly fallen snow, in a carefully crafted cocktail, in between the pages of a book somewhere after the beginning and before the ending."
"Mysterious ladies offering bourbon under the stars is very much my aesthetic.”
"Guests dip their hands into the bowl, removing them again covered in shimmering gold. It drips down arms and on sleeves and Zachary spies golden fingerprints behind ears and down the backs of necks, suggestive traces over necklines and below waists."
Kathrynblott | Pinterest
A Touch of Darkness, Scarlett St. Clair (18+)
I'm not going to lie to you, this is not my cup of tea. However, if you like the typical romance/smut books - less of plot and prose and more of the good stuff - then this is an easy read with some fun fantasy elements sprinkled in! In this alternate universe, Greek gods still rule the world, are worshipped by humans and are oftentimes savvy, modern business owners. Persephone, the goddess of Spring and the daughter of the goddess Demeter, lives in New Athens and attends college as an aspiring journalist. She is a secret to the world - no one knows she is a goddess, mortals and gods alike. This does not prove to be much of a hard secret kept, as Persephone has little to no powers. She behaves like a mortal, college student and goes out drinking and dancing on weekends to different nightclubs owned by the gods and goddesses such as Nevernight (Hades), The Raven (Apollo), La Rose (Aphrodite) and Bakkheia (Dionysus). While at Nevernight, Persephone is persuaded into making a deal with Hades over a game of poker - create life in the underworld. The story follows Persephone's journey overcoming this challenge, falling in love and learning to accept herself as is and not for the false life she had been living.
Notable Quote(s):
"Respect could build an empire. Trust could make it unbreakable. Love could make it last forever."
A Marvelous Light, by Freya Marske (18+)
This book is amazing, and I will forever recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy/period drama. It has the perfect balance of magic and romance with elements of family drama, self-acceptance and self-discovery. Marske is a brilliant fantasy author with a unique talent to describe all aspects of her book - settings, characters, arguments, magic - in the same way she describes love scenes - sensual, intimate, all-consuming. It left me stunned and wanting to devour the same pages over and over again. The story takes place in the early 1900s in London. The two protagonists Edwin, a low-ranking magician, and Robin, an unmagical government liaison, are unexpectedly thrown into each other's lives where they must work together to preserve balance in the magical world. What begins as a forced acquaintanceship turns into a passionate love affair; think Bridgerton season 2 but with magic! Marske has stated this will be a trilogy series, and I am not-so-patiently awaiting the next book.
Notable Quote(s):
"It wasn’t the physical act alone. It was the way he felt watching Edwin read; it was the feeling he had every time his eyes sought Edwin in a room and landed on an angle of the man’s face, any movement of those delicate fingers: There you are. I’ve been waiting for you."
"Robin managed to hold his tongue on something truly unwise like You look like a Turner painting and I want to learn your textures with my fingertips."
Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune
This story is possibly the most creative fantasy novel I have read in a long time. While it stays true to its core messages of self-acceptance and overcoming grief, it also magnificently creates a world of reapers, ghosts, ghost guides and higher beings. In true Klune fashion, the settings are larger than life and there is also beautiful, queer love at the heart of the story. The two protagonists are Wallace, a no-nonsense lawyer who has died of a heart attack and Hugo, the owner of a tea house who doubles as a ghost guide. The story goes: a man lives a shallow and lonely life; the man dies; he is transported to a way station (in the form of a tea house) by a spunky reaper; he meets his ghost guide who helps him through his existential crises; they fall in love; the man learns what it means to live in death. All in all, the book covers a very dark topic in a beautiful and airy way. It leaves specifics about life after death up to the interpretation of the reader while providing a fantastical framework of the author's design to fill in the blanks.
Notable Quote(s):
"Everyone loses their way at some point, and it’s not just because of their mistakes or the decisions they make. It’s because they’re horribly, wonderfully human."
“Wasn’t that the great answer to the mystery of life? To make the most of what you have while you have it, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.”
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