So last year I’ve read about 75 books. I wanted to do a top 10, but it was becoming too complicated to narrow down. So I wanted to share my top 3, hands down the best reads of the year. Two are from Indie authors and deserve way more hype than they have received. They are all the first books in a series.
My top three, starting with my absolute favorite!
Crown Of Bones
The Amassia Series
By A.K. Wilder
Epic Fantasy
400 Pages
Entangled Teen (January 5, 2021)
Hardcover ~ Kindle ~ Audiobook
Raise. Your. Phantom.
In a world on the brink of the next Great Dying, no amount of training can prepare us for what is to come…
A young heir will raise the most powerful phantom in all of Baiseen.
A dangerous High Savant will do anything to control the nine realms.
A mysterious and deadly Mar race will steal children into the sea.
And a handsome guide with far too many secrets will make me fall in love.
My name is Ash. A lowly scribe meant to observe and record. And yet I think I’m destined to surprise us all.
A Song Of The Forever Rains
The Mousai
By E.J. Mellow
Fantasy Romance
423 Pages
Montlake (July 1, 2021)
Paperback ~ Kindle ~ Audiobook
The Thief Kingdom is a place hidden within the world of Aadilor. Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.
Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it’s discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke.
Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke’s potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan’s rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan―and themselves.
Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen?
She Who Rides The Storm
The Gods-Touched Duology
By Caitlin Sangster
YA Fantasy
608 Pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books (September 21, 2021)
Hardcover ~ Kindle
Long ago, shapeshifting monsters ruled the Commonwealth using blasphemous magic that fed on the souls of their subjects. Now, hundreds of years later, a new tomb has been uncovered, and despite the legends that disturbing a shapeshifter’s final resting place will wake them once again, the Warlord is determined to dig it up.
But it isn’t just the Warlord who means to brave the traps and pitfalls guarding the crypt.
A healer obsessed with tracking down the man who murdered her twin brother.
A runaway member of the Warlord’s Devoted order, haunted by his sister’s ghost.
A snotty archaeologist bent on finding the cure to his magical wasting disease.
A girl desperate to escape the cloistered life she didn’t choose.
All four are out to steal the same cursed sword rumored to be at the very bottom of the tomb. But of course, some treasures should never see the light of day, and some secrets are best left buried…
Those are my top three, however the three below also deserve an honorable mention. Click on the cover to learn more!
Thank you all for stopping in today, after taking a mini vacation – I’m back! Hope to see you soon, have a wonderful day and Happy New Years!