Top Ten Tuesday #74

Hi everyone! My 20th birthday was yesterday so this is my first official post as a 20 year old! How cool is that? I had a lovely birthday with my uni friends Rebecca and Nicola and our new flatmate, a lifesize cardboard Ewan McGregor! I got lots of lovely presents and a great package from my #otspsecretsister, so all in all it was a great day. Anyway, that’s off topic, this week’s topic is all time favourite books, otherwise known as my most dreaded topic ever. However being lovely as they are, the kind ladies at the Broke and The Bookish said we could pick just one genre of books to do all time favourites for, so I’ve decided on all time favourite fantasy books (as if that’s any easier)! Please note that this list as always is not in any particular order and is subject to change at any time! Here is the current incarnation of my all time favourite fantasy books though:

1. Harry Potter Series-JK Rowling

I could not do this list without including my favourite fantasy series of ever, the one that started my lifelong obsession with fantasy, a series and an author that are both very close to my heart, Harry Potter. It’s so hard to describe in words my love for this series, it was such a huge and influential part of my childhood and really shaped who I am as a reader.

2. Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus Series-Rick Riordan

I don’t think my love of Percy Jackson is exactly a secret! I just love the mix of the modern world and Greek/Roman mythology, plus it’s just so much fun and so funny to read, I can’t help but smile when I read this series. The characters are wonderful and every story is a new adventure.

3. Skulduggery Pleasant Series-Derek Landy

This series has magic, monsters and a walking, talking, magical skeleton detective, there’s so much to love about this series. Plus it’s set in Ireland which is awesome. And it’s hilarious on top, but not goofy funny, dry, sarcastic wit which is exactly the kind of humour that I love.

4. Throne of Glass Series-Sarah J Maas

I love the sprawling expansive world that Maas has created in this series. Plus the fact that the main character is a badass, self confident, assassin who also loves pretty dresses is great and I love the beautiful friendships that she has created through the series. And her writing is just gorgeous.

5. The Raven Cycle-Maggie Stiefvater

I feel like Sarah J Maas is a good lead in for Maggie Stiefvater because whilst the stories are completely different, I feel like they have very similar feels. This series has so much to love in it, psychics, ley lines, INCREDIBLE friendships, dead welsh kings, magic, it just has such a wonderful feel to it and you really want to be friends with these characters because they are so awesome.

6. A Darker Shade of Magic-VE Schwab

I don’t know if it’s cheating to have a book that I only read this year on an all times favourite list but even if it’s a new favourite, it’s still a favourite and I loved it so much I couldn’t not include it on this list. This book has multiple alternate Londons, magic (lots of magic!), a kickass cross dressing female pirate, awesome villains, it’s all just incredible. The second book in the series is really amazing too but since I gave this one 5 stars, it had to be the one I included on this list.

7. Rebel of The Sands-Alwyn Hamilton

Another new favourite. Everything about this book was amazing, the setting, the characters, the magic, the beautiful slow burn romance, it’s just such a vivid, beautiful story that it has become an instant favourite.

8. Artemis Fowl Series-Eoin Colfer

Who wouldn’t love a series with elves and sprites and fairies and centaurs and dwarves and all kind of other mythological creatures. Plus it’s another Irish set story and I love Ireland as a setting for fantasies, it just works so well. And the main character is a child mastermind criminal genius which is just awesome.

9. Ink and Bone-Rachel Caine

BOOKS! This fantasy is all about books! I love the idea of a world where the Great Library of Alexandria survived although if you read this book, you’ll learn it’s anything but peachy! Plus there is a great variety of nationalities of characters and an older couple LGBTQ+ romance.

10. A Series of Unfortunate Events-Lemony Snicket

Okay, so this isn’t fantasy in the same way that the other books on this list are fantasy but it definitely has fantastical elements and a very fantastical feel to it, and I devoured these books when I was a kid because they were so good! I may be cheating with this one but I don’t care!

That’s all for this week (I am getting good at this whole keeping to just 10 thing, although most of these are series, so there are definitely more than 10 books total here!). What genre of books did you choose this week (if any?). Do you find picking favourite books as hard as I do? Have you read any of the books on my list? Did you enjoy them? Let me know in the comments! Next week’s topic is an audio related freebie so I’m going to share my Top Ten Songs From Nashville (the TV show, not the city!). In the meantime however, I will have a new Wishlist Wednesday post up tomorrow and hopefully a new discussion post later in the week.