the best fantasy books of 2024 (according to goodreads) ✨📚

and one of our bookish club books made the list...

Nov 21, 2024

The other day, I made the bold decision to change my reading goal from 75 to 100. How many books have I read as of today? 73. Not an ideal situation, but I *think* I can actually do it with a steady stream of novellas and books of no more than 450 pages…

At the end of the day, I’m team reading goals — I see a lot of people on social media criticize having a reading goal because it takes the fun out of reading if you’re just trying to hit a number. I get both sides, but I can still have a good time while trying to devour a bunch of books. Well, in this case, I am going to attempt to devour a bunch of books. 27, to be exact, in 40 days :)

The Thirteenth Child Discussions

The importance of backstories

My heart sank as I stared down at it.
A deathshead. King Marnaigne was meant to die.
King Marnaigne was meant to die, and I was meant to kill him.

Ok, so we’re not surprised here; we knew he was going to be marked for death. Hazel is now faced with the decision of what to do next. If she killed the King, she’d most likely be killed, and if she didn’t, she’d have to face her godfather and whatever fate waited for her there. The decision causes her to faint and get transferred down to the Rift, where she meets her nieces.

THIS is one of the reasons why I came to love this book so so much. Because we got to grow up with Hazel and her sisters, the meeting of her nieces packs so much more of a punch. Even with the terrible childhood Hazel had growing up, she was ready for a new beginning with her sisters and their families, and it warmed my heart — until we found out the sisters had passed.

I wanted her to tell them who she was so bad. I was still rooting for this new beginning, but it came down to the inevitable decision to kill the king, holding her back.

AND THEN WE MEET BERTIE AGAIN, and my heart hurt all over again. The manipulation from the Divided Ones had my stomach turning.

Love a good nickname

“Come on, little healer. We’re getting you out of here.”

Despite being a tiny little subplot with no spice, I was eating up every interaction between these two. I am also eternally happy we got a normal nickname - if I see a “kitten” anywhere in a book, I will dnf it. AND THE FACT THAT HE CARED ENOUGH TO REMOVE HER FROM A TEMPLE THAT SHE WASN’T COMFORTABLE IN—OR HER GODFATHER.

Leopold sighed, shifting around on the coach seat. “I’m sorry I threw those coins at you. That day in the marketplace.”

Well aware that the above mentions might be considered the bare minimum, but I’ll take it. We have fantasy books where they literally try to kill each other, so I’ll settle for some nicknames and remembering someone because of their freckles. He then goes on to compliment the freckles… :) My heart? — Warmed once again because we know she doesn't like how they look on her and wants them to disappear.

“They adore me. Everyone does. Everyone except for you.” His match lit, flaring too high before catching the paper wrap. He inhaled deeply. “It bothers me that you don’t. I know it shouldn’t, but it does.”

The Divided Ones

So, my previous gut feelings about these guys are so valid. After the King almost dies, Hazel goes to the Divided Ones, and they tell her she can give one of her lives (candles) to Marnaigne so he can be cured. Not her brightest move, in my opinion…

Bookish News

The best YA fantasy books... according to Goodreads

Goodreads has officially announced the opening round nominees for readers’ favourite young adult fantasy books. You can vote here! Some books on the list are:

Heartless Hunter by Kristin Ciccarelli — this was our September book club book and genuinely one of my favourite reads of all time <3
Reckless by Lauren Roberts — another favourite of mine, and the ending of this one has been counting down the days until book 3
All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi — haven’t read this one just yet, but I love this author more than anything (Shatter Me series iykyk)
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma — on my TBR because I saw everyone and their mother reading this on booktok
The Prisoners Throne by Holly Black
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

The opening round closes November 24, and then we head to the next round, so go vote for HEARTLESS HUNTER!!! There are also a bunch of other categories/genres to vote in, like memoirs and romantasy:

GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS

Rebel Witch Giveaway

For those who loved Heartless Hunter and are currently waiting patiently until book two is released, Kristin is giving away TWO copies of Rebel Witch!!!

kristenciccarelli