Oh, glorious, wonderful, brilliant books! There are TOO many of you already this year! Too. Many. Since my TBR list is already full with a dozen new 2016 titles! A dozen! Which I may never catch up on. Not with how busy this year for my pastry business is. I might not even pick up a new book for another 3 months, at this rate. Which is pure sadness, my friends. Sadness.
So in light of how my TBR (aka: to be read) stack of beautiful new gems might need to sit gathering dust for a sad, sad while, I couldn’t resist babbling about two of my current 2016 favorites! Because if you NEED a truly BRILLIANT new fantasy series to start up on, you MUST start with these two titles! MUST!
First up? THE KEEPERS by Ted Sanders. Think Harry Potter with his wand. Only his wand and nothing else. Now add in non-stop danger, fantastic spells, an entire hidden society, and a little bit of science fiction. The kind of storytelling that will leave you begging for more. Like a desert begging for rain. Or ink begging for parchment. Or coffee begging for a taste of sugar. Yeah, I did just throw that in. Ha. I’m serious though. This middle reader series might be one of my favorite middle reader debuts since Brandon Mull’s, FABLEHAVEN. That’s how thrilling it is. And the 2nd title in it’s series, THE KEEPERS: THE HEART and the RAVENVINE, just hit U.S. bookstores this month! So you really have NO excuse not to snatch up both of the two books (thus far) within the series. Like, now, people. Now.
My 2nd March favorite? SHADOWFELL by Juliet Marillier. Another new series which I absolutely ADORE! This is one of those rare adult fantasy novels that I may end up reading over and over and over again. And considering how I only have around 12 other book series within my 600+ title collection, that I re-read every year (because to me, they’re considered timeless), admitting that I’m wholeheartedly adding SHADOWFELL to this particular selection, says a lot. The two main characters, Neryn and Flint, come alive within this 1st novel. Where you can feel both of their hearts anguish and fear and courage, as if you’re standing right next them, within every page. Where their individual yet combined stories are (far) too real for any written fantasy character. With every tear, and every step within each of their perilous journey, you’ll ache with the strife that they are both forced to endure, and hold your breath with the expectation of hope that blossoms so desperately between them. This is THE fantasy series that will make you wish you knew how to write something THIS brilliant. This epic. This timeless. This powerful. With or with the company of Good Folk. Believe me. You need this series in your life. You do.
*Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rustmoon, for the suggestion of SHADOWFELL!
So I’m curious to know what your favorite 2016 novels are. Be it a children’s tale or an adult one, what has made your heart yearn for more?
The Stealthy Kitchen Mama 