Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

It's the last Thursday of the year so there are two Top Three Thursday threads! In this thread, choose your top three books of the whole year. :)

My top 3 of the year:

1. The Sword of Kaigen -> By far the best read of this year for me.
2. The Blade Itself -> I am planning to read the next 2 books with the new year.
3. The Final Empire -> I finished the series, and I was between the first and the second book for this spot, but book 1 was slightly better for me.

Quite a few favourites this year! In that regard it's been a good reading year

The Name of the Wind - I don't know why I loved this so much, but the world-building, the magic system, the story surrounding a man who is a legend; all just really worked for me.

A Game of Thrones - this was a surprise! I'm sort of new to epic fantasy so I thought this one would be too heavy for me to enjoy. I loved how dark and brutal it was, and loved the intense politics. This series is very addictive. Only exams have kept me from picking up the third book.

The Raven Boys - this one is older than my time on GR, so I didn't even know what it was about. I went in blind- which helped because I never would have picked it up otherwise! As paranormal isn't something I gravitate towards.

An enchanting, vague world building and magic system, and a very fresh take on ghosts... a little spooky, too, which I loved. I have to get to the 3rd book now

In a way all three of them surprised me, which really made me rediscover my reading tastes.

Why aren't there more comments on here? I want to know everybody's favourites of the year!

1. A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay - a story told from a side character to larger events but he just tells the story so beautifully.
2. The Empire trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts - loved getting to see a brilliant character use skill and manipulation to solve problems rather than brute force.
3. Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier - recommended to me by Tammie. She took the bones of beauty and the beast and made a completely original story from it. Can’t wait to read more from her.

Here are my top three. I feel like I read some really good books in 2019, but none of them were amazing 5 star reads for me. Two came close, they are:

Already Gone by Bridget E. Baker
When I said close to 5 stars I meant very close for this one. I don't typically read contemporary YA, but Bridget is a friend and I agreed to read this one for her. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this book. It packed a real emotional punch as well as a twist I did not see coming! The touch of mystery added to the book made it even better.

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
I love the Mercy Thompson series. They are always solid 4 star reads for me, but this one I gave 4.5 stars to. I think the change in setting was wonderful, even though sometimes those can be iffy.

The third book I'm adding to my top 3 list was a solid 4 star read from an author I've come to adore.

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
I love the fairy tale like feel to Amy Harmon's fantasy books, plus she always adds the perfect touch of romance. Each one of the books I've read by Amy, I've ended up developing an emotional connection with. She has a distinct talent for conveying how her characters feel and that really resonates with me.

Honorable mention:

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kremmerer
For the last couple of years I've really reduced the number of YA books I read, but this was the best YA fantasy I read in 2019. One thing I really love about this book is the disabled main character. I actually fell in love with all the characters in this book.

Bill wrote: " Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier - recommended to me by Tammie. She took the bones of beauty and the beast and made a completely original story from it. Can’t wait to read more from her...."

It always makes me happy when I recommend a book to someone and they love it. : )

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.
The whole Broken Empire trilogy tbh; just highly enjoyable watching Jorg terrorise his way through the books.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.
And the whole Throne of Glass series too. Kick-ass heroine, non-stop action, a lot of Disney references in the first book, which I loved and some enjoyable romance.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas.
This is the second book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series and by far the best, the series as a whole, isn't that strong. There is one thing that makes this book and that's the character Rhysand.

Read some really great books in 2019!

1. A Little Hatred - Absolutely loved this continuation in the First Law world.
2. Heir of Novron - Really enjoyed this conclusion to The Riyria Revelations trilogy.
3. King of Assassins - This was an excellent conclusion to The Wounded Kingdom trilogy. The audio book narration by Joe Jameson was really very good!

Honorable mention goes to; Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights - a lovely break from all the grimmer fantasy, this story made me laugh! I actually ended up ordering a bunch of paperback copies for my son and nephews for Christmas :-)

My top three of the year are:

by John Gwynne - Five star read. Awesome debut book in a four book series. I need to finish the series too - so hopefully I can get back into the rest of them this year.

by Jim Butcher - I read the omnibus of this series which was only the first six books as there are seventeen books in the series. Five star read for all six books. I need to get back to reading the rest of the series.

by Graeme Rodaughan - Five star read. This is the fifth book in a series of nine books that are currently a work in progress.