1:38 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 3:46 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 6:10 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik 7:37 Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 9:32 Uprooted by Naomi Novik 11:05 Juniper Thorn by Ava Reid 12:49 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 14:12 The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi 15:34 The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi 17:00 Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 18:48 Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson 21:08 The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid 21:20 Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor 22:01 Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher 22:35 Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn 23:00 Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh 23:32 Stardust by Neil Gaiman 23:45 The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern Edit: I added the authors! Happy reading everyone~
Leonie casually describing my favourite genre of books while I didn’t even know how to explain it: fantasy stories without a fantasy plot. The best stories are those that take place in a magical setting but actually explore dark themes and complex relationships between characters.
My favorite vibe in a book is the starless sea!! An under the sea never ending library with secret doors and tales, hiding in our world behind mysterious doors?? Balls with book themes?? I I don't know why everyone is not obsessed with it
The starless sea is one of the best books i read. The whole book just feels so personal and cozy and i want everyone to love it. A book about love for books?! What is there not to love about the starless sea?!!!
Spoilers? Sorta? But these are the reccs! 1:02 The Night Circus 4:45 Piranesi 6:09 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (my beloved) 7:37 The Bear and the Nightingale 9:19 Uprooted by Naomi Novik (MY BELOOOOOVEEEEEED) 11:05 Juniper and Thorn 11:51 Mexican Gothic 14:12 The Tale of the Flower Bride 15:35 The Star-Touched Queen 17:00 Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (
The Graveyard Book is still my favorite Neil Gaiman! It's about a boy who's raised by ghosts in a graveyard, and it has a mix of dark and cozy vibes because it's a graveyard, yes, but it's also his home.
My favourite has to be Ocean at the End of the Lane. I don't know how to explain this book, it's been a while since I read it and I don't actually remember much - except the way it touched me. I can't put it into words. I just know that when I closed the book, I was stuck somewhere between crying and smiling and wanted to climb on a rooftop and shout to the world that I love it. I will never stop recommending it.
@@nevenapeeva8283 You are not mis-remembering, that and Graveyard Book are just so good. They nestle into your brain and make the fantastical seem a little more possible for a time.
I read it a few years back but was never able to enjoy it as I was forced to read it very quickly and put aside other things for it, I'm contemplating reading it again as many of you like it so much
For me, the writing of The Raven Cycle gave me massive ✨vibes✨It was so autumny and the writing felt so nice? I don't know how to describe it. I made it my yearly routine to read those books during Autumn lol. Thanks for the reccomendations, I need some ✨vibes✨in my life right now.
@@yasminechoerryscherry3701 late reply but it also has a great depiction of non nuclear family imo, its like treated as perfectly normal and they all obviously love each other even though they clash and quarrel at times
One of the best "Top books" review videos I've seen! The way she calmly discusses each book while handling it throughout is perfect! In most other videos, you have to rewind to catch the book's name, author, or details due to the high speed of speech. This video allows you to completely understand the vibe of each book. Another feature I like is the background-not her library-making it easier to focus on her speech without being distracted by books on a shelf. Great job! 😊
For Neil Gaiman, I highly highly highly recommend starting with The Ocean at the End of the Lane!! It’s an adult fantasy novella and it is so beautiful and a little spooky and just so brilliant!! And it’s short - less than 200 pages!
I would also recommend "Heartless" by Marissa Meyer (same author of the Lunar Chronicles). It is the backstory for the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland, has incredible vibes, stays true to the og story, and is a great romance! (Be forwarned, the descriptions of the food will make you hungry) . Alice in Wonderland is also a great "no plot just vibes book". Both are fantastic!
The Night Circus was the first book I got COMPLETELY lost and immersed in since I was a kid. I love books and reading, but this one brought me right back to that hyper imaginative childlike wonder state. It’s phenomenal!
I LOVED The Bear and the Nightingale. As a fellow dutchie, it gave me major Efteling vibes. I absolutely loved reading this during winter while listening to fireplace/blizzard sounds.
I read A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher and really liked it even though it was not really thrilling but rather a comfy and fluffy story combined with action. I think its definitely more a book for just vibing along, cause the action in the book is not very twisted even though it is about murder at the first place . But I still would grab some other books from Kingfisher because she writes well, a bit witty and is really creative.
Yeah, I was a little surprised the vibes here weren't any cozy vibes books. Legends and Lattes was the obvious book I was expecting (which is really good), but I did also enjoy the wizards guide to defensive baking as well. The third book in that sort of cozy vibe was Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. I liked all of them as nice light palate cleanser between reading more epic fantasy or multi-book fantasy series.
I just read howls moving castle this year and then rewatched the movie (that i love to death but lets be honest it also kind of doesnt make complete sense) and i feel like theres a lot more hints at romance, or theres a better progression towards romance (?? Idk how else to say it aah) in the book compared to the movie. In the movie i feel like its kind of sudden that they love each other (more so from howls side, i think sophie shows it more throughout the movie). But in the books its much more obvious that howl loves sophie too and that sophie is jealous of other characters close to howl. So yes, thats just my opinion on that haha
@@sonaka95 They don't, but they show up in each iirc. Been, you know, a decade since I read them. Certainly they're mentioned and some of the characters from the first book show up. Can't recall if it's Howl + Sophie specifically. She has a tendency to do this, sequels where the main characters change. Look at the Chrestomanci series. You have, uh, 5.5 different main characters across 6 books, though many of the characters overlap and interweave. Derkholm does the same thing with its two books. I've only read Deep Secret, but I heard Merlin Conspiracy is a sequel that uses a side character as well.
The romance in the book felt extremely rushed to me in the last 5 pages or whatever it was. Like the ending was just awkward. I'm not really a fan bc it had too many side characters I didn't care about
i LIVE for books w no plot just simply vibes 😭😭 obviously i love books with brilliant plots, but i really don’t need one to deeply enjoy a book. good vibes & good characters and i’m hooked 💘
Currently reading Juliet Marillier’s “Heart’s Blood”. Kind of a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” that manages to be surprising and riveting. She generally writes romantic historical fantasies steeped in Irish history and mythology, I think her works could fit in with your prompt.
Bookending your list with both books by Erin Morgenstern just got you 100 credibility points from me hahaha! The Night Circus was the first book where I thought, "Oh, I have a favorite book now!" after I read it! Never had a favorite book before I read that. I'll definitely be looking at all the books you mention here
OH I LOVE THE NIGHT CIRCUS! ah my entire heart, the way the vibes were tangible, my soul felt like it was full of fireflies when I finished reading the last line. "I'm not afraid of you." and "I wished for her." scenes have my heart. I did something super cheesy okay please don't judge. Taking inspiration from this, since Marco knew he wanted her without knowing her properly at all and just knew that there was some connection, I kind of made like a space on different platforms like my social media or Pinterest or my messenger app which I named "I wished for him" and I've been saving things I'd like to experience with my soulmate there, cuz yes I believe in soulmates nothing can really change my mind. but yeah. I keep adding ideas for dates, or thoughts I have at the moment, or idk future house aesthetic, whatever it may be. and whenever we get together I'll show it to him. heuheuheuheuheuheuheuehuehuehueheuheuehuehueheuheuheuheuehuehuehueuhee im sorry this is the first time I've talked to another human? website? RUclips? about it. ok bye
I loved The Winternight trilogy!It's true that we don't get that much introspective. Personally, that didn't make me feel detached from the characters but made it very interesting to get to know them, exactly bc they aren't like an open book. It forces you to think more about the things we DO get. So even little interactions felt more intense (Books 2 and 3 pick up a faster pace and are more plot-heavy btw so if you didn't like book one, you should still give the next one a chance)
Near the same time I read Piranesi I heard Debussy's Underwater Cathedral for the first time and the vibes of the song go so well with the book, I could almost see the statues described on the book, and Piranesi roaming the halls, listening to the waves... I highly recommend checking both out!
I highly recommend Laini Taylor’s short story collection (and her other works). For graphic novels The Tea Dragon Society series (cozy and wholesome) and Monstress (dark and folklory). The rest of Susanna Clarke’s works also fit well here. Planning to pick up Rebecca Ross, Helene Wecker and Heather Fawcett soon.
I just posted a Fourth Wing reading vlog, and that book has put me in such a fantasy era! I keep reading fantasy books trying to find those Fourth Wing 'vibes' again.
I would very much argue in favor of Howl's Moving Castle being about the romance, the main defining difference in that romance compared to the movie is that the book is entirely about Sophie's personal struggles with societal roles/expectations and even gender, and that characterization when combined with book howl makes it much more of a romcom than the movie, which doesn't focus nearly as much on Sophie's internal struggles(or at least extremely mischaracterizes them and her motivations). There's more layers to the storytelling in the book as its so character driven, but the romance between Sophie and Howl plays a key role in Sophie allowing herself to take up space in the world. (And its also better bc both of those characters have way more nuance in the book imo)
I love the movie and I finally read the book this year. The story makes waaaay more sense in the book..! and yeah the book is better imo but the movie is still a great watch :)
You described perfectly what I felt reading the night circus. I finished it in like in 3 days becouse it was so magical and immersive but after I finished it I was like "nothing happens but It was a vibe😂" I'm now reading the starless sea and I'm loving it! The plot is amazing and really complicated, everything is coming together in the end and the writing and the atmosphere of magic are really amazing.
I read the folk of the air trilogy because of you and i ADORED it and ever since then have been obsessed with fairies and fairytale vibes. I wanted to read more books with that sort of magical, dark, fairytale vibes but i didn't know what to read and then i see that you posted a video on that exact topic. Oh i love you so much for this video.🥺🥰❤️❤️
I love that you mentioned the artist Piranesi. His art influences so much of the book. I really liked Strange the Dreamer (particularly the first half). I also want to read more Kingfisher.
I have a bowl of strawberries and I am ready for the new video! Also, because of your recommendation of Penryn & the End of Days in "a retrospective on teen dystopian books" I read the whole series in like a week. And I had fun!
so glad you have the starless sea!! I read it before Night Circus and loved it way way more. It is so vibey so storytell-y. I really hope you enjoy it!
oh no haha just commented how I read that one and was finally convinced to now also give the Night Circus a go - but I was absolutely blown away by the Starless Sea !
I would like to point out that TWO of these books, Spinning Silver and Juniper & Thorn, heavily feature Judaism, and as a Jewish girly, I’m loving it 😍 (not sure about Uprooted, which is the same author as Spinning Silver, cause I’ve never read it.) Edit: Three books, including the Wolf and the Woodsman!
Leonie please read annarasumanara (the manhwa not the k-drama)! It's about a girl who meets a magician who is kinda like an urban legend to the townsfolk since it is said he can do real magic and is said to wander around the abandoned amusement park in the town.
As for Neil Gaiman books, I just read The Graveyard Book, by Gaiman. It was described to me as "The Jungle Book but set on a graveyard" very viby. About a boy who grows up on an old graveyard, surrounded by ghosts and other nightly creatures. Also, of course, Coraline. And if you read comics, I can also highly recommend The Sandman comics.
I LOVE Neil Gaiman but Neverwhere wasn’t my favorite. My first foray into Gaiman was Coraline when I was a kid and I’m a spooky girly so I find it atmospheric and cozy. For this genre I’m going to echo others and say Ocean and the End of the Lane. That book was just magical 😭 Graveyard book too!
My FAVORITE Neil Gaiman book is The Ocean at the End of the Lane! Dark fairytale vibes told from the perspective of a 7 year old boy (but this is firmly an adult novel) that includes witches and monsters. The Graveyard Book is another one that I love by him
Momo, Michael Ende. The ocean at the end of the lane, Neil Gaiman. Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett. Nation, same author. The city of dreaming books, Walter Moers.
Hi!! Absolutely love your videos, and even started reading six of crows because I heard about it on your channel and I am currently loving it, thank you for the dedication you put to giving us content! Hope to see more of your videos soon!
I liked how you introduced the vibes and atmosphere of each book through images and descriptions! It really brought me into the setting of each of book. It was also interesting that you recommended books that you didn't get into like the bear and the nightingale and sorcery of thorns because the vibes might be enough for someone to enjoy. I have spinning silver on my shelf and I can't wait to finally read it! Since I loved howl's moving castle the movie, I would love to add the book to my tbr
I haven’t read a lot of fantasy books and I really want to get into it (but I don’t know where to start) so your recommendations are very well appreciated!! cannot wait to deep dive into this genre
also I blindly bought Piranesi a few weeks ago and you completely convinced me to read it asap!! I have a degree in art history and was wondering if the title had any relation to the artist!
I absolutely love the way you structured this video, it works so so well 💕 Piranesi is one of my all time time favourite books and your description of it must be the best i have ever heard! Please make more in this style if you feel like it 😊
you NEED to read Starless Sea! i wish i read Night Circus before Starless because i actually found it more underwhelming than Starless, so it would be nice progression. It’s my favourite book of all time😩
Oh my goodness The Startouched Queen sounds so good, it’s been a long time since a description of a book made me so excited to read it! I love the way you described all of the books and added pictures and everything!
Ooooh I just finished The Night Circus last Friday and instantly started looking for some clothes for an all-black victorian-esque outfit with a single red detail lol
If you loved flower bride, you will also love strange the dreamer. Very similar vibes and prose and themes, although the ending I drastically different when it comes to theme haha
a rec's that my personnal chocolate-hug-confy-fantasy favorite is Once Upon a Broken Heart, from Stephanie Garber! I know it's after the caraval serie but you really just *FEEL* the vibe and it's like living the fairy tail, it's cute, it's cosy, I love the atmosphere, just giving me a warm hug sorry for my spellings mistakes, not my natal language (and if you read the book, don't talk about the end of the two, just don't deni the ant vibeeee)
Fantasy is far and away my favorite fiction genre! Love getting recommendations from you! P.S. I love Susanna Clarke's writing: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was an excellent book!
I would also recommend Stephanie Garaber’s Once Upon A Broken Heart series - the worldbuilding is so whimsical and the storytelling is really mysterious in the way it unfolds. I would honestly want to stay in that world forever.
OH im so happy to be here early! im in my finals week and life hasn’t been the kindest, so it’s so so lovely to see you upload 🥺 and ive been craving vibe-y books, so it feels perfect! Hope youre always doing well ❤
A fabulous vibes book list Leonie! If you like unreliable narrators a la Piranesi and creepy faerie atmospheres I think you'd enjoy Among Others by Jo Walton, Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (it's middle grade, but suitable for all ages), and Little, Big by John Crowley.
Love the pictures you included to show a sense of the aesthetics and mood of each book! Helped me get into the mindset of the different stories. Great video 🧡
starless sea is very different from the Night Circus, but I really enjoyed it as well. If you want vibes from Gaiman maybe try Sandman? It's quite dark (while Stardust is lovely fairy-tale-esque), but it screams vibes. And not exactly in the theme, but atmospheric reminds me of cosy, and for cosy reads I have to reccommend the Moomins. The suprisingly deep stories about friendly trolls, what's more to need?
ahhh i'm so happy you posted, i literally squaked when i saw your video!! the graveyard book by neil gaiman has great spooky cosy vibes and is about a boy who lives in a graveyard and is raised by the resident ghosts. it's very fun, endearing, and perfect for halloween. the audiobook slaps as well.
I love Piranesi. So glad you included it. The Starless Sea has stories within stories. I'm keen to know your thoughts about it compared to The Night Circus.
I think something that will fit in here is In the House in the Dark of the Woods! Short short book, sort of a retelling of Red Riding Hood + some others- very spooky (i think its sort of soft horror), gothic, witch in the woods thing. Loved it
Thank you for making this list. I have only recently begun to appreciate the impact og vibes on my enjoyment of a series. Most of the recommendations out there are story, character or action based. This is a breath of fresh air. If it's not too much to ask. Could you recommend books that give off similar vibes as Gravity Falls, The Graveyard Book, The remarkable journey of Coyote Sunrise? Basically a magical new world hidden in ours with interesting characters that share a bond of friendship, romance etc.
with Howl's Moving Castle, especially if you're only familiar with the movie, my god, when you get to the parts that're different from the movie, you have to take a step back and be like "did that just happen?" It's almost like a fourth wall break but not really.
For Neil Gaiman, I loved Neverwhere, though, to be fair, I listened to the BBC radio drama of it long before I read the book. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is absolutely weird, it's not super linear and has more magical realism vibes but I loved it. The Graveyard Book is a beloved of mine, I can read it over and over. I haven't read American Gods, it never really interested me, but Anansi Boys I find really really good. I've only seen the movies for Stardust and Coraline, but I hear the book versions are much darker than the movie versions. I've read all the Interworld books he cowrote with Michael Reeves and his daughter Mallory, but they are definitely more scifi.
For Neil Gaiman books, my favorites are the graveyard book, American Gods, and good omens. Stardust and Coraline are also really great as well! I think you would especially like the graveyard book. Another one that a lot of people seem to really like that I didn't fully connect with is the ocean at the end of the lane
My fav is defo The School for Good and Evil but mostly the Camelot series as that gets dark, as well as loving Sophie’s character development! plus loving your channel 🥰
The night circus was definitely one of the most vibey and incredible books I’ve read, very glad this was included in the list. I remember finding it in my local library and thinking the cover looked cool, it wasn’t but a few seconds after reading did I realize that I absolutely fell in love with the book.
If you’re just going for vibes, I think The Ocean at the End of the Lane has the highest ratio of atmosphere to plot of Gaiman’s novels. After that I would actually probably say Neverwhere although it doesn’t get recommended at often as his other novels. It was my first Gaiman novel after Coraline. It takes place in “London Below” which is an entire second London underground comprised of lost, forgotten, or discarded people, places, creatures, and ideas. It’s grimy and eerie and violent and absurd like a fever dream. The weakest point of the book is just a useless kind of boring main character.
I feel like "Shadow and Bone" also would fit this. It is often critizised for having not a lot of plot but when I read it I actually really enjoyed Alina learning about her magical talents, making friends, etc.
Strange the Dreamer was my favorite fantasy book that I read last year. Stardust I only read 2 weeks ago and it was great, too! It is quite short which sometimes is hard to find in the fantasy genre.
Further vibe- y book Recs: 1. house of hollow by Krystal Sutherland- vibes: dark fairy tale portals- decaying flowers 2. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jobes: vibes: evil fae lovers/ lost memories/ dreamy Magick
The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers is one of my all time favourite books and it‘s definitely 🦄🌸🦋VIBES🪲🍄🤝 it‘s so crazy but I love it. Rumo‘s Miraculous Adventures by Moers is even better but it’s adventure/action/gory whereas Bluebear is like an acid trip.
T. Kingfisher is really great for nice vibe reads. I read Nettle & Bone in one day and it was so much fun. A House with Good Bones is another good one, very nature horror vibes but not too heavy
Neil gaiman - ocean at the end of The lane more magical realism than fantasy but if that’s your preference, a great book. I found Out I do not like magical realism so much, but still great writing
1:38 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3:46 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
6:10 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
7:37 Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
9:32 Uprooted by Naomi Novik
11:05 Juniper Thorn by Ava Reid
12:49 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
14:12 The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
15:34 The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
17:00 Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
18:48 Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
21:08 The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
21:20 Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
22:01 Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
22:35 Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn
23:00 Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
23:32 Stardust by Neil Gaiman
23:45 The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Edit: I added the authors!
Happy reading everyone~
much thanks!
Thank you!!
She should use timestamps in the description of break her video into chapters.
Nettle and Bone is by T. Kingfisher :)
@@tonibienbeck Hey thanks for pointing out! Have a good day 😊
Leonie casually describing my favourite genre of books while I didn’t even know how to explain it: fantasy stories without a fantasy plot. The best stories are those that take place in a magical setting but actually explore dark themes and complex relationships between characters.
I adore the aesthetics and atmospheres of fantasy books! I'm so happy this is getting recognized!
it's one of my favourite aspects of fantasy!
My favorite vibe in a book is the starless sea!! An under the sea never ending library with secret doors and tales, hiding in our world behind mysterious doors?? Balls with book themes?? I I don't know why everyone is not obsessed with it
People complain there's no story and I'm like "and???" lmao
omg i’ve been meaning to read it for the longest time and this comment singlehandedly made me want to get it nnnowwww
The starless sea is one of the best books i read. The whole book just feels so personal and cozy and i want everyone to love it. A book about love for books?! What is there not to love about the starless sea?!!!
@@venuss18 yesss do it!!
@@whoami.24601 the vibes are all you need
Spoilers? Sorta? But these are the reccs!
1:02 The Night Circus
4:45 Piranesi
6:09 Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (my beloved)
7:37 The Bear and the Nightingale
9:19 Uprooted by Naomi Novik (MY BELOOOOOVEEEEEED)
11:05 Juniper and Thorn
11:51 Mexican Gothic
14:12 The Tale of the Flower Bride
15:35 The Star-Touched Queen
17:00 Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (
I absolutely love that you added little comments and annotations to some of them. I'm looking forward to reading Uprooted :)
The Graveyard Book is still my favorite Neil Gaiman! It's about a boy who's raised by ghosts in a graveyard, and it has a mix of dark and cozy vibes because it's a graveyard, yes, but it's also his home.
I was thinking the same! I read it in autumn while a foggy week and it was all vibes inside and outside the book
i adore that book! it’s definitely a must for delving into gainman territory. a story of survival and protection enveloped in an afterlife world
My favourite has to be Ocean at the End of the Lane. I don't know how to explain this book, it's been a while since I read it and I don't actually remember much - except the way it touched me. I can't put it into words. I just know that when I closed the book, I was stuck somewhere between crying and smiling and wanted to climb on a rooftop and shout to the world that I love it. I will never stop recommending it.
@@nevenapeeva8283 You are not mis-remembering, that and Graveyard Book are just so good. They nestle into your brain and make the fantastical seem a little more possible for a time.
I read it a few years back but was never able to enjoy it as I was forced to read it very quickly and put aside other things for it, I'm contemplating reading it again as many of you like it so much
For Neil Gaiman: Ocean at the End of the Lane
Also, his short stories are more vibey than the novels
Oh I gotta read that!!
Yes to Ocean! Wasn't that into Stardust
Came here to say that! I loved Ocean, it‘s an amazing book. Also The Graveyard Book.
Yes to Ocean at the end of the lane! And I just want to add: there's an illustrated edition, which really elevates the atmosphere
Omg i LOVE the Ocean at the End of the Lane!!! Also want to read the Graveyard book!
For me, the writing of The Raven Cycle gave me massive ✨vibes✨It was so autumny and the writing felt so nice? I don't know how to describe it. I made it my yearly routine to read those books during Autumn lol.
Thanks for the reccomendations, I need some ✨vibes✨in my life right now.
omg yes those books are amazing!!
Do they have a found family? (BC I'm looking for found family books)
@yasmine choerry's cherry yes!!! literally the definitely of chaotic found family
@@yasminechoerryscherry3701 late reply but it also has a great depiction of non nuclear family imo, its like treated as perfectly normal and they all obviously love each other even though they clash and quarrel at times
Is it young adult??
I recommend emily wildes encyclopaedia of faeries. It has wintery vibes, a main character who is an academic and interesting faeries and magic
Oh I have to put that on my TBR!!
Yes!! I loved it!
Finally some Slavic folklore, we really need to see it more often in books
i was going to say the exact same thing
One of the best "Top books" review videos I've seen! The way she calmly discusses each book while handling it throughout is perfect! In most other videos, you have to rewind to catch the book's name, author, or details due to the high speed of speech. This video allows you to completely understand the vibe of each book. Another feature I like is the background-not her library-making it easier to focus on her speech without being distracted by books on a shelf. Great job! 😊
For Neil Gaiman, I highly highly highly recommend starting with The Ocean at the End of the Lane!! It’s an adult fantasy novella and it is so beautiful and a little spooky and just so brilliant!! And it’s short - less than 200 pages!
I would also recommend "Heartless" by Marissa Meyer (same author of the Lunar Chronicles). It is the backstory for the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland, has incredible vibes, stays true to the og story, and is a great romance! (Be forwarned, the descriptions of the food will make you hungry) . Alice in Wonderland is also a great "no plot just vibes book". Both are fantastic!
The night circus has been on my TBR for the longest and I’m not gonna lie your description of it makes me want to read it now even without a plot 😅
yesss give it a try!!
i really loved it, you can just FEEL like you’re inside the book, it’s so magical
khalilah and the book leo in the same comments?!?
i AM in the right channel 📚❤🤩
The Night Circus was the first book I got COMPLETELY lost and immersed in since I was a kid. I love books and reading, but this one brought me right back to that hyper imaginative childlike wonder state. It’s phenomenal!
Yes, read it ❤
I LOVED The Bear and the Nightingale. As a fellow dutchie, it gave me major Efteling vibes. I absolutely loved reading this during winter while listening to fireplace/blizzard sounds.
this video comes right on time for my ✨no plot just vibes✨ era. love it for us girlies
I read A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher and really liked it even though it was not really thrilling but rather a comfy and fluffy story combined with action. I think its definitely more a book for just vibing along, cause the action in the book is not very twisted even though it is about murder at the first place . But I still would grab some other books from Kingfisher because she writes well, a bit witty and is really creative.
T Kingfisher is the absolute best!! Swordheart got me into fantasy again!
Yeah, I was a little surprised the vibes here weren't any cozy vibes books. Legends and Lattes was the obvious book I was expecting (which is really good), but I did also enjoy the wizards guide to defensive baking as well. The third book in that sort of cozy vibe was Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. I liked all of them as nice light palate cleanser between reading more epic fantasy or multi-book fantasy series.
@@michaelbodell7740 agree :)
@@michaelbodell7740 I think she was going for more atmospheric, gothic or mysterious vibes and not cozy
I just read howls moving castle this year and then rewatched the movie (that i love to death but lets be honest it also kind of doesnt make complete sense) and i feel like theres a lot more hints at romance, or theres a better progression towards romance (?? Idk how else to say it aah) in the book compared to the movie. In the movie i feel like its kind of sudden that they love each other (more so from howls side, i think sophie shows it more throughout the movie). But in the books its much more obvious that howl loves sophie too and that sophie is jealous of other characters close to howl. So yes, thats just my opinion on that haha
I completely agree! I love the vibes of the movie, but the romance in the books is just perfect imo ❤️
And they're married in the sequels.
@@najawin8348 ive only read the first one, because ive read that sophie and howl dont play a big role in the 2nd and 3rd book? 👀🙊
@@sonaka95 They don't, but they show up in each iirc. Been, you know, a decade since I read them. Certainly they're mentioned and some of the characters from the first book show up. Can't recall if it's Howl + Sophie specifically.
She has a tendency to do this, sequels where the main characters change. Look at the Chrestomanci series. You have, uh, 5.5 different main characters across 6 books, though many of the characters overlap and interweave. Derkholm does the same thing with its two books. I've only read Deep Secret, but I heard Merlin Conspiracy is a sequel that uses a side character as well.
The romance in the book felt extremely rushed to me in the last 5 pages or whatever it was. Like the ending was just awkward. I'm not really a fan bc it had too many side characters I didn't care about
i LIVE for books w no plot just simply vibes 😭😭 obviously i love books with brilliant plots, but i really don’t need one to deeply enjoy a book. good vibes & good characters and i’m hooked 💘
Currently reading Juliet Marillier’s “Heart’s Blood”. Kind of a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” that manages to be surprising and riveting. She generally writes romantic historical fantasies steeped in Irish history and mythology, I think her works could fit in with your prompt.
Bookending your list with both books by Erin Morgenstern just got you 100 credibility points from me hahaha! The Night Circus was the first book where I thought, "Oh, I have a favorite book now!" after I read it! Never had a favorite book before I read that. I'll definitely be looking at all the books you mention here
Tress and the Emerald Sea was very atmospheric imo, so highly recommend that one!
queen how are you literally perfect in every thumbnail? pop off
The Starless Sea is very good, please don’t put it off. I read it this past December and I’m already doing a re-read.
The whole video is absolutely gorgeous. The lighting, your look, the color palette, THE BOOKS! It’s just ✨vibes✨ all around.
OH I LOVE THE NIGHT CIRCUS! ah my entire heart, the way the vibes were tangible, my soul felt like it was full of fireflies when I finished reading the last line. "I'm not afraid of you." and "I wished for her." scenes have my heart. I did something super cheesy okay please don't judge. Taking inspiration from this, since Marco knew he wanted her without knowing her properly at all and just knew that there was some connection, I kind of made like a space on different platforms like my social media or Pinterest or my messenger app which I named "I wished for him" and I've been saving things I'd like to experience with my soulmate there, cuz yes I believe in soulmates nothing can really change my mind. but yeah. I keep adding ideas for dates, or thoughts I have at the moment, or idk future house aesthetic, whatever it may be. and whenever we get together I'll show it to him. heuheuheuheuheuheuheuehuehuehueheuheuehuehueheuheuheuheuehuehuehueuhee im sorry this is the first time I've talked to another human? website? RUclips? about it. ok bye
That's the sweetest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life...and now I think I'm gonna try it
just Leonie looking like spring herself🌷
Thank you for the great video as usual 🤗
I loved The Winternight trilogy!It's true that we don't get that much introspective. Personally, that didn't make me feel detached from the characters but made it very interesting to get to know them, exactly bc they aren't like an open book. It forces you to think more about the things we DO get. So even little interactions felt more intense
(Books 2 and 3 pick up a faster pace and are more plot-heavy btw so if you didn't like book one, you should still give the next one a chance)
V 🎉 I 🎉 B 🎉 E 🎉 S
exactly
@@TheBookLeo please put some more video about this kind of🥺please.......
The Bear and the Nightingale will be so so close to my heart 🥺💙
Near the same time I read Piranesi I heard Debussy's Underwater Cathedral for the first time and the vibes of the song go so well with the book, I could almost see the statues described on the book, and Piranesi roaming the halls, listening to the waves... I highly recommend checking both out!
I highly recommend Laini Taylor’s short story collection (and her other works). For graphic novels The Tea Dragon Society series (cozy and wholesome) and Monstress (dark and folklory). The rest of Susanna Clarke’s works also fit well here. Planning to pick up Rebecca Ross, Helene Wecker and Heather Fawcett soon.
I just posted a Fourth Wing reading vlog, and that book has put me in such a fantasy era! I keep reading fantasy books trying to find those Fourth Wing 'vibes' again.
I would very much argue in favor of Howl's Moving Castle being about the romance, the main defining difference in that romance compared to the movie is that the book is entirely about Sophie's personal struggles with societal roles/expectations and even gender, and that characterization when combined with book howl makes it much more of a romcom than the movie, which doesn't focus nearly as much on Sophie's internal struggles(or at least extremely mischaracterizes them and her motivations).
There's more layers to the storytelling in the book as its so character driven, but the romance between Sophie and Howl plays a key role in Sophie allowing herself to take up space in the world. (And its also better bc both of those characters have way more nuance in the book imo)
I love the movie and I finally read the book this year. The story makes waaaay more sense in the book..! and yeah the book is better imo but the movie is still a great watch :)
You described perfectly what I felt reading the night circus. I finished it in like in 3 days becouse it was so magical and immersive but after I finished it I was like "nothing happens but It was a vibe😂"
I'm now reading the starless sea and I'm loving it! The plot is amazing and really complicated, everything is coming together in the end and the writing and the atmosphere of magic are really amazing.
I read the folk of the air trilogy because of you and i ADORED it and ever since then have been obsessed with fairies and fairytale vibes. I wanted to read more books with that sort of magical, dark, fairytale vibes but i didn't know what to read and then i see that you posted a video on that exact topic. Oh i love you so much for this video.🥺🥰❤️❤️
I love that you mentioned the artist Piranesi. His art influences so much of the book.
I really liked Strange the Dreamer (particularly the first half). I also want to read more Kingfisher.
Piranesi was absolutely spectacular
Starless Sea and Strange The Dreamer are two of my favorites ✨️
I have a bowl of strawberries and I am ready for the new video!
Also, because of your recommendation of Penryn & the End of Days in "a retrospective on teen dystopian books" I read the whole series in like a week. And I had fun!
aa im so happy you liked that series!!
so glad you have the starless sea!! I read it before Night Circus and loved it way way more. It is so vibey so storytell-y. I really hope you enjoy it!
oh no haha just commented how I read that one and was finally convinced to now also give the Night Circus a go - but I was absolutely blown away by the Starless Sea !
I can't believe this!! Iwas literally watching leo's old videos yesterday looking for fantasy recommendations and now this video is here❤️❤️❤️
I JUST added The Night Circus to my wishlist! Great motivation to buy it now, thanks!
first time seeing sorcery of thorns on youtube, its like my favorite book ever. so good....
you always give me the motivation i need to grab a book and read for hours. thank you ❤
Immediately went and got Piranesi after this recommendation and I was NOT disappointed.
Almost finished it; it's wonderful.
I feel like the night circus has such a nice plot lol
I would like to point out that TWO of these books, Spinning Silver and Juniper & Thorn, heavily feature Judaism, and as a Jewish girly, I’m loving it 😍
(not sure about Uprooted, which is the same author as Spinning Silver, cause I’ve never read it.)
Edit: Three books, including the Wolf and the Woodsman!
Leonie please read annarasumanara (the manhwa not the k-drama)! It's about a girl who meets a magician who is kinda like an urban legend to the townsfolk since it is said he can do real magic and is said to wander around the abandoned amusement park in the town.
As for Neil Gaiman books, I just read The Graveyard Book, by Gaiman. It was described to me as "The Jungle Book but set on a graveyard" very viby. About a boy who grows up on an old graveyard, surrounded by ghosts and other nightly creatures. Also, of course, Coraline. And if you read comics, I can also highly recommend The Sandman comics.
I LOVE Neil Gaiman but Neverwhere wasn’t my favorite. My first foray into Gaiman was Coraline when I was a kid and I’m a spooky girly so I find it atmospheric and cozy. For this genre I’m going to echo others and say Ocean and the End of the Lane. That book was just magical 😭 Graveyard book too!
My FAVORITE Neil Gaiman book is The Ocean at the End of the Lane! Dark fairytale vibes told from the perspective of a 7 year old boy (but this is firmly an adult novel) that includes witches and monsters. The Graveyard Book is another one that I love by him
Momo, Michael Ende.
The ocean at the end of the lane, Neil Gaiman.
Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett. Nation, same author.
The city of dreaming books, Walter Moers.
Hi!! Absolutely love your videos, and even started reading six of crows because I heard about it on your channel and I am currently loving it, thank you for the dedication you put to giving us content! Hope to see more of your videos soon!
I liked how you introduced the vibes and atmosphere of each book through images and descriptions! It really brought me into the setting of each of book. It was also interesting that you recommended books that you didn't get into like the bear and the nightingale and sorcery of thorns because the vibes might be enough for someone to enjoy. I have spinning silver on my shelf and I can't wait to finally read it! Since I loved howl's moving castle the movie, I would love to add the book to my tbr
I haven’t read a lot of fantasy books and I really want to get into it (but I don’t know where to start) so your recommendations are very well appreciated!! cannot wait to deep dive into this genre
also I blindly bought Piranesi a few weeks ago and you completely convinced me to read it asap!! I have a degree in art history and was wondering if the title had any relation to the artist!
I absolutely love the way you structured this video, it works so so well 💕 Piranesi is one of my all time time favourite books and your description of it must be the best i have ever heard! Please make more in this style if you feel like it 😊
you NEED to read Starless Sea! i wish i read Night Circus before Starless because i actually found it more underwhelming than Starless, so it would be nice progression. It’s my favourite book of all time😩
So u mean I should read the night circus before starless sea? Thankyou in advance!
The Bear and the Nightingale and Howl's Moving Castle 🥺 I love them so much!
literally stack my tbr purely based on ✨vibes✨so this is much appreciated leonie
The night circus is the best. I really need to reread it. I literally cried when the book ended, i didnt wanna leave😭
Oh my goodness The Startouched Queen sounds so good, it’s been a long time since a description of a book made me so excited to read it! I love the way you described all of the books and added pictures and everything!
Ooooh I just finished The Night Circus last Friday and instantly started looking for some clothes for an all-black victorian-esque outfit with a single red detail lol
If you loved flower bride, you will also love strange the dreamer. Very similar vibes and prose and themes, although the ending I drastically different when it comes to theme haha
a rec's that my personnal chocolate-hug-confy-fantasy favorite is Once Upon a Broken Heart, from Stephanie Garber! I know it's after the caraval serie but you really just *FEEL* the vibe and it's like living the fairy tail, it's cute, it's cosy, I love the atmosphere, just giving me a warm hug
sorry for my spellings mistakes, not my natal language
(and if you read the book, don't talk about the end of the two, just don't deni the ant vibeeee)
Fantasy is far and away my favorite fiction genre! Love getting recommendations from you! P.S. I love Susanna Clarke's writing: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was an excellent book!
I would also recommend Stephanie Garaber’s Once Upon A Broken Heart series - the worldbuilding is so whimsical and the storytelling is really mysterious in the way it unfolds. I would honestly want to stay in that world forever.
OH im so happy to be here early! im in my finals week and life hasn’t been the kindest, so it’s so so lovely to see you upload 🥺 and ive been craving vibe-y books, so it feels perfect! Hope youre always doing well ❤
A fabulous vibes book list Leonie! If you like unreliable narrators a la Piranesi and creepy faerie atmospheres I think you'd enjoy Among Others by Jo Walton, Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (it's middle grade, but suitable for all ages), and Little, Big by John Crowley.
Love the pictures you included to show a sense of the aesthetics and mood of each book! Helped me get into the mindset of the different stories. Great video 🧡
starless sea is very different from the Night Circus, but I really enjoyed it as well.
If you want vibes from Gaiman maybe try Sandman? It's quite dark (while Stardust is lovely fairy-tale-esque), but it screams vibes.
And not exactly in the theme, but atmospheric reminds me of cosy, and for cosy reads I have to reccommend the Moomins. The suprisingly deep stories about friendly trolls, what's more to need?
ahhh i'm so happy you posted, i literally squaked when i saw your video!! the graveyard book by neil gaiman has great spooky cosy vibes and is about a boy who lives in a graveyard and is raised by the resident ghosts. it's very fun, endearing, and perfect for halloween. the audiobook slaps as well.
Yes, the Graveyard Book!!! Loved it!
Read Emily wildes encyclopaedia of faeries!! It's adorable and I think you'd enjoy it as the protagonist is an academic xx
I love Piranesi. So glad you included it. The Starless Sea has stories within stories. I'm keen to know your thoughts about it compared to The Night Circus.
I think something that will fit in here is In the House in the Dark of the Woods! Short short book, sort of a retelling of Red Riding Hood + some others- very spooky (i think its sort of soft horror), gothic, witch in the woods thing. Loved it
I love ultra immersion but am also a huge fan of the ✨️feeling✨️ of being elsewhere.
I am currently rereading LOTR though so I get both😂🩵
Thank you for making this list. I have only recently begun to appreciate the impact og vibes on my enjoyment of a series. Most of the recommendations out there are story, character or action based. This is a breath of fresh air.
If it's not too much to ask. Could you recommend books that give off similar vibes as Gravity Falls, The Graveyard Book, The remarkable journey of Coyote Sunrise? Basically a magical new world hidden in ours with interesting characters that share a bond of friendship, romance etc.
with Howl's Moving Castle, especially if you're only familiar with the movie, my god, when you get to the parts that're different from the movie, you have to take a step back and be like "did that just happen?" It's almost like a fourth wall break but not really.
For Neil Gaiman, I loved Neverwhere, though, to be fair, I listened to the BBC radio drama of it long before I read the book. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is absolutely weird, it's not super linear and has more magical realism vibes but I loved it. The Graveyard Book is a beloved of mine, I can read it over and over. I haven't read American Gods, it never really interested me, but Anansi Boys I find really really good. I've only seen the movies for Stardust and Coraline, but I hear the book versions are much darker than the movie versions. I've read all the Interworld books he cowrote with Michael Reeves and his daughter Mallory, but they are definitely more scifi.
For Neil Gaiman books, my favorites are the graveyard book, American Gods, and good omens. Stardust and Coraline are also really great as well! I think you would especially like the graveyard book. Another one that a lot of people seem to really like that I didn't fully connect with is the ocean at the end of the lane
this video caters to me specifically I want to read all of these now, I've been having trouble finding fantasy I like recently
My fav is defo The School for Good and Evil but mostly the Camelot series as that gets dark, as well as loving Sophie’s character development! plus loving your channel 🥰
The Ten Thousand Door of January by Alix E. Harrow is a good one to get lost in!! Loved it
The night circus was definitely one of the most vibey and incredible books I’ve read, very glad this was included in the list. I remember finding it in my local library and thinking the cover looked cool, it wasn’t but a few seconds after reading did I realize that I absolutely fell in love with the book.
Happy birthday! I could see you giving Lucy Worsley vibes as a tour guide. I would definitely follow you.
The Winternight trilogy feels like "just folklore" bc it is. It's an expansition of a Russian folk tale.
This is the first video of yours I’ve ever seen and I love the distinct feeling that I’m at a wine tasting for books
I was just looking for a good fantasy rec Leonie is always there to help me ❤
If you’re just going for vibes, I think The Ocean at the End of the Lane has the highest ratio of atmosphere to plot of Gaiman’s novels. After that I would actually probably say Neverwhere although it doesn’t get recommended at often as his other novels. It was my first Gaiman novel after Coraline. It takes place in “London Below” which is an entire second London underground comprised of lost, forgotten, or discarded people, places, creatures, and ideas. It’s grimy and eerie and violent and absurd like a fever dream. The weakest point of the book is just a useless kind of boring main character.
I mostly read fantasy books for the vibes so thx for the reccoms 🙏🙏
Loved all the recommendation and the way you explained the vibe of every book ❤️‼️
I feel like "Shadow and Bone" also would fit this. It is often critizised for having not a lot of plot but when I read it I actually really enjoyed Alina learning about her magical talents, making friends, etc.
Strange the Dreamer was my favorite fantasy book that I read last year. Stardust I only read 2 weeks ago and it was great, too! It is quite short which sometimes is hard to find in the fantasy genre.
Just wanted to say that I recently read the night circus after watching your videos and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT ! Definitely a new all time favourite
Further vibe- y book Recs: 1. house of hollow by Krystal Sutherland- vibes: dark fairy tale portals- decaying flowers 2. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jobes: vibes: evil fae lovers/ lost memories/ dreamy Magick
The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers is one of my all time favourite books and it‘s definitely 🦄🌸🦋VIBES🪲🍄🤝 it‘s so crazy but I love it. Rumo‘s Miraculous Adventures by Moers is even better but it’s adventure/action/gory whereas Bluebear is like an acid trip.
T. Kingfisher is really great for nice vibe reads. I read Nettle & Bone in one day and it was so much fun. A House with Good Bones is another good one, very nature horror vibes but not too heavy
If you want a atmospheric Neil Gaiman book i recommend Coraline, Stardust and The Graveyard Book.
Hello from Spain, i LOVE your content and your earrings!!!!
I love the vibes of this video and the books seem so interesting, thank you leonie for always reccomending amazing books 💗
Leo, thank you so much for always recommending the house at the cerulean sea. I loved it so much
Neil gaiman - ocean at the end of The lane more magical realism than fantasy but if that’s your preference, a great book. I found Out I do not like magical realism so much, but still great writing