I watch most booktube content because its cosy and satisfying but youre one of the only ones that i watch for actual recommendations on top of great cosy content! Youre so eloquent about books and so good at explaining why things work or dont work for you that i can actually apply it to my taste tho our taste dont exactly match :) That was a long winded way of saying youre awesome, loved the video
This was a really entertaining reading experience. There were some surprising results like with the Legendborn. It was interesting to hear why the five books you read worked for you. I would love to see a part 2 with a different genre. This is an excellent method to whittle down TBR. Hopefully :D You could end up liking all 10 books.
I've been asking myself the same question lately, as I try opening chapters from YA fantasy and give up and DNF very early on. Excited to see your results!
I read a bit of Ya after discovering booktube and I've come to the conclusion that I need the author to give me a reason their protagonists are not adults if I am to like the book. I don't know of many...
I’ve dipped my toes in adult fantasy lately and I actually feel like I enjoy YA or YA crossover more. The book leo just did a video reading YA fantasy also and I like what she had to say at the end. Something about the themes in YA just hit for me better personally even though I’m almost 30 🙈
I agree that the "YA" label seems to be mostly about themes and protagonist age, so it totally makes sense to me that many readers will continue to enjoy regardless of age
I love how well you are able to articulate why you enjoy certain books over others. It is so nice to hear someone be so analytical about reading but in a positive way. Also, after watching your videos I always know whether I'll enjoy a book or not. I'm eager to try Spin the Dawn. I used to inhale YA fantasy but over time I have been having trouble getting into it and I'm definitely more picky. Recently I enjoyed Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer. Loved Warcross when I read it a few years back. Super fast and fun!
This was a really interesting video. I've also gotten pickier about YA fantasy, though I hadn't yet tried to articulate clearly why that is. Watching this, I realized I also want primarily entertainment from this genre, and, for me I think that usually comes in the form of vibes and atmosphere or an interesting setting. I think understanding that will help me make better choices when I pick up YA fantasy titles, so thank you!
I've definitely found my interest in YA dwindling as I head out of my 20s. I do still like them for a quick read, and unique premises always interest me, but a lot of the "mainstream" YA seems melodramatic now 😅
This was such a fun video! I hope you do more projects like this in the future. Makes me want to do something similar with genres that have overstayed on my TBR.
I've definitely grown away from YA fantasy in the past few years, particularly because of how romance focused a lot of them are, now I mostly just reread old favorites if I want one because I've become so picky lol
Me too. I used to think it was just outgrowing young romance, and maybe that's part of it, but then when I recall my favorite YA fantasy when I was a teenager myself, I didn't usually care for heavy romance elements then either.
I'm doing this with my backlog of OwlCrate books, which used to have a lot more variety but has turned into exclusively YA fantasy, lol. I've gotten rid of a few, and a few have surprised me based on first chapters. I want to get to my BOTM books, as well.
This was fun! I still have yet to DNF anything but maybe someday I'll become more ruthless...I have Spin the Dawn and this reminded me I still need to get to it lol but if you love asian inspired fantasy with a cool unique magic system you should 100% check out A Magic Steeped in Poison (it's also only a duology so it checks all of your YA fantasy boxes)
@@bookslikewhoa someday maybe hahaha at least everything I’m reading right now is SO good (hero of ages in physical, and my audio is a game of thrones so… 🤣)
i read the girl of fire and thorns trilogy by rae carson a few years ago and it was such a good "older" YA series with a lot of those classic tropes BUT with really good writing!
If you like Asian-inspired fantasy, you need to read A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy Lin! It’s a YA duology and the second book comes out this August. It’s all about tea!
I've definitely become pickier with YA lit, but I read Warcross when it came out and loooved it. DNFed the sequel, though. just couldn't get invested in it. I'm glad to see you enjoyed Warcross too!
It's been a hot minute since I really enjoyed a YA fantasy. I've read some solid middle grade fantasy, though. I particularly loved "The Girl Who Drank the Moon". I also recently reread the Howl's Moving Castle books and they're my ultimate comfort read. PS "fish or cut bait" is a MUCH classier version of the adage I know. 😆
Oh I'm putting Broken wish in my tbr then. I'm a fan of Winternight trilogy and I've been looking for more retellings that are cozy like you described and/or dark with certain specific themes and written like a fairytale so, probably right up my alley.
I used to read YA fantasy as buddy read with my oldest child. Now that we don't I find myself not choosing them but I listened with interest to your recommendations. I was considering the western one based on your reviews, also maybe Warcross. So thank you for a most interesting view as always!
I think even in my YA peak I gravitated more towards dystopian or scifi. ALSO based on this you should follow Jess and read Catfishing on CatNet. One of the most underrated YA speculative books and one of the few I gave 5 stars and it was for entertainment value
Legendborn pulled me out of a reading slump when I read it last year, but I am a sucker for any kind of Retelling. In hindsight, there are a couple of issues I have with some of the story structure, but it was a fun read.
My reading taste has definitely shifted the older I get. Not so much the genres. SFF and historical are still my top genres, but I'm more into adult now. I'm very picky about YA bc the many of them recycle the same tropes ad nauseum. I don't like romance anymore. I may read 1 per year. I prefer romance inside of another genre being the focus. I've really been dipping into thriller, mystery/noir, and light horror. Paranormal.
I’m currently listening to legendborn and asked myself the same question about whether I still like YA. To be clear, Legendborn is not the reason I asked myself this question, just emphasised it. I think the writing is fine, the story and protagonist are great and I think many concepts are explored in a differentiated and careful way. I would say the pacing is super quick (falls in love and learns about magic in 5 days) and there are instances of info dumping. I don’t love it and for my personal enjoyment it’s ‘just’ perfectly fine (3 stars=I like it). But I think that me as a teen would have really liked, even loved this book (4-5 stars). Thanks for the video and your perspective :) Update on legendborn: the book does many things really really well. Especially the last part of the book gripped me, even though I don’t care for the Arthurian part of the story.
YA (in its current form) fantasy has really surprised me in how much I've enjoyed it, though there's still a lot I haven't read. I think my favorite so far has been Dread Nation, which I fell completely in love with in spite of not caring much for zombie stories. I'm eager to check out Walk on Earth a Stranger--like you, I only like Westerns when they're fantasy or SF.
I found myself losing interest in YA fantasy when the market flooded and I started finding more duds than wins. I find myself reaching for YA contemporary less too these days though. Maybe I’ll get back into it someday?
Beautiful I just read and I read Dracula at the beginning of this year and everything I loved of Dracula shows in Beautiful! I tried the second book in the series and dnf after like 30pgs but Beautiful I loved!
I've almost given up on YA fantasy because I haven't read a single one that I gave more than 4 stars and most are 2 or 3 stars. Even the Six of Crows duology which a lot of people think is among the best YA fantasy I thought was very meh. YA sci-fi might work for me since I liked the Scythe series and Skyward series by Sanderson, but there aren't as many YA sci-fi books that get a lot of buzz. I've also had success with YA mystery (Truly Devious and Good Girl's Guide to Murder) since the mystery plot in those stories can still entertain me. I think fantasy without good world building falls really flat for me and a lot of YA fantasy has very shallow world building.
Know you said you don't like historical fantasy but you did say you like fantasies w/ Asian settings and ones that are inspired by fairytales or folklore so I highly recommend She Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. It's easily my fav YA book of 2022. If it helps its a standalone fantasy as well
I was bummed that you DNFed The Rest of us Just Live Here until you said you are looking for plot driven without a lot of themes. If you have already, you should try The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Or Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith for speculative fiction. I’m a teen librarian BTW. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is also good. Anything by Adrienne Young or Tricia Levenseller is good too.
Probably silly question, but I tried googling first, what is Self-satisfying writing? I’m asking to try to whittle down if that’s something that bothers me or not. Thanks to anyone who answers :)
I think it's writing that sounds like the author is very impressed with themselves. You get the feeling the author is thinking "look at how clever I am" as they were writing it.
I think she means low stress books that are quick reads in between heavier or more complex books/stories. Similar to popcorn films. You can read um in a day for something light and fun and then move on to other books.
I don’t want to answer for Mara but she has used this term before and I believe she means if she is in a reading slump or has been binging on say several mysteries back to back and she want a change of pace then she calls books a pallet cleanser if the booklet is quick (usually no sequels) and it’s “fun”. It’s a books that’s a transitional book, its a good time, worth reading but not 5 stars.
While I really loved Where Dreams Descend, it is probably for the best that you DNF... honestly, book 2 was a huge letdown anyways so it kind of brought the whole thing down. Spin the DAwn is one I have been meaning to read for a while, I read her other book Six CRimson Cranes and had a fun time with it too.
Thank you for your insights on The Beautiful. I absolutely love The Wrath and the Dawn duology, love me a scharazhad retelling, and was thinking about trying some of her other books. None sounded particularly interesting and now I feel confident in not going to her back list!
I love Legendborn, but I think it's best on audiobook. If you still don't like it on audio, then DNF away. Flamecaster, however, is a spinoff of a far superior series, the old school classic Seven Realms series. Book one is The Demon King. Again, give that one a go and if you don't like it, feel free to toss it, but you deffff shouldn't start with Flamecaster
I've been moving away from YA, especially YA fantasy over the past 4 years. There are still some YA series and standalones I pick up and love, but typically I find the books to not be of a high quality, the dialogue to be very sloppy and the plots to be lacking. A lot of popular YA fantasy books are very tropey or seem to have a "buzzword" reason why the series shot to popularity. I like a higher level of quality in my books and I have a hard time with YA, since I feel the quality isn't there I am less drawn to keep trying it. Middlegrade however I have found to be a delightful age range with some FANTASTIC and well written books over the past few years, so I don't agree with those that argue that YA gets talked down to because of the age range of the protagonists....I've read middlegrade books this year that blew the YA top picks out of the water and those protagonists are 10 LOL. YA is such a catchall category in publishing and it feels very much a marketing ploy, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks vs curating quality books.
This was incredibly interesting. I loved it. Personally, I have a new gage for YA, chosen one fantasy. If I think Amari would beat her ass, I’m out.
Omggggggg... I am obsessed with that criteria 💀
I watch most booktube content because its cosy and satisfying but youre one of the only ones that i watch for actual recommendations on top of great cosy content! Youre so eloquent about books and so good at explaining why things work or dont work for you that i can actually apply it to my taste tho our taste dont exactly match :) That was a long winded way of saying youre awesome, loved the video
Aw, thank you!
This was a really entertaining reading experience. There were some surprising results like with the Legendborn. It was interesting to hear why the five books you read worked for you. I would love to see a part 2 with a different genre. This is an excellent method to whittle down TBR. Hopefully :D You could end up liking all 10 books.
Glad you enjoyed it! I really liked doing this so may try again
I've been asking myself the same question lately, as I try opening chapters from YA fantasy and give up and DNF very early on. Excited to see your results!
I read a bit of Ya after discovering booktube and I've come to the conclusion that I need the author to give me a reason their protagonists are not adults if I am to like the book. I don't know of many...
lol WELL SAID and a very valid question
I’ve dipped my toes in adult fantasy lately and I actually feel like I enjoy YA or YA crossover more. The book leo just did a video reading YA fantasy also and I like what she had to say at the end. Something about the themes in YA just hit for me better personally even though I’m almost 30 🙈
I agree that the "YA" label seems to be mostly about themes and protagonist age, so it totally makes sense to me that many readers will continue to enjoy regardless of age
I like these thematic reading vlogs. Makes me want to do the same !
I love how well you are able to articulate why you enjoy certain books over others. It is so nice to hear someone be so analytical about reading but in a positive way. Also, after watching your videos I always know whether I'll enjoy a book or not. I'm eager to try Spin the Dawn. I used to inhale YA fantasy but over time I have been having trouble getting into it and I'm definitely more picky. Recently I enjoyed Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer. Loved Warcross when I read it a few years back. Super fast and fun!
I'm glad I can help!
I like that you say a book isn't for you if you're not digging it and don't go nuts about it being a bad book, like some reviewers do.
This was a really interesting video. I've also gotten pickier about YA fantasy, though I hadn't yet tried to articulate clearly why that is. Watching this, I realized I also want primarily entertainment from this genre, and, for me I think that usually comes in the form of vibes and atmosphere or an interesting setting. I think understanding that will help me make better choices when I pick up YA fantasy titles, so thank you!
I've definitely found my interest in YA dwindling as I head out of my 20s. I do still like them for a quick read, and unique premises always interest me, but a lot of the "mainstream" YA seems melodramatic now 😅
This was such a fun video! I hope you do more projects like this in the future. Makes me want to do something similar with genres that have overstayed on my TBR.
Go for it!
YA Fantasy very hit or miss (mostly miss) for me but you have inspired me to reevaluate my 600+ book TBR❤📚 ❤
Haha, oh boy, GOOD LUCK! :)
I've definitely grown away from YA fantasy in the past few years, particularly because of how romance focused a lot of them are, now I mostly just reread old favorites if I want one because I've become so picky lol
Same.
Me too. I used to think it was just outgrowing young romance, and maybe that's part of it, but then when I recall my favorite YA fantasy when I was a teenager myself, I didn't usually care for heavy romance elements then either.
I'm doing this with my backlog of OwlCrate books, which used to have a lot more variety but has turned into exclusively YA fantasy, lol. I've gotten rid of a few, and a few have surprised me based on first chapters. I want to get to my BOTM books, as well.
If only you made more videos on ya fantasy! I enjoyed this one immensely. ❤
This was fun! I still have yet to DNF anything but maybe someday I'll become more ruthless...I have Spin the Dawn and this reminded me I still need to get to it lol but if you love asian inspired fantasy with a cool unique magic system you should 100% check out A Magic Steeped in Poison (it's also only a duology so it checks all of your YA fantasy boxes)
DNFing is so liberating 💆♀️
@@bookslikewhoa someday maybe hahaha at least everything I’m reading right now is SO good (hero of ages in physical, and my audio is a game of thrones so… 🤣)
I've got Spin the Dawn on my shelves and I'm still excited about reading it
i read the girl of fire and thorns trilogy by rae carson a few years ago and it was such a good "older" YA series with a lot of those classic tropes BUT with really good writing!
I've heard great things about that series - it doesn't surprise me, since the writing in Walk on Earth a Stranger was so good!
Basically the second I started working in the Teen Room at my library, my YA reading plummeted!
I really liked Legendborn. It did start a little slow, but picked up a lot in the middle. I’m very excited about the sequel!
I'm so glad! I could totally see people liking it more than I did if they liked the writing
If you like Asian-inspired fantasy, you need to read A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy Lin! It’s a YA duology and the second book comes out this August. It’s all about tea!
I've definitely become pickier with YA lit, but I read Warcross when it came out and loooved it. DNFed the sequel, though. just couldn't get invested in it. I'm glad to see you enjoyed Warcross too!
It's been a hot minute since I really enjoyed a YA fantasy. I've read some solid middle grade fantasy, though. I particularly loved "The Girl Who Drank the Moon". I also recently reread the Howl's Moving Castle books and they're my ultimate comfort read.
PS "fish or cut bait" is a MUCH classier version of the adage I know. 😆
Oh, I do also love rereading Tamora Pierce as a comfort/ nostalgia read
Oh I'm putting Broken wish in my tbr then. I'm a fan of Winternight trilogy and I've been looking for more retellings that are cozy like you described and/or dark with certain specific themes and written like a fairytale so, probably right up my alley.
Hope you enjoy it!
I used to read YA fantasy as buddy read with my oldest child. Now that we don't I find myself not choosing them but I listened with interest to your recommendations. I was considering the western one based on your reviews, also maybe Warcross. So thank you for a most interesting view as always!
Glad you enjoyed! :)
I think even in my YA peak I gravitated more towards dystopian or scifi. ALSO based on this you should follow Jess and read Catfishing on CatNet. One of the most underrated YA speculative books and one of the few I gave 5 stars and it was for entertainment value
👀👀👀 Noted!
Legendborn pulled me out of a reading slump when I read it last year, but I am a sucker for any kind of Retelling. In hindsight, there are a couple of issues I have with some of the story structure, but it was a fun read.
If you liked Rae Carson's writing, I recommend her first Fantasy trilogy: The girl of fire & thorn. As YA goes it is top tier for me.
My reading taste has definitely shifted the older I get. Not so much the genres. SFF and historical are still my top genres, but I'm more into adult now. I'm very picky about YA bc the many of them recycle the same tropes ad nauseum.
I don't like romance anymore. I may read 1 per year. I prefer romance inside of another genre being the focus.
I've really been dipping into thriller, mystery/noir, and light horror. Paranormal.
I’m currently listening to legendborn and asked myself the same question about whether I still like YA. To be clear, Legendborn is not the reason I asked myself this question, just emphasised it. I think the writing is fine, the story and protagonist are great and I think many concepts are explored in a differentiated and careful way. I would say the pacing is super quick (falls in love and learns about magic in 5 days) and there are instances of info dumping. I don’t love it and for my personal enjoyment it’s ‘just’ perfectly fine (3 stars=I like it). But I think that me as a teen would have really liked, even loved this book (4-5 stars).
Thanks for the video and your perspective :)
Update on legendborn: the book does many things really really well. Especially the last part of the book gripped me, even though I don’t care for the Arthurian part of the story.
I also had the same problem with the writing in Legrndborn and I was sure I would give that 5 stars too.
YA (in its current form) fantasy has really surprised me in how much I've enjoyed it, though there's still a lot I haven't read. I think my favorite so far has been Dread Nation, which I fell completely in love with in spite of not caring much for zombie stories. I'm eager to check out Walk on Earth a Stranger--like you, I only like Westerns when they're fantasy or SF.
Dread Nation was fantastic!
War Cross and Walk On Earth a Stranger sound fascinating.
I found myself losing interest in YA fantasy when the market flooded and I started finding more duds than wins. I find myself reaching for YA contemporary less too these days though. Maybe I’ll get back into it someday?
I’m very similar! I’ve grown out of teen drama and romance books, but I still enjoy YA fantasy or mystery.
I gave The Rest of Us Just Live Here three separate tries and could not get into it. It felt very "I'm not like other books" try hard-y.
Beautiful I just read and I read Dracula at the beginning of this year and everything I loved of Dracula shows in Beautiful! I tried the second book in the series and dnf after like 30pgs but Beautiful I loved!
Wonderful! I could see it working for other people better than me, so I'm glad you liked it!
I've almost given up on YA fantasy because I haven't read a single one that I gave more than 4 stars and most are 2 or 3 stars. Even the Six of Crows duology which a lot of people think is among the best YA fantasy I thought was very meh. YA sci-fi might work for me since I liked the Scythe series and Skyward series by Sanderson, but there aren't as many YA sci-fi books that get a lot of buzz. I've also had success with YA mystery (Truly Devious and Good Girl's Guide to Murder) since the mystery plot in those stories can still entertain me. I think fantasy without good world building falls really flat for me and a lot of YA fantasy has very shallow world building.
I also dnfed legendborn. I pretty much felt the same
Flamecaster and the whole shattered realms is a sequel series to the seven realms series, so while it’s a first book it isn’t completely
Know you said you don't like historical fantasy but you did say you like fantasies w/ Asian settings and ones that are inspired by fairytales or folklore so I highly recommend She Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. It's easily my fav YA book of 2022. If it helps its a standalone fantasy as well
Noted!!
I was bummed that you DNFed The Rest of us Just Live Here until you said you are looking for plot driven without a lot of themes. If you have already, you should try The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Or Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith for speculative fiction. I’m a teen librarian BTW. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is also good. Anything by Adrienne Young or Tricia Levenseller is good too.
Probably silly question, but I tried googling first, what is Self-satisfying writing? I’m asking to try to whittle down if that’s something that bothers me or not. Thanks to anyone who answers :)
10:48 time stamp for context
I think it's writing that sounds like the author is very impressed with themselves. You get the feeling the author is thinking "look at how clever I am" as they were writing it.
Spellslinger is a Fantasy Western series that I enjoyed. Author Sebastian DeCastell
Noted!!
What do you mean by palette cleanser?
I think she means low stress books that are quick reads in between heavier or more complex books/stories. Similar to popcorn films. You can read um in a day for something light and fun and then move on to other books.
I don’t want to answer for Mara but she has used this term before and I believe she means if she is in a reading slump or has been binging on say several mysteries back to back and she want a change of pace then she calls books a pallet cleanser if the booklet is quick (usually no sequels) and it’s “fun”. It’s a books that’s a transitional book, its a good time, worth reading but not 5 stars.
ShanReads & Cocominga nailed it :)
While I really loved Where Dreams Descend, it is probably for the best that you DNF... honestly, book 2 was a huge letdown anyways so it kind of brought the whole thing down.
Spin the DAwn is one I have been meaning to read for a while, I read her other book Six CRimson Cranes and had a fun time with it too.
Aw man, that's a bummer! It seems like several of these had "less than stellar" second books :/
If you like YA mysteries with a touch of magic/fantasy, you might consider THE GHOSTS OF MARSHLEY PARK 😉
I also prefer middle grade fantasy to ya as I feel that the ya ones are too focused on romance which for me as an adult is not great to read.
Basic bitch fantasy, oh I liked that :D
Thank you for your insights on The Beautiful. I absolutely love The Wrath and the Dawn duology, love me a scharazhad retelling, and was thinking about trying some of her other books. None sounded particularly interesting and now I feel confident in not going to her back list!
I love Legendborn, but I think it's best on audiobook. If you still don't like it on audio, then DNF away. Flamecaster, however, is a spinoff of a far superior series, the old school classic Seven Realms series. Book one is The Demon King. Again, give that one a go and if you don't like it, feel free to toss it, but you deffff shouldn't start with Flamecaster
I've been moving away from YA, especially YA fantasy over the past 4 years. There are still some YA series and standalones I pick up and love, but typically I find the books to not be of a high quality, the dialogue to be very sloppy and the plots to be lacking. A lot of popular YA fantasy books are very tropey or seem to have a "buzzword" reason why the series shot to popularity. I like a higher level of quality in my books and I have a hard time with YA, since I feel the quality isn't there I am less drawn to keep trying it. Middlegrade however I have found to be a delightful age range with some FANTASTIC and well written books over the past few years, so I don't agree with those that argue that YA gets talked down to because of the age range of the protagonists....I've read middlegrade books this year that blew the YA top picks out of the water and those protagonists are 10 LOL. YA is such a catchall category in publishing and it feels very much a marketing ploy, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks vs curating quality books.
Cinda Williams Chima's other/original series in that world is much better in my opinion - flamecaster and the rest are NOT worth the read lmfao
I dont like Y.A.I just pass on all those videos.