I was abused as a kid too and it's always just sort of comforting hearing other people say it happened to them and then to see them doing well. So thank you for mentioning that, even just casually. I think I'll try and read the Crane Husband, see if I like it.
My favorite stand alone for the year was What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. Its time travelers wife meets the Irish rebellion and explores generation love and heartbreak. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it
I like Historical Fiction it let's us see how people lived in different eras. History itself is full of information and dates fictionalizing it really fleshes it out and bring understanding.
It's not a 2023 release but I did read it in 2023 :P I would highly recommend The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez! It's a story of two warriors trying to overthrow an empire with the help of an ancient god ... but it's also much more than that, the story telling is just so beautiful and unique, overall a really special book :))
@cat.book.nook. If you enjoy beautiful writing especially, I think you will not regret the read... I hope! :P It might just be my favorite book period! ❤
Morning coffee time! ☕📚 I'm glad I took your Crane Husband rec as I am unpacking a lot of childhood things myself and going through these topics in a fantasy setting always cushions the blow for me. Off topic, but I went back and read the Cinder Spires, and I'm looking for more aeronaut/sky pirate adventures!
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was one of my favorite books last year. I enjoyed Thorn Hedge as well. I really want to read The Magician's Daughter and Weaver and the Witch Queen. I haven't read any Fonda Lee books but I'm curious about Untethered Sky. I really love history and historic fiction, so The Thorns Remain sounds exactly like something I'd really enjoy.
Oh gosh, there are so many 2023 standalone releases that I enjoyed. From your list I read and also enjoyed Flower Bride. I’m too lazy to type the rest out but the one I was most surprised I enjoyed was Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. It’s not talked about on booktube, but it’s fantasy romance (with a magic system I thought was pretty cool) with mixed East and West lore/mythology.
Not from 2023, but I read it this year, Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria is an amazingly paced young adult fantasy standalone with some really great character dynamics and pretty high stakes. Highly recommend, especially if you already enjoy ya
I think 99% of the fantasy I read this year were part of a series or the first in a new series. There were 3 standalones I really enjoyed. I adored A Study in Drowning, dark academia fantasy where the protagonists aren't like the ones you typically see. It wrapped itself up a touch too neatly but it was still tied for first of my favorites for the year. 2nd was Witch King. I know Elliott DNF'd it, and I agree it started strong then the first 2 or 3 times it flips back to the past and I thought, ok, hurry up. Once past that it picks up so much and is quite interesting. Very inventive world and magic system, and I liked all the characters. Wells is great at slipping in humor naturally. I was surprised by how much I liked Tress. It's the first Sanderson I've read and it made me interested to read something else by him when previously I had none. The nods to other books in the Cosmere were fine as a novice to his stuff, it did pique my curiosity. It was just a fun read.
nooooo untethered sky was soooo good!!!!! it was one of my favorites of the year! the last tale of the flower bride was also such a pleasant surprise too, my first roshani chokshi
I haven't seen very many people talking about The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson, a standalone historical fantasy from this year. A circus full of xmen try to stop WW2 while running from the past. It's mostly about building a life after trauma and holding onto joy when the world is in a dangerous place. I also really loved Untethered Sky, and omg a movie would be so cool!
Witch King by Martha Wells. The world, the characters, the magic system is so interesting. Just do not go into it thinking of Murderbot because this fantasy stand alone is a different vibe all together.
The crane husband one of my favorites! OBSESSED with it so good and I can relate to the characters and beautifully written and hope the author writes more books to this one 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉📚📚🩵🩵📖📙📖📖🩵📚📖📙📖📚🩵🩵🩵📚📖📖📚🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📖📖📖🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📖📙📖📚🩵🩵📚📖📖📖📚
I love the Last tale of the flower bride so beautiful and I enjoyed the characters 📚📚🩵🩵📖📚🩵🩵📖🩵📙📙📙🩵🩵📚📖📚📖📚🩵📚📚📚📖📚🩵🩵📚📖📖📚🩵🩵📙📙📙🩵🩵📖📖📚📚🩵📚🙌🏻🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
The weaver and the Witch queens love this book so much my top favorites and I can relate to these characters too and powerful and beauty and incredible 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉📚📖🩵🩵📖📚📙📙🎉🎉📖🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🎉📙📙📙📚📖📖🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🎉🎉📙📚📖🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📚🎉🎉🎉
I DNF’d flower bride and strange the dreamed, both on audiobook, and now Im not wondering if its because I personally don’t like the narrator. May have to go physically read them.
The trend seems to be putting women in front line positions in all of these novels. Its like the pendulum has now swung in completely opposite direction than past fiction. Feminism was good when we needed it but now it seems to unhinged and too forceful to be delightful outcome of the initial effort.
I don't know why, but I love when you say "Hello, friends.".
And you should definitely do an audiobook!
Same...I try to fast forward through the typical "hello welcome or welcome back to my channel....my name is...."
I was abused as a kid too and it's always just sort of comforting hearing other people say it happened to them and then to see them doing well. So thank you for mentioning that, even just casually. I think I'll try and read the Crane Husband, see if I like it.
Yeah same.
I would definitely recommend Blood Over Bright Haven which is a dark academia fantasy novel by M.L. Wang (the author of The Sword of Kaigen)
I really want to give this one a go! I’m hoping to request my library purchase a copy :D
Thank you for the recommendation!
This was one of my fav books of 2023
Waiting for it to get an audiobook!
I got it based on a recommendation from Emily Fox here on RUclips but haven't read it yet, but it sounds like it's going to be really good.
The more i hear abiut Tress the more I'm convinced I'm gonna love it
My favorite stand alone for the year was What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. Its time travelers wife meets the Irish rebellion and explores generation love and heartbreak. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it
I LOVED The Last Tale of the Flower Bride!! I was so pleasantly surprised by it.
I like Historical Fiction it let's us see how people lived in different eras. History itself is full of information and dates fictionalizing it really fleshes it out and bring understanding.
Magician’s Daughter is so underrated! I don’t hear enough people talk about it.
It's not a 2023 release but I did read it in 2023 :P I would highly recommend The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez! It's a story of two warriors trying to overthrow an empire with the help of an ancient god ... but it's also much more than that, the story telling is just so beautiful and unique, overall a really special book :))
I second this! The Spear Cuts Through Water was such a unique fantasy read. Certainly one of the standouts of 2023 for me.
yes! by far my favorite 2023 read. Just stunning
I've seen really good things about it! I need to read that book
@cat.book.nook. If you enjoy beautiful writing especially, I think you will not regret the read... I hope! :P It might just be my favorite book period! ❤
Tress breaking fourth wall is just even more Princess Bride-inspired-aligned. Goldman interjected at length about his editor's nonsense queries 😆
Morning coffee time! ☕📚 I'm glad I took your Crane Husband rec as I am unpacking a lot of childhood things myself and going through these topics in a fantasy setting always cushions the blow for me. Off topic, but I went back and read the Cinder Spires, and I'm looking for more aeronaut/sky pirate adventures!
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was one of my favorite books last year. I enjoyed Thorn Hedge as well. I really want to read The Magician's Daughter and Weaver and the Witch Queen. I haven't read any Fonda Lee books but I'm curious about Untethered Sky. I really love history and historic fiction, so The Thorns Remain sounds exactly like something I'd really enjoy.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young. 5 star read for me, so so good!
Thorn Hedge sounds like it would be fun!
Oh gosh, there are so many 2023 standalone releases that I enjoyed. From your list I read and also enjoyed Flower Bride. I’m too lazy to type the rest out but the one I was most surprised I enjoyed was Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. It’s not talked about on booktube, but it’s fantasy romance (with a magic system I thought was pretty cool) with mixed East and West lore/mythology.
That sounds interesting. I'll check it out.
Not from 2023, but I read it this year, Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria is an amazingly paced young adult fantasy standalone with some really great character dynamics and pretty high stakes. Highly recommend, especially if you already enjoy ya
I think 99% of the fantasy I read this year were part of a series or the first in a new series. There were 3 standalones I really enjoyed. I adored A Study in Drowning, dark academia fantasy where the protagonists aren't like the ones you typically see. It wrapped itself up a touch too neatly but it was still tied for first of my favorites for the year.
2nd was Witch King. I know Elliott DNF'd it, and I agree it started strong then the first 2 or 3 times it flips back to the past and I thought, ok, hurry up. Once past that it picks up so much and is quite interesting. Very inventive world and magic system, and I liked all the characters. Wells is great at slipping in humor naturally.
I was surprised by how much I liked Tress. It's the first Sanderson I've read and it made me interested to read something else by him when previously I had none. The nods to other books in the Cosmere were fine as a novice to his stuff, it did pique my curiosity. It was just a fun read.
Omg just borrowed Untethered Sky from the library and it was phenomenal!! Thanks for the recommendation! A fun quick read to start off the weekend!
Untethered Sky was my favorite read in 2023
Great Video!
I always agree when you mention Thornes Remain 😅 it is underrated
nooooo untethered sky was soooo good!!!!! it was one of my favorites of the year! the last tale of the flower bride was also such a pleasant surprise too, my first roshani chokshi
It was my first by her also! I definitely want to try more now (potential future buddy reads??? 👀)
@@ebnovels OOOOOH ABSOLUTELY
Have you read The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness?
I haven't seen very many people talking about The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson, a standalone historical fantasy from this year. A circus full of xmen try to stop WW2 while running from the past. It's mostly about building a life after trauma and holding onto joy when the world is in a dangerous place.
I also really loved Untethered Sky, and omg a movie would be so cool!
The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott (though I hope for more stories in this world).
I’m pretty sure that it came out earlier, but I read “The Bookeaters” in 2023. I thought it was pretty good, and I believe it’s a standalone.
Standalone🤔
-The Historian by Kostova [historical fantasy and Vampires]
One of my absolute favorite books ever!
engagement boop 😶🌫also love that shirt!
Witch King by Martha Wells. The world, the characters, the magic system is so interesting. Just do not go into it thinking of Murderbot because this fantasy stand alone is a different vibe all together.
Libby says it's book #1...? Rising World is the series name? Either way, it's on my TBR😊
Edit: Google says it's a standalone. ✅
Good morning my dear friend
The crane husband one of my favorites! OBSESSED with it so good and I can relate to the characters and beautifully written and hope the author writes more books to this one 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉📚📚🩵🩵📖📙📖📖🩵📚📖📙📖📚🩵🩵🩵📚📖📖📚🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📖📖📖🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📖📙📖📚🩵🩵📚📖📖📖📚
Speaking of The Princess Bride, what is the dealio with Buttercup's Baby? Weren't we promised to finally get the sequel in 2023?
Flower Bride felt more super natural/ horror than fantasy but I enjoyed it.
Most books I've read I've never reread.
I love the Last tale of the flower bride so beautiful and I enjoyed the characters 📚📚🩵🩵📖📚🩵🩵📖🩵📙📙📙🩵🩵📚📖📚📖📚🩵📚📚📚📖📚🩵🩵📚📖📖📚🩵🩵📙📙📙🩵🩵📖📖📚📚🩵📚🙌🏻🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
The weaver and the Witch queens love this book so much my top favorites and I can relate to these characters too and powerful and beauty and incredible 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉📚📖🩵🩵📖📚📙📙🎉🎉📖🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🎉📙📙📙📚📖📖🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵📚🎉🎉📙📚📖🩵🩵🩵🩵📚📚🎉🎉🎉
Elliot cheating the Algorithim as always XD
How is yumi a standalone its book 3 of 4
I DNF’d flower bride and strange the dreamed, both on audiobook, and now Im not wondering if its because I personally don’t like the narrator. May have to go physically read them.
The trend seems to be putting women in front line positions in all of these novels. Its like the pendulum has now swung in completely opposite direction than past fiction. Feminism was good when we needed it but now it seems to unhinged and too forceful to be delightful outcome of the initial effort.