All the 2015 Books I Forgot to Review: Fantasy Pt. 1

Oh, 2015. Where did you go? Why are you leaving me so soon? Was I not good enough for you?

Ahem. It's December, which means it's time to look back on all the things I did not do this year, of which there are myriad, and quite a lot of it involves reviewing the books that the gods have been kind enough to bestow on me, because I am entirely not worthy. Allons-y.


Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
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Series: Yep, #1 in the series
Release date: September 25th, 2015
Publisher: Henry Holt (Macmillan
Length: 465 pages
Source: ARC from the publisher
Rating: ksdhflspeijkrgewtherjgkhfgdfgfgdhwiue5iurhegf also !!QIJKELS also jfseuwrwahhhhh

I feel like I'm failing this book by not giving it a full review of its own, but it's the end of the year and my brain is mush and this is the best I can do. Besides, I don't know how eloquently I can express that this book is THE LITERAL BEST. Seriously. This is YA fantasy at its best. It's so good it hurts. Complex, layered, dark, gritty, emotional, action-packed. This is a heist fantasy book set in a world so rich with detail that reading this book is like living inside it. I enjoyed the Grisha trilogy immensely, but THIS. This is next level.

I'm so obsessed with Kaz Brekker and his crew. I want to help them break into places (and out of places) forever and ever. And I want them all to kiss forever and ever. The plot is one of those where the stakes are raised every freaking chapter, where you're convinced it'll all turn to crap and then suddenly the characters get out of their impossible situations. I don't throw out the word "genius" that often (actually, I probably do, but I hardly ever mean it), but this book is it. It's genius. If you read only three fantasy books next year (why would you do that though), let one of them be Six of Crows.


The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace
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Series: Yep, #1 in the Keeper Chronicles
Release date: March 3rd, 2015
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (Simon & Schuster)
Length: 432 pages
Source: eARC from the publisher
Rating: ship a dee doo dah, ship a dee day

Oh man is this book totally entertaining. I loved the characters and their interactions. I loved every trope at play. This book is a total gift and the best kind of crack fantasy, where it's just like...dessert. I promise this is a GREAT THING, because dessert is the best. This makes zero sense, but trust me. This book is delicious. It stars a headstrong girl and a jerk of a noble and they hate each other, but obviously you just want them to make out all the time. And there's a lost princess, an ancient magic across the border, unsolved murders, and nefarious scheming galore, and you just have all the best ingredients simmering in one pot. Add in a world flavored with Brazilian inspiration and Gillian is a very, very happy camper.

Also, this book packs a FEELS PUNCH. Honestly, I thought this book was going to be fluff int he best way. Like, of course terrible and dramatic things happen, but I was shipping so hard that mostly I was squealing and gasping my way through this. AND THEN. AND THEN BECKY WALLACE DECIDED THAT NO, SHE WAS GOING TO DESTROY ME SOUL and that's cool, Becky, I wasn't using it anyway, brb sobbing for a thousand years. In a good way, obviously. Because this book is great. There are some world-building aspects best not looked at too hard, but i honestly can't remember what they were, because I read this book 10 months ago and all that stands out is OUCHHHH and SHIPSHIPSHIP. Which is about right. It leaps through many different viewpoints, and while some are stronger than others, if you feel the love for Rafi and Johanna (AND DOM) that I feel, then you're in for a fun ride.