I’m not going to lie, my first impulse for this Top Ten Tuesday was to make a list of books I wanted to find under my Christmas Tree. And then I would send it to all parties involved….but then I decided to make a much more helpful post for y’all! While I haven’t wrapped my mind around my “Favorite Books of 2020” yet, I wanted to give you some suggestions!
Series Starters
My favorite thing to gift are series starters. This feels, to me, like the gift that keeps giving. If someone ends up loving the first book, they have a whole wealth of books to fall into afterwards. I’ll be sharing 6 YA’s, 3 Middle Grade’s, and 3 Adult titles! It’s full of 7 POC/AOC and 5 Queer books! Okay, I know it’s more than 10, but I couldn’t resist throwing in my favorite YA series starters. I AM SORRY! I also couldn’t help myself from mentioning some other series starters I love – I JUST LOVE THEM ALL!
Middle Grade Titles
You can never go wrong with either a Rick Riordan middle grade OR Roshani Chokshi. To combine both of them produces an epic middle grade series that will thrill readers of all ages. Aru Shah and the End of Time is a sweet middle grade about fitting in, discovering magical worlds, and has a wry sense of humor. There are three books out right now, with a fourth scheduled for 2021.
I’ll admit, right now, that Amari and the Night Brothers is a bit of a cheat since it doesn’t release until January. But it is so good that I had to mention it. If you are searching for a Harry Potter-esque feeling for new readers, please PLEASE pick up this book. It is the beginning of what will be a fabulous series in the future about fitting in, prejudice, and how to change people’s minds.
Maya and the Rising Dark is certainly in the realm of the Rick Riordan stories. Barron delivers a story that explores what we would do for families, when we realize the stories around us contain more truth than we know. It’s a story about a world that isn’t what it seems. Of secrets, the importance of stories, and illusions. The rest of the trilogy haven’t come out yet, but the next is out in 2021!
YA Titles
Would this post be complete without mentioning my favorite trilogy The Reader? The answer is no. If you haven’t heard my screaming about this series, please listen now. It’s a trilogy about the power of reading. In a world where no one can read, a nightmare I know, The Reader is a story about the dangerous and transformative power of reading. This fantasy trilogy has my entire heart okay?
Actually, all of these series have pieces of my heart. Timekeeper is such an underrated time/ghost fantasy. This queer trilogy has one of the most unique world building I’ve ever seen. It deserves so much more love in this world for characters who tug at every heart string I have. When I read the last book I cried!
Reign of the Fallen is a queer duology about grief, necromancy, and friendship. When I got character cards for this series, it was so wonderful to see my favorites faces! Not to mention the sequel introduces DRAGONS and a sapphic relationship. So much to love in this series that I don’t even know where to start.
Black Wings Beating is another of my instant favorites. Killer magical birds. Do I need to say more? This queer trilogy has an endearing and precious sibling relationship as London explores the nature of power and sacrifice. There are epic battle scenes, GIANT BIRDS, and queer characters thriving.
For a recent duology, meet The Never Tilting World. It was one of my favorite fantasies in 2019 and The Ever Cruel Kingdom was an almost immediate five star read. This queer duology delves into the nature of cycles. In a world wrought of environmental destruction, two sisters have to figure out not only how to save the world, but to break the cycle.
And for some science fiction time travel, meet Stolen Time the first in this trilogy. I actually gasped aloud when I read this book. While I haven’t read the second one yet, this series is known for getting my heart racing. It’s action packed and the characters are phenomenal. Plus I need more time travel books!
Other books you ABSOLUTELY need are Girls of Paper and Fire, Nocturna, The Tiger at Midnight, The Bone Witch, Crier’s War, The Brilliant Death, We Set the Dark on Fire.
Adult Titles
I have a few posts coming up where I talk about all the reasons you should pick up The Invisible Library series. You can find my reviews for all of the series (so far), but just know that this series is about Librarians in a world of Fae and Dragons. The librarians are tasked with retrieving books in order to maintain the balance of Chaos and Order in various worlds. It’s full of espionage, betrayal, political maneuvers, and action. There are also at least 7 books in the series! Plenty of room for future gifts!
If you’re looking for a super hero series, look no further than Heroine Complex. Sarah Kuhn is writing one of my favorite superhero urban fantasy series. There should be six books in total, but only four of them are out. Featuring Asian American representation, this series follows sisters and best friends who are fighting supernatural crime. These women are badass as they struggle to juggle family and responsibility with ghost goo.
Do you like the idea of a library full of all the unwritten stories? Ones that writers never finish which can, of their own accord, escape into the real world? Then you need to read The Library of the Unwritten. It’s a combination of action and a writer’s nightmare fantasy. I loved reading about this library in hell and I cannot wait to read the sequel. It’s out already!
Oh, what a fun list!
I’m always just a teensy bit wary of series because of experiences I’ve had in the past where they were either never finished or the quality dropped off sharply after the first book or two. I’m glad you’ve found so many high quality series to recommend. That’s delightful.
My post.
Yeah I can definitely relate to that, especially middle books in a series!
Wait, has Rick Riordan started publishing books as well? Had no idea. But thanks for turning this TTT topic into a wonderful set of recs — have been hunting for new things to read, so this was like a treasure chest. A very merry TTT to you!
~Top 10 Tuesday Post @Lexlingua
Yep! He has a middle grade line from Disney Books! Merry TTT to you too!
I love this idea! And Black Wings Beating sounds awesome.
UGH I love that one so much! I hope you love it too!
I have Aru Shah on my Christmas list! I’m crossing my fingers that I find it under the tree.
That would be AMAZING! I want more middle grade stories in general!