5 Great Fantasy Books If You’re New To Fantasy

Fantasy is my all time favourite book genre. I just can’t get enough of stepping into a whole new world and losing myself in it. Last month one of my good bookish friends was asking me about YA Fantasy books I would recommend for someone who is new to the genre and this post was born.

I know a lot of people who struggle with fantasy. Fantasy books tend to be kind of slow to start, especially in the first book of a series, usually because of the new world building and setting the foundations for the epic journey/tale that is about to happen. I love this build up. It’s just perfect to me. But I know some people struggle with it. Others might find Fantasy world too complex and hard to get their head around.

Here are five YA Fantasy series that I think are perfect for those who struggle with fantasy or are new to the genre. They also happen to be five of my all time favourite series.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is the first book in the Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer. This was Brigid’s first epic fantasy series and it’s a perfect series to bridge the gap between Paranormal Romance and Epic Fantasy. It actually starts off in our normal world and has the main character then travel to the epic fantastical world. I feel like having that grounding and that link to our normal modern world gives this series a different feel than other epic fantasy books and so it’s perfect for those who are new to this genre.

The Falconer is the first book in the Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May and this one is set in our world, but in the 1800s. It has perfect links to our normal world and is filled with debutantes and historical Scotland. I absolutely loved this mash-up of historical realistic elements and then the faeries and fantastical world that comes with that. It’s the perfect series for new fantasy fans.

Sweet Black Waves is a little bit more ‘epic fantasy’ than the previous two. It’s the first book in the Sweet Black Waves trilogy by Kristina Perez. It’s a retelling of Tristan and Isolde and it’s a perfect fantasy book for people who know that tale. It keeps you grounded more by following along with that story and introduces you slowly to more fantastical elements. I absolutely loved this one.

Frostblood is once again a bit more epic fantasy than the previous books. It’s fully set in its own fantastical world where Frostbloods (people who control frost and ice) rule the world. Firebloods are killed because of how dangerous they are so they are forced to live in hiding. I love this series, it’s one of my all time favourites and with it being YA is perfect for people who are new to epic fantasy.

And I’ve left the best till last! Throne of Glass was actually my very first epic fantasy series. I got an ARC of this one from Bloomsbury and I requested it because it was dubbed as a fantasy reimagining of what would happen if Cinderella went to the ball to assassinate the prince. If you’re read this series you’ll know it’s come a long way since that imagining… it’s a whole different epic fantasy series. It starts you off nice and gentle in the first few books and by the end you’ll be obsessed with complex fantasy creatures and worlds! It’s perfect!

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Follow K-Books on WordPress.com