Epic Adventures Await: 15 Incredible Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books I’ve Read in 2023 that You Should Add to Your TBR, part one
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto
Well it happened. We’re already halfway through 2023, and it’s time to share my favorite reads from the first six months of the year. I’m about to finish my 60th book, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of amazing books I’ve been able to read. It’s been a fantastic reading year so far. We kicked it off with a bang reading the Mistborn trilogy as a buddy read in the BAMTP community, and I decided I wanted to make time to reread some old favorites, so there are eight of those (which I don’t really count, since they’re not new, but I’ve add them to the very end of this post). It will come as no surprise that the vast majority of my favorite reads have been epic fantasy, romantasy, and sci-fi reads. Everything on the list below is 4 star and above for me, and I’ve included a quote or two I love from each to help convince you to read them. I hope you’ll find some fantastic reads to add to your TBR or perhaps they’re already on your favorites list as well. What’s been your favorite read so far this year? Drop it in the comments!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
“Eventually those closest to us become our enemies in some way, even if it’s through well-intentioned love or apathy, or if we live long enough to become their villains.”
This dragon riding school, enemies-to-lovers story took the book world by storm in May, and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC that I devoured, and then proceed to try and get all my Romantasy-loving friends to read immediately. I’m also incredibly honored to share I’m one of the first Shops to be licensed by Rebecca’s team to design Fourth Wing merch. A new collection is dropping soon, and you can sign up for early access here.
Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning, Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Aurora Cycle)
“Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than any constellation in the sky?”
“Know the past, or suffer the future.”
“What are you twelve"?” “Out of ten?” I shrug. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
“I wish I could convey with my quill and ink the awesome figure Vonvalt cut at that moment. He was power incarnate, a wrathful god, as unstoppable as the rising of the sun.”
Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
“Either it was everything to know the whole story, to look back and see the shape of it while standing along its periphery; or it was nothing, because things in their entirety were less fragile and therefore less beautiful than the pieces within the frame.”
Daughter of No Worlds, Children of Fallen Gods + Mother of Death and Dawn (The War of Lost Hearts Trilogy) by Carissa Broadbent
My full reviews of Book one, Book two, Book three
“Men want power because it makes them feel good. Women want power because it lets us do things.”
“But isn’t having built something worth more than the fear of it being destroyed?”
“I think it is.”
“Maybe one day you’ll stand where I do. You’ll cut away every weakness. You’ll make every sacrifice. And then the world will look at you and sneer at your inhumanity, as if you didn’t just become everything they told you to be.”
“I know what it is like,” I said softly, “to become the thing you hate most.”
“I won’t let us become them.”
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden (book two of the Winternight Trilogy)
So yes, you do have to slog through book one before you can read this one. I personally found most of book one to be so incredibly boring, I almost gave up on the whole series, but I’m so glad I didn’t. This second book in the trilogy was my favorite out of all three. I absolutely loved it and if you like dark folklore tales, you probably will too.
“She was not supposed to enchant you.”
“Truths are like flowers better plucked at the right moment.”
The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Trilogy)
My full reviews of Book one, Book two, Book three
“He’s a good man, isn’t he?”
“A very good man, mistress. One of the best I’ve known.”
“A good man…I don’t think I’ve ever known one of those.”
“This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love.”
“We create things to watch them grow…To take pleasure in seeing that which we love become more than it was before.”
The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow
One of the best short stories I’ve ever read. Period. It completely cemented Alix E. Harrow as one of my favorite writers. It’s free to read on Kindle Unlimited. And I can’t say more because I don’t want to spoil it. Just read it!
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
“Once upon a time, there was a girl as cunning as the fox in winter, as hungry as the wolf at first frost, and as cold as the icy wind that kept them at each other's throats. Her name was not Gisele, nor was it Marthe, nor even Pfennigeist. My name was -is- Vanja. And this is the story of how I got caught.”
Favorite Rereads:
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (the entire trilogy)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
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