I agree, agree spinning silver is definitely my favorite. And I could see myself reading it down the line but uprooted no, it was the same length as spinning silver, but I felt like it was so long and drug on and on she could’ve cut 100 pages off of it and it would’ve been fine.
Hahahaha I actually really liked Ocean at the End of the Lane and you straight up said "No" and moved straight on 😂😭 I was also, though, one of those people who was very bored by Addie LaRue 🤷♀️
Great timing, I'm looking for some new standalones to read and I've only read 13 of these so far! Interesting picks. I'll have to look more into some of them.
Actually, the idea of finding comfort in books that are just fine, just cute, makes sooo much sense to me! I get very emotionally involved in the narratives, and although that is something I love in my favorites, I don't want to cry and ponder the meaning of life every week XD it's so nice to have books that are cool but not breathtaking, and easy to read
Babel was so annoying to me I couldn’t finish it 😭 it was especially annoying how she would use American spellings for certain words and British spellings for others, but for some reason she alternated for the word practice and its different forms. It was so strange and it was so distracting. Petty reason to dnf, but that isn’t the only reason. I read The Witch’s Heart though and I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. After I finished I was like wow that was a really good book but then I kept thinking about it. I can’t wait for The Weaver and the Witch Queen now. And not adult, but I finished A Tempest of Tea last night and omg that book was so bad I felt like I had whiplash the entire time because hardly anything made sense. I expected the ending to be really bad and it actually wasn’t, but jeez, I can’t believe how much editing it went through only for it to be published in such a half written state like that.
I totally agreed with you on Goddess of the River! This is my first video of yours and I immediately subscribed, I really appreciate the way you express your thoughts and opinions 😊
I've been reluctant to try Spinning Silver since I absolutely hated Uprooted! But hearing that you didn't like Uprooted but enjoyed Spinning Silver has convinced me to add to my TBR.
This is so funny to me, because I DNF'd Addie Larue and Nettle and Bone, but liked Uprooted and The Song of Achilles. It's interesting how different experiences can be.
Cool video idea. I’m always looking for good standalones to read between books in a long series. We seem to have similar tastes. I agree with most of your placements of the books I’ve read. I especially agree on Ocean at the End of the Lane. I’m a Gaiman fan, too, but that book did not work for me. I don’t get why people love it.
I feel the same way with Uprooted! It just seemed so long she could’ve cut like 100 pages off of it and it would’ve been a complete book easily. But when I compare it to spinning silver, that was a fast read for me I really enjoyed the characters and the story but uprooted I struggled. So I feel the exact same way with uprooted. And I thought I read that uprooted is the more popular of the two and I feel like I don’t see why. I should’ve DNF it, but I struggled through it.
Your recommendations are superb! I loved the Bone Orchard and its cover. It stimulated my mind as it was very different. Goddess of the River is on my tbr. Hey Luna 🐕.
Spinning Silver and Nettle and Bone are among my favourites (to read) in the past couple of years so it's awesome to see them at the top of your list too. :)
I'm reading the Invisible life of Addie Larue at the moment and was quite chuffed to find it at the top. So far, I really like it, such a great concept and execution! Thank you for the recommendation, as I first heard it from you! All the best, this was a great video! ❤
The only Naomi Novak book I’ve read is uprooted and I loved it! Feel like I need to read spinning silver to see what all the hype is around that and if I prefer it like everyone else seems to
The House in The Cerulean Sea is getting a sequel September 12th. Its calles Somewhere Beyond the Sea, I had an ARC and personally liked it more than the first book (which I felt similar about as you did)
I almost DNF'ed The wolf and the Woodsman. I just could not get into the first half, but I really enjoyed the last half of the book. I personally liked A Study in Drowning much more. I think its the best Ava Reid I have read so far. Lady Macebeth is currently on my TBR.
I was also really bored with uprooted and did not like the dynamics between the main characters. I've heard so many good things about spinning silver that I might read it sometime in the winter months.
For lack of a better word, I did enjoy the Bone Orchard, including the different perspectives, but I do kind of wish we spent a little more focus on the orchard itself and that process. Really appreciated the explorations of the themes.
I love Fantasy - I have not read hardly any of these that you mention but they are on my Radar to read. I will be checking them out from my County Library when I do read them. I love the picture of your dog - he or she is so pretty. Take Care & Happy Reading ❤️🤗🔰📚📖❤️
It’s so funny! I loved Uprooted and I really don’t care for Abercrombie! Different strokes for different folks. 😂 Love your videos and recommendations though. ❤
Thanks for the video. I love to read fantasy but more and more I get disappointed by series as often the following books aren’t as good as the first one. I’ll look into these! ❤
I enjoy good fantasy, but it only takes up a relatively small part of my reading, so thank-you!!! for drawing attention to one-and-dones. It's a pain seeing how much fantasy (and sci fi) expects you to invest masses of time in series. You seriously can't tell a story in only several hundred pages?! Come on! Anyway, I'd love to see another video with another 25 stand-alones. In particular you did a great job critiquing in a way that made it clear you were talking about how the books interacted with your tastes. It's so easy to just be dismissive, mean or gushing, but you were fair and informative about all of them. Except for Gaiman, but let's not go there…
I totally agree with you on The Wolf and the Woodsman. In my opinion, the characters were the weakest part but everything else was so great I don’t care.
I temporarily DNF'd The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. I didn't like how it jumped time periods every chapter. I know I'll pick it back up at some point, I'm just in no rush to do so.
I'm Polish and Uprooted is like my childhood fairy tale. I understand that it is not for everybody. Legends & Lates is really boring for me. Maybe it is to cozy :P Neverwhere, American Gods and The Graveyard Boy are really good standalones by Neil Gaiman.
I think the inherent Jewishness in The Wolf and the Woodsman, Uprooted, and Spinning Silver can strike people oddly. There’s an approach to folklore and perspective that’s removed from more standard western fantasy but doesn’t announce itself as NOT being western, so you get this whole uncanny thing going on. But I do think the protagonist in Uprooted should have just been 20.
What are the books that are like house by cerulean that you liked? I had similar thoughts about the book as you but still ultimately liked it cause im a sucker for found family element
I've been watching you for years and TIL you're half Cuban.. Hell yah! lol most latinoamerican stories I find that are fantastical, land mostly in magical realism
Are there Latin American-inspired or -set fantasy you would recommend? I recently found out magic realism was more popular in the region. I just bought The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina, coz I wanna dabble in magic realism. But I have my eye on a couple books I see in the store. (I've read Aiden Thomas' books, and that's the scope of Lat Am fantasy I've read outside of webcomics so far.)
I love magical realism and Latin American inspired books. Check out Isabel Allende and of course the godfather of the genre Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There are many others, but I am most familiar with these two. Have fun! 😊❤
I didn't like Uprooted either, despite adoring Spinning Silver! And for all the reasons you said, the main character was annoying/insufferable and I didnt like her dynamic with the wizard guy! I didn't finish it honestly, I just was too annoyed lol. But I feel like so many people like it and I'm like what did I miss? So I'm glad to see you weren't a big fan either, for the same reasons I wasn't 😆
Does anyone know a book about a white haired prince with connection to a silver fox has one older brother who is considered the perfect hier and another who is a war veteran. The first few chapters takes place during a feast for there father's coronation i think.
Liked reading Untethered Sky and The Song of Achilles very much. Ariadne was such a big disappointment for me, so much so that I know the author will probably never be for me. I started Nettle and Bone, but it hasn't drawn me much in.
I am currently reading uprooted and the struggle is real. The pacing is off and idk why nobody mentions trigger warnings- Verbal abuse and attempted rape. Just no!!!
Also omg I could not stand uprooted tho I love Novik. Need to try spinning silver. Also sorry but I looooove song of Achilles partially cuz im partial to the gay lol so
I had the EXACT same reaction to Song of Achilles! I loved the writing style, and it all flowed so smoothly, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I hated Achilles SO much. And that really frustrates me because I'm queer and I love Greek mythology, so it should definitely be my type of book. And all of the fanart of that book is so beautiful, but every time I see Achilles and Patroclus together, it makes me mad all over again.
lol I’m going to need to make a point to read some of your faves because I feel like our tastes align on both sides. I loves Addie larue. And hated Ocean at the end of the lane. I really want to like nettle and bone- I think it wasn’t the right time when I picked it up- I don’t think I was expecting what it was I can’t put my finger on it I do vividly recall the atmospheric writing which was confusing about why didn’t I jive with this book!? I was also trying to listen to it on audiobook. So I’ll have to get the physical book before I give up 🤣
Totally agree, Spinning Silver, top tier!!! The only Naomi Novik book I've liked.
I agree, agree spinning silver is definitely my favorite. And I could see myself reading it down the line but uprooted no, it was the same length as spinning silver, but I felt like it was so long and drug on and on she could’ve cut 100 pages off of it and it would’ve been fine.
Definitely do this style video again, it was fun to watch and compare my thoughts!😁
Hahahaha I actually really liked Ocean at the End of the Lane and you straight up said "No" and moved straight on 😂😭
I was also, though, one of those people who was very bored by Addie LaRue 🤷♀️
I love "the invisible life of Addie LaRue" too! It felt like a dark fairytale with lush writing and so much emotion.
Great timing, I'm looking for some new standalones to read and I've only read 13 of these so far! Interesting picks. I'll have to look more into some of them.
I was waiting for Yumi to be in the top tier but I’m finally going to read Sword of Kaigen this fall!! Excited for the emotional roller coaster
Actually, the idea of finding comfort in books that are just fine, just cute, makes sooo much sense to me! I get very emotionally involved in the narratives, and although that is something I love in my favorites, I don't want to cry and ponder the meaning of life every week XD it's so nice to have books that are cool but not breathtaking, and easy to read
Babel was so annoying to me I couldn’t finish it 😭 it was especially annoying how she would use American spellings for certain words and British spellings for others, but for some reason she alternated for the word practice and its different forms. It was so strange and it was so distracting. Petty reason to dnf, but that isn’t the only reason.
I read The Witch’s Heart though and I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. After I finished I was like wow that was a really good book but then I kept thinking about it. I can’t wait for The Weaver and the Witch Queen now.
And not adult, but I finished A Tempest of Tea last night and omg that book was so bad I felt like I had whiplash the entire time because hardly anything made sense. I expected the ending to be really bad and it actually wasn’t, but jeez, I can’t believe how much editing it went through only for it to be published in such a half written state like that.
I totally agreed with you on Goddess of the River! This is my first video of yours and I immediately subscribed, I really appreciate the way you express your thoughts and opinions 😊
I've been reluctant to try Spinning Silver since I absolutely hated Uprooted! But hearing that you didn't like Uprooted but enjoyed Spinning Silver has convinced me to add to my TBR.
Finished The Sword of Kaigen just last week and it's now right up there with my favorite books of all time, happy to see it here :)
That was a very fun video to watch, and I now have a couple more standalones on my radar that I'd like to read😄
Thank you :)
This is so funny to me, because I DNF'd Addie Larue and Nettle and Bone, but liked Uprooted and The Song of Achilles. It's interesting how different experiences can be.
yeeees, The Sword of Kaigen hype! I feel like I am summoned every time a video mentions it 🤣
Cool video idea. I’m always looking for good standalones to read between books in a long series. We seem to have similar tastes. I agree with most of your placements of the books I’ve read. I especially agree on Ocean at the End of the Lane. I’m a Gaiman fan, too, but that book did not work for me. I don’t get why people love it.
I actually loved Orquídea Divina, but the way you felt about it is how I felt about Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, lol
I feel the same way with Uprooted! It just seemed so long she could’ve cut like 100 pages off of it and it would’ve been a complete book easily. But when I compare it to spinning silver, that was a fast read for me I really enjoyed the characters and the story but uprooted I struggled. So I feel the exact same way with uprooted. And I thought I read that uprooted is the more popular of the two and I feel like I don’t see why. I should’ve DNF it, but I struggled through it.
Your recommendations are superb! I loved the Bone Orchard and its cover. It stimulated my mind as it was very different. Goddess of the River is on my tbr. Hey Luna 🐕.
Spinning Silver and Nettle and Bone are among my favourites (to read) in the past couple of years so it's awesome to see them at the top of your list too. :)
I really enjoyed this style video!! Lots of fun and more interesting than just outright ranking each book.
You explained exactly how I feel about Deal with the Elf King and that series.
Loved this video....hope you will do again. One of the best tier rankings👍
Yes i didn't like uprooted at all!!! But i guess I'll still try spinning silver
I'm reading the Invisible life of Addie Larue at the moment and was quite chuffed to find it at the top. So far, I really like it, such a great concept and execution! Thank you for the recommendation, as I first heard it from you! All the best, this was a great video! ❤
The only Naomi Novak book I’ve read is uprooted and I loved it! Feel like I need to read spinning silver to see what all the hype is around that and if I prefer it like everyone else seems to
'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' is Gaiman's best book, imho.
The House in The Cerulean Sea is getting a sequel September 12th. Its calles Somewhere Beyond the Sea, I had an ARC and personally liked it more than the first book (which I felt similar about as you did)
Surprised there’s no Guy Gavriel Kay in the S-tier. Lions of Al-rassan, A Song for Arbonne, Tigana … all amazing reads!
Loved Lions, but not sure if it counts as fantasy. Yes, it's in an alt-medieval Iberia, but otherwise it is in a very realist mode.
I almost DNF'ed The wolf and the Woodsman. I just could not get into the first half, but I really enjoyed the last half of the book. I personally liked A Study in Drowning much more. I think its the best Ava Reid I have read so far. Lady Macebeth is currently on my TBR.
I was also really bored with uprooted and did not like the dynamics between the main characters. I've heard so many good things about spinning silver that I might read it sometime in the winter months.
I thought I was the only one that didn't like "The Song of Achilles"!
Same. I thought it was awful.
I HATED babel but loved ocean at the end of the lane.
For lack of a better word, I did enjoy the Bone Orchard, including the different perspectives, but I do kind of wish we spent a little more focus on the orchard itself and that process. Really appreciated the explorations of the themes.
I love Fantasy - I have not read hardly any of these that you mention but they are on my Radar to read. I will be checking them out from my County Library when I do read them.
I love the picture of your dog - he or she is so pretty.
Take Care & Happy Reading
❤️🤗🔰📚📖❤️
I'm currently reading Babel :)
Excelent choice
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Song of Achilles are two of my top favourite books 😂
It’s so funny! I loved Uprooted and I really don’t care for Abercrombie! Different strokes for different folks. 😂 Love your videos and recommendations though. ❤
Thanks for the video. I love to read fantasy but more and more I get disappointed by series as often the following books aren’t as good as the first one. I’ll look into these! ❤
I couldn’t get into Spinning Silver but really enjoyed Addie LaRue and Legends and Lattes.
Great Format!
Elliot, have you read The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik?
I enjoy good fantasy, but it only takes up a relatively small part of my reading, so thank-you!!! for drawing attention to one-and-dones. It's a pain seeing how much fantasy (and sci fi) expects you to invest masses of time in series. You seriously can't tell a story in only several hundred pages?! Come on! Anyway, I'd love to see another video with another 25 stand-alones. In particular you did a great job critiquing in a way that made it clear you were talking about how the books interacted with your tastes. It's so easy to just be dismissive, mean or gushing, but you were fair and informative about all of them. Except for Gaiman, but let's not go there…
17:16 me everyday I wake up
I totally agree with you on The Wolf and the Woodsman. In my opinion, the characters were the weakest part but everything else was so great I don’t care.
I got SWORD OF KAIGON at the Library for $1.00. I will have to read it.
I also liked The Wolf and the Woodsman!
Exactly what i need!
I temporarily DNF'd The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. I didn't like how it jumped time periods every chapter. I know I'll pick it back up at some point, I'm just in no rush to do so.
100% match on the S tier for me.
I'm Polish and Uprooted is like my childhood fairy tale. I understand that it is not for everybody.
Legends & Lates is really boring for me. Maybe it is to cozy :P
Neverwhere, American Gods and The Graveyard Boy are really good standalones by Neil Gaiman.
I think the inherent Jewishness in The Wolf and the Woodsman, Uprooted, and Spinning Silver can strike people oddly. There’s an approach to folklore and perspective that’s removed from more standard western fantasy but doesn’t announce itself as NOT being western, so you get this whole uncanny thing going on. But I do think the protagonist in Uprooted should have just been 20.
Loved this ranking, except I would personally swap the song of achilles and Addie Larue.
What are the books that are like house by cerulean that you liked? I had similar thoughts about the book as you but still ultimately liked it cause im a sucker for found family element
I loved The Wolf & The Woodsman
I've been watching you for years and TIL you're half Cuban.. Hell yah! lol most latinoamerican stories I find that are fantastical, land mostly in magical realism
Please make a video on best fantasy trilogies
Are there Latin American-inspired or -set fantasy you would recommend? I recently found out magic realism was more popular in the region. I just bought The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina, coz I wanna dabble in magic realism. But I have my eye on a couple books I see in the store. (I've read Aiden Thomas' books, and that's the scope of Lat Am fantasy I've read outside of webcomics so far.)
I love magical realism and Latin American inspired books. Check out Isabel Allende and of course the godfather of the genre Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There are many others, but I am most familiar with these two. Have fun! 😊❤
@@heatherm561 thanks! Will note.
I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia! Try Gods of Jade and Shadow if you want fantasy, but she writes in many genres
Do u recommend age of madness over first law?
I got like 10 new tbr so thanks but also……. Where do I find the time?!?!
I didn't like Uprooted either, despite adoring Spinning Silver! And for all the reasons you said, the main character was annoying/insufferable and I didnt like her dynamic with the wizard guy! I didn't finish it honestly, I just was too annoyed lol. But I feel like so many people like it and I'm like what did I miss? So I'm glad to see you weren't a big fan either, for the same reasons I wasn't 😆
I need to read sword of Kaigen so badly
Great Video!
Hi! Legends and lattes isn’t a standalone. It has a second book
I would love to see you do another video like this one!
I’m a simple girl, I think The Sword of Kaigen will be in a video and I click on the video immediately
Does anyone know a book about a white haired prince with connection to a silver fox has one older brother who is considered the perfect hier and another who is a war veteran. The first few chapters takes place during a feast for there father's coronation i think.
Liked reading Untethered Sky and The Song of Achilles very much. Ariadne was such a big disappointment for me, so much so that I know the author will probably never be for me. I started Nettle and Bone, but it hasn't drawn me much in.
Circe by Madeline Miller is a beautiful story
Off topic, but can someone recommend a Lara Croft / Tomb Raider style book to me? Thanks in advance
Joe Abercrombie Forever !!!!
I am currently reading uprooted and the struggle is real. The pacing is off and idk why nobody mentions trigger warnings- Verbal abuse and attempted rape. Just no!!!
Woman❤
Also omg I could not stand uprooted tho I love Novik. Need to try spinning silver. Also sorry but I looooove song of Achilles partially cuz im partial to the gay lol so
And here I thought I am the only who don't really like Jade City's characters
I had the EXACT same reaction to Song of Achilles! I loved the writing style, and it all flowed so smoothly, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I hated Achilles SO much. And that really frustrates me because I'm queer and I love Greek mythology, so it should definitely be my type of book. And all of the fanart of that book is so beautiful, but every time I see Achilles and Patroclus together, it makes me mad all over again.
lol I’m going to need to make a point to read some of your faves because I feel like our tastes align on both sides. I loves Addie larue. And hated Ocean at the end of the lane. I really want to like nettle and bone- I think it wasn’t the right time when I picked it up- I don’t think I was expecting what it was I can’t put my finger on it I do vividly recall the atmospheric writing which was confusing about why didn’t I jive with this book!? I was also trying to listen to it on audiobook. So I’ll have to get the physical book before I give up 🤣
Trilogy or bust,solo books are the most rushed ever.
Hmmm… not a fan of Spinning Silver. At all.
I had to dnf the honey witch it's one of the worst books i've ever read
First 🎉😊