I saw this article from Goodreads where they shared the 72 most popular fantasy novels of the past three years, and I thought it would be interesting to reflect on considering I have fallen in love with fantasy within the last three years! I will share the books I have read and my thoughts on them as well as the books that are on my TBR. Let me know in the comments how many of these you have read!
Read
The House in the Cerulean Sea is a book I read during all the hype and I enjoyed it but it isn’t one that has stayed with me!
I read House of Earth and Blood for a book club, otherwise, I never would have picked it up. Sarah J. Maas isn’t for me, but I do enjoy watching reading vlogs where other people read her work. It is fun to see people excited about a fandom even if I am not a part of it!
Piranesi was my best book of 2021, so I am thrilled to see it on this list! I love that it was told through diary entries and the world was like nothing I have ever read before. I still think about this book!
I loved the first half of She Who Became the Sun, but the second half dragged for me and I struggled with it. That said, I did appreciate the ending, so I am curious about the sequel.
A Thousand Ships is another book I read last year and adored. It is one of my favourite Greek myth retellings, so I am happy it made it onto the list! I need to read more from Natalie Haynes.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess took me by surprise. There was a lot of setup in the first half. but it is all worth it in the end. I am thrilled that the sequel comes out soon.
Magic Lessons is the first prequel in the Practical Magic series, which is my favourite witchy series, so you know I am delighted to see it on the list! Alice Hoffman is probably the author who made me love fantasy in the first place.
For the Wolf was fun for what it was, but I am not sure I would put it in the top 72 fantasy books of the last three years. I did enjoy it though and I really need to pick up the sequel. I have seen a lot of readers say that it is better than the first!
This list has so many of my favourite books of last year! I read The Jasmine Throne last August and absolutely adored it. The world and politics are so intricate and interesting. The sequel, The Oleander Sword, is out this month and I could not be more excited!
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina is another favourite from last year! It is a book I loved when I read it but that only got deeper as more time went by. It really solidified my love for magical realism!
There is something so special about Nghi Vo’s writing, so I was excited to see a couple of her books on the list! I need to reread The Empress of Salt and Fortune at some point because I don’t think I absorbed it all.
In an Absent Dream is the last Wayward Children novella I have read, so I am pretty behind at this point. I am not sure if I will continue or if I will just read the prequels because I prefer them!
TBR
As you can see, a lot of the books on the list are on my TBR. I was surprised to see that there was a lot of mythology on the list, but I love it because that is the subgenre of fantasy that I am most drawn to. That and witchy books, which are well represented on the list as well! There a quite a few sequels on the list where I have only read the first book, The Dragon Republic and The Hidden Palace, for example. I would be curious to know how this list was put together. My guess is that they are looking at the books that are shelved on Goodreads the most, even if they aren’t the most read or highest rated.
Click here if you want to see all the books on the list, as I have only read 12 and have 20 on my TBR. That means there are 50 books I haven’t shared!
What did you think of the list?
YouTubeĀ |Ā InstagramĀ |Ā TwitterĀ |Ā Goodreads
I’ve read 19 of them, and have 11 on my TBR!
That’s amazing!! Any favourites?
All these books look exciting. Haven’t read any of them yet, adding them to my tbr list!
I’ve read 20 of them and some others are on my large tbr!!!
Nice! That’s a lot! It’s an interesting list for sure!
We haven’t read any of them!
Let’s see… I have read 10, DNFed 1, and 19 are on my TBR (11 specifically on the owned TBR). However, there are many on this list that I’m not interested in at all, so I guess that shows you where I fall on the popularity scale, LOL. I guess I can’t deny that a lot of these have been popular in the fast few years, but honestly… the “most” popular? There are also some on here that I haven’t heard of. I wonder where they get their data. They say “as determined by reader shelvings and reviews” but that’s really vague.
That was my thought exactly! I wish they were more specific with how they came up with the list. It really does highlight how varied the genre is though!
This is true! But it also feels highly manufactured, the same as any other popularity contest they have on Goodreads.
It’s true. I roll my eyes at the Goodreads Award every year!
Me too! And yet… I still vote in them… š
I’ve read 5 of these and a bunch more are on my tbr!! really enjoyed the city we became
I can’t believe I haven’t read that one yet. I love Jemisin!
I’ve read a whomping 6 š
I e only read 1 from the books you mentioned and then 1 other one from the ones you didnāt mention. Several are on my TBR and some are on my radar but I donāt think Iāve added them to my TBR yet but I would still like to eventually read them.
Which ones have you read? My tbr is so overwhelming š
The 2 TJ Klune books. Oh my TBR is overwhelming too!!
There’s a few on those books that I love, such as Ariadne and The Once and Future Witches. However, I don’t believe Greek myth retellings should count as fantasy, they are their own genre. Great post!
I’ve always thought of them as a sub genre of fantasy but I can see what you mean!
I have read only two from this list but there are so many on my wish list.
So many interesting books on the list!
I’ve only read Piranesi and Starless Sea! I did love both though.
Piranesi is definitely a favourite! Happy you loved Starless Sea. I need to get to it!