#ya fantasy

[sol-niczka]

Haven't drawn Six of Crows fanart in a while so here's the one and only Kazzle Dazzle, also known as my wife <3

[moon-warrior-books]

I literally have to force myself not to over share when selling my book at conventions. It takes every ounce of restraint I have not to spoil anything. TnT

[jccatstudios]

vengeance is waiting

[writtenbycassandra]

most female main characters in ya fantasy usually don't have their parents around/are orphans/ran away from home (e.g. the mortal instruments, lockwood & co, a deadly education, ...), which is why there are often no adult figures around to manage the (magical) chaos the teenage characters have to untangle standalone.

but the raven cycle is different — the adults work together with the teen characters, actually listen to them, and try to help them with their quest. blue doesn't have only her friends around to help her out, she also has a giant home with different, female rolemodels. calla, persephone, maura, and all the other aunts and friends — they give blue something most ya characters don't have.

and as the series continues, she also meets the grey man, who becomes a familiar figure for her, too.

instead of having not enough help and support from adults, which is a thing most ya protagonists struggle with, blue has so many people constantly trying to protect, guide, and help her, and i think that's awesome.

she has a family, and they're actually a part of the story.

[ekbelsher]

It took me forever to finally get around to finishing this 😅 It's still my favourite scene though

[hismajestysaerialcorps-temeraire]

You rang?

I read the whole Circle of Magic series less than 3 months ago and followed it up with the Temeraire series.

Book Recommendation: His Majesty’s Dragon

There are 9 books in the Temeraire series!

Dragons in the Gunpowder Wars! Anti-Colonial alt history! An abolitionist book series! Literally legendary.

Book Recommendations for Tamora Pierce lovers (pt. 1)

Our followers recommend:

The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell

“One of the POV characters is a woman and she’s really kick ass. Plus there’s war, magic, rebellion, spies, lots of really awesome characters and a mule that thinks he’s a duck.” 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“It’s FANTASTIC.”

The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan

“The main characters are men, but the women are kickass and actually have important functioning roles in the plot!”

We recommend:

Literally Anything by Brandon Mull (Fablehaven or the Beyonders especially)

You might feel weird picking up a 600-page-each-book series written for 5-8th graders but believe me when I say that these books are so damn phenomenal, you’ll be glad you did. Really imaginative stories. Good characters. Patton Burgess.

The Name of the Wind (of The Kingkiller Chronicle series) by Patrick Rothfuss

A more adult fantasy novel that is so unbelievably good I can’t even put it into words. Just do it.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

A classic. No explanation needed.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

We love a good two-perspective story. Bonus points for supporting an author who is a WOC!

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

This story is not without its weak moments, but A+ for a non-Medieval England setting and main characters with physical deformities. Also revenge is good.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Beauty and the Beast retelling. Curses, trials, fairies. If for nothing else, read for the scene where the protag gets mad at the two male characters and paints portraits of their faces on pigs’ bodies for hours.

[popnovelspn]

One thing I love about The Cruel Prince: Jude put her foot down and said ‘I belong here’.

And eventually Elfhame responded and flowers grew where she bled.

Never let anyone tell you, you don’t belong.

[puppiesareperfect]

I understand why people say they forget the crows are teenagers, but I honestly disagree with people who argue they should have been significantly older. Part of the tragedy of the crows for me is that they are so young. They are classic examples of kids who were forced to grow up too fast. I think it’s also worth noting that the crows are still incredibly emotional & many of them struggle with their sense of self. Developmentally, those are traits that show up heavily in teenagers (and young adults). Really I’d argue their maturity is more of a surface level thing—they make themselves appear confident and collected because they have to for survival. But behind closed doors? They’re going through a lot. It’s all weighing down on them. And for many of them a large part of their struggles is the separation from family. (Or, in Jesper’s case, a strained relationship with his father).

I’ve heard before that the crows were supposed to be older originally. I’m not sure how accurate that is (I’ll come back later if I can find a source). Regardless, I can only really imagine them being aged up by a few years. I’m just not sure the story hits the same if the crows are older adults. I absolutely think there should be more fantasy with older characters (highly suggest Leigh Bardugo’s stand-alone “the familiar” for a protagonist who I believe is middle aged) but I’m not sure those characters should be the crows.

[prokopetz]

Principal villain of a best-selling YA fantasy novel trilogy: Silver hair cascading down his back like a waterfall, face like rough-hewn granite, eyes like smouldering coals, cheekbones that could cut glass.

The exact same villain in the prestige-format streaming television series adaptation:

[fandom-witch]

This commission I got is based off of the Fiona Apple Subway photoshoot where shes wearing armor and the artist captured the idea I had SO well. I love how Bree and Nick look, the demons in the background, their armor, and their expressions!!

The artist @dalooch did an amazing job!!

I love me some breenick!!

This can be find on the artists ig (loochleftovers) and Twitter (dalooch_)

Update: I realized I had the wrong version up like months later LOL (1.19.25)

[blessedsweetgirl]

Literally husband and wife

[judgeitbyitscover]

Enchanted Forest Chronicles (1985-1995) by Patricia C. Wrede

Cover Art by Tim Hildebrandt*

Scholastic, Point Fantasy series published in 1995-1998**

Dealing with Dragons (1990)

Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Searching for Dragons (1992)

Cimorene, the princess who refuses to be proper, is back--but where is Kazul the dragon? That's what Cimorene is determined to find out.

Luckily--or perhaps not-so-luckily--she's got help: Mendenbar, the not-very-kingly King of the Enchanted Forest, has joined her in her quest. So with the aid of a broken-down magic carpet, a leaky magical sword, and a few buckets of soapy lemon water, they set off across the Enchanted Forest to tackle the dragon-napping and save the King of the Dragons.

Calling All Dragons (1993)

A Princess's work is never done--not even when she becomes a queen!

Princess Cimorene is now Queen Cimorene ... and she's faced with her first queenly crisis -- the Enchanted Forest is threatened with complete destruction!

Those wizards are back -- and they've become very smart. (Sort of.) They've figured out a way to take over the forest once and for all ... and what they have planned isn't pretty.

With a little help from Kazul the dragon king, Morwen the witch, Telemain the magician, two cats, and a blue, flying donkey-rabbit named -- what else? -- Killer, Cimorene might just be able to stop them.

And some people think that being a queen is easy.

Talking to Dragons (1985, revised 1995)

That's what Daystar's mother taught him...and it's a very wise lesson--one that might just help him after his mom hands him a magic sword and kicks him out of the house. Especially because his house sits on the edge of the Enchanted Forest and his mother is Queen Cimorene.

But the tricky part is figuring out what he's supposed to do with the magic sword. Where is he supposed to go? And why does everyone he meets seem to know who he is?

It's going to take a particularly hotheaded fire-witch, a very verbose lizard, and a badly behaved baby dragon to help him figure it all out.

And those good manners certainly won't hurt!

*The art for the Point Fantasy covers of Searching for Dragons, Calling All Dragons, and Talking to Dragons is uncredited; however, the style of the dragon in particular is both unique and consistent between the covers.

**as best as I can figure it.

[aerilune]

The corpse-witch, Nina Zenik

[jccatstudios]

Ketterdam Nights