Binge-worthy Books: YA Fantasy

I have already covered which Literary Fiction, Adult Fantasy, and Mystery authors and book series are most bingeable, to help us all fill time while we’re isolated and stuck inside.

Today, we’re talking about Young Adult Fantasy.

Here are the books I would ignore everything to bingeread again. Let me know your favs or the ones I’ve overlooked in the comments!

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I don’t think I need to say much about this series. Just search for it on twitter, instagram, or Goodreads and you will find millions of fans freaking out over it.

Book Blurb

“Nothing is a coincidence. Everything has a purpose. You were meant to come to this castle, just as you were meant to be an assassin.”

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the King’s Champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her.

And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing Celaena never thought she’d have again: a friend.

But something evil dwells in the castle—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival—and a desperate quest to root out the source of the evil before it destroys her world.

2. Shadow and Bone by

I have to admit that this series has been on my tbr for way too long. I keep meaning to read it, but then authors keep writing new books, and… if you have a tbr you know how this cycle goes.

Anyway, my friend Go_Book_Yourself suggested this series, and I knew from reading Twitter and Goodreads, Shadow & Bone had to be included.

Book Blurb

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

3. Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

It took me years to finally give in to reading this series, maybe because it was so hyped at release, i really don’t know. But once I did start reading them, I flew through every book. It is fairy tale retelling combined with Ya fantasy to create this genre bending series that is not to be missed.
Shout out to my friend sharkyreads for agreeing that this series should be on the list.

Book Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder’s brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it’s more serious than he’s letting on.

Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.

But it doesn’t take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

4. The Twilght Saga by Stephanie Meyers

Before you @ me, take a minute and let me explain. I will agree that there are some problems and concerns surrounding Twilight, not to mention some corny sparkling vampires, but let’s be honest with ourselves, shall we?

They went viral for a reason, and it’s because the story is supremely bingeable.

For some reason, Edward and Bella’s complicated love story captivated the entire world for years, myself included. I could not in good conscience make a YA bingeable book list without it.

Plus, there is a whole new generation of readers who know about the series but probably haven’t read it. My advice, take a deep breath, remember that were are talking about teenage vampires here, and read these highly entertaining books like you would watch the Bachelor – hanging on every word while knowing this is all ridiculous and not caring one bit.

Book Blurb

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.

5. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

These books got me started on the idea for a list of bingeable books. When the quarantine first started, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if I hadn’t read the Shadowhunters books? Instead of forcing them into my life, reading every spare second I had, for weeks on end, I could just grab this set and go to town.”

So here we are, and thus begins the sprawling Shadowhunter catalogue. This is the original series that started it all, but once you’re done with that, feel free to move right on to the Infernal Devices.

Book Blurb

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

6. Harry Potter by JK Rowling

This is the OG for me. The first book series that sunk its hooks in and wouldn’t let go. The one that I kept thinking about long after each book ended.

Proud Ravenclaw over here.

Listen, there’s reason we’re all still obsessed with Harry Potter after all of these years. So, if you haven’t read them, use this time to fix that mistake. I’ll be here waiting for a thank you when you’re done.

Book Blurb

Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.

Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.

If you want to try a bunch of books, now is the perfect time to try Kindle Unlimited!

7. Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I am reading these books as they come out and can tell you they are mesmerizing and compelling. I’m never quite sure where they are going, but I know I need to find out.

GREAT characters and an immense world, these books will captivate and entertain you until you run out of pages.

Book Blurb

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Your thoughts?

So what do you think? Did I miss a YA writer that you can’t get enough of? If so, drop your thoughts in the comments and come back when we tackle the most binge-worthy Historical Fiction writers and series.