20 YA and Fantasy Books to Read during 2018

Here you have 20 YA and fantasy books to read during 2018. Some look brilliant, others are compelling, and most of them are incredible. If you plan to read more than twenty books during this year, consider picking up some of these.

Be aware that this list contains some of my favorite authors. I’ve also included new diverse books and LGBTQ ones. I just hope they end up being as good as they seem!

We start with Sara J. Maas A Court Of Frost and Starlight [The Book Depository] (ACOFAS, May). This book is narrated by Feyre and Rhysand. We’ve enjoyed the three previous books with Feyre talking almost all the time. So, this is going to be interesting. Feyre, Rhys, and friends are busy rebuilding the Night Court and Prythian. However, with the Winter Solstice, shadows loom on the fairy world. This will be the first Winter Solstice for Feyre as a High Lady. How will she manage it? Also, what kind of impact the wounds of her friends will impact the future of their Court?

We keep up with Sarah J. Maas. Catwoman Soulstealer [The Book Depository] (August) let us peek up in the life of the Cat of Gotham. When the Bat is away, the Cat will play. Seline Kyle thinks Gotham is for the taking. However, she has an obstacle: Luke Fox. He wants to help people, and that means making Seline’s plan difficult. Catwoman teams up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together break havoc. What will happen in Gotham with the Kitty and her mayhem?

Marie Lu’s Batman Nightwalker [The Book Depository] (January) is a seventeen-year-old brat. Before he becomes Batman, Bruce is eager to break all the rules. However, the day of his birthday he makes a mistake and is sentenced to community service in Arkham Asylum! Meanwhile, Gotham’s wealthiest kids are the target of the Nightwalkers, a mysterious group that has Bruce on their list. Bruce’s only hope for help is Madeleine Wallace, an inmate of Arkham Asylum. She’s a killer, and the only hope to unravel the Nightwalkers. What will Bruce do?

I love the quote on the back cover of this book. “You don’t need superpowers to be a superhero.” Let’s see how Bruce manages to become a Superhero without all his gadgets. Also, I love the quote because I believe that as well.

Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone [The Book Depository] (March) looks promising. It’s a West African-inspired fantasy with dark magic and astonishing dangers. Zelie Adebola’s mother is dead. They killed her. And they took their magic. The soil of Orisha had magic once. Now, everything is different. The new ruthless king is a sadist. Zelie has one chance to bring back magic and overthrow the tiranic monarchy. While her powers get stronger, the issue is if she’ll manage to be successful in controlling them and taking back her country.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings is an anthology (August) of fairy tales, myths, and folklore. Fifteen bestselling authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia through short stories. Some are passionate, others are thrilling, and many have magic. A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. Enter the world of enchanting stories and magic.

Rin Chupeco’s The Heart Forger [The Book Depository] (March), from the Bone Witch, seems thrilling. Tea mastered resurrection, and now she’s after revenge. She’s a bone witch who can resurrect the dead, and has the power to take life. She won’t be an exile anymore. She wants vengeance, and she now has all she needs to have it. With the help of horrible beasts, she can revenge on those who killed her true love. But, there are some who plot against her. OThers want to use her powers for their purposes. You can’t kill someone who can never die! No one is safe.

Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood [The Book Depository] (January) is a contemporary fantasy story. Alice is seventeen years old and has spent most of her life on the road. It seems that they had terribly bad luck wherever they go. However, when Alice’s grandmother dies, everything goes berserk. Her grandmother is a reclusive author of a cult-classic book about dark fairy tales. Alice’s mother is kidnapped, and if she doesn’t go to the Hinterland, something awful will happen to her. There’s just an issue: that’s the fairy’s world her grandmother was writing about in her books. She has no choice and goes to the supernatural world to get her mother back. Will she make it happen?

Heart of Iron [The Book Depository] by Ashley Poston is perfect for the fans of Six of Crows. It’s an action-packed tale full of romance and adventure. Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel and an outlaw. She was rescued by a fearsome Captain when lost in space along with her sentient android D09. When D09 starts having glitches, Ana begins an adventure to fix him. However, she’ll find that it’s going to be difficult. She has to make a choice: either save a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves.

Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince [The Book Depository] (The Folk of the Air/ January) seems to be amazing. One morning, Jude and her sisters see how their parents are murdered in front of them. The assassin abducts the three sisters to the world of Faeries, where Jude finds herself in the royal court, only to be mocked and tormented. As she grows older, she realizes that she has to play like the faeries if she wants to belong. What’s worse, she can’t get over the infuriating and cruel Prince Cardan.

Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The Traitor’s Game [The Book Depository] (February) promises lots of action. In the kingdom of Antora, nothing is as it seems. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won’t stop her from being drawn back into her father’s palace politics. He’s the right hand of the cruel King. That makes of Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. As a group of rebels kidnaps her, she learns that they want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blade to destroy the immortal king. However, she’s like wildfire and making her do it it’s going to prove an adventure. Will Kestra betray the tyrant king? Will she fell in love with one of the kidnappers?

Amie Kaufman’s Obsidio [The Book Depository] (the Illuminae files 3/ March) continues a thrilling story. “Asha Grant came to Kerenza to escape her past. Too bad he just caught up with her. Asha survived BeiTech’s initial assault and had been working undercover with the hopelessly outmatched resistance ever since. The last thing she expected to worry about was her ex-boyfriend, Rhys Lindstrom who just landed planetside. Is he her way out – or guarantee she never gets off this frozen rock alive? But Asha’s not the only one with problems. Her cousin, Kady’s ragtag band of survivors, are headed for Kerenza – without enough oxygen to last the journey. Oh, and there might be an insurrection brewing. With BeiTech hurrying to repair their damaged jump gate, and mass extermination planned for the Kerenza civilians, only a miracle could save them now. And everyone knows that miracles are just statistical probabilities…right?”

Veronica Roth’s The Fates Divide [The Book Depository] (Cave the Mark 2/ April) continues to shock. “The Fates Divide is a richly imagined tale of hope and resilience told in four stunning perspectives. Akos is in love with Cyra, in spite of his fate: he will die in service to Cyra’s family. And when Cyra’s father, Lazmet Noavek – a soulless tyrant, thought to be dead – reclaims the Shotet throne, Akos believes his end is closer than ever. As Lazmet ignites a barbaric war, Cyra and Akos are desperate to stop him at any cost. For Cyra, that could mean taking the life of the man who may – or may not – be her father. For Akos, it could mean giving his own. In a stunning twist, the two will discover how fate defines their lives in ways most unexpected.”

Sabaa Tahir’s A Reaper in the Gates [The Book Depository] (An Ember in the Ashes 3/ May) continues the thrilling saga. The threat to the Empire is more significant than ever. “The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus grows increasingly unstable. The Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.” How will the Empire survive all these blows?

Legendary [The Book Depository] (Caraval 2/ May) by Stephanie Garber looks interesting. In Legendary we follow the steps of Scarlett’s younger sister called Tella. She embarks on a journey to the capital of the Empire to fulfill a mysterious bargain. I’m curious about what that deal might be!

Rage [The Book Depository] (Stormheart 2/ June) is Cora Carmack’s second book for Roar. (I’m still reading it!) Rora needs to choose between her duties as the Princess or the excitement as an adventurer. To set things right, she joins a growing revolution that’s in the streets of Pavan disguised as the rebel Roar. She aids the rebellion but the Rage season is at its peak! The storms that Pavan is facing are different: cunning, darker than ever… It feels like war.

Queen of the Air and Darkness [The Book Depository] (The Dark Artifices 3/ December) is another tease from Cassandra Clare. “In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.”

Sarah Glenn Marsh’s Fallen [The Book Depository] (January) is a dazzling LGBTQ romance. “Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their soul from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost: the Dead must remain shrouded. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, a grotesque transformation begins, turning the Dead into terrifying, bloodthirsty Shades. A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears around the kingdom. Soon, a crushing loss of one of her closest companions leaves Odessa shattered, and reveals a disturbing conspiracy in Karthia: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead and training them to attack. Odessa must untangle the gruesome plot to destroy Karthia before the Shades take everything she loves.”

Miriam McNamara’s The Unbinding of Mary Reade [The Book Depository] (March) is another pleasant surprise. Mary has no place within her family nor in the world. She cannot inherit anything because she’s a woman. She ends up as a hired sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship. Of course, she is in disguise. However, when pirates attack her ship, she finds a pirate girl. Without thinking it twice, she puts her gun against her captain, and so she earns the trust of the pirates. She has a shot at freedom. She has a chance to be on her own. But, can she do that if she falls for the captain’s mistress?

Claire Legrand’s Furyborn [The Book Depository] (May) is a book I’m thrilled with (since I have an advanced copy). Two young independent women hold power to save the world. The only hunch is that they live centuries apart. Rielle Dardenne, in protecting her best friend, exposes herself as the Queens. She needs to pass some trials, or she’ll die. One thousand years later, Eliana Ferracora, a bounty hunter, joins a rebel captain and discovers true evil. There’s a cosmic war connecting these two women somehow. Is the world doomed?

Lastly, S. Jae-Jones’ Shadowsong [The Book Depository] (June). “Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King-who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world or the ones Liesl loves-is in her hands?”

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