Books That Stayed With Me Long After I Put Them Down

Ahh, book hangovers. They are both a blessing and a curse for those of us who fall in love easily and often with nonexistent worlds with made up people in them. A blessing, because the experience of finding a story that captures your attention so entirely is every book lover's dream. A curse, because we all know the little hole that gets left behind at the end of one of those books.

I decided to dedicate this blog post to a few book series' that gave me the worst of the worst book hangovers. The ones that pop up in my head on a random Tuesday and make me think, "God, that was such a good story." So, without further adieu, here are the books that have carved a permanent place for themselves on the bookshelves of my heart.

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle Trilogy) by Libba Bray

If you've never heard of this series, it's probably because it was published back in 2003. However, I take the title of this post very seriously. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray, beginning with A Great and Terrible Beauty, was one of the first YA fantasy series I remember reading and being completely obsessed with. I recall reading it for the first time in middle school, circa 2007. I felt like I was plucked out of my mundane classroom and dropped into this breathtaking new world. Few books have made that kind of impact on me, but this series tops the list.

Book two, Rebels Angels, and book three, The Sweet and Far Thing, were just as much of an experience as the first book. I will always recommend this series to someone who asks for a good YA fantasy book to read.

Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima

I'd like to take a moment to simply acknowledge what a talented writer Cinda Williams Chima is. When I began my reading journey with The Demon King, I had no idea how much I would come to love the Seven Realms series (and subsequently, the Shattered Realms series). What stood out to me even more was the appreciation I developed for the quality of Chima Williams'

work. There are a lot of good authors out there, but not everyone is as skilled at layering stories, developing characters and building worlds the way she is.

Needless to say, I burned through the Seven Realms series (four books) and then the Shattered Realms series (also four books) in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I'd gladly argue that Chima Williams is one of the most talented writers in the YA fantasy industry today.

Empirium Trilogy by Claire Legrand

You know, I almost didn't list this trilogy because of the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced while reading Lightbringer, the third and final book in the Empirium trilogy. I have some emotional grievances I'd like to file against Ms. Claire Legrand, but I'll set those aside for now to share this exceptional work with all of you.

The Empirium trilogy is not a quick, easy read you breeze through when you’re feeling bored. It is layered, complex and told from several POV’s and timeframes. Some authors do not do this well, but please believe me when I say Legrand has mastered it to the point that I could not envision this series it working any other way.

Legrand had me wrapped up in this trilogy hook, line and sinker (I'm from the midwest, it's in my nature to use a fishing reference every now and then). When I was reading these books, my emotions ebbed and flowed with the characters. I got angry at them, I cried (more than once. No, I still don't want to talk about it), and I experienced happiness in the pages of the Empirium trilogy. That is what a good book is supposed to do. Hence why I've set aside my petty grievances to recommend Legrand's masterful work in this blog.

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

If someone were to ask me for a list of reasons why I love The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty, I'd be able to rattle them off without a second thought. I'm not ashamed to admit that the cover of City of Brass drew me in right from the jump. I mean, just look at it! Is this an inadvisable book selection strategy? Yes, absolutely. But in this instance, it led me to a trilogy of gems, so shhh.

The Daevabad Trilogy is an outlier in YA fantasy in that the world it's set in is not built around Western culture. Without giving too much away, I'll say that the low fantasy element of this series takes place in 18th century Cairo, Egypt, and the remainder of the story aligns closely with the cultural elements of this setting. The books also rely heavily on djinn lore, a topic that I have become increasingly interested in over the years (note: I highly recommend The Hidden Djinn podcast hosted by Rabia Chaudry if you'd like to learn more about the djinn). So you can imagine my delight in finding a YA fantasy book that crossed over into this realm.

Aside from Chakraborty's books being well-written, with vivid worldbuilding and a slate of characters you can't help but become attached to, I enjoyed immersing myself in a fantasy series based on Middle Eastern culture. Unfortunately, the fantasy genre as a whole does not include many books that deviate away from the framework of Western culture. I hope to see more books like these in the future, written by diverse individuals who can bring their own cultural knowledge and experiences to the table.

Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Oh come on, now. You didn't really think I'd leave these out, did you? While I will admit the rise of #BookTok has made A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) somewhat of a cliche recommendation at this point, I stand by its place on this list. Of all the books I've read (and I promise, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of them), ACOTAR probably gave me the worst book hangover of my young adult life.

Do I think it's the best series ever written? No, not really. Do I think Sarah J. Maas has a way of pulling readers into her worlds so deeply that it becomes painstaking work to pull yourself out of them? Yes, I sure do. Maas has a way of writing worlds and characters that you become nearly addicted to. I went into a reading hole for two days straight to finish A Court of Mist and Fury. I wish that was an exaggeration. There's a good reason ACOTAR has amassed nearly 1 million reviews on Goodreads and still manages to maintain a 4+ star rating. Maas is a talented writer, and her books are easy to lose yourself in. End of.

If you read my review of Crescent City, you'll already know my love for the Throne of Glass Series runs even deeper. I will never shut up about how impressive Maas' ability to tie together small, seemingly inconsequential nuances from book to book is. Throne of Glass is a long a** series, with seven regular books and five novellas (0.1-0.5). As an aspiring author who has been through the painstaking writing and editing process, I am always in awe of how deep Maas' storylines run. I just know that woman is an architect writer.

So there you have it, the series' that gave me the worst book hangovers of my young adult life. Leave me a comment and share yours, or let me know which of these you'll be picking up next!