Top Ten Tuesday (8): Top Ten All Time Favourite Fantasy Books

(Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. To join in on this weekly meme, visit the blog here)

This week on Top Ten Tuesday it's

Top Ten All Time Favourite Fantasy Books

I chose fantasy as my genre this week because it's my absolute favourite. It's the genre that I've been reading since I was reading picture books (and this TTT I will feature two of those books), and to this day has remained a go-to of mine. So without further ado...

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

For some reason I only own one Munsch book, but I've read them all! This one has always been and will always be my favourite. It's classic Munsch, and features a very clever and out-spoken princess who has a run-in with a dragon. If you haven't read this yet, visit your local library and head to the kids' section and take two minutes to read this gem. It's superb.

The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman

This one is another kid classic I adore. I think it was the pictures that really grabbed me as a youngster, but the story is cute as well. It teaches a few lessons as well and is a great introductory tale to the fantasy genre. The illustrations, too, are truly beautiful.





And for my non-little kid picks...

Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is going to be featured a few times on this list, because she is my all-time favourite author. Alanna is the first book in this fantastic series, which features a girl who trades places with her twin brother so that she can be a knight (which women are not allowed to do) and her brother can learn magic (something women are expected to do instead of knighthood). A seriously wonderful quartet featuring one of YA's most insiring female characters.

The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce

Wild Magic, the first in this series, is the first book by Tamora Pierce that I read. It was bought for me or I picked it up because of the horse on the cover (my favourite animal, and I went through a very long phase where I only read Pony Pals and Saddle Club and Thoroughbred books, haha). SO glad I read this one, whatever the reason, because it made me seek out other books by this wonderful author. This one takes place in the same world as Alanna's series did, but features a different main female character and takes place after Alanna's story (but there is mention of Alanna).

Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce

She's really good for quartets, this author :) First Test is the first in a series featuring my favourite female main character ever, Keladry of Mindelan. This one takes place in the same land as the previous two series, and by Kel's time, knighthood had been open to women for the first time. And she is the first female to step up to the plate. But the males do not make it easy for her. This is my favourite Tamora Pierce series and the first series I read fully by this author (I read The Immortals after, and then Alanna. Oops!)

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

What's a fantasy list without Harry Potter? I don't think I need to say much on why this one is here. It's Harry freakin' Potter!

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

I'm so beyond proud that the author is from my city <3 But I fell in love this this book before I knew this fact. Falling Kingdoms is a genius high fantasy series by pseudonym author Morgan Rhodes (she also writes romance and other YA under Michelle Rowen and she is fantastic). Book 2 is recently out, Rebel Spring (which I've yet to read - ack! But I'll get there). Highly recommended if you like fantasy. The characters are so diverse and very interesting.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

This series features a heroine who was locked up for being an assassin, and freed under the condition that she compete to be the king's champion - which means freedom after serving as the king's personal assassin for a few years. She'll die if she stays locked up, but she hates the king, so while the choice is easy, it's not at all simple. Seriously such a fantastic series. Books one and two are out and you should go read them both right now right now right now :)

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

You may have heard of this one already - the young author's writing has been compared to that of J.K. Rowling - and it is not undeserved. I was a little apprehensive going into this one, because I tend to stick to YA and this one is in the adult fantasy category, but it was fantastic. It's the first of a planned eight-book series, and I an eagerly anticipating the second. It's very different from any fantasy I've read. It's like an AU fantasy that takes in a world where the English monarchy no longer reigns, and clairvoyants are hunted. The protagonist is a clairvoyant herself, and joins a gang of clairvoyants before she's captured (not a spoiler - it's in the blurb), and then spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler :)

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Dragons.
I feel like that's all I have to say, really. Hartman's dragons are quite unique, though. They have the ability to turn human, and I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to be a dragon? I go into this book in more detail in my review, which you can find here.