Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests, and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its evil at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years. Agnieszka is terrified when she is chosen, but she finds that the Dragon, the Wood, and magic itself are far more complicated than she ever thought...

I loved this gorgeous young adult fantasy steeped in the rich traditions of Eastern European folklore. The story quickly swept me up and I found myself absorbed in the tale of Agnieszka and the Dragon as they battled to keep the Wood at bay. I also really liked the quiet humour which underlaid the first person narrative. My only niggle was that there was so much crammed into the plot, especially in the last half of the book, that it felt a bit rushed. I wanted to both devour Uprooted in one sitting because I was desperate to know what happened next and also wanted to slow down and savour the story properly... definitely one for a future re-read!

At its heart, Uprooted is about the power of love; love may make you vulnerable and desperate at times, but the ties it creates are powerful.

Recommended For: Anyone who likes their YA fantasy full of folklore and magic

Read On: Spinning Silver is another retelling by Naomi Novik, as is To Kill a A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. Another tale of a malevolent and ancient forest aimed at adults is In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Faith has a thirst for science and a knack for uncovering secrets that proper young ladies are not supposed to have. When she finds her disgraced father's journals, filled with the notes and theories of a man driven close to madness, she's finally discovers a secret that might be too big even for her. Because before her are tales of a strange tree which, when told a lie, will unveil a truth: the greater the lie, the greater the truth it reveals. And what Faith really, really wants to know will necessitate the telling of some very big lies. 

The Lie Tree is a gothic historical YA fantasy full of revenge, dark family secrets, and repressed Victorian sensibilities. And, of course, lies that very quickly take on a life of their own. I loved it! And The Lie Tree gets bonus love because almost all the main characters are complicated women who have found their own way to fight their battles at a time when women were supposed to be little more than somebody's wife or sister.

Recommended For: Fans of dark and gothic historical fantasies with a fairy tale feel

Read On: The Lie Tree is a standalone, but I want to go on and read A Skinful of Shadows by the same author.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

The daughter of the siren queen, Lira killed her first prince on her twelfth birthday. She has since killed five more, and has become feared far and wide as the Prince’s Bane. She’s well on her way of living up to her mother’s savage reputation. However, an unintended act of compassion sees Lira cursed into the body of a human - and the only way to break the enchantment and return to the sea is to take the heart of Prince Elian of Midas. The problem? Prince Elian is more pirate than royal prince. He’s a siren-hunter. He’s wily and ruthless and determined to wipe out the sirens once and for all, starting with the Prince’s Bane herself. Who will take the other’s heart first? 

To Kill a Kingdom is a deliciously dark YA fantasy with a fierce heroine that was a lot of fun to read during a long day of travelling. The trope of enemies-becoming-friends is well worn, and the ending was obvious from the get-go, but I loved the sheer exuberance of the plot and the witty bickering between Elian and Lira. For all that the plot is vaguely ridiculous and the world building is a little thin, the two protagonists had flashes of emotional depth which were really quite touching and, if I'm honest, unexpected. In the first few chapters both characters seemed a little uninspired, but they became much more interesting as they struggled against the expectations placed onto them by their parents and searched for the bravery to defy the stereotypes of what they are.

At its heart, To Kill a Kingdom is a dark retelling of the fairy tale of the little mermaid which is crammed full of sass and swashbuckling adventure. The ending can be seen from miles off, but the joy of this book is totally in the journey to get there. 

Recommended For: Fans of darkly funny and character-driven YA fantasy 

Read On: Other dark YA fantasies with fierce and ruthless protagonists include Half a King by Joe Abercrombie and Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Feeling like an bird in a golden cage, Princess Raisa of Fellsmarch wants to be like Hanalea, the warrior queen who defeated the Demon King and saved the world. However, her mother is more concerned with gowns, etiquette, and, most worryingly of all, marriage. Meanwhile, reformed thief Han Alister is as free as can be... free to starve, freeze, and be roughed up by the corrupt Queens Guard. He will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family so when he stumbles across a magical amulet he sees the opportunity to bring home a little silver. Unfortunately, the amulet belongs to the most powerful wizard in Fellsmarch - a man who will do anything to get it back.

The Demon King is a lighthearted YA high fantasy novel and the first book in the Seven Realms series. To start with, I have to say that the book follows very well worn fantasy traditions and regular readers of fantasy will find little that's original here; the setting is a fairly standard pseudo-medieval world and there's an expected cast of royals, soldiers, thieves, and street urchins. Also, as the first book in the series, The Demon King is much more focused on character development and world-building than plot. As a result, the pace can be slow at times, and the main story doesn't really get going until the last few chapters.

All that being said, I really enjoyed this book. I love full-blooded, endearing and well-rounded characters, and Cinda Williams Chima has done a great job of creating two protagonists with unique backgrounds and motivations. Raisa's frustration and feelings of being trapped build naturally through the story and I really liked how she slowly realises how privileged and insulated her existence has been. Likewise, Han's jealousy and uncertainty as everyone around him seems to be moving on with their lives while he has no idea what lies in his future is achingly familiar to anyone who has ever felt lost and directionless.

The Demon King is really a foundation book for the series. It introduces the world, its magic system and politics, its characters and basically sets everything up for the main story to begin.

Recommended For: Readers who like fun, character-driven, and relatively angst-free YA fantasy.

Read On: The next book in the series is The Exiled Queen which I'll be picking up pretty soon. Another fun (and funny) high fantasy book is Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher.