PFS2012 Blogger Guest Post: Candace from Candace's Book Blog

When I started thinking about writing up this post I had to think back to the first fantasy that I've read and I was shocked to discover that I don't recall reading any fantasy as a teen. I mean sure, I read paranormal and horror stories. You know, Anne Rice, V.C. Andrews and all those, but nothing fantasy. And especially nothing epic fantasy. But in my head all I can think is, whhhaaaa?! I mean, I love fantasy! Did I really not discover it until I was an adult? Well, it's possible I'm forgetting something. But the first fantasy I can remember reading was The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I read it as an adult. A new adult, but still an adult. It was a hefty read. But that book BLEW MY FREAKING MIND! Seriously, it's like I spent my entire life reading all sorts of crap until I read that. That was possibly the first book that made me want to squeal and scream to the world READ THIS BOOK!

A few years after that I picked up a book on recommendation from my best friend. It was Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. I started reading it and I was a little shocked by the content (ummm, yeah, rated R dude). And it was a little bit slow moving. It was VERY heavy reading. I wasn't sure it was for me. But my bff said, I HAD TO READ IT. So I kept on. Around the second half of the book I suddenly realized that THIS WAS THE BEST FREAKING BOOK I HAD EVER READ IN MY ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE! Like, for real dude. This was fantasy. The best fantasy EVER. But then I realized when I started the second book, Kushiel's Chosen, that I was wrong. That was not the BEST BOOK I HAD EVER READ because Kushiel's Chosen was THE BEST BOOK I HAD EVER READ. These books were bringing out emotions I never even knew existed. This was the most creative and amazing world I had ever seen. These were the bravest, most heroic characters I had ever met. This plot had me twisted up inside because I was so emotional and in suspense. How could they possibly survive all these mind boggling events? All the crazy court intrigue, the traveling to amazing countries, the PIRATES, the prisons... holy crap. I felt I had found heaven. And it was then that I realized that I LOVED FANTASY. Not paranormal (oh yes, I love it too), but EPIC fantasy. High fantasy. Whatever you want to call it. A made up world, crazy creatures, magic, empires, love, romance, ADVENTURE. Yep, I found it all. {Big HUGE warning here: the Kushiel's series by Jacqueline Carey is ADULT. It is pretty much NOT appropriate for anyone who is NOT an adult. But if you are an adult, READ THEM.}

After my discovery of my love of fantasy I always knew I wanted more, but I wasn't really up for trying all those popular fantasy books. I don't know why exactly. They seemed overwhelming. Huge. Possibly overrated. So it was a couple years ago when Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken came out that I got a reminder of my love of the genre. From there it took off and now I think it's probably going to be WAY too long of a post if I start talking about all the fantasy I've read. But YA fantasy has turned out to be my thing. It's a shortened version of adult fantasy, so it's not as huge and overwhelming, but it's still as epic and amazing.

Some favorites are Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen and Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. There are many, many more but I will stop there. Fantasy in YA has been one of the biggest reading adventures for me. It seems after each book I read I crave more. Fantasy takes us away to a completely new world, with brave and heroic characters, fantastic adventure and romance that we often could never imagine on our own.

Thanks Asher for having me on!

..............................................................................

I, like, died when I saw this list, Candace--we share so many of the same favorites, it's astounding! Thank you so much for your thoughts and for pimping out the fantasy genre because I think you're not only right, but that everyone should give it a try!

Stalk Candace at her Goodreads | Twitter | Blog

Stay tuned to this week's event schedule so you'll be here as it happens and
enter to win some prize packs!

Ah, gosh, I looooved Seraphina and Brightly Woven! And now I have The False Prince, Throne of Glass, AND Stormdancer on my TBR for this month (I'm reading Stormdancer now) and I'm so incredibly amazed. Candace knows what she's talking about here, peeps. Comment down below if you're up for cutthroat competitions or dragons that eat people.