Top 5 Urban Fantasy Novels

*Note* Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads group where blogger/vloggers post about a bookish topic every Wednesday. You can check it out right here. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118368-top-5-wednesday
 

   

     Here is the list of my Top 5 Favorite Urban Fantasy Novels, or a list of the only Urban Fantasy Novels I like as I am not a huge fan of the genre because of the dark tone many of the books hold (more on that later) so this isn’t a list of my favorites because I didn’t love all of them. However, I did enjoy every book on this list while I was reading it.

5. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr    

Up North where I live the word “wicked” is often used as a way of adding emphasis to something like the word “very.” “I had a wicked bad day today.” “The roads are wicked greasy out.” Or the most common one,“I am wicked cold right now.” When I first saw the title, I thought “Wicked Lovely” meant “Very Lovely,” which isn’t the case. If it weren’t for my little blunder with the title  don’t think I would have remembered much about this book. As far as the story and writing goes it’s okay. I enjoyed Wicked Lovely as I read it, but I don’t think I am likely to read it again. However, if you are an avid fan of Urban fantasy, especially one's about Fae and fairies, I would recommend it.

4. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

    

      I actually read this one the same time as Wicked Lovely, but unlike the latter, I not only finished the series, but I think The Iron King deserves a reread. What is this book about? The plot is a little more complicated than this, but to put it simply, a little boy is kidnapped by the Fae and is replaced by a changeling. If she ever wants to see her beloved brother again, the protagonist, Meghan, has to journey through the world of the Fae to save him putting her own life at risk. I love Meghan and how she did everything  for her brother. Being a big sister myself, Meghan's quest hit me hard and I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like. My brother was around the same age as Meghan's when I first read this book so it struck me at just the right time.

3. Shinobi Life by Shoko Konami

      If you are looking for something philosophical then this fish-out-of-water-manga might not be the best fit for you, but if you enjoy a good romantic comedy, come on in. Unlike the other four books on this list, Shinobi Life doesn’t star a normal human being sent to a fantasy world or interacting with supernatural beings from a different world. Instead, the protagonist is Kagetora, a shinobi no mono (ninja) who accidentally arrives in the future and mistakes a rich girl for his former client. Kagetora is a very confused individual and I don’t blame him at all. I would not know how to handle myself if I was sent hundreds of years into the feature. Although Kagetora does end up adjusting somewhat, he still has much to learn about the 21st century.

2. Unblemished by Sara Ella   

   
     One of the reasons I don’t particularly gravitate towards urban fantasy, is the dark and gritty tone many books in this genre have. As I was reading Wicked Lovely I felt the book had a dark tone both with the plot and the feeling of hopelessness the main character had. The Iron King where Ash was very aware of her and her brother’s mortality during her quest had this feel as well. I normally don’t find this appealing. However, Unblemished lacks this tone but still has moments of peril. The story opens with our teenaged protagonist, Elianna, at her mother’s calling hours! However, Sara Ella manages to show us the danger, but still, give her novel a bright and hopeful feel. Although it may not be the best-written book, Unblemished is unlike any fantasy novel I have ever read with the reflections, the void, and all the other quirks its world holds; this isn’t just weird, it’s otherworldly.

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan 

   
    At first, I saw this week’s prompt and thought about listing all 5 of the original Percy Jackson books and call it a day, but this is a list for top 5 urban fantasy novels not all Percy Jackson Books ranked. Alas, I had to pick my favorite of the 5 and put it at number one. And, it is none other than my old friend, The Battle of the Labyrinth. What I love about this installment is how good the pacing is. This book has the perfect balance between action and thoughtful moments. I loved watching as Percy and Annabeth take on the trials in the labyrinth and how the plot-twists weren’t given away from page one, but still had enough build up and didn’t appear to come falling down from the sun. (If you got that reference you deserve a blue cake).

Are Christian Books Too Preachy?

    Randomly visit the page of a book provider, pick any Christian Fiction book, and read the reviews. No matter how well written the prose are, or how cleverly crafted the plot is, there is almost always someone who said the book was awful because it was too “preachy”. These complaints could be valid and I am not one to belittle another person’s experiences, but when almost every book in a very broad category is getting slammed for this one flaw I have to wonder, is this warranted? Based on my extensive experience with Christianity and Christian fiction, the answer isn’t a simple yes or no because my eyes have looked over the pages of a book I found to be preachy.*Cough* Elsie Dismore *Cough* However, that particular series was written for children over a hundred years ago. Modern Christian books are very different.

       

     Christian fiction isn’t the only category of books with a moral to them. When I was reading Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, I noticed Mare mentions anyone can betray anyone on several occasions. Is this preaching? I didn’t think so because I felt this was a logical conclusion for Mare to make based on her past experiences in the social environment around her. I don’t think Victoria wanted her readers to think it is stupid to have faith in people. She was trying to show how betrayal will affect the way a person views the world. Can Christian authors not do the same? In The Redemption by M.L. Tyndall, there is a character who has strong faith in God and his faith was the result of past events. I didn’t find this character was preachy because the author was showing why this man had faith and how it affected the way he lived his life. Just how Victory showed how Mare developed her worldview and how this view affects the decisions she makes.

      What my point is, whether or not something is too preachy mostly boils down to perception. If I were to read a text of a religion I don't practice, I would probably find it a little off-putting because of my biases. However, it might be just another Tuesday to one who practices that religion. The same could go for a non-Christian reading one of M.L. Tyndall’s books. The characters casually bringing up God in conversation may seem to him or her as the author simply using her characters to drill the message even further when in fact she was portraying a normal conversation between Christians.

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https://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Legacy-Kings-Pirates/dp/1618430203

Top 5 Favorite Romance Novels

Top 5 Favorite Romance Novels                                                      

5. The Heiress and the Chauffeur, Vol. 2 by Keiko Ishihara  

  I am trying to avoid plot specific events because I don’t

want to spoil what occurs in the first volume. If it wasn’t  

for my sister urging me on, I would never have gotten around          

to reading volume 2 of this series. Don’t get me wrong the first

one was good. However, it could have been better, but it could have been a lot worst. I gave it three stars. Anyway, thanks to my sister I would have missed out on a delightful romance manga. There are areas in need of development. For instance, the main character’s relationship with her best friend. My sister told me Ishihara wanted to develop it more, but her producers were worried it would take the focus away from the romance. All in all, The Heiress and the Chauffeur is a breezy read. However, that isn’t to say this story doesn’t have some heavy moments of family turmoil.

*Content* As mentioned above there are moments of family turmoil and I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who might have a chaotic home life as it could be triggering. There are also mentions of past injuries, and violence, and some very sensual moments. 15+

4. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

     My nostalgia glasses were on when I decided

to put this book on this list as it is the first non-middle

school book I read for fun. It is a historical retelling of

Snow White with a strong Christian focus. (It is set in pre-

reformation Europe) Something that really attracted tween me to the protagonist, Sophie, was her issues with letting go her past with the duchess, the fill in for the evil queen, but Gabe, the fill in for Prince Charming who isn’t a prince, encourages her to let God heal her. I like how both Gabe and Sophie better each other because of their relationship even if there was one plot point at the end which I found to be too convenient. (There is a reason this isn’t at the top of this list).

Content There are some frightening chase scenes and brief descriptions of violence, wounds, death, and minor sensual content 14+

3. First Date by Krista McGee

     A modern retelling of Ester where Queen Ester is Addy,

a normal Teenager, King Ahasuerus is Jonathan, the president’s

son, and they are in a reality show where the prize is going to prom

with Jonathan instead of becoming the new queen. McGee pulls this

off almost flawlessly. There are legitimately funny parts (especially Addy interacting with the other contestants) and I found myself laughing out loud many times. The romance is pretty sweet as far as teenage romance goes, but it isn’t just “I like you. You like me. Let’s take cute selfies together”. Another positive element of this book is the author doesn’t forget the protagonist interacts with people other than the object of her affection. I was not only interested in how Addy's and Jonathan's relationship was developing, but also the relationships the protagonist had with the friend she made on the game show, her uncle, and legal guardian, and her parents who although have been dead for years (not a spoiler) and how their deaths still touch her more than a decade later.

Content There are some scenes of bullying and intense flashbacks in this book, but they aren’t super explicit. It would probably be good for 12+, but I wouldn’t give this to sensitive 12 and 13-year-olds. ie., I wouldn’t give this to middle-school me. (I read this book in high school).

2. Miki Falls: Summer by Mark Crilley

     First things first, Mark both wrote and illustrated

this book by hand so I have to give credit to that because

the artwork of this graphic novel is amazing. Yet another

piece where I’ll have to avoid plot specific events to avoid

spoiling the first one. This is the second out of four books

of the Miki Falls series. Unlike The Heiress and the Chauffeur, I had full intention of continuing with this series after I finished the first volume, Spring. However, I still find Summer to be a stronger entry than Spring as I found the latter to be more of an introduction. Summer builds on what I learned from Spring and does a very good job of showing the story as this is a graphic novel. The frustrations that the two protagonists, Miki and Hiro, have with their relationship and all the problems arising from it. I am now entering some spoiler territory here so if you haven’t read this book yet I recommend skipping to my number one Romance novel. The ending of Summer drove me to read the next book even more than Spring because...

He found the arrow!!!

Content Some scenes of relationship problems and mentions of death and the fear of death. And some sensual content 13+

1. Small Town Girl by Anne H. Gabhart

       I first read this book when I was in my Junior year

of high school where my sister and I were trying to share

my local library’s only copy. This is the second book in

Gabhart’s Rosy Corner Series the first being Angel Sister,

which is also amazing, but as the title suggest the love in

that story isn’t romantic. Unlike the other two sequels I reviewed, I don’t have to avoid plot specific events because this can be read without ruining much of Angel Sister's story. The main characters, Kate and Jay, have a lot more than their relationship in mind. For the most part, they are concerned about the WWII and the other people involved in their lives. The plot is heavily focused on the characters and it works perfectly with the diverse personalities of the people occupying the world of Gabhart’s Rosy Corner series. 

Content There are scenes of family turmoil, mentions of the deaths of loved ones, a scene where a character receives unwanted sexual attention, accidental violence, the strain war places on people, and some sensual content. 16+.

*Note* Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads group where blogger/vloggers post about a bookish topic every Wednesday. You can check it out right here. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118368-top-5-wednesday