For previous posts and future FFF topics check out my Friday Favorite Five page here.

Favorite Five Books with One-Word Titles

This is a really arbitrary topic, but I guess that’s me! I may or may not have picked this because it’s also a category on this year’s r/fantasy bingo and apparently I only have so much creativity, haha.

• Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

This is one I just recently read but it was so much fun and I immediately fell in love with it. It’s a fantasy novel with a lovely romantic subplot featuring a great heroine. Our main character has just inherited and her in laws are trying to force her to marry within the family. Seeing no other way out our protagonists resolves to kill herself and draws a sword to do so only to have a warrior appear claiming to live within the sword and be her sworn protector. Hilarity ensues. I did not expect this book to be as funny as it was but I laughed so much reading it. Full review to come soon so look forward to that. 🙂

 

• Changes by Jim Butcher

 

There are a lot of great books in the Dresden Files but Changes has to be one of, if not the best of the lot so far. Some crazy stuff goes down in this one and the title really hits the nail on the head. This one held a lot more gravitas than some of the other stories in the series and the consequences of this one are far reaching.

 

 

 

• Witchmark by C.L. Polk

 

First off, how gorgeous is that cover? I love it! The writing of this book is just superb. It’s sort of an Edwardian England analogue featuring magic and the fae. Except there’s a caste system within the magicians and if you’re not on the top you’re basically forced to be enslaved to the others and have your power used as batteries–yikes! There’s a fantastic romantic subplot to this story as well, which I always appreciate.

 

 

• Summerlong by Peter S. Beagle

 

Speaking of great covers, the cover art for Summerlong is simply beautiful. This is Peter at his best. There are so many things I love about this book–it’s prose, it’s older protagonists, the strange way the story unfolds and the slightly unsettled feelings it causes…everything comes together and is so perfectly crafted. This was a heck of a read and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to dive into Beagle’s work.

 

 

• Transformation by Carol Berg

 

Transformation has to be one of my favorite books I’ve read in the last ten years. It’s epic fantasy with an interesting world of magic and politics. But what really makes it stand above the rest is the characters and their story arcs. If you want to go on a journey with some characters, have them tortured, dragged through the worst, and come out the other side, well, Carol Berg is the author for you. What she is able to do with characters is truly amazing and something to be admired.

 

 

 

Those are my pick’s for this week’s FFF topic! What would be some of your favorites to make the list? Thoughts on any of mine? Leave me a note in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!