Who Has Your Vote for Best YA Fantasy & Sci-Fi?

It's finally that time of year where Goodreads collects together some of the finest books for their choice awards. Of course, I haven't read all of these books (as much as I wish I could), so I'm going to be focusing on the category I am most familiar with - Best Young Adult Fantasy and Sci-Fi.

And I Darken by Kiersten White

My Review / Goodreads

This was one of my biggest surprises of this year. It exceeded all of my expectations and was brutally good. I personally wouldn't consider it Fantasy and rather a Historical Retelling, but it definitely deserves to be recognised as an excellent start to what will hopefully be a fabulous series.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

My Review / Goodreads

I only just read this and it DESTROYED me in the best way possible. The plot was fast and had an insane amount of complexity and detail to it which had me guessing at every turn. The characters were magnificantly written and the writing itself was insanly good.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

My Review / Goodreads 

I doubt my love for this series will ever cease. It has a simple magic to it that I think is impossible to replicate. I loved these characters to pieces and I so desperately wanted to be a part of their world. I read the finale to this beautiful series in one day and bawled my eyes out once it was over.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

My Review / Goodreads

There was an immense amount of hype for this book, and the thought of having a Middle Eastern based fantasy was enough to have me pick it up. Plus it have a gorgeously bookstagram worthy cover which was definitely a bonus. Sadly the cover outshone the book.

Other Nominees

Although I haven't read the majority of these books, I am familiar with most of them. Lady Midnight is part of the Shadowhunter universe which I used to be obsessed with but don't intend to continue. Plus I read some but wasn't a fan of Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles (nominee: Heartless). I also read the first book in each of these series (1, 2, 3) but didn't enjoy them enough to continue, but I do intend to read Maas' Empire of Storms when I get my hands on it.

There are a whole bunch of excellent books nominated for this year's YA Fantasy category, but ultimately, my vote lies with....

*drumroll*

CROOKED KINGDOM!!

It was a close tie between Crooked Kingdom and The Raven King because I adored them both to pieces. If it were a choice between series I think The Raven Cycle would've likely won for me, but when it came down to which I thought was the better book between the two when they stand alone, I had to pick Crooked Kingdom.

Leigh is a brilliant writer, but this book was most definitely the best I've ever seen from her. There was never a dull moment and I feel like it allowed the series to conclude in a perfect place without leaving any unanswered questions, but definitely leaving me wanting more.

So that's my vote for Best YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi, but what about you? How many of this year's nominees for this category have you read? Which do you plan to read? Are there any you loved/hated/haven't heard of? If you haven't voted already, you can do that HERE. 

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