Welcome back to day six of Five Fall Favorites — the annual autumn celebration of all things bookish!

How have we reached the end of the week already? I can’t believe this is our last day. I’ve had such a blast this week, and am already looking forward to next year’s book recommendations, haha.

If you’ve read my previous posts (Day #1, Day #2, Day #3, Day #4, & Day #5) this week, feel free to skip on down to today’s theme. And if not, here’s a brief recap for our final post!

Every day this week (6 days in all), I and a large group of other book bloggers have shared posts centered around certain bookish themes, and packed full with some of our favorite book recommendations from the past year. I’ll link to a number of those blogs at the end of this post, but for even more links and information, you should check out our hosts’ sites!

Five Fall Favorites is once again hosted by Kate at Once Upon an Ordinary and Rebekah at Read Another Page (click on their blog names, or the graphics below to visit their blogs). Thank you both so much!

In addition to book recommendations, I have a surprise to share today!

My nonmagical Beauty and the Beast retelling, A Noble Grace, is free today on Amazon!

I’ve heard rumors that a handful of other bloggers participating in Five Fall Favorites may also have similar surprises today…so I’d highly recommend making sure to check out the rest of the participant’s blogs too!

To snag your free ebook copy of A Noble Grace (only free through the end of the day!), just click HERE!

Today’s theme is such a difficult one…sharing five of my very favorite reads from the last year. I’ve read so many good books since last autumn, so I can’t definitively say the books I share today are my TOP favorites of all time, but they are very good stories that I loved reading and am looking forward to reading again in the future. I hope you find some good recommendations!

All the books I share this week are ones that I’ve either read in the past year, or are currently reading/re-reading, so please feel free to leave any questions you might have about the books below, and I’ll do my best to answer.

Also, I’ve reviewed many of these more thoroughly on Goodreads, so if you’re interested in reading my thoughts – or other reviews – you can find the Goodreads link under each book, or by clicking on each book’s title.

Let’s jump in!

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: Portal Fantasy Fairy Tale Romance (“Beauty and the Beast” retelling)

Target Audience: YA (Young Adult)+

What Stuck Out to Me: Rarely do I stumble upon books that leave me with a “book hangover”, but this one did! This is the most original Beauty and the Beast retelling I think I’ve read yet, and I devoured it in one sitting.

The protagonists were both so well-written! Rhen perfectly played the role of horrible “beast” while being a loveable, tragic, and struggling leader. I rooted for him so much. Harper also was strong and nuanced, spunky but flawed. I love her Cerebral Palsy representation, and her constant courage and heart through struggles. Their romance was sweet, awkward, tortured, and honestly far more believable than often happens in BatB retellings.

The world, while not overly developed, was rich enough to hold my attention and feel very real without being too complicated or confusing. The villain was excellently horrible, and I absolutely hated her and dreaded her appearances. Grey, though without much page time in this book, was probably my favorite.
And overall, the writing style was beautiful, flowing, precise, and simply enjoyable to read. It left me feeling inspired to work on my own fairy tale retellings, and hopefully make them as gripping.

Tricky Content: m/m relationship between minor characters (last quarter of the book), mild language, violence & fighting, deaths, references to previous intimacy between a male & female (nothing ever shown), attempted s***ide (non-described). I wouldn’t consider this book “clean” by typical standards.

NOTE: The next two books in the series were equally as engaging and well-written, but the tricky content does increase (mostly via romance and violence). I can usually gloss/skim over book sections that make me uncomfortable (and did a handful of times in each book), but if you’re sensitive or try to stay completely away from any of the above-mentioned content, you may want to skip this series.

I’d Recommend It To: Mature readers (due to the content) who enjoy darker portal fantasies, fairy tale retellings (especially Beauty and the Beast), nuanced and fascinating characters, and slow romance.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Saraina Whitney

Genre: Nonmagical Christian Fantasy Fairy tale retelling (“Goose Girl”)

Target Audience: NA (New Adult)

What Stuck Out to Me: Rarely do I read a book and instantly know I’ll be rereading it again and again, but this one I’m sure of. I’m not very familiar with the Goose Girl fairy tale, so I can’t speak on how closely it retold the original story, but it stands perfectly on its own. From the very first page, I was hooked.

Aurelia is such a sweet character, and I loved her so much. Gentle, tender, caring, yet with a fun
spark of spunk to her, she was the perfect protagonist for this story. And WILDER. His dedication toward protecting Aurelia, and his emotional struggles, both from his past and from his duty toward her, kept me on edge. His growth and richness as a character made me so happy. What an adorable, well-matched pair.

The setting wasn’t complicated, but felt very real. I loved the brief flashes of French inspiration dotting the world, and everything else was beautifully described. I always adore “foresty” journey tales. There were so many obstacles, so many learning opportunities, and so many twists and turns I didn’t see coming. And finally, the themes… My heart broke and healed with each of the characters as they struggled through their growth. Props to the author for conveying such powerful, biblical truths in such a sweet, short, and lovely story. I’ll definitely be reading her future books, and really loved this one.

Tricky Content: Mild peril, fighting, bear attack, mentions of a drunken father and child abuse in MMC’s past, lying, minor descriptions of wounds and blood, MMC is shirtless in one scene but not described, mentions of torture, mention of a miscarriage and child abandonment, and the FMC struggles with pulling out her hair when anxious, one non-described kiss

I’d Recommend It To: Anyone who enjoys sweet and poignant medieval stories, touching romance, twisting adventurous journeys, and REAL characters and themes.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Dystopian Fantasy

Target Audience: YA (Young Adult)+

What Stuck Out to Me: I wish I could hug Haymitch. This Hunger Games prequel left me numb and it wasn’t until several hours after finishing it, as I took the time to really tie all of the connections to the original trilogy, that I teared up. I knew, of course, what had to happen to Haymitch to form him into who he was in the other books, but wow…

Haymitch has always been one of my favorite characters in this series, and getting to see his “origin story” was very rewarding. I absolutely hate how much pain he was forced through, but it provides such a clear picture of why he acts the way he does toward Katniss. It also makes their later story threads even more meaningful.

Overall, this book struck the perfect balance between Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes & the original trilogy for me, merging the action, plot twists, and political intrigue of the Hunger Games, with the slower-paced but more calculated and intimate workings of Ballad. I’ve seen other reviewers call it the missing puzzle piece, and I would agree. It’s not a happy read by any stretch of the imagination (in fact, it’s crushing), but that epilogue nearly redeems the entire thing, and I’m truly glad I’ve read it. I’m sure I’ll reread it soon.

Tricky Content: Many deaths (some heavily described), violence, injuries, poisonings, fights with animals & weapons, arson & death by fire, m/m relationship (brief mentions), guilt & grief, depression & subtle references to intent to self-harm, alcoholism

I’d Recommend It To: Anyone who has enjoyed the rest of the Hunger Games series (highly recommend reading them in release order first!), and is especially intrigued by Haymitch’s character and backstory.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Adam Gidwitz

Genre: Children’s Historical Fiction

Target Audience: MG (Middle-Grade)+

What Stuck Out to Me: I’m finishing this book now, after being recommended it by a friend, and it’s been such a fun experience. I’ve never read a story quite like this one, and I’m so enjoying it.

With the charming medieval illustrations every few pages, the fun and nuanced cast of characters, very real and adventurous settings, and deep glimpses into life in medieval Europe around the time of the Crusades, this story is engaging from the first page. I absolutely love the contrast between the simplistic, quirky writing style, and the brutally honest, thought-provoking themes and questions.

This is a story of friendship, of persecution, of children in terrible situations bonding and learning and growing together as they fight for their lives, wrapped up in wacky humor, and delightfully medieval descriptions. Even the way the story is told, bouncing from narrator to narrator, helps give us a palatable glimpse into what life was like in that period of time — something I’m always fascinated by. It’s probably not a book for everyone, and I’d recommend it more to older kids and adults, but it’s worth a try!

Tricky Content: some juvenile/crass humor, occasional mild language, references to alcohol and drunkenness, medieval violence and fighting, deaths, brief descriptions of injuries, an honest exploration of religion in medieval times (Jewish, Christian, etc. religions portrayed in positive and negative lights)

I’d Recommend It To: Mature middle-grade readers and older who enjoy quirky and honest medieval stories of courage, friendship, character growth — bonus points if you love charming illustrations!

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Peter Brown

Genre: Children’s Sci-Fi Contemporary

Target Audience: MG (Middle-Grade)+

What Stuck Out to Me: I finished this book in one sitting and have so many feelings! I doubted whether I’d care very much about a robot, but Brown did a fantastic job “humanizing” Roz and making her someone I admired. All of the animals were so unique and fun, and the setting very vivid. I liked the hints of worldbuilding with the different types of robots, particularly near the end.

I was sad when Roz was sad, scared when she was, smiley when she was finding meaning in her life. Through a non-human character learning about what life is, Brown masterfully explored many elements of humanity and life that really touched me. He writes in a simple, “child-friendly” style while his prose is still flowing and lovely.

It does end on a cliffhanger, which surprised me as I didn’t realize it was the first book in a series. I’m looking forward to reading the next one and finding out whether it has the same charming appeal. I really enjoyed this book, and will be snagging a copy to loan to my little siblings. What a sweet story!

Tricky Content: The “circle of life” is shown (animals eating each other (non-described), dead animals giving back to the soil, etc.), robots are destroyed and referred to as dead, a family of geese is crushed.

I’d Recommend It To:

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Because there are so many bloggers participating in Five Fall Favorites this year, we’ve been split into teams! There’s no competition – only the opportunity to ensure everyone’s posts are shared.

I’m part of Team Aspen (see the graphic below), and I highly encourage you to check out the rest of my teammates’ posts for their recommended books today. That’s where I’m headed!

Here’s the list of bloggers in Team Aspen (click each name to visit that site):

Thank you so much for joining me today, and for sticking with all of us this entire week! Five Fall Favorites has become a beloved annual tradition for me, and I’m once again so thankful for the lovely bookish community of bloggers. I’m so happy you could join us!

We have something special to offer you too! Would you like a list of the books shared by the participating bloggers this year? It’s not a complete list, but it’s pretty close! Go ahead and click HERE to see that list.

Have you read any of the books I shared? What are the best books you’ve read so far this year? I’d love to hear from you, so drop a comment below!

And don’t miss your chance to snag a free copy of A Noble Grace HERE!