11 YA Standalone Book Recommendations

Today my good friends, I will grace your screens with 11 amazing standalone books.

We can all say that we have a favourite series or two… or ten. We love them dearly.

But I can think of 2 reasons that I am hesitant to start a series.

Number #1: You bought the first book, unsure as to whether you would enjoy it or not and you took the dive and read it. And oh my gosh, givE ME THE SEQUEL RIGHT NOW! *manic chaos as you rush to either your nearest bookstore or internet connected device to get the next book in the series, the title of the sequel or series chanting ominously in your mind and occasionally, unconsciously said aloud* 

If you bought it at the bookstore, great! You can chill as you calmly sip your tea/coffee/hot chocolate while you read the next book. How nice.

If it wasn’t sold at your bookstore, or you just don’t have a bookstore, you had to order it online.

And so the torture begins.

“WHERE IS MY PaCkAgE!!!!”

*Glares at every delivery dude* “Yoooooou have my package???” “You’re holding my package hostage, aren’t you??” “YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!! WE DUEL AT DAWN!!”

Number #2: You decide it would be a Great Idea (TM) to read a newly released book, that literally came out yesterday… and is the first in a series. Where waiting for the book to arrive at your home is pretty high on the pain and suffering scale… This. This is on a whole other scale. A year long torture as you cry for a book that hasn’t even been written yet.

We all know that Cliffhangers aren’t our friends. They want to see us all suffer. They want to see us explode into tears when the feels kick you in the guts (this usually happens when you check what the release day is for book 2)

No matter how many other books you read. This one book will sit on your shelves and laugh evilly as you glance at it, the betrayal still fresh in your heart as tears roll down your cheeks. It holds too much power now…

So, this festive season, curl up with a nice, cosy, definitely won’t deSTROY YOUR MORTAL HEARTS, standalone. No more waiting for the next book, only immediate joy – and all the answers you need only a few pages away!

This way, you can read the whooooole story! Not only does this make you feel super productive, (especially if you whizzed through it in one sitting, you champion), but you will still have time to spend with your loved ones during the end of year festivities! Unlike when you start a series, or more when you are consumed by a series, and 8 books later you finish and Christmas is gone. Now it’s February.

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I’m linking this up with Top Ten Tuesday‘s “Holiday Reads” prompt!

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An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Dive into the world of Fae in this beautiful tale of whimsy! We follow painter Isobel as she is accused of a crime by the Autumn Prince, Rook, for painting mortal sorrow in his eyes, which puts his life in danger. As he brings her to the Autumn Court to stand trial, Shenanigans ensue!

My Review!

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Join Apprentice Librarian Elisabeth as she fights to unravel the truth behind the sudden attacks on the Great Libraries, with Magister Nathanial Thorn and his demon Silas by her side. Will they be able to protect the people and the Grimoire filled Libraries from destruction?

My Review!

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe is the daughter of the Sun God Helios, lacking the look and voice of divinity, Circe is rejected by her fellow titan kin. Turning to the mortals for friendship in her everlasting isolation, she discovers a forbidden magic. Witchcraft. She is banished to a remote island by Zeus where she honed her craft, drawing her strength from nature.

To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

– Snippet from Synopsis on Goodreads

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A beauty and the beast retelling, where Prince Rhen is convinced that getting a girl to fall in love with him will break his curse, and Harper does not know what to believe about her new surroundings after being dragged into a magical world that is not her own. It will take more that breaking Rhen’s curse to save the Kingdom of Emberfall from the powerful forces that threaten them.

This book does have a sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken, but Brigid Kemmerer has said, in reply to a question on goodreads, that the story is complete as a standalone, but the story will continue with the same characters in the other books. 

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

After her father is murdered and she is thrust into Ruling Yan, Princess Hesina sets our to find her beloved father’s killer. With the help of a Soothslayer (a treasonous act, since magic is outlawed in Yan, I love myself a sneaky queen!) and a brilliant investigator, can Hesina find justice for her father? With her kingdom at stake in a world of deception, will she succeed?

Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel

This paranormal novel follows Angie Dovage, who isn’t so easily swayed by the new boy in school Reece, convinced he is hiding something. Little did she know, the presence of Reece and his family signals a devastating disaster that would shake her small down soon. Attacked by a supernatural being, she is dragged into a fight between good and evil that she had no idea was coming, and at its centre is inhuman Reece. Will she survive falling in love with a Harbinger of Death?

I have read this one… I just don’t have a review… XD BUT I LOVED IT! It was so refreshing to have a heroine that noted this attractive new dude but was like, “he spoopy… why he spoopy?” 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

On the first of November, someone dies.

Water horses lurk on the shore of Thisby, wild and untame-able horses that would eat you in one big chomp. At the beginning of November, there is a race, in which people try to hold onto their water horses long enough to reach the finish line. Sean Kendrick is reigning champion, Puck Connolly didn’t plan on joining the Races but fate has other plans.

My Review!

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is a royal siren and the deadliest of them all, with seventeen Princes’ hearts in her collection, the sea fears her. Forced to kill one of her own kind, the Sea Queen punishes Lira by turning her into a human- with Winter Solstice as her deadline, to return to her glory she must deliver the heart of the Golden Prince Elian.

Meanwhile Prince Elian, despite being Heir to a Powerful Kingdom, sails the seas feeling more at home there than he does at his own kingdom, hunting sirens to make the waters safer isn’t a hobby but he feels it is his calling.

As their paths cross, can they trust each other? Or will they betray each other?

Prince Elian is my favourite Prince. A squishy pirate boi.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Hazel and her brother Ben spent their childhood wandering the woods as a knight and a bard, believing they could protect their town from the evil fae that lived beside them. Both of them were infatuated with a boy with horns and pointed ears, who slept in a glass coffin and had done for generations. After an incident, they later stopped going to the woods.

But one day he wakes up. As their town is turned upside down with a new danger around every corner, can Hazel remember the talents she had as a knight years ago? And will it be enough?

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Looking for a vampire book? Look no further!

Follow Tana, in a world where Coldtowns exist. Walled cities were quarantined monsters and humans live, the predators and the prey. After waking up from a party, Tana finds herself in a house full of corpses. The only signs of life coming from her ex boyfriend, who is infected and on the edge and a strange boy she doesn’t know. Determined to save them all, in the only way she can think of, she acts fast to get them to the nearest Coldtown.

I haven’t got a review for this one either, but my god it was a refreshing read. Highly recommend.

The Ravenspire Series by C. J. Redwine

This is a series of standalone fairy tale retellings! I have admittedly only read the first two, but they were amazing! I really enjoyed them! You don’t have to read them in order, you could start with the fourth book if you wanted, but there are little Easter eggs if you read them in order.

Book 1 = Snow White

Book 2 = Rumpelstiltskin

Book 3 = An Old Arabian tale called The False Prince, with a little The Prince and the Pauper

Book 4 = Cinderella

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Have you read any of these books?? Did you enjoy them? Do you share the same amount of adoration as I do for standalone fantasy books?? What books are you reading in December??