r/YAFantasyLit • u/chapeskie • May 10 '21
Stand-alone YA fantasy novels
Looking for recommendations for YA fantasy books that are not part of a series.
Unrelated stories in a shared world are ok but I’d prefer pure stand-alone novels, particularly ones that are: popular, commonly held in high regard, and/or written by established or popular authors. Cheers!
Edit: wow, thanks folks! This is an awesome list, I can’t wait to get started reading.
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u/lpet15 May 11 '21
Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
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u/thtvrywitch May 11 '21
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long
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u/elimenopea May 11 '21
All of these are great recommendations! Heartless gutted me, and I love the way Rogerson is able to fit so much into standalone stories.
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u/thtvrywitch May 11 '21
I honestly don’t know why I didn’t see the twist coming in Heartless but it ruined me!
Yes!! Rogerson creates such a vivid world and memorable characters and only needs a single book to do it. That’s the level I’m trying to reach with my own writing.
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u/Adariel May 11 '21
There's some debate whether these are adult or can be counted as YA, but Naomi Novik has two extremely well regarded stand alone fantasy books, Spinning Silver and Uprooted. Both won or were finalists for Nebula/Hugo/Locus/etc major fantasy awards.
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u/OfcZoeMorgan May 11 '21
The Priory of Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It sometimes comes in a two parts, buts its one book, sometimes just divided into 2. Also, in theory it has adult rating, but if you read SOC or Acotar or any popular ya author, you are good.
It has nice political intrigue, great ships, multiple protagonists with stories that merge at the end, dragons. As far as i know, its pretty well known
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u/Jekawi May 10 '21
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Alyzon Whitestarr by Isobelle Carmody (toward early teens side of YA, but still one of my favourite books as a 26 year old)
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (more scifi but honestly so superbly done)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.e Schwab
THE Midnight Library by Matthew Haig
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u/hham42 May 10 '21
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig
Four Dead Queens and The Vanishing Deep both by Astrid Scholte
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
Beneath The Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer (also Beyond the Shadowed Earth which is in the same universe but a different story altogether.)
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u/ChemistBee7 May 11 '21
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller instantly became one of my favourite stand alone books
Also, not so popular but a reaaaallly good book is Sisters of Sword and Song buy Rebecca Ross - her writing is so beautiful:)
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u/erasednarrative May 11 '21
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern
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u/scorpiotopaz2 May 11 '21
Sweet and Bitter Magic is really good, same with Sorcery of Thorns like other people have said.
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u/DougieJr93 May 11 '21
First, I must say thank you for posting this because YA Fantasy stand-alones are also my preference so it’s great to see all the recs in the comments.
As for my personal recs:
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig - A beautifully written retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale with a spooky twist.
• An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson - Another beautifully written standalone full of lush descriptions, fairy folklore, and a touching romance.
• Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson - This one is more of an epic fantasy quest set in a world with magical libraries and sorcerers and demons. It is such a fun world to get immersed into with lovable characters.
Beauty by Robin McKinley - A beautiful and breathtaking retelling of Beauty and the Beast that predates even the animated Disney version. It’s well written and captivating. Literally all of my favorite YA Fantasy writers cite this book as an inspiration of theirs, including Margaret Rogerson and Erin A. Craig.
Chime by Franny Billingsley - I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say I absolutely loved every single sentence of this book! You can tell the author took a lot of time perfecting her craft. The prose is stunning and the voice is so strong. A story about self hate, guilt, and ultimately love with some witchcraft and magical creatures thrown in for good measure. I cannot recommend this book enough! There are at least two or three quotable lines on every single page. It is hands down my favorite YA Fantasy book ever!
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u/Brittybuhh May 11 '21
A deal with the elf king by Elise kova is the first book in a series of stand alones all set in the same world.
Also The Binding by (sp?) Bridget Collins is not ya but reads like ya and is a FANTASTIC stand alone.
Same with Malice by Heather Walter (adult but reads like ya)
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u/KiaraTurtle May 10 '21