Hey everyone,
this is Miz Moffatt from Across the Litoverse,
and welcome to the third prompt
for BookTube’s #StrikeBackVideoAThon.
Fantasy fans, get a pen and a notebook ready,
because you’re about to get a blitz of great
recommendations across BookTube.
Thanks to 
some recent revisions to YouTube’s Partner Program
the vast majority of BookTubers are getting
demonetized on February 20,
but we’re not going down without a fight.
The Strike Back VideoAThon was created
to help small BookTubers ,
to celebrate books,
to support each other’s work,
and to grow our community.
So take the time to find a new BookTuber and
show them some love!
If you’re new here,
my name is Miz Moffatt,
and I’m a Canadian BookTuber who loves
science fiction, fantasy, manga, comics, YA,
and so much more.
While you’re here, feel free to check out
some of my videos,
and don’t forget to hit subscribe.
I’d recommend checking out my Book Review
playlist
if you’re looking to add some new books to
your TBR list this year!
And now, on to Question Three:
What are your favourite fantasy reads?
I’ve been a true blue fantasy fan since
I was a kid,
and I can link all of that back to a book called
The Seventh Princess by Nick Sullivan.
A young girl falls asleep on her bus ride
to school
and she’s magically transported to another
world
where an evil witch is attacking a nearby
city
with her harpy princesses,
oh the intrigue.
It was the reason I came to love the
“it was all a dream, OR WAS IT??”
trope as a kid.
Since then, I like to think I’ve refined
my fantasy tastes a wee bit,
so here are a few recommendations for fellow
fantasy fans.
First off, I’ve got The Hundred Thousand
Kingdoms,
which is book one of the Inheritance Trilogy
by NK Jemisin.
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian
north.
After her mother dies
(under mysterious circumstances,  I might add),
Yeine is summoned to the majestic city of
Sky
where she discovers she’s an heiress to
the throne.
However, that throne is not easily won,
and the power struggle with other heirs is
dangerous and unpredictable.
This was Jemisin’s first published novel,
and there’s a reason she’s
cleaning up at all the science fiction and
fantasy awards these days.
Jemisin writes a lush brand of fantasy, and,
full disclosure,
it can be surprisingly sexy at times.
In terms of modern fantasy authors,
Jemisin is required reading in my books.
Next is The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott
Lynch, which I mentioned in my last video.
I’ve heard this series described as one
part Robin Hood
and one part Ocean’s Eleven,
and that’s pretty darn accurate.
Locke Lamora is the audacious, quick-witted
leader of the Gentlemen Bastards,
a band of thieves who plot elaborate schemes
to part the rich from their riches.
Locke becomes known as the Thorn of Camorr,
and no noble is safe from his sting.
In the middle of a heist on Camorr’s most
feared gang leader, Captain Barsavi,
a mysterious figure known only as the Gray
King appears
and begins killing off Barsavi’s men.
Before long, the Gray King is using Locke
as a pawn
to take over Camorr’s underworld,
but the Thorn of Camorr is not going down without
a fight.
The Gentlemen Bastards series is set in an unbelievably
rich world,
at once brutal and bloody as much as it’s
clever and charming,
and you’ll become personally invested in
the successes and failures
of Locke and his crew before you even know
what's happened.
In classic fantasy fashion,
this series is taking forever to come out,
and I’m trying to not get caught up
with my reading
because I know I'm going to be impatient for
new content.
Next is the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
If you’re looking for pure magic and enchantment
from your fantasy reading experience,
then you need to visit the lavish world of
Morgenstern’s Cirque des Reves.
The circus arrives with no warning.
No announcements precede it.
It is simply there, where yesterday it was
not.
Behind the scenes, two young magicians, Celia
and Marco,
are locked in a duel,
one that began when they were children.
Ceila was born a magic user, whereas Marco
was taught the craft—
despite themselves, the two fall in love in
the midst of their competition,
and their love brings new life and wonder
to the Cirque des Reves.
But the game must play out,
and one of them must fall,
and the entire circus hangs in the balance.
Just holding this book is making me want to
re-read it.
There are few books I can think of where it
feels as though the author is casting a spell over you,
and I would willingly follow these characters
wherever they would choose to go.
If you want a wonderful and weird October
read,
then The Night Circus is a must.
And last, I thought I’d showcase some manga
and talk about
Natusume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa.
Natsume Takashi can see yokai,
or Japanese spirits and monsters,
that should  be invisible to the human
eye.
He inherited this gift from his grandmother,
Natsume Reiko,
and he spent most of his childhood alone given other
children thought he was an oddball.
Upon Reiko’s death, she leaves a mysterious
notebook to Natsume called the Book of Friends—
inside is a collection of contracts she formed
with yokai in her youth.
Natsume sets out to dissolve these contracts
and to return the names of the yokai in question,
and he ends up helping a lot of people along
the way.
Natsume’s Book of Friends is such a sweet,
and quiet, and life-affirming series.
I am a huge fan of the anime,
and the manga holds up as well.
When the series starts,
Natsume is still nervous about getting close to 
people, given his history,
but as the series progresses, he ends up building a new
family for himself
with both people and yokai alike.
Now I want to read Natsume all over again…
I tried to cover as many fantasy bases as
I could with that prompt,
so hopefully one or two books piqued your interest.
Have you checked out any of these books,
or do you have any recommendations based on
the books I talked about?
Please feel free to leave comments below!
If you liked this video,
make sure to give it a thumbs up to support
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As always, thank you for watching,
and make sure to subscribe for more videos
from Across the Litoverse.
On that note, signing off.
The Strike Back Vid—(Clears throat)
The Strike Back—(Clears throat)
The Strike Back VideoAThon—
oh, God, my voice sounds awful…
