The Gathering Storm is the twelfth book in the epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Emphasis on ‘epic.’ The series weighs in at over 4 million words and has a chapter in this book that is 81,000 words long (the first Harry Potter book comes in at just under 77,000). Clearly, this series is a serious commitment. It is ONLY for people who like fantasy and have read some fantasy already.

That being said, this final books of this series are some of the most exciting books I’ve ever read. I mean, if you had been reading this series when it began in 1991 and were now finishing it in 2013, 22 years later, I think you’d be pretty hyped about how it all wrapped up. 

There are points in this series that were really hard to get through. Hundreds of pages of stuff that were either really frustrating or unnecessarily long. If you decide to take the plunge into the series and get to that point, my advice is to stick with it (or skim through the parts you don’t like). The final few books are well worth it.

Kathryn Stockett’s book, The Help, is a massively popular story about three women living in 1962 Mississippi. She explores the hardship and oppression women faced in this setting in such a beautiful and poignant way. And the writing. My god, the writing. It totally blew me away and how perfectly Stockett gave voice to her characters. I love when authors capture accents and dialects so well that you seamlessly hear it in your head. It’s kind of magical.

Anyway, this story has it all and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone. In fact, it’s a book that I feel like everyone shouldread. It was also made into a movie in 2011 and was nominated for best picture. It starred four amazing actresses: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, and Jessica Chastain.   

Pick this book up if you’re looking for an insightful, emotional, and poignant read. You’ll fly through it, I promise.

I’m very happy to be able to address the Night Watch series. Most of the books were published before these rankings begin and the other times, when the books were published within that time frame, they were in good years and overshadowed by some pretty amazing stories. But this series is really special. It is about Anton Gorodetsky, who is an “Other,” or an individual who is part of a race of humans with supernatural powers. Each Other must choose a side and swear allegiance to the Dark of the Light. Anton chose the Light and is part of the Night Watch, which oversees the nocturnal activity of vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural phenomenon.

It sounds ridiculously fantastical, I know. But I can assure you that this is an adult series that thoughtfully addresses morality, purpose, and choice. It can be very philosophical at times, but it all takes place within the action and story and through metaphors. And I dare anyone not to fall in love with Anton Gorodetsky.

I love this series so much. Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko is incredible and his writing style is so smooth and poignant. If you are interested in a series that will really get you thinking and while exploring the supernatural, then this is the series for you. I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Warbreakers takes place in a world where BioChromatic magic can be collected in “breaths” one at a time. The plot revolves around two sisters, a God King, and a lesser god (who is hilarious, btw). Warbreaker is one of the least read of Brandon Sanderson’s books that take place in his Cosmere and it is probably my least favorite. I still really loved this book and I’ll read anything Brandon puts out, but I’m almost glad that he has put out books from other series before this one.

I’d recommend other books by Brandon Sanderson before this one, but if you’ve read anything by him and are looking for fantasy, look no further.