Welcome to the third and final installment of this series! Check out parts one and two if you need to. Let’s just get this bad boy finished so my suffering can end!
Here are the results as they stood at the end of the last part:
Now, here are how the top eight hold up against one another:
Arcana Academy versus Slewfoot
Winner: Slewfoot
Arcana Academy is a good book. I’m ready for the second one to be out. It let me use my tarot card stickers in my book journal. But like I’ve said before, Slewfoot is transportive and transfixing. It feels magically out of our time and unique to almost anything I’ve read. It’s stuck with me still, and I know I’ll be rereading it again soon, sooner than I would most books. Overall, it tells a complete story and felt satisfying from beginning to end, which I can’t say the same of for Arcana Academy, even if it is a solid read. Slewfoot moves on.
The Binding versus A Study in Drowning
Winner: The Binding
Both of these books feel pretty similar in their overall vibes. Both deal with the magic in a story, and the importance words can have on a person. Both dealt with dark academia, and made me enjoy the often dismal settings they took place in. A Study in Drowning was enjoyable, but had some issues that prevent it from moving much further. It didn’t go as deep into a lot of the societal issues as I would have liked, and a lot of the magic within it felt too distant.
But with The Binding, every promise was delivered on. I want more knowledge of the world while still feeling satisfied with the book’s ending. I feel like I could spend a few more books in the world, while I haven’t touched the sequel to A Study in Drowning yet. Both good books, but one superior to the other.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries versus Hemlock and Silver
Winner: Emily Wilde
I’m beating a dead horse here by talking about how much I love Emily Wilde. Go back and read the other posts if you need my opinions. It would take a BEAST to knock it out of the bracket (keep reading to see if one does). Hemlock and Silver was a great read, had a unique protagonist that stands out from most FMCs, but gave me a few too many moments of confusion and frustration. It’s by far one of the most unique fairy tale retelling I’ve read, but it hasn’t stuck with me like Emily Wilde has. And I don’t know if anything else will.
The River Has Roots versus Upon a Starlit Tide
Winner: Upon a Starlit Tide
This is the hardest choice of the quarter finals. Both of these books were magical in their own ways, each fulfilling a niche that I really love. One about grammar and fae magic, and one about mermaids and self-actualization. In the end, I need to give the win to Upon a Starlit Tide, mainly because it felt more fleshed out. it is a bit unfair, putting a novella against a full novel, but I’m happy The River Has Roots made it this far! It deserves the attention. But I love a good mermaid book, I love characters discovering who they are, and I love the ending and how it handled both the romance, and the main character having her own journey. It checked all my boxes.
That brings us to our semi final round:
Slewfoot versus The Binding
Winner: Slewfoot
Ughhhhhhhh whyyyyyyyy. Female rage versus queer longing. Don’t make me choose. But I have to. And I’m afraid The Binding loses. It’s less concise at times, the jarring differences between the three parts was a touch off-putting each time I transitioned, and it did leave me wanting more than it had given me, in both a good and bad way. But like I’ve said, Slewfoot feels so perfectly written. I had very few questions. I didn’t ever feel offput. I craved more books like it after reading it. It gets to move on to the final round.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries versus Upon a Starlit Tide
Winner: Emily Wilde
Don’t talk to me.
This hurts to do. I love both of these books so much. But I have to give it yet again to Emily Wilde simply because of how much it has influenced my own ideas and writing. I miss being in academia, and the writing style and nature of the plot tickles all of my itches. Of all the audio books I’ve read, this series is the one I want to buy physical copies of the most. Plus, there’s a fourth book on the way. I can’t really give critiques on Upon a Starlit Tide, but I can say that it simply has stayed with me a little less, even if it hurts to admit.
What a cruel world we live in.
AND NOW FOR OUR FINAL ROUND
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries versus Slewfoot
The Winner: Emily Wilde
Two juggernauts of my articles. Two five star reads, meeting at last. I have said so much about these books already, I fear I sounds like the world’s most broken record. So let’s put it simply.
Emily Wilde wins.
It means so much to me as a reader and a writer. It makes me want to have a world so well-written, and a narration style so immersive. I want to live in the world, be one of the characters, and soak up the prose all at once. It’s unfair that Heather Fawcett has created something so wonderful, and that I can’t be a part of it myself. It deserves first place in this horrible bracket I chose to do.
Wow. Thanks for sticking around for this long. It means a lot, to have written so many reviews, to the point where I can do something crazy like rank 32 books. I don’t know if I’ll do this again, since I would need to publish six more articles worth of reviews to do it, but I had a blast regardless.
Seriously, pretty much all of these books deserve a read. For the most part, I enjoyed them all. Some of my favorite books of all time are on this list, even if they didn’t make it beyond round one or two. They deserve the love, just like these final eight.
I’m not sure how else to finish other than by saying thanks again. For some reason, this feels like the end of an era for me. This series has been in progress for a few months now, and it feels good to have it finished. Stay tuned for more reviews and ramblings from me, maybe a short story, and some exciting news regarding a potential publication! As always, your support means the world.
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