It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books that cast a spell on me. I think this topic is pretty open to interpretation; it can be about a book that wrapped you up completely in its story, it can be a book whose cover enchanted you, it can be a magical/witchy story. For this one I think I’m going to look at five books that cast a spell on me by completely wrapping me up in its story, only to spit me out at the end in a daze (almost always very satisfied with the ending and most of the time also emotionally destroyed).

After hearing so much hype about this book, I read it together with a group of bookstagram buddies in June and it completely shattered me. I a crying hot mess by the end of this story–and I’m not just talking about silent tears, it was the ugly kind of crying where I couldn’t catch my breath. This book honestly sucked me in so much that I felt like I’d never been SO INVESTED in the lives of book characters before I read it. Obviously, that’s not true, but the story swept me up completely and I was lost in both Isabelle and Vianne’s lives. If you love historical fiction set during WWII/the Holocaust, strong/bad ass female characters, sister relationships, and a touch of romance, then read this book!

I literally just finished this book yesterday and every time I picked this book up, I felt completely immersed in this terrifying gothic tale. It’s like a shroud of creeping horror would be pulled over my head each time I started reading it again (you can get I made sure to only read it during the day)! It was really unique and I don’t think I’ve read anything like this before. It was definitely refreshing to read a retelling based one of the more obscure fairytales by the Brothers Grimm.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this book other than it gave me the biggest book hangover of my life. I wasn’t able to focus on another book for almost a month after finishing ALL! I also spent a full day in bed after finishing it bawling my eyes out and basically scaring everyone at home who came to check on me to make sure I was well (I WASN’T). This is probably one of the most difficult books I’ve read emotionally and mentally. There’s a lot of criticism against it but also a lot of praise for it–I kind of feel like there’s no middle ground when it comes to ALL. But I was completely in it all the way to the heartbreaking end. THIS BOOK.

This book has been shared a lot every where by everyone and I think by now a lot of people are sick of hearing it always be recommended (same might go for The Nightingale actually lol). But the way Owens wrote about the marsh teeming full of all kinds of life, and about Kya, the Marsh Girl, who absolutely stole my heart, definitely cast a spell on me. This was a very slow paced novel, but it was so atmospheric, I felt I could smell the tang of the salt from the sea, the dragging humidity of the marsh, and the call of the wildlife all around me. It was beautifully written and one of my favorites this year!

I’ve mentioned this book frequently on this blog. This was my first Gaiman and it was what made me want to catapult myself into the wildly bizarre and captivating worlds in his stories. I was enchanted by the dark and magical elements of London Below. I love stories that write an alternate reality of places I’ve been and am somewhat familiar with. My imagination would love to believe much of it is true, although it would also be terrifying.

What are the books that cast a spell on you? Any of these get you like they did me? I’d love to know in the comments below! Let’s chat! 😂