It's blog Chain time again and Michelle asks:

What elements in your favorite genre make it your favorite? For instance, if your favorite genre is romance, what elements do you like in a romance story? A tortured hero? A spunky heroine? Steamy love scenes? Sweet romance? If your fave genre is sci-fi, what elements do you love the most (the characters, the science, the possibilities?), etc?

I have to agree with Kate and say YA is by far my favorite category because of the huge variety of genres within it. Like Kate said, within YA authors have more freedom to combine elements from different genres and I love reading these unique stories.

I'm a sucker for YA fantasies. For some reason I haven't been able to get into fantasy written for the adult market. I get hung up on the world-building. But I've found so many YA fantasy novels with fluid world-building and compelling characters. 

Some of my favorites are Holly Black's Curse Worker Series, Daughter of Smoke & Bone and Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor, and Kristin Cashore's Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue. I love the original worlds in these stories. These writers create dynamic characters that are very different from the people I see every day, yet are extremely relatable. These characters have to face problems unique to their world and its rules.

The best kind of escapism for me is when I'm rooting for a character to use her magical power to defeat the bad guy and win over the love interest.

Be sure to check out Michelle's post from yesterday and read Cole's tomorrow.