I have been reading romantic fantasy for the past year or so. It's been fun, but the mediocre writing and predictable plots have gotten me feeling like I'm missing out on the really great stories that I should read in this lifetime. Friends, can you recommend me some books that made you fall in love with reading or something you read recently that really delighted you? I have no particular genre requirements, just good writing and a good story!
In general, I like fantasy, sci-fi. Just read Project Hail Mary and loved it. Always loved Neil Gaiman books (art not artist situation). Also love a classic like Lonesome Dove and historical fiction & non-fiction (think Kristin Hannah, Eric Larson, etc.)
Looking to read some books that others found to be outstanding and made them want to sneak away from their everyday life and read their book.
by yardsdead
8 Comments
Everything by Martha C. Wells has been a real blast to read. She does both SF and fantasy. I’ll also always recommend reading Yoon Ha Lee’s Ninefox Gambit and Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice in tandem.
I recently finished The Left Hand of Darkness, which was my first Ursula K. Le Guin. Highly recommend if you like sci fi, it’s a classic.
Some amazing YA fantasy/sci fi series are any of the Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo (but especially the Six of Crows duology), Legendborn by Tracey Deonn, and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. Unfortunately the latter two series are incomplete. Some great fantasy standalones are Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and Babel by RF Kuang.
Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko is less popular but I thought it was amazing. It’s very high concept so it’s a bit difficult, and it unfortunately will probably always be an unfinished series due to the death of one of the authors, but I think the two books we do have are absolutely worth the read.
Try Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson. It’s like Harry Potter meets Spice Girls.
I would highly recommend Uprooted by Naomi Novik if you like Romantasy but find it low quality. It’s a dark Slavic fairytale-style novel with a unique (but not quirky or overpowered) female protagonist, a truly amazing plot, an interesting magic system, a fantastic villain and a satisfying ending. Although it isn’t Romantasy, it does have a slow-burn romance as a subplot, and although it’s minor with no spice it was enough for me. This is the book I picked up when I was burned out from Romantasy, and it’s one of the only five star books I read last year. I love the idea of Romantasy, but as a lover of Fantasy in general I need a little more substance to my novels than Romantasy tends to provide.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
House of the Beast by Michelle Wong
Any of Agatha Christie
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Scwab
Have you read any Anthony Doerr? I like several of the books/authors you mentioned, and he is one of my favorites. All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land are excellent. Neither one is romance driven.
Maybe you will like Book of Doors!
The His Dark Materials trilogy