Hi all,
I'm primarily a fantasy reader and an aspiring fantasy author. Recently, I've loved fantasy books that have what I think is a more literary lean. As a result, I'm looking to dip my toes into contemporary (written in the last 30-40 years) lit fic to see if I can improve my writing.
So, if you had to recommend one or two books that you think would be a good intro to the genre, what would they be?
Topics/types of books I'm interested in:
- Inconvenient/unapologetic women
- Romantic love (especially when desperate and maybe unrequited)
- Japan
- More obscure fantasy or magical realism (ie not Rebecca Ross or T. Kingfisher)
Topics/types of books I'm not interested in:
- Addiction
- Parenthood and/or family dynamics (as the main subject matter)
- Cozy Japanese magical realism (such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold)
Books I've loved recently:
- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (pretty sure this isn't well liked, but I loved the characters' pretentiousness and utter lack of self-awareness. I'm sure someone will rec The Secret History, which is on my TBR but I'm sort of scared of because its so popular)
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (I've also read The Familiar)
- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (I haven't liked her other books as much)
- Asunder by Kerstin Hall
- The Tokaido Road by Lucia St. Clair Robson
- Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Thank you in advance for any recs!
by calamitypepper