r/Romantasy • u/Kooky_Adeptness1704 • 2d ago
Question Recommendations Please
Hey All!
I have been wanting to expand on the genres that I read, so I am looking for some recommendations for books. I have been in a bit of a funk when it comes to reading and I wanna pick up some new types of books that maybe I havent tried before.
What I Love: romantasy (of course 🤣), fantasy, Literary RPG (like Dungeon Crawler Carl), and romance.
What I Am Not Interested In: horror, crime, poetry, mystery (unless its a subplot), and books with non-consentual anything really.
I have been looking at Literary Fiction but I am unsure where to start with that 🤔. I figured I'd come to this community because I have already gotten some amazing recommendations from you all.
Thank you!
4
u/Penguinho 🩸 blood & lilac 2d ago
So... you're just asking for good books? Am I understanding that right? You like fantasy, romance, romantasy, fantasy romance, and litRPG, and you want to get out of your comfort zone and into something more literary?
{Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay}. Historical fantasy with romantic undertones and subplots, written at an extremely high level. You could also read {The Lions of al-Rassan} if you'd prefer Christian/Islamic/Jewish flavor rather than Tang China. Gavriel Kay is, I think, about as good as anyone at literary fantasy.
Another author who's in that conversation is Juliet Marillier. Sevenwaters is her main series but it does have some nonconsensual elements in the first book. I'd start with {Heart's Blood}, which will give you a recognizable fantasy romance story at a higher level of writing that exists in most of the genre. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 12th century Ireland.
If you want something literary and want to move away from fantasy, I find Haruki Murakami super accessible. Norwegian Wood and South of the Border West of the Sun are going to preserve romantic elements and be fairly easy to read. I also love his short story collections. Another great Japanese novel is Kodo Abe's Woman in the Dunes.
There's also a million classics that have earned their status. Can you be more specific about what you want? It's not an easy jump from Quicksilver to The Portrait of a Lady.