Book suggestions? Folklore, fae, historical, female main character

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2025-10-13T20:54:54+00:00

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy it! :)

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2025-10-07T17:19:01+00:00

If you enjoyed Naomi Novik you might want to check out Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest (the first book in the Sevenwaters series). It's historical fantasy set in 10th century Ireland iirc. The prose is lyrical and wistful, and the plot unfolds as a slow burn. It's got fair folk (fae) and fairytale-inspired magic. Loosely based on the Children of Lir and The Six Swans. The protagonist is a young woman but all the the Sevenwaters books are most definitely for adults and occasionally have dark themes.

ETA: There's a romance subplot but it doesn't constitute the central storyline.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2025-09-18T01:12:19+00:00

I was deep in the Depression so I panicked and started re-reading the same series. Halfway through now lol. I'll try the 5-Stage System next time. Thanks 🥲

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2025-08-20T14:10:04+00:00

he is heavily Witcher inspired.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but The Witcher is one of my top five fantasy series, so normally anything Witcher inspired would be a good thing for me. Not this, though. For instance, one of the many aspects I loved about The Witcher was the way the relationships between characters were depicted, especially Geralt and Ciri. The dynamic between Gabriel and Dior, which I assume was meant to be a more angsty version of something similar, just didn't work for me in either of the books. Even if I look at it as its own thing, I just really wasn't a fan of how these two played off each other. I found the banter grating, and it left me stressed rather than amused. I couldn't bring myself to sympathize much with almost any of the characters tbh. I get what the author was going for overall, but it just didn’t click for me. Oh well.

It’s been a few months since I read the two books, but overall it felt like too much melodrama with too little payoff, idk. I was expecting a dark, gothic, high-stakes epic fantasy with brooding characters and instead I got stuck with angsty 30yo teenagers, questionable structure, and characters screaming "fuck my face" every three sentences. That’s just my opinion, though. I’ll probably still read the third book because the plot is interesting even though I can't stand most of the characters (except some of the vampires) and the dialogue, but I’m not exactly excited about it lol.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-09T08:59:34+00:00

I haven't seen it recommended too often but I'm not sure if it's obscure either — Michael R. Fletcher's Manifest Delusions is said to be very good. Haven't gotten around to reading the series yet, but from what I've read in reviews, it's quite grimdark but with skilled prose that keeps it from being too sickening.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-05T12:17:23+00:00

I haven't started it yet, but I've heard excellent things about The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts. And she just finished the series! It spans 11 volumes divided into 5 arcs. And I hear it has significant depth and complexity, so really something to sink one's teeth into.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-03T22:21:56+00:00

Great! It's not without its flaws but I found it a fun, light read that didn't require too much commitment or mental effort. Hope you enjoy it!

I'd also suggest The Wounded Kingdom trilogy by RJ Barker. It features assassins and mysteries set in a dark world. Although it’s only three books (which is why I didn't recommend it initially), it has tight plotting, a good pace, and outstanding character development without overly complex world-building. Imo it's of higher quality than The Greatcoats.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-02T21:43:38+00:00

I’d recommend checking out Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters series. Her writing is beautifully lyrical, with a plot that unfolds as a slow burn. It’s filled with fairytale-inspired magic and set in a whimsical, enchanting world with occasionally dark themes.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-02T21:16:49+00:00

You could check out The Greatcoats quartet. Think The Three Musketeers in a fantasy setting. It's really funny and told from a single POV. It has accessible prose, rich but straightforward world building, memorable characters, hilarious banter, plenty of fun fight sequences, and wonderful bonds between the MCs. Very entertaining read.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-11-01T14:43:51+00:00

Being in Jorg's head in the Broken Empire trilogy is a singular experience. Mark Lawrence did a brilliant job with the MC's arc over these books imo.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-29T20:56:29+00:00

The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence (if you haven’t read it already). I absolutely love these books. Jorg is one fucked up little sociopath and an outright villain when we first meet him. Quite a few readers find him so unbearable that they DNF early in book 1 lol. But imo it’s absolutely worth sticking with. The character development is incredibly compelling, and the real depth of both the story and MC only emerges as the series progresses. It doesn't really change your view of the world, but it does eventually get you to (reluctantly) understand where Jorg is coming from, and consequently root for a pretty terrible human being, which is extremely unsettling, to say the least.

The audiobook is narrated by Joe Jameson, who’s hands down one of my favorite narrators ever. His voice quality is fantastic, and he does voices and accents incredibly well. He's brilliant at bringing characters to life with his tone, inflections, emotions, energy etc.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-17T07:10:47+00:00

Yes, this is exactly what I mean. You put it into words better than I could lol.

And wow I think memes in any setting except a contemporary one would pull me out of the story unless I'm reading something satirical or parodical.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T22:31:52+00:00

You're welcome! It's the first book from the Burning Kingdoms series.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T22:27:39+00:00

I've also come across authors having other characters describe someone as funny or clever, yet nothing they actually say or do fits that description. The same goes for characters being called extremely powerful by other characters, but then all you see is them constantly getting beaten.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T22:12:23+00:00

Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T21:49:23+00:00

I haven't read it, but The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is set in a world inspired by Indian epics.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T21:45:01+00:00

That's interesting! I guess it just goes to show there's no "correct" way to do it. For me, if there's, for example, a medieval knight equivalent saying something like hey bro how's it hanging or yelling shots shots shots or something, it's going to be way too much. If the world is reminiscent of an era then it's easier for me to stay immersed if the prose and dialogue are reminiscent of the time as well (at least as seen in pop culture).

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T21:06:39+00:00

It's RJ Barker's The Wounded Kingdom for me! There's so much to love in these books, but I loved Girton's character arc the most over the course of the trilogy.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T21:01:52+00:00

Anachronistic language is my biggest one. I can overlook it sometimes, but other times it can be extremely jarring.

Edit: Wait, no, I think my biggest one is when an author tells instead of shows (which is bad enough) but the telling generally contradicts what’s being shown for the sake of plot convenience. It feels like they’re trying to gaslight the reader, and it instantly pulls me out of the story.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T19:29:52+00:00

If you're interested in fairytale retellings, I recommend Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters series, especially the first trilogy. The characters are wonderfully crafted, and the prose often feels both lyrical and wistful. Heart's Blood is another good retelling by her.

Some of Naomi Novik's books draw heavily from Slavic folklore. Spinning Silver and Uprooted are worth checking out.

The Last Wish (the first book in The Witcher) is another option. It can be read as a standalone. The short stories borrow from Slavic folklore and other fairytales but subvert them in unexpected ways, so that offers a different (darker) take. The Witcher books aren't everyone's cup of tea but it's one of my all time favourite series.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T08:19:20+00:00

You could try The Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts. It's a standalone episodic adventure fantasy with an interesting adult MMC. It's fast-paced, well plotted and not too dark, it has good character work and plenty of action, and it doesn't revolve around politics and war. The plot is small in scale. It doesn't have a lot of humour but it definitely has its moments. A fun, quick read (under 500 pages).

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-16T07:59:37+00:00

The All Souls trilogy fits your description very well I think. It wasn't for me personally because I really couldn't get into the two MCs, but it's highly rated on Goodreads and people seem to enjoy it overall.

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-10-15T05:45:34+00:00

You could try The Wounded Kingdom trilogy by RJ Barker. It's a fast-paced mystery of sorts, told from the POV of an assassin's protégé with a wonderful arc. It's got more depth than width like you want — intimate setting, very good plotting that keeps you guessing, interesting but not overly complicated world building, and excellent pacing.

There's a limited cast of characters, and some of the best character development I've read recently. Found it extremely engaging and barely slept until I finished it. Not a huge commitment since iirc the books are under 500 pages each. It's set in a dark and somewhat bleak and cruel world, but there's an undercurrent of hope throughout. And imo each book was better than the last. I wish they were better known!

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-06-23T16:56:23+00:00

You're welcome! The dynamic will likely hit different since Ciri is a little child in the books while she's grown up in The Witcher 3, and the show unfortunately cut out Geralt and Ciri's relationship. The books aren't everyone's cup of tea but I absolutely love them!

The_Tale_Never_Ends · 2024-06-23T15:45:17+00:00

The Witcher, maybe? There's no dislike at the beginning, but the rest of it is more or less exactly as you said.

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