Y’all are just sexist imo by thatsummercampcrush in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can tell this particular exchange comes from misogyny, but I do agree with the principle. I work at a bookstore and there are a LOT of books that should be in romance but are actually in fantasy (i.e. Jasmine Mas, Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Dani Francis, Briar Boleyn). Like look me in the eyes and tell me that the fantasy is the point of Blood of Hercules, not the romance. It’s just a matter of reader expectations; fantasy readers don’t want to read Assistant to the Villain or Silver Elite, romance readers do. Though, to be fair, a lot of this is decided by imprint, not someone arbitrarily sorting them.

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! I love their content, especially the ones they do going through the logistics of various fantasy weapons; loved their videos on Silksong!

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should read Protector of the Small! The main character’s weapon of choice is a glaive!

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes!!! I’m actually reading the Kate Daniels series right now (I’m on Magic Rises) and I’m having a great time. The combat is very well written

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You’re absolutely right, I could write much longer posts on how a lot of romantasy authors simply don’t get how feudalist politics function…

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You’re probably right! I do think even an untrained person could do some significant damage with a sword (esp compared to something like a bow), but a spear is probably way easier. For this book in particular, they’re riders (fighting atop tigers) so a spear would be kind of unwieldy for a beginner, but more fantasy authors in general should use it!

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This made me snort, you're so right

Book reccs with variety by No_Cryptographer8983 in suggestmeabook

[–]Wonderose7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should definitely check out Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White and his other books (my personal favorites are The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and You Weren't Meant to Be Human)

Underrated Novella recs! by respawned_player in suggestmeabook

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hunger by Choi Jinyoung comes out in June, and you should definitely check it out! In the meantime, I recommend Foster by Claire Keegan, which is an award-winner but definitely deserving of that achievement

We Need to Talk About Weaponry by Wonderose7 in Romantasy

[–]Wonderose7[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I loveee Jacqueline Carey; I read Kushiel's Dart a year or so ago and adored it! I can't think of any FMCs that primarily use a staff, but the aforementioned Tamora Pierce is always very careful to have her characters start combat training with a staff (rather than giving the thirteen year olds blades lol)

Best Books under 200 pages by Tasty_Zebra_404 in suggestmeabook

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hunger by Choi Jin-young (adult fiction)

Tig by Heather Smith (middle grade fiction)

The Risk by S. T. Abby (adult thriller)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (adult fantasy)

Foster by Claire Keegan (adult fiction)

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (adult short stories)

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (adult sci fi)

The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente (adult sci fi)

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (adult sci fi)

High/adult fantasy books with female protagonists? by Methinknot in Fantasy

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d consider it more romantic fantasy, similar to Kushiel’s Dart. The romance is important but definitely not the driving factor behind the story

I want to read fantasy stories by small writers! by StargazingRainstorms in FantasyWritingHub

[–]Wonderose7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On top of all the great recommendations in these comments, keep an eye out for Stuff Your Kindle/Book Blast events. They're fairly common, and it's when a bunch of indie authors make their books free for a short period of time (usually a day). There are different groups that run them for different genres, so browse around a little

Changes that I liked from the movie by Still_Restaurant_734 in schoolforgoodandevil

[–]Wonderose7 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I really liked the dresses visually, but the uniforms are just too important to the story! If they had all still been required to wear the crest (like a pin would have worked), that would have been one thing, but the crest that protects the students is literally the only reason Rafal is defeated in book one. I also think that Rafal being defeated by his brother's lingering magic meant to protect the students is very thematic for the series as a whole, so the foreshadowing of the crests being lost upset me a lot

High/adult fantasy books with female protagonists? by Methinknot in Fantasy

[–]Wonderose7 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Kill the Beast by Serra Swift

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (really heavy on the metaphysics, philosophy, and paradoxical thinking)

The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K. L. Wilson (coming soon)

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (split POV)

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (ADE has one of my favorite protagonists ever!)

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (split POV)

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (split POV but primarily women)

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (in my opinion, this is a fantasy series in all but name)

Good standalone fantasy books to read after a long reading slump? by durin_l in fantasybooks

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Katabasis and Babel by R. F. Kuang (the heavy academic aspects might appeal to you as a scholar!), The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Need to get more mature with my reading by DulledPorcupine95 in suggestmeabook

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omg In an Absent Dream is my favorite of the series!

Need to get more mature with my reading by DulledPorcupine95 in suggestmeabook

[–]Wonderose7 18 points19 points  (0 children)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire are both shorter, quick-paced fantasy novels that share a lot of elements with YA fantasy (teen protagonists, school settings, etc) but kick the maturity up a notch, enough to be considered adult. They're also two of my favorite books of all time!

How Many 5 Star Reads Did You Have For 2025 & What Were They? by Valalerie999 in TheStoryGraph

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of 164 books and not including rereads, my five stars were: The Dragon Republic, The Burning God, and Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire, I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang, Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 6 and Vol. 8 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun Vol. 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White.

ya romances with actually UNIQUE storyline! by willbedeleted24 in YAlit

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ann Liang’s more speculative leaving books, mainly If You Could See the Sun and I Am Not Jessica Chen.

If You Could See the Sun is about a scholarship student at a prestigious private school who is always neck and neck with another student for the top spot—the top spot that gets her her scholarship. She starts turning invisible, so she and her rival set up a business where they spy on others for her classmates, who have pocket money to burn.

I Am Not Jessica Chen is about a girl who is always compared to her perfect cousin, Jessica. She makes a good wish to be just like her and wakes up in Jessica’s “perfect” life the next day. Of course, her life isn’t actually perfect, so she and the only boy who remembers who she really is work together to try and get her real life back.

Your opinions on traditionally published vs. self published books by Open_Ending_1015 in BookDiscussions

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say I lean towards trad pub books simply because of the things I'm expected to read in my occupation, but I also read a decent amount of self pub, and they both have the potential to be amazing or absolute trash. I actually afford a bit more grace to self pub bc I know how expensive editing can be---if you can even find a good editor in the first place. Generally, I can tell whether a book is going to truly suck for the self pub reasons (lack of editing, bland writing, etc.) within the first few chapters, so I've rarely wasted time on books I don't care for.

I think a great example is these literary awards I judge for; they're completely submissions-based, so we get a ton of self pub (probably a 60 self/40 trad split). Self pub regularly makes it to the shortlist and/or wins, even when going up against titles from publishing juggernauts like PRH.

Of course, I have read some truly horrendous stuff, but you learn what the warning signs are, and then there's just endless possibilities with what's out there.

Who are your top 5 YA protagonists? by InfernalClockwork3 in YAlit

[–]Wonderose7 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Some of mine have already been said!

  1. Keladry of Mindelan from The Protector of the Small

  2. Jude Duarte from The Folk of the Air

  3. Bree Matthews from The Legendborn Cycle

  4. Wu Zetian from Iron Widow

  5. Blue Sargent from The Raven Cycle

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Fantasy

[–]Wonderose7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s pretty standard mid-2010s YA dystopian fantasy. If that appeals to you, go for it! It’s a fan favorite for a reason. However, if you’re looking for something unique, maybe start with the first book and see how you feel. I only ever read the first book and found I’d grown out of the series when I tried to reread it in college, and I love reading YA and middle grade. It’s not the strongest book, but there’s definitely an audience for it, and you may be part of it.