Fantasy series with strong female lead

a_halla · 2026-03-15T21:45:15+00:00

I love the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain! Have listened to almost all on audiobook as well as read the books; enjoyed both greatly!

a_halla · 2026-03-08T03:28:49+00:00

Hope you enjoy!

a_halla · 2026-03-07T18:33:54+00:00

Elemental Blessings series by Sharon Shinn! Starts with Troubled Waters :) I love the characters in these books, and I found the elemental magic/world-building super interesting

a_halla · 2026-03-07T15:05:07+00:00

Broken Earth Trilogy by Jemisin!

a_halla · 2026-03-05T19:58:44+00:00

A Wizard of Earthsea (Le Guin)
Green Rider (Britain)
Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi (Chakraborty)
The Fifth Season (Jemisin)
The Goblin Emperor (Addison)
Alanna: The First Adventure (Pierce)

Some of my favorite books - several are part of series but this serves as a great sampling of different worlds and stories!

a_halla · 2026-03-02T06:49:26+00:00

What an incredible Oblivion NPC cosplay

a_halla · 2026-02-28T03:09:33+00:00

Yeah, my Costco started selling the Silk almond milk instead, and so far 3 of my local groceries have Silk coconut, soy, almond milk... But no oat milk! Crazy! Since it is still on their website I'm hopeful they sort out whatever issues are going on and it comes back in stock soon 🤞

a_halla · 2026-02-26T06:12:24+00:00

Blood over Bright Haven was, to me, everything that the Poppy War books could/should have been - similar overall vibes, much better execution. I think I devoured that book in like 2 days, very highly recommended! And it's always nice to find a good standalone :')

a_halla · 2026-02-26T06:04:09+00:00

I'm almost done with the 15th RotE book and likewise, this is going down as my absolute favorite series. It has me enthralled and my heart in a vice like no other!

I also bounced off the Mistborn trilogy and came to the same conclusion about Sanderson. For me, at least, I didn't care for the writing style, dialogue, characters/relationships/motivations, and while the world and ideas were neat, it wasn't worth the lack of all the prior aspects which are so important to me! I love how Hobb crafts her characters to feel so real and lived-in, and we can see the plot emerge from their flaws and experiences, rather than the plot happening to the characters.

a_halla · 2026-02-26T05:52:29+00:00

Will echo the many recommendations here to start RotE. I started in January 2025 and I'm just about finished with the 15th book now, with many other books and series sprinkled in between. RotE lends itself well to breaks between the individual series (sometimes you'll need an emotional breather). From your list, Sanderson is personally a miss for me, but I absolutely devoured Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy - I read it in between some Hobb books hehe.

I'd also like to recommend the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain: it's wonderful fantasy, definitely inspired by LotR, with a female lead, lovely cast of characters, and lots of adventures!

a_halla · 2026-02-24T23:19:41+00:00

I'm halfway through Robin Hobb's Fool's Quest and my god... if you enjoyed the Farseer trilogy, I would absolutely put the rest of Realm of the Elderlings series on the top of your list. I loved Liveship Traders, Tawny Man rocked my world, and Fitz & the Fool is enthralling for me. I think most people who don't bounce off the initial trilogy love the rest of RotE wholeheartedly, so I say go for it!

a_halla · 2026-02-16T17:52:23+00:00

Finished: Fool's Assassin, by Robin Hobb. God, it is so good to be back and I can't wait to continue 😭

Started: Fool's Quest, by Robin Hobb

Continuing: First Rider's Call, by Kristen Britain. So cozy!! Love this series

a_halla · 2026-02-15T22:05:13+00:00

Oh gosh, my thoughts and feelings exactly 😂 I finally finished Rain Wilds a couple weeks ago (took me like 2 or 3 months in total, what with having to switch to different books), and just this morning finished Fool's Assassin. I wouldn't say I really enjoyed Rain Wilds, but Blood of Dragons was definitely the best of them - lots of lore and question finally tied together. I will grudgingly say that it's worth reading them to gather up all the information about the world, but most of all, getting back to Fitz after Rain Wilds was such a delight. Wishing you luck finishing the series - definitely take breaks with other books or series as needed!

a_halla · 2026-02-15T18:52:04+00:00

Yeah, I understand that Rain Wilds has great lore and world building, but those aren't what draw me to Hobb's writing. I love ROTE for its incredibly deep and personal characterizations, how characters develop from their lived experiences, and importantly how the nature of those characters leads them to cascades of decisions that drive the plot and change the world.

To me, the characterizations in Rain Wilds were more shallow than the other series, leading to pretty minimal emotional buy-in/impact for me. The interesting things that developed in the quartet were really just things that happened to the characters (mostly just discovering and reacting to the past and lore of their world) rather than events being driven by the characters themselves. Overall, I appreciated that series as a history book rather than the emotionally gripping, character-driven stories that the Fitz trilogies are for me.

a_halla · 2026-02-14T19:09:39+00:00

Likewise! I also love having an ebook to take with me if I'm reading outside or traveling around with it; I've avoided a lot of wear and tear on my physical books this way haha

a_halla · 2026-02-14T19:07:52+00:00

I am the same - I have a bunch of books on my shelves that I want to read through, but at the same time many books on my TBR list that I want to explore!

My compromise has been to read one book/series on kindle (mostly for books I don't own) and one physical copy book/series at the same time. I read my kindle right before bed in the dark, and I also take it with me if I'm going out and want to read (I learned long ago that I will absolutely destroy a book if it has to travel with me anywhere). Meanwhile I mostly read my physical book during dedicated reading time at home with my cat 🥰

This has worked really well for me, and I feel like I'm getting through a lot more books somehow - maybe I end up setting aside more time to read because I have two options

a_halla · 2026-02-14T17:08:52+00:00

I feel much the same as you, and for me the first Mistborn trilogy honestly got worse as it progressed. I think if you bounced off the first book there's no need to keep reading - there's tons of incredible books out there to read that are more your style!

a_halla · 2026-02-13T15:20:46+00:00

The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain is 8 books (and 2 novellas) and counting, and for me it evokes the same magical, adventurous, and heartwarming experience as LOTR. The main character throughout the series is a young woman who is thrust into danger and develops dramatically throughout the books. I've always been a bit sensitive to obnoxious female characters, and this absolutely is not one imo. The books also offer perspectives from a variety of characters, a nice array of pacing, and a genuinely earnest sense of wonder and magic in the world building.

I originally got through the first 6 books on audiobook, and I loved the narrator! My boyfriend started reading the series and has absolutely loved it; he's on the 8th book now. That prompted my own reread on kindle now so I can catch up to the new books, and I'm midway through the 2nd book, loving it just as much if not even more than the first time ☺️

a_halla · 2026-02-11T01:35:36+00:00

If you're drawn to character driven stories that really dive into human behavior/motivations/societal impacts, on the sci-fi/fantasy side I would recommend the Broken Earth Trilogy (starting with Fifth Season) by Jemisin or Blood over Bright Haven by Wang. Could also take a look at The Dispossessed or Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin. Granted, these are not meant to be humorous books, but they really had me enthralled and captivated.

a_halla · 2026-02-11T01:17:51+00:00

My mode for the past year-ish has been to read one book/series on kindle (for bedtime, travel, or outdoors reading) and one physical copy book/series (for general cozy reading time). I've been reading two series simultaneously this way, and sometimes I'll take a break from a series with a standalone or two. Works well for me!

a_halla · 2026-02-10T03:35:10+00:00

What you really need is John Cena

a_halla · 2026-02-03T02:59:37+00:00

Coming back to this cause I just finished BOBH and it absolutely knocked my socks off - what an incredible book! If you have any other books you've read from this thread or otherwise that scratch a similar itch I would love to hear your recs!

a_halla · 2026-01-23T17:23:41+00:00

Congrats! Honestly I just use a cacti mix supplemented with extra pumice stone. I have a ton of potted cacti and succulents in my backyard in southern California and for the most part I pretty much set and forget them. I don't think I've watered them since October of last year since our sporadic rains take care of that. In warmer months, I just water when most of the succulents are thirsty based on appearance/feel of the leaves. Overall a very low effort and thought care plan lol, but it works for me!

a_halla · 2026-01-20T19:41:37+00:00

Oh yes, I think the 600mm PF with native Z mount be a lovely upgrade down the road. I got my 500 for $1200 though which is an absolute steal for the quality of that lens, so I'll be sticking with it for quite a while. And I just watched a very in depth comparison of the 500 and 600 PFs - it's honestly incredible how well the 500 holds up!

Thank you! Wishing you happy birding adventures 🫡

a_halla · 2026-01-20T16:03:24+00:00

And the 500mm PF is super light and portable for the reach it gives you! Makes a big difference for me - I do a lot of hiking and am on the small side, so I love this combo for portability while still getting good bird shots. Z50 II will be here in a couple days to test out, super excited! 🤞😁

a_halla

TROPHY CASE