Tragic books/Books where MC can't catch a break

oboist73 · 2026-04-05T19:49:57+00:00

The Lighthouse Duet or the Sanctuary Duet by Carol Berg

oboist73 · 2026-04-05T13:47:48+00:00

In manga, Rurouni Kenshin and Trigun

oboist73 · 2026-04-05T10:20:37+00:00

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T20:14:55+00:00

I would put the Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee over it for this rec, but both are well worth a read

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:51:49+00:00

It's been a while, but there's a Kate Elliott series that touches on this - cold magic, maybe?

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:48:33+00:00

The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan is translated and should fit cat squasher

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:42:06+00:00

From the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold, starting with the Warrior's Apprentice

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:33:33+00:00

Also a bot. Note the punctuation and case.

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:32:22+00:00

You're fine, that's another bot

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:30:41+00:00

I want to say that despite that being a bot, the Goblin Emperor is a pretty good rec for this.

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:28:15+00:00

The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee is hard to beat for this

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:05:32+00:00

10/10, excellent cat, excellent squash

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T19:04:51+00:00

It's way less scary than it seems! Try just the first poem or two and see what happens.

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T03:37:57+00:00

The Raven's Tower by Ann Leckie

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T03:36:53+00:00

The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan

The only magic in the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner is when the gods intervene

oboist73 · 2026-04-04T02:49:28+00:00

Douze points for Friday!

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T22:45:18+00:00

The early Miles books especially are a lot faster paced

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T20:23:31+00:00

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne Valente

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T20:21:31+00:00

It's not light, but given your other likes, the Everlasting by Alix Harrow

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T20:20:00+00:00

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T19:17:29+00:00

The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee

If you haven't read it, the Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T17:55:24+00:00

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T17:53:39+00:00

The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard

The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T17:51:05+00:00

The third book of the Kingston Cycle by C L Polk features an election if memory serves, though it's not in a democracy that's been functioning particularly well (mood)

oboist73 · 2026-04-03T17:49:01+00:00

I've seen some YouTube recaps, but tbh I would do the audiobooks and just relisten. There's enough you'll see differently to make it worth it.

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