Does anyone have any good recommendations for fantasy romance books or historical fiction books for adults? Preferably something where the hero is not a complete douche and the heroine doesn’t make you cringe 90% of the time. Beyond the fact that most fantasy books with a romance aspect have a very YA feel, I am sick to death of the “hero treats the heroine like shit but somehow she falls in love with him anyway and doesn’t ever hold him accountable” trope that is so prevalent in books like The Reluctant Viking, Once and Always by Judith McNaught, Fires of Winter by Johanna Lindsey etc.
Some books that I did recently enjoy are: The Bridge Kingdom, The Wraith King series, The Bride of the shadow king, The Hanging City, Entreat Me by Grace Draven, The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral, #1), The Ever King (The Ever Seas) etc.
I’ve also read, but didn’t enjoy, mainly due to the YA feel or for various other reasons: Court of Ravens and Ruin by Eliza Raine, Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos) and Heart of Night and Fire (The Nightfire Quartet) by Nisha J. Tuli
Any suggestions are welcome, thank you in advance!!
by AddendumFun7674
4 Comments
I understand the frustration-I have some author recs that have hit the mark for me.
These authors fall under the fantasy romance sub genre & feature complex characters balanced out with plot/world building:
•T. Kingfisher(also writes horror)
•Grace Draven
•J.D. Evans
•Ilona Andrews(also writes urban fantasy)
Authors who write fantasy w/romantic subplots:
•Tasha Suri
•M.A. Carrick
•Seanan McGuire
•Naomi Novik
The court of thorns and roses series is a long one but completely worth the hype. It’s got enough world building and character development that it doesn’t feel too YA
I like the Innkeeper Chronicles series by Illona Andrew.
Lindsay Buroker has some good fantasy/romance stuff. The Dragon Blood series is the one that comes to mind.
You could try Celia Lake, historical romantic fantasy with grown ass adults for the most part, characters who know how to be kind to each other
Freya Marske A Marvelous Light is also good.