I’m looking for a fantasy that has some romance that doesn’t include faeries or fae. I don’t want the romance to be the main plot point. Good writing and world building are also a plus. I’m good with fantasy or fantasy set in the real world. Thanks!!
Books I’ve disliked:
Uprooted by Naomi Novik (world building didn’t make sense)
Anything by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing
Books I’ve enjoyed:
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
by TemperatureDizzy3257
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You might like Carissa Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia series! Right now, it includes a duet (*The Serpent and the Wings of Night* and *The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King*), as well as two “standalone” novellas (*Six Scorched Roses*, best red between the duet I mentioned, and *Slaying the Vampire Conqueror*, which is a true standalone set in the same world as the others).
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60714999-the-serpent-and-the-wings-of-night](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60714999-the-serpent-and-the-wings-of-night)
I have heard good things about her other series, Daughter of No Worlds, but I’m not sure how big the romance plot is, as I have not read it myself.
There are no supernatural beings in the Alpennia books by Heather Rose Jones. They are f/f Fantasy of Manners set a few years after the end of the Napoleonic wars. A woman duelist, politics, mysterious parents, another woman who wants to study at the university, magic, romance, and all the society of manners one would expect. I love Heather’s worldbuilding. It’s so detailed and natural.
Have you read T. Kingfishers World of the White Rat books? The Paladin books are more romancey than the others (very slow burn–a crock pot would burn faster than these books) but they all have strong non-romance plots. There are no fae. *Clockwork Boys*, *The Wonder Engine, Swordheart, Paladin’s Grace, Paladin’s Strength, Paladin’s Hope* and *Paladin’s Faith* (out on December 5th). She also has other Fantasy books, none of which have fairies. *A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, Bryony and Roses* (retelling of Beauty and the Beast), *Summer in Orcus, The Seventh Bride, The Raven and the Reindeer.* Her novella *Thornhedge* does have faries.
I don’t think any of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children novellas have fairies, and there’s not much romance. Every odd numbered book takes place in our world. The even numbered books take place in various portal worlds. The first book is *Every Heart a Doorway*.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
I’m a really hard sell for romance sub-plots, but here’s a few I’ve enjoyed anyway (and I also loved *Starling House*, so fingers crossed!):
Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy by KS Villoso, which starts with *The Wolf of Oren Yaro*
*Notorious Sorcerer* and *Shadow Baron* by Davinia Evans – books 1 and 2 of a trilogy, can’t wait for book 3
The Copper Cat trilogy by Jen Williams, which starts with *The Copper Promise*
*Sorcery of Thorns* by Margaret Rogerson – YA but doesn’t feel juvenile
*Wheel of the Infinite* by Martha Wells
I think Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series is such a read-alike for “Starling House” – urban fantasy in a small town, sentient settings that become almost characters in the story, romance is present but not the primary plot. Psychics, magicians, dreamers, lost kings, but not a single fairy! The first book is “The Raven Boys” and if you like it, there are 3 sequels to finish off the series.
I agree with you about “Uprooted,” it was not for me. “Spinning Silver” by the same author is far superior, in my opinion.
“The Last Tale of the Flower Bride” is exquisitely sinister urban fantasy, has a very “dark fairy tale” vibe but no actual fairies. There are romantic elements but it is NOT a romance.
Adrienne Young’s “Spells for Forgetting” is gorgeous; romance is maybe half the plot, and a witchy sort of mystery is the other half.
“Hell Bent” by Leigh Bardugo is urban fantasy set among college students at Yale where the secret societies are actually magic strongholds. There are no fairies but there are ghosts. And demons! The scariest part is the second book ends on a cliffhanger and the third book is not out yet!
For a blend of myth and reality, ‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman is a book I find myself recommending time and again. Gaiman’s tale explores the gods of old myths and their struggle to survive in modern America, a place of new gods like technology and media.