Reddit mentions: The best fantasy romance books

Midnight outside the r/fantasy literary bistro. The lone busker is having no luck with slow Paul Simon/Dan Fogelberg medleys. He stands, clears throat, strikes a proud B# and begins something fast and loud.

It's been one week since you looked at me
Cocked your head to the side
and said “Well maybe.”
Five days since you laughed at me saying
“I get you’re funny but kinda literary.”
Three days since the mods stepped in,
I realized it's all my fault, but can’t send a DM.
Yesterday you unblocked me,
But it'll still be two days till you buy my fantasy.

Click it now and watch the kindle blink,
As I make the reader stop, think.
You'll think you're reading about Aragorn.
I’ll summon Gollum with a fish,
All the Nazgul if you wish
I can’t be sued for this
Cause the trope’s already over-worn.

Hot like Tolkien when I bust rhymes
Big like George Martin, I’m, I’m…
Because I'm all about value!
Neil Gaiman's got the fab hits
I’ve got self published crits.
Obscurity tries to hold me but I bust through.

Gonna give my hero a day in the park,
I don’t like it too gross or grim or dark.
I like Zelazny, Corwin hasn’t got an equal.
You gotta give me one look,
Cause when you buy just one book,
I’ll have you on the Elmo hook.
“Quest” it's so adventurous
You'll have to buy the sequel.

How can I help it if I think I’m funny when I’m deep?
Trying hard not to self-promote ‘cause I feel cheap.
I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a mirror
Can't understand what I mean?
Well, I’ll make it clearer.
I have a tendency to put my thoughts in my works.
I have a history of not selling my books.

It's been one week since you looked at me
DM’d the mods and said “he’s crazy”.
Five days since you three-starred me
I've still got the teary emoji on my FB feed.
It's been three days since the SFPBO.
You realized its parody not a put on.
Yesterday you reconsidered me.
And now I sit back and wait till you click on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/St-Elmo-Raymond/e/B01N3ABAIO?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1564448077&sr=8-1.)

Smaug, Orm and Drogon: always have a dragon.
One rain of fire and your brain stops draggin’.
Reading Shirley Jackson, at midnight,
Under blanket with a flashlight.
I hope the ghosts are real in this one.

Like Fiver and Ged I'm getting mystic
Like Patchface I’m a bit eccentric.
But my plots always satisfy.
Like Butcher I like a paladin.
Okay I know I’m not him,
But if I were they'd have a good guy.

Gonna get a set of better covers,
Maybe the kind with undead lovers.
Just so my books aren't always shelved with the lit fics.
Gotta get that look of red swords and dark cloaks
Cause my covers now have folks in weird kilts
That make you think the wrong thing.

How can I help it if I think I’m funny when I’m deep
Trying hard to self-promote though I feel cheap.
I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a reddit
Can you give Quest a chance?
You won’t regret it.
I have a tendency to put my mind in my books.
I have a history of getting strange looks.

It's been one week since you messaged me
Read a review and asked is it KU?
Five days since I down-voted you and said
You just asked what I thought you were gonna do.
Three days since the mods stepped in.
We realized we're both to blame, but what could we do?
Yesterday you just up-voted me
Cause it’s been days since you said you’d try me.

There are still lots of ways for you to try me.
Best way today is just go and buy me.
(r/fantasy: home of the Stabby)

Quest of the Five Clans, by Raymond St. Elmo

Hey r/Fantasy - I've got a new book out! It's called Dagger of Bone. It contains many nutritious, entertaining ingredients, such as:

• Magical swords that bond their owner with the soul of a dragon
  
• A determined heroine who's doesn't take the bad hand she's dealt sitting down
  
• An orphan son of the greatest mage who ever lived who just happens to have inherited none of her fancy magic
  
• A lot of secrets for our heroes to dig up.
  
• Oh and some pretty fun death-demon-soul magic too. Because what's more fun than dark magic, eh? Amiright? Dragons, you say? Okay, you got me.
  
  It might be for you if:
  
  
• You like epic fantasy with intrigue, high stakes, and a bit of humor, adventure, and love
  
• You enjoy books something sort of like Sabriel by Garth Nix or Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas or the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. I hate comparisons so feel free to let me know if that's just totally off base. ;)
  
• You like characters who aren't afraid to break some rules. \^_\^
  
• You enjoy reading about pastries.
  
  I actually mentioned this book a while back on a subreddit, mentioning a bit of a darker story in which the corruption of the smiths of magical swords causes mages to turn toward necromancy. Someone asked me when it would be available, but I can't find the comment! Well, it's available, yay!
  
  ​
  
  For Bingo Players, Dagger of Bone qualifies as:
  
  
• Self-Published SFF Novel
  
• SFF Novel by a Local to You Author (Western PA)
  
• SFF Novel Published in 2019
  
  ​
  
  Just for kicks and Bingo bubbles, I also have a space opera series called the Audacity Saga that would give you these on Bingo:
  
  
• Novel Featuring an AI Character
  
• Novel Featuring an Ocean Setting (It's only 1 scene, so you can decide if that counts, but it's a really important one.)
  
  It's sort of like Mass Effect or Honor Harrington. I wouldn't technically call it Cyberpunk because of the intergalactic setting, but body mods and computers are a huge theme so it verges on it. Just in case!

Sure thing! These are my favourite female fantasy authors, and the books I'd recommend starting with:

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Priestess Of The White by Trudi Canavan

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce (She has a series of trilogies with different heroines set in chronological order in the same world. The first trilogy may be my least favourite, but it is the first and it's still pretty good so...)

Spindle's End and Deerskin by Robin McKinley (Can't decide which one to recommend first!)

Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts (Actually written by a man and a woman, but one of my favourite trilogies ever.)

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (Not certain this is fantasy but it's incredibly interesting to imagine!)

If you like YA stuff there are several female authors I'd recommend in that category as well, but it may not be your cup of tea.

I know this contest has closed but figured I'd share you some kindlebooks anyways since I have two that friends of mine have written.

The Devil's Deal
It's a 4 book series. It started life as a Harry Potter fanfic, and a lot of elementars are still kind of there, but it vears off greatly. Fun. There's even a character in the later books that is named after me!

Nickle City
So far 2 books in the series (not sure if he'll be writing more yet). I've rec'ed this book to a lot of friends that have all enjoyed it, and started teasing him that I deserve a cut of the sales. Instead of money, I get IOUs for social interactions. I'm hoping to save up enough to be able to drag him to a strip club with me!

Heyo, everyone. My name is F.M. Merill.

I recently released on Amazon a novel called Sigil Hunters: The Tower of Gowstel.

It's a more light-hearted fantasy adventure with erotic content.

It's about people who deal with the whole high fantasy world with its many perils and joys. Overall it's mix of romance, conspiracy, comedy, and gritty action.

But I'd rather the book speak for itself. Here's a quick blurb from the sale page:

The Spiraling Star’s power grows as the Dark Month approaches. This is the time when rebellions come to fruition, ancient bloodlines are to be rediscovered, forgotten gods reawaken, and adversaries from beyond the stars watch for opportunity.

The world needs heroes...these are not them.

A treasure hunting sorcerer, a noble enchantress, and a bounty hunter of a holy order are inexorably drawn toward the village of Vesega, nearby which sits the infamous Tower of Gowstel.

Within the tower, it is rumored that riches, lost knowledge and the means to achieving unstoppable power can be found.

Many have tried to enter...all have failed... until now.

Adventurous action and kindled passions await within Sigil Hunters: Tower of Gowstel!


Check it out here.

If I've incorrectly pitched, I would welcome advice.

https://www.amazon.com/Sigil-Hunters-Gowstel-F-M-Merill-ebook/dp/B077MF9KGR

Are you okay with indie books? If so, I stumbled across a great fantasy romance in Amazon's Hot Releases category earlier this week - Lost in Love by K.L. Thorne. She's a relatively new author, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it's going to be a series (yay!)

I read it through Kindle Unlimited, so it was free for me.

Linky linky... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KDYKG2N

Now available from April 2nd - May 4th, get Blood Bound, Book 2 of the Convergence series on preorder for only 99¢!!! (Retail $2.99)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q3TC9HM

​

Haven't read Torn Apart, Book 1 of the Convergence series yet? Great news! From now, until May the 4th, you can get a copy of Book 1 for FREE from Smashwords with coupon code EQ67Z.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/745648

​

If you enjoy epic and steamy high fantasy romance filled with action and adventure, you'll love the Convergence series.

​

Book 1 Summary:

​

As a priestess in the service of the dragon goddess, Halea must roam the land hunting demons and sealing tears caused by the Chaos Dimension that seeks to converge with their world. She has sworn an oath to devote herself only to her goddess, and if necessary, will even die for her mission.

​

One day she discovers that her beloved childhood friend, Varg, has survived the devastation of the last convergence and has since risen to become the alpha of his people, the lycans. Together they battle the forces of Chaos, but when Varg wants Halea to be his mate, she is torn between her oath and her desire to be with the Wolf King who loves her. Only a blood sacrifice can stop the coming of the next convergence, and with Halea’s life on the line, Varg will do anything to save her.

​

Read Reviews for Torn Apart (Book 1) on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07586TV6Y

and Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36157335-torn-apart

Read Reviews for Blood Bound (Book 2) on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44309030-blood-bound

Lit-RPG:

• The Second Age of Retha series by A.M. Sohma - the first three are all available on KU right now. It's a fairly humorous and light-hearted take on lit-rpg that I found pretty entertaining. The second and third book do feature a bit of a romance angle, which I mention because I know some people prefer to avoid any romance in their stories.
  
  Romance:
  
  
• Age of the Andinna series by Kristen Banet - the first two are available on KU, and the third is due to be released in the next month or so.

Yep! I also did a sci-fi cover for one of my own novels, Paragon: http://www.amazon.com/Paragon-Science-Fiction-Romance-ebook/dp/B00BMU9B3O/
Sci-fi covers are awesome, but definitely harder to do than romance :) What kind of sci-fi is your book?

• Title: A Starlet is Born
  
• Genre: Fantasy/Romance
  
• Word count: 14,260
  
• Type of feedback desired: general impression, specially from Chapter 2.
  
• The book is offered for free in
  
  • Google Play
    
  • iTunes
    
  • Smashwords
    
  • B&N
    
• Blurb: Green aliens, the original residents of the earth, are temporarily living in Greenovia, a planet at the edge of the great black hole. They are concerned that with the way humans are treating the planet, there might not be anything left of it when they will return. To figure why humans are not taking care of their planet, they send a spy to live on earth as a human being. The mission goes wrong, however, and disrupts the romantic life as we know it. The alien romance, however, turns to be a key in understanding the humans' plan for the environment. 

Might as well throw my hat in the ring, lol. I'm a writer in the reverse harem romance subgenre, where the heroine ends up with multiple dudes (who can also be in relationships with each other.) I've just released the novella-length start to a romantic fantasy series, Dragon's Flight. It's fairly plotty, with evolving relationships between the various characters, no asshole alpha types who don't get called out on it, and IMO some interesting twists on tropes.

Books! I feel like this is my element! Can I suggest multiple books or does that not count?

You can never go wrong with A Song of Ice and Fire (which starts with the book, A Game of Thrones) if you haven't read it yet.

These next two I got for free from Amazon as part of the Kindle First program, and I really liked both of them! They're both the first books in their respective series, so I haven't got around to reading the rest of the books in each series but they have potential.

The Paper Magician is about a girl who has just graduated from Magician School, and has been sent off to do her apprenticeship with a paper magician, who only works magic through paper. The girl is a little miffed as she doesn't think paper magic has any worth.

The Line is about a girl who is the only non-magical member in her family of extremely powerful witches who live in Savannah, GA.

> It has a clear message and somewhat original as well.

Movie is very original, this is how original it is. Also, here is the original inspiration for this.

Thanks for those, The Narrows looks really interesting. I actually have read Quest of the Five Clans before, I just forgot to add it. I had no idea what it was going into it so I was a little thrown by the style, but I thought it was still pretty good. I'm actually reading Klondaeg right now as well, and I've been meaning to read some of Hayes' books for a while. I've had Where Loyalties Lie on my TBR list forever and keep forgetting to read it. And I didn't list the second Bulletproof Witch since I was only putting the first book of series on the list.

The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician and the first two books in the Paper Magician series, in which nineteen year old Ceony Twill must set aside her disappointment - she wanted to be a Smelter, a metal mage - and learn paper magic instead. But unknown to her, the Folder to whom she's apprenticed happens to be deeply involved in the hunt for dark mages who work with human flesh ...

So far as I can tell, the books aren't marketed as young adult, but they do have a kind of coming of age theme, and - to this point at least - the subject matter would be perfectly acceptable for teens. The writing is sophisticated enough for adults, however.

Sample.
The Course of Empire (Course of Empire Series Book 1) by Eric Flint
1632 (Ring of Fire Series) by Eric Flint
Northworld Trilogy by David Drake
Starliner by David Drake
Star Soldiers by Adre Norton
Oath of Swords (War God Book 1) by David Weber
On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington Book 1) by David Weber
The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington Book 2) by David Weber
The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles Book 1) by R.E. Weber
The Last Praetorian (The Redemption Trilogy Book 1) by Mike Smith
Hard Duty: Merkiaari Wars Book 1 by Mark E. Cooper
The Synchronicity War Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr
Dark Space by Jasper T. Scott
The Tank Lords by David Drake
Redliners by David Drake
A Desert Called Peace (Carrera Series Book 1) by Tom Kratman
Gunship by John Davis
With the Lightnings (Lt. Leary Book 1) by David Drake
Tales of Honor #1 by Matt Hawkins and Jung-Geun Yoon
The Fringe Worlds: (The Human Chronicles Saga Book #1) by T.R. Harris
Freehold (Freehold Series Book 1) by Michael Z. Williamson
The Last Roman (The Praetorian Series Book 1) by Edward Crichton
The Sea Hag by David Drake
Forbidden The Stars (The Interstellar Age Book 1) by Valmore Daniels
FCBD 2015: Tales of Honor by Matt Hawkins and Linda Sejic
The Philosophical Strangler (Joe's World Book 1) by Eric Flint
The Creatures of Man by Howard L. Myers
In the Heart of Darkness (Belisarius Saga Book 2) by Eric Flint
Northworld Trilogy by David Drake
Starliner by David Drake

I think you could DEFINITELY publish it under romance. Just get a really classy cover, make it full-length (at least 40k or more) and try to put some kind of emotional connection into.

Some bestsellers are doing this already: https://www.amazon.com/Consort-Secrets-Paranormal-Reverse-Consorts-ebook/dp/B079FS38PW/

https://www.amazon.com/Oath-Forger-Book-Reverse-Romance-ebook/dp/B079M5TB6R

Definitely NOT a stupid question. You're onto something there.

Paladin of Souls is the second in a series, but features a female protagonist. I thought the first book was better, but this one is good as well.

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen (all by Garth Nix) are pretty spectacular if you're into fantasy.

Juliet Marillier also writes a lot of fairy-tale retellings that have female protags, if that's your cup of tea. The Sevenwaters Trilogy is pretty good.

Edit: Ooh, also The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (this is epic fantasy, but she also writes a lot of female protags in her space operas) and Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. Those two are fantastic, don't know why they didn't spring to mind right off!

Edit 2: For less spoilery linkage.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Seconding anything Benedict Patrick.

Also Travis M. Riddle.

Recently finished the first book of The Quest of Five Clans by Raymond St. Elmo and would highly recommend it.

Episode 1 of Bulletproof Witch by F.J. Blair was lots of fun, and Episode 2 is due to be released on the 17th of this month.

I enjoyed Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin - it's more on the sci-fi side than the fantasy side.

Masters of Deception by JC Kang is the selected book for May for the Resident Authors Bookclub here on /r/Fantasy, so it's a good one to pick up if you're interested in bookclubbing it. The halfway discussion will be posted at the end of this week, I believe.

Check out the self-promo thread for some more authors local to the sub. A lot of their books are available through KU.

Also the majority of the SPFBO finalists for 2018 are available through KU. You can find the finalist table here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2018/11/spfbo-2018-finals.html

----

^(Side note, since I suppose it's relevant. I started writing reviews this year for all the KU books I read, so you can find reviews of several KU books if you want to lurk through my post history. Seems awkward to link them all here...)

I read this one recently ... Sixty-One Nails.

It's probably more similar to Gaiman than Butcher, but it deals with faeries and the like. I haven't read the second book in the series, but intend to.

This was a central plot device of a pretty decent modern fantasy book--Sixty-One Nails

Could it be The Paper Magician?

https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Magician-Book-ebook/dp/B00HVF7OL0