Saturday, June 21, 2014

Looking for Good Fantasy Romance

Posted by: Unknown
Last week, I read Jeffe Kennedy’s Mark of the Tala and Rogue’s Paradise and I loved them both. Jeffe writes in a sweet spot for me, a combination of steamy romance and complex fantasy. It’s a combination that’s sadly difficult to find so I’m hoping you guys can help me out with some recommendations.

Other fantasy romances I’ve recently enjoyed include…

Janine Ashbless - The King’s Viper
What I liked best about this one is that the hero’s thoughts and motivations are obscure through much of the story with a big emotional reveal at the end. I’m a particular fan of that kind of antihero/hero tension so if you have any recs for books with darker heroes, let me have ‘em.

Grace Draven – Entreat Me
This one's a beauty and the beast retelling. I think I still prefer Draven’s Master of Crows, but Entreat Me is definitely a solid story with excellent writing, interesting characters and a nice, slow build romance.

And… well, that’s it really. I’ve tried about a half dozen others over the past few months that didn’t work for me. You’ll notice my fantasy preferences fall on the side of the historical and more realistic, but I can get behind sorcerers and dragons if you have recommendations for something more fantastical.

I’ve been eyeing this one but the sample didn't completely grab me. Have you read it?



Eleri Stone
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9 comments:

  1. Jeffe KennedyJune 21, 2014 at 4:07 PM

    Aww - thank you, Eleri! You're too sweet! I liked Assassin's Gambit and think you would too. Have you read Elizabeth Vaughan's Warprize? It's been multiply recommended to me and I have it in my pile...

    I agree - it's hard to find excellently built fantasy that spends enough time on the romance to satisfy me. Alas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 21, 2014 at 8:32 PM

      I'm not big on healer heroines but I really should give Warprize a try. It's been recommended to me a few times too.

      Delete
    2. Jeffe KennedyJune 21, 2014 at 10:27 PM

      I know - I'm the same way... but we should try!

      Delete
  2. Nicole LuikenJune 21, 2014 at 4:13 PM

    I just finished Mark of the Tala this morning and really enjoyed it.

    Have you tried Patricia Brigg's earlier works? The Hobb's Bargain and the Raven series both have a satisfying romantic subplot.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 21, 2014 at 8:23 PM

      I've read Hobb's Bargain and the first book in the Raven series. They fall more to the fantasy side for me but I really liked them a lot.

      Delete
    2. Jeffe KennedyJune 22, 2014 at 11:25 AM

      Thank you, Nicole! :-)

      Delete
  3. Angela Korra'tiJune 21, 2014 at 10:57 PM

    I second the recommendation for Patricia Briggs, above. I actually like her fantasy stuff better than her urban fantasy, since that's what made me start reading her to begin with.

    Another author I'll recommend for fantasy with romance is Doranna Durgin. She's another person who jumped genres--she's writing paranormal romance now. But she started in fantasy and she's often got strong romantic subplots. Her fantasy's stuff she's gotten her rights back on so she re-released those books digitally. Her site is doranna.net.

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    Replies
    1. Jeffe KennedyJune 22, 2014 at 11:26 AM

      I might have to try her fantasy then, because I never could get into her UF. Doranna is in my local chapter, so I *really* should read hers! I even have a couple in the pile that she gave me... *eep*

      Delete
    2. UnknownJune 24, 2014 at 9:12 AM

      That's so funny. I'm the opposite. I like Briggs' fantasy but prefer her UF. Thanks for the Durgin rec! I'll check her out:)

      Delete

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