Fantasy recommendations please

Sadeness · 03-11-2014, 05:56 PM

Hello,
what I'm looking for is quite specific, but hopefully there're good novels like this out there. I'm fine with either series or stand alone novels.
The main points I'm looking for are:
-a fantasy world(magic, epic, myths or something like that)
-an interesting plot
-a strong female protagonist
-the most difficult point: a good sub-plot romance where the female protagonist at the beginning doesn't like and/or trust her future lover/partner
-The hero is someone like her mentor/master/colleague....
-the heroine and therefore the reader is not quite sure if the male lead likes the protagonist for a while
- no tragic ending

It would be a plus if:
- the heroine was in her twenties and the hero older than her. I don't mind big age gaps!
- the hero doesn't let his emotions shown easily and is strong mentally too.

Books I read like this that I especially loved are the Study series and Touch of power by Snyder, The Emperor's Edge series by Lindsay Buroker(hidden gem!), The blue Sword by Robin MacKinley, Crown duel by Sherwood Smith, the Black Magician trilogy by Trudy Canavan (didn't like the ending though) and Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. I've also read all Emily Gee's books and warbreaker and mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Graceling and Fire. I'm sure I'm forgetting others...

I'm open for ideas even if the books you recommend haven't got all the points I'm asking for.
Any help would be great, Thanks!!!

Geralt · 03-11-2014, 06:10 PM

This comes to mind

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...r_for_the_Oaks

Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1988)

-main female character
-faerie world mixed with our world
-romance sub-plot
-the most difficult point: a good sub-plot romance where the female protagonist at the beginning doesn't like and/or trust her future lover/partner (this is present too)
-the heroine is in her 20s

Synopsis:
Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. The two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be a mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. Now she struggles to build a new life and new band when she might not even survive till the first rehearsal.

mewmartigan · 03-11-2014, 07:12 PM

I think the Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb fits the bill pretty darn well. I have just finished the first book "Ship of Magic" and it was great.

This trilogy is preceeded by the Farseer Trilogy but they are totally unrelated...just set in the same world. The Liveship books seem to occasionally have a passing mention of "events in the north" but that is it.

So you could read the Farseer Trilogy first (Assassin's Apprentice) if you want but its a male protagonist.

dgillette.rm · 03-11-2014, 07:14 PM

Try the Darkover stuff by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Thendara House and the couple that go with it leap to mind. Titles escape me of the top of my head, but message me if no one chimes in and I will dig them out.

artifact · 03-11-2014, 07:22 PM

Keeping it Real by Justina Robson and the rest of the Quantum Gravity series. It is set in a modern Fantasy setting so if Fantasy = Medieval for you it won't work.

It fits all of your criteria, though 'interesting plot' is subjective.

Jayso · 03-11-2014, 07:40 PM

I'm currently reading the frost series by Jennifer Estep....it's listed as young adult...on book 3 and so far is good......actually the series is called Mythos Academy, the main character is Gwen Frost

artifact · 03-11-2014, 07:41 PM

More books labeled as 'Urban Fantasy' popped to mind.

Michelle Sagara's Chronicle's of Elantra starting with Cast in Shadow. They make a point of the heroine's youth so she might be under 20, but the romance is still iffy after 5 books. The world is original, not Earth+.

Eileen Wilks' World of the Lupi starting with Tempting Danger. The heroine is closer to her 40s than 20s and the iffiness of the romance is not that iffy. This is very much an alternate Earth setting and Urban Fantasy vs. fantasy that is urban so might not suit.

GreenMonkey · 03-12-2014, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

I think the Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb fits the bill pretty darn well. I have just finished the first book "Ship of Magic" and it was great.

This trilogy is preceeded by the Farseer Trilogy but they are totally unrelated...just set in the same world. The Liveship books seem to occasionally have a passing mention of "events in the north" but that is it.

So you could read the Farseer Trilogy first (Assassin's Apprentice) if you want but its a male protagonist.

I'm a huge Hobb fan so I have to second this. Farseer + Liveships. You could go straight to Liveships if you want but you'd be missing some awesomely good fantasy.

Recommend C.S. Friedman's Magister trilogy, comes to mind right away. Strong female character grappling with a lot of male pro-and-antagonists that she can't trust.

Recommend also The Witches of Eileanan series. IIRC there's a few points of view but the main one is an apprentice witch.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Witches-Ei.../dp/0451456890

pdurrant · 03-12-2014, 01:53 PM

The Sharing Knife Tetralogy by Lois McMaster Bujold.
(Beguilement, Legacy, Passage, Horizon)

I think it ticks all your boxes.

Note that it's really two books split into four for length. The first two are one story, and the next two are another story. Don't feel cheated at the end of Beguilement - it's not intended to be stand-alone.

Sadeness · 03-12-2014, 03:57 PM

Thanks everyone for all these books. Lots of them sound like what I wanted.
I tried to read Beguilement but I didn't like the heroine and gave up.

I think I'll try the Frost series first. It's going to keep me busy for a while :-)

Abtacha · 03-12-2014, 04:01 PM

The Edge series by Ilona Andrews should fit pretty well, especially the first two (On the Edge and Bayou Moon) although there's no Mentor/Student relationship.
They're somewhat of a Urban Fantasy, traditional Fantasy, Romance mix.

owly · 03-13-2014, 04:51 AM

Jennifer Robersons "Sword-Dancer Saga" fits the bill. It start off a bit cliched with a Nordic type Sword maiden (Del) who reluctantly teams up with a Middle Eastern type sword fighter (Sandtiger) who starts out underestimating her. But the story and the characters develop beyond the cliches and I liked this series better than Roberson's Chesuli saga. The world is okay though it's basic Sword & Sorcery stuff. First book is "Sword-Dancer" and even though it was published in -86 it can be bought for Kindle and epub (Google play) Great when the authors digitize their older stuff.

Jayso · 03-13-2014, 08:59 AM

Kristen Britain's Green Rider series is good
Patricia Briggs has a couple good series that are inter-related, this is more urban fantasy though

WillAdams · 03-13-2014, 09:03 AM

Perhaps C.J. Cherryh's Morgaine trilogy.

Yapyap · 03-13-2014, 09:33 AM

Ooh, I'm always on the look-out for similar books, so this thread's going to be helpful for me as well!

One book/series (well, duology) that hasn't been mentioned yet but might fit the bill is The Assassin's Curse / The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke - young adult, magic and pirates and assassins, set in a fantasy world with only vague similarities to ours.

Strong female protagonist and while the love interest is neither a mentor nor a colleague (and only a few years older), there's some considerable antagonism at first and the hero definitely keeps his emotions bottled up for quite some time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sadeness

I think I'll try the Frost series first. It's going to keep me busy for a while :-)

It's fun enough, but the romance sub-plot might be a bit of a let-down - it's fairly ordinary girl-boy-romance, although somewhat better done than in many other YA books these days.

03-11-2014, 05:56 PM	#1
Sadeness Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2014 Device: kindle	Fantasy recommendations please Hello, what I'm looking for is quite specific, but hopefully there're good novels like this out there. I'm fine with either series or stand alone novels. The main points I'm looking for are: -a fantasy world(magic, epic, myths or something like that) -an interesting plot -a strong female protagonist -the most difficult point: a good sub-plot romance where the female protagonist at the beginning doesn't like and/or trust her future lover/partner -The hero is someone like her mentor/master/colleague.... -the heroine and therefore the reader is not quite sure if the male lead likes the protagonist for a while - no tragic ending It would be a plus if: - the heroine was in her twenties and the hero older than her. I don't mind big age gaps! - the hero doesn't let his emotions shown easily and is strong mentally too. Books I read like this that I especially loved are the Study series and Touch of power by Snyder, The Emperor's Edge series by Lindsay Buroker(hidden gem!), The blue Sword by Robin MacKinley, Crown duel by Sherwood Smith, the Black Magician trilogy by Trudy Canavan (didn't like the ending though) and Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. I've also read all Emily Gee's books and warbreaker and mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Graceling and Fire. I'm sure I'm forgetting others... I'm open for ideas even if the books you recommend haven't got all the points I'm asking for. Any help would be great, Thanks!!!

03-11-2014, 07:40 PM	#6
Jayso Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tennessee Device: samsung galaxy tab 3	I'm currently reading the frost series by Jennifer Estep....it's listed as young adult...on book 3 and so far is good......actually the series is called Mythos Academy, the main character is Gwen Frost Last edited by Jayso; 03-15-2014 at 08:11 AM. Reason: wrong series name

03-13-2014, 04:51 AM	#12
owly Guru Posts: 729 Karma: 3822612 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Paperwhite 2, Kobo Aura H2O	Jennifer Robersons "Sword-Dancer Saga" fits the bill. It start off a bit cliched with a Nordic type Sword maiden (Del) who reluctantly teams up with a Middle Eastern type sword fighter (Sandtiger) who starts out underestimating her. But the story and the characters develop beyond the cliches and I liked this series better than Roberson's Chesuli saga. The world is okay though it's basic Sword & Sorcery stuff. First book is "Sword-Dancer" and even though it was published in -86 it can be bought for Kindle and epub (Google play) Great when the authors digitize their older stuff. Last edited by owly; 03-13-2014 at 04:56 AM.

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03-11-2014, 06:10 PM	#2
Geralt Witcher Posts: 933 Karma: 7321117 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Swamp. Slaying Drowners. Device: Kindle PW2	This comes to mind War for the Oaks by Emma Bull https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...r_for_the_Oaks Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1988) -main female character -faerie world mixed with our world -romance sub-plot -the most difficult point: a good sub-plot romance where the female protagonist at the beginning doesn't like and/or trust her future lover/partner (this is present too) -the heroine is in her 20s Synopsis: Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. The two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be a mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. Now she struggles to build a new life and new band when she might not even survive till the first rehearsal.

03-11-2014, 07:12 PM	#3
mewmartigan Guru Posts: 852 Karma: 8242060 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle Oasis (2019)	I think the Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb fits the bill pretty darn well. I have just finished the first book "Ship of Magic" and it was great. This trilogy is preceeded by the Farseer Trilogy but they are totally unrelated...just set in the same world. The Liveship books seem to occasionally have a passing mention of "events in the north" but that is it. So you could read the Farseer Trilogy first (Assassin's Apprentice) if you want but its a male protagonist.

03-11-2014, 07:14 PM	#4
dgillette.rm Connoisseur Posts: 95 Karma: 10072 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: sony	Try the Darkover stuff by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Thendara House and the couple that go with it leap to mind. Titles escape me of the top of my head, but message me if no one chimes in and I will dig them out.

03-11-2014, 07:22 PM	#5
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	Keeping it Real by Justina Robson and the rest of the Quantum Gravity series. It is set in a modern Fantasy setting so if Fantasy = Medieval for you it won't work. It fits all of your criteria, though 'interesting plot' is subjective.

03-11-2014, 07:41 PM	#7
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	More books labeled as 'Urban Fantasy' popped to mind. Michelle Sagara's Chronicle's of Elantra starting with Cast in Shadow. They make a point of the heroine's youth so she might be under 20, but the romance is still iffy after 5 books. The world is original, not Earth+. Eileen Wilks' World of the Lupi starting with Tempting Danger. The heroine is closer to her 40s than 20s and the iffiness of the romance is not that iffy. This is very much an alternate Earth setting and Urban Fantasy vs. fantasy that is urban so might not suit.

03-12-2014, 01:53 PM	#9
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,908 Karma: 307105450 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	The Sharing Knife Tetralogy by Lois McMaster Bujold. (Beguilement, Legacy, Passage, Horizon) I think it ticks all your boxes. Note that it's really two books split into four for length. The first two are one story, and the next two are another story. Don't feel cheated at the end of Beguilement - it's not intended to be stand-alone.

03-12-2014, 03:57 PM	#10
Sadeness Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2014 Device: kindle	Thanks everyone for all these books. Lots of them sound like what I wanted. I tried to read Beguilement but I didn't like the heroine and gave up. I think I'll try the Frost series first. It's going to keep me busy for a while :-)

03-12-2014, 04:01 PM	#11
Abtacha Addict Posts: 332 Karma: 6220000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Germany Device: Kobo Aura HD	The Edge series by Ilona Andrews should fit pretty well, especially the first two (On the Edge and Bayou Moon) although there's no Mentor/Student relationship. They're somewhat of a Urban Fantasy, traditional Fantasy, Romance mix.

03-13-2014, 08:59 AM	#13
Jayso Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tennessee Device: samsung galaxy tab 3	Kristen Britain's Green Rider series is good Patricia Briggs has a couple good series that are inter-related, this is more urban fantasy though

03-13-2014, 09:03 AM	#14
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,242 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	Perhaps C.J. Cherryh's Morgaine trilogy.

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