Book Recommendations To Get Into A New Genre! // the fantasy edition

Hi friends! I’m here today to give you some book recommendations, but not normal book recs. I’m going to try* to give you recs for genres that I know a lot of people are TERRIFIED are jumping into. I know this because I am one of you**. And obviously, I decided to start with fantasy because haha…just look at my reviews. I am a fantasy junkie. So let’s get started!

*what’s the key word? TRY. this has a 86% chance of crashing flopping and burning but it’s fine

*that came off a little creepier than i intended oops-

Easy Fantasy Recs!

You might look at a fantasy book, remember reading The Hobbit or something in school, and immediately yelp and run away. I mean, who has time for made-up worlds? Made-up politics? Dragons and fairies and magic swords? It’s totally understandable. However, there’s a lot of entertainment value and social commentary to be found in fantasy. If you’re worried about jumping in, well, look no further! I am here to save the day! Kind of!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | This trilogy is not for everyone. But I do think it holds a lot of appeal for people not well-versed in fantasy, because the world is simple and easy to understand. The characters feel comfortable, the plot is an excellent balance of political intrigue and twisty revelations, and um it has Cardan in it. Basically, this is about a girl named Jude who gets stolen away with her two sisters to live in the Court of Faerie. If you’re someone who enjoys political thrillers, this could be the perfect gateway into fantasy for you!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare | I KNOW I KNOW. This is one of the ultra-popular fantasy series big names that get thrown around a lot. But there’s a good reason for that! The Shadowhunter world is divided into multiple series, so there’s a lot of long books. But it’s urban fantasy, so you don’t have to worry about a brand-new world. The characters actually feel like teenagers, with all the incessant drama and bad (but tbh pretty funny) jokes and banter. And it’s got quite a bit of romance in it, so if you’re a romance/contemporary reader, you might really enjoy this. The first couple of Mortal Instruments books are rough but it all gets so, so much better as it goes on. This follows a girl named Clary who basically sees a group of teens covered in weird markings murder someone in a club. Yeah. And that’s how she discovers the Shadowhunters, people with angel blood, sworn to protect the world from demons and such. There’s also vampires and werewolves and faeries and warlocks. This isn’t high fantasy in the slightest, so definitely try this out if you like good romances!

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir | At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to recommend this. But upon rereading, I’ve realized just how good this series is??? I want to warn everyone though: this is a dark book. Definitely check trigger warnings before going in if you have to! However, the first book in particular is lacking in magic by a lot. There are a few mentions/sights of creatures from Indian mythology but that’s it. This is a world very heavily inspired by the Roman Empire (hence the brutality) so I do think this would be a great read for historical fiction fans. Obviously, as the series goes on, you get more fantasy elements but I think it’s easier to adjust after you’ve had time to settle into the world and meet the characters! Basically, this follows a girl named Laia, who’s a Scholar. A group of people called Martials overtook the Scholars, who are now oppressed and many are slaves. In order to save her brother who’s been taken by Martials, Laia must brave Blackcliff Academy: the training grounds for the worst of the Martials called Masks. It also follows the perspective of Elias who’s a Mask. 10/10 would recommend this.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend | What better way to enter the fantasy genre than by reading middle-grade? Chances are, you’ve heard of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and Narnia, so let me introduce a new book to the mix: enter Nevermoor. This follows a girl named Morrigan who is swept off to a magical city and in order to earn her place, must compete in four trials. This is one of those feel-good books that doesn’t require a ton of thought, but does keep you entertained the whole time. Check this one out!

So that’s it! There were a LOT of books I could have chosen, but I decided to go with ones that wouldn’t only appeal to the general population but to readers of certain genres. Tell me:

Do you have a favorite fantasy book you’d recommend?

Is there another genre you want me to do next?

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