ADULT FANTASY BOOKS THAT *ARE NOT* FANTASY ROMANCE (but still have great character relationships)

[@ebnovels]

The other video mentioned will be up next Tuesday! Here's the link to that channel :D www.youtube.com/@fullmetaanalysis

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

I really really need to read the mistborn trilogy soon as love this video and the amazing channel prayers and thoughts to you and your husband and your beautiful and amazing puppy 🐶 love your Aussie family friend John ❤❤❤

[@depilou]

I LOVE a good love story, I don't need the "spice" of a typical romance. Thanks for these recommendations!

[@Faithinhim2]

Same. Spice is overrated!

[@coreydinardo5525]

I think Tad Williams is an author who writes really great romantic subplots, particularly for older people. Lots of great relationships between people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

[@surpriseitsus9622]

Where do I start with Tad Williams?

[@coreydinardo5525]

@@surpriseitsus9622 I would start with THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR. Classic Epic Fantasy inspired by Tolkien. A contemporary of Martin and Hobb. Speaking of, I really like Hobb's writing of relationships too.

[@christeascozycorner]

i always say that a great romantic subplot can elevate a book so much, but exactly as you say in the beginning, as long it doesn't take over and make the characters stupid LOL. IT'S CALLED /SUB/PLOT FOR A REASON wait is sanderson bad at romance?!?! personally i love all the relationships in his books! 🤣especially vin and elend, they will always be special to me 💗 one of my favorite romances in fantasy is guns of the dawn by adrian tchaikovsky!!! a very austenian romance in an amazing book

[@groofay]

I'm in the last stretch of Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, and the breadth and depth of relationships in this book is stunning; one might even say it's a book about the nature of relationship in some ways. Plus, the writing style is gorgeous, the plot unfolds naturally, and dear god the cover art is to die for.

[@ladyfox6705]

I'm so happy to hear the duology is a great read, as I bought both those chonkers when the Book Depository closed! They are sitting patiently on my enormous TBR shelf, waiting waiting XD

[@groofay]

@@ladyfox6705 Awesome, I'm glad you managed to get them! Hope you enjoy whenever you finally get around to reading them, haha

[@christinelacey7577]

So glad you included the Winnowing Flame trilogy! Read it on your recommendation and absolutely loved it. The world, the story and the writing were all excellent, but what gave it the extra emotional edge were the relationships.

[@kathleenwheeler5573]

I read Nettle & Bone and Monsters We Defy because of your recommendations and loved them. I have purchased Bone Shard Daughter, and The Ninth Rain. Godkiller is on my wishlist. Thanks for all the great recommendations!

[@ruthclough6969]

The Witchlands books by Susan Dennard have some romantic elements which are very well done (and leave you wanting more) and blend nicely into the fantasy and the other plots of the book.

[@filipab0oks]

Highly, highly recommend the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. It feels like it's going to be a romantasy, just to explode into being one of the best epic fantasies I've read to date. Djinn, centuries-old wars, heavily political world, insanely good character arcs and complex, intense and fascinating world building. Seriously couldn't put it down until I'd finished all there was to read!

[@pixieowl2662]

I read this recently. Such an absolute treat.

[@meid3801]

So much yes on not everyone wanting fantasy romance. There are good fantasy romances but I have bought fantasy romance books because I get them recommended just to sell them because I hate them.

[@caitlinl2750]

Jen Williams new book Talonsister is INCREDIBLE

[@anothersarahreading9961]

Juliet Marillier every day of the week, start with Daughter of the Forest 😻

[@Rachlemm]

I NEEDED this. I love fantasy romance but lately it’s been boring for me. When you read so much of it, it becomes bland and the stories/romance sound the same. I just want to get into more high fantasy books that are quest & character oriented stories ❤

[@surpriseitsus9622]

I love quest books 😊

[@PetuniaTurtle]

All the relationships in the winnowing flame are so well done

[@marycooney2194]

An old fantasy writer of the 90s, but the Vows and Honor trilogy by Mercedes Lackey is a favorite of mine. Two oathbound women, bonded to fight demons and corruption to pursue their dreams. Both come from trauma but nothing graphic is verbalized. The bond between them is what I enjoyed the most. Oathbound, Oakbreakers and Oathblood are the three separate books, not very long ones either.

[@inezkestens5561]

I remember reading the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy from Tad Williams when I was quite young. I was like 14 at most but more around 12/13 probably. So these books where quite hard for me at the time as I also only started reading when I was 10/11, now I was gifted the LOTR trilogy and I was just completely lost in those books so my dad thought the The Dragonbone Chair would be easier ... and I really fought my way through those books because I really liked his "elfs" and a certain sub-plot about a princess (not the main pair , but Maegwin). I fought through 3 BOOKS just to throw the last one out of the window with I think 200/300 pages left because ... well I didn't get what I wanted... NOT AT ALL! In hindsight it's a very small part of the story but I was so invested in that relationship! I was so angry. I never finished them and I promised myself I never will :p

[@mischarowe]

The romance involving the characters who "may or may not get together" in Nettle & Bone is so subtle, imo, that I tend to forget it happens at all, tbh.

[@jialin2481]

I think winnowing flame trilogy is the series that left me screaming "more romance" because I would take that over some parts of certain character's pov😂

[@caitlinl2750]

I’ve got so many Recs like this on my bookstagram but a few underrated: eleventh cycle, poppy war, riryia revelations, the mortal blade, unhewn empire, the weaver and the witch queen🎉

[@ejderhaz]

might I know what's your IG account? I'm interested now

[@caitlinl2750]

@@ejderhaz @booksblaberring! It’s also linked in my profile!

[@elsapretorius5646]

Just read Nettle and Bone and loved it so much! ❤ Thanks for the recommendations

[@Fela_rof]

I was such a big fantasy reader back then. Someday I got swallowed by the romantasy genre, which is completely fine, because I really enjoyed it and had so much fun with it, but after a few years everything got so repetitive. Especially since booktok entered the stage. Now I jumped back into the fantasy pool and I feel so comfortable there, it's so refreshing. Like diving in cool water on a hot summer day instead of the lukewarm pool you're usually so used to.

[@thepoetesskhansaa]

I would recommend the Blackthorn&Grim trilogy by Juliet Marillier - its super slowburn and the author doesn't just do the romance well; all the character relationships in there are top notch. For those that don't mind slower paced books with a fantastic plot but not very action driven. Also extremely atmospheric (set in pre-Christian Ireland).

[@surpriseitsus9622]

Thank you 🙏

[@Laf631]

I just finished the Graphic Audio version of Warbreaker. So good! Between this and Tress, I understand why Brandon's got such a large fanbase. I might even give his 600+ page books a try. For a scifi/fantasy cross with some romantic themes, I loved Mark Lawrence's recent release, The Book that Wouldn't Burn.

[@fantasticalreads]

Yumi is just delightful! Still thinking about it. Awesome recs - thank you!

[@Josefiima]

It's YA fantasy but Odin's Child (the Raven Rings -series) by Siri Pettersen is one of my favourite YA series with romance as a sub plot. If nordic inspired fantasy world is something that interest you then I would highly recommend this 😊

[@ReadingNymph]

I NEED to continue with the Winnowing Flame triology 😅

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

For me, the Hell's Library series does relationships so well. I am currently in the middle of Bone Shard Emperor, and I don't know how I feel about the new romance that is building. 🙈

[@surpriseitsus9622]

I didn't like book 2 in Bone Shard.... book 3? I doubt it

[@lexiprime]

Thank you so much! I like romance that isn’t about lust!

[@abcdefghigklmnop11]

Thank you SO much for this video. I have tried so hard to find these types of books by myself but I find it truly difficult to find them! Sincerely thank you so much. 10000% my all time favourite channel.

[@easl37]

I love how you can record great videos in one take, Elliot. I hope to reach that level in my channel one day, lol :D

[@AJennWhoReads]

Same! I have to edit so much!

[@easl37]

@@AJennWhoReads right? It's such a workload, lol. I know I'm asking too much of myself here English being my second language, but I will do it one day!

[@Shinclair]

I've been following along your videos for a while now, but I've finally just managed to try out one of your recommendations: Godkiller! And it was ABSOLUTELY amazing! Top 5 of all time! So Thank You for meeting me up with that book, I wouldn't have known such a beautiful story excisted with you! The romance is also just the right amount of perfect! I'll be taking your recommendations more often from now on! Keep up, love the content!

[@trinforeman54]

I've been on a mission for this all dang year.

[@black-aliss]

So am I! No luck yet.

[@aden.e]

if you havnt tried the blood grace series i would highly recommend. the medieval worldbuilding and fantasy elements are top tier in my opinion and the romance is so amazing

[@wafygee]

more of these recommendations please? i love these types of fantasy and Brandon Sanderson’s writing is what I love, because he is charaters focused and build the stories through these characters but not too much romance ✨ love your recommendations ✨

[@viktoriabazyk8193]

i'm halfway through the ninth rain and was waiting for you to mention it and confirm my suspicions👀

[@hellothisismo]

Yumi was my first Sanderson book and it quickly became one of my favorite books, period. The Cosmere always intimidated me and now that I read a couple more of them I felt like it was a great introduction (and the artwork, gods, THE ARTWORK!!)

[@dougsundseth6904]

You might be interested in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. I'd start with Arrows of the Queen, which has a very nice romantic subplot, but it doesn't dominate what is quite a strong fantasy adventure/bildungsroman.

[@PagesInTheForest]

I agree with Mercedes Lackey, but personally I would go for the Mage Winds Trilogy (Winds of Fate/Winds of Change/Winds of Fury) for this theme :) Main relationship makes me happy, plus great quest story that keeps building and building.

[@unavezms8167]

I am reading book 2 in winnowfire trilogy called bitter twins by Jen Wiliams. AND IT HAS DRAGON RIDERS. It's adult btw and so far I like all the characters. Also it's kinda gay.

[@Eluarelon]

I don't want to watch this video (stopped at 3:45) because I still want to read all those books and don't wanna get spoiled in any way. This said, I think Sanderson is pretty good at this. I love the relationship between Sarene and Raoden in his first novel , Elantris, and the same goes to the relationship between Vin and Elend in the Mistborn books. Another author is think is really great at developing relationships in his books is Anthony Ryans. I love his characters anyways, but what makes it special to me is how he makes all those different relationships look meaningful, be it the platonic ones like Vaelin-Lyrna or the romantic ones like Vaelin-Dahrena. And at a time where I really dislike that (at least on goodreads) the first question to a new book always seems to be "has it LBTQ+ content?" instead of "is it anyhow good?", I really loved how he just narrated the romance between Reva and Veliss in Book two without even making the tiniest bit of fuss about it. So by all means, do romance when it fits your story, but when you make your story ABOUT romance, I'm out. Unless it is writtten by an author whose work I already appreciate, so even if it is romantic fantasy, I can at least be sure that it is well written. Then I might make an exception.

[@thepoetesskhansaa]

Commenting again to recommend Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. Only book 1 is out so far (I believe book 2 is coming out in early 2024) but so far I absolutely adored the romance subplot and where it got to in book 1.

[@mattf.3365]

I soft DNF'd one of you favorites, Fireborne, because I thought the Romeo/Juliet teen romance story was too much. But I think it's just because those two characters are the only two POVs so the romance plot is just unavoidable chapter to chapter.

[@Zivilin]

The Songs & Swords series by Elaine Cunningham.

[@UOWIS.]

Princess Thera and Zomi Kidosu from The Wall of Storms

[@PagesInTheForest]

I would read Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds Trilogy for a great fantasy with great relationships (romantic and platonic). Plus loads of animal companions, and a quest that keeps getting more epic.

[@SaidaMiladi-ju7is]

I’m a true sucker for a great bromance ❤

[@ehdrake]

What people don't want to read on and on about abs and gorgeous eyes in the middle of fight scenes? I gotta change my own MO. Still recommending Nicole McKeon's *The Laws of Founding* series.

[@laurenschenck5355]

SO EXCITED!! Xoxo 😚 🌞🏝️🩵🌞💛💛🏝️🩵📚📚📚📚📚🌞💛📙📙💛🏝️🩵📚📚📚📚📖📖🩵🏝️💛💛🏝️🩵🩵📚📖📖📚📖📖💛📙📙💛

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

Would love to see you both pick 3 books 📚 for each other to read be a great video ❤❤❤

[@cassidy_reads]

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi is one I will always recommend for a fantasy book with a romance subplot! So good!

[@flowerpixel]

Technically YA which is ridiculous (!) Crooked Kingdom has my favorite romance ever

[@buriedinbooks3847]

Saint Death’s Daughter by CSE Cooney has a romance that is not the main point of the plot and I really enjoyed it and never hear it talked about. There are going to be more books and I have a theory for what the end game for the romance is going to be and I can’t wait to see if I’m right!

[@MusicGirl6300]

Hi! I watched one of your videos years ago where you recommended The Ninth Rain, I read the whole series and ADORE it; it’s now one of my all time favorite series, so thank you for that ❤ I’m definitely interested in all the books you mentioned, with one question: so far, I’ve only read the first 2 Mistborn books. Would reading Yumi be strange or would I miss a lot of information/references since I haven’t read many cosmere books, or would it be just as enjoyable? I really want to check it out!

[@caitlinl2750]

MY FAVOURITE KINDA REC

[@laurenschenck5355]

Love Nettle and Bone Godkiller one of my favorites books xoxo 😚 💛🩵🩵🏝️📖📖📖🏝️💛🏝️📖📚💛📙📙🌞🌞🌞💛📚📚🏝️💛💛🏝️📚🏝️🩵🩵🏝️📖📖📚🏝️💛🩵🩵🌞🌞📙🏝️📚📖📖📖🩵🏝️📚📚🏝️📙📙📙

[@ladysyllvanas]

I honestly feel like books need to have ratings on them just like movies do. Would make it so much easier to find books that fit my needs, and would help me avoid books with romance or sexual content.

[@ladyfox6705]

I'm just a cynic nowdays lol, so aren't interested in the whole romantasy-stuff (I even dislike that terminology XD.) Give me a good old fantasy any day, filled with great relationships and if there's romance, it's in the background. I do love a good bromance friendship, though! Loved Godkiller, and am almost 1/2 way through listening to Nettle & Bone on Libby, which I'm enjoying.

[@kryptonianguest1903]

I enjoyed Lockwood & Co. But one of the things I liked about it was that Lucy and Lockwood's romance received almost no page space at all. So not a series that belongs on this list.

[@laurenschenck5355]

Bone Shard daughter love this series and love the cover so gorgeous OBSESSED and such good writing and great characters xoxo 😚 🩵📚🏝️📚📙🩵🏝️🏝️📚🩵📖📙📚🩵📖📖🩵📚🏝️🏝️💛💛📚🩵📙📙🩵📚🏝️🏝️💛💛💛💛🏝️📚📖📖🩵📚🏝️💛📚🩵📙📖📖📙📚🏝️📙

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I need to read GodKiller 😤

[@zynpkrdg]

I'm really surprised to hear the sanderson thing bc there literally has not been one single romance of his that i didn't like. I really love most of them, especially the main stormlight ones. And Vin with Elend and Raoden with Sarene- *lists every cosmere couple* SPOILERS FOR RHYTHM OF WAR Maybe only jasnah and hoid are a bit questionable but i like them too bc it's so interesting, and you're not supposed to think they're a good couple anyway. Jasnah is the queen of Alethkar, she's just very useful to Hoid, and Hoid is the first person she thought could be on her intellectual level. They are in it for their personal benefits, that's the point. So i even like that one, it's interesting.

[@thepoetesskhansaa]

Same, I have never understood the hate Sanderson gets for his romance subplots lol. And double same for Jasnah/Hoid - I remember thinking, either in WOR or OB that I don't need Jasnah to be with someone, but if it had to happen I would pick Hoid, specifically for the reasons you memtioned lol.

[@fcsolis]

Reina and Celeste in The Sun and the Void. One has a tail, the other has antlers. Two females having feelings of affection for each other. I love this book. It's bizzaro. I wonder why you didn't include Tress and the Emerald Sea. Thank you.

[@tloui1120]

Yup, that's a title I will click on for sure 😅

[@NumberWhite]

Supreme Magus, but its a web novel not a book.

[@Pandas_and_Books]

I 1000% do not agree with Warbreaker (or Mistborn). I see them both recommended a lot to people for the romance exclusively, and I genuinely don't know why. The romance is a d plot, at best and the development is meh. I'm not saying she's wrong for liking the relationships, but if you go into it for the romance, you might be disappointed.

[@Nyakairu.K]

I think you misunderstood the video. These are books that are mainly fantasy books with romance as a subplot such that the romance does not overshadow the actual fantasy plotline. A lot of romantasy books qre available today but she wants to gice suggestions for people who want the fantasy more than the romance.

[@Pandas_and_Books]

No, I understood. I'm saying that the romantic subplot is not good, nor is it satisfying, (for some people) if that's what you're looking for.

[@chiramera7971]

I think the title is kind of misleading.

[@carlaworden6566]

[@noct505]

Would love to see your opinion on Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang! The second half of the book ramps up so satisfyingly and thending is just 🤌🤌🤌