BEGINNER FANTASY BOOK RECS ~ books to get into (or back into) fantasy + series to get hyped about 📚

[@taraminter5424]

Several of Octavia E. Butler’s books are great for readers getting into fantasy: Kindred Wild Seed Parable of the Sower

[@astevenswrites]

Shadow of the Gods was what did it for me. John Gwynne is one of my favorites at the moment, and even just with him alone I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do!

[@ebnovels]

Ah, thats awesome! How hyped are you for Fury of the Gods? Especially after the ending to Hunger of the Gods 😱

[@astevenswrites]

@@ebnovels Oh I'm SOOO hyped, but I haven't actually finished Hunger yet. Working through it now in between a few other books. It was also just so awesome to see that Gwynne was putting the book out still after the tragedy in their family. I was so happy to see that he's recovering and continuing to write!

[@Tokayd13]

@@ebnovels Sooooo hyped!

[@angelamccollister]

I just met my first Cosmere fan IRL yesterday. I was wearing my Hoid shirt from the kickstarter and carrying the Stormlight bad. It was so cool. She is a medical provider I saw for the first time yesterday and she didn't ask about my shirt until the appt was over. I was so excited that I mentioned it to the check out woman and she said she wanted to start reading more fantasy so I recommended Mistborn. Overall, a good time.

[@_ashleylh]

I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BOOK THREE OF EMILY WILDE BEING REVEALED! *Immediately pauses your video to look it up.* I adore this series and I love both covers but the North American cover has my heart. I am so happy that this Canadian author is so popular!!!

[@JohnTCampbell1986]

Technically speaking Harry Potter was my first fantasy series but it was definitely A Song of Ice and Fire and Mistborn that really got me into it . Cute af doggo btw.

[@ebnovels]

Haha, thank you! My phone is primarily photos and videos of her doing literally nothing 😂

[@Marie45610]

The Apothecary Diaries by Nekokurage & Natsu Hyuuga is top tier. (the anime is also fantastic) Maomao is my new favorite protagonist.

[@_mypaperkingdom_8393]

I love this one!!

[@SuboJvR]

In my continued quest going back through all your old videos, I have found sooooooo many amazing stories to read, some of these sound fantastic

[@Josefiima]

If you are looking for nordic inspired (not so much norse inspired) fantasy world with less magic then I would recommend Odin's Child by Siri Pettersen. It's slow paced YA fantasy series. This series explores power, politics and faith really well in my opinion

[@YentlLega]

What a gorgeous edition of a very secret society of irregular witches ❤ 10:01

[@ebnovels]

It’s the Fairyloot edition without its sleeve! 😄

[@YentlLega]

@@ebnovels 😻

[@tyghe_bright]

I find a lot of people who don't read fantasy don't like a lot of world building or complicated magic systems. For them, I often recommend Tim Powers, whose books are alternate history adventures with supernatural elements. His best known is On Stranger Tides, which the movie was very loosely based on. My favorite, though, is Declare, which is WWII and spies. For folks who want something literary and romantic (but not spicy), I recommend Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. The Passion or Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson are also good options. And for a non-European setting, Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor is a dystopian African story with magic. It might be a bit heavy for a non SFF reader, but I think it's not overwhelming.

[@nicolekawa1265]

Just finished Words of Radiance. Working my way through the Stormlight Archives to be able to read book 5 when it comes out.

[@kaymay2024]

Me too 🙋🏾‍♀️

[@cassandrapapakyritsis]

I love this blue on you!! Looks stunning. Love the video too

[@MistbornPrincess]

Disney and Narnia hd to have been my earliest gateway into fantasy but if one counts science fiction as fantasy (can of worms!) SW sucked me in. Heck, my first big “chapter book” was Heir to Empire. Ella Enchanted and LOTR got me more in.

[@sandyokey1019]

John Gwynne is amazing! I loved Shadow and Hunger of the Gods and am excited for Fury of the Gods. It’ll definitely be a preorder for me. 💙

[@ebnovels]

I’m so excited for it!!! The second half of this year is going to have some amazing releases :D

[@joeystett]

Amen, Bloodsworn is one of my absolute favorites.

[@lauriedonnelly7134]

Hi Elliot! I really enjoy watching your reviews -you got me into fantasy, and I am really enjoying it. Love the edition of Encyclopedia of Faeries, can you share where I could get this? It was the first book I read that sent me down the rabbit hole ❤

[@sandragn3361]

It was taking a chance on Red Rising that got me back into reading fantasy a couple of years back :) Before that the last fantasy novel I read was Ash: a secret history by Mary Gentle in the early 2000s. Here in the UK it was issued as one huugggge volume. It could also be called alternative history, which is why I read it - full of ideas, great characters (including Ash herself). Seems to have been forgotten now, though it won at at least one major sf award ...

[@jesskate6244]

interested to see how you find the green rider series as you go along if you continue with it. Loved the first book, it was so nostalgic, and would be interesting if you share my opinion on it further into the series

[@neilnichol3210]

Need a question answering…. every year , Xmas time… looked forward to going to grocery shopping and picking up Terry pratchets new one , disc world. Now he’s gone, anything you can recommend same?

[@verity231]

Thanks for another great recommendation video, Elliot! I've made so many notes binge-watching your videos. Always a pleasure. I was a bit dissapointed with Shades of Magic, which is a shame because the idea of different Londons is cool and quite original. The writing was ok as long as it was descriptions and place setting, but the moment action comes along it becomes irritating. Kell is pretty much incapable of doing anything correctly and using his power - every problem/fight is resolved at the last moment in order to create tension, and majority of his and Lila's interactions are disagreements for the exact same purpose. There's not much depth to the characters and in the end it's the background characters who are much more likeable. The kind of book that would be better as a fantasy action film, cause it's actually written like one. I'm getting into Mistborn now and it seems much more promising and in-depth. Proper, chunky, complex fantasy, but easy to read and to follow. Though I can't say I find the magic system nearly as awesome as many others do. But it’s only the beginning, so it'll probably become more fascinating as the story continues.

[@surpriseitsus9622]

I need John Gwynne in my life, also Joe Abercrombie too. Im in a serious slump. Great video. Love from Surprise, Arizona 🏜

[@miccab3586]

If people are into epic fantasy i would recomend taking a look at The Bound and The Broken series. I would really love to hear your opinion on this if its something you would pick up or has no intrested in?

[@andrewoliver6650]

If you like Shades of Magic I'd recommend Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere :) It's strange, funny, dangerous, but incredibly accessible. Schwab has said how much Gaiman influenced her

[@chantelleaxisa9235]

I really like your edition of A Darker Shade Of Magic! Where is it from?

[@dfretter]

Have you checked out VE Schwab's comics? There's a short one called ExtraOrdinary set between Vicious and Vengeful and a story about the king of Red London when he was young called Steel Prince.

[@thewitchyreader6131]

Great Video!

[@ReadwithKim28]

I’ll read the shadow of Gods! Love your content

[@Nasser851000]

Will there be a beginner Sc Fi Rec Video?

[@ebnovels]

I never feel I’m as knowledgeable about sf, not enough to do a video like this anyway, but maybe later on down the road ☺️

[@laurenschenck5355]

Harry Potter was my first fantasy series was my all time favorite as a kid and now I love the shadow of the gods 🌺💕💐🌺🌺💐💛💛💛💙💙📚📚📙🪻🪻🫶🏻🌈🩵💞🩵🌈🌷💓💞🩵🌈📖🪻🧡💛🤎💙❤️🌺🌻💛💛💚💚💞💞🩵🌹💘📖🪻💙🩷🩵🩵🩵🩵🪻💙💙💙💙

[@Junior6288]

I haven’t finished the video, but it’s interesting that you included the manga Spy X Family (so good, I agree)in this but not Witch Hat Atelier, which is also has a really interesting magic system. I think I see the volumes right there…just down there in the bottom corner…pretty sure. 😂 The art style is gorgeous and want more people to know about it.

[@Junior6288]

Ooooooh, it’s because you literally just dropped a video about under appreciated manga that has Witch Hat Atelier all over the thumbnail. 😂😂😂 You got me, girl! Got me good. LoL.

[@necrofish00]

I would have picked Delicious in Dungeon for extremely accessible fantasy manga currently experiencing hype. Spy x Family is really obviously a historical sci-fi?

[@Breighyn]

I feel like there's a big misconception about X-Men if you think what you described is darker than half of all x-men stories. But it does sound interesting.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Spy x sounds so cute 🥹

[@ebnovels]

It’s adorable and clever and dumb and sad all at once. It’s so good! 😆

[@TRMichaud]

Hello Mrs. Brooks. My name is TR Michaud and I came across your KZbin site today. I am a self-published author who would like your take on my 2 published books. I would be willing to send you a copy of each if you are interested. My first book, "The Ring of Darkness," is a fantasy adventure and my second book, "Honour," is a stand-alone historical fantasy. If interested I would love to chat with you. Thanks.

[@_ashleylh]

Like a lot of millenials, Harry Potter was my gateway to fantasy, too. We studied "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring" in high school english literature so I read the grandfather of it all before I read anything else. (I was in twelfth grade when the final LOTR movie came out and we even went as a class to see it in theatres!). I read Song of Fire and Ice when it was all the rage in the early 2010s. But I didn't reach my current level of fantasy obsession until I started reading smaller, less epic works that made fantasy less intimidating. My absolute love for fantasy crept up on me, while I read, "Legends and Lattes", "The Secret Society of Irregular Witches", "Belladonna", "House of Hunger", "The Secret Life of Addie Le Rue", etc. I even love a lot of romantasy (but I don't read a lot of contemporary romance). A fantasy world just elevates any other kind of plot for me it seems. When I am up for an epic deep dive series again, I don't know where to go because I want to read it ALL - Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, John Gwynn, how can I settle into just one?!? 😅

[@plutonium1005]

Malazan Book of the Fallen!

[@captainnolan5062]

"So much content out there for you to consume"? How about "There are a lot of good books out there for you to read."

[@faustine8457]

I’ve really been disappointed by Danielle L Jensen’s writings

[@laurenschenck5355]

Black sun such a good series I really felt a good connection with the characters and the story OBESSED 🫶🏻🪻🩵💙💙🩵🪻📚🌻🌻💚📙📙📚📚💕💐💓💞💞📖📙📙💕📚🪻💙💙🩵🩵🩵💚💚🌻🌻💚💞💐🧡🧡💘❤️❤️🌺💛🤎📖💚📖📚📚