Must Read Fantasy Books for All Tastes

Ahead of the #femmefantale readathon I wanted to share with you some of my top recommendations for fantasy written by women - it's a diverse bunch of books.
Readathon Announcement: • I'm Hosting My First E...
The Books
Girls of Paper and Fire: www.bookdepository.com/Girls-...
Dragon Keeper: www.bookdepository.com/Dragon...
Tooth and Claw: www.bookdepository.com/Tooth-...
Daughter of the Forest: www.bookdepository.com/Daught...
Circe: www.bookdepository.com/Circe/...
Beauty: www.bookdepository.com/Beauty...
Akata Witch: amzn.to/2EhgcbE
A Winter's Promise: www.bookdepository.com/A-Wint...
Kissing the Witch: amzn.to/2Ni49xG?a_aid=bookish...
The Gracekeepers: www.bookdepository.com/The-Gr...
White is for Witching: www.bookdepository.com/White-...
Radiance: amzn.to/2GUS6oV
Alphabet of Thorn: www.bookdepository.com/Alphab...
Heart of the Fae: amzn.to/2EigC1t
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[@CrazyRags]

This is my cup of coffee 😍😍😍 am doing my PhD in literature based on fantasy

[@JeansThoughts]

Ooh that sound so cool, what books do you look at?

[@CrazyRags]

@@JeansThoughts am currently looking in to modern fantasy like Harry Potter, The mortal instruments and Percy Jackson series which are kind of based on myth. If you have any suggestions pls let me know😊. Love you my dear😘

[@CrazyRags]

@@JeansThoughts I love fantasy, myth, horror and psychological novels

[@annalisaely4298]

Somehow I have listened to you talk about the Dragon Keeper a bunch of times and it is totally my thing, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. This readathon will be a good time to finally check it off!

[@JeansThoughts]

Woohoo perfect time! I hope you love it ^_^

[@pEAcEgrL81596]

Your videos are so consistently good Jean!! Thank you for the work you put into these. I love listening to you talk about books and always love your recommendations :)

[@nerdtastic2014]

I read A Winter's Promise in January and loved it! I'm so excited to read the sequel when the English translation comes out.

[@tham_2025]

nerdtastic2014 yess 😍

[@bookishtopics]

I've heard so many wonderful reviews of Cerce! I need to pick this up!

[@JeansThoughts]

Ugh I love it soooo much!

[@AFrolicThroughFiction]

Love this video! I can't wait to make my TBR video for the femmefantale readathon 🙌 I'll be using books I already own but saving this video for when I want new recommendations to buy!

[@BBDRMZZZZ]

Would LOVE if you made a Witch book recommendations! (:

[@elizabethlussier4423]

A winter's promise is really good... I'm glad that the traduction is as good as the original! This is so original and apart from a good chunk as other fantasies story....

[@inkedbooks9840]

I usually read contemporary. I think I’m up for this challenge of your fantasy readathon! Thanks for the recommendation books that I can start with :)

[@CharlieBrookReads]

I think I'm going to read Winters Promise for FemmeFantale if I can squeeze more books in then I will of course XX ❤️ Looking forward to it Xxx

[@alicen7906]

thanks so much for this, I ended up finding ‘Radiance’ on Scribd and read it all in one sitting, really enjoyed it ☺️ also, definitely agree about Circe, that’s got to be my favourite book from last year. Will definitely need to check out your other recommendations!

[@ReadsWithKesara]

I'm so excited for femfantale. I've already posted my TBR and I can't wait! I really loved your recommendations. Robin Hobb is also one of my favorites. I'm currently on the Liveship Traders, but I definitely plan on reading the Rainwilds afterward. (I added so much to by Goodreads TBR.)

[@booksnotlovers]

Thanks for the recommendations! I think you would really enjoy Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It's a beauty and the beast retelling with a twist :)

[@MogginC]

booksnotlovers 100% would second this!

[@JeansThoughts]

I’m thinking of reading it for the readathon! I really like her Temeraire series :D

[@Elix90]

Suggestion for translated fantasy written by women: The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren from sweden. It's middlegrade, and one of the most iconic swedish stories we have. Almost everyone in the country has read it. It's about death, resistance, loyalty and doing the things you believe in, even when it's scary. There is even a dragon in it, though it's not a kind one.

[@annisw6387]

Ahh love this video! I have just added so many books to my TBR! X

[@JeansThoughts]

woohoo glad to be of service

[@kellymoore2079]

I am so excited for this readathon! Thanks for the suggestions! I am definitely going to add kissing the witch to my TBR bc I am a slow reader so short story collections help me when i get in a slump when reading a large fantasy novel. I really want to read the Dragon keeper by Robin Hobb but I might save it til the end bc I know I will not finish it since it is a fairly large book. I am mad because Radiance is not carried by my library system and it intrigues me so I might just buy it! I also plan on reading Hearts Blood, Every Heart a Doorway, and Spinning Silver.

[@beth_shoe_addicted_reader]

Your hair is so pretty in this video. Thanks for the recommendations.

[@martha7157]

I'm planning on reading The Mad Ship asap, maybe for the read-a-thon, I loved the first one and I really like that all of The Realm of the Elderlings are in the same universe and I'm so excited to discover the whole world!

[@amn384]

Great list! Love this idea for a readathon! Some other fantasy books written by women are The City of Brass, The Fifth Season, Jade City, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Bear and the Nightingale, The Diviners, and The Golem and the Jinni. I've read a lot of translated work... but sadly I've only read two in the fantasy genre; A Winter's Promise (and its sequel, The Missing of Clairdelune). I also really want to try out Hobb's Mad Ship series. I look forward to participating! 💕

[@JeansThoughts]

I'm thinking of listening to the audiobook of the City of Brass for the readathon! It sounds fab :D. And I also have The Bear in the Nightingale, so many amazing sounding books.

[@MaryAmongStories]

another great video! 💓

[@BohoBookworm]

Circe is definitely on my list!!!

[@jasnareads5403]

Such fun recs! I have never heard of kissing the witch but it sounds really good thank you

[@debralavoie9095]

Thank you! I want to get into Fantasy books.

[@wietskejanse5951]

I added all of these to my TBR on Goodreads, amazing recommendations Jean! ^^

[@JeansThoughts]

Woohoo!

[@mariamreads5925]

Oooohhh so many books to add to my TBR A recommendation for a translated fantasy novel is The Shamer's Daughter, translated from Danish - it's the first in a series and maybe leaning towards middlegrade, but it is so gripping and touching

[@CrazyRags]

You can read Indian novels the palace of illusions and the mistress of spices. Both are really good.

[@JeansThoughts]

Thanks for the recommendations! Will look them up.

[@p.martins.m]

I loved the recommendations! :D A suggestion of another Beauty and the beast retelling: Entreat Me, by Grace Draven. Kisses from Brazil!

[@emiloubooks6708]

I really want to try Robin Hobb! Keep seeing the name pop up in videos 😂 Dragon Keeper sounds really cool, i love stories about dragons 🐉

[@lizziereads4531]

I am so excited for this readathon! Think I've already got a solid plan too 😅

[@JeansThoughts]

Woohoo, what are you reading?

[@redbluemoon4169]

Thank you for these recommendations! I don't know if it is considered Fantasy, but there is The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter :D I also loved Splintered by A. G. Howard (a retelling of Alice in Wonderland), the Three Dark Crown series by Kendare Blake, the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire and Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger!

[@phillipedwin2833]

..I'll follow-up w/ '..Alphabet of Thorn!' first!! Sensational Video!!

[@magicalvelcro]

I’m currently reading Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho; it’s apparently very reminiscent of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

[@rosemannering]

So many great recommendations! I need to read a Robin Hobb ASAP

[@adelina7288]

I highly recommend Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, it’s one of my all time favourite books! Also, Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin(it’s the second book in a series, but the books can absolutely be read as stand alones + it features a queer romance between two women, a knight and a goddess), To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo(a retelling of The Little Mermaid), and The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski(first book in a trilogy set in a world inspired by the Roman Empire, has a lot of political intrigue).

[@tham_2025]

The mirror visitor💙💙💙💙💙

[@juliettechaplin2685]

I already read four of those books :D yay for great female fantasy writers! For the readathon, I have books by Gail Carriger and Robin Hobb to read, so I'm good :)

[@IonaReads]

Read the Green Rider series soon please! They're incredible xxxx

[@sehraems1743]

You should try reading anything by Laura Gallego. She's great.

[@LuxVi7]

I highly recommend In The Forests of Serre by Patricia A. Mckillip, it is such a wonderful book and I believe it’s a fairytale retelling. I just realize that my reading since last year has been mostly written by women authors! I’m in a crave for fantasy lately so this video has been of huge help!

[@afifahh5935]

Please check The Tamir Triad as well. Old but gold. Similar theme to Le Guin's Omelas.

[@classicsed]

Ahh, I fear this intriguing list of books will bankrupt me, ha. I almost picked up Girls of Paper and Fire the other day but went with Wonder Woman because I have a nonfiction book on the Amazons and thought it would be fun to read alongside a novel about them. Girls of Paper and Fire after, then (may also need the Robin Hobb and the Jo Walton)!

[@annakhjelm146]

The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain is YA epic fantasy.

[@kinczyta]

I'm reading Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea right now. It's a low-key ya fantasy and I love the authorial voice and the relationships between the characters, the author does a good job of depicting the precarious, raw emotionality of early teens. I would recommend this, with a world of warning: there's no plot to speak of so far and thera many typos

[@TheSnozzberry]

I spy Earthsea on your shelves! Would definitely recommend all 6 Earthsea books, especially the second. They are beautifully written and contain many notable words of wisdom from Ursula K le Guin.

[@jennylovesbooks5591]

Have you read Kerstin Gier? She has a trilogy, originally in German I think but I read translated Ruby Red is the 1st I think

[@samantha.irenes]

Jean have you read any Tamora Pierce? I think you'd get on :)

[@laurenmartin2247]

Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury? A beauty and the beast retelling and then a Hades and Persephone retelling and so wonderful. Try to avoid spoilers if you can, it’s worth it!

[@dreamwishergirl]

Lauren Martin thats what I’m currently reading on the last book!! I flew through the first book and the second and I think I’m over the story or something lol so it’s been a process to get through the third. The first book was my favorite even though I know everyone’s favorite is mist and fury I thought it was highly predictable what was gonna happen imo lol.

[@vamps_rock]

Dragon of Ash & Stars: The Autobiography of a Night Dragon (similar in style to Black Beauty by Anna Sewell) by H. Leighton Dickson and also her other two series' The Empire of Steam (Victorian Steampunk 2 books) and Tails from the Upper Kingdom (post-apocalyptic science- fantasy with genetically altered half feline, half human characters in a world blended of a number of different Asian cultures. 4 books and a collection of short stories).

[@malcomalexander9437]

Circe was not the Greek goddess of witchcraft, that was Hecate. Circe was just a sorceress. Unless of course the author found a really weird variation of the myth that I've never heard of(would not be the first time).

[@lyannastark628]

Thank you for these suggestions. I used to love fantasy but lately I've either been uninterested or disappointed in what I read. I've put Circe and Daughter of the Forest on my 2019 TBR. I had a question on Girls of Paper and FIre. Is the book sexually graphic? I know there are trigger warnings which I am okay with, I just don't enjoy reading graphic intimacy (including consensual), that is the kinds of things you find in stereotypical romance novels. I know this isn't that kind of story, but wondered how you would classify the graphic level? I'm really interested in the concept of the book.

[@nonono6537]

I've found some Juliet Marillier in the library but not the actual book you mentioned! Any others by her you would particularly recommend? x

[@JeansThoughts]

So far my favourites are Daughter of the Forest, Wildwood Dancing and Dreamers Pool but I did also like Heart's Blood if you're into stand alone Beauty and the Beast retellings :).

[@nonono6537]

@@JeansThoughts Dreamers Pool looks like it's popular, might go for that one 😀 Thank u!!

[@mohankashyap3534]

do u like radiance novel

[@kissthesea]

I'm so excited for this readathon! Tooth and Claw is one of my favorite books of all time as well. Another standalone I recommend is The Goblin Emperor. :)