Judith Tarr writes historical fantasy, and much of her work is romantic.
IS THERE ROMANCE IN BRANDON SANDERSON BOOKS SERIES
But I think her Sharing Knife series is closest to classic romance. Lois McMaster Bujold is best known for her Vorkosigan Saga, which is great SF and has truly romantic fantasies in Shards of Honor and A Civil Campaign. But several of her books have strong romantic elements. That she continued this series generationally was also striking.Įmma Bull wrote a seminal urban fantasy that also has a true cross-class romance, War for the Oaks. Alexia, the soulless heroine of the first book, was so refreshingly different from almost any other fantasy or romance heroine. Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series brings a smile to my face. But her elegant, tragic, and yet redemptive love story between Tarod and Cyllan in her brilliant Time Master books lingers in my mind. She’s not a traditional HEA writer, and at time flouts all the conventions of the quest trope (avoid her Indigo series at all costs if you’re a romance fan). Louise Cooper is a mixed bag of an author for me. Spinning Silver is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Lately, she’s been writing her takes on fairy stories, and they’re fantastic. She made her name with the Temeraire books set in the Napoleonic Wars, but with dragons. Naomi Novik is a recent shining star of fantasy. My recommendations here are just a sampling of a great writer.
She always has a romance in her works, sometimes quite overt, sometimes quite subtle. You need to give yourself over to her worlds. McKillip is elliptical, elegiac, mystical-and every book of hers is different. Pern series (particularly the earlier trilogies) The agency and leadership roles that women play in this saga were inspirational to many young women of a generation ago. But I think they’re foundational romantic fantasy and have to be viewed through the prism of their time. Shades of Milk and Honey is just a treat.Īnne McCaffrey’s Pern books are problematic for many today for dubcon elements. The whole series is wonderful.Ī more recently published author, Mary Robinette Kowal, wrote equally wonderful books in a magical Regency England.
What makes Sorcery and Cecilia stand out is that it’s epistolary. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer wrote a fantasy romance story way back in 1988 around a theme now common in romance: a magical Regency era. They take a simple premise-that humans, in all their kindness, venality, cruelty, and thoughtfulness, aren’t the top of the food chain-and run with it. And her crowning achievement to date is her Others books. But her Ephemera series, about a world where locations literally shift and collide with one another, is fascinating. While she came to fame with her Daughter of the Blood series, that’s harder for me to recommend to the romance reader. But add to it her other fantastic books and short stories, and you have a seminal romance fantasy author.Īnne Bishop is one of the most popular SF and fantasy authors out there. If Robin McKinleyhad written nothing other than Beauty, her definitive interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast tale (and one I firmly believe the Disney writers read before they created their adaptation), she’d still belong on this list.
But if you love romance, you really need to give her a chance. In almost all of her books, there’s an HEA, though sometimes it’s bittersweet. Sharon Shinn is probably the most romantic of the romantic fantasy authors.
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