The Cool Kids' Fantasy Club discussion

Hey friends! So I'm looking for some grimmer-fantasy that also has some strong romance elements to it. I have heard there are some fantasy romance books out there, but I'm not looking for that to be all there is, nor am I looking for a sort of...whimsical type setting. Does such a thing exist? Has anyone read something like this?

The Kingdom on Fire trilogy meets that description. The third and final book was just published. It begins with A A Shadow Bright and Burning.

And doing something I've not done before, sharing my own series. It definitely has its grim bits and is dark fantasy, but also has a story of grand passion that spans all three books. It begins with This Crumbling Pageant.

There are others but my brain is numb right now. I'll watch this thread because I'd like to see some new titles, too. And will add more as I remember them. Thanks for asking such a good question. It fits my own reading tastes!

Hey, James. Give Master Of Crows by Grace Draven a try. I read it last year, and I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good it is. It’s now one of my all-time favourite novels.

Try the Mistborn series, if you haven't already.

Sarah Beth dursts queen of blood has a good romance. The setting seems whimsical at the surface but the mechanics of the world are actually quite dark. Highly recommend.

Also anything by Laini Taylor. Her books are sooo strange but so addicting

I ended up pickling up The Name of the Wind which was recommended to me by a friend. They said romance was a big part of the plot, and so far I like it, though there hasn't been too much just yet. For anyone else who has read it, would you consider this to fall into this category? I'm thinking that "romance" evokes certain connotations and that it might skew what people thought of, if this would fit into it.

Doesn’t matter really.....Name of the Wind is a must read anyway. I have my copy sitting here patiently waiting for me to get to it.

James wrote: "I ended up pickling up The Name of the Wind which was recommended to me by a friend. They said the romance was a big part of the plot, and so far I like it, though there hasn't been too m..."

The farther you get into the book the Romance develops, but it's very subtle. It's a great read either way. I loved it.

Do you want doomed romance or happy-ending romance? There is a thread of romance in my Nandor Tales series. Exile

Check out Grace Draven, Juliette Marillier and her Sevenwaters series, anything by Kate Quinn, the Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet

If you want to jump in and get your feet wet in a new twist on fantasy try read the Dark Lover series. I know, the title almost made me ill, but the writing is strong and the author skillfully blends relationships, sex, world building and a lot of fighting scenes.

But here's the twist. The story line is about an uber-strong strain of vampires who fight nasty little males who in turn fight to kill of regular vampires - who btw want nothing to do with humans and have few of the stereotypes we associate with vampires. Rather, they are a different species living among us. The series is commonly referred to as urban-fantasy so if you are looking for high fantasy, elves, magic, spelling casting etc. you won't find it.

Guardians of the Queen by M.K. Anthony might be something that you would be intrested in.

City of Lies by Sam Hawke has a nice thread of romance that runs through it. What I like about it is that the romance doesn't overpower the fantasy elements nor does it become more important than the real problem the protagonists are facing. Another plus is there's a nice sibling relationship in it.

James wrote: "I ended up pickling up The Name of the Wind which was recommended to me by a friend. They said romance was a big part of the plot, and so far I like it, though there hasn't been too m..."

I wouldn't say the romance is a very big part of that series at all. The protagonist and love interest meet briefly a few times but he pointedly keeps them on a friends-only level and things never really go anywhere.

I don't really read much of the grimdark style of fantasy, so the only suggestion that comes to mind right now is The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. It's technically YA, but I wouldn't describe it as whimsical. There's no magic and it seeks to be a fairly realistic ancient greece type culture on the verge of being conquered by a huge roman-esque empire across the sea, and you can just feel the author's passion for history seeping through. The fourth book is entirely about an up until then side character becoming a roman-style slave and she does NOT pull punches when depicting that life.

It does get dark, and the romance itself is part of that darkness in a really cool way that's impossible to explain without spoiling, so I'll put spoiler tags just in case.
(view spoiler)[ The second book involves a lot of angst over the protagonist losing his hand, and the third book is all about his marriage to the queen of a neighboring country who is the one that cut it off. They do genuinely love each other, but he has nightmares about her at the same time and so they can't sleep in the same bed. She's also noticeably taller than him, which you don't see very often. It's very complex and nuanced and definitely one of my favorite romances in fantasy. (hide spoiler)]

Do be warned, the first book is much different than the rest of the series. It's much, much simpler and I would describe it as a travel story like The Hobbit, but more entertaining. It's a short read, so not much of an investment to get to the second book where things really kick off.

There's a rather muted romance thread in Blackwing. And I guess also in The Grey Bastards. Bizarrely my own One Word Kill was the best selling romance in America for a week in April :D but really it's neither romance nor grimdark.

i just finished The Golem and the Jinni very good listen.