It's been a bit since I last posted since I've been having some minor health issues and thus took a small break from reading. I'm starting to feel a bit better 🤞 so I thought that to make up for the lost time, it is time for another round of 🙌Tag Time🙌.
Tags are just so much fun to do, and this time around I decided to go for one that would help you get to know me better. I also hope that you find some new recommendations to read.
I found this tag on Zezee with Books, but the original tag was adapted from Bree Hill’s 'get to know the romance reader' tag by booktuber The Book Pusher.
Here we go!
What is your fantasy origin story?
I can honestly say that I do not remember the first fantasy book I read. I had to scour old boxes filled with books to see what I had. I don't know if you could consider this a fantasy as it is a book of nursery rhymes, but I do remember reading The Mother Goose all the time with my grandmother when I was young.
After that point I am pretty sure I read Eragon, but only this book and not the rest of the series. I definitely know that I read Twilight several times in Grade 8 because it was the popular thing to do. I am happy though that at this point I have expanded my horizons when it comes to fantasy books.
If you could be the heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what's one trope you'd insist be in the story?
At this point there are very few authors I read multiple books from. However, I think I would go with Margaret Rogerson because, so far, her books have knocked it out of the park.
I would probably insist that there is a hate-to-love romance, but done in the way I like. I'm talking like Evelyn and Rick from The Mummy or Anastasia and Dmitri from Anastasia. Give me lots of bickering and I will be happy.
What is a fantasy you've read this year that you want more people to read?
A lot of the fantasy that I've read so far have been really popular, so I am going to go with something that I think is underrated. I really enjoyed The Bone Houses by Emily Llyod-Jones, as well as The Devouring Gray series by Christine Lynn Herman. Just look at that cover, does that not entice you to read it?
Also, I would always recommend that people check out more webcomics. There are so many good fantasy ones out there that I think people would love, but unfortunately not many people are gravitated towards them. Do yourself a favour and browse Tapas and Webtoon if you are looking to mix things up a bit and want to read something graphic instead.
What is your favourite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much from?
I've read a good amount of fantasy subgenres including: YA, high, urban, and paranormal. I've read mostly YA fantasy, so to make things easier for me, by default, I would say that this would be my favourite subgenre.
I haven't read a lot of grimdark, but I know that there are a lot of good books out there in that subgenre. I do hesitate a bit because I don't know how dark those kind of books will get. I did read The Blade Itself and most recently The Blacktongue Thief though which were nowhere near as dark as I was expecting them to be.
Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?
Again, Margaret Rogerson is the woman for me. If she has a new book coming out, I would read it without question even if I had no idea what it was about. She does actually have a new book coming out this year called Vespertine and I am super psyched about it. The cover art is stunning as usual, and this one is about a girl who must protect the world against the dead. Ummm, yes, please.
At this point I would also say Sarah J. Maas seeing as I have read all of her main books so far.
How do you typically find fantasy recommendations?
I am someone who loves to browse the internet to find new books to read. Should I be considering my TBR is incredibly long, no, but I love the feeling when you find something new to read. There are a fair amount of websites that compile lists of recommendations that are super convenient such as Book Riot or BookBub.
If you want to check out some self-published books, I would suggest checking out Rob J. Hayes blog as he posts monthly releases. For webcomics, you can simply browse through Webtoon or Tapas, which are hosting platforms. I also find the Webcomic Library on Tag Packer to be extremely helpful. For manga I scour through the hundreds of pages on Anime-Planet.
As always, I turn to booktube as well to see what kinds of books people recommend. A super helpful booktuber to me is Holly Hearts Books. Every month she compiles a list of upcoming releases (mainly fantasy) and she usually has a few on there that I'd never heard of before.
What is an upcoming fantasy release you're excited for?
So many. I actually compile a list of new releases each month on here so you could say that those are my most anticipated. Here is my latest one for the month of June.
What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?
That fantasy books are for people who can't stay grounded in reality or aren't 'cultured' or 'smart' enough.
First of all, you doubt the amount of work that went into the creation of these books. Take J.R.R. Tolkien for example, he was a linguist who created several fictional languages for his books. That takes some serious brain work and academia to do. Second of all, a lot of lessons can be had from fantasy books. They all aren't just magical tales and journeys on the surface level, they have depth to them too.
As for not being able to stay grounded in reality, why would you want to? Especially in a time like now, reading fantasy books is an effective way to distract yourself at least for a little while.
If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend 3 starting books, what would they be?
I would say that I am not the best person to recommend starter books as I only started my serious journey into fantasy last year with The Name of the Wind , and then proceeded to read The Priory of the Orange Tree. At over 600 pages and 800 pages respectively, I picked some chunky ones to read first which worked for me, but won't work for everyone.
In all honesty, if you've never picked up fantasy before, I would suggest trying out a webcomic if you don't mind reading something graphic heavy. You won't be weighed down by an expansive world or plot, but you won't be disappointed with the story either. I would try out Under the Aegis, which follows a group of young protectors who find themselves and each other in the battle for peace.
As always, I will forever suggest that you pick up Margaret Rogerson. If you don't want to commit yourself right away to an intimidating series, An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns are both standalone novels that give you everything need in just one book.
While books like these may not be for me, I would also suggest trying out something more familiar such as retellings. A Curse So Dark and Lonely, for example, is a beauty and the beast retelling that also includes disability rep. It is a series, but it isn't a overly long one so you shouldn't feel intimidated by it.
If you want to challenge yourself a bit, maybe try out Madeline Miller's books. She writes retelling of Greek myths, but her prose is a bit more complex compared to most YA books.
Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you'd like to shoutout.
I do like to browse through booktube a fair amount, so I come across a lot of fantasy content creators. The most recent one I discovered would be Pages of Hayley. I think I found her while browsing through unpopular book opinion videos and just kept on watcher her videos.
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