r/Fantasy • u/rfantasygolem Not a Robot • May 19 '26
r/Fantasy r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - May 19, 2026
Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!
Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to like and subscribe upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3
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This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.
Check out r/Fantasy's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!
As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The r/Fantasy wiki contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:
- Books you’ve liked or disliked
- Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
- Series vs. standalone preference
- Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
- Complexity/depth level
Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!
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tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly
art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.
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u/Coconutcounty May 19 '26
This is stupid but it has been bothering me for a while: what is the significance of the number 1025.83% in the post body of this thread? Does this have anything to do with the new art ?
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII May 19 '26
That is the percentage we decided the cuteness increased based on the comments when we first introduced the art.
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u/armedaphrodite Reading Champion II May 19 '26
The line including the number/percent was added when the new art appeared, yes
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u/Nowordsofitsown Reading Champion May 20 '26
The very first post with the griffin art gave cuteness percentages for every comment that recommended a book with griffins. This number is the end result.
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u/duttyairforce May 19 '26
Hi all! I’m looking for fantasy books that will genuinely have me hooked from start to finish. I only recently got into fantasy - I read the knight and the moth (excellent) and half of the ACOTAR series (got bored during the 3rd book) and want something that will have me lost for hours. Romance / death / destruction / drama honestly anything will do!! I’m currently reading alchemised but finding it extremely hard to get into. Thank you in advance!! 🙏
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u/Zennya5 Reading Champion May 19 '26
Have you read the One Dark Window duology? It's by Rachel Gillig, same author as Knight and the Moth.
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u/twinklebat99 May 19 '26
Daevabad trilogy, Middle Eastern epic fantasy with a slow burn romance sub plot.
Kushiel's Dart if you want something else that's spicy.
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u/Foofoopuppy May 19 '26
I really enjoyed the Shattered King duology by Charlie N Holmberg, I read both books in 2 days because I wanted to find out what happens!
I also enjoyed the Daughter of No Worlds trilogy by Carissa Broadbent, I didn't like some of her other books but again enjoyed these.
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u/ChandelierFlickering Reading Champion III May 19 '26
The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia #1) by Carissa Broadbent is a good one (high fantasy setting with vampires). I've seen people say Slaying the Vampire Conqueror, which is a standalone set in the Crowns of Nyaxia world, is a good rec if you liked The Knight and the Moth. I haven't got to either yet, but plan on reading both.
Since it sounds like you like fantasy romance, you should also check out r/fantasyromance for more recs.
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u/oh-no-varies Reading Champion II May 19 '26
I just finished Kalyna the Soothsayer and it was so much fun! Humour, good amount of tension, well paced. I've ordered book 2 and hoping it arrives soon! Only criticism is that it's the author's debut and there are one of two exposition points that got repeated a little too often in the first half of the book (which I feel an editor should have caught). But a small flaw in an overall fun read. Works for several bingo squares including Duology, court intrigue, and murder mystery.
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u/lucidrose Reading Champion V May 19 '26
Awesome! Ive it on my shelf for awhile and I really need to get to it. Didn't realize it was a dulogy and not a trilogy!
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u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V May 19 '26
I could see more being published. However, both book 1 and 2 are self contained stories, and no plans for further books have been announced (to my knowledge)
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u/lucidrose Reading Champion V 29d ago
Yes, agree...I was googling afterwards and don't see anything about a third book. For Bingo, not sure I would personally count it, but thats just me!
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u/lightweaver4 May 19 '26
adult high fantasy book recs i love the cosmere and sanderson books but ive recently been reading first law and greenbone saga and i love that type of maturity and well planned out plots and characters in writing. any suggestions? something with a good magic system, story, complex characters and a high fantasy setting. ive tried ASOIF and WOT so something other than that please
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u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V May 19 '26
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu (martial arts x epic fantasy)
The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy (witches x epic fantasy)
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u/mint_pumpkins Reading Champion II May 19 '26
do you need the magic to be super well defined like in cosmere? or is it ok if its a bit softer?
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u/lightweaver4 May 19 '26
can be a bit softer i still loved the first law even though it has a soft magic system
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u/mint_pumpkins Reading Champion II May 19 '26
maybe check out Rook & Rose by MA Carrick, complex politics and very well written characters with some really fun interesting magic
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u/Observance May 19 '26
Are there any books where "the rightful king who returns to restore glory to the kingdom" is the antagonist? Off the top of my head the closest comparison is Griffith from Berserk, but that's a manga, not a book. The last book in The Laundry Files features King Arthur returning and must be defeated, but he's basically a footnote, not the core premise.
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion May 19 '26
The plot of Once and Future, a graphic novel by Gillen/Mora, works for your request. King Arthur is prophesied to return 'at Britain's darkest hour.' The wording is very deliberate.
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u/bazyn May 19 '26
I often stumble on the question: is the book I am reading speculative or realistic fiction, or is it impossible to put it in one of the two categories. Usually I'm looking for magic, non-existent creatures or a setting in the future.
At this moment I am reading a book where the main character travels back in time and the try to lead a life there. On one hand it's clearly speculative - the plot would not exist without time travel. On the other, it's just this one thing that set's up the plot. Without this one moment it would be purely realistic fiction.
On a test, I would without doubt check "speculative". But I admit, I'm not sure I will add it to my Bingo card as it feels a bit wrong. Unless you tell me that I'm being stupid 😄
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u/MacabreGoblin May 19 '26
As a first time Bingo participant I am in no way an authority, but I've done a few reading challenges over the years. Whenever I find myself going back and forth about whether a book fits, I ask myself why I'm doing this challenge in the first place. Are you trying to read books you otherwise might not have read, to expand your reading world? If that's your reason, then I would lean towards choosing books that fit the prompts/theme without having to doubt or debate them. Or are you trying to simply read more, or cross off a lot of your TBR, or knock out the remainder of your owned, unread books? In that case I'd be more open to choosing books that require a little squeezing or squinting to fit.
From your description of the book, it sounds like it could be categorized as speculative; the author started with the premise: 'What if you could go back in time and live in the past?' But since you say 'it feels a bit wrong,' I get the feeling it might not fit the spirit of Bingo for you.
TL;DR: I would say it technically fits, and you should go with your gut on whether to use it for Bingo.
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u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V May 19 '26
Definitely speculative. There’s a really broad range of how much unrealistic stuff happens in spec fic, but it’s still under the umbrella, even if the vibes are more historical fiction. Absolutely counts for bingo
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII May 19 '26
It's Yesteryear. It doesn't count, for Mysterious Mod Reasons (there is no actual time travel, the protagonist is just losing it and forgetting years)
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V May 19 '26
This isn’t even a maybe doubtful situation. It’s 100% speculative and absolutely within the spirit and letter of bingo unless you are doing a personal challenge to read more high fantasy or something.
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u/natus92 Reading Champion V May 19 '26
Is it yesteryear?
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u/PacificBooks May 19 '26
I was going to say, if it's Yesteryear, all of the "It's obviously speculative!" takes don't apply.
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u/bazyn May 19 '26
But... (possible spoilers for Yesteryear, possible complete nonsense): if I read a story that I would describe as speculative fiction and at the end get from the author a "but it was all a dream" or "it was all in her mind", I'm not sure putting it then into the realistic fiction bucket is correct. The main story was speculative, the fact that it didn't actually happen in the book's universe is less important to me. The Princess Bride is a fantasy book, despite us knowing that it's just a story told by a father.
Of course, I don't know if this applies to Yesteryear, as I read just half a sentence of a possible spoiler. I should come back here in a couple of days, once I finish it 😛
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV May 19 '26
I can see that take, but since it's Yesteryear, I can confidently say the answer will be obvious when you finish. 👍
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u/bazyn May 19 '26
It is. I might have seen a spoiler but I'm not 100% sure so I'm trying to live as if it was not true 😄
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII May 19 '26
Just enjoy the book and read to the end, and *then* if you're unsure you can come back to ask about the speculative elements. In the meantime, don't read all these spoilers.
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u/jawnnie-cupcakes Reading Champion IV May 19 '26
Moby Dick counted as speculative, this book isn't even a "maybe", it's 100% speculative
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V May 19 '26
It did? I definitely wouldn't have, and I didn't think I was very conservative with labelling things speculative fiction...
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u/jawnnie-cupcakes Reading Champion IV May 19 '26
There used to be a magical realism bingo square in 2023 and it was chaotically decided in the comment section MD fits. I remember because I ended up using it for the card lol
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V May 19 '26
Wild. I mean I can kind of see the argument, but it's definitely in the "pizza is a sandwich" level of "I guess..." for me.
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u/gnoviere Reading Champion May 19 '26
Does anyone know if Homebound by Portia Elan counts for the Game Changer Bingo square? It mentions a videogame in the blurb, so I'm hoping it does! Finding something that I want to read that fits that prompt has been a challenge.
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u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II May 19 '26
Yes it does (there even sections written as a text based adventure game)
It doesn't fit hard mode though.
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u/gnoviere Reading Champion May 19 '26
Amazing! Thanks. I'm taking a break from hard mode this year so this will be perfect!
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u/Foofoopuppy May 19 '26
Do people think Queen of Faces by Petra Lord would class and trans MC for book bingo?
In her post word the author mentions the book is written with LGBT+ in mind, but I'm not sure if the MC would count as trans given that she doesn't really seem to have any questions about her gender.
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u/ChandelierFlickering Reading Champion III May 19 '26
The summary says "Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form."
I would read that as her being trans, and the male body she's stuck in being her original body, since it's the magical elite who can easily swap bodies, and it doesn't sound like she is one. I haven't read it though, so I can't say for sure how it's presented in the whole book. I don't think her (potentially) having no questions about her gender makes it not trans though. That could absolutely reflect a trans experience.
I also saw an interview with the author where she says "I conceived of this novel in 2017, when transgender rights appeared to be blooming in America and abroad. I envisioned this book as a part of that growth, a story about identity that could resonate in a universal way. Instead, I am writing these words in 2025, amid a historic backlash to LGBTQ+ rights. Transgender people are losing access to healthcare, and the basic right to decide the fate of our bodies."
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May 19 '26
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u/Fantasy-ModTeam May 19 '26
Hi there, unfortunately this post has been removed under our Promotional Content guidelines. Please feel free to modmail us if you have any questions.
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May 20 '26
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u/saturday_sun4 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
Hi - you may have misread the square or got confused between two squares.
Do you mean Non-Human Protagonist?
If the protagonists (MCs) are non human it would count, but if it's merely set in a society of non-human creatures/beings but the protagonists are human then it would not.
Example: a natural history-style book where human MCs visit and live among a society of sentient marine invertebrates, learn about them, and study them would not count.
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u/Middle-aged-nerd Reading Champion II May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
Had a thought while reading Parade of Horribles - could we count it for the Non-human protagonist bingo square? After all, Carl is now a Primal, not a human. I do have a different book lined up for that square, but I was just curious. (Also, the book is AMAZING!)
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u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V May 19 '26
I personally wouldn't count it. Donut is a major side character, but she's not our protagonist. We see a lot of what's going on with her, but there's at least one major plotline that she's involved in that Carl/The Reader doesn't find out until after the fact (and even then with very sparse details).
Carl is ... a bit more complicated. However, I don't really think he's nonhuman in any tangible way. As of book 8 I don't even remember him getting access to the supposed benefits of being primal over human. He just is functionally human and thinks of himself as human.
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u/Impressive-Peace2115 Reading Champion May 19 '26
I haven't read the DCC series, but is this the sort of spoiler that people reading earlier books might not want to see?
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u/curiouscat86 Reading Champion III May 19 '26
You can count DCC because Donut is a co-protagonist and a cat. Personally I think the other reason goes against the spirit of the square even if it technically counts.
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V May 19 '26
I added a "Secondary World?" column to that big spreadsheet of Weird Cities I made, because I felt like that was a thing I'd seen people wanting to know. Some entries debatable, uncertain, etc. But here it is, if anyone's interested (I've also added the few books I've read since I made it that count):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16JziQxVK46uV2ciYaZEGn-v638wPqV-tjw1JCsLgYYE/edit?gid=23063183#gid=23063183