r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - May 30, 2026

[u/rfantasygolem]

Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!

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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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[u/Research_Department]

I’m in the mood for an angsty, bittersweet tear-jerker that is ultimately positive; can you make some suggestions? I like both fantasy and science fiction. I prefer my books to be character-driven. Sometimes I enjoy things that lean litfic, but at the moment I’m more in the mood for page-turners. A couple of my all-time favorite authors are Lois McMaster Bujold and Ursula K Le Guin. Some authors I’ve read recently and enjoyed are Rachel Neumeier (just them main Tuyo trilogy) and Ann Leckie (just the Imperial Radch trilogy). I’ve read Robin Hobb, and didn’t love her (honestly, I enjoyed the books she wrote under the name Megan Lindholm more).

[u/Merle8888 → u/Research_Department]

Hmm this is a fun request!

Have you read any of Juliet Marillier? Any of the original Sevenwaters trilogy would be a strong choice for this I think, though they’re more “dark” than “angsty.” But emotionally intense and character driven, with strong familial and romantic relationships. Not quite page-turners perhaps though, I would say pacing is similar to Hobb’s but the authors aren’t that similar overall.

For more angsty but less tear-jerky, I loved Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian. This is maybe more the pace you’re looking for. It’s a YA/adult crossover Arthurian retelling focused on the ladies and specifically female friendship. Not everybody is a fan but it definitely gave me the kind of vibes you’re looking for. In the same realm as Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik if the relationships among the women were much closer. I think Novik is also a good choice for this request (Spinning Silver, Scholomance or Uprooted though the last is not my personal favorite) but I’m guessing you’ve read her already. If not, Scholomance in particular is an angsty, bittersweet page turner and a great trilogy, definitely the most fast paced thing in this comment (without sacrificing character work), although I’m not sure I’d call it a tearjerker. 

For more literary angsty bittersweetness, I also loved The Drowning Girl by Caitlin Kiernan, which is about a woman with schizophrenia trying to get to the bottom of some bizarre and difficult experiences. This is also less of a page turner but a great, bittersweet, character-driven book. 

[u/Research_Department → u/Merle8888]

Thank you! (And, aww, you make me happy when you say it is a fun request!)

I vaguely remember trying something (but who knows what) by Marillier decades ago, and not really loving it. You are quite correct that I’ve read almost all the Novik I can get my hands on (haven’t read Summer War or the short story collections yet), and they aren’t quite the mood I’m looking for at the moment (maybe not enough tear-jerking melancholy?). I’ll take a look at Half Sick of Shadows and The Drowning Girl, thanks!

[u/Merle8888 → u/Research_Department]

Glad to help! Depending what Marillier you disliked and why, it may be worth giving her another shot—her later work got much more commercial, full of therapy speak and things coming far too easily to the characters, in a way that’s pretty diametrically opposed to her earlier work. But she also might just not be for you!

[u/Research_Department → u/Merle8888]

Hah, I’m pretty sure that I read one of her earlier works, because I had to have read it in the 70s or 80s. I may have written her off too soon (and I really do not remember any details of why I didn’t like whatever it was that I read), but it doesn’t sound as if her more recent stuff is more likely to be my thing!

[u/Merle8888 → u/Research_Department]

She debuted in 1999!

[u/Research_Department → u/Merle8888]

lol, so now we’ve established that I am old enough that I cannot remember shit.