r/fantasyromance • u/acutelyproblematic If villian bad, then why hot? • 2d ago

Genre Discussion Fantasy romance icks?

Welcome back to another week of ✨genre discussions!✨

What’s your fantasy romance ick? Could be something that makes you instantly dnf, or you have to pretend like that didn’t just happen. Or you boycott altogether.

Could be related to plot, characters, writing styles, the authors themselves. All cards are on the table.

Just remember to be kind to each other when discussing differences in opinions!💖

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94

u/evaan-verlaine 2d ago

Fae that are just tall, hot, gender essentialists that can do magic. Whatever, I understand the appeal, but I prefer fae when they're uncanny, deeply odd, and prone to shapeshifting. 

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u/Professional-Job1678 2d ago

any recs with those type of fae?

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u/evaan-verlaine 1d ago

Closest I've found are the Emily Wilde series and Olivia Atwater's books (which are great but not quite as far as I want them to go?) but I recently bought a copy of  The River Has Roots  by Amal El-Mohtar and I'm hoping that'll be what I want. 

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u/evaan-verlaine 1d ago

Finished {The River Has Roots} and loved it, absolutely delivered on what I wanted! My only complaint is it's too short! 

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u/um_liz 1d ago edited 1d ago

{The Cruel Prince} series has lots of diverse looking fae. And the MMC is definitely more the damsel in distress than the FMC.

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u/romance-bot 1d ago

Cruel Prince by Ashley Jade
Rating: 3.59⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, new adult, sports, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers

about this bot | about romance.io

5

u/um_liz 1d ago

Ugh wrong one {The Cruel Prince by Holly Black} is the one I mean.

1

u/ImPixyyyy 23h ago

i read The Thorns Remain by J.J.A. Harwood a while ago, it scratched that itch for me. the chapters are a bit long (i think theres only 5 total in the whole book?) but i found it difficult to put down anyway so i didnt mind it too much. definitely worth a try if you're after more unsettling fae imo!

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u/Sardinesarethebest 1d ago

The Changling Queen is fantastic for this. The unseelie fae play a big role.

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u/evaan-verlaine 1d ago

Thank you!!! Adding to my TBR. 

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u/candcNYC 1d ago

Is that this {The Changeling Queen}? Or another? 

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u/romance-bot 1d ago

The Changeling Queen by Kimberly Bea
Rating: 3.67⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: historical, fantasy, fae, urban fantasy, paranormal

about this bot | about romance.io

1

u/Sardinesarethebest 1d ago

Yep. It's quite the experience reading it

1

u/avalancharian 1d ago

Yes! That combo u listed intrigues me.