Thanks for the link back! I do think we lost a little bit of the whimsy when we went into the "hard magic system" era. Yeah, it's cool to have systems and balance, but sometimes I want a little bit of old school vibes.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way! This might be why I love Elantris so much--technically, the magic system is fairly "hard," but it still has that feeling of wonder and mystery and transcendence imo. I very much enjoyed the balance of magical "rules" and whimsy in Spellsmith and Carver as well!
This is such a fascinating post, Jenny! It’s so interesting to see how fantasy has shifted over time. The original fantasy is my favorite. And I’m definitely a romantasy hater 😂 I’ve never been able to bring myself to read it, but the more synopses and blurbs I read, the more convinced I become that romantasy is a genre of toxicity, red flags, and drama. XD
There's a lot of good romantasy with healthy tropes out there, especially in indie circles.
I'd recommend Seaspoken by Sarah Delena White as a starting place. Fade to black between married couples so there's a little "warmth" but no real spice. Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce is an arranged marriage one, very sweet, very wholesome. Sand and Storm by Stella Dorthwany
Thank you for sharing these recommendations! 100% agree that there's good stuff out there in this genre, and that it's often coming from indie authors.
Yay, another classic fantasy fan! :D Yeah...there are good books within the romantasy genre (I liked For the Wolf way more than I expected to), but I see a lot of harm in many popular romantasy books as well. But then there's also lots of unhelpful romantasy-hating content online and it's just like...oh dear, what a mess. XD Unfortunately, it's easy to see why a lot of readers stick to their old favorites. Hopefully we're heading into a better era all around!
Thanks for the link back! I do think we lost a little bit of the whimsy when we went into the "hard magic system" era. Yeah, it's cool to have systems and balance, but sometimes I want a little bit of old school vibes.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way! This might be why I love Elantris so much--technically, the magic system is fairly "hard," but it still has that feeling of wonder and mystery and transcendence imo. I very much enjoyed the balance of magical "rules" and whimsy in Spellsmith and Carver as well!
This is such a fascinating post, Jenny! It’s so interesting to see how fantasy has shifted over time. The original fantasy is my favorite. And I’m definitely a romantasy hater 😂 I’ve never been able to bring myself to read it, but the more synopses and blurbs I read, the more convinced I become that romantasy is a genre of toxicity, red flags, and drama. XD
There's a lot of good romantasy with healthy tropes out there, especially in indie circles.
I'd recommend Seaspoken by Sarah Delena White as a starting place. Fade to black between married couples so there's a little "warmth" but no real spice. Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce is an arranged marriage one, very sweet, very wholesome. Sand and Storm by Stella Dorthwany
Thank you for sharing these recommendations! 100% agree that there's good stuff out there in this genre, and that it's often coming from indie authors.
Yay, another classic fantasy fan! :D Yeah...there are good books within the romantasy genre (I liked For the Wolf way more than I expected to), but I see a lot of harm in many popular romantasy books as well. But then there's also lots of unhelpful romantasy-hating content online and it's just like...oh dear, what a mess. XD Unfortunately, it's easy to see why a lot of readers stick to their old favorites. Hopefully we're heading into a better era all around!