Here are 72 books that Swordheart fans have personally recommended if you like
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As a writer and independent game developer, I’ve always adored “families of choice:” motley crews of strangers drawn together by circumstance and whose bonds are strengthened to an indestructible degree by the trials they face together. This passion has manifested both in my favorite stories (The Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, Mass Effect) as well as the ones I write myself! After teaching writing at Cornell University, where I also earned my MFA in Fiction, I turned my sights on my own creative projects, all of which invariably feature weird found families (a robot crew and the human misfits accompanying them; two assassins and an escaped mind-reading slave; et cetera).
I absolutely love Sharon Shinn’s writing, both her luscious, sophisticated prose and the way she writes relationships between characters. She hits the perfect balance between well-planned, interesting plots, rich fantasy worlds, and the exact right amount of romantic subplot and character development.
This book—which follows a group of magic-wielding mystics and the reluctant, militaristic King’s Riders assigned to protect them as they travel the land, investigating a rise in anti-magic sentiment—is my favorite of her books, not least because it has some of the coziest found family dynamics and campfire friendships to be found outside of classics like The Lord of the Rings!
Gillengaria seethes with unrest. In the south, hostility toward magic and its users has risen to a dangerous level, though King Baryn has ordered that such mystics are to be tolerated. It is whispered that he issued the decree because his new wife used her magic powers to ensnare him…
The King knows there are those in the noble Twelve Houses who could use this growing dissent to overthrow him. So he dispatches the mystic Senneth to assess the threat throughout the realm. Accompanying her is a motley band of magic-users and warriors including Tayse, first among the King’s Riders—who…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
As a hardcore introvert, I often find it difficult to open up to others, especially new people. But somehow, it’s easier to do so when traveling or at least out of my normal routine. So it’s no surprise that I gravitate to stories that feature characters traveling and forming bonds of friendship and romance while on the road. Add some magic to the mix, and I’m almost definitely hooked!
Although this book does feature some heavy themes (CW for mentions of rape), it’s a powerful story about dealing with trauma – and moving on from it, to the life one wants to live. Draven’s characters simply breathe. They feel fleshed-out and real, with all the contradictions of real people. Although the book is part of a series, the story feels complete on its own; the worldbuilding is lush and interesting. I love books that feature travel because being on the road is a great way for characters to connect with each other, as they must rely on one another for safety and survival. Phoenix Unbound features two very different characters who come together in a way that feels real – and beautiful.
In this USA Today bestselling novel, a woman with power over fire and illusion and the enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy.
Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital--her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.
To me, a good story is where things happen. I like fast-paced action, grand adventures, snarky banter, and happy endings. I especially like books that don’t take themselves too seriously. Being an author of non-stop action adventure, offbeat science fiction and fantasy books, I write easy-to-read, compelling stories with just as much conflict and danger while maintaining an overarching atmosphere of levity and hope. Suburban mom by day and author by night, I love to live vicariously through my characters. They don’t have to vacuum all day long and are almost always guaranteed to survive any fantastical or thrilling incidents, no matter how treacherous I write them.
I love when stories start right where the action is! Very effective narrative, very vivid worlds–I felt like I was actually there. I was so blown away by the research that must have gone into the settings and locations in this book. The action is fast-paced, the conflict is compelling, and the dash of forbidden love was the cherry on top. I’m a total sucker for romance spanning across parallel worlds and alternate selves. I find the concept of portals and multiverses so incredibly fascinating that this element is in most of my books too.
Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions. Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes-and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer-her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul-escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through…
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…
I’ve been fascinated with high fantasy since the moment my grandmother first presented me with Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Then, add in a Nora Roberts book when I turned sixteen, and voila, my love for all things fantasy romance was born. I crave tension, romance, sizzle, and some epic fight-to-love scenes that make my blood run hot. When I started writing, I knew the exact genre I wanted to focus on–romance. All. Things. Romance. Fantasy, paranormal, contemporary–I enjoy writing them all but in every single one of my stories there lies a thread of fight–of sizzle–because what’s a happily ever after if you don’t have to work for it?
I binge-read the first three books in this series in a matter of days. It is seriously incredibly to watch these two characters be thrown together. Both with dark pasts of their own, seeing them fight together toward a common goal is absolutely heartwarming even as it gets frustrating at times.
Heart-pounding romance and thrilling action meet deep world-building in Blade & Rose, a sexy and addictive romantic epic fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass and Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom.
She’s bound to a monster. He’s bound to his oaths. Their bonds will break. And so will they…
An elemental mage who just wants her freedom, twenty-two-year-old Rielle is driven by one inevitability: she will destroy the impending arranged marriage to her cruel werewolf fiancé. Then she can happily spend her life independently, working as a mage on missions.
I’m a lifelong reader, and over the years I’ve probably gotten to know thousands of characters. I don’t like it when they die, but their deaths can be so moving if done well. It really frustrates me when a beloved character dies and it doesn’t amount to anything. I’ve gotten attached to these people–they shouldn’t just die without impacting anything! But I love it when a death results in a plot twist or meaningful consequences for the remaining characters.
When I was a kid, a favorite uncle gave me a later book in this series, and I was immediately entranced by the combination of humor and fantasy–I love both genres, and I’d never seen them done together before. This is the first book in that much-loved and reread series.
It starts when Garkin, an irascible old wizard, summons a demon to impress his mouthy apprentice. Garkin then gets killed, which releases the demon and launches the mouthy apprentice, Skeeve, into a series of outlandish adventures. It’s a dark start to a light book, full of trope reversals and puns. I loved it as a kid and as an adult.
Skeeve is a magician’s apprentice (and a wanna-be thief) until an assassin’s bolt kills his master, Garkin. Along with Aahz, the green-scaled, purple-tongued demon and master magician summoned by Garkin, he sets out on a quest to get even. The road to vengeance is bound to prove rocky, however, because Skeeve can barely light a candle with his beginning magic, and Aahz has lost his own considerable magical abilities as a consequence of Garkin’s summoning spell. Before they can confront the power-mad wizard who ordered Garkin’s assassination, they must survive a trip to a weird alternate dimension, encounters with Impish…
I’ve adored fantasy adventures for as long as I could read. A good story is a mirror of life, and sometimes life can feel hard, cold, and impersonal. Yet life can also be an adventure, and like fictional heroes, the way in which we overcome our challenges is what makes us truly human. And sometimes it’s the actions of fantastical or inhuman creatures that show us true humanity.
When a hero overcomes their challenges in a way that shows humanity, I stand up and cheer. When they do it in a way that’s creative or funny, I laugh. When an author can do both, I treasure it.
While it’s hard to pick a single favorite among the Discworld series, Mort stands out for me as a mix of a bizarre concept, quirky characters you can cheer for, and unexpected plot twists.
It’s hard to imagine a book about death being so funny, but the outlandish premise sets a stage rife with opportunities for humor. And yet, it’s the characters that really carry the story. Characters of this world have a wide spectrum of moralities, and yet despite their flaws and mistakes, you find yourself cheering for them.
'Cracking dialogue, compelling illogic and unchained whimsy' Sunday Times
The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .
Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.
Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton carrying a scythe who must collect a minimum number of souls in order to keep the momentum of dying, well . . . alive.
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…
I’ve adored fantasy adventures for as long as I could read. A good story is a mirror of life, and sometimes life can feel hard, cold, and impersonal. Yet life can also be an adventure, and like fictional heroes, the way in which we overcome our challenges is what makes us truly human. And sometimes it’s the actions of fantastical or inhuman creatures that show us true humanity.
When a hero overcomes their challenges in a way that shows humanity, I stand up and cheer. When they do it in a way that’s creative or funny, I laugh. When an author can do both, I treasure it.
Starting at zero may be typical for a litRPG, but Broccoli Bunch, heroine of the story, sets herself apart by humanizing all the creatures of her new world rather than devaluing them as objects to be slaughtered in the quest for power, glory, and loot. While fighting monsters in pursuit of some grand quest is commonplace in fantasy, within the litRPG subgenre, it’s practically the sole focus.
Which is why to me, our compassionate heroine Broccoli Bunch trying to make friends with all the monsters in the world is such a satisfying breath of fresh air.
I’ve adored fantasy adventures for as long as I could read. A good story is a mirror of life, and sometimes life can feel hard, cold, and impersonal. Yet life can also be an adventure, and like fictional heroes, the way in which we overcome our challenges is what makes us truly human. And sometimes it’s the actions of fantastical or inhuman creatures that show us true humanity.
When a hero overcomes their challenges in a way that shows humanity, I stand up and cheer. When they do it in a way that’s creative or funny, I laugh. When an author can do both, I treasure it.
Another odd couple adventure story, the travels and adventures of Sigurt and the Bard in a historical setting were fun, authentic, and a reminder that grand adventures don’t always need magic.
With a bard as a pov character, there was a lot of song in the book, and the modest aspirations of our heroes (a decent meal and sleeping by the fire) are a welcome change from the powerful and ambitious protagonists you often see in the genre.
Fantasy is my favorite genre, and honestly, I’m pretty deep in it. Not only do I read a lot of fantasy, I also write fantasy novels. I’ve been an active TTRPG player for the last few years, even creating and running a few campaigns. In addition, I wrote a one-shot campaign set in the world of my fantasy series, the Gifted Lands, which people can get for free when they sign up for my newsletter on my website. So it’s safe to say, I like fantasy. :) If you check out any of these books, let me know what you think of them!
I gotta say, Noel-Anne Brennan needs to be better known.
This book (along with its sequel, The Blood of the Land) makes up a compelling duology featuring Rilsin, the rightful ruler of her country, who pledges the throne to her cousin Sithli in an effort to stop the bloodshed in her land.
But her cousin is insane and could care less about being a good ruler, which means Rilsin may need to break her promise to help her country—except Sithli also holds Rilsin’s baby hostage.
Wonderful, strong characters, an engaging story, super easy to read. What more could you ask for? If you decide to read this, set aside a few uninterrupted hours. You can thank me later. :)
After pledging her loyalty to her cousin Sithli, princess Rilsin Sea Becha, heir to the throne, realizes that she has made a grave mistake as she, unable to experience life and love, watches her cousin slowly destroy the kingdom, forcing Rilsin to risk everything she holds dear to save the Land. Original.
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons. I’m always on the hunt for not just good but great stories. One of the most profound things I have done revolving around fantasy writing was walk the same streets as the legends walked. Oxford, UK is a magical location and the place where Narnia and The Hobbits were born. I visited CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien gravesites. I visited their homes where they wrote their works. Adventure is around every corner in life. If we choose it. Here is a dwarven proverb from my book series, “May your light shine bright and blind your enemies.”
This was a personal gem for me. JD Fisher’s brother passed away and he championed his brother’s story and wrote the book in honor of him. Wow.
This gutted me but as I read this story I was overtaken by the similarities of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. You can tell he was inspired by these giants. I consider Mr. Fisher a storyteller champion and highly recommend his series.
"No one can be a slave of two swords. They will server one and hate the other."In a fallen world where two supernatural swords of power are destined to determine the fates of all, two brave elves find themselves caught up in a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy that will restore and save the lives of many. When it's discovered that the elves possess one of these special swords, they are pursued by malevolent forces with lethal intent. Join the journey in a world alive with magic, dangerous creatures, and an epic struggle between good and evil.
