{"id":765,"date":"2017-03-31T17:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=765"},"modified":"2017-05-20T11:50:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-20T15:50:19","slug":"spring-recommendations-fantastical-romance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=765","title":{"rendered":"Fantastical romance…or is that romantic fantasy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Burning<\/a>I realized it had been nearly six months since I last regaled you with the cream of the cream of the books that have passed through my kindle<\/a>. Some are new releases, some are old standbys I ran across while browsing the library or kindle unlimited charts. All are so satisfying I wish I could delete a few neurons and read them again.<\/p>\n

So, without further ado, here are the romantic fantasy\/fantastical romance books I most enjoyed in recent weeks:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Troubled Waters<\/a><\/em> by Sharon Shinn is romantic fantasy for those who don’t mind a character-driven meander.\u00a0The worldbuilding was simple and rich at the same time. Something to aspire to as an author…and a darn fine read even if you don’t write.<\/p>\n

Burning Bright<\/em><\/a> by Melissa McShane is a free-in-kindle-unlimited selection. Age of Sail + magic + a light but perfect romance = One of the best books I’d read in quite a while. I cried. I went looking for the sequel. Perfect book.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Winner’s Curse<\/em><\/a> by Marie Rutkoski is the beginning of a trilogy…and please be forewarned that you won’t be able to think of anything else until you complete all 1200+ pages. That minor issue aside, the series is full of thought-provoking worldbuilding (based on the Roman Empire), a heroine who is flawed but strong, and a love story you’ll need to see resolved. The covers don’t do these books justice.<\/p>\n

The Sorceror’s Concubine<\/a><\/em> by Jaclyn Dolamore is a\u00a0strongly character-based book with a solid romance thread and top-notch worldbuilding. Basically, imagine what would happen if Pinnochio had been a woman in a world where puppets were created as concubines. Would he ever have become a real boy? Find out for free with Kindle Unlimited.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Encrypted<\/em> has all of Lindsay Buroker’s hallmark features — smart and action-packed storyline, mild but satisfying love story, and characters you’ll root for. But this book transcends Buroker’s already high bar by adding in a high geek quotient and by giving you a solid resolution at the end of the book. At the time of this post, it’s also available along with several of her other novels in the 99-cent Beginnings box set<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of Metal and Wishes<\/a> by Sarah Fine is\u00a0a darker version of the more mainstream steampunk complete with class struggles, great characters, and beautiful imagery. Great book…but beware the cliffhangery ending!<\/p>\n

A Brother’s Price<\/a> by Wen Spencer is perhaps the most memorable book I read during this time period, but I put it last because it seems to really split readers. If you’re willing to suspend your disbelief and accept a world in which earth gender roles are turned on their head, you’ll likely love this book. If not…give it a pass.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Stolen<\/a>Okay, I lied, that’s not quite the last of my recommendations. Even though I tend to like books best when they straddle the fantasy\/romance line, here are two bonus books where the fantasy won out over the romance:<\/p>\n

Stolen Magic<\/a> by Marina Finalyson can totally be judged by the cover.\u00a0I loved the world, familiar enough to urban-fantasy readers so the book isn’t a slog but tantalizingly unique with an Australian flavor that really hit the spot. Our heroine was equally delightful — a thief on the run from an impossible decision. Add in a light introduction to a perfect love interest and you have a major winner (that’s also free in kindle unlimited).<\/p>\n

The Last Necromancer<\/a>\u00a0contains C.J. Archer’s trademark\u00a0combination of intriguing heroine, light romance, and rich setting. This is set in the same world as her Freak House books, but with a classic-novel tie-in that I’m tempted to write about but can’t without spoiling the plot.\u00a0Download it for free on any of the major retailers and see what I mean.<\/p>\n

I hope that keeps you busy for a little while!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I realized it had been nearly six months since I last regaled you with the cream of the cream of the books that have passed through my kindle. Some are new releases, some are old standbys I ran across while browsing the library or kindle unlimited charts. All are so satisfying I wish I could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-urban-fantasy-paranormal-romance-fantasy-romance-reviews","tag-urban-paranormal-romantic-fantasy","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}