Desperately need some recs! But I'm picky! :(
Hi everyone! I've been in a reading slump for a while, thanks to really stressful work stuff and also *vaguely gestures to the entire world.* But I really want to get back into reading and Goodreads has disappointed me considerably in terms of recs.
Here's my problem: I am incredibly picky. But do you think you can help?
Tropes I dislike and will not read: FIRST PERSON (yes, I know, this eliminates a good 60% of all books, but I just cannot get into it!), abusive/mean MMCs, FMCs who are like 'I'm not like other girls and other girls are DUMB' and hate femininity entirely, FMCs who are below the drinking age.
Here's some examples of books/book series I loved:
- All of the Emily Wilde books, I absolutely ADORED these
- Half a Soul and Ten Thousand Stitches
- Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher (I've read ALL her books)
- The Orthinologist's Guide to Love by India Holton (I've read all her books too)
- Six of Crows, A Study in Drowning, His Dark Materials, Sorcery & Cecelia
- Literally anything by Catherynne M. Valente, Tanith Lee, or Terry Pratchett
- Od Magic, Circe, Wildwood Dancing, A Natural History of Dragons
I love cozy fantasies, romances with humor and 'golden retriever' MMCs, epistolary novels (give me a good letter-writing romance or journal entries and I will eat it up), and prose that's considered more classical (like Jane Austen or L.M Montgomery, give me tons of run-on sentences and commas). Good fantastical prose is vital-- if it feels like the speech/writing is 'modern' or 'slangy' in some way, it won't interest me much. I unironically love lush, purple prose and wild descriptions. I also love historical novels-- give me anything set in the past, regardless of century or culture. Bonus points for medieval Europe and/or the medieval Middle East!
In terms of triggers, my only real trigger is rape/sexual assault. I cannot handle seeing it, it's difficult for me to stomach, and while implications of past sexual assault are okayish, I'd just like to avoid the trope altogether if possible.
Can you help at all? Goodreads has unfortunately not been super helpful in terms of the very specific sorts of books I'm looking for. Also apologies for any mistakes, English isn't my first language!