u/Real-Supermarket-471

Hi all! Looking for comp titles for a fantasy book I'm writing, plus general recommendations. Struggling to find exactly what I mean, so any help is appreciated. I'm looking for adult fantasy (not YA), ideally published in the last 2-5 years.

My criteria:

• Stakes are personal/political, not world-ending — this isn't about saving the world
• Protagonist relies on skill, tactics, or grit rather than innate magic — magic can exist in the world, just not as the MC's primary power source
• Real consequences and cost for the characters' choices — ambition and sacrifice matter, I want stakes that actually land
• Not grimdark/war-atrocity-level bleak — there's real darkness in what I'm writing (including trauma), but not wall-to-wall brutality as the point
• No romance, or romance as a very minor/non-essential side thread — not the emotional engine of the book
• Not witches/dark academia
• Adventure-forward is a big plus — quests, heists, journeys, found-family-through-action, but not comedic-caper-forward

A comp I already know is close in feel: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (S.A. Chakraborty) — though I'm looking for something with a bit more weight/consequence than that one has.

She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan) is close in register, minus its central queer/gender threads.

 

Thank you to anyone who chimes in!