Recs if you like Starling House...
SCP Containment Breach
The SCP is an organization that Secures, Contains, and Protects our world against anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. Be advised: these books contain such SCPs that have escaped confinement and have caused havoc and destruction. Read at your own peril. And remember to document your findings.
No Shadow Daddies Allowed
Fantasy romance and romantasy with at least one MMC who doesn't fit the Shadow Daddy archetype in one way or another.
I'm talking genuinely kind and caring heroes, nerdy or academic interests, or a body type that isn't tall and jacked. (No climbing these men like trees here!) Only men who are sad wet cats, sweet cinnamon rolls, or pathetic losers allowed 💖
Inspired by buttercheese69's forum post on the topic.
Master Fantasy and Romantasy List
I'm sure some of these are already on your TBR, so might as well add some more! Let me know if I am missing any of your favorites!
Southern Gothic Fiction
A selection of contemporary Southern Gothic titles exploring the decay, despair, and trauma of the reconstructed American South. Come for the palpably atmospheric settings and descriptions, stay for the literary commentary on the legacy of the South's oft-romanticized past.
As a note: I did not include the most well known writers in the genre, e.g. Truman Capote, Harper Lee, William Faulkner, etc. as the list is more focused on the resurgence of Southern Gothic in contemporary literature.
Whimsical Fantasy But Dark
Have you ever wanted a fantasy book with whimsy, but dark? More gothic and twisted and creepy? Then you've come to the right place! Open to recs.
a dude and their house
books/series where at least part of the plot is about a dude (gender neutral & for the vibes 🙂↕️) and their weird attachment to a house (please note attachment to said house may not be fully explored until later books)
mod-goth (modern gothic novels)
We all love gothic classics, but what is new when it comes to the gothic genre (from the last 20 years or so)?! For fans of Dracula, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, etc. Please comment with suggestions to add!
Sentient Architecture
"Place as character" is usually reserved for lush descriptions that bring environments to life, and less often used for environments that have a life of their own. This list includes houses, homes, castles, spaceships, anywhere people will spend time and call home. Not meant to include haunted houses, but a case could be argued for specific ones. c:
Only including the first in a series unless books feature different sentient places.
Mixed Perspectives Books
These books utilize first person, second person, and third person perspective- ideally all three but books with some combination of the three are also included.
One Book Many Quests
Books in this list are in at least two quests. Thus helping to earn more badges. Books will span different genres. Once I scan through all the quests, I plan to further organize the list. I am thinking of creating a seperate list and moving the books with three or more quests to the new list and keeping the two badge books in this list. Are there other ways you would organize a list this big?
Feral and Hysterical: Works by Women
List of recommendations included in Sadie Hartmann's Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women.
Pairs with 50 States, 50 Books by Women list.
Bitches Love a Footnote
It’s me. I’m bitches ✋🏻
Collection of fiction texts that utilize footnotes for various reasons, including world building, comedic narrative input, or character perspective
The Ultimate Collection of Fantasy Standalones
Perfect for fantasy lovers with not enough hours in the day!
Feel free to mention any I missed in the comments 😊
🍋 A thousand lives before dying 🐉
Eclectic choices of stories to forget life sucks.
Book(s) of the Month(s) 📚
Here's every book so far from BOTM's monthly shortlist since February 2015 for anyone who wants to read them all like I do!
MF Romances with Bi Main Characters
I love reading romances between men and women where one or both of the characters are bi because it shows the potential of bi people to fall in love with any gender, if that makes sense. So often bi people in “straight” relationships don’t get clocked as LGBTQ+ and I like seeing how they make a “straight” relationship queer. It’s also nice to read about LGBTQ+ outside of achillian and sapphic stories and spaces. I’m always on the hunt for more.
fiction with footnotes
aka, novels for nerds 🫵🙂↕️
Who needs long series anyway?
A masterlist of standalone adult fantasy novels (no novellas).
Always looking for recs!
Stories about Stories
This list is for stories about stories, including the more obvious "books-about-books", but also books about who gets to tell stories, what versions of stories become "truth", and other story-based themes. *While not intended to be strictly fantasy, this list does lean heavily into this genre due to my personal reading tastes. **Suggestions welcome!
bi rep
books with bisexual characters (even if they end up with the opposite sex THEY'RE STILL BI)
