Recs if you like Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)...

A list of First books in Fantasy series (or standalones) published in 1980s-2000s written by female authors. Many of these authors are/were prolific writers so most additions are limited to their debut book or most popular series. Go read more by these authors!

Fantasy titles that have become foundational to the genre and/or that are considered fantasy classics, written by women. Always open to suggestions!

the history of shadow daddies is a storied one 🙂‍↕️ how did we get here? where did they come from? where will they go? where did they come from cotton eye joe? so get ready for shadow daddy history class! here, we will explore the history of shadow daddies: from the predecessors, the addition of powers, and the future 🤓

f*ck misogyny, women write epic fantasy too

Fiction with witches — their stories , origins or their general rise to power. I intended the mood to be quite a bit darker when making this list, and will pull from mostly elaborate fantastical worlds — morally obscure, villainous, heroic and everything in between.

Your essential handbooks to witchery and eldritch horrors

Limiting this to fantasy/sci-fi, these are books where the MCs are locked up for most of the book or it's a crucial part of the plot. This can include magical prisons, cursed towers, institutions of sorts, and probably more!

Note: Only the first book in a series are added. The goal is to try it, not dedicate oneself to it. Marion Zimmer Bradley has been added with caution--buy from a small business if not able to check out at the library.

Fantasy romance books from before the coining of Romantasy.

A collection of older, sometimes lesser-known, fantasy (or science fantasy) books written by incredible women and published primarily between the 1980s and early 2000s (with nods to a few older ones). In a time when female fantasy authors were few and far between, these authors carved out their own space in the genre. These stories might not be mainstream hits today, but they are full of brilliant magic, deep characters, and/or worlds that helped shape the genre. (First in Series / standalones only for now - open to suggestions!)

Per r/fantasyromance these fantasies will alter you

The fantasy series’s we were gagging for in the early 2000s.

Note: HP, Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent go without listing 👍

For readers who like their magic messy, their monsters mean, and their stories covered in blood.

These books feel like premium peak millennial Obama-era hope in the current Cheetoh-ruled world. They are what my best hopes of current reality are, with maybe a bit of magic thrown in. Reading and re-reading them is keeping me functioning right now. For the most part 😜

Bad things happen but these marginalized characters take it on and win in a way that satisfies me. I will save the books where bad things happen to bad people to another list!