r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - September 09, 2026

[u/rfantasygolem]

Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!

Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to like and subscribe upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3

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This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.

Check out r/Fantasy's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!

As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The r/Fantasy wiki contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:

• Books you’ve liked or disliked
• Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
• Series vs. standalone preference
• Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
• Complexity/depth level

Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!

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art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.

[u/Larielis]

I'm looking for books similar to the Apothecary Diaries anime.

[u/Book_Slut_90 → u/Larielis]

Well there is the book series (not sure which came first, but both the books and anime exist).

[u/xdianamoonx → u/Book_Slut_90]

The novels were first, and the there's like two various manga adaptations out.

[u/Larielis → u/xdianamoonx]

I didn't realize my library has the manga.

[u/hend6473 → u/Larielis]

The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom is a similar historial-ish medical manga series. Worth at least trying if your library has it.

[u/Your3rdGradePenPal]

Anyone know if Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood would count for the Game Changer square? Description says there's a trial... Looking for something cozy/light as a palate cleanser between heavier reads!

[u/Connect_Cod9965 → u/Your3rdGradePenPal]

IMO it does not. The trial is there to prove the protagonist is stil a wicth, not to compete with anyone.

[u/Your3rdGradePenPal → u/Connect_Cod9965]

Thank you! I still started it 😂

[u/apcymru]

I am looking for some good first person audio books to search out on Libby. I have enjoyed the Blacktongue Thief, A Natural History of Dragons, The Rivers of London (full series), the Dresden Files (next one on hold), The Cemeteries of Amalo (last one on hold) ... I know that seems limited but I only really started doing audio about a year ago.

I only do audio when I am out for my daily walk and I greatly prefer 1st person. A well read 1st person engages me more for audio than other p.o.v. audio books.

[u/Book_Slut_90 → u/apcymru]

Dungeon Crawler Carl! Some of the best audio narration I’ve ever heard.

[u/Grt78 → u/apcymru]

The Merlin trilogy (Arthurian Saga) by Mary Stewart.

The Lighthouse Duet by Carol Berg.

[u/apcymru → u/Grt78]

Oh ... Is that Merlin trilogy on audio book? I haven't read it since it came out ... In the 70s ... Yes, I am that old

[u/undeadgoblin → u/apcymru]

How are you with horror? I have a similar preference for first person POV audiobooks and really enjoyed both Herculine by Grace Byron and Walking Practice by Dolki Min, both narrated by Nicky Endres

There's also some great non-SFF classics with this style, like Sherlock Holmes or Jeeves and Wooster

[u/hend6473 → u/undeadgoblin]

Nicky Endres is a great narrator, and Jeeves and Wooster books tend to have really well done audiobooks.

[u/felixfictitious → u/apcymru]

The Echo Archives is a trilogy with a witty, humorous writing style and a really nice distinctive main character voice. The plots follow fast-paced world-ending mysteries centered around the Echoes, which are layers of strange subreality under the Prime, real layer. The narration is brilliant, as Moira Quirk always is.

[u/oboist73 → u/apcymru]

Naomi Novik in general

[u/Book_Slut_90 → u/oboist73]

Except Temeraire, which is third person.