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Hello, reader!

It’s Thursday and that seems a good time to do a book tag. And what better tag for a fantasy lover like myself than the Get to Know the Fantasy Reader Book Tag! This is very much inside my wheelhouse 😆 Thank you to the wonderful Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog for tagging me!

Alright, now let’s get into the tag.

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The Rules:

• Make sure you give credit to the original creators of this tag – this tag was originally created by Bree Hill.
• If you want to, pingback to the post you first saw this tag!
• Have fun!

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The Prompts:

What is your fantasy origin story? (The first fantasy you read.)

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If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story?

Ooo, that’s a really good question! Hmm… and kind of hard to answer, lol. I think I would want Jordan Ifueko to write my story because she builds such beautiful, lush worlds. She has a way of writing that is so evocative, so immersive, that you can’t help to lose yourself in her stories. She’s also great at writing the ‘found family’ trope, which is the one I would absolutely insist on in my story.

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What is a fantasy series you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?

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What is your favorite fantasy subgenre?

That’s another good question! I would have to agree with Becky and say folklore/mythology retellings. Retellings are some of my favorite stories, especially if it tends to focus on the characters that are usually in the background of such tales. I fell in love with Circe by Madeline Miller for that reason! I’ve also enjoyed Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and, recently, The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.

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What subgenre have you not read much from?

I haven’t read much fantasy romance, but I admit I’ve become intrigued lately. I’ve been wanting to try out romance as a genre more and what better way to try some that mix in my favorite genre? I don’t know if it’s all the hype surrounded some of the more popular fantasy romances or changing tastes, but it’s certainly a subgenre I’d like to explore more. Some that I’m hoping to pick up soon are The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen, A Deal With the Elf King by Elise Kova, and House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas.

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Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?

There are a few, but my top auto-buy fantasy author has to be Erin Morgenstern! She’s not prolific but the two books she has written are two of my absolute favorites. The Night Circus is like a beautiful dream in book form. A dream that you can visit over and over again. And I wasn’t expecting to see myself so much in The Starless Sea, but I did and now that has become my top-tier comfort book. I will buy anything she ever writes and I have the feeling I will love it.

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How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, Youtube, Podcasts, Instagram…)

I spend an inordinate amount of time on book Twitter 😂 Truly, I get so many recommendations from all the bookish content creators that I follow on Twitter. It’s… kind of a problem, according to my bookshelves. I get recommendations from other sources, of course, like BookTube and Goodreads, but Twitter is definitely the biggest culprit.

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What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?

Hahahaha, there are SO MANY. But I’ll pick out three that I haven’t talked about much on the blog. Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan is the sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess, which I loved and can’t wait to read more of Xingyin’s story. Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn is another sequel, this time to Legendborn, a fantasy centered around the legends of King Arthur. I’ve been waiting for this one ever since I finished the first book and I’m so excited it’s coming out in November! And the last is The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton. It’s this author’s first fantasy novel and I’m eager to give it a go!

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What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?

That, if fantasy is your favorite genre, you aren’t a “serious” reader. I dislike bookish snobbery of every kind, so people who think that you have to enjoy literary fiction or all the classics to be deemed a reader make me want to fight. I don’t run across it often, but it’s definitely annoying.

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If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that come to mind as places to start, what would those recommendations be?

If someone who had never read fantasy was looking to try out the genre, I would want to recommend books that had vivid world-building, a fast-paced story, and characters with which you can easily connect. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, and Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse are the first three that popped to mind! They are all so easy to lose yourself inside and none of them are so dense that the reader might find themselves confused. I think they would be great places to start.

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Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you’d like to shoutout?

I recently followed Dianne @ LessThanThreeD, who has one of the prettier blogs I’ve ever seen! Beyond her incredible book reviews, she’s also an artist and a writer. A triple threat! I’ve enjoyed reading her reviews recently and definitely think her blog is worth checking out.

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Tagging:

• Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den
• Kat @ KB Book Reviews
• Leslie @ Books Are The New Black
• Livy @ Shelves of Starlight
• And any other fantasy lovers out there!