Kestrel, Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross, book

Book one of a quartet of historical mysteries. Written (and researched!) incredibly well, with characters that haunt you for years. The main character was my roommate's fictional crush throughout all our university years. If the author didn't die young and bring a premature end to the series I swear this set would have become famous bestsellers and spawned one of those gorgeous BBC productions, they're that good.

Illium, Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh, book

(Part of a series of your typical romantic fantasy novels. I guess the first ones in the series are almost more urban fantasy than true fantasy, but they get less urban and more fantastical as the series goes on. They're.... not actually my favorites, but as far as beach-reading goes, pretty reliable. Good enough I keep picking them up and reading them, not good enough I'd use them as gifts, if that makes sense. Mostly because the level of writing is at the "mind-candy" category, but there are too many dark themes for me to use them as true mind-candy mood-lifters. A happy ending is all very well, but if the happy ending comes as the last few chapters after a plethora of gloomy-dark chapters, you spend more time with your emotions being pummeled than you do being cheered up. I'm not sure I'm expressing that clearly..... point is, if you're good with darker stuff so long as you get a payoff of a happy ending, you'll probably like these books a lot better than I do. If you reach for romances because you want something light and fluffy that will make you happy, these aren't your best option.)


I love Diana Wynne Jones! There are two others set in the same world as Howl's Moving Castle so if you're enjoying the book, check out the others. Also, if you want shorter stories, her Chrestomanci series is good, too!

Well, if you're wanting light read recommendations, DON'T go for Nalini Singh. She's got too much heavy stuff mixed in for it to count as a true light read.
Let me give you some other recommendations, instead!
Lessee.
If you enjoy sassy dialogue, Jennifer Crusie has some truly hilarious contemporary romances that I shelve in with my comedy/humor books instead of romance, because they're just that funny.
I'm very found of Patricia Wrede, who has done some young adult and some adult works, and they're all good. My especial favorites are probably The Seven Towers, where the character of Amberglas makes me laugh EVERY TIME she opens her mouth (she's not actually played for laughs, I think; she's the super-earnest-and-literal type and it's just funny to me because so many people in my family and friend circle are like this, and here she is, the perfect representation of what they would look like if they were a sorceress. But I love it so much, and it usually is funny), and Thirteenth Child which is actually book one of a very good trilogy.
They're both fantasy, but with a different feel. The Seven Towers was written, oh, in the 1970s? 1980s? A long while back anyhow. And it feels more like classic sword-and-sorcery of the time. Vaguely medieval-ish culture, plus magic. Kings and Queens and Knights and Great Evils to vanquish, and all that. And I think it was intended for an adult audience, not young adult, although I wouldn't hesitate to give it to younger readers.
Thirteenth Child was written pretty recently, within the last decade, and is more of a story along the Western lines (I mean like US Goldrush "Western"; think Louis L'Amour crossed with Laura Ingolls Wilder or however her name is spelled), except If Magic Were Real. And it's definitely aimed at the Young Adult audience.
But both good.



Oh wait. This isn't a book-talk thread, it's a word-game thread. Right.


Ends in i? Second time you've done this in a row, lol, let me think a bit.

Well, let's go with a classic.

Igor, (of the many Igors) from Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series. A recurring family of characters, take your pick as to which!

Nice, nice! I like fantasy too.
"N" characters... there are so many, but one of my favorites has to be

"Nile" who is the main character of The Demon Breed, by James H Schmitz.

I think it's technically sci-fi? But it takes place on one planet, without much future-tech, so honestly it feels more like a fantasy, ha ha ha. The "demon breed" of the title doesn't actually exist, which amuses me.
Nile is someone working for a large pharmaceutical company, and one of her research scientists who has a lab on a type of floating biomass that mimics an island? Well, he hasn't checked in.
So she goes to find out what has happened, with her trusty sidekicks (two genetically enhanced sea otters), and then has to deal with what happened, and rescue the scientist.

It's really really fun.

I guess I'd classify it as an "adventure" story more than anything?

Only read if you don't mind spoilers, and I'll explain the title:

That author was one of my childhood favorites. The Witches of Karres made me want to grow up to be Goth. Then when I got to be older than Goth (the name of one of the characters; she's about 12, I think?) I wanted to be Goth's mother, Toll.
(Yes, yes. Weird name choices. Look past that, the book is STILL a favorite.)