For an environmental bent, the best Robin McKinley to start with might be Rose Daughter.
That's the thrill of living in the Hellmouth! There's a veritable cornucopia of fiends and devils and ghouls to engage ... Pardon me for finding the glass half-full.
Giles ,'Same Time, Same Place'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Dana - Dec 04, 2023 1:14:33 pm PST #27822 of 28095
"I'm useless alone." // "We're all useless alone. It's a good thing you're not alone."
-t - Dec 04, 2023 1:21:37 pm PST #27823 of 28095
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Maybe the Sharon Shinn series Elemental Blessings would appeal? The first one is Troubled Waters. It's fantasy with a pretty big romance element, actually structured a little like Bridgerton in that each book follows a character in what could be considered a family. Some of the magic is environmentally linked.
EtaContext - I had never heard of Sharon Shinn until I read a review of The Shuddering City a few months ago but she's been publishing since the 90s or maybe 80s and has won awards so maybe more well known to people who aren't me.
megan walker - Dec 04, 2023 1:42:44 pm PST #27824 of 28095
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
For what it's worth, I wouldn't have said I was into either dragons or Napoleonic wars, and I have really enjoyed the Temeraire books.
This is the first thing I've read that makes me want to pick up Naomi Novik again (after abandoning Uprooted years ago).
Jesse - Dec 04, 2023 1:50:02 pm PST #27825 of 28095
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Woot!
I will say, I think I don't like SFF in general, but I always like the authors/series that are specifically handed to me.
megan walker - Dec 04, 2023 2:04:23 pm PST #27826 of 28095
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
I will say, I think I don't like SFF in general, but I always like the authors/series that are specifically handed to me.
The Math Greek gave me the Neuromancer trilogy for my birthday and I started it but... let's just say my current nightstand is Agatha Christie and Dorothy Hughes.
bennett - Dec 04, 2023 2:26:14 pm PST #27827 of 28095
Maybe Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books? I don't remember how much the environment comes into play, but there's a lot of emphasis on balance and not changing things in one place that will screw up stuff elsewhere. At least that's how I remember it - it's been a Really long time.
-t - Dec 04, 2023 2:45:37 pm PST #27828 of 28095
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
That makes me want to recommend The Word for World is Forest, although I do not actually remember what it was about, but the title is awfully good. So take that for what it's worth.
juliana - Dec 04, 2023 2:52:50 pm PST #27829 of 28095
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
Honestly, if she's in organic agriculture, I'd give The Martian to her. SF not Fantasy, obv., but gripping.
megan walker - Dec 04, 2023 3:09:22 pm PST #27830 of 28095
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Honestly, if she's in organic agriculture, I'd give The Martian to her. SF not Fantasy, obv., but gripping.
That's an interesting idea. I think that went around her house when she was younger but I'm not sure she would have read it at the time.
Pix - Dec 04, 2023 5:01:18 pm PST #27831 of 28095
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
Since 90% of what I read is sci-fi/fantasy, I have SO many recs. Here are a few:
-The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (one of my favorite books from 2023)
-Leigh Bardugo's whole Shadow and Bone series or her Six of Crows series (both series start with the eponymous book)
-The entire Queen's Thief series, starting with The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
-Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
-Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
Given what you listed, she sounds like she's into Romantasy as a genre, and Fourth Wing / Iron Flame are solidly in that category. Most of my recs above have some romance woven in, but here are a couple more focused primarily on romance: Caraval by Stephanie Garber and Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series (starting with Red Queen).