THE BUZZWORDS THAT INSTANTLY MAKE ME AVOID A BOOK! #BookList #TTT #TopTenList #TopTen #Books #Readers #Reading

https://rissiwrites.com/2026/03/the-buzzwords-that-instantly-make-me-avoid-a-book.html

25 Modern Classics That’ll Actually Wreck You (In the Best Way)

https://findsbydavidblog.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/25-modern-classics-thatll-actually-wreck-you-in-the-best-way/

Fantasy with Friends: Underrated Fantasy Books

Briana and Krysta at Pages Unbound are hosting a fantasy discussion meme this year called Fantasy with Friends. Since fantasy is my favorite genre, I thought it would be fun to take part. This week, their question is:

What is an underrated fantasy book you would recommend?

Considering I tend to read off the beaten path, most of the fantasy I’ve read is probably underrated. I’ve been reading fantasy for over 20 years, so probably a lot of the books I read back when I was a teen? It’s kind of amazing to see how fantasy has evolved since the 80s and 90s.

One of the early fantasy series I read has always felt like one of the more underrated of the author’s series. Readers tend to think of the Alanna when Tamora Pierce is mentioned, which I enjoyed as long as I read the first and last books. But I adored her Circle of Magic quartet, even to this day. My copies are probably close to falling apart, but I can’t bear to part with them. While I’m pretty sure Lark and Rosethorn, the two women caring for four orphaned and abandoned children with particular magics, were lesbians, there’s no focus on romance, which makes sense since these were written for children! Instead, it focused on the friendship between these four very different kids from different walks of life and the siblinghood they formed.

Jumping forward a bit, well, it’s probably most of the books I read. When I was in high school, there was no Goodreads and I definitely hadn’t even heard of Amazon yet. I didn’t even really start using the Internet until college in the early 2000s, so I literally had no clue what books were out there unless they were stocked in the bookstore and library. There were no reviews to peruse, and none of my peers were reading adult fantasy (some years ago, I did share the books that were popular when I was in high school…that I mostly didn’t read). My favorite turned out to be the The Watershed trilogy by Douglas Niles. Today, I don’t actually remember a whole lot, but it felt like quintessential fantasy. There were dark lands and evil beings and magical waters. There was romance and friendship. There were adventures and danger. I loved these books. They were so much fun to read. I remember the story and world building being relatively easy to follow, so, if you’re looking for old underrated fantasy, this series might be fun.

I ended up taking a long break from reading fantasy between college and when I became a mom for the second time, basically when I started book blogging. I had grown dissatisfied with fantasy and nothing was really piquing my interest. But, thanks to book blogging, I’ve enjoyed so many different kinds of fantasy books, from indie authors to traditionally published books.

I can’t fail to mention two fantasy authors I absolutely love (and, no, it’s not just because I’ve been a faithful reader of their blogs and have been following their author journeys for years!).

Jennifer M. Zeiger’s Hidden Mythics series only has two books so far, but she’s hard at work on the third. They’re perfect for YA and adult readers, with friendship and romance and family drama. But it’s the world building that gets me every single time. I’m in complete awe of how beautiful it is and how it manages to transport me. I normally see the settings in vivid color no matter what book I read, but these make me feel like I’m literally standing there with the characters. The attention to detail is incredible, and I always think these books are worthy of being traditionally published.

Lucia Damisa’s A Desert of Bleeding Sand series gets me in the heart every time. The third book is due to be published soon, and I am on pins and needles after the way the second book ended. I have a soft spot for African-inspired fantasy, and these books absolutely live up to every expectation. The romance is gorgeous, and yet these aren’t romantasy novels. There’s danger and war and enemies infiltrating. There’s friendship and family and loss. There are tenuous ties that are tested at every turn. These characters are stunning. And, yes, I know I mentioned Lucia’s books last time with the religion question, but, like Jennifer’s books, I’ll take every opportunity to mention them.

Other than those, I would have to say the Captain Kit Brightling books by Chloe Neill, especially for readers who enjoy Napoleonic and regency era books. Considering this series was basically canceled after 2 books, I’d say they definitely weren’t popular. And yet I had so much fun with them. They were exactly the light kind of reads I needed during the pandemic. These books are light, fluffy fantasy, blending RJ Barker’s The Bone Ships series and Jane Austen’s novels, a really fun blend that spoke to my fantasy and classics loving heart.

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THE BOOKS ON THE ANNUAL SPRING 2026 TO-BE-READ LIST. #BookList #TBR #SpringTBR #TopTen #TopTenList

https://rissiwrites.com/2026/03/books-on-the-annual-spring-2026-tbr-list.html

TEN OF THE GREEN BOOK COVERS FOR ST. PATRICKS DAY. #StPatricksDay #GreenBooks #TopTenList #BookList

https://rissiwrites.com/2026/03/ten-of-the-green-book-covers-for-st-patricks-day.html

#BookThreads #booksky 💙📚 #bookstodon TCL’s #TopTenTuesday - GREEN Book Covers! - March 17, 2026. This week's theme, set by Jana @ArtsyReaderGirl is Green book covers for St. Patrick's Day. Find out which #Books I'm highlighting this time, on my #bookblog here. #bookmemes #booklist #TTT

http://tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/03/17/tcls-toptentuesday-green-book-covers-march-17-2026/

As International Women’s Day nears, I’ve been preparing a book list for classics written by women. Luckily, a list of 100 of these exists on Book Riot and so I've been using that to plan my next reads. I’m at 4/100

Drop some recommendations in the comments if you have any, whether they’re considered “classics” or not. I am also working on building a “general” or “modern” book list for titles by women as well.

https://hopfieldiswriting.com/2026/03/07/a-garden-of-womens-writing/

#InternationalWomensDay #WomenWriters #BookList

QUOTES ABOUT AND FROM BOOKS WE LOVE. #BookQuotes #Quotes #Books #TopTenList #BookList

https://rissiwrites.com/2026/03/quotes-about-and-from-books-we-love.html