I felt that this would be a great way to learn a little bit about me and my favourite books!

This tag was originally created by Bree Hill.

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

Shock to absolutely no one, Harry Potter. But I would rather shoutout the fantasy book that got me back into reading when I was 16 and what kick-started this amazing reading journey I have been on.

That book is Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft! One of my all-time favourite books!

Plot: The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. Soon after arriving for his honeymoon at the Tower, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, Thomas Senlin, gets separated from his wife, Marya, in the overwhelming swarm of tourists, residents, and miscreants. Senlin is determined to find Marya, but to do so he’ll have to navigate madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theatres. He must survive betrayal, assassins, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find his wife, he will have to do more than just endure. This quiet man of letters must become a man of action.

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?

Ok, so I have a lot of favourite fantasy authors but I want to choose an author where my likelihood of survival is actually quite high! I am going to choose Stephanie Garber. I love her whimsical settings, and her interesting magic systems and I want a hot love interest who will fight anyone for me. Maybe a bit of enemies to lovers in there. NOT TOO INTENSE AS I HATE CONFRONTATION!

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

I am going to choose a highly underrated manga series that I have not seen enough hype for at all. It’s currently ongoing may possibly have an anime adaptation soon. I’m talking about Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End by Kanehito Yamada.

Plot: Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…

It’s still got great magical action-packed moments but it’s this series’ quieter moments that I love so much. This series values inter-personal connection and the mundane and accepting and celebrating those smaller moments in life and just being alive and how fortunate it is to be alive. UGH it’s so good!

What is your favourite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much of?

My favourite fantasy subgenre has to be Steampunk. I love steampunk so much and we just do not see enough of it!

I do not read much grim dark but I want to branch out and read some more.

Who are your auto-buy authors?

I am just going to list them for you.

• Josiah Bancroft
• Brandon Sanderson
• R.F. Kuang
• Nagabe
• T.J. Klune
• Olivie Blake

I have a lot of potential authors but I have either only read one of their books or plan on reading their books but just haven’t gotten round to it.

How do you typically find fantasy recommendations?

Before I became a bookseller it used to be twitter and YouTube. Various social media apps. TikTok has been giving me some solid recommendations. But now that I am a bookseller it comes naturally with the job. You just know more about books coming out and what sells well etc.

What upcoming fantasy releases are you excited for?

A new book from my favourite authors, a new book from my favourite series and a new book that I am super excited by.

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

That its bunch of long, complex and complicated books written by white men. People see Tolkien and Robert Jordan and then don’t look past that. There are some incredible fast-paced, easier-to-follow fantasy books by authors of colour, disabled authors, and queer authors that just aren’t promoted enough.

Here are some of my recent faves!

If someone had never read a fantasy book before, what 3 books would you choose to get them started.

Very hard to narrow this down and also hard to choose as it all depends of the person but here we go. Not including the books I have already mentioned.

I think these choices are easy to follow, super engaging stories that aren’t overly complicated.