I did my list on things I want to see less of in books, and here’s my list of things I want to see more of in books. This list is entirely personal, catered to my taste in books, and is in no way meant to make you feel like your taste is books is wrong or bad.
1 – Thieves/Assassin and Criminal Guilds in a Medieval Setting
I need more of this without there being fae involved. Give me a good thief drama that evolves into a kingdom-shaking plot. Give me sassy, smart thieves and clever assassins who must work together in order to stop some evil plot by some villain. Basically, I want the first two books of Throne of Glass, but without all the fae and magic. Okay, but add just a little magic.
2 – Bromance
Give me best friends who have a deep, unbreakable friendship. Make it platonic. Not every deep friendship has to turn into romance.
3 – Slow burn that’s actually slow burn
If they kiss less than 70% into the story, it’s not slow burn. Give me yearning, romance, and the building of a relationship that isn’t based on lust and sexual interest.
I was reading a fantasy series this past year, and the main couple had already had sex multiple times. Halfway through book 2, the majority of which was them having sex, that FMC says “I wish I knew you better,” or something along those lines. I had to set my kindle down. I think that was the real point at which I stopped reading that series.
4 – Worlds where men and women can be warriors
I’m tired of these “women can’t wear pants or hold a sword” worlds. Give the the fantasy worlds were it’s normal and acceptable for women to be warriors and for men to be soft. Let women be battle-hardened, and let men be book-smart and shy. Stop with these overly sexist fantasy cultures.
5 – Worlds where gender and sexuality isn’t a huge deal
I believe in writing the world as we would like it to be, not like we think it is. I want more stories were non-straight characters are treated just the same, and they exist as they are, and it’s not a this major cultural ordeal when a character is gay. I like the stories and worlds where it’s just how it is, folded neatly and cohesively into the world.
*That’s not to say that the coming-out stories don’t have a place, or that stories about being gay in a world that doesn’t see you the same don’t have a place. They do. They just aren’t for me.
6 – High Fantasy setting without a ton of magic
I want the medieval settings with the blacksmiths, the alchemists, the criminal guilds, the kings and queens, princes and princesses, but I don’t want a ton of magic overpowering the plot. I like magic, but I want less of it. I want a more person-drive story. I want more cleverness to save the day, and less “magic saves the day,” or the “MC learns to control their secret magic powers and save the day.”
7 – Gaslamp Fantasy
I love gaslamp. I’ve written several of them. It has the charm of steampunk without the overpowering world building and science. It’s gaslamps and horse-drawn carriages and telegraphs.
8. Arranged Marriage and Forced Proximity
I love these tropes, I love the premise. I know some readers hate these, but that’s how it goes. But I want more of these in the fantasy setting. Like the trope where the honorable guard or the righteous prince has to work with the heathen criminal to save the realm. MORE PLEASE.
9. Sci-fi horror
I need more. Always. Give me the rouge space ship, the abandoned colonies on the far flung edge of known space, give me murderous aliens, give me strange planets with lost culture and forgotten languages, give me space pirates who stumble into some alien infection. I want more “the thing,” and “Alien.”
10. Cozy Horror
I need more books that give me spooks without making me feel grossed out or icky or give me that panicked feeling, like when I think the dog in the story is going to die. Give me more The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. Give me spunky, realistic protagonists who approach a haunted house with a reasonable disposition.
11. More Ghost Hunting
I loved Episode Thirteen, and I want more. I want more books about ghost hunters hunting ghosts. I would love to be able to write that book. I’ve tried. It ended up more Fatal Frame than Ghost Hunters.
This has been my list of things I want more of. Note that it was longer than the previous list, “things I want less of in books.”
If you have recommendations for books that fit any of these, feel free to drop them in a comment.
Beatrice B. Morgan 