If you refuse to read this, I can't help you + 3 criminally underrated series

I never needed convincing that reading Fantasy was for me. If you're a hyperactive, knobby-kneed, glasses-wearing little girl with oceans-deep levels of anxiety, you're apt to sink into worlds full of dragons, faeries, alternative universes, evil magicians, talking unicorns, etc.

I will first confess, if this is not already evident from my weekly email thus far, that I'm very much a genre-head. Sure, I'll read the literary fiction about your suburb-dwelling couple experiencing an existential mid-life crisis in tandem and all that stuff, but when it comes down to it, I prefer escaping into a book rather than pondering real life and all the tribulations that come with it.

That desire to look for truths in alternate universes is certainly not new to me, or even to this time and place. Since early days of human civilization (over 43,000 years ago!) we've seen characterizations of impossible creatures and magical circumstances. But today, in 2025, I still run into people who tell me: "I only read books I can learn from" or "I only want to read about real life."

First: Um, OK. Weird.

Second: I firmly disagree that you aren't learning something when you read Fantasy. Like with Horror, Fantasy can circle around and draw out terrific illustrations of societal woes without leaving the reader with a sense they just left a political lecture or badly-run town hall meeting. Also, if you're a writer, you learn by reading and reading widely, and that's just a "duh" thing (I've unfortunately heard this sentiment from writers too 😩).

Third: Science kind of says your wrong, especially as it relates to educational benefits for children.

In fact, reality is often unintuitive, forcing scientists to grapple with unlikely possibilities for how the world works. Fictional worlds that bear less resemblance to reality may help throw reality into sharper relief, making it easier for children to understand and hence learn new information.

Some people disagree; like this middle school teacher. The arguments against kids reading genre, like Fantasy, are often weak, imho. The New York Times wrote a great counterpoint to aforementioned middle school teacher (if you're very curious, and can't get past the paywall, please let me know and we'll figure out how to the CP to you). The main point being that Fantasy and other genre novels allow for people of all ages to experience the complicated, over-wrought nature of the real world in a comprehensible, safe environment. Plus its fun.

I suppose one may further respond: OK, it's good for children, but I'm an adult. I don't know then, guy. There are so many responses to this point: (1) your children are going to model what you're doing and reading; (2) we are all capable of continued learning until the very end of our lives; and (3) why you wouldn't want to inject some imagination into your life is beyond me. But, sure, go read Girl Wash Your Face for the 100th time or yet another book about World War II, I guess.

If you don't like Fantasy because you're not "learning anything," I need you to watch the movie Home and specifically the part when Oh finally "gets" what Vincent Van Gogh was telling us when he painted A Starry Night.

And, after doing this, if you remain unmoved? Well. I can't help you.

Anyway, I'm a tad crabby (obviously), so going to end the ranting part here. Below are three Fantasy series that I think are just wonderful and aren't 'viral' online. They're not all 5 Stars for me, but nothing lower than a 4, which means it's VERY good and imminently readable + enjoyable. Head's up: next week I'll be sharing a more detailed explanation of my rating system, but for now, I think you'll get the gist.

Reviews!

‘The Scholomance’ Series by Naomi Novik
Genre: Fantasy, Dark Academia
Rating: 10/5
Book Count: 3
Spice Level: 1 of 5
Super Short Synopsis: In this universe, magical children attract bad magical creatures ('maleficara' or 'mals' for short), but those kids have no real skills to defend themselves. So the magical parents decide the only way to give these kids even a 50/50 chance of survival is by sending them to the Scholomance; a school that is propped up by magical space-time and lots of protection spells, but where mals can still gain occasional access. Our FMC must generate her own power through various physical efforts in order to charge herself up; while others have a huge bank from which to draw thanks to their rich dads. Another kid seems to have a unique ability to kill mals with little effort and he saves a bunch of other kids. Shenanigans ensue.

Review: So this one was a slow-burn for me. I didn't LOVE it at first, I was . . . confused. It is a Fantasy novel first, full of the Dark Academia trope, but it is also very much off the beaten path. I can't think of a single book series just like this one. Naomi Novik is a genius, so perhaps that's why (I'm generally obsessed with her and will auto-buy anything she writes). The world-building is unusual, and it's a tad hard to fully grasp what's going on and why. At first. But the payoff is worth the effort, everything ties together and then you're just like 🤯.

The stakes are very high right off the bat. Because mals are very persistent and eager, our FMC is dealing with them from the start of the book. And constantly. We open the story to see her diligently check every corner, crevice, bit of food, clothing, etc. to make sure there isn't some evil little s**t lurking to eat her face off. It can border on the side of tiresome at times (at first), but I promise it stops just short of that. The underlying problem of this story is clearly drawn.

When the MMC comes into play, you just do NOT know what to think of him and neither does our FMC. But you will eventually come to appreciate this person and what he's going through very much. There is a hint of spice, but it's euphemistic and short and feels natural and inevitable. I would say this volume could still soundly fall in the YA category.

The ending is craaaaazzyyyyy. I couldn't read anything else for days after I finished this. It was the most satisfying story ending I've ever read (I mean ever, not just in Fantasy). But it also didn't feel cheap or forced. Real sacrifices are made.

Read. These. Now.

‘Dangerous Damsels’ Series by India Holton
Genre: Historical Romantasy, Victorian England
Rating: 4/5
Book Count: 4
Spice Level: 3/5
Super Short Synopsis: Flying pirate ships that are actually houses. Swashbuckling Victorian ladies and magical, hunky assassins. Kissing. Thievery and a funny interaction with Queen Victoria. Oh no, only one bed at the inn. I mean, come on, what more does one need?

Review: This series is such a romp. Best of all, we meet and fall in love with some cool, tough women, who almost always makes a book worthwhile to me. And the world-building is unique, very different from the typical witchy Victorian series we see today (btw, I like those too, this one is just special, because frankly, it's weird). Ultimately, I think this series is a Romantasy, as the main feature of the story is kissing (or pining for it), but it's also action-packed, crazy, off-the-wall while still existing in the stuffed-shirt time of Victorian England.

The men are swoony, the women are a catch, the dowagers are hilarious and make you'll slap your knee while you're laughing along with them. I wouldn't say this is going to like blow your mind or anything (like The Scholomance will), but these books are really great, fun, and should be getting more attention.

Basically: they're just real fun and a little spicy 😄.

‘Wayward Children’ Series by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Dark Academia
Rating: 4/5
Book Count: 13
Spice Level: 0/5
Super Short Synopsis: Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children is a place where children, teenagers, and young adults go when they return from the portal worlds they accidentally slipped into and which spat them out again. This school teaches them to adjust to real life again. In the first book, we encounter our FMC as she enters the School. In subsequent books, we meet the side characters of Book 1 before they enter the portals to their new universes. We then follow each character in its own book as each experiences their new surroundings. My favorite character in the whole series is Jack (if you read this, I bet you'll see why!)

Review: The theme today seems to be "These Books Are Weird, But In A Good Way" and this series fits right in. One of my favorite features is that the books deal with all sorts of different young identities, i.e., queer kids, disabled kids, neurodivergent kids, kids dealing with mental health issues, etc. navigating their world(s). I think the series is technically styled as adult because it's quite dark, but I think it's YA appropriate, honestly. There is no spice, and I think teenagers are probably dealing with the very issues presented here.

Wayward Children is extra cool because each character's world is wildly different from the others; so you almost get a whole 'new' story each time. And this feature also makes them stand alone in a way. All of the books are novella length; give or take 200 pages (so don't be too intimidated when you see there are 13 books in the series).

Seanan McGuire is a prolific author in the Fantasy and Science Fiction space, and I really find her writing to be top notch. Some of the characters you meet will be your favorite, some less so, but as I noted, you really can bounce around each story (worst case).

That's all I've got for you, I'm a tad less grumpy after finishing the reviews, but not enough to write a long send-off (good for you, eh?)

See you next week and read banned books,
Charlotte Chambers