General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests)

Libri Liberorum

@verified_tinker said in Min-Maxing My TRPG Build Vol. 7:

Ah, that was great but more an intermission than anything else, and it has left me hungering for more.

Can anyone recommend similar series? I've tried going through J-Novel's catalog, but it's chock-full of crappy fan fiction that somehow got published. This and Bookworm are the only two I know that:

don't take themselves too seriously;

have the decency to at least try hiding the wish fulfillment behind fun characters and an engaging plot.

I recommend: Tearmoon Empire, Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie (manga, contemporary setting), Apothecary Diaries, Altina the Sword Princess, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (A.K.A. Bakarina. Triggered an entire subgenre. In my opinion, went from brilliant to meh after the primary plot arc finished in vol 3.)

Dahlia in Bloom didn't quite hold my attention, but others like it, and it fits your criteria.

The Scholomance series is brilliant and has a light novel sort of flavour, but is English language original, and not on JNC.

verified_tinker

@Libri-Liberorum Thanks for the list! I did go through a few volumes of Apothecary Diaries and Dahlia in Bloom, but as you said, they were too plotless to hold my attention. Tearmoon Empire was fun, and so was Bakarina, but not quite what I'd been looking for. I recall taking a peek at the Deadly Education because I enjoyed another of Novik's books but didn't keep going. Will give it another try, though.

As for Sometimes Reality Is a Lie and Altina the Sword Princess, I've never heard of them. I'll give 'em a look.

Thanks again.

Asthma_Queen

Wondering if anyone has series recommendations for isekai'd or fantasy that MC deals with gods of their world, challenging them, becoming one etc.

Without specifically getting into titles that I've been reading that dabble in those themes due to spoilers, it's a theme that has given me more interest than others and curious what sort of stories might be on jnc or other places.

Lily Garden

@Asthma_Queen well the only thing that comes to mind right now is

spoiler

myskaros

@Asthma_Queen Some titles that immediately come to mind:

So I'm a Spider, So What?
The Faraway Paladin
Arifureta
The Misfit of Demon King Academy
Failure Frame

GeorgeMTO

@Asthma_Queen for the same reason it's hard for you to mention what you've already read, it's also hard to suggest them. I'll throw a few series that involve the MC interacting directly with gods that I've read under this spoiler. They each deal with it in different ways though

spoiler

Asthma_Queen

@Lily-Garden thanks ya I didn't think about using a spoiler tag. I've read this one and enjoyed it alot

Asthma_Queen

@GeorgeMTO thanks for the suggestions! I didn't consider using a spoiler tag some of these are new titles too me so I will check them out for sure!

Asthma_Queen

@myskaros I will try checking some of the ones I've not read out!

Azarchius

Anyone can recommend similar to The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom? It started slow, but I love the way it treats its characters and plot. I'd love to read something like it--and like what it promises to slowly build towards--that has plenty of volumes out to catch up on.

To give an example of what I'm not looking for, pretty much The Mythical Hero's Otherworld Chronicles. It's not the chuuni elements that are the big problem, but the lack of... well, any grounded feeling . The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom feels very grounded--the last arc was splendid and precisely what I'm looking for. The delivery on the action and especially the thriller and tense periods were fantastic.

Lily Garden

@Azarchius obvious answer, have you read Bookworm? That probably has the best deliberate world building and slow build up of any series on JNC

Other than that, maybe The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist as that feels like a grounded story to me

You could try Faraway Paladin, I think it falls within your parameters...

Let me know if you check them out and if they were they kind of story you were looking for

Dawnaxis

@Azarchius I haven’t read “The Conquerer from a Dying Kingdom” yet, so I could very easily be missing the mark here. But “The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt” might possibly match the tone you are looking for. It’s a non-isekai fantasy story, with a setting that omits magic, stats, or skills (so not a particularly fantastical fantasy setting, just one that differs from our own world). It has plenty of more lighthearted comedy elements, but the actual challenges faced by the main cast are fairly grounded in nature, as are their methods for trying to meet those challenges. And it currently has 10+ novels in english to get caught up on.

Beyond that, I would second @Lily-Garden’s suggestions for “The Faraway Paladin” as well “Ascendence of a Bookworm”, if you haven’t already given them a try.

Azarchius

@Lily-Garden said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

@Azarchius obvious answer, have you read Bookworm? That probably has the best deliberate world building and slow build up of any series on JNC

Other than that, maybe The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist as that feels like a grounded story to me

You could try Faraway Paladin, I think it falls within your parameters...

Let me know if you check them out and if they were they kind of story you were looking for

Read both Bookworm and Faraway Paladin, enjoyed both a lot indeed! I'll try the third one, thanks!

@Dawnaxis said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

@Azarchius I haven’t read “The Conquerer from a Dying Kingdom” yet, so I could very easily be missing the mark here. But “The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt” might possibly match the tone you are looking for. It’s a non-isekai fantasy story, with a setting that omits magic, stats, or skills (so not a particularly fantastical fantasy setting, just one that differs from our own world). It has plenty of more lighthearted comedy elements, but the actual challenges faced by the main cast are fairly grounded in nature, as are their methods for trying to meet those challenges. And it currently has 10+ novels in english to get caught up on.

Already tried it a few years ago but dropped it around vol 11 I think. Thanks anyway!

Fraeduu

Hey, first time reaching out on the forum over here. I don't suppose anyone might have some insight or recommendations for series with a female protagonist but no male love interest? Growing a bit tired of it ^^

geetop

@Fraeduu

Kinda feel that in Apothecary Diaries the FMC doesn’t have any romantic interests herself (or at least that she is honest about) it is more about her involvement with little mysteries that she solves.

kuali

@Fraeduu Apart from a few explicitly lesbian series, I don't know of many. Most of the others have a love interest or someone who will eventually become one, even if it'll take a long time.

Probably the closest of the JNC series that comes to mind is Making Magic - a lead that's eternally trapped before puberty, and a cast that's heavily female. 6 1/2 books in and nothing remotely resembling a romance.

Or Passing Beast Tamer, where the MC is utterly obsessed with fluffy animals and has no real desires beyond hoarding and petting fluff.

Next up would be Prison Life is Easy for a Villainess - the MC is engaged at the start and at the end, but those are political matches, not love ones. And there is no romance involved on the MC's part either time.

Then there's Death's Daughter and the Ebony Blade, which, despite a few close calls - even looking like the central trio might turn into a love triangle for a bit - looks like it'll probably end without any romantic pairings in the main cast. That one might be a little too close to the line for you.

Fraeduu

@kuali Thank you so much for those! As for a series that's explicitly lesbian, I wouldn't mind that at all if you had some ideas in that regard!

@geetop I was thinking about that! Though the later volume covers sort of give me the vibe that there's a romantic interest being pushed? Not sure how caught up you are to know if that might be the case?

HarmlessDave

@Fraeduu JNC titles:

Seriously Seeking Sister - silly fun one-volume, the Abilities Average of vampire princess novels.

Reincarnated as My Gag Character - the MC was born male, but as I read on it seemed clear to me that they were and are happier as a female.

The Invincible Little Lady - might eventually get a love interest like it or not, but that seems a ways off.

I'll also second the recommendation for Making Magic.

Non-JNC:

I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years -- as usual, the LN is much better than the anime.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear - it's bearrific ʕ•ܫ•ʔっ, and much much better than the rushed anime that crammed 5 volumes into one season, cutting out many of the fun moments and making random changes.

FUNA's 80,000 Gold and Abilities Average are both romance-free. As usual, they failed with the Abilities anime. I haven't seen the 80,000 Gold anime so I can't say how it compares to the novels.

geetop

@Fraeduu said in General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):

@geetop I was thinking about that! Though the later volume covers sort of give me the vibe that there's a romantic interest being pushed? Not sure how caught up you are to know if that might be the case?

I am current on all the volumes of Apothecary Diaries and the FMC certainly has a young man greatly interested and she is certainly aware of it; she just doesn't firmly move on it (this is not a clueless romance story - I think of it as very slow moving; she has known the person about two years I think and is now about 19).

I think the story is very much in line with Maomao's personality and I like the gentle progression of romance (I would guess that the first 4-5 volumes are safe for you to read). It takes quite a few volumes to get to this point. It is my favorite JNC series so I am very biased towards it.

Dawnaxis

@Fraeduu , this is something I’ve looked for myself from time to time. There’s been some great titles mentioned already that I’m happy to second. And some of the titles below might not be what you are looking for regardless, despite the MC’s gender and a lack of male love interests. Still, in the spirit of “toss out everything and see what sticks”:

JNC:

Otherside Picnic: Great story, and both main characters (the two sides of the romance) are both female.
Her Marjesty’s Swarm: As best as I can recall, there is no romance of any kind at all during the story, not even a one-sided one directed at the MC. However, it is a fairly grimmer/more bleak story than most light novels (or at least the ones I typically read).
Gear Drive: Downside with this title is that it seems stuck on “indefinite hiatus” with just one published volume. But of what is available, no romance so far, and something I’ve returned to and read more than once. Still, it’s more just the opening to the greater tale than a full story in its own right.

Non-JNC:

“Bofuri: I don’t want to get hurt, so I’ll max out my defense!” Just some friends playing a game online, very chill, but an infectious sense of joy and no romance so far.
So I’m a Spider, So What?: Granted, much of the lack of romance can be attributed to the fact the MC is a spider, but she still identifies as a female spider. There are some subplots where other characters (male or female) are the view point character, a few of which include a romantic element of some kind. (I realize alternate viewpoints are common in many light novels, but they comprise a lot of this series - maybe about half the series, although the individual volumes can skew one direction or the other).

Just a few more to consider, if you’re still looking for additional options. I wish I had more to add myself, because it’s also something I’ve wished for.