More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character
-
Since I read Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower my desire for fantasy light novels with cooking elements and a female main character grows more and more. I previously read the first volume of Cooking With Wild Game and also tried out Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, but both novels couldn't convince me. Maybe it was because the main characters were both male and romance was missing (at least in Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill) or maybe because I didn't have the feeling during the cooking scenes that I want to eat these dishes too. What I want is something similar to Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower. Something with the right mix of fantasy, romance and cooking, like for example Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (by the same author of Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower) and Fake Cinderella. I'm craving so much for especially these two novels.
It would be really nice, if we could get more of such novels for the Heart label in the future (though for now I'm very satisfied with only Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower). To all female readers/translators/editors (male readers/translators/editors are welcome as well), how do you see that? Do you also want more of such novels in the future? Which novels with these settings would especially interests you?💖Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn - then be a unicorn!💖
-
@liber-monstrorum
I would like to read more cooking genre light novels, particularly ones that are mostly fluff or low stakes.
I thought Campfire Cooking was like that until it turned out the main character had no moral qualms about becoming a slave owner. I like Cooking with Wild Game, but it is a bit too tense and high stakes for me to enjoy it as much as I'd like to.
So, if I was going to read another cooking series, I'd like it to be set in a world without slavery, and I'd like it to be lighthearted. I'd like it to focus a bit more on the nuances of food and maybe experiment with the pros and cons of different approaches. Like if you use a different type of chocolate, you get a different result. And maybe some travel or farming involved. Like American Test Kitchen In Space with produce from the space greenhouse and views of the Earth or something.
-
@strangeattractor Hmm, I'm a bit more on the dramatic side. Without a little bit drama something is missing for me. So completely lighthearted novels are unfortunately an absolute no-go for me (with the exception of gaming novels).
-
@liber-monstrorum said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
Since I read Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower my desire for fantasy light novels with cooking elements and a female main character grows more and more[....] What I want is something similar to Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower. Something with the right mix of fantasy, romance and cooking, like for example Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (by the same author of Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower) and Fake Cinderella. I'm craving so much for especially these two novels.
It would be really nice, if we could get more of such novels for the Heart label in the future (though for now I'm very satisfied with only Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower)Yes please! All of these series! I love this sort of thing and would love to see more of this type of story licensed
“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
-
If you want female protagonist + fantasy + romance + cooking, this upcoming LN from Cross Infinite World might interest you:
Only thing is that it sounds like it might be more lighthearted and not have a lot of drama. (I'm not familiar with the novel itself; this is just based on the premise.)
Honestly, Cooking with Wild Game does already have fantasy + romance + cooking + drama, so the only thing that one is missing is the female main character. Might be worth continuing on with that one anyway, if what you want is cooking-related drama.
Personally, I am all for some fantasy romance cooking with little to no drama. Slice-of-life and cooking go well together and it'd definitely be nice to have more of that with female MCs. Trying to limit the fairly specific combination of female MC + fantasy + romance + cooking further with drama would probably be a bit too restrictive.
-
For manga, I can recommend Sweetness and Lightning.
-
50 Tea recipes from the Duchess is good if you like webcomics.
-
@lily-garden said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
@liber-monstrorum said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
Since I read Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower my desire for fantasy light novels with cooking elements and a female main character grows more and more[....] What I want is something similar to Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower. Something with the right mix of fantasy, romance and cooking, like for example Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (by the same author of Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower) and Fake Cinderella. I'm craving so much for especially these two novels.It would be really nice, if we could get more of such novels for the Heart label in the future (though for now I'm very satisfied with only Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower)
Yes please! All of these series! I love this sort of thing and would love to see more of this type of story licensed
I hope J-Novel Club will license them. They have a connection to both publishers, so the chances aren't that low. I think it's also a plus point for Sugar Apple Fairy Tale that we already have a novel by the same author. If Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower sells well, we might actually get Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. One of the recent examples of this would be The Emperor's Lady-in-Waiting is Wanted as a Bride. We probably wouldn't have gotten it, if I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! wouldn't sell well. After all, if a series by an author does sell bad, there isn't much interest to start another of their series in most cases, at least I made the experience. Same with Her Majesty's Swarm and Villainess: Reloaded! Blowing Away Bad Ends with Modern Weapons.
@stardf29 said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
If you want female protagonist + fantasy + romance + cooking, this upcoming LN from Cross Infinite World might interest you:
Only thing is that it sounds like it might be more lighthearted and not have a lot of drama. (I'm not familiar with the novel itself; this is just based on the premise.)
Honestly, Cooking with Wild Game does already have fantasy + romance + cooking + drama, so the only thing that one is missing is the female main character. Might be worth continuing on with that one anyway, if what you want is cooking-related drama.
Personally, I am all for some fantasy romance cooking with little to no drama. Slice-of-life and cooking go well together and it'd definitely be nice to have more of that with female MCs. Trying to limit the fairly specific combination of female MC + fantasy + romance + cooking further with drama would probably be a bit too restrictive.
This sounds interesting and isn't the artist the same as in Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower? I will definitely look into it.
💖Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn - then be a unicorn!💖
-
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear has the LN trope of introducing Earth dishes to the natives, but cooking is only a minor part of the series despite the lengths the MC goes to to get fresh seafood :)
It's fun like classic FUNA, so I recommend it for the non-cooking parts too.
-
@db0ssman said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
50 Tea recipes from the Duchess is good if you like webcomics.
This one is no novel, but what I like about it is that it's serious about the culinary aspect. I don't know if there really are 50 tea recipes in it, but the variety presented is enough for a reader to start their own tea tasting adventure. The MC is first and foremost a tea enthusiast and entrepreneur.
Meanwhile with something like The Banished Villainess! Living the Leisurely Life of a Nun Making Revolutionary Church Food I feel that the cooking is secondary despite being in the title. It's mostly about the personal relationships.
-
I've definitely enjoyed Restaurant to Another World, which is definitely a fantasy/cooking novel which sometimes has romance. It's anthology nature means no "real" main character but there's often female point of view characters. Possibly a bit light hearted for you since there's no overarching plot itself, just small character subplots advancing, but there is improvement in individual characters (mostly from vol 2 onwards though).
-
@georgemto said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
I've definitely enjoyed Restaurant to Another World, which is definitely a fantasy/cooking novel which sometimes has romance. It's anthology nature means no "real" main character but there's often female point of view characters. Possibly a bit light hearted for you since there's no overarching plot itself, just small character subplots advancing, but there is improvement in individual characters (mostly from vol 2 onwards though).
I read the sample chapter on kindle and found it a little slow, but that might have been my mood.
I liked the anime though -- the visuals and pacing made it more interesting to me. There isn't one female main character but there are several of them in the cast with story arcs over more than one episode.
-
@harmlessdave For perspective on the anime, each "dish" which got half an episode each, is one of the 20+ chapters in each volume.
It is certainly slow paced a lot of the time though. They need to ground you in each character before introducing you to either them meeting the restaurant, or just how much the weekly restaurant visitAlso vol 1 is a bit weak overall to me because
-
@georgemto - I guess it's like Wandering Witch where people tell me to put up with the first volume to enjoy the later ones :)
-
Try the Manga Isekai de Café o Kaiten Shimashita. Only 28 chapters released at the moment. But it pretty much hits all the things you're looking for.
-
@liber-monstrorum said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
@stardf29 said in More fantasy/romance/cooking novels with a female main character:
If you want female protagonist + fantasy + romance + cooking, this upcoming LN from Cross Infinite World might interest you:
Only thing is that it sounds like it might be more lighthearted and not have a lot of drama. (I'm not familiar with the novel itself; this is just based on the premise.)
This sounds interesting and isn't the artist the same as in Culinary Chronicles of a Court Flower? I will definitely look into it.
So now that I've finished reading it, scratch my earlier comment. There's actually a solid drama aspect to the story, so yeah, definitely what you were asking for all around.
Edit: I should add, I rather enjoyed the first volume. It has some fun fantasy elements, and while the romance isn't too much of a focus, it has an amusing element for reasons. Definitely looking forward to reading more.
MAL
Beneath the Tangles (the blog I write for) -
@stardf29 I'm glad that you like it. Unfortunately we still need to wait around two weeks for the start of the next volume.
-
@stardf29 - I just finished I Will Cook With My Fully Friends and second the recommendation for it.
If someone gets the Kindle sample and thinks it will all be like that, then relax. It starts out as a serious drama that might remind you of I Refuse to Be Your Enemy or White Cat's Revenge but switches rather quickly to the lighter, fluffier content while still keeping some drama.
The heroine is smarter, stronger and wiser than many of them in these kinds of LNs, while still having a sweet and silly side.
-
I definitely would like to see Sugar Apple Fairy Tale and Fake Cinderella getting licensed. They are the right mix of fantasy, romance and a bit of cooking. Furthermore the dishes in these novels are quite interesting, especially in Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. I never knew about sugar skulptures until I read the fan translation of the first volume. The sugar used for these sculptures is made from special apples and has an interesting effect on fairies.
It‘s similar with Free Life Fantasy Online. The item-crafting in this novel consists mostly of cooking and the ingredients are often purely fantasy items. It‘s interesting and quite exiting imagining eating such exotic food and how it tastes. I don‘t know if it‘s only me, but I‘m always getting hungry while reading the cooking parts in such novels. The best and most recent example for me would be Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, I really enjoy reading it!
So I sincerely hope J-Novel Club will soon license Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, Fake Cinderella and Free Life Fantasy Online (though it‘s no romance novel). They surely would be a very good addition to J-Novel Club‘s library. -
@goldenmoonbutterfly - you can add new suggestions here - https://forums.j-novel.club/category/13/licensing-suggestions
...but read the top post first, and check for existing topics like this - https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/1694/sugar-apple-fairy-tale-suggestion-for-jnc-heart/1
If the topic already exists you can add your up vote to the first post in the topic, and add any reply or comments that you want.
