Must-Read Fantasy Romance Author
Fantasy is a genre that I don’t get into quite often. Unlike other genres, it demands a lot of attention and commitment from the reader. It asks you to believe in this completely made up world and to invest your feelings to an outlandish character. That’s why I’m not always in the mood to read fantasy. I need to be in a specific frame of mind where I can focus on learning the culture, the language, and everything else in the storyworld.
Because it takes so much effort on my part to read fantasy, it’s not something I deliberately go out and buy books for. That is until I found Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson. This author became my all-time favorite fantasy author.
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Tarien Soul series (finished)
Weathermages of Mystral series (on-going)
- Lord of the Fading Lands
- Lady of Light and Shadows
- King of Sword and Sky
- Queen of Song and Souls
- Crown of Crystal Flame
I auto-read all C.L. Wilson books
I don’t quite remember my reasoning for reading Lord of the Fading Lands, Book 1 of the Tarien Soul series. I just remember that I was looking for a fantasy novel that had very strong romance elements. I went into the book not really knowing what to expect and I was blown away.I quickly read through the rest of the series and immediately started on Winter King, the first book in her Weathermages of Mystral series. Loved that. More recently, she published the sequel, Sea King, last year in October. I had intended to write about it on my blog, but stuff happened.
After reading all her body of work, I’m now completely convinced that I would buy any book she writes.
See, at first, I was iffy about reading Winter King because it was a completely different world from the Tarien Soul series. But I ended up loving it. When I found out that the second book, Sea King, would be about a completely different couple, I second-guessed buying it. So, now, I’m just gonna stop reading the synopsis of her next books. Because I know that whatever it is, it’s going to be GOOD.
Why do I like C.L. Wilson, you ask?
1) It’s always EPIC.So many events happen in one book. Each novel is 180,000 - 235,000 words long. It should be boring, but it’s not. At times, especially in Sea King, when I was reading on my kindle, I thought, “Oh, is this the ending?” Only to realize that I was only halfway through the book.
Because of its length, you feel all the feels. From the start to finish, you really get to know the characters. You feel the crescendo and the decrescendo of their lives. Then, at the end of the book, you feel satisfied. That’s the emotion you always want to feel at the end of the story.
2) Worldbuilding is FANTASTIC.
The storyworlds of Tarien Soul and the Weathermages of Mystral are so unique. I’ve never read anything like it. For instance, in Tarien Soul, there are these creatures called “Tarien”. In my mind, they look kinda like jaguars with wings. Their souls are sometimes born in the Fae who live in lands that are mysteriously dying. Isn’t that so cool already?
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Hands down the best worldbuilding, in my opinion, is in Sea King. C.L. Wilson invented an entire sea-faring culture that feels real and solid. It is both familiar with all the mermaid feels, and unfamiliar with all the vampire feels (I’ll let you figure that out- read the book!). They even have a language! Along with rules of conjugation!
3) Storytelling is LYRICAL AF.
The writing reminds me of the feeling I get reading fairy tales. It feels ‘old’ (in a good sense) and wondrous at the same time. I always find myself knees deep into the story before even realizing it.
What’s her next book?
She’s working on Jaguar King, the third installment in the Weathermages of Mystral series. I’m a bit worried about when that’s going to come out. Because it Winter King was published in 2014, and the sequel just came out in 2017. I don’t know how long it’ll take her to write her next book, but I sure am going to wait patiently until it drops.
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