Sorry if anyone has already asked this, but do you have any recs for books that have similar vibes to the Simon Snow trilogy? I just finished awtwb and I feel like I need something to fill the hole in my chest. I know nothing will be exactly like it (or as good) but do you have anything that has the same intense human connection / yearning gays / fantasy / offbeat kind of feel? Or just books that feel similar to you personally for whatever reasons. The thing I’m mostly craving is the overwhelming connection between characters and how they navigate it, fantasy is also a plus. Does ANY of this make sense lmao
Good question! I also feel that vibe
Okay, so what I always rec for fans of Carry On/Simon Snow, is In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan.
It's the same concept of turning the tried and true fantasy tropes on their heads and knocking everything off kilter, it has great characters and character dynamics, and the endgame romance is somehow very complimentary to Snowbaz (I actually made a venn diagram of this once I can link if you don't mind spoilers haha). It's a standalone, it's very funny while also occasionally punching you right in the chest, and it remains my own personal cure for a Simon Snow hang over.
Otherwise:
The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopolus is a queer fantasy with a cult mystery at its core that's reminiscent of both The Mage in CO & the cult of AWTWB. It's also very much about changing friendships, identity, and how you deal with the future
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novak is the first of a series, and if you like a good magic school trope being played with and remade, you'll find something to like here. Plus, the main character deals a lot with destiny and her own power, and her interactions with the people who skirt the line between friend and ally are really interesting and fun to watch.
Once & Future by AR Capetta & Cory McCarthy definitely hits both "off beat" and "yearning gays", with some magic to boot. There's also a lot of talk of destiny, analyzation of relationships, and a bit of emotional yearning as well.
The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune is a bit of a stretch when it comes to vibes, but if you're looking for another weird story of a dumbass in a kind of magical world who rushes headfirst into everything he does and somehow doesn't realize he's been in love with someone for many years, this is a very fun, queer story you might like.
The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon is more secret magical lands, destiny, and something that's not quite enemies to lovers and which requires quite a bit of complicated yearning. Bonus: this is mlm with a trans protagonist!
When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey has magical friendship, very intense queer feelings/crushes, and starts with an accidental murder. It's probably the heaviest book on this list, because it deals a lot with sacrifice and connection and grief/depression, but, hey, so does Simon Snow.
A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson is a weirder one to rec, but! It is off beat, funny, surprising, surprisingly heavy, and very gay. I will say- don't judge it by the first 100 pages alone.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, if you want something a bit more adult and grounded. We've got a magical world, a queer main character with an on page romance (which is actually very, very cute), a whole bunch of character studies to give us some interesting people and interactions with each other and with the world, and god just so much yearning. This is a strange book, but the least "off beat".
