Books that feel the same as Winter's Orbit

November 1, 2021 9:15 AM

I've been rereading Winter's Orbit a fair bit as it is the kind of comfort read I want. What are other books that will scratch the same itch? I particularly like the "they both mean well but misunderstand each other" trope that this book was full of and am looking for this especially.

Doesn't need to be SFF; if it is SFF, I don't care about worldbuilding. Does need to have that fanfic/tropey feel (arranged marriage, only one bed, emotional hurt/comfort etc; I'm not necessarily needing these specific tropes). No shifter/werewolf/alien romance. As a rule, I want at least one important non-male character, so M/M is fine if there is a major secondary character (Bel here just barely made it), and any other combination of M/F/NB is fine. I don't object to overt sex scenes but also fade to black is ok. I don't want the characters to have to learn to get past racism/sexism/etc, alpha romance, etc.

I have read everything by T. Kingfisher already, which isn't quite the right fit, for what it's worth. Some of Courtney Milan's work has come closer.

Other books that have been comfort rereads for similarish feelings in the past include, but are not limited to: The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner; The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery; In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (yes I realise there is some non human dynamic in this one, but that feels different than shifter/etc).

I just read it, but I'm fairly sure The Hands of the Emperor will hit this as well, though I'd prefer a book that is not 1000 pages long. I'm almost certain that the upcoming A Marvellous Light will hit a similar itch.

posted by jeather to Writing & Language (12 answers total)

These are both romance authors but I really like Sarah MacLEan and Eloisa James, in ways that seem sort of related to what you are talking about. Both have series that have a really strong theme that they're organized about.
posted by mercredi at 10:15 AM on November 1, 2021

I also had a lot of trouble getting over Winter’s Orbit and the only recommendation I received that scratched the same itch for me was The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It’s an M/M fantasy novel, originally written in Chinese but the first volume of the official English translation is being published in December. (Amazon seems to think it’s manga for some reason, but it’s not).

It meets most of your criteria, especially the misunderstanding trope, but it’s quite long and doesn’t really have any major female characters. The TV adaptation (The Untamed, which is on Netflix) did an amazing job taking minor female characters from the book and greatly expanding their roles though.
posted by eirin at 10:30 AM on November 1, 2021

Have you read much Melissa Scott? I'd start with Five-Twelfths of Heaven or maybe Lost Things. Both are the first books in shortish series.
posted by clew at 11:16 AM on November 1, 2021

Hear me out: Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper series. Ignore the cheesy covers, and the outline of the worldbuilding (space! vampires! and werewolves!) That is all nonsense and has nothing to do with the feel of the story, which is perfectly in the realm of lovely people doing their best, which is also a genre that I adore and seek more of.
posted by gideonfrog at 1:04 PM on November 1, 2021

I love this feel of book too! Many of the ones I was going to suggest have some of your nopes in them, but maybe AJ Demas's novellas? One NIght in Boukos is a standalone, then there's a three-part series in the same setting, starting with Sword Dance.
If you're OK with YA fantasy, The Last Mage Guardian by Sabrina Chase and The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Hunter both have good-tropey vibes to me.
posted by Shark Hat at 1:05 PM on November 1, 2021

I love that eirin mentioned Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and The Untamed, because I'm currently in the middle of my 2.5th rewatch of The Untamed on Youtube. I also recommend Heaven Official's Blessing, another Mo Xiang Tong Xiu novel. It's true though, both novels are light on non-male characters.

Kristin Cashore's Graceling series is a comfort read for me in the same way that Winter's Orbit is. I think it meets all your criteria.
posted by henuani at 5:18 PM on November 1, 2021

I enjoyed Winter's Orbit too. You might like Celia Lake: magical Edwardian world, reasonably light, some diversity, good relationships, started as fan-fic but does not have the misunderstanding trope as far as I remember. You might also like KJ Charles: darker, often has hurt-comfort trope, lots of diversity, usually M/M, maybe start with the Subtle Blood trilogy which has some misunderstanding and two important secondary women characters, though "getting past" classism is a bit of a thing so may not work for you.

I also wondered about Bujold's Penric's Demon series, which feels tropey in the possession set-up, a bit like an arranged marriage.

You could also search Smart Bitches for misunderstanding if it's that specific trope you are after.
posted by paduasoy at 12:54 AM on November 2, 2021

Thank you for the recommendations, in particular people who suggest a specific book to read and not just an author. (Searching for one kind of trope doesn't work, it's the feel of the misunderstanding that mattered, not just the misunderstanding.) I will be working through them.

I was correct, A Marvellous Light hit a very similar (though in some ways, quite different) tone. Note that it has explicit sex.
posted by jeather at 10:19 AM on November 4, 2021

Specific book for Celia Lake would probably be Goblin Fruit, which does contain a misunderstanding.
posted by paduasoy at 3:12 PM on November 4, 2021

So I have been reading through some of the authors -- KJ Charles in particular has been successful. I have also realised that what I am looking for is "Here is this secret shame I have from my past, oh, my friends do not hate me for it", (conveniently happens for both Jainan AND Bel in the book! double my enjoyment), so though I have not quite gotten around to searching for that, in part because I'm not sure what the term to search for is, I'm more satisfied with my other reading.
posted by jeather at 9:16 AM on December 6, 2021

I've just read Alexandra Rowland's A Taste of Gold and Iron, and it made me think of your description. It's more "this secret shame I have about my mental health, oh, my friends do not hate me for it", but it might work for you. The first chapter is online.
posted by paduasoy at 3:09 AM on September 20, 2022

That is a truly excellent rec, which I can confirm as I have already read the book, as well as the post canon fic the author put up on AO3. A strange and stubborn endurance by foz Meadows also hit the right notes, and I will just keep reading more original romance by fanfic authors.
posted by jeather at 5:17 PM on October 6, 2022