The best books where love overcomes all obstacles

Marlayne Giron Author Of The Victor: A Tale of Betrayal, Love and Sacrifice
By Marlayne Giron

Who am I?

I have always loved fairytales, especially by Hans Christian Anderson. I love stories about underdogs and unlikely heroes triumphing over evil. Stories that tear at your heart in the best possible way. They communicate eternal truths about right and wrong, good and evil, through good story-telling because it sucks you in on an emotional level and brings your defenses down. 


I wrote...

The Victor: A Tale of Betrayal, Love and Sacrifice

By Marlayne Giron,

Book cover of The Victor: A Tale of Betrayal, Love and Sacrifice

What is my book about?

A benevolent king, his sword of power. A ruthless traitor bent on revenge and the faithful son who stands in his way with the woman destined to share his throne. Who shall emerge the victor in this epic battle between good and evil to rule the lives of hapless men?

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The books I picked & why

The Lord of the Rings

By J.R.R. Tolkien,

Book cover of The Lord of the Rings

Why did I love this book?

LOTR is the “gold standard” for high fantasy. Not only is the story epic but the world created by Tolkien is both rich and multilayered. I read the entire trilogy as well as The Hobbit when I was 14 in a single weekend. I have read it almost every year since then. I laughed, wept, and rejoiced with the characters as they follow the quest. I never wanted the book to end.

It taught me the value of friendship and loyalty, especially when times are hard and that even the smallest “nobody” can have an eternal impact on the course of history if they remain true.

By J.R.R. Tolkien,

Why should I read it?

52 authors picked The Lord of the Rings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of…


The Paradise War

By Stephen R. Lawhead,

Book cover of The Paradise War

Why did I love this book?

These books remind me of a lot of J.R.R. Tolkien’s LOTR. They are majestic in their telling, and the story is again of an ordinary person becoming a hero in a magical realm. I could hardly put them down. I totally got caught up in the story and characters and never wanted it to end. I have read them at least five times.

By Stephen R. Lawhead,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Paradise War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wolves in Oxford; extinct beasts in Scotland: the barriers between our world and the Celtic Otherworld are breaking down. Two men are drawn into Albion, and changed for ever.


A Knight in Shining Armor

By Jude Deveraux,

Book cover of A Knight in Shining Armor

Why did I love this book?

A time-travel romance featuring a present-day heroine and a dashing hero from the sixteenth century! This is one of the most romantic novels I’ve ever read. It has humor and, of course, toe-curling passion, and at the end of the book I was just in emotional agony because of the bittersweet ending. The story is the epitome of every woman’s fantasy.

By Jude Deveraux,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Knight in Shining Armor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A time-travel romance featuring a present-day heroine and a dashing hero from the sixteenth century!

Abandoned by a cruel fate, lovely Dougless Montgomery lies weeping upon a cold tombstone in an English church. Suddenly, the most extraordinary man appears. It is Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck...and according to his tombstone he died in 1564.

Drawn to his side by a bond so sudden and compelling it overshadows reason, Dougless knows that Nicholas is nothing less than a miracle: a man who does not seek to change her, who finds her perfect, fascinating, just as she is. What Dougless never imagined…


Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden,

Book cover of Memoirs of a Geisha

Why did I love this book?

The book transported me to a completely foreign world where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as an illusion and leaves you hanging until the last chapter to find out if the main character will ever realize her aspirations for love from the one man she has ever loved. It reminded me a lot of Cinderella. An ordinary girl who is mistreated and comes from nothing to become the most sought-after woman in all of Japan. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable. I read it at least once a year.

By Arthur Golden,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Memoirs of a Geisha as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'An epic tale and a brutal evocation of a disappearing world' The Times

A young peasant girl is sold as servant and apprentice to a renowned geisha house. Many years later she tells her story from a hotel in New York, opening a window into an extraordinary half-hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation and summoning up a quarter of a century of Japan's dramatic history.

'Intimate and brutal, written in cool, lucid prose it is a novel whose psychological empathy and historical truths are outstanding' Mail on Sunday


Book cover of The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

Why did I love this book?

I found this book to be the most unusual fairytale I’ve ever read. It was romantic, funny, and easily one of the most quotable books (and movies) ever. “I am Inigo Montoya, you killed my father! Prepare to die!” It didn’t take itself too seriously and was a fun read from beginning to end. It is also my daughter’s favorite book. No wonder it’s become a cult classic!

By William Goldman,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked The Princess Bride as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

William Goldman’s beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers.

This tale of true love, high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, and others. But, rich in character and satire, the novel boasts even more layers of ingenious storytelling. Set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin, home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest…


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In Human Shadow

By Gregory J. Glanz,

Book cover of In Human Shadow

Gregory J. Glanz Author Of In Human Shadow

New book alert!

Who am I?

It seems that all of the fictional main characters I create have anti-hero tendencies. There is always some voice in their head telling them to do right when they are expected to do wrong, or to do wrong when it is supposed they will do right. I find this flaw very compelling, and universal for those of us of flesh and blood. Do sneering, evil characters exist? Well, maybe, but they aren’t very interesting, and I think a weak trope.

Gregory's book list on anti-heroes of fantasy fiction

What is my book about?

Born the half-breed, bastard son of an orc chieftain, Wrank tries to survive life in OrcHome among ignorance and spite aimed at his human heritage even as he develops a Talent for folding shadow. When life is no longer viable among the clans, he escapes into the world of humans where he once again encounters intolerance from thieves, wizards, priests, and assassins.

With the eyes of imps, demons, miscreant gods, and a changeling upon him, can he survive In Human Shadow even though his future is foretold, his death foreseen?

In Human Shadow

By Gregory J. Glanz,

What is this book about?

Born the half-breed, bastard son of an orc chieftain, Wrank tries to survive life in OrcHome among ignorance and spite aimed at his human heritage even as he develops a Talent for folding shadow. When life is no longer viable among the clans, he escapes into the world of humans where he once again encounters intolerance from thieves, wizards, priests and assassins. With the eyes of imps, demons, miscreant gods, and a changeling upon him, can he survive In Human Shadow even though his future is foretold, his death foreseen?


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in knights, Pirates, and good and evil?

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