Fantasy Bromance Book Recommendation

I love me a good book, especially one with good characters. And when I find a particularly good one, I can't shut up about it.

But, since gushing on and on about YA literature is typically frowned upon in polite society, I have a blog and YOU get to benefit!

I swear, I'll keep it short. But have you heard about The Last Knight by Hilari Bell?

It's the first of a series, and the whole thing is golden. Here's the link to the book's Goodreads page. If you want an interesting fantasy read with exceptional plot and characters, give it a try.

The story is about Sir Michael Sevenson and his squire, Fisk. You might have guessed by this intro that Michael is a knight, in fact a knight errant. The thing is, knight errants haven't existed in the world of the story for at least 200 years. Think YA Don Quixote.

Fisk is a con artist bound by law to Michael due to indebtedness. Together they rescue a damsel from a tower...and the next day find out the woman was imprisoned in the tower because she killed her husband. Now they need to go get her back.

The storytelling is fun, and the characters of Michael and Fisk are delightful. This is a bromance, a really satisfying one. The relationships in this book feel real, and the writing sparkles. The chapters alternate between characters, so you read Fisk's cynical view on life alternating with Michael's almost naive honor. Also, Fisk is rather sarcastic, which is fun when Michael insists on jumping into dangerous situations. Basically, the whole book is this:

Fisk: Noble Sir, don't do the thing.

Michael: I"M GOING TO DO THE THING!

I love books like that, and I'm not sure why.

I also enjoy the worldbuilding in this series. The magic system has specific rules and breaking those rules comes with a severe penalty. The laws of the land are also specific and do impact the heroes quite a bit. Seriously, the bad luck Fisk and Michael have is alarming without being unbelievable.

If you're a fan of the BBC show Merlin, you'd probably enjoy these books. Magic, medieval world, two guys being scrappy friends while saving people and getting into adventures and misadventures alike...there are some similarities.

These books are a fun read, and I recommend them to anyone who wants an interesting, entertaining fantasy. I actually crave them; I thought there were only three books and I've been aching to get more every time I go to the library. The library only has the first three.

BUT SINCE I STARTED THIS POST I FOUND OUT THERE'S MORE! If you need me, I'll probably be at the bookstore.