Discussion

Road Master Personally, I think that depends more on the purpose of the book. I love vampires and werewolves. But not horror. If it's purpose is to scare or frighten, then it's fantasy-HORROR. I would not recommend that for somebody who wants fantasy. Unless explicitly stated or you know they like horror as well.

Brandon Reed I take the opposite approach. Unless someone says "No horror," or I know they don't like horror, then I'll include fantasy horror recommendations.

freeofavia I think it just depends. Every book is different. One fantasy is not going to be the same as another. We use genres to define books because they are useful to help us communicate how the books make us feel. Fantasy makes us feel wonder, while horror makes us feel scared. A fantasy-horror would therefore make someone feel both wonder, and fear. These may be generalizations, but I'd say they're partially true. So the question is really how does this story make you feel, and do you think that is what this person is looking for?

Glowbunny If I think there is something that someone might find distasteful or good to know before reading - ie lots of gore (which I avidly avoid) or really difficult topics or "this includes an aspect that was put on the 'please avoid' list in your ask so I feel like I should explain my reasoning" - I put a disclaimer. I've also gotten feedback from some of the books I have recommended to bookish people outside of SM and I take that into account when adding disclaimers. But also - as previously stated - individuals respond and react to each book differently. Like the saying "no two people read the same book". Just like relationships - genres are really broad brushes to let us know the parameters going in. So there's some "I put this book in this category" while someone else comes back with "I didn't get that out of that book".

Max Edge I think it depends on how much emphasis there is on the fantasy part, especially of a fantasty world. Though even then it can be very subjective. Genre is mostly just a marketing tag anyway. Genre can be helpful, but that's where community reviews can be very helpful.