Body counts

 We all know, right, that not all characters survive their fantasy books?

The Spectra Books aren't graphic, but some of them do have a body count--the no-longer-living type, I mean. The romance goes to chaste kisses at the most (and one married couple walks off "to spend time alone").

I made up a little system to classify these books. Books can get an X for:

• Someone (or many someones) pass away in backstory
• Bad guy(s) don't survive the book
• Unnamed people are lost in battle, not graphic
• A named character (non-villain) passes away
• The point-of-view character actively ends someone.

So that's a maximum rating of 5 Xs. 

Let's see how The Spectra Books rate:

The Keita's Wings series is a YA fantasy about an exiled princess uniting six kingdoms. It's closer to a traditional epic fantasy than my other books, including battles and villains who meet sticky ends. Score: 4/5 for most volumes, 5/5 for the fifth book (of six).

Two species try to subjugate each other in this standalone novel, but Mira and her best friend, a griffin called Freko, actively choose nonviolence and try to end the conflict. 3/5 Xs

This adult trilogy deals with persecution and follows an exiled found family. It's inspired by real life pioneers and includes grief, loss, guilt, and sometimes violence. 3/5 Xs.

Somehow, my sweet romance got the maximum Xs. It is a Shakespeare retelling (of one comedy and one tragedy mashed together) with a pirate battle and a heroine sailor who can outshoot her peers, so the Xs rack up. It's still cute and funny, I promise. 5/5 Xs

This dual point-of-view romance circles around themes of recovering from grief and navigating different cultures, which tend to clash violently. 3/5 Xs.

I have to calculate the Spectra Crown Tales separately because each has a different main character and plot, even though some overlap. 

3/5 Xs:

The Seventh Clan, set in a fantasy version of the American Revolutionary War.

The Dream Realm, a sleeping beauty retelling with an especially nasty villain.

The Sunken Oath: the love interest is a pirate. Enough said?

2/5 Xs:

The Tiny Wings: an orphan has loss in the backstory, and a villain meets a sticky end.

1/5 Xs:

The Cousin Pact and The Seven Sages each have main characters overcoming loss in their backstories.

The Cousin Curse has a single battle scene, where afterwards the characters learn that there were casualties.

0/5:

The Masters of Wishes has no casualties. None. At all. I'm going soft or something.

So, if you need trigger warnings or aren't sure which books would be best for which readers, now you know. I do read all of my books out loud to all of my children, ages 17 to 3, so I don't put anything too awful in there.

As an aside, I linked each book to its amazon page, but you can find the paperbacks on Barnes&Noble and many other book sellers. You can also find the ebooks in many library apps including One Drive and Hoopla.