Emotions are a vital part of my life. I sense, perceive, and express emotions in the vast majority of my daily life, whether it’s work, play, or personal interactions.
Once, at a meeting with one of my writers’ groups, I was commenting on another author’s child character who I thought was surprisingly out-of-touch with their emotions and I compared the character to my own son, who is quite sensitive and emotion-savvy. My writing buddies laughed and said, “But he’s your son! Of course he’s in touch with his emotions!”
I had to grin at that one.
I need frequent reminders that not everyone sees the world in the emotional way that I (and apparently, my son!) do. It’s a lens I enjoy, even though it’s a lens that exhausts me. This tendency makes me gravitate toward stories of emotional resilience, vulnerability, drama, and overall gutsiness.
Emotions helped inspire the theme that I used for recommending these five favorite books on Shepherd.com. I wanted to share these recommendations, in case you were interested in getting my thoughts on the best fantasy books with compelling, likeable, and gutsy characters.
![](https://www.elisestephens.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/shepherd-1024x457.jpg)
And if you’ve already read any of the books on my list, I’d love to hear what you thought of them!
Happy reading!
-Elise