Fantasy books by the following criteria (no manga/anime for a change~)

[-KarumA-]

I'm looking for some good fantasy books to read, as always I am very picky about what I like and want to read
I want to read books that contains fantasy, like dragons, elfs and dwarfs
But I want to lead character to be female and have a kind of nobody going hero kind of thing going on. Not only that, I want it to be more like going from a normal person to a traveling hero with some companions. I don't want it to be all serious, I want there to be romance and drama as well as love for a fellow companion (like she falls in love with someone she travels with)

Does anyone know some good titles that go by the above description
What is a must is that the female hero falls in love with a companion she is traveling with, I would like to have her go from normal to hero but that is not a must as long as there is love between them then it is all good. And of course the fantasy part

I haven't read many fantasy books in my days and I find it awfully hard to find something I really like. I read LOTR, still have the hobbit and The children of Húrin to go as well as 3 books from Eragon..
I'm looking for something that has humor but that is also mature

[Kafriel]

Female leads are rare in this type of fantasy...the only one I've read like that is the trilogy of the world, by Philip Pullman (there's also a movie out so you probably know this one). The theme you seek reminds me of forgotten realms, can't search them all to fit it though...

[Qwey]

Originally Posted by Kafriel

Female leads are rare in this type of fantasy...the only one I've read like that is the trilogy of the world, by Philip Pullman (there's also a movie out so you probably know this one). The theme you seek reminds me of forgotten realms, can't search them all to fit it though...

The books by Phillip Pullman described here are His Dark Materials trilogy, the first being The Golden Compass. The second is The Subtle Knife and the third is The Amber Spyglass if I recall correctly. They're really good.

[coren]

Originally Posted by yewq

The books by Phillip Pullman described here are His Dark Materials trilogy, the first being The Golden Compass. The second is The Subtle Knife and the third is The Amber Spyglass if I recall correctly. They're really good.

I agree they're quite good, but from what I remember they don't have any elves, dwarves or dragons in them.

[Haak]

His Dark Materials is okay. Probably because I'm religious and Pullman has all the subtelty of a brick to the head. And Christopher Paolini is even worse. I love fantasy though, and I'd still recommend His Dark Materials.

My favourite series with female POVs are A Song of Ice and Fire series, but they have multiple POVs. I think it's about 60% male and 40% female POV throughout all the books. No ones a real typical hero trying to save the world in this series. It is serious, though there is some dry wit. One character is particluarly hilarious.

Spoiler for space:

Two men went through each house to make certain nothing was missed. Jon was paired with dour Eddison Tollett, a squire grey of hair and thin as a pike, whom the other brothers called Dolorous Edd. "Bad enough when the dead come walking", he said to Jon as they crossed the village, "now the Old Bear wants them talking as well? No good will come of that, I'll warrant. And who's to say the bones wouldn't lie? Why should death make a man truthful, or even clever? The dead are likely dull fellows, full of tedious complaints ”the ground's too cold, my gravestone should be larger, why does he get more worms then I do?""

and also...

He flicked a glob of wet mud out from under a horseshoe. "Does this mud look like shit to you? Could it be that this whole hill is made of Craster's shit?"
Jon smiled. "Well, I hear he's been here a long time."
"You cheer me not. Go see the Old Bear.�"

this is only a small sample of brilliant wit from Dolorous Edd. (You may not have found it funny. If you haven't you have to respect that these books are very serious and very gritty, so it does catch you out).

Unfortunately none of the female characters have fallen in love except one and she doesn't appear all too often.
There are dragons (definately) and different races (sort of)
Again, there are no hero's trying to save the world.

My second favourite fantasy books with female leads would be The Liveship Traders trilogy, by Robin Hobb. However, as with above, there are multiple POV's. There are three main female POV's and three main male POV's but it could be argued that it's the three female leads that are more important.
And again, definately dragons and different races (sort of). Two of the mean female characters fall in love and both lead to important character development as a result.
Again no's a typical hero trying to save the world. It's no where near as dark as A Song of Ice and Fire. It does have some humor here and there but it's mostly serious.

Alternatively, you might be interested in Trudi Canavans books. They're all Fantasy books with only female lead characters.
The Black Magician series doesn't have dragons or any other races.
The Age of the Five trilogy however does have different races, but not typical elvs and dwarves.
No ones a typical destined chosen one hero, in these books either, and it's not all serious. Both female leads fall in love.

There's also a lesser known book called Talyn by Holy Lisle. There are no different races or dragons or anything like that. But there is a hell of a lot of more romance, than any of the others i've mentioned. No hero trying to save the world but there is a villian trying to conquer it.

I've not read them yet but I've heard that Tamora Pierce's book feature female leads, and are well recieved so you might be interested in them aswell.

By the way, Eragon sucks big time.

[Albafica]

I don't know if it's really fantasy but well you can read 12 kingdom's novels. I read them, they are good! The hero from the 2 first volume is Youko, a girl.

There aren't dwarf, elfs... but a lot of different creatures!

[Ansalem]

Originally Posted by Haak

My favourite series with female POVs are A Song of Ice and Fire series, but they have multiple POVs. I think it's about 60% male and 40% female POV throughout all the books. No ones a real typical hero trying to save the world in this series. It is serious, though there is some dry wit. One character is particluarly hilarious.

I feel like you make it sound more mirthful than it is. More like...60% spirit-crushing tragedy, 39% serious, and 1% dry wit. Still one of the best fantasy series around though.

My second favourite fantasy books with female leads would be The Liveship Traders trilogy, by Robin Hobb. However, as with above, there are multiple POV's. There are three main female POV's and three main male POV's but it could be argued that it's the three female leads that are more important.
And again, definately dragons and different races (sort of). Two of the mean female characters fall in love and both lead to important character development as a result.
Again no's a typical hero trying to save the world. It's no where near as dark as A Song of Ice and Fire. It does have some humor here and there but it's mostly serious.

This is also a good series, though I will caution the OP (and Haak sort of hints at this "two of the mean female[s]") that as is typical for Robin Hobb, most of the characters have enormous character flaws, and as a result most of the protagonists in the series aren't very likable. Just something to keep in mind.

It'll probably be relatively difficult to find a good work with all of the requirements, since the "young nobody becoming a hero, gaining companions, falling in love, and the saving the world full of dragons, elves, and dwarves" is pretty much as standard as you can get for fantasy, and most books that feature female protagonists are atypical. Maybe someone knows of one somewhere.

You can also try the Wheel of Time. The main character is a man (who goes from villager to important person to the world), but there are also some girls from the village that get mixed up in things, and the series is so long that there are whole storylines on a great number of different secondary protagonists, including girls that fit your requirements (more or less) who fall in love. Again, no dragons (strictly speaking), dwarves, or elves, but plenty of fantasy.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Ansalem

(and Haak sort of hints at this "two of the mean female[s]")

Lol. That was actually a typo. There's one character I didn't particularly like but she grows up. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. I even sort of liked the pirate. (well until he did a not so nice thing, near the end)

You can also try the Wheel of Time. The main character is a man (who goes from villager to important person to the world), but he there are also some girls from the village that also get mixed up in things, and the series is so long that there are whole storylines on a great number of different secondary protagonists, including girls that fit your requirements (more or less) who fall in love. Again, no dragons (strictly speaking), dwarves, or elves, but plenty of fantasy.

I'm currently half way though that series. I do not particularly like how those female leads treat men. It actually puts me off, when reading.

[jedinat]

Robin McKinley has written quite a few fantasies featuring female protagonists... Blue Sword; Hero and the Crown. Those were pretty good, but my favorite book of hers is Sunshine: a vampire/fantasy novel where the vampires are not thinly disguised female fantasies.

Luthiel's Song: Dreams of the Ringed Vale was quite a nice fantasy... with nobody heroine who sets out on a quest and becomes somebody indeed; interesting villains who turn out to be more than they seem... was one of my fav fantasy books to come along in a while. Unfortunately the sequel was not so great.

[-KarumA-]

thanks you all XD

[Sackett]

Paladin of Souls, by Lois BuJold.

2nd in the series, you might want to read the first, Curse of Chalion (Very good book) first which will help you know what's going on better, although they are separate enough stories that you don't have to.

Shards of Honor, also by Bujold is SciFi, but might fit your interests.

Also, The Wind Witch by Susan Dexter

[Haak]

Okay I've just thought of a lot more that I've read.

I'm currently reading the Shadows of the Apt series. I've only read the first book but I'm going to get the second book (though it's a bitch to get hold of)
It doesn't have dragons but it does have giant insects and it is a steampunk fantasy too. There are different races but it's not typical elves and dwarves. No, the interesting thing about this series is that the races are based on insects, which each race having an ability or 'art' as it's termed that's based on the insect of their race. You can find infortmation about it on wikipedia at the bottom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_in_Black_and_Gold
It is however multiple POV's, but it's about 50:50 male and female. One the girls does fall in love (atleasi in the first book anyway). She does develop a lot and go from normal to hero.

Another book I recall reading a while back is the Wind On Fire series, by William Nicholson. No typical dragons elves or dwarves or even different races. There is a flying cat though. It has two main POV. One girl and one boy, both twins. Both go from normal to hero. The girl doesn't fall in love and gets pissed off about it (there's actually a very good reason). The series isn't as adult though. I'd say it's about Harry Potter/Eragon level there. There's also the Norman series. It's three main POV's and only one of them is a girl sthough, and to be hoenst it's not that good anyway.

There's also the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. To be honest I only read the first book. It was good but I wasn't captivated by it and didn't bother reading the next books. It doesn't have different races, but plenty of zombies and evil spirits. No dragons but I do recall I giant magical flying machine made of paper. Also a smartarse talking cat.
All the books have a primary female lead. I know that the female lead in the first book falls in love. She doesn't go from zero to hero though. It's actually somewhat opposite. She's cocky at the start but ends up learning how little she actually knows.

I've also recently been recommended Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin. It seems to have a main female protagonist so you might want to look into it.

[NightSamurai]

I'll suggest the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, though it has a male main character, the female lead, Kahlan Amnell, plays a major role as well, and much of the story is told from her perspective (more so in the later novels). Also, it has the requisite romance, which is quite obvious from the start. Though the story might be a bit too gritty, though not quite to A Song of Ice and Fire level it is still quite a ways beyond LOTR and the Eragon series.