Fantasy Novels That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

Charlie Jane Anders recently wrote a piece at io9 - a blog focusing on science, technology, and science fiction - that "everbody loves a good dark, horrible fantasy. A misanthopic adventure, in which everybody is morally compromised, and we all live and die in the dirt. But every now and then, it's nice to read a fantasy novel in which people are, you know... good."
Anders reached out to fantasy authors and editors to gain recommendations about optimistic fantasy novels - "not just optimistic — but optimistic about human nature."

Cat Rambo, the author Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight, contributed her praise for The Face in the Frost:

One of my favorite fantasy novels, and one I return to repeatedly, is ... a low-key and somewhat oddly constructed book, but I love the friendship between the two wizards and the fact that they're trying to do the right thing, without question and without guidance. It's something that matches my experience, the idea that people rise to the occasion and somehow muddle through, despite the odds against them. A lot of my favorite fantasy novels, both gritty and non-gritty, are about friendships and the strength we can draw from them in the quests we go through on a daily basis.