13 underrated fantasy books

DallerGut Dream Department Store – Lee Mi Ye

Penny is an enthusiastic new hire at the DallerGut Dream Department Store that sells dreams. This store is hidden in a mysterious town in our collective consciousness and every day, people from all over the world arrive to purchase their next adventure.

The Kiss of Deception – Mary E. Pearson

As the First Daughter, Princess Lia is supposed to have the revered gift of sight – but she doesn’t. When her parents attempt to force her into marriage with a man she has never met, she flees the palace and ends up living in a distant small village.

She quickly settles into a new life which is shaken up when two handsome and mysterious men arrive. She befriends both, unaware that one is the man she left at the altar, and the other is an assassin sent to kill her.

Ash – Malinda Lo

When her father dies, Ash is left to live with her cruel stepmother who treats her as no more than a slave. She dreams of the day the fairies will steal her away and when she meets the dark and dangerous fairy, Sidhean, she believes her wish will finally be granted.

But on the day she meets the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change and she’s forced to make a choice between her fairy tale dreams and true love.

The Surviving Sky – Kritika H. Rao

The last of humanity survives in plant-crafted cities high above the surface of a jungle planet ravaged by storms. Society is literally held together by architects, who are revered above anyone else due to the powers that allow them to create civilizations made of plants.

Iravan is a charismatic and powerful architect married to Ahilya, an archeologist. Ahilya’s belief that they are too reliant on the powers of architects has caused issues in their marriage, and Ahilya is determined to find a way to live on their planet without the help of architects. But, as their city begins to plummet and Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to illegal limits, they’re forced to work together to prove his innocence and save their entire civilization.

Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is a time for celebration but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event that the Sun Priest has predicted will be the unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, Xiala is captain of a ship bound for Tova where she carries only one passenger – a scarred, young blind man who is described as harmless. But if Xiala knows anything, it’s that a man described as harmless usually ends up becoming a villain.

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love – Lex Croucher

It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, is set to marry Princess Gwendoline of England. They’ve been betrothed since they were children but they kind of hate each other and they’re both gay.

When they’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run-up to their wedding, Gwen begins to fall for a lady knight, and Arthur develops feelings for Gwen’s brother, the future king.

An Enchantment of Ravens – Margaret Rogerson

Isobel creates beautiful portraits of the dangerous fair folk. And one day she receives her first royal patron – Rook, the autumn prince. but she paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, which proves to be a dangerous mistake.

She’s swept away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime, where they are forced to depend on each other for survival when they are attacked from every side.

When Women Were Dragons – Kelly Barnhill

Alex Green is a young girl living in the 1950s. Her world is very similar to ours except that something happened in 1955 that people do not talk about – thousands of women turned into dragons and took to the skies. 

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.

Zafira is a hunter, forced to disguise herself as a man in order to find food to feed her people. Nasir is an assassin working on behalf of his father. 

Zafira is sent on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering land. Nasir is sent on a similar mission to find the artifact and kill Zafira. But as their journey unfolds, ancient evil begins to stir.

For the Wolf – Hannah Whitten

As the only second-born daughter in centuries, Red has one purpose – to be sacrificed to the world in the woods in the hope that he will return the world’s captured gods. But Red is almost relieved to go – she is plagued by a dangerous power that she can’t control and she’s scared of hurting those that she loves.

But all of the legends lie. The wolf is a man, not a monster, and her magic is a calling, not a curse.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea – Axie Oh

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. In an attempt to appease the Sea God, once a year they sacrifice a beautiful maiden to him with the hopes that he will find his true bride and stop the storms.

But this time the sacrifice is Mina’s brother’s beloved… so Mina decides to sacrifice herself instead. She’s swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts where she discovers that the Sea God is trapped in an enchanted sleep. 

Beasts of Prey – Ayana Gray

Koffi is indentured to the notorious night zoo where she cares for its magical creatures to pay off her family’s debts. When her family is threatened by the Zoo’s cruel master, she unleashes a power she doesn’t understand.

Ekon is destined to become an elite warrior and uphold his family legacy but on the night of his final rite of passage he encounters the Shetani, a deadly creature that has plagued his city for a century, and Koffi saves his life. When he lets her flee, he dooms his hopes of becoming a warrior.

Ekon and Koffi become reluctant allies as they agree to enter the deadly Greater Jungle to catch the Shetani. Ekon vows to hunt the creature down to redeem himself and Koffi wants to sell it to pay off her debts.

The Near Witch – V.E. Schwab

There are three things that Lexi has heard her entire life. 

  1. The Near Witch is only a story told to scare children.
  2. If the wind calls at night, you must ignore it.
  3. And, there are no strangers in the town of Near.

But one day, a stranger shows up, and children begin disappearing from their beds.