I didn’t start reading fantasy books properly until a few years ago but since then I’ve devoured as many as I can. From gripping fantasy adventure to romantic fantasy I’ve become obsessed with it all.
And while I’m sure there are so many amazing fantasy books that I haven’t read, here are 16 of my absolute favourites.
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 their powers that allow them to create civilisations made of plants.
Iravan is a charismatic and powerful architect married to Ahilya, an archeologist. Ahilya’s beliefs 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.
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Dallergut Dream Department Store – Mi-Ye Lee
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.
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Legends and Lattes – Travis Baldree
After a lifetime of fighting and bloodshed, Viv is finally ready to hang up her sword. Viv is an orc and she’s just moved to the city of Thune where she plans to open the city’s first ever coffee shop.
But, most of the people in the city have no idea what coffee actually is so she has her work cut out for her.
With the help of some new friends, Viv slowly begins to build her cosy coffee shop from the ground up and she gets more out of it than she ever could have dreamed.
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Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse
In the hold 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.
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Immortal Longings – Chloe Gong
Once a year, thousands flock to the twin cities of San-Er where the palace hosts a deadly game. People are given the chance to fight to the death for a prize of unimaginable riches.
Calla is a princess in hiding after killing her parents 5 years ago. She’s entering the competition to get close to her uncle, the King, and finally be able to kill him too. Anton is an exiled aristocrat with the ability to jump between bodies, entering the games to win enough money to save the one person he loves. They become allies when the King’s adopted song, August, brings them together in an attempt to mend the city’s ills.
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Divine Rivals – Rebecca Ross
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But Iris Winnow is more focused on helping her mother, who is an addict, and her brother, who has disappeared from the front lines. She’s been using her magical typewriter to send letters to him in the hopes that he will find his way back home.
She works at the Oath Gazette where she is competing against Roman Kitt for a promotion. But unbeknownst to Iriss her letters have ended up in Roman’s hands and he begins writing her back under an alias.
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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.
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The Cruel Prince – Holly Black
When jude was only 7 years old her parents were murdered and she and her sisters were stolen away to the treacherous High court of Faerie. 10 years later, Jude wants nothing more to belong in this world despite her mortality.
But the fae despise humans. And the one that hates them the most is Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedist son of the High King.
Jude soon becomes deeply embroiled in palace intrigue and deception and discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed.
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Gilded – Marissa Meyer
Cursed by the God of Lies, Serilda tells outlandish tales that draw the attention of the Erlking and his undead hunters. He sweeps her away to a world of ghouls and phantoms and orders her to spin straw into gold or be killed for lying.
In her desperation, Serilda accidentally summons a mysterious boy to help her. He agrees to spin the gold for a price.
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The Dragon’s Bride – Katee Robert
Briar Rose has a name straight out of a storybook but her life is far from a fairytale. In a moment of desperation, she makes a deal with a demon. She can get freedom from her husband in return for seven years of service.
She’s not sure what she expects the service to be but she definitely doesn’t expect to be put on an auction block in a room full of monsters and sold to the highest bidder.
She is sold to Sol who happens to be a dragon. Yes, a dragon.
So, she is forced to marry Sol, but he turns out to be kinder than he seems. But she’s suffered enough and knows that falling for Sol is not an option…
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Caraval – Stephanie Garber
Scarlett Dragna has always dreamt of attending Caraval, a magical once-a-year performance where the audience participates. But now her father has arranged a marriage for her so she thinks her dreams of attending are over… until she receives an invitation and decides to run away with her sister, Tella.
As they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s organiser and Scarlett discovers that this year Caraval revolves around her sister – whoever finds Tella will be declared the winner.
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Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam is a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be bought for a price, and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker.
He’s offered the chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams if he pulls it off, but he won’t be able to do it alone. He recruits:
Nina, a Heartrender with magic.
Inej, a spy known as the Wraith.
Jasper, a sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a bet.
Wylan, a runaway with a privileged past.
And Matthias, a convict with a thirst for revenge.
Six dangerous outcasts embark on an impossible heist.
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The Kiss of Deception – Mary E. Pearson
As the First Daughter, Princess Lia is expected to have the gift of sight … but she doesn’t. Knowing this and that her parents are preparing to marry the prince of a neighbouring country that she’s never met. So on the morning of her wedding Lia runs away to a distant village.
As she settles into her quiet new life, two mysterious and handsome men arrive in the village. She begins to get to know both of them, completely unaware of who they are. One is the prince she left at the altar and the other is an assassin sent to kill her.
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My Lady Jane – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Based on the life of the famous Lady Jane Grey, My Lady Jane retells the story of Jane set in a world where some people can turn into animals.
At just 16-years-old Lady Jane Grey has just found out that her cousin, King Edward, has ordered her to marry a young man called Gifford, a womanisor and a complete stranger. But soon after they marry she discovers that every single day, from sunrise to sunset, her new husband turns into a horse and he has absolutely no control over it.
And that’s not all. King Edward is dying and he’s just made Lady Jane his heir.
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The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi – Shannon Chakraborty
Amina al-Sirafi had a great career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, but now she’s retired to a quiet life with her family. But one day she’s tracked down by the wealthy family of a former crewman and offered a job to rescue his kidnapped daughter in exchange for a fortune that will secure her family’s future.
Amina gets her old crew back together but as they dive deeper into the mystery of where this girl is, it becomes clear that there is more to this job than Amina was led to believe.
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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.
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