I love reading fantasy novels. I like reading anything with action and adventure, though I do go for the occasional romantic or historical fiction book, so science fiction and fantasy are my absolute favorite book genres. Fantasy is really special to me because of each book’s unique magical systems, creatures, and entirely new worlds, making every book a new experience.
I typically read books that are more meaningful and have a higher amount of action than romance, so the books below are less like your typical BookTok romantic fantasy (like Sarah J. Maas novels, etc) and lean a bit more toward story and world-building, though I’m pretty sure some of these made it onto BookTok at some point. A lot of these are young adult (YA) as well, something I don’t mind much as I’m reading, but if YA isn’t your thing, I do have a few adult books on this list as well.
Whether you always read and are looking for suggestions, or you’re looking to start reading yourself, here are some of my favorite fantasy books!
I will note that I’m adding magical realism to this list, which isn’t technically in the fantasy genre, but it involves magic, so I’m including it!
Rebecca Ross’s Novels
I found Divine Rivals on Goodreads when the first book came out, and I didn’t expect much looking at the cover, but it was absolutely amazing to me once I read it. The fact that it was set in a historical setting, the bits of magic here and there in a real-world (ish) setting, and the enemies-to-lovers romance were the perfect combination for my bookworm heart, and I think it’s still my favorite book today. Ross released a sequel and a prequel to the series, and the prequel is much more magic-based. I honestly thought it was a beautiful story, so I highly recommend the whole series! I recommend reading the prequel last, though, just because the references to the main two books will hold more meaning that way.
Another series I liked by Ross is the Elements of Cadence series, which is just two books. The books are very different from Divine Rivals because they definitely have more magical and folklore elements to them. These books are very chill and relaxing, so I think that they are best read on a cozy, rainy day.
Emily Henry’s Earlier Novels
Emily Henry is best known for her romance novels, which are very good, but her earlier books are my favorite by far. Her earlier books had magical realism in them, and I didn’t realize magical realism could be this way because my first exposure to it was in a required reading I had in high school, Like Water for Chocolate. Like Water for Chocolate was a good book, but not one I’d seek out and read on my own.
However, after reading Henry’s romance novels, I started reading her earlier books, which, to my surprise, contained magic! My favorite book of hers is A Million Junes, which is a Romeo and Juliet retelling. It could be confusing for some people because of the scenes from the past mixing with the present, but I thought that it was a wonderful book.
Another book of hers with magical realism that I enjoyed was The Love That Split the World, which involves different, co-existing universes and other magical elements. I thought that this book was great as well! Though I do think A Million Junes is better, just because it had less insta-love (love at first sight), which is one of my biggest pet peeves in novels.
This Woven Kingdom Series
Tahereh Mafi is taking her sweet time to write these books, but man, are they worth it. The setting, Persian-inspired mythology, the writing style, the magic—everything is wonderful.
For you love triangle haters, I’ll say that it has a love triangle, but trust me when I say it’s worth the wait.
I’m also so mad that the final book is coming out late this year. I need it now!
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
I randomly stumbled upon this book on a Goodreads list of upcoming books for that month and added it to Want to Read on a whim, not expecting anything remarkable.
I was so surprised when it was hilarious, cozy, sweet, and had the accepting, warm, and cozy vibes of the House on the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (another book I’d recommend in a heartbeat).
It’s set in the real world, but there are witches, and I don’t think the book is very serious, so definitely don’t take it seriously when reading! Have fun with it because it’s so whimsical.
The author released another book that’s similarly about witches in the real world called A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and I thought that book was great as well.
The Infernal Devices Series
I have a thing about not reading books with vampires or werewolves (sorry to Twilight readers), but I made an exception for these books. If you’re someone who reads regularly, you’ve probably heard of the Shadowhunters series and perhaps even read the main series.
I’d like to make a possibly controversial statement and say that the Infernal Devices series, a prequel series set before the main series, is much better. In fact, I think that it’s one of the best book series I’ve ever read, and maybe that’s because it has my favorite combination of historical setting, enemies-to-lovers romance, magic, and lovable characters, but I really do think that everyone who likes fantasy should read this at some point!
The last book’s ending is horrifyingly emotional, though, so mentally prepare yourself for that!
An Ember in the Ashes series & the Heir duology
Both of these series are by Sabaa Tahir and set in the same world. The Heir duology is set after, and the next book is supposed to come out sometime this year (hopefully).
Overall, I actually loved An Ember in the Ashes, and somehow I think that Heir was even better, if that is even possible. Both books have multiple points of view, and multi-POV books can get confusing sometimes, but Sabaa Tahir did a really great job with it – I didn’t dread reaching one character’s point of view instead of another, which is pretty rare when reading fantasy, I feel like!
Leigh Bardugo’s Books
I love Leigh Bardugo. Love her. I love that she created Shadow and Bone, then Six of Crows, and decided, quite brilliantly, to make my two favorite characters, Nikolai and Zoya, their own series called King of Scars.
These series are very different from each other, so they’re not super repetitive to read back-to-back. Shadow and Bone is very magical, while Six of Crows is still fantasy but has darker heist vibes, while King of Scars is more similar to Shadow and Bone but political since it involves the main character navigating being king on top of magical threats.
Overall, Six of Crows is definitely my favorite just because the characters are so lovable and the story is so intricate, but the whole Grishaverse as a whole is worth reading for sure.
These are some of the fantasy books that have stuck with me long after I finished them, whether it’s because of the world-building, the characters, or the stories themselves. There are definitely more I could add to this list, but if you’re in a book slump, hopefully one of these becomes your next favorite.