Best Fantasy Books 2025
A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett
Ana and Din tackle a mysterious disappearance in Yarrowdale in this Shadow of the Leviathan sequel. Blending fantasy and locked-room mystery, the novel delivers intricate world-building, witty banter, and magical investigations. Its unique setting and clever plot twists captivate fans of cerebral, character-driven fantasy adventures.
A Curse Carved in Bone - Danielle L. Jensen
In this romantasy, a cursed princess navigates a treacherous magical world to break her fate. Political intrigue, forbidden romance, and epic quests intertwine in Jensen’s richly built Runes of Oath series. Expect intense emotions, magical battles, and a strong heroine facing impossible odds in a vividly crafted fantasy realm.
The Enchanted Greenhouse - Sarah Beth Durst
This cozy fantasy follows a gardener tending magical plants in a whimsical world. Found-family themes and gentle magic weave a heartwarming tale. Durst’s vivid descriptions and charming characters craft an enchanting, low-stakes adventure, ideal for readers craving cozy, nature-infused fantasy with emotional warmth and wonder.
A Song to Drown Rivers - Ann Liang
Inspired by Chinese mythology, this romantasy follows Xishi, a beauty trained to infiltrate an enemy kingdom as a spy. Love, sacrifice, and magical intrigue clash in a war-torn world. Liang’s lush prose and emotional depth craft a heartbreaking, enchanting tale of duty and forbidden romance in an epic fantasy setting
An Honored Vow - Melissa Blair
In The Halfling Saga’s third book, a halfling warrior faces betrayal and dark magic in an Indigenous-inspired world. Romance, political schemes, and epic battles drive this romantasy. Blair’s vivid storytelling and cultural depth create a gripping tale of loyalty, love, and vengeance in a fantastical realm.
Aunt Tigress - Emily Yu-Xuan Qin
A sapphic fantasy debut blending Chinese and Siksiká mythology, this follows an undead fox seeking redemption. Navigating love and monstrous instincts, she confronts supernatural foes. Panyu’s lush world-building and queer representation craft an emotional, culturally rich tale of identity and healing in a magical urban setting.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil - V. E. Schwab
This gothic fantasy traces three women—vampires and mortals—across centuries, exploring feminine rage and immortality. Schwab’s atmospheric prose weaves love, betrayal, and dark magic in a haunting narrative. Its morally complex characters and lush, eerie world make it a compelling read for dark fantasy enthusiasts.
Carving Shadows into Gold - Brigid Kemmerer
In this Forging Silver into Stars sequel, a young heroine navigates court intrigue and forbidden magic. Romantasy fans will love its sizzling chemistry, political schemes, and magical duels. Kemmerer’s vivid characters and high-stakes plot deliver an emotional, enchanting tale of love and loyalty in a fantastical kingdom.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales - Heather Fawcett
Concluding the Emily Wilde series, this cozy historical fantasy follows Emily’s faerie research. Magical creatures, academic charm, and gentle romance fill its pages. Fawcett’s whimsical prose and folklore-rich world create a heartwarming finale, perfect for readers craving cozy, enchanting tales set in a magical past.
Hammajang Luck - Makana Yamamoto
In this fantasy heist debut, nonbinary Edie seeks revenge on a gentrifying trillionaire in a Hawaiian-inspired world. Magical artifacts and clever schemes drive the fast-paced plot. Yamamoto’s vibrant cultural elements and witty banter craft a thrilling, inclusive adventure for fans of magical capers and diverse representation.
I, Medusa - Ayana Gray
This mythological fantasy reimagines Medusa as a young heroine wielding cursed power. Facing betrayal and monstrous transformation, she seeks justice. Gray’s vivid prose blends Greek mythology with themes of rage and love, delivering a poignant, empowering origin story for a classic villain in a magical world.
Immortal - Sue Lynn Tan
A romantasy inspired by Asian folklore, this follows a mortal girl entangled with gods in a celestial realm. Love, betrayal, and divine magic collide in Tan’s lush world. Its poetic prose and intricate mythology create an enchanting, emotional tale for fans of epic, romantic fantasy adventures.
Lightfall - Ed Crocker
This epic fantasy debut weaves political intrigue and ancient magic in a richly crafted world. A rebel hero battles a tyrannical empire wielding forbidden powers. Crocker’s intricate plot and vivid characters deliver a thrilling, immersive saga, perfect for readers craving high-stakes adventure and complex magical systems.
Oathbound - Tracy Deonn
In the Legendborn Cycle’s third book, Bree faces darker Arthurian magic and personal loss. Blending modern and mythical, this YA fantasy explores identity and power. Deonn’s intense action, romance, and social commentary craft a gripping, emotionally resonant tale for fans of epic, diverse fantasy narratives.
The Baby Dragon Café - A.T. Qureshi
A cozy fantasy debut where a dragon runs a magical café, fostering found family. Whimsical creatures and heartwarming moments fill its pages. Qureshi’s charming prose and enchanting setting offer a delightful escape, perfect for readers seeking lighthearted, magical tales of community and culinary magic in a fantastical world.
The Devils - Joe Abercrombie
In this dark fantasy, outcasts escort a thief-princess through a war-torn, alternate medieval Europe. Magic, betrayal, and gritty humor drive the plot. Abercrombie’s sharp prose and complex characters create a thrilling, morally gray adventure for grimdark fans seeking intense, supernatural tales with biting wit.
The Gryphon King - Sara Omer
An epic fantasy where a warrior faces mythical gryphons and ancient prophecies in a divided realm. Political intrigue and magical battles abound. Omer’s richly built world and compelling characters deliver a thrilling, immersive saga, perfect for fans of epic fantasy with mythical creatures and grand stakes.
The Raven Scholar - Antonia Hodgson
This epic fantasy follows a scholar unraveling magical mysteries in a vast, intricate world. Political schemes and ancient secrets drive the 700-page saga. Hodgson’s immersive storytelling and complex characters create a gripping, richly detailed adventure for readers seeking epic, cerebral fantasy with deep world-building.
The River Has Roots - Amal El-Mohtar
This fantasy novella reworks a 17th-century murder ballad, blending sisterhood and folklore in Thistleford. Magical curses and haunting prose shape a lyrical tale. El-Mohtar’s evocative writing crafts an emotional, compact story, perfect for readers seeking poetic, folkloric fantasy with deep emotional resonance and mystery.
The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling
A medieval horror-fantasy set during a siege, this follows queer protagonists facing supernatural horrors. Dark magic and psychological dread drive the plot. Starling’s atmospheric prose and complex characters create a chilling, immersive tale for fans of grim, character-driven fantasy with haunting, supernatural stakes.
Katabasis - R.F. Kuang
Two rival Cambridge magicians and doctoral candidates venture into a vividly reimagined Hell to rescue their abusive professor's soul, confronting academic toxicity, ambition, guilt, and the brutal costs of intellectual pursuit in a sharp, satirical dark academia fantasy blending mythology and philosophy.
The Strength of the Few - James Islington
Replicated across three divergent worlds after a catastrophic event, Vis navigates intricate political intrigue, ancient magic, and multiverse threats to avert an impending Cataclysm, escalating stakes with masterful plotting, profound themes of choice, and breathtaking twists in this ambitious epic sequel.
The Everlasting - Alix E. Harrow
A timid historian is hurled back in time to accompany legendary lady-knight Una Everlasting on her doomed final crusade, trapping them in a heartbreaking time loop that explores myth-making, nationalism, sacrifice, and forbidden love across centuries in a lyrical, emotionally devastating romance.
The Nightshade God - Hannah Whitten
In the thrilling finale, Lore battles a ruthless god wielding the Nightshade Crown, fighting to save her ensnared prince and priest while unraveling divine secrets, forbidden magic, and personal betrayals in a lush, atmospheric romantasy rich with intense romance and high-stakes intrigue.
The Enchanted Greenhouse - Sarah Beth Durst
Exiled librarian Terlu awakens from statue punishment on a magical island, teaming with a charming gardener and sentient plants to restore failing enchanted greenhouses, uncovering ancient secrets while finding second chances, community, and gentle romance in this heartwarming cozy fantasy tale.
Hemlock & Silver - T. Kingfisher
A queer dark fantasy retelling weaves witchcraft, forbidden lore, and redemption as protagonists confront monstrous instincts, supernatural threats, and personal identity, blending evocative folklore with emotional depth, lush world-building, and themes of healing in a richly atmospheric magical realm.
The Isle in the Silver Sea - Georgia Summers
Explorers navigate enchanted silver seas teeming with lost civilizations, prophetic visions, and treacherous alliances, unraveling ancient mysteries and personal destinies in an immersive epic fantasy brimming with mythical wonders, compelling characters, and high-seas adventure across a vast, magical world.
The Knight and the Moth - Rachel Gillig
A prophetess and haunted knight investigate vanished girls and awakening ancient gods in a gothic romantasy filled with atmospheric dread, forbidden romance, moral ambiguity, and unraveling mysteries, delivering tense emotional depth and immersive peril in a shadowed fantasy realm.
Grave Empire - Richard Swan
In a crumbling grimdark empire, judicial magic clashes with moral dilemmas and dark conspiracies as complex protagonists navigate trials, betrayals, and supernatural horrors, blending intricate legal intrigue with fierce battles and philosophical questions in a richly detailed world.
The Book of Lost Hours - Laura Anne Gilman
A mesmerizing collection of interconnected novellas explores time manipulation, forgotten mystical artifacts, and ethereal realms, weaving clever paradoxes, character-driven revelations, and speculative wonders into cerebral tales of loss, discovery, and the haunting magic of elusive hours.
Pearl City - Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle
In a vibrant magical metropolis, thieves and supernatural allies orchestrate daring artifact heists amid cultural clashes and underworld intrigue, delivering fast-paced urban fantasy action, diverse representation, and thrilling schemes in a richly layered world of power and betrayal.
The Secret Market of the Dead - Giovanni De Feo
On the border of day and night, a young woman uncovers necromantic markets and immortal secrets, trading destinies amid spectral dangers and moral ambiguities, crafting a chilling dark fantasy exploration of death, desire, and the eerie allure of forbidden realms.
One Yellow Eye - Leigh Radford
Amid a contained zombie apocalypse ravaging London, survivors grapple with profound grief, love, and loss in a heartbreaking internal journey blending supernatural horror with emotional depth, fresh twists on undead tropes, and haunting reflections on humanity's fragile endurance.
The Captive Hell’s Hundred - Kit Burgoyne
Captive heroes battle demonic forces across infernal realms in a pulpy epic adventure of rebellion, alliances, and desperate escapes, pulsing with high-stakes action, vivid horrors, and heroic defiance against overwhelming supernatural odds in a hellish fantasy saga.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy - Zoe Forward
Magical rivals clash in steamy enemies-to-lovers tension amid enchanted conflicts and fated prophecies, unraveling secrets and forbidden attractions with witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and heart-pounding romance in a delightful romantasy escape of rivalry turned passion.
The Second Death of Locke - Mark Lawrence
Resurrected amid broken worlds and existential threats, protagonists confront death magic, philosophical paradoxes, and unflinching moral choices in a grimdark tale of profound depth, intricate plotting, and devastating emotional resonance across vast, unforgiving fantasy landscapes.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping - Sangu Mandanna
A young witch transforms an enchanted inn into a haven of community and spells, fostering found family amid whimsical creatures and gentle magic, offering charming low-stakes adventures, heartfelt connections, and cozy wonder in a heartwarming tale of belonging.
The Primal of Blood and Bone - Jennifer L. Armentrout
Primordial beings awaken ancient bone magic and forbidden bonds in an epic romantasy clash of divine powers, betrayals, and intense emotional stakes, delivering fierce action, steamy romance, and intricate mythology for fans of high-fantasy passion and peril.
Far Better Thing - H.G. Parry
Alternate histories intertwine with revolutionary magic and profound human connections in a literary fantasy exploring power, identity, and societal upheaval, weaving elegant prose, thematic richness, and enchanting narratives of change and resilience across shadowed worlds.
A Forgery of Fate - Elizabeth Lim
A heroine forges destinies amid imperial intrigue and mythical quests, battling fate-weaving curses and personal sacrifices in an empowering young adult fantasy inspired by rich folklore, lush worlds, and strong-willed protagonists seeking justice and self-discovery.