Fantasy Fantasy Books: Best Reads

Core fantasy reads spanning epic quests, magical worlds, and character-driven tales. Ideal for readers seeking cornerstone fantasy novels and standout series.

Curated by Fabled Tome

148 Books in subgenre
Apr 13, 2026 Last updated
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Show illustrated and light novel entries alongside standard fantasy books.

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49 The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities

The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities

By

Rated 4.23 out of 5 stars, based on 922 reviews.

In The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities, Iris Lake introduces Nepheli, a determined shopkeeper whose magical curiosity shop stands as the last remnant of wonder in the increasingly ordinary city of Elora. Her quiet routine unravels when Apollo, an en…

Book 1 of Tales from the Faraway North series


50 I Ran Away to Evil

I Ran Away to Evil

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Rated 4.23 out of 5 stars, based on 1,395 reviews.

I Ran Away to Evil by Mystic Neptune introduces Henrietta Doryn, a warrior princess who would rather bake than battle, ordered to cross the border and assassinate the Dark Lord threatening her kingdom. Instead of a brutal tyrant, she finds Keith Monf…

Book 1 of I Ran Away to Evil series


51 A Coup of Tea

A Coup of Tea

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Rated 4.22 out of 5 stars, based on 5,212 reviews.

In A Coup of Tea, Casey Blair introduces Miyara, the fourth princess of Istalam, who abandons her royal role and vanishes from court life. Disguised and living in exile, she runs a modest tea shop in a struggling neighborhood bordering a dangerous zo…

Book 1 of Tea Princess Chronicles series


52 Nevernight

Nevernight

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Rated 4.22 out of 5 stars, based on 117,032 reviews.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff follows Mia Corvere, the daughter of a condemned traitor, in a world where three suns rarely set and shadows are scarce. Hiding in a city built on the remains of a dead god and pursued by the authorities, she discovers an a…

Book 1 of The Nevernight Chronicle series


53 Emergence

Emergence

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Rated 4.22 out of 5 stars, based on 2,083 reviews.

Emergence by David R. Palmer follows Candidia Maria Smith-Foster, an eleven-year-old girl who discovers she belongs to a new human offshoot after a global catastrophe. When a bionuclear assault devastates the world and her father, a covert biowarfare…

Book 1 of The Emergence Chronicles series


54 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 65,269 reviews.

In The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, Jeanne Birdsall follows four spirited sisters spending their summer holiday at the Arundel estate. Between exploring expansive gardens, a cluttered attic full…

Book 1 of The Penderwicks series


55 Captured Heart

Captured Heart

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 1,961 reviews.

Captured Heart by Heather McCollum follows Meg Boswell, a young healer marked as a witch, as she escapes north through a harsh medieval winter with only her bow, her horse, her mother’s mysterious medical journal, and a fiercely loyal wolf. Hunted by…

Book 1 of Highland Hearts series


56 The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 176,902 reviews.

In The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart introduces four unusually gifted children who pass a strange series of intelligence and logic tests advertised in a newspaper. Chosen by the enigmatic Mr. Benedict, they form a small team and ar…

Book 1 of The Mysterious Benedict Society series


57 The Herbwitch's Apprentice

The Herbwitch's Apprentice

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 1,783 reviews.

The Herbwitch's Apprentice by Ireen Chau follows sixteen-year-old debutante Amarante Flora, who discovers she is half witch in a kingdom where magic is punishable by death. Determined to suppress her powers after an unfortunate incident with Prince A…

Book 1 of Witches of Olderea series


58 Fantasy of Frost

Fantasy of Frost

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 12,457 reviews.

Fantasy of Frost by Kelly St. Clare introduces a veiled heir to the throne whose own mother despises her, leaving her isolated within a hostile royal court. As Tatuma, she is next in line to rule, yet years of abuse, secrecy, and enforced anonymity h…

Book 1 of The Tainted Accords series


59 Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon

Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon

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Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 1,744 reviews.

Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon by Maddy Mara follows Azmina, a young girl who has just moved to a new home and stumbles into a hidden world behind her backyard. Drawn into an enchanted forest by mysterious music, she discovers that her reflection has…

Book 1 of Dragon Girls series


60 Butter, Sugar, Magic

Butter, Sugar, Magic

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Rated 4.19 out of 5 stars, based on 5,593 reviews.

Butter, Sugar, Magic by Jessica Rosenberg introduces Cassie, a recently divorced, midlife single mother who unexpectedly inherits a fully equipped bakery and an elegant apartment from a great-aunt she never knew. Moving to the small town to test this…

Book 1 of Baking Up a Magical Midlife series


61 The Shadow of the Gods

The Shadow of the Gods

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Rated 4.19 out of 5 stars, based on 102,320 reviews.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne opens a Norse-inspired epic fantasy set in Vigrið, a fractured land still marked by the long-ago extinction of its gods. As rival jarls maneuver for advantage and monstrous creatures roam forests and mountains, t…

Book 1 of The Bloodsworn Saga series


62 Chase the Dark

Chase the Dark

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Rated 4.19 out of 5 stars, based on 14,151 reviews.

In Chase the Dark, Annette Marie introduces Piper Griffiths, a young woman training to become a Consul, charged with maintaining an uneasy peace between humans and daemons in a modern, magic-laced city. When a lethal break-in at the Consulate ends wi…

Book 1 of Steel & Stone series


63 Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 73,441 reviews.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy introduces a fast-talking skeleton detective and sorcerer who unexpectedly becomes the guardian and partner of twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley. Set in a contemporary world threaded with hidden magic, the story fol…

Book 1 of Skulduggery Pleasant series


64 Shadow Blessed

Shadow Blessed

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 1,454 reviews.

Shadow Blessed by D.K. Holmberg follows Carth, a young woman whose life is shattered when the feared A’ras of Nyaesh murder her parents. In the aftermath, she uncovers that her family secretly prepared her to wield magic, leaving her with dangerous a…

Book 1 of The Shadow Accords series


65 Hawksong

Hawksong

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 23,101 reviews.

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes follows Danica Shardae, a young avian shapeshifter princess whose people have been locked in a brutal war with the serpiente for generations. As heir to the avian throne, Danica agrees to a politically arranged pair…

Book 1 of The Kiesha'ra series


66 The Mystwick School of Musicraft

The Mystwick School of Musicraft

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 7,133 reviews.

The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury follows Amelia Jones, a determined young musician who earns a precarious trial spot at an elite academy where music is the source of magic. After a failed audition, she must navigate demanding classe…

Book 1 of Mystwick series


67 Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 4,146 reviews.

In Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch, Julie Abe introduces a young witch whose limited powers put her future at risk. Nearly thirteen, Eva must complete a coming-of-age quest to earn the title of Novice Witch or lose her magic entirely, a challenge m…

Book 1 of Eva Evergreen series


68 The Dragon of Trelian

The Dragon of Trelian

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Rated 4.18 out of 5 stars, based on 2,023 reviews.

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen introduces Calen, an isolated apprentice mage, and Princess Meglynne, whose secret bond with a young dragon changes both their lives. As Meg struggles with the dangerous magical link tying her to the dragon,…

Book 1 of Trelian series


69 Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon

Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon

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Rated 4.17 out of 5 stars, based on 2,865 reviews.

Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon by Maria Grace reimagines Regency England as a realm quietly shared with dragons, governed by an old treaty few humans even know exists. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, both gifted with the rare ability to hear d…

Book 1 of Jane Austen's Dragons series


70 The Bird and the Sword

The Bird and the Sword

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Rated 4.17 out of 5 stars, based on 46,687 reviews.

In The Bird and the Sword, Amy Harmon sets a young woman with forbidden magic at the center of a kingdom that has outlawed enchantment. Cursed into silence by her dying mother and bound to her ambitious father’s claim to the throne, Lark lives as bot…

Book 1 of The Bird and the Sword Chronicles series


71 Red Sister

Red Sister

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 63,547 reviews.

Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1) by Mark Lawrence introduces Nona Grey, a young girl taken from execution and raised in the Convent of Sweet Mercy, where girls are trained as lethal warriors. Over ten years, Nona develops formidable skills in co…

Book 1 of Book of the Ancestor series


72 Terrier

Terrier

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 70,219 reviews.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce introduces Beka Cooper, a young trainee in the Provost’s Guard who insists on patrolling the dangerous Lower City where she grew up. In this high fantasy mystery set in Tortall’s capital, Beka works under two seasoned guards…

Book 1 of Beka Cooper series


73 Dealing with Dragons

Dealing with Dragons

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 94,732 reviews.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede follows Princess Cimorene, a sharp, independent heroine who refuses to accept the passive role expected of her. Tired of etiquette lessons and arranged marriage plans, she escapes her kingdom and volunteers t…

Book 1 of Enchanted Forest Chronicles series


74 Wormwood Abbey

Wormwood Abbey

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 5,688 reviews.

In Wormwood Abbey, Christina Baehr introduces Edith Worms, a Victorian clergyman’s daughter whose ordered life unravels when a mythical salamander appears and a summons arrives from long-ignored relatives. Drawn to a decaying abbey in remote Yorkshir…

Book 1 of The Secrets of Ormdale series


75 Pawsitively Poisonous

Pawsitively Poisonous

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 3,637 reviews.

Pawsitively Poisonous by Melissa Erin Jackson introduces Amber Blackwood, a quiet witch running a peculiar little shop called The Quirky Whisker in the cat-obsessed small town of Edgehill, Oregon. When Amber’s close friend Melanie is discovered dead…

Book 1 of Witch of Edgehill series


76 The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 124,371 reviews.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, with an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss, follows a solitary unicorn who discovers that creatures like her may have vanished everywhere but in her ageless forest. Disturbed by rumors that she is the last of her ki…

Book 1 of The Last Unicorn series


77 The Summer Dragon

The Summer Dragon

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 3,302 reviews.

In The Summer Dragon, Todd Lockwood introduces Maia, a young woman raised in a remote aerie where her family breeds dragons for a powerful war-driven empire. As she prepares to claim her first breeding dragon, the sudden appearance of the legendary S…

Book 1 of The Evertide series


78 Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 26,427 reviews.

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, translated by Emily Balistrieri, follows thirteen-year-old Kiki, a half-witch who must spend a year living independently in a new town as part of her training. Settling in the seaside city of Koriko with her ta…

Book 1 of 魔女の宅急便 [Majo no Takkyūbin] series


79 Sabriel

Sabriel

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 219,586 reviews.

Sabriel by Garth Nix introduces a young woman raised in the safety of a strict school in Ancelstierre, far from the unstable magic and restless Dead of the neighboring Old Kingdom. When her father, the Abhorsen, disappears, Sabriel must cross the bor…

Book 1 of Abhorsen series


80 The Witchwood Knot

The Witchwood Knot

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 5,982 reviews.

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater is a darkly atmospheric fantasy set in a magically altered Victorian England, where governess Winifred Hall discovers that her difficult young charge has been replaced by an uncanny wooden double. Convinced that t…

Book 1 of Victorian Faerie Tales series


81 The Poppy War

The Poppy War

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 508,178 reviews.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is a historical military fantasy set in the Nikara Empire, inspired by China’s twentieth-century conflicts. The story follows Rin, a war orphan from a poor southern province who gains admission to the elite Sinegard milita…

Book 1 of The Poppy War series


82 Red Rope of Fate

Red Rope of Fate

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 6,316 reviews.

Red Rope of Fate by K.M. Shea follows Tari, an elf chosen for a formal bonding with Arion, a human military captain, in a political effort to ease tensions between their peoples. When the ritual unexpectedly allows them to understand each other despi…

Book 1 of The Elves of Lessa series


83 A Dash of Trouble

A Dash of Trouble

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 3,219 reviews.

In A Dash of Trouble, Anna Meriano introduces Leonora Logroño, the youngest daughter in a tight-knit Mexican American family that runs a popular bakery in Rose Hill, Texas. Longing to be included in preparations for the town’s Día de los Muertos cele…

Book 1 of Love Sugar Magic series


84 The Cry of the Icemark

The Cry of the Icemark

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 11,919 reviews.

The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill follows Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, a young warrior princess suddenly responsible for defending her frozen kingdom after her father’s death in battle. As invading forces threaten to overwhelm th…

Book 1 of The Icemark Chronicles series


85 Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons

Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 4,148 reviews.

Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson follows Miss Mildred Percy, a reserved, middle-aged woman whose quiet life is overturned when she unexpectedly inherits a dragon’s egg from her great-uncle. When the…

Book 1 of Miss Percy Guide series


86 Clean Sweep

Clean Sweep

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Rated 4.16 out of 5 stars, based on 64,044 reviews.

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews introduces Dina Demille, an innkeeper whose quiet Texas bed-and-breakfast is actually a sentient, magically empowered refuge for travelers from distant worlds. Armed with a lethal broom and aided by her shape-shifting Shi…

Book 1 of Innkeeper Chronicles series


87 Fantasy Lover

Fantasy Lover

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Rated 4.15 out of 5 stars, based on 95,724 reviews.

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon blends urban fantasy and paranormal romance around an ancient curse colliding with modern life. Julian of Macedon, a once-feared Greek general, has been condemned by the gods to centuries of supernatural bondage, sum…

Book 1 of Hunter Legends series


88 The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl

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Rated 4.15 out of 5 stars, based on 148,984 reviews.

In The Goose Girl, Shannon Hale expands a classic Grimm fairy tale into a character-focused young adult fantasy about identity, loyalty, and power. Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee of Kildenree grows up more at ease with animals and the…

Book 1 of The Books of Bayern series


89 A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses

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Rated 4.15 out of 5 stars, based on 4,348,726 reviews.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas follows nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre, whose decision to kill a wolf draws her into the perilous realm of the Fae as payment for her crime. Taken to a faerie court ruled by the enigmatic Tamlin, she mus…

Book 1 of A Court of Thorns and Roses series


90 Sinister Magic

Sinister Magic

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Rated 4.15 out of 5 stars, based on 11,848 reviews.

Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker introduces Val Thorvald, a half-elven assassin who specializes in eliminating dangerous supernatural threats in a modern, magic-laced world. Armed with an enchanted sword and aided by a telepathic tiger, she has surv…

Book 1 of Death Before Dragons series


91 Mystic and Rider

Mystic and Rider

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Rated 4.14 out of 5 stars, based on 10,940 reviews.

Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn opens in Gillengaria, a kingdom strained by rising violence against magic users despite the king’s decree of tolerance. Mystic Senneth is sent to travel the realm and gauge the threat of rebellion among the powerful T…

Book 1 of Twelve Houses series


92 Dread Nation

Dread Nation

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Rated 4.14 out of 5 stars, based on 36,263 reviews.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland imagines an alternate Reconstruction-era America where the Civil War ends not in surrender, but in a zombie uprising that reshapes the nation’s laws and social order. Jane McKeene, a sharp-witted Black teenager trained…

Book 1 of Dread Nation series


93 Arrows of the Queen

Arrows of the Queen

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Rated 4.14 out of 5 stars, based on 40,036 reviews.

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey introduces Talia, a young runaway whose life changes when she is chosen by Rolan, a mysterious Companion with extraordinary powers. Taken to the kingdom of Valdemar to train as a Herald, she must learn to contro…

Book 1 of Valdemar: Heralds of Valdemar series


94 The Search for WondLa

The Search for WondLa

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Rated 4.14 out of 5 stars, based on 14,135 reviews.

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi follows twelve-year-old Eva Nine, a sheltered girl raised in an underground Sanctuary by her caretaker robot, Muthr. When circumstances force her to the surface of a strange, post-apocalyptic world, Eva discov…

Book 1 of The Search for WondLa series


95 Halfway to the Grave

Halfway to the Grave

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Rated 4.13 out of 5 stars, based on 165,489 reviews.

In Halfway to the Grave, Jeaniene Frost introduces Catherine Crawfield, a half-vampire who hunts the undead in a personal quest to track down the father who destroyed her mother’s life. When Cat is captured by Bones, a seasoned vampire bounty hunter,…

Book 1 of Night Huntress series


96 The Mists of Avalon

The Mists of Avalon

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Rated 4.13 out of 5 stars, based on 213,783 reviews.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley revisits the Arthurian legends from the perspectives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and other women whose choices shape Camelot’s rise and fall. Set in a Britain caught between ancient pagan traditions and the s…

Book 1 of Avalon (Publication Order) series