If you’re looking to dive into fantasy…

I’ve got a book list for you!

After I became a bookstagrammer last year, I found myself getting asked more than ever for book recommendations. Since I feel like I’m repeatedly scrolling through Goodreads, trying to summarize, I decided to post a comprehensive list here and then I can share the link in future with people. Maybe I’ll add to the list yearly!

Epic or Fairytale Fantasy

I have loved Robin McKinley for decades. Her writing style always has a fairytale feel. My favorites are The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown, Spindle’s End, Beauty, Deerskin, and Rose Daughter. (I absolutely loved Sunshine as well, but please note that it is a contemporary fantasy vampire tale, very different from her other works.)

I am a recent fan of Intisar Khanani. She is an auto-buy author for me now. She writes strong female characters and her friendships/familial relationships dominate the tales more than the romances. I have read and loved Thorn, Theft of Sunlight, and the first two installments of the Sunbolt Chronicles—I hope there will be more!

I am a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas, though her romances are more explicit than my typical preferences. If you want epic fantasy with lots of characters, kingdoms, magical powers, and big battles, then I’d suggest you start with the Throne of Glass series. I agree that the first two books are Young Adult, stylistically and from a content perspective, but from book three onward the content feels adult to me despite the fact that several MCs are teens. The series really takes off from book three to the end. I read The Assassin’s Blade novella/short stories after I finished the series to cure my major book hangover. If you want something shorter than Throne of Glass, which consists of seven books (and the later ones are long), then I recommend you read the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. It’s my favorite. The first three books are a great trilogy you can read over and over again and stop there if you want. A Court of Frost and Starlight is a novella that I consider a primer for the subsequent books. It checks in with all the characters after the end of the original trilogy and sets you up for future books. I recommend reading ACOTAR prior to the New Adult Crescent City series (contemporary fantasy). House of Earth and Blood dives into really heavy world-building right in the beginning that some readers have struggled with. I believe that if you’ve read some of Maas’s other works and are familiar with her writing style, you will have an easier time getting into Crescent City.

I have also really enjoyed:

• Holly Black – The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Folk of the Air trilogy
• Elly Blake – Frostblood Saga
• Casey L. Bond –When Wishes Bleed duology
• Kristin Cashore – Graceling Realm series
• Cinda Williams Chima – Seven Realms series & Shattered Realms series
• Tracy Deonn – Legendborn
• Ayana Gray – Beasts of Prey
• Robin Hobb – Farseer Trilogy
• Rosamund Hodge – Cruel Beauty, Crimson Bound
• Jordan Ifueko – Raybearer duology
• Melissa Meyer – Gilded
• Naomi Novik – Spinning Silver, Uprooted
• Ashley Poston – Among the Beasts and Briars
• Sara Raasch – Snow Like Ashes trilogy
• Laura Sebastian – Ash Princess trilogy
• Sherry Thomas – The Elemental Trilogy
• J.R.R. Tolkien – The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• Adrienne Young – Fable duology

Contemporary Fantasy

I am addicted to the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. The series begins with Harry Dresden, wizard PI, assisting a special unit of the Chicago PD that handles paranormal crimes. Every type of supernatural creature you can think of is in this series and Harry’s adventures expand with each book.

I am also catching up to the most recent releases in the Mercy Thompson and related Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. While the main focus is on the werewolf packs, there are many supernatural creatures in the Mercyverse and those groups have political conflicts as well as supernatural ones. To avoid small spoilers, I recommend readers pay attention to publication order and start at the beginning. The separate series reference each other from time to time.

I enjoyed the Shadowhunters world created by Cassandra Clare and will continue to read her books as they come out. I applaud the gender, racial, and sexual orientation representation in her books and the issues she tackles. To avoid major spoilers, I highly recommend readers pay attention to publication order and start at the beginning. The separate series build off of each other and often have overlapping characters so I feel it would be most enjoyable to read in publication order, instead of picking one series and reading it straight through. I most enjoyed the historical feel of The Infernal Devices.

I cannot recommend enough this lesser-known gem of a series: The Sunlit Lands by Matt Mikalatos. The first two books have both an epic fantasy and contemporary feel as modern teens slip into a unique fantasy world. The third book, The Story King, is so phenomenal that I would give it more than five stars if I could. I wish everyone would read this series just to get to book three. It is a stunning and insightful book on so many topics… Love and grief. Power, slavery, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Magic and nature. Ignorance and the importance of literacy, knowledge, and memory. What makes us different and the same. Taking a stand against racism or keeping your head down. It’s a thought-provoking commentary on humanity—all wrapped up in a fun fantasy trilogy.

A Monster Calls, Burn, and The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness are unique reads that I keep coming back to revisit.

The Rephaim series by Paula Weston is an entertaining and action-packed tale of the battle between angels and demons. It keeps you guessing until the big reveals in book four.

Fantasy Romance – For a nice romance set in a fantasy world, I enjoyed:

• Danielle L. Jensen – The Bridge Kingdom series
• Sylvia Mercedes – Candlelight and Shadows duology

Fantasy/Sci-Fi mix – For a mix of genres, check out:

• Erika Johansen – Queen of the Tearling series
• Anne McCaffrey – The Dragonriders of Pern series. My love of dragons was cemented by reading her books in my late teens and early twenties. Dive in and keep going!

Historical Fantasy­ – For a historical fiction feel, combined with myth/lore and magic, check out:

• Katherine Arden – The Winternight trilogy
• Robin LaFevers – His Fair Assassin trilogy & Courting Darkness duology. I recommend reading His Fair Assassin first to fully enjoy the subsequent duology.

Cross-Genre Authors – Some authors I love have books that are shelved sometimes in the SFF section and sometimes in general fiction. Regardless of category, I love the magical/supernatural parts of these books!

• Neil Gaiman – Fortunately, the Milk; The Graveyard Book; Good Omens (w/Terry Prachett); Interworld; Neverwhere, The Ocean at the End of the Lane; Odd and the Frost Giants; The Sleeper and the Spindle; Stardust
• Alix E. Harrow – The Once and Future Witches, Ten Thousand Doors of January, A Spindle Splintered
• T.J. Klune – The House in the Cerulean Sea

That’s enough for now… Can you tell fantasy is my main genre?