42 Most-anticipated new fantasy books 2025

1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros – January 21

Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons.
No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun; and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

2. Tarnished by Erica Rose Eberheart – January 21

In the struggling city of Braewick, a determined 20-year-old gate guard named Ailith MacCree longs for a chance at financial stability and adventure. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. She accepts a mission from Princess Greer that promises both: escort Princess Caitriona to the Endless Mountains to meet the enigmatic hermit for a great financial reward. Ailith jumps at the opportunity and bids goodbye to all she’s ever known. But as they journey together, Ailith discovers that Caitriona holds a dangerous secret—she possesses powerful magic in a kingdom where magic is outlawed.

3. In the Name of Honor by Courtney Collins, Clarke Collins – January 27

A half-elven princess grieves the loss of one father, and fears for the other.
A loyal guardsman torn between his word and her safety.
And a creature so corrupted, he’ll hurt them all to make the world kneel.

4. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett – February 11

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm – as its queen.

5. Hungerstone by Kat Dunn – February 13

Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage the relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry’s ambitions take them from London to Sheffield, and with his success hinged on a hunt, an old tradition looms over the home; the hunt is a time to settle old scores. If a bullet finds a human home, then it is only that they were foolish to become prey. In the weeks leading up to the hunt, a carriage accident near their remote home brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore’s life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who will not eat meals with the family, Carmilla who stirs up a hunger deep within Lenore. Soon girls from local villages begin to fall sick before being consumed by a terrible hunger . . .

6. Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods – February 18

A dark and enchanting fairy tale-inspired historical fantasy combining elements of “The Little Mermaid” and “Cinderella” into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.
For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo’s wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship’s crew. Only Samuel—Luce’s best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

7. The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon – February 25

Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade – but she has no idea how she got to the free world. Half a year has been wiped from her memory.

As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret – one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals.

8. The Wildest Things by Andrea Hannah – February 25

In this sapphic Snow White retelling, if Snow is to save her kingdom from being ravaged by the Blight, she’ll have to kill the Evil Queen’s daughter…if she doesn’t fall in love with her first.

9. Galaphile by Terry Brooks – March 11

New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks makes his triumphant return to the world of Shannara, delving deep into the origin story of the druid order and its enigmatic creator that will change the face of the Four Lands forever.

10. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar – March 4

In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.

There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family’s latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.

But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters’ bond but also their lives will be at risk…

11. Oathbound by Tracy Deonn – March 4

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society.

12. Malinalli by Veronica Chapa – March 11

An imaginative retelling of the triumphs and sorrows of one of the most controversial and misunderstood women in Mexico’s history and mythology, perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow and Zoraida Córdova’s The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina.

13. Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner – March 13

The epic Finale to the Instant No. 1 Sunday Times Bestselling Fallen Gods Trilogy.

In the epic finale to the #1 internationally bestselling Fallen Gods trilogy that started with Godkiller, the fate of Middren hangs in the balance as mighty gods and mortal heroes clash in a final battle for supremacy.

14. Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin – March 18

Tam hasn’t eaten anyone in years. 

She is now Mama’s soft-spoken, vegan daughter — everything dangerous about her is cut out, repressed. Medicated.

But when Tam’s estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox in a shoebox and an ensemble of old enemies. 

15. The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn – March 18

Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things – plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger – it’s a birthright.

16. The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley – March 18

A timely and timeless reimagining of the story of Dionysus, Greek God of ecstasy and madness, revelry and ruin, for readers of The Song of Achilles and Elektra.

Raised in a Greek legion, Phaidros has been taught to fight for the homeland he’s never seen and to follow his commander’s orders at all costs. But when he rescues a baby from a fire at Thebes’s palace, his commander’s orders cease to make sense: Phaidros is forced to abandon the blue-eyed boy at a temple, and to keep the baby’s existence a secret.

17. The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie – March 25

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

18. Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake – April 1

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes the story of three siblings who, upon the death of their father, are forced to reckon with their long-festering rivalries, dangerous abilities, and the crushing weight of all their unrealized adolescent potential.

18. Fearless by Lauren Roberts – April 8

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya… ​
​
And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever. ​
​
In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

19. The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalezs – April 8

Irish mythology collides with Gilded Age New York in this sweeping debut enemies-to-lovers historical romantasy, perfect for fans of Outlander and A Fate Inked in Blood.

Manhattan, 1870. Rua knows only two things: her name, and that she has no memories. So when the wealthy Harrington family mistakes Rua for their missing daughter, Emma, Rua goes along with the charade, hoping for answers about who she really is. As she tries to blend into a society she doesn’t remember, she’s drawn to a firmly off-limits the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society who is somehow familiar to Rua.

20. Don’t Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo – April 8

Nick Carraway―paper soldier and novelist―has found a life and a living watching the mad magical spectacle of New York high society in the late thirties. He’s good at watching, and he’s even better at pretending to be straight, pretending to be human, pretending he’s forgotten the events of that summer in 1922.

21. The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah – April 15

A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy.

Neither here nor there, but long ago… After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.

22. When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley – April 22

Benigno “Benny” Caldera knows an orphaned Boricua blacksmith in 1910s New York City can’t call himself an artist. But the ironwork tank he creates for famed Coney Island playground, Luna Park, astounds the eccentric sideshow proprietor who commissioned it. He invites Benny to join the show’s eclectic cast and share in their shocking secret: the tank will cage their newest exhibit, a live merman stolen from the salty banks of the East River.

23. The Floating World by Axie Oh – May 13

From New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

24. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – May 13

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

25. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh – May 13

Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy.

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.

26. The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig – May 20

From BookTok sensation and NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig, comes the next big romantasy phenomenon: a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a prophetess who is forced beyond the safety of her cloister on an impossible quest to defeat the gods with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight.

27. Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark – May 20

An epic new fantasy about a demon hunter and a foot soldier thrown together in a centuries-old war… and the forbidden love that could change the course of history.

A bloody war between demons and the Vatican has waged for more than a century, with two elite soldiers now at its center: Selene Alleva, a high-ranking exorcist running from a dark family legacy, and orphan Jules Lacroix, recruited by the Vatican and unrivalled on the battlefield.

28. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis – May 27

From the NYT-besetselling author of Dreadful, Big Little Lies goes to magic school, cozy fantasy perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater and Heather Fawcett.

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

29. A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim – June 3

A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!

30. The Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton – June 17

A talented heretic must decide between the pursuit of forbidden magic, or the ecstasy of forbidden love—either way, her choice will upend the world, in the start of a sweeping, romantic epic fantasy trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.

Can an empire trip and fall on a mere strand of silk? 

31. Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil by Victoria E. Schwab – June 10

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.

One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.

And all of them grow teeth.

32. Rose in Chains by Julie Soto – July 3

Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, Briony Rosewood knows that the world as she knows it is changed forever. The dark forces of Bomard have won and her people, the Eversuns, face imminent servitude, imprisonment or death. Her brother, fated to be heir twice over and unite the warring kingdoms, is dead.

33. An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic by Sarah J. Mendonca – July 8

Encanto meets Oceans 8 in this middle-grade fantasy-adventure, set in a Portuguese-inspired world, following a tween girl who joins a notorious band of thieves to steal a priceless jewel and discovers corruption that must be stopped.

34. The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sacher 0 August 5

Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia’s father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the “wedding of the century,” Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.

36. Hemlock & Silver By T. Kingfisher – August 19

A dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind.

Healer Anja knows little of politics but much of poisons. When she is summoned to treat the mysterious illness afflicting the king’s daughter, she finds herself against the clock, desperate to track down the source of the poison killing Princess Snow. But the chance discovery of a strange alternate world inside a magic mirror leads Anja to darker discoveries, including what really happened to Snow’s dead sister, Rose, and why their mother seemingly went mad and cut out her heart.

37. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang – August 28

Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.

38. Thief of Night by Holly Black – September 23

There’d always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn’t willing to double down on. She may be good enough to steal a shadow from a tower, but will she be good enough to steal back a heart?

39. Queen Demon by Martha Wells – October 7

Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs’ Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there’s something he isn’t telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.

Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?

And can he trust his companions to do what’s right?

40. Forest of Hearts by M.A Kuzniar – October 23

Elka has been banished to the forest by her wicked stepmother, who rules the city with an iron first. She is cursed to remain there forever unless she takes the hearts of seven men. Six have been slain and a wounded huntsman stumbles across her path, destined to be the seventh.  But Kai is hiding a secret of his own, arriving in the forest with another agenda and as the two get to know one another, passion begins to spark. The magic within the forest is stirring and dark forces threaten to overtake them.  Elka must face the ultimate relinquish her destiny or betray her heart?