Can we talk about the fantasy genre for a second?
Every time I open BookTok, scroll through Goodreads, or walk into a bookstore, it’s the same thing. Romantasy everywhere. Spicy covers. Swoony love interests. Magic systems that somehow take a backseat to who’s sleeping with whom. I mean, I get it. Romantasy brought a whole new wave of readers into the fantasy genre and that’s genuinely awesome.
But what about the rest of us?
The ones who fell in love with fantasy because of the adventure, the ensemble casts, the world-building that made you forget you had somewhere to be. The ones who couldn’t get through Fourth Wing or just didn’t understand ACOTAR.
The ones who just want a great summer read that’s fun, fast-paced, and reminds us of why we started reading in the first place.
I feel you, and that’s why these fantasy book recommendations are for you.
I read every single one of these. Devoured them, actually. Fast-paced stories with diverse casts, big yet understandable magic, and adventure that doesn’t solely rely on the romantic subplot. A few of them have some romance woven in — because let’s be real, enemies to lovers will always have my heart — but it never takes over the plot. The adventure is always the point.
Pull up a chair, friend. Your summer TBR is about to get very interesting.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Travelers — magicians with a rare ability to move between parallel versions of London, each connected by one magical city. Grey London is dirty and magic-free, ruled by a mad king. Red London is alive with magic, where Kell was raised alongside the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London is brutal. People fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, royal courier between worlds. Unofficially, he’s a smuggler, which is a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences he’s now seeing firsthand. Fleeing into Grey London, he runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
What to love about it
Four alternate versions of London and each one has its own distinct vibe. The magic system has layers to it, too. What you think you understand about the magic in the first book just scratches the surface.
Kell was my favorite character but here’s the thing — he absolutely could not have saved the day without Delilah. And I love that. It’s actually hard to find good fantasy books without romance at the center, where the female lead still earns her place in the story without it being about a love interest.
Fair warning, though: Delilah can be a little much in book two. Stick with it though. She gets better in book 3.
I listened to this one on audiobook while walking my dog in the morning. The narrator and pacing are chef’s kiss for that format. The full trilogy is out so you can scoop up the next book when you’re done with the first. It’s also easy to pick back up the next day without feeling lost.
Other books in the trilogy: A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals. They are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory after her family was murdered by a rival line. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man — now a god — responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek her out: Castor, a childhood friend Lore believed to be dead, and Athena, one of the last of the original gods, now gravely wounded. The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and a way to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost — and it may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.
What to love about it
What if the Hunger Games featured Greek gods living as modern-day humans in New York City? That’s the energy here, and it absolutely delivers. The ancient Greek gods as regular people walking around the city give off such strong American Gods vibes and I was here for every second of it.
Lore is a female MC put in an impossible situation. The only way to really leave the hunter life behind is to fight in the same hunt one last time. She’s strong, makes bold choices, and still has a vulnerable side that makes you want to take this dangerous ride with her. And she couldn’t do it alone.
She had her band of mortal friends to back her up, ensemble cast style. That’s always a win.
If you love Greek mythology, the representation of the gods here is phenomenal. The New York City settings were so vivid I felt like I was back home. I came home every day and could not wait to finish it. The hardcover version of the book is beautiful too and you’ll want it on your bookshelf.
While I’m not usually a standalone kind of reader, this one ended exactly the way it needed to. I couldn’t have been more happy.
Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her — all of them with something to prove and a score to settle. The crew has one mission: stay alive and take down Aric’s armed and armored fleet.
But when Caledonia’s best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all — or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?
What to love about it
An all-female pirate crew on a solar-powered ship on a revenge mission. Need I say more?
Girl power on the high seas doesn’t get better than this and this is one of those adventure fantasy books for adults that actually delivers on that promise.
The representation in this one is everything. Not only is the crew diverse but one of the crew members is hearing impaired. You rarely see that in fantasy and I loved seeing it here. The villains are literally called the Bullets. And they happen to all be guys. I’m just saying.
Caledonia reluctantly teams up with the enemy while keeping her crew alive on a very dangerous revenge mission. The sisterhood, the action scenes, the world, which feels like a tropical oasis that doesn’t remind you of anywhere you’ve been before, is so well done. I read this one on Kindle and flew right through it.
Other books in the trilogy: Steel Tide, Stormbreak
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz Brekker, criminal prodigy of Ketterdam, is offered the job of a lifetime — a chance at a deadly score that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone.
He needs a convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction — if they don’t kill each other first.
What to love about it
The Shadow and Bone TV show did not do this duology justice so don’t let that put you off. The books are such a deeper experience.
This is Ocean’s Eleven in a fantasy world, and it is everything. Ketterdam doesn’t feel like your typical medieval forest or tavern city. It has almost a Bonnie and Clyde era feel to it, with guns and bombs instead of swords and daggers. The ensemble cast is Six of Crows at its finest. Every character has their own strengths, quirks, and things to love about them.
The romance isn’t heavy, but the couples in this book are worth rooting for. It deepens the story instead of being the story — which is exactly what good fantasy book recommendations without spice look like in practice.
While there aren’t as many female characters as male, Inej and Nina absolutely hold their own. Two completely different women with different strengths and weaknesses. I love that Bardugo understands that strong women aren’t a monolith.
The heist in book one is amazing, and the one in book two had me holding my breath. I devoured this on Kindle in a few days and jumped straight into the next one. Oh and just to prove my love for this book, I just bought the paperbacks for both books so I can go back and read them again.
Second book in the duology: Crooked Kingdom
Macario’s Scepter by MJ McGriff
An unlikely Chosen One, her pirate captain ex-lover, and a nun. A prophecy that unleashes a fire-breathing sea serpent, pouring its wrath on the isles. A magical scepter with the power to destroy — or save — the world.
Samara is a shipwrecked at sea. She can’t seem to get anything right, especially her love life. Her former pirate captain, the famous Baz Blackwater, broke her heart and stranded her on an island of religious hypocrites. Samara wants nothing more than to escape to the freedom of the sea, so when her ex-lover shows up offering a chance at a magical treasure — and secret revenge — she jumps at the chance.
Seraphina prays every day for her wayward twin sister to stop chasing the pirate life and find the peace she’s discovered in her own quiet life at the convent. But Samara has nothing but contempt for her sister’s beliefs and religious rituals. Yet when Seraphina uncovers an ancient prophecy revealing the horrifying curse of the treasure Samara and Baz seek, she must leave her convent — risking the wrath of her Order — and search for the truth about Macario’s scepter.
In a world of friendship and betrayal, monsters and magic, seedy pubs and adventure on the high seas, will Samara’s magical powers, Baz’s cunning plans, and Seraphina’s unshakable faith be enough to slay a cursed sea serpent destroying everything they love?
What to love about it
Okay yes, shameless plug. But I wrote this story with adventure first and a diverse ensemble cast in mind — specifically for readers who are tired of romance taking over every fantasy series they pick up.
The world is immersive and non-European. Think Santorini, Greece broken up into different islands. It’s fast-paced with plenty of cinematic action scenes where every woman in the story is her own kind of badass. Samara is reckless but brave. Seraphina’s faith in her sister and her crew is the soul of the story. Mari is no-nonsense, will tell it like it is, and fiercely loyal to her people. They all have their vulnerabilities too — which is what makes them real.
Three books are out now in the fantasy book series with the fourth one in its second round of edits.
Other books in the series: The Secret Library, The Spell Keeper
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law — risking exile — to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer — a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Two girls will face an army of enemies — mortal and divine — determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
What to love about it
They should have done a follow-up movie based on this book instead of Wonder Woman 1984. I will die on this hill.
Young Diana leaves the island when a young girl ends up on her shores, not because Ares is a threat, but because the girl herself could be. The writing and scenes are incredibly cinematic. I could see every single moment on a screen. Another great ensemble cast with diverse mortal kids who are just as powerful and smart as Diana. Diana herself is wonderfully naive, but in the best way. She will always do what is right, no matter the cost.
Another standalone that lands exactly where it should. I wouldn’t have minded another installment in the teenage Wonder Woman universe, though. Just putting that out there Leigh.