Maas’s sophomore series undoubtedly changes the YA and new adult fantasy romance landscape. The Beauty and the Beast reimagining follows Feyre, a starving human hunting for food on the border of faerie territory. When she kills a faerie in the shape of a wolf, she is taken by the faerie lord, Tamlin, in restitution. Now Feyre must find her new place in a dangerous, magical land where everything is more than it seems. While other fantasy books with romance, fairies, and war were popular before this book, the success of the series launched publisher interest in acquiring other new adult romantasy titles.

In a world where four parallel Londons exist (Red, White, Grey, and Black), Kell is a rare magician who uses blood magic to travel between them—and a smuggler for those with the coin for his services. When his latest deal goes dangerously awry, he escapes to Grey London and runs into dagger-wielding pickpocket Lila Bard. After a rocky introduction (she robs him and then saves him from a deadly enemy, as you do), Lila and Kell embark on a journey to uncover a conspiracy and save the four worlds from destruction. This book (and series) was V.E. Schwab's breakout hit; with its creative worldbuilding, morally complex characters, and high-stakes plot, it's easy to see why.

While vacationing in Mexico during the Twilight craze, a historian got to thinking about the enduring allure of the supernatural. That ponderance led her to write her first novel, one that would go into its seventh printing just two months after publication. That book is A Discovery of Witches, a vampire + witch romance adventure about a missing alchemical manuscript and a centuries-old war between witches, vampires, and daemons to obtain it. Set in places like Oxford and the French countryside, from the Bodleian Library to the streets of Elizabethan England, Harkness's All Souls series is a romp in all of the best ways.

We can hear you yelling, "But that book came out in 1996!" True, but we think the whole five-book (so far?) Song of Fire and Ice series needs to be highlighted, so we're starting with the beginning. While not the bestselling success upon its release that it is today, the first book garnered a dedicated and vocal following. And after the subsequent books continuing the dark fantasy epic about dragons, political intrigue, sex, betrayal, and revenge were released, it was adapted for HBO, and became one of the biggest cultural phenomenons of this century. While it's unclear if we'll ever get another book in this series, we'll always have Westeros.

Freya Marske creates such a rich, detailed magical world concurrent to Edwardian England that it almost feels real. A Marvellous Light introduces us to the magical system that exists right alongside the history we know. Low-level bureaucrat Robin Blyth discovers the cat’s cradle magic system through his magical counterpart, Edwin Courcey. A Restless Truth continues the mission, and A Power Unbound solves the whole mystery. By the end, the ancestral seat of an English lord is home to a queer found family fighting the corrupt magical overlords. It’s both engaging and searingly hot, bringing together all the best parts of historical romantasy.

Historian P. Djèlí Clark expanded the world of his short story and novella into this fantastic, award-winning speculative mystery. It's set in an early alternate 20th-century Cairo, where magic now exists. Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi must solve the murder of a secret brotherhood dedicated to al-Jahiz, the man who brought magic into the human world—and then disappeared. The killer claims to be al-Jahiz himself, and Fatma and the other agents must get to the bottom of the murders before fear and unrest consumes the city. It's an immersive, exciting novel that you won't want to end.

This is one of those books that seamlessly blends science fiction and fantasy into a single world, making both feel just as natural and necessary to the story. It’s so full of heart and joy and sorrow, it’s no wonder that it won the Nebula Award in 2016. Patricia is a witch. Laurence is a scientist. They became best friends in middle school, only to part suddenly. But their fates are intertwined, particularly when magicians everywhere go to war with the scientific juggernaut that Laurence works for.

While Ember initially stands out thanks to its setting—inspired in part by Rome’s imperial colonization of Southwest Asia—it’s the tight writing and plotting that truly set it apart. Tahir doesn’t shy away from introducing a brutal oppressing class, unafraid to commit violence against children in order to advance their goals. Right now, in the 2020s, the revolutionary origins and juxtaposition (and yes, the War School) might seem commonplace, but in 2015 there was something markedly different and special about Laia, Elias, and the sacrifices they are willing to make for the greater good.

Any number of YA books could land on a list of the most influential works of fantasy. But what makes Ash worthy of inclusion is that it was among the first–if not the first–teen books that retold a classic fairy tale from a queer perspective. This gritty, highly-decorated reimagining of Cinderella is as romantic as it is thought-provoking, exploring themes of grief, solitude, and self-transformation. Ash also set the stage for Lo's impressive writing career; young adult literature–and critical, nuanced discussions of YA literature–are so much richer with her voice and perspective.

If I could choose one book to show R.F. Kuang’s brilliance to new readers, it would be this standalone fantasy. She so deftly reexamines the dark academia genre through the lens of colonialism, interrogating the ways imperialism defines a Victorian-era Oxford where language unlocks magic. For Robin, a Chinese boy raised in England, attending Oxford has been the focal point of his childhood, the place where his linguistic deftness can be fully mined. However, studying in Oxford also means betraying his home country. While academics are pivotal to Babel’s worldbuilding, the novel’s emotional arcs and relationships make it truly resonate.

One of the many things that sets this sprawling epic apart from other fantasy books is the fact that it was nominated for a National Book Award, something that rarely happens to genre fiction. But not surprising—this is a tremendous work unlike any other, an ambitious tale steeped in African mythology and history. Tracker is as his name implies, most recently hired to find a long-missing boy. Joining up with a group to aid in his quest, their travels take them to dangerous parts of the world, where each misstep and each attack by outsiders leads Tracker to wonder more about the boy he seeks and how much of what he has been told is the truth.

This is one of the century's great epic YA fantasy novels and I cannot wait for the adaptation because what a movie the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy will make. Following three unforgettable characters--a fierce young woman with powerful magic brewing in her veins, a runaway princess unwilling to remain silent while her father oppresses his people, and an obedient prince on the hunt for the escaped girls--the series has all the trappings of classic hero's quest tales while offering a fresh setting, impressive world building, and a magical adventure for the ages.

Madeline Miller will forever be known as one of our great retellers of mythos, and Circe made undeniable waves from day one. This retelling focusing on a minor character relegated to the margins of the pantheon, a witch, an enchantress, a scorned woman, managed to stand out among the numbered Greek mythology retellings and reimaginings. No easy feat considering the sheer volume of these works. This is the kind of book you can recommend to anyone, fantasy reader or not, who loves a satisfying story about the underestimated claiming their power and their voice.

I read Every Heart a Doorway while I was postpartum with my first child. In the vulnerable months of learning what it is to be a parent, this novella struck a chord that continues to reverberate in my soul. In a tale of a kid trying to find comfort in a world where they don't belong, searching for their Door to a world where they do–it's as much a guide for children as it is for parents/caregivers. This book--and the whole Wayward Children series--is about kids learning to accept themselves while finding worlds where their whole identities are accepted and loved, however dangerous the world may be. This is the magical series to give to your kids.

Violet is the disabled daughter of a famous general. At the last minute, her mother forces her to train as a dragon rider in war college instead of entering scribe school. Her last name and perceived frailty put a target on her back. But she keeps surviving the deadly trials meant to the separate the weak from the strong. And the man she expects to be her biggest predator, Xaden, becomes bonded to her in an unexpected but revocable way. Debuting in 2023, this book sold millions of copies to become  a #1 bestseller and the face of Romantasy.  

"I have never read anything like this," is a phrase so often used it holds little power, but I have to employ it here with the addition, "and I am so grateful it exists." Tamsyn Muir is a genius wielder of chaos, evidenced in the Locked Tomb series. I mean, queer necromancy nuns in space duking it out for power is something none of us knew we needed until this book came along and created a ravenous fanbase. This series is in science fantasy territory and deserves a place on all the lists because of its originality and ability to make a story so bonkers and unbelievable so engrossing and emotionally powerful.

Come for the middle finger to she-who-must-not-be-named and stay for the humor, witches, chaos, adventure, and found family. This is a fun, twist-filled trilogy about a coven of modern witches fighting the age-old evils that are discrimination and “power leads to corruption” (they stay timely!). The dialogue is snappy and the pop culture references abound for a fun ride—but have the full series at the ready because those cliff hangers are wicked!

A groundbreaking Japanese-inspired urban fantasy series brought blood feuds, crime syndicate politics, and magic to the shelves. The Kaul family is one of two crime families on the island of Kekon—the only location that produces the magical jade that grants users superhuman abilities. When the dark tension between the Kauls and their rivals comes to a boil, no one on the island will be safe from the violence that will erupt. The Green Bone Saga is a phenomenal trilogy that proved there was not only a place for diverse urban fantasy books, but that it was a real market with a voracious audience.

This award-winning, 1000-page novel about magicians, with faeries and footnotes, is an epic nerdpurr. It's set in an alternate 19th century, where magic no longer exists. But two magicians—first student and teacher, then partners—bring magic back to England to help fight France during the Napoleonic Wars. But Jonathan Strange becomes drunk with newfound power, and probes deeper and deeper into the world of magic, splintering his partnership with Mr. Norrell and fracturing everything in his life. It's like the Moby Dick of fantasy novels: long and rambling, and given to asides, but also so powerfully compelling you want it to go on forever.

Published in 2001, Kushiel's Dart redefined the space of sex and courtesans in fantasy novels from the margins to the center. Our heroine, Phèdre, was born with a scarlet mote that marked her ability to experience pain and pleasure at once. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, she was trained as a courtesan spy to uncover the plots that threatened the empire. The absolutely epic high fantasy six-book series follows Phèdre as she encounters world-changing plots that only she has the power to thwart. I consider the book foundational for the state of modern fantasy.

The very first piece I ever wrote for Book Riot was about my personal relationship with Labyrinth Lost. This coming-of-age tale of a reluctant bruja coming to terms with her power, her queerness, and her place in the world was a breath of fresh air, exploring sisterhood, identity, and familial obligation with fantastic scenery, complex magic, and bilingual language. The book (and series) gave a lot of Latines the opportunity to see ourselves in YA fantasy for the first time. That is the book's true magic, and what beautiful brujería it is.

It's a rare book that brings together readers like Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn series. Working at my neighborhood bookstore, I’ve seen kids and adults alike gush about how much they love the Arthurian-legend-inspired contemporary fantasy world of Bree Matthews, a sixteen-year-old who starts college at UNC Chapel Hill early and stumbles upon a secret society wrapped in prophecies, dangerous monsters, and ancient magic. As Bree learns more about her classmates — descendants from the Knights of the Round Table — she discovers a power of her own hidden in her family’s history. The fourth and final book in the Legendborn Cycle is still forthcoming, and based on the excitement and midnight release parties for the most recent book, I know it’s going to be huge.

"Cozy fantasy" is a well-known subgenre now, but its meteoric rise in popularity can be traced back to one book: Legends & Lattes. This story about an orc retiring from battle to open a coffee shop shows the appeal of a "high fantasy, low stakes" novel. While there are some dramatic moments when Viv's past catches up with her, the majority of the plot follows the slow construction of the coffee shop and the relationships formed along the way—including a sapphic slow burn romance. It's cozy, comforting, and satisfying to see it all come together. But this quiet story also has a lot to say about community and starting over. It's a gem.

Magic for Beginners remains foundational for what I adore about reading and writing, and I can say the same for many of my peers. I remember fondly how I discovered this book for the first time in an undergraduate advanced fiction class. Not only did this book blow my mind in what a short story collection can accomplish but also what fantasy can accomplish. This book is fearless. Reading "The Faery Handbag" and "Stone Animals" left me gasping, gulping for air with inspiration. Over 10 years later, I still return to these stories to remind myself of the magic of Kelly Link's words and imagination.

Today, Brandon Sanderson is a prolific fantasy author, but his success started with Mistborn in 2006. The Lord Ruler is a god king who has ruled with absolute authority for a thousand years. One crew composed of the underworld’s elite, led by a charismatic man with impressive magical power, dreams of pulling off the ultimate heist: killing the Lord Ruler. While the challenge is great, their chances get better when they recruit an orphaned girl whose powers match their leaders. While the book is not his debut, it launched his first series, The Mistborn Saga, and his subsequent expansive interconnected Cosmere.

The African-inspired world of Raybearer is a marvelous living and breathing thing in which a wholly unique magic system lives. But it's in this world that Tarisai lives in isolation and longs for a family. She has a mother, known as The Lady, but she is cold and absent. She seems to only be interested in Tarisai when it comes to her competing with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's council. Joining the Prince's council will mean Tarisai finally has a family, but it may be short-lived because the Lady demands one last thing of her: to kill the Crown Prince.

For the last decade, two images have remained on my phone: a panel with Lying Cat saying “Lying” and a panel with shirtless Marko saying “Please keep reading.” IYKYK. This is a fun, weird, creative, action-packed, and imaginative space opera series that not only deeply stuck with me, but it was a cultural moment with social media discussions as fans anticipated the next issue. It’s the kind of series that begs more than one read thanks to its equally fantastic art, story, dialogue, characters, and deeply loved family. This graphic novel series will sit on my shelves forever.

Shadow and Bone introduced the world to the Grishaverse and Alina Starkov, an orphan, mapmaker, and soldier in the war-torn nation of Ravka. When a routine mission into the treacherous Shadow Fold reveals her unique—and presumed mythical—power to summon light, Alina is whisked away to train with the magical Grisha under the mysterious Darkling. Torn between her best friend Mal and an undeniable pull towards the mercurial and charismatic Darkling, Alina must hone her powers to help defeat the darkness and decide where her destiny truly lies. This character-driven YA fantasy was a huge success, opening the doors for the Six of Crows series and other books set in this universe.

When I first read this book, I felt invigorated. I’d never read anything like it! It’s dense and political, but lyrical and full of yearning. A reimagining of the Ming Dynasty’s founding, She Who Became the Sun follows the story of a peasant girl in 14^th century China. She  assumes the identity of her brother, Zhu Chongba, in order to fulfill his destiny. Told in the alternating perspectives of Zhu Chongba as a novice monk, and Ouyang, a eunuch general in the Mongol army,  this novel explores themes of ambition, gender, and destiny.  

When I think of near-perfect fantasy stories, Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology is always one of the first to come to mind. She’s given us a high-stakes magical world populated with criminals, ruthless capitalists, and royals. Unlike her previous Grishaverse books, it’s not the good guys who are at the heart of Six of Crows. But the band of thieves, criminals, and assassins we follow on a heist are full of so much heart that there’s no choice but to root for them from start to finish.

As someone who loved the conceit of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell but struggled with its vainglorious men, this was the alternate history fantasy offering the power struggles and political machinations of magical society that I, and a great many readers, needed. Here we have a story that explicitly confronts the racist and sexist backlash a Black magician and a Brown woman with oppressed abilities would have faced in trying to claim their inherent power in Regency-era England. Steady, serious Zacharias and bold, impulsive Prunella are the perfect foils in one of the all-time funnest fantasy reads centering serious issues.

Victor LaValle deserves some kind of lifetime achievement award for his collective works in speculative fiction, and The Changeling stands out as the pinnacle of his achievements (so far). We get an emotional throttling centering familial relationships in a poignant story following a husband and new father left bereft and questing for answers after experiencing the worst nightmare a parent can face. This fairy tale explores the terror and upending nature of parenthood and postpartum depression in a narrative that is both brutal and unwavering in its determination to illustrate how far, how high and low, they can take us.

A glance at the description of Hugo and Crawford Award-winning The Empress of Salt and Fortune will show you a list of accolades longer than the plot description, including many from Book Riot. These novellas pack a big punch in a small page count. They each follow Chih, a cleric documenting the stories of people across an empire resembling imperial China. In this first book, we follow the empress In-yo's rise to power with handmaiden Rabbit by her side. Each book in the series can be read as a standalone, however, with Chih linking them. The Singing Hills Cycle is feminist, queer, and beautifully written, earning its place on this list.

The Fifth Season begins with mother Essun, a woman with the power to shake the earth, searching for her kidnapped daughter. This story blossoms into a shattering epic that breaks so many of the rules of fantasy. It's a masterwork of world-building, intricate but compelling. As the possible end of the world looms, the series both questions power structures and embraces community, asking its characters to both stand tall and let go. Twisting, unexpected, and emotional, this trilogy showed us what the genre can do, and cemented Jemisin's place as the modern queen of fantasy.

I remember getting an omnibus of His Dark Materials and staying up too late, too many nights, unable to put it down. Here was the epic fantasy I had been waiting for since first becoming obsessed with these stories as a young reader, and here was a character I would follow devotedly to the last page. I hardly have to speak to the impact this book made on the genre and even popular culture, with its numerous adaptations and massive readership. What's stunning about this book following young Lyra, hell bent on creating a better world, is that it achieved wide appeal with a deeply philosophical story featuring a child.

What even is a fantasy best of the century list without Ken Liu? Well-known for his translation work, this 640-page silkpunk stunner was, unbelievably, his debut novel. The Dandelion Dynasty series turned complexity, detail, and nuance up to 11 as it took the genre somewhere wonderfully unexpected. Following two men first rebelling against tyranny side by side only to land in opposite factions, this series inspired by China's Han Dynasty gave the subgenre literal and figurative heft, and offered a fantasy epic set in an exciting, technologically imaginative world.

N.K. Jemisin is a powerhouse and an undeniable force in speculative fiction. She broke records with her science fiction series, The Broken Earth trilogy, but her fantasy series preceding those works, the Inheritance Trilogy, must not be sidelined. The first book in this series about a young woman set to inherit a throne steeped in blood and crowded by political machinations was a Locus Award-winner and the series showed us earlier on that Jemisin wrote contemporary classics that belong in the canon. You can find the world and character building bona fides that marked Jemisin as a writer to watch in these shining pages.

This World Fantasy Award-winning book shows what a fantasy novel can do, and it made me fall in love with the genre again. The world is vivid and immersive. The political machinations are fascinating, with three siblings taking distinct and competing strategies in response to oppression. There are several religions explored that all feel fully realized. Despite the many points of view and complex world, it's absorbing and easy to follow. These characters are all complex and morally grey, simultaneously sympathetic and ruthless. This is a novel that asks what you're willing to sacrifice for revolution, and it offers no simple answers.

When I was in fifth grade, I found The Lightning Thief at the library. It sucked me in right away. I called it "the book I can't put down" among my friends and even brought it along to recess. Almost 20 years later, I see its positive impact on children's literature. I love how many of Riordan's characters serve as role models for kids who may feel alone or misunderstood—that, as he puts it, "Every child can be a hero. No child should be shamed or shunned for being different." Percy's ADHD and dyslexia are an inherent part of how he sees the world. When teachers in the mortal realm dismiss him as a "lost cause," he discovers a whole community of kids like him at Camp Half-Blood where neurodivergence can be a strength. What a powerful message for young readers.

You can't have a list about the best fantasy of the century without one of the bestselling debut novels of all time. The Night Circus immediately held readers in its thrall upon its release, and has since sold millions of copies worldwide. It's the story of a mysterious circus (that, yes, is only open at night) and a competition between two young magicians who have been raised expressly for the purpose of dueling. But when the young magicians fall in love instead, it risks destroying the circus and everyone involved. The book has cast a spell that's often copied but never duplicated, and will continue to mesmerize readers for years to come.

When Rin, an orphan girl from the south, aces the Keju test, she is granted admittance to Sinegard, an elite military school. Facing scrutiny from her classmates, Rin soon discovers that she has a propensity for shamanism. Under her tutor’s guidance, Rin begins to channel the gods. None of Rin’s training can prepare her for the brutality of war that she and her fellow soldiers will face. The choices that Rin faces could save her people but cost her everything. Kuang’s debut novel is an absolute dynamite. It hits you everywhere. Visceral and violent, The Poppy War is heavily inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War. 

Erin Morgenstern made us wait 10 years for her second book and it was well worth it. Stories upon stories upon stories are layered across the narrative of an unwilling hero who would rather be at home. But alas, he’s the chosen one, and must save the world even as forces try to keep him from doing so. Every sentence is a universe, and every layer of story builds upon the one before, until the final connections reveal themselves in a profound way. Between the magical writing style and the self-contained, single volume story, this is the perfect fantasy for a lover of words themselves. 

This beautiful book is grumpy-sunshine romance between a witch and librarian. It proves fantasy doesn’t have to be grand and epic. Fantasy can be warm, cozy, and, even twee! Mika’s spent her whole life keeping her magic hidden and staying away from other witches, except for their rare society meetings. But when three young, orphaned witches need someone to teach them, she answers the call. And she finds nothing will keep her from protecting the found family she creates with the girls, and their very swoon-worthy guardian, Jamie.

I have many favorites from Terry Pratchett's expansive Discworld, but the Tiffany Aching series is the one I keep returning to and that, I believe, doesn't get enough recognition because readers assume it's not for adults (it is). This series of books following a young witch is no less tenderly and hilariously philosophical than any of the Discworld greats following grown characters. Through our protagonist, Tiffany Aching, we encounter the fumblings of varied beings, the lampooning of ignorance, and pragmatic do-gooding. These books are greats of the century and I'm not just saying that because Granny Weatherwax is the best.

Moniquill Blackgoose breathes fresh life into ancient dragon lore in her phenomenal debut novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. Set in an alternate-history North America, it stars Indigenous teenager Anequs, who finds the first dragon egg seen in generations on her island. When the colonizers on the mainland hear of her discovery, they tell Anequs she must attend their school for dragon rearing or else her dragon will be killed. Determined to protect her dragon while also honoring her island’s teachings, Anequs sets off on a journey to unleash her own power. The Nampeshiweisit series is still getting started — the second book, To Ride a Rising Storm, is coming in January 2026 — but Moniquill’s lush historical fantasy world has already made an indelible impact on readers.

The 2000s young adult paranormal romance boom originated with the success of Twilight. Bella is just a human teen girl in a new town when she meets Edward and his oddly beautiful family. Soon, she discovers he is a vampire, and she is undoubtedly in love with him. The Twilight Saga follows Bella and Edward as they attempt to make their star-crossed love work. While there are discussions to be had about the depictions of Quileute Indian Tribe, the inclusion of the Confederate Army backstory, and the general Mormon undertones, it isn’t hyperbolic to call Meyer’s series a generational-defining piece of media that will continue to have a footprint in the fantasy world at large.

This is one of those books that takes you on a forever fruitless quest for more stories just like it. But there is and can be only one Uprooted. Naomi Novik is an inimitable storyteller with a knack for writing books you can't put down and this is the book so many Novik fans point at to illustrate her skills. The folk tale following a brave young woman forced to serve a fearsome magician serves wit, cunning, bravery, unexpectedly sizzling romance, and the most satisfying conclusion to one dazzler of a book. Uprooted has earned a place on my list of books I wish I could read for the first time again.

Minli is a poor Chinese girl, who works all day with her family just to survive. Tired of her complaining Ma and too-small portions of rice, she embarks on a quest to visit the Old Man of the Moon to try and change her fortune. Along the way, she’ll encounter a talking goldfish, a kind dragon, a green tiger, and more. Stunning illustrations and bits and pieces from different Chinese folktales and fairy stories are woven together with the narrative to create a truly special middle grade fantasy novel.