13 New Fantasy Books to Make Your Year Extra Magical

Bestselling fantasy author Holly Black launches a new duology with “The Stolen Heir.” Set in the world of Elfhame, which was first introduced in the “Folk of the Air” trilogy, the story picks up eight years after the great Battle of the Serpent. In the Court of Teeth in the North, Lady Nore has taken power and uses an ancient relic to build an army to do her bidding. Meanwhile, Suren, the rightful young queen of the Court, has fled to exile in the human world. When she is rescued from a frightening pursuit by Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame and her onetime betrothed, their lives and the fate of the North are changed forever.

Release date: Jan.3

Weaving together inspiration from Chinese folklore and mythology with a brand-new fantasy tale, Amelie Wen Zhao’s “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” creates a rich world and a tale of a people rising up against oppressive conquerors. When outsiders stormed in and conquered her kingdom, Lan lost everything: her name was changed, her magic was banned, and her mother killed – but not before branding her with a mysterious mark as her last act. Now, Lan scavenges to get by and seeks answers about the mark. One night, Zen, one of the last magicians in existence, saves her life and recognizes the mark as designating her as a practioner with immense magic. Together, they’ll journey through the kingdom to find a group of surviving magicians, who have their own plans to overthrow the invaders.

Release date: Jan. 3

Heather Fawcett puts a heartwarming spin on fantasy lore with “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies.” Emily Wilde is a talented professor who is compiling the first-ever encyclopedia of faerie lore, but the one thing she’s terrible at is interacting with her fellow human beings. When she arrives in a small town to pursue more of her faerie studies, she doesn’t plan on connecting with the townspeople – or with her academic rival, Wendell Bambleby, who also shows up in the same town. As Emily pursues a breakthrough in her research, she’s also faced with figuring out what Wendell is up to and what she herself really wants out of her future.

Release date: Jan. 10

“The Daughters of Izdihar” launches Hadeer Elsbai’s new duology, drawing inspiration from modern Egyptian history. Nehal is a waterweaver who desperately wants to attend an academy and join the first all-female military regiment. Unfortunately, her family can’t afford to send her, instead marrying her off to a wealthy but indifferent merchant, Nico, who is already in love with Giorgina, a seemingly ordinary bookseller. Giorgina has a secret, though: she’s an earthweaver with strong, unpredictable powers and an affiliation with a radical women’s rights group. Nehal, Nico, and Giorgina’s lives intersect thanks to this cause, but a threat from a foreign enemy could end weavers altogether.

Release date: Jan. 10

“Hell Bent,” Leigh Bardugo’s sequel to “Ninth House,” takes readers on a journey from academia to Hell and beyond. Alex, a scholarship student at Yale with supernatural powers, is on a quest: open a portal to Hell and rescue her former mentor from the underworld. Without official backup, she and her allies will have to form a team of misfits in order to navigate a mysterious and dangerous mission. When faculty members start dying under strange circumstances, Alex knows that the seemingly random deaths must be connected to the supernatural secrets that lurk all around them.

Release date: Jan. 10

Cassandra Clare’s sprawling Shadowhunter universe has been ongoing for 15 years and counting, and the most recent series, “The Last Hours” trilogy, now wraps up with “Chain of Thorns.” After losing her family, her marriage to James Herondale, her best friend, her Shadowhunter powers, and everything she holds dear – not to mention being bound to the ancient demon Lilith – Cordelia Carstairs flees to Paris with Matthew Fairchild. Then, devastating news breaks: London is under attack by the Prince of Hell, who has a devastating connection to the Herondale line. With secrets tearing friends and allies apart, Cordelia, James, and their friends will need all their strength and faith in each other to fight off this new evil once and for all.

Release date: Jan. 31

“These Infinite Threads” picks up where Tahereh Mafi’s “This Woven Kingdom” left off, with star-crossed lovers Alizeh and Kamran struggling with their shared attraction amid a brewing conflict between their people. Alizeh is the heir to the Jinn throne, destined to free her people from the oppression they have suffered at the hands of humans, and now she is the captive of Cyrus, king of a neighboring kingdom. He plans to marry her and help her restore her throne – with some benefits to him, of course – but she wants no part of his plot and seeks another way to save her people. Kamran’s grandfather lies dead at Cyrus’s hands, and Kamran knows he is obligated to exact revenge, but he’s more concerned about finding Alizeh before it’s too late.

Release date: Feb. 7

Powerful saints and their disciples rule the city of Ombrazia in “Seven Faceless Saints” by M.K. Lobb, leaving ordinary citizens vulnerable to their whims. After her father’s murder by the Ombrazian military, Rossana embraces her own powers as a disciple, joins the rebellion, and tries to forget the boy who broke her heart: Damian, the youngest captain in history, who nevertheless, can’t help questioning the things he’s supposed to believe in. When a serial killer strikes down a disciple as its latest victim, Damian and Rossana must team up to solve the case and protect their people, but their investigations uncover something darker than they imagined.

Release date: Feb. 7

“A Day of Fallen Night” takes place in the same universe as Samantha Shannon’s bestseller “The Priory of the Orange Tree.” A prequel that delves further into that book’s rich mythology and world-building, the story follows the intersecting lives and fates of four women: Tunuva, a sister of the Priory during a time when some question the need for its existence; Sabran, a queen who marries to save her kingdom; Glorian, her daughter who watches from the shadows; and Dumai, who has spent her life trying to wake the gods. When the Dreadmount erupts, chaos and violence follow, and these four women will be pivotal in ensuring that humankind survives.

Release date: Feb. 28

“The Magician’s Daughter” by H.G. Parry takes readers to a magically-hidden island off the coast of early-1900s Ireland, where a girl named Biddy lives with her guardian, the magician Rowan. When Rowan fails to return one night, Biddy decides to venture into the outside world for the first time in hopes of finding him. What she doesn’t know, however, is just how many enemies Rowan has, and how they’ve been hoarding the world’s magic for themselves. Biddy could be the one person who can stop them, but there’s a lot she has to learn about herself and about the world first.

Release date: Feb. 28

Hannah Whitten launches a new fantasy series with “The Foxglove King,” centered on Lore, a girl with death magic. She’s been living underground (literally) since she escaped a cult at age 13, working as a poisons runner to earn food and shelter. When one run goes wrong, her highly-prized – and highly dangerous – power is revealed, and she’s taken by an order of warrior monks who are permitted to use death magic in service to the king. Instead of being executed or imprisoned, Lore is brought into the court, guarded by a noble-turned-monk, and wary of the king’s heir. She’s soon sent on a misson: to find out why entire villages have been dying and to pinpoint who’s responsible, all while navigating the power plays at this treacherous court.

Release date: March 7

G.R. continues her epic Five Queendoms series with “Arca,” the second book in a planned series of five. The Drought of Girls has ended, but its ramifications are still causing upheaval throughout the five queendoms. In Paxim, the Queen Heliane plans to make her son the first-ever male ruler, causing dissent at every level. Arca’s succession crisis has left a young, uncertain queen on the throne, and she struggles to find her footing while the army of Scorpica, their warrior-culture neighbors, lurk at their borders. Elsewhere, hidden heirs and magical beings wait in the shadows for their time to come. It’s “Game of Thrones” without dragons and with a matriarchal society packed with power plays and epic battles.

Release date: March 7

“The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi” brings “City of Brass” author Shannon Chakraborty into adult fantasy with a vibrant new adventure. Amina al-Sarafi, who has spent years becoming one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, retires to a lifetime of peace and satisfaction – or so she thinks. She’s pulled out of retirement when the wealthy mother of a former crewman offers her an enormous reward to rescue her old colleague’s kidnapped daughter. Tempted by the reward, and by the possibility of one last adventure with her crew, Amina agrees. She soon realizes, however, that there’s much more behind the kidnapping, and there are supernatural plots afoot.

Release date: March 7