The world of fantasy books is set to soar in 2025 with a lineup of books that promise to ignite imaginations, break hearts, and challenge everything we think we know about the genre. From returning legends to powerful new voices, this year’s most anticipated fantasy book releases span epic sagas, intimate character dramas, dark mysteries, and dazzling realms where magic is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
These stories aren’t just escapes – they’re invitations to rethink power, identity, and the timeless battle between hope and despair. Whether you’re craving morally complex antiheroes, sweeping high fantasy, or genre-bending tales that blur the line between myth and modernity, these ten titles are poised to dominate bookshelves and conversations alike. Here are the fantasy books we’re most excited to lose ourselves in this year.
Note
At the time of publication, some of these books might have already been published. However, these titles remain some of the most anticipated fantasy books of 2025 and leading into 2025.
10. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Published January 14th 2025
Zelu is at a crossroads in her life: she has lost her job, and her latest novel has been rejected. Dealing with the tornado of her sister’s wedding amongst an unsupportive family, she is disabled, unemployed, uncertain, and dejected.
As she sits under the weight of it all, alone in her hotel room, she decides to make a change. Writing a book completely unlike those she’s written before, a science fiction novel about androids and AI living long after humanity is gone. From there, Zelu’s life is definitively changed, as we embark on a whirlwind tale of love and loss, in reality and fiction, and that which lies in between the two.
Why we recommend it: This is a story filled with science fiction and fantasy, but it breaks the mold from the typical hero’s journey by putting the true focus on humanity, family, and how similar our imagined worlds can be to the real lives that we live.
9. Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
Published March 4th 2025
This final piece of the Legendborn Cycle series is anxiously awaited by fans! Fantasy lovers followed Bree Matthews, a black southern girl in an Arthurian world of magic, as she escaped her painful past and began a program for gifted students at UNC Chapel Hill.
But now, Bree is alone and uncertain of her future after her difficulties as part of the secret society of Legendborn students looking to protect those under attack from evil beings and energies. How will she deal with her new ties to evil powers as she falls further from the people she loves in her efforts to keep them safe?
Why we recommend it: The Legendborn Cycle is a great read for anyone eager for an imaginative blend of modern black culture and Arthurian legend.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter8. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Published March 4th 2025
The Hawthorn family reside in the small town of Thistleford, nestled on the edge of Faerie. There, the two daughters, Esther and Ysabel, cherish their lives together and the beautiful land around them. But as they grow older, and Esther rejects their familiar world for a lover from the magical land of Faerie, they must face the challenge of maintaining the love between them, and a threat against all of their lives.
From a co-author of the acclaimed This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar brings a heartwarming, flowery, magical tale of the bond between sisters.
Why we recommend it: For anyone in the mood for cottagecore, fairy-like fantasy, this novel is set in a dreamlike, ethereal world, one that’s comforting yet intriguing.
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7. A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
Published April 1st 2025
The quirky Ana Dolabra and her more commonsensical assistant Dinios Kol have been summoned to the outskirts of the empire. As a famously intelligent and capable detective pair, they are considered the best to locate a Treasury officer who disappeared most perplexingly from a tower with all doors and windows guarded and locked from the inside.
But the plot thickens when Ana discovers the case they are dealing with is in fact a murder, one carried out by an intimidating spectral foe who can pass through locked doors at will. With the fate of the Empire at stake, Dinios wonders, how can Ana defeat an enemy able to predict and evade her so well?
Set in an engaging and well-developed high fantasy world, this second adventure starring Ana Dolabra is even more fast-paced and high stakes. Robert Jackson Bennett has already established himself well within the fantasy sphere, being named as a “rising star of fantasy” by Charlie Jane Anders for The Washington Post and receiving acclaim for his series The Founders Trilogy.
Why we recommend it: Fantasy fanatics were enamored with last year’s first mystery starring Ana Dolabra, The Tainted Cup, and this new adventure seems set to hit just as hard!
6. The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence
Published April 8th 2025
Follow the newest publication in this well-loved series The Library Trilogy, which centers around the infinite library, the Athenaeum, said to have been built by Irad, the grandson of Cain and great-grandson of Adam and Eve. But, for centuries, Irad has been battling to protect the Library from his brother, Jaspeth, who is set on destroying it in order to free humanity from the pain of memory and the corruption of knowledge.
The stories are focused on the two protagonists Livira and Evar: a girl who becomes inescapably entwined with the Library, and a boy who grew up within the Library, raised along with four adopted siblings by two robotic androids. This new installment boldly interweaves a storyline of historical truth, that of Anne Hoffman living in pre-war Nazi Germany. Follow the mythological, the fantastical, and the historical in this final and highly anticipated piece of an action-packed and philosophical trilogy.
Why we recommend it: This trilogy has been described as very atmospheric, with characters that draw you in. With the first two books so well loved already, this is a sure-fire way to jump into a great fantasy world with the story newly completed!
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5. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Expected May 13th 2025
The highly rated author of The First Law series, Joe Abercrombie, is returning this year with the first installment of a trilogy set in a completely new world. Travel with Brother Diaz as he works to navigate the medieval world of magic, politics, and power struggle with his entourage of monsters, murderers, and evil magic-doers fiercely by his side.
The Devils, as they are known, are welcome support along his journey traveling over land and sea, escorting the worthy and battling against elves, monsters, and those with wicked personal ambition who will stop at nothing to see their way.
Why we recommend it: Abercrombie had readers in a spin in his last fantastic series and left them hungry for more. For those interested in an action and character-filled adventure of loyalty, magic, and politics, this is a must-read!
4. Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
Expected May 27th 2025
Lovers of traditional high fantasy will eat up this piece by a powerhouse of a fantasy writer: Guy Gavriel Kay. While his books aren’t considered the simplest, his newest piece is said to keep close to the main plot while allowing for complex settings and storylines.
With a setting inspired by medieval France, the reader follows Thierry Villar, a tavern poet known well by the patrons of such shady establishments. Not particularly the character one expects to be caught up in the warring interests of powerful aristocrats and royals, but when his land’s political struggles fall into the throes of a deadly war, Thierry is thrust inescapably into navigating the interests of the most powerful.
Become lost in this rich world where Thierry meets intelligent and intriguing characters who use magic and celestial guidance to try to keep their world from violent destruction.
Why we recommend it: Guy Gavriel Kay’s reputation and swath of well-recommended books precedes him. So, for anyone looking for a dive into an enthralling world echoing Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons, this piece is sure not to disappoint.
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3. A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
Expected June 3rd 2025
This debut novel from London-based M.H Ayinde has impressed early readers and even comes with a positive word from James Islington.
Set during a centuries-long war in the Nine Lands, only the noble are able to access the power to summon spirits of the past to fight in battle. But of course, what is believed does not make it reality, so when a commoner named Temi accidentally summons a powerful spirit, it … even ending it once and for all. But Temi soon learns that her newfound power is not to be trifled with, and the spirits she can summon are not always to be trusted.
Why we recommend it: Featuring a rich world of interesting magic and mythology, class struggle, and much about the realm to be discovered, this novel’s level of reputation even before publication makes it worth a read for any fantasy lover in 2025.
2. The Strength of the Few by James Islington
Expected September 1st 2025
The Strength of the Few is on the top of many people’s lists for new fantasy this year. James Islington’s 2023 novel The Will of the Many centers on a young yet secretive recruit of The Catenan Republic’s prestigious Academy. Going by a false name and working for enemies of the state, he worked undercover in the belly of the beast, evading suspicion and gathering information for those who controlled him.
James Islington has not revealed much of the plot for The Strength of the Few. Yet he wowed so exceedingly with his first novel of this series, The Will of the Many, that the anticipation for his second installment is strong and widespread.
Why we recommend it: This highly rated new series is a gripping and immersive tale of a plucky protagonist stuck between two brutal sides of espionage and covert conflict.
1. Queen Demon by Martha Wells
Expected October 7th 2025
Martha Wells is known amongst her readers for creating remarkably charming antiheroes. The Witch King Kai, the central figure of her current series The Rising World, had readers in love with his smirking and demonic wit as he traversed back into the world of the living.
Trying to make sense of what had changed since he’d been murdered and reassert the power he once controlled, we follow a dual story-line showing who he once was and where he will go next. After great conflict, he returns with his companions in Wells’ new novel Queen Demon, which takes us on a journey to the end of the world to find answers.
Why we recommend it: Following the first book’s warm reception, many are looking forward to seeing where Kai will go next! This series is a fun take on an exasperated spirit and his demonic magic.
