Other than those of us who spend hours scouring social media for the latest releases (guilty!), keeping on top of the most recently published books in your preferred genre can be challenging. Below is a list of the top 5 dark fantasy books from 2023. If you’re searching for new dark fantasy picks and having trouble narrowing down your search, look no further!
These stories are great choices whether you’re looking for something short or long, heavy on the darkness, or somewhere in between. Time to add to your holiday wishlist!
6. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
This is a haunting and gory novella not for the faint of heart. As a novella, it’s only 100 pages long, and each page is full of beautiful detail and a story that you have not yet heard. The main characters are a mermaid and a plague doctor, each with their own history and regrets. While traveling together, they begin to share their pasts with one another. After running into a cult of ageless children and the saints that control them, the pair are left with questions and magic that they have no explanation for.
RelatedTop 10 Gripping Dark Fantasy Books For Adults
5. Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jenifer L. Armentrout
Desperate to avoid going back to a life of poverty and danger, Calista is determined to be content with her life in the present. Even if she has found herself in the middle of a political game she is not sure that she is even playing. Calista has wicked sharp intuition – so sharp even, that it compels her to investigate whatever her intuition tells her she needs to solve.
Magic this strong is not usually seen in anyone born of the lower class, and when the Baron finds out about her gifts, he quickly enlists Calista into his court and offers protection to her in exchange for her using her powers for him. But when Calista’s intuition leads her deep into the underground of the city, where she finds a god bound and captured and his blood being taken to be used for black magic, she finds herself in the middle of something much darker than she thought possible.
4. Silver in the Bones by Alexandra Bracken
Loosely based on Arthurian legend, Silver in the Bone is full of folklore and tales of old. Tamsin Lark lives a life she did not ask for. After her foster father disappeared without a trace, she had to take up the job of Hollower. She happens to be a mortal with magical abilities, and has found herself competing with sorceresses and cunningfolk for treasures inside of ancient crypts.
RelatedCan Dark Fantasy Be Standalone? A Discussion
One day, she hears a rumor about her good-for-nothing foster father and why he disappeared. Turns out, he stole an ancient Arthurian ring – a ring that might be able to break a curse placed on her brother (and maybe her?). Of course, Tamsin isn’t the only one to hear this rumor. Now she is facing forces stronger than her, and she’ll need to battle the toughest opposing forces in order to free her family.
3. Gold by Raven Kennedy
Some topics covered in this book may be triggering or not suitable for a younger audience.
If you enjoy the myth of King Midas and a little dark romance, then the Plated Prisoner series is for you. This first part of the final book in the series was released in 2023 and sets up an epic finale!
Protagonist Auren has fled her love, but that doesn’t mean she’s a damsel in distress. She’ll find her way back to Slade, or die trying…
2. Tonight I Burn by Katharine J. Adams
The thorn coven – a group of witches forced to wander between the realm of life and death – have been doing this job for ages. Each night, one is burned at the stake in order to cross over and patrol. Only one may cross the veil at a time, and they themselves have to figure out how to get back – failure will risk everyone’s life.
When Penny Albright’s sister is up for the task, she is burned and the coven awaits her return. Except she never comes back. Desperate to find her sister, Penny breaks all the rules and burns herself in order to find her sister. However, when she crosses the veil, she finds something unexpected. Penny will have to face new foes as well as her own coven in order to find her sister and prevent disaster.
RelatedEnchanting Dark Fantasy Anthologies to Read This Season
1. Starling House by Alix. E Harrow
The town of Eden Kentucky has a mystery that they’re determined to ignore. Strange and reclusive author E. Starling disappeared years ago, leaving behind Starling House, a dilapidated old manor that few dare to visit. Residents would prefer to let the legend of Starling and his last remaining heir vanish along with the man himself.
Opal would like to do the same. But when she receives a job offer that could mean a ticket out of Eden for her and her brother, she embarks on a dark mission to save herself, and possibly solve a legend along the way.
