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Popular Fantasy Books That Are Worth The Read

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Fantasy gets a bad rep sometimes — people think it’s all dragons and twelve-page descriptions of trees. But the truth is, some of the most popular fantasy books right now are genuinely addictive, even if you don’t usually reach for the genre. Here ar...
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
One of my all time favorite reads ever. It follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin who’s offered a chance at freedom if she competes in a deadly competition to become the king’s champion. With clever twists, high-stakes battles, and a slow-bur...
Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass Series #1) by Sarah J. Maas
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Anna Zheng profile picture
This is one of those dark, gothic fantasies that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. It follows Elspeth, a girl who’s hiding a dangerous secret: she shares her mind with a mysterious, ancient spirit. When a plague spreads across the kingdom and forbidde...
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
Think “The Hunger Games,” but with vampires and way higher stakes. Oraya, a human girl adopted by the vampire king, is forced to compete in a deadly tournament called the Kejari, where the winner earns a wish from the goddess of death herself. She’s ...
The Serpent and the Wings of Night: Book 1 of the Nightborn Duet (Crowns of Nyaxia Series #1) by Carissa Broadbent
 
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Set in one of the harshest prisons you can imagine, this story follows Kiva, a healer who’s been trapped inside Zalindov for ten years. She keeps her head down until the Rebel Queen is captured and sentenced to survive the Trial by Ordeal — four elem...
The Prison Healer (Prison Healer Series #1) by Lynette Noni
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Anna Zheng profile picture
This book totally hooked me — it’s got this brutal training competition, giant direwolves, and a main character (Meryn) who will literally do anything to save her sister. The romance is slow-burn and messy in the best way, the betrayals hit hard, and...
Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
This book feels like stepping straight into a dark fairy tale, and I loved every second of it. It follows Evangeline, a hopeless romantic who makes a desperate deal with Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, after her love is stolen away — but of course, barg...
Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart Series #1) by Stephanie Garber
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
A book I would give anything to be able to read again for the first time. It follows Violet, a girl thrown into a brutal dragon-riding academy where only the strongest survive, and every day is a fight to stay alive. Between the intense training, hig...
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
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Anna Zheng profile picture
This book is a dark fantasy romance that completely swept me off my feet. Ophelia Grimm, a necromancer from New Orleans, enters a deadly competition inside a haunted mansion to save her sister. The stakes are high, the challenges are intense, and the...
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
Is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy and enemies-to-lovers romance. The story follows Saeris Fane, a 24-year-old thief with hidden alchemical abilities, who is transported to the mystical realm of Yvelia after an encounter with a fae warrior named...
Quicksilver by Callie Hart
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
It’s everything you want in a fae fantasy — dark, twisted, and impossible to put down. It follows Jude, a mortal girl living in the High Court of Faerie, who has to navigate politics, betrayal, and deadly games just to survive among the cruel and imm...
The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air Series #1) by Holly Black
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
Such a magical escape — I couldn’t put it down. It follows sisters Scarlett and Donatella as they enter the legendary, immersive game of Caraval, where nothing is what it seems and every twist could be deadly. The story is full of mystery, romance, a...
Caraval (Caraval Series #1) by Stephanie Garber
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Anna Zheng profile picture
One of those books that completely sucks you in. Feyre, a mortal huntress, is dragged into the faerie lands after killing a wolf — only to discover that the High Fae world is as dangerous as it is enchanting. Packed with slow-burn romance, intense po...
A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series #1) by Sarah J. Maas
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Anna Zheng profile picture
An absolute fantasy classic for a reason — I couldn’t put it down. It follows Vin, a street-smart orphan with hidden powers, as she joins a group of rebels plotting to overthrow the immortal Lord Ruler in a world blanketed by ash. The magic system is...
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn Series #1) by Brandon Sanderson
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Anna Zheng profile picture
A gripping Norse-inspired fantasy that had me hooked from the first page. Freya, bound in an unwanted marriage to a cruel man, dreams of becoming a warrior. Her life changes when she’s forced into a deadly duel with Bjorn, the son of a powerful jarl,...
A Fate Inked in Blood: Book One of the Saga of the Unfated by Danielle L. Jensen
 
Anna Zheng profile picture
Adark academia fantasy that had me hooked from the first page. It follows twin sisters Darcy and Tory Vega, who discover they’re Fae royalty with the rare ability to control all four elemental magics. Thrown into the cutthroat world of Zodiac Academy...
Zodiac Academy 1: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti