As you know, mystery and thrillers are my go-to genre. But lately, I have been trying to read outside of my comfort zone and if there is one genre that I am uncomfortable with it’s fantasy. I found reading fantasy stories can a bit much for me and a lot to take in, even though watching them on TV or movies is not a problem. However, in the past 5 years or so, I took a chance on reading fantasy that not only surprised me but stayed with me after the book was closed. But as we are seeing that the fantasy genre is seeing an increase in popularity, there are some books and book series that are hidden gems and deserved to be highlighted.
So, if you are tired of seeing the same fantasy recommendations and looking for something different, here are sixteen underrated fantasy recommendations that are worth looking into. And after you peruse through the recs, check out the 2025 fantasy releases that will be heading your way!
The Shadow Skye Series by Joseph Elliott
Agatha is a Hawk, brave and fierce, who protects her people by patrolling the high walls of their island home. She is proud of her job, though some in her clan whisper that it is meant to keep her out of the way because of the condition she was born with.
Jaime, thoughtful and anxious, is an Angler, but he hates the sea. Worse, he’s been chosen for a duty that the clan hasn’t required for generations: to marry. The elders won’t say why they have promised him to a girl in a neighboring clan, but there are rumors of approaching danger.
When disaster strikes and the clan is kidnapped, it is up to Agatha and Jaime to travel across the haunted mainland of Scotia to Norveg, with help along the way from a clan of nomadic Highland bull riders and the many animals who are drawn to Agatha’s extraordinary gift of communication. Thrilling and dark yet rich with humor and compassion, this is the first book in the Shadow Skye trilogy, written by a wonderful new voice in fantasy and introducing a welcome new kind of hero. (Credit: Walker Books US)
Read the next two books of the series: The Broken Raven and The Burning Swift
Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah
Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.
In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers–the ruling elite, have indentured Koral’s family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others–if they’re lucky–survive.
When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family’s financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can’t afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral’s only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.
But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against competitors–including her ex-boyfriend–who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. As a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose–her life or her sister’s–before the whole island burns. (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)
New Masters by Shobo Coker and Shof Coker
Creators for Creators’ 2019 grant recipients, Nigerian brothers Shobo and Shof Coker, present New Masters, a groundbreaking blend of science fiction, adventure, drama, and vibrant Afrofuturism. In a striking vision of West Africa under the thumb of alien colonizers, a motley crew of outcasts find themselves caught up in a power struggle for control of an ancient artifact with immense power. (Credit: Image Comics)
All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue
Maeve’s strangely astute tarot readings make her the talk of the school, until a classmate draws a chilling and unfamiliar card–and then disappears.
After Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards while cleaning out a closet during her in-school suspension, she quickly becomes the most sought-after diviner at St. Bernadette’s Catholic school. But when Maeve’s ex-best friend, Lily, draws an unsettling card called The Housekeeper that Maeve has never seen before, the session devolves into a heated argument that ends with Maeve wishing aloud that Lily would disappear. When Lily isn’t at school the next Monday, Maeve learns her ex-friend has vanished without a trace.
Shunned by her classmates and struggling to preserve a fledgling romance with Lily’s gender-fluid sibling, Roe, Maeve must dig deep into her connection with the cards to search for clues the police cannot find–even if they lead to the terrifying Housekeeper herself. Set in an Irish town where the church’s tight hold has loosened and new freedoms are trying to take root, this sharply contemporary story is witty, gripping, and tinged with mysticism. (Credit: Walker Books US)
Read the next two books of the series: The Gifts That Bind Us and Every Gift A Curse
Kiki Kallira Breaks A Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna
Kiki Kallira has always been a worrier. Did she lock the front door? Is there a terrible reason her mom is late? Recently her anxiety has been getting out of control, but one thing that has always soothed her is drawing. Kiki’s sketchbook is full of fanciful doodles of the rich Indian myths and legends her mother has told her over the years.
One day, her sketchbook’s calming effect is broken when her mythological characters begin springing to life right out of its pages. Kiki ends up falling into the mystical world she drew, which includes a lot of wonderful discoveries like the band of rebel kids who protect the kingdom, as well as not-so-great ones like the ancient deity bent on total destruction. As the one responsible for creating the evil god, Kiki must overcome her fear and anxiety to save both worlds–the real and the imagined–from his wrath. But how can a girl armed with only a pencil defeat something so powerful? (Credit: Viking Books for Young Readers)
Read the second book in the series: Kiki Kallira Conquers A Curse
Somewhere In The Deep by Tanvi Berwah
Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit.
After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.
Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined.
But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone…in the dark. (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)
Ferryman by Claire McFall
After a deadly train crash, the afterlife is waiting for Dylan. But that’s only if she and her intriguing Ferryman can make it across the demon-infested wasteland–and if she can bear to let him go.
When Dylan wakes up after her train has crashed, she thinks she has survived unscathed. But she couldn’t be more mistaken: the bleak landscape around her isn’t Scotland, it’s a wasteland–a terrain somehow shaped by her own feelings and fears, a border to whatever awaits her in the afterlife. And the stranger sitting by the train track isn’t an ordinary teenage boy. Tristan is a Ferryman, tasked with guiding Dylan’s soul safely across the treacherous landscape, a journey he has made a thousand times before. Only this time, something’s different. The crossing, as ever, is perilous, with ravenous wraiths hounding the two at each day’s end, hungry for Dylan’s soul. But as Dylan focuses her strength on survival, with Tristan as protector, challenger, and confidant, she begins to wonder where she is truly meant to be–and what she must risk to get there. An international bestseller with a phenomenal following, the award-winning Ferryman (with its sequels Trespassers and Outcasts) is in development to be a major motion picture. (Credit: Walker Books US)
Read the next two books in the series: Trespassers and Outcasts.
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron’s new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power.
Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms.
When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they never expected-it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri’s sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it. (Credit: Bloomsbury YA)
Read the next book in the series: This Wicked Fate
Sisters of Sword and Shadow by Laura Bates
What if the Knights of the Round Table had a female counterpart? An epic Arthurian fantasy reimagining from the UK’s leading and bestselling feminist writer, Laura Bates, for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas.
‘An interesting thing happens, when a man is defeated in combat by a woman . . . He tells nobody.’
Destined for an arranged marriage, Cass dreams of freedom. So when a fierce and beautiful leather‑clad woman rides up and offers to take her away, Cass doesn’t hesitate to join her. She is introduced to the Sisters of Sword and Shadow – a group of female knights training to fight, protect their community and right the wrongs of men. Drawn into a world of ancient feuds, glorious battles, and deadly intrigue, Cass soon discovers she holds a power that could change not only her own fate but that of her entire sisterhood.
Introducing Laura Bates’ fantasy debut, the first in a breathtaking and sweeping duology, exploring questions about power, courage and the stories we tell about the past. (Credit: Simon & Schuster UK)
Read the next book in the series: Sisters of Fire and Fury
Blood at the Root by Ladarrion Williams
Ten years ago, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself– one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at Caiman: feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what’s left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion. (Credit: Labyrinth Road)
Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite
In this thrilling Afro-fantasy, the first set in the lush, opulent kingdom of Galla, a girl raised in secret must leave her sheltered rural home for the subtle dangers of the royal court, where she becomes caught up in deadly power struggles and romantic intrigue.
Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the forested East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. Raised in a woodland idyll by a few kindly adult caretakers, Kalothia can hunt and fish and fend for herself but knows little of the outside world. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king’s court in the West–a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots, and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy. Guided by the Goddess herself, can Kalothia navigate this most worldly of places to find her own role? What if she must choose between her country and her heart? Excitement, romance, and a charismatic heroine shine in this first book set in the unforgettable kingdom of Galla. (Credit: Walker Books US)
Ava’s Demon Book 1: Reborn by Michelle Fus
A PACT IS MADE…
When a young, shy girl named Ava discovers that the demon who haunts her is actually the spirit of an ancient alien queen named Wrathia, the two form a powerful pact–in exchange for a better life, Ava must help Wrathia seek revenge against TITAN, the god-like being who destroyed her empire.
To aid Ava against TITAN, she must first assemble Wrathia’s most trusted warriors and the lifeforms they haunt. The only problem is, she doesn’t know what they look like, or where to find them.
Joining her on her mission is Maggie, Ava’s former best friend and fellow refugee, Odin, a brooding young man with a mysterious past, and Gil, a dedicated follower of TITAN. And unbeknownst to Ava, all three of them are hiding their own inner demons…looks like Wrathia’s army might be closer than she thinks.(Credit: Image Comics)
Read the next book in the series: Book Two: Aftermath
Radiant Black Year One Deluxe Hardcover: A Massive-Verse Book by Kyle Higgins and illustrated by Marcelo Costa
Nathan Burnett has just turned thirty, and things aren’t great: He’s working (and failing) at two jobs, his credit card debt is piling up, and his only move…is moving back home with his parents. But when Nathan discovers and unlocks the ethereal, cosmic RADIANT, he’s given the power to radically change his fortunes.
There’s just one problem: The powers don’t belong to him. And the COSMIC BEINGS who created them want them back…by any means necessary.” (Credit: Image Comics)
Read more books in the Massive-Verse series: The Dead Lucky, Radiant Red, Rogue Sun, Radiant Pink, Inferno Girl Red, and C.O.W.L.
Sea Serpent’s Heir Book One: Pirate’s Daughter by Mairghread Scott and illustrated by Pablo Tunica
THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING.
For Aella, life on Kinamen Isle is one of boredom. Spending her days fishing and minding her aunts, she dreams of life beyond the horizon.
Everything changes, however, when she awakens an ancient evil within herself as it’s revealed that she’s the reincarnation of Xir, the serpent that almost destroyed the world. Worse yet, a fanatical religious organization has arrived on Kinamen Isle in search of Xir.
As Aella is forced to fight for her life, she’ll discover that her entire world is not what it seems. Her aunts know more than they let on and what exactly does the infamous Pirate Queen want with Aella? (Credit: Image Comics)
Read the next two book in the series: Book Two: Black Wave and Book Three: Queen of Mercy
With Fire In Their Blood by Kat Delacorte
When sixteen-year-old Lilly arrives in Castello, she isn’t impressed. A secluded town in the Italian mountains is not where she saw her last years of high school playing out. Divided for generations by a brutal clan-family war, the two halves of Castello are kept from destroying each other by the mysterious General, a leader determined to maintain order and ‘purity’… whatever the cost.
Lilly falls in with the rebellious Liza, brooding Nico and sensitive Christian, and sparks begin to fly. But in a city where love can lead to ruin, Lilly isn’t sure she can trust anyone – not even herself. And then she accidentally breaks Castello’s most important rule: when the General’s men come to test your blood, you’d better not be anything more than human…(Credit: Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
Magus of the Library by Mitsu Izumi
The Magic of the Written Word
In the small village of Amun lives a poor boy named Theo. Theo adores books, but because of his pointed ears and impoverished life, he isn’t allowed to use the village library. As he endures the prejudice and hatred of the village, he dreams of going where such things don’t exist: Aftzaak, City of Books. But one day, Theo chances to meet a Kafna–a librarian who works for the great library of Aftzaak–and his life changes forever…(Credit: Kodansha Comics)
Upcoming Fantasy Books
- Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
- The Mirror World by Femi Fadugba
- The Other Girl by Emily Barr
- Bones at the Crossroads by Ladarrion Williams
- Illusions of Fire by Nisha Sharma
- Blood Moon by Brittany S. Lewis
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