Fantasy bestsellers

“I love N.K. Jemisin’s books, I love New York City, and I love this book about the soul and personification of New York. The City We Became might just be my favorite book to be published in 2020. This story is filled with tension, humor, and great characters, with a guest appearance near and dear to me. While this book is the beginning of a trilogy, it is completely satisfying as a stand-alone novel. Read it and be happy.”

“Escape into a time of heroes with Achilles' heels, women in armor, villains who might not be, murderous gardens, feisty gods, and little girls with terrible power. Enter, and gasp in awe at the rich, ancient culture, like no other in fiction, at the ricochet speed of shattering trust, the twisting of allegiances and the fracturing facets of an origin myth about to explode through the crowded streets during a raucous national festival. Two teens have explicit reasons to find and kill each other, one hobbled by ignorance, the other by illness, both with motives of love and desperation, each on opposite sides of a fracturing empire. Who is the griot putting each on such an unlikely path to meet? Or is there a more disturbing reason these two are drawn to each other? Highly recommended for teens and adults!”

“This book is so much fun. When April May stumbles across the first ‘Carl,’ she initially thinks it’s an art installation. It turns out these giant statues turned up overnight in major cities around the globe. Due to the viral video she made with her friend Andy, April May finds herself in the middle of a worldwide conversation and trying to manage her newfound celebrity status. Green is an excellent storyteller and has delivered a great coming-of-age/sci-fi debut novel.”

“The House in the Cerulean Sea is a heart-swelling wave of sweetness and hope. Mild-mannered government caseworker Linus Baker is sent on a secret assignment to an island orphanage he’s never even heard of. The astonishing inhabitants he gets to know there will change his life and make him reassess everything he thought he knew. This book will leave you believing in the good in everyone — even those society has given up on — and contemplating how huge changes have to start somewhere.”

“The Fifth Season is an amazing, dark, and gripping work that will hook you from the first sentence. I cannot express to you how much this book stunned me. Robin's narration is well paced and engaging. While I wish this was a book for everyone to listen to, it isn't; destruction, trauma, and rage follow the women and girls who tell their stories. This book is about the end of the world, that you actually don't want to stop reading.”

“The Name of the Wind is a very straightforward book which you absolutely should not take at face value just because of its upfront nature. Rothfuss builds a slow burn fantasy narrative meant to keep you warm throughout dark nights of literary pursuits, rather than a showy bonfire that burns through all its material in order to hook you. Kvothe, the focal point of the story, is a character study in noticing subtle contrasts. However, the story Kvothe tells is always cordial, and Poedhl's mellow reading only lends itself to enhancing the obliging chronicle. A beneficial factor given the hefty size of Rothfuss' debut novel, a factor which can scare away the faint of heart or the light on time. It is well worth the effort, and ultimately a rewarding reading and listening experience.”

“The charter of the Leahy house is to manage and police the secret houses of the veil on the campus of Yale University. When a murder is connected to the magical activities of the houses, Galaxy Stern, Alex, the newest member of the Ninth House must find out what happened even if it means losing her place at Yale or her life. Ninth House grips you from the beginning and Alex is a wonderfully crafted edgy protagonist with deep scars. In the pretentious ivy league world Alex tenaciously pursues evil through unexpected twists and turns. If you like mystery and magic this is for you!”

“When Ivy was a child, her sister went off to a school for mages, leaving her feeling abandoned in the non-magical world. So when her sister’s boss turns up at Ivy’s detective practice a couple of decades later and asks her to solve a murder, she’s less than enthused. Mixing noir tropes with the classic setting of a school for practitioners of magic, Magic for Liars is by turns intriguing and unsettling. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way as Ivy attempted to comb through the lies and resist her own temptation to get too deeply embroiled in the mystery.”

“Children of Blood & Bone, is a story told in a world where magic no longer exists. Years ago, this was not the case. Once, magic and the Gods were celebrated. Now, Diviners (those with Maji blood, but no magic) are treated poorly, and all the Maji have been killed. One of those including our main protagonist, Zélie’s, mother. Determined to find a way to bring back magic, Zélie, along with her brother Tzain, and Orïsha’s only princess, Amari (gone rogue), set out on a quest against all odds. Told from Zélie, Amari and Amari’s brother and crown prince, Inan’s viewpoints, Tomi Adeyemi weaves together a tale so beautifully and tragically relevant, it will leave you craving for answers and more.”

“This is sisterhood. This is Black mermaid magic. This is powerful and beautiful and relevant. Fantasy at its finest because it fights for something bigger. A Song Below Water had me mesmerized from the off, unable to unplug from the tapestry of mythos and social justice and current events that Morrow has so tantalizingly woven. There is nothing small about Tavia or Effie, though the world would like them to be. And there is nothing simple about their story, which courses with intrigue a wide array of equally individualistic characters (Love me some Gargy). Read this gem. Then go out and speak siren.”

“This is a crazy funny new take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream that will have you laughing out loud and getting goofy looks from the other people in the coffee shop. Christopher Moore is always entertaining, and this book is no exception — you will enjoy it from the first sentence to the very last. And, yes, there are squirrels in the story!”

“Black Leopard, Red Wolf is fantastically queer, black, and confounding! It is an enticing read, filled with love, sex, betrayal, and truths that are not so true.”

“Agents for opposite sides of a war without an end or beginning find themselves drawn to one another. It starts as a little deadly competition, but it quickly becomes clear that it's more than just fascination. Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone work together like steak and a fine wine. Some of the most beautiful prose, and two of the most complex characters ever written, This is How You Lose the Time War is a tragic love story wrapped in science fiction. Emily Woo Zeller and Cynthia Farrell narrate with such emotion that the listener believes every word they say. This is one of my favorite Audiobooks of all time.”

“One part coming-of-age parable, one part psychological horror, this book combines dark fantasy with contemporary magical realism. Beautifully translated from its original Russian, Vita Nostra brilliantly explores the period in early adulthood in which we consider the price we’re willing to pay to discover our full potential and learn how we make ourselves vulnerable when we strive for outside approval.”

“S.A. Chakraborty introduces a fantasy set in the Middle East that thrusts us into the magical world of Daevabad. The City of Brass follows, in parallel, Nahri, a con artist and naturally gifted healer, and Ali, prince of Daevabad and fiercely trained soldier. Nahri and Ali find themselves learning new lessons on how to survive changing environments and difficult challenges, while trying to figure out the complexities of their lives. I found myself turning page after page, following Nahri's and Ali's story while deciphering the fantastic terminology and the world that is Daevabad. The City of Brass is a wonderfully written, mystical adventure that keeps you guessing about what will happen next.”

“What happens when fairy tales mix with reality? What happens when those fairy tales aren't all happy endings? Alice experiences this first hand in the novel, The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert. I listed through Libro.fm as Rebecca Soler narrated the tale of Alice, a teenager, constantly on the move with her mother, Ella, as bad luck always seems to find them. Ella is striving to turn their straw house into a brick one, when something terrible happens and mother and daughter are separated. Alice discovers her own dark and magical past on the journey to the Hazel Wood to save her mother, but what she becomes isn't the good kind of fairy tale. Soler's narration was over dramatic for my taste. Albert's use of words was beautiful and descriptive and didn't need the at times sinister twist Soler's point of view put on it. Focusing on Albert's writing made me enjoy the story more. I loved how Albert put words together. Some of the things she described in NYC were so spot on I laughed out loud. I couldn't put this book down (or should I say turn off?). The book was a little farfetched, but what would you expect from a fairy tale? Albert had me hooked. I give it a comb, a bone and a feather from the Hinterland a.k.a. 9 out of 10.”

“Foundryside is the first book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Foundry trilogy. Not only did this book get me out of my reading slump, it was a book that I just couldn’t stop listening to. The cover grabbed my attention and the story surpassed every expectation that I had. Foundryside is about a well-trained thief, Sancia. She’s good at what she does, and her latest job has landed her in a whole world of trouble. She’s gone from off the radar, to Tevanne’s most wanted. Sancia has to band together with some unlikely allies to make it out alive. We learn about the world Bennett created through Clef, a character who is unique and loveable from the start, who in turn learns from Sancia. Bennett created complex characters, a world that is half tech, half magic, and a story full of heart. It was a story that I couldn’t get enough of and was sad to see end. I can’t wait for the next part!”

“For someone who approaches such serious scientific and technological subjects, Neal Stephenson can be outrageously funny. Combine that with Nicole Galland's storytelling ability and you have a rollicking roller coaster of a novel. The authors mix together magic, witchcraft, time travel, science, and historical figures, both real and imagined, while delightfully skewering bumbling bureaucrats, pretentious academics, a rigid military, and other bastions of the establishment to produce a work that is both thought-provoking and totally entertaining.”

“When is the last time a horror novel was both scary and charming? A Cosmology of Monsters is that book! Riffing on themes from H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury, Hamill weaves a complex tale of lost cities, haunted Halloween attractions, and doorways to other worlds. I really enjoyed this literary horror story, which starts out as a love story (don’t ALL good horror tales?) and grows progressively creepier. The book posits the questions: Who are the real monsters, and why do we love to be scared? Truly an uber-creepy yet delightful homage. I loved it.”

“I remembered reading The Thief as a kid and being blown away by the story. With my Libro.fm membership I decided to experience the story again by listening to it and I will say it is now one of my go to audiobook recommendations. A rich mix of fantasy, intrigue, character, and unforgettable moments all expertly narrated by Steve West. This whole series is perfect for readers who want a more sophisticated fantasy.”

“Pacing and timing set this alternate-world story apart: tension rises as political factions conflict and family trust dissolves, empowerment is hard to find and much, much harder to navigate, religion unwillingly provides narratives used to excuse economic injustice, a border wall looms higher in imagination (and fear) than in reality, and in the middle of it all, Daniela might - might - be falling in love, but is constantly confused by loyalties hiding behind other loyalties. The setting includes an apparently Latin American nation (not real), a religion (also not real), and queer teens (very real). But the stereotypes and glib fantasizing of popular dystopias are absent. The supposedly obligatory pointed allegory isn't there. The pressure to build a world like other worlds must have been enormous for newcomer Mejia, but the author doesn't cave to that pressure. That gives the book an exceptional power. It's a believable, frightening nail-biter of a coming of age story set in a time like our own, when the desire for justice and the desire for love conflict in the minds of young people everywhere.”

“Amazing! I wonderful fantasy I loved every bit of. The narrator brought this story to life, and I was hypnotized the entire time. This story has some of my favorite elements in it. A strong, smart heroine? Check. A charming hero with demons and a chip on his shoulder? Check. An evil threatening the safety of the world? Check. Elizabeth is such an interesting character, she is determined and clever and she has approximately no quit in her. Despite all of the things that stand in her way, she never says die. When she is forced to choose between the person she has always been, and sacrificing all she knows about herself to help save a clueless, thankless world, she becomes someone new. Part of this is because of Nathaniel. He embodies everything she has learned to avoid and fear. But the world she lives in is bigger than the fears she has been taught. Nathaniel is mysterious and tortured. Elizabeth is everything he doesn't want to need, and he rebels against that. Their partnership progresses naturally, slowly and arduously as they wrestle with what is happening. By the end of the book they have complete confidence in each other and I reveled in every stage of their relationship. Give me the slow burn partnership that neither wants, but works so well. I'll love it every time. Margaret Rogerson is amazing and this book HAD me from the very beginning.”

“If you’ve ever driven Highway 5 late at night, you know there is something ethereal about the long stretch of road when it is blanketed with stars. Joseph Fink evokes the same feeling in his newest novel, Alice Isn’t Dead. After the supposed death of her wife, Keisha—certain Alice is still alive—abandons her life to become a trucker and search for the missing Alice, and runs afoul of a sinister and horrifying organization. Strange and glorious, this book will leave you changed.”

“For my first sci-fi book, this was recommended for me. I was NOT disappointed!”

“Equal parts beauty and grit, The Merciful Crow is a novel that kept me up through the night. In the start of what is planned on being a duology, Margaret Owens filled her story with beautiful words, witty characters, and situations many can connect to. The world Owens created is divided into a caste system named after birds, which like many in the real world has an upper and lower caste, and the Crows are the lowest of them all. Owens sends the readers on a journey with Fie, a Crow Chief-in-training willing to do whatever it takes to protect her family, Jasimir, a Phoenix prince trying to outwit his step-mother, and Tavin, a Hawk bodyguard who is learning what it means to want something for himself. Along the way, Jasirmir and Tavin learn what it means to be a Crow and all of the discrimination that comes with being not of the "splendid castes." Even though they face discrimination and are hunted down, they still are able to find joy in life and survive. Fie hopes that with the prince’s help the Crows will be able to not only survive, but thrive. I couldn't get enough of this book.”

“Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster and a lady, drinking tea and chaperoning balls in London during the time of Queen Victoria's reign. She also happens to be a preternatural, or soulless being, one of the very few lucky individuals who can take away the power of a supernatural being (such as a vampire or werewolf) simply by her touch. When she accidentally kills a vampire (well, he was trying to drink her blood at the time), she is forced to contend with Lord Maccon, the werewolf leader of both the local pack and the local national office of supernatural investigations. Fans of Jane Austen-ish writing and fantasy forces will love this wicked, and wickedly funny, romp through London, supernatural-style. The subtitle says it all, really: A Novel of Vampires, Werewolves, and Parasols. ”