The year 2025 arrived with a treasure trove of fantastical stories waiting to capture our imaginations. From dragon riders soaring through dangerous skies to journeys into literal hell, the literary landscape offered something truly extraordinary. Whether you’re drawn to epic battles, intimate character studies, or worlds bursting with inventive magic systems, this year delivered reads that kept us glued to the page well past midnight.
Let’s be real, the sheer volume of releases made choosing just ten books nearly impossible. Each month brought fresh voices and beloved authors returning with new installments. What made these particular titles stand out wasn’t just hype or pre-order numbers. These books sparked genuine excitement across reading communities, dominated bestseller lists, and left readers desperately awaiting sequels.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Released on January 21, 2025, Onyx Storm is the third book in the fantasy romance Empyrean series, and it absolutely dominated the year. Upon its release, Onyx Storm became the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years, selling nearly 2.7 million copies in its first week. The continuation of Violet Sorrengail’s story at Basgiath War College had readers camping outside bookstores at midnight, dressed in full dragon rider gear. Bookstores including Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones held events to celebrate the book’s release. Some readers attended in costume. The phenomenon surrounding this release felt like the early days of major franchises, reminding longtime fantasy fans of what genuine cultural impact looks like.
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
Wind and Truth is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and is the fifth book in The Stormlight Archive series. It was published on December 6, 2024, and is the ending to the first half of the series. Sanderson delivered a massive conclusion to the first arc of his beloved series. Sanderson announced on his Twitter account that he had finished the last part of the novel, turning the book in at 491,000 words; this made Wind and Truth the longest book in the series. That’s right, roughly half a million words of intricate worldbuilding, complex magic systems, and deeply personal character journeys. The book explores themes of mental health and healing amid apocalyptic stakes, proving that epic fantasy can tackle intimate emotional struggles alongside world-ending battles.
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Katabasis is R.F. Kuang’s triumphant return to fantasy after her 2023 publishing satire Yellowface. The author of The Poppy War trilogy and Babel, Kuang is of course no stranger to fantasy. This book takes readers on a journey into the underworld itself. Katabasis is about a graduate student at the Cambridge school of Magick who has to team up with her rival to journey into Hell and save the soul of her favorite professor. The premise alone sounds irresistible, honestly. The challenges they encounter throughout their romp through Hell have as much to do with their feelings for each other, their insecurities about themselves, and their mislaid trust in Cambridge as they do with the dangers of Hell itself. Laced with Kuang’s signature critiques of colonialism and academia, Katabasis is also a love story.
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
The Devils is a fantastic, true-to-form return for Abercrombie, with a familiar mix of fast-paced bloody action scenes, scathing humour, and wonderfully written rag-tag group of anti-heroes. Abercrombie stepped away from his beloved First Law world to craft something entirely new. Away from his First Law world, I also really enjoyed getting to explore this bustling new AU medieval fantasy Europe. A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets Suicide Squad vibe, The Devils is a romp of a book with situations so nail-biting and (sometimes) absurd. The book follows a ragtag group of monsters and outcasts recruited to save Europe from flesh-eating elves. It’s a premise that shouldn’t work, yet somehow does brilliantly.
The Strength of the Few by James Islington
Islington’s The Strength of the Few is my book of the year for 2025. Leading off from the incredible The Will of the Many, Vis’ adventure triples in complexity and scope according to Grimdark Magazine. This sequel expands everything readers loved about the first installment. While the main strength of this novel is in its plot, the philosophical debates and powerful statements are more than welcome additions. Deep thoughts are beautifully stated, and this book promises to be the book 2 of an all time series. The academic intrigue combined with high stakes action created something special that fantasy fans couldn’t stop discussing.
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
T. Kingfisher’s Hemlock & Silver, a bookish charcuterie board of dark fairytale fantasy, with a little bit of horror, and a smidgen of cosy stuff charmed readers throughout 2025. It springboards off the story of Snow White and has been spun into a Kingfisher original. I love the main character, Anja, she was witty, clever, darkly funny, and also just really wanted to be done having to fix other people’s problems. Kingfisher has mastered the art of blending darkness with comfort, creating stories that simultaneously frighten and delight. The healing protagonist who specializes in poisons became an instant fan favorite.
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
This is the second book in a series. These are funny, wildly inventive fantasy-mysteries set in a plant-magicked world, featuring a Holmes and Watson-ish duo. Dinios Kol recently became an assistant to the brilliant, unruly detective Ana Dolabra. The sequel to The Tainted Cup expanded Bennett’s bizarre and fascinating world. Bennett’s fantasy/sci-fi take on a Sherlock-and-Watson tale is smart, witty, and satisfying. The combination of mystery elements with completely unique worldbuilding created something genuinely fresh in a crowded genre. Leviathans, plant magic, and murder investigations shouldn’t mesh so perfectly, yet they absolutely do.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
For fans of The Hunger Games, the highly anticipated “sequel to the prequel” jumps forward a quarter century after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Sunrise on the Reaping follows the famous Haymitch Abernathy in his storied victory in the second quarter quell. Collins returned to Panem after years away from the franchise. The story explores one of the most haunting chapters in Hunger Games history, when twice the usual number of tributes faced death. Fans have been waiting years for Haymitch’s full story, and Collins finally delivered.
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
It’s the story of two sisters living near a river, a boundary between our world and another, more magical one. When a terrible tragedy befalls one sister, the other is determined to find justice. To get it, she’ll need to traverse liminal worlds, face down magical threats, and try to retain some semblance of who she is. At just under 150 pages, The River Has Roots is a short novel with a long-lasting impact for fairytale lovers. El-Mohtar crafted something quietly devastating and beautiful, proving that powerful fantasy doesn’t require thousands of pages.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Playing on the same fears and dramas of Interview With the Vampire with a brush of her hit The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Schwab’s newest gives readers richly painted, queer vampires caught in a multi-century web of obsession, immortality, and longing. Schwab delivered something genuinely different in vampire fiction. Set over 500 years, this tale of three sapphic vampires is a story about hunger, rage and the ways in which women are told to be satiated even when they aren’t. The exploration of desire and power across centuries created a haunting meditation on what it means to truly hunger for more.
These ten books represent just a fraction of what 2025 offered readers. Each brought something unique, whether groundbreaking worldbuilding, emotional depth, or pure escapist joy. The diversity of voices and stories proved that speculative fiction continues evolving and expanding in exciting directions. Which of these caught your eye? Did we miss your favorite 2025 release?
