Amina Al-Sirafi gave up her life of piracy for the relative security of a life with her family and young daughter. But when her past comes calling — and threatens her family’s safety — she returns to the sea and the ship she left behind in order to protect them. But this is no ordinary mission; Amina is up against an opponent dabbling with supernatural forces far beyond his control. Amina has had enough dealing with the supernatural to know what a terrible idea that is. With her family’s lives on the line, though, Amina will have to team up with the demon she once loved in order to win the day. And anyone — especially Amina Al-Sirafi — could tell you that’s a risky proposition.

A scavenger captured by pirates is offered a complicated deal with life-changing repercussions: marry the mind-ship who leads the Red Banner in exchange for her protection and help uncover who was behind the murder of her late wife, the Red Scholar, or remain a prisoner of the notorious pirate fleet. For Xích Si, it’s no choice at all. But with the pirates under attack from both inside and outside forces, will Xích Si and Rice Fish be able to uncover their enemies and come to an understanding — maybe even more — before it’s too late?

From the author of You Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea comes another cozy adventure, this time set on the high seas. The newly engaged Kianthe and Reyna become enmeshed in another love story while on the hunt for dragon eggs when the lord of the Nacean River calls on the powerful mage Kianthe to track down the pirate who’s been marauding his shores. Alongside Bobbie, one of the lord’s constables, they set their sights on tracking down the pirate Serina. But Bobbie knew Serina long before she turned pirate, and she has her own reasons for wanting to find the woman before any others.

When Evelyn boards the Dove, she has no idea it’s a pirate ship. She only knows she’s being shipped off to a distant shore for a marriage she had no say in. But when the Dove’s true affiliation is revealed, it’s only her friendship with a young deckhand that saves her. Flora, who took up the name and identity of Florian aboard the ship, only turned pirate out of desperation and love for her brother. But now Flora has someone new to protect. Doing so will take the two of them on an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Treasure Island gets a new spin in this novel following a girl searching for answers about her father at the end of the golden age of piracy in the 19th century South China Sea. Xiang’s father has only ever been a story, lost at sea before she was born. But when the pendant she inherited from her father is stolen, and Xiang discovers it contains a secret scroll, her life is turned upside down. Apparently, her father sailed with the legendary Dragon Fleet — and they may have left behind one last treasure before they disappeared.

This novella from the author of A Master of Djinn follows a teen living on the streets of an alternate history New Orleans looking to escape aboard the smuggler airship, Midnight Robber. Creeper believes her knowledge about a kidnapped Haitian scientists could get Captain Ann-Marie on her side. But her secret connection with the African orisha of the wind, Oya, might also prove useful — especially when it becomes apparent that the gods have become much more involved than anyone realized in New Orleans.

In this Latine pirate fantasy starring a nonbinary teen, the devil comes to collect on a bargain made by their father when Mar turns 16. Now, Mar is the sole survivor, rescued by another pirate crew and given a terrible choice by el Diablo: trade their soul in exchange for their father’s or never seem him again. Mar knows better than to make a deal with the devil, but with the help of the captain’s arrogant son and a genderfluid demonio with uncertain motives, Mar might just be able to use the magic powers they’ve kept hidden for so long to take on el Diablo.

The author of Daughter of the Pirate King is back with a new book in the series, following an assassin working for Alosa, the Pirate Queen. But Alosa’s newest job for her doesn’t involve killing. Instead, she’s tasked with captaining a rescue mission alongside a helmsman who is altogether too annoying and attentive. When their journey takes them through the waters of the King of the Undersea, who controls the dead, their rescue mission turns into a fight to save the entire world from an undead army.

This contemporary romance retells the iconic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast.” Isabelle is an editorial assistant who dreams of advancing in her career. Beau is a child of celebrities who owes Isabelle’s boss a tell-all manuscript. But he’s gone no contact and has hidden himself away in his Santa Barbara mansion. Isabelle decides to confront him at home, but ends up making a different bargain than she expected. Beau agrees to work on the memoir, but only if she stays with him and helps him write it. From rose gardens to a stunning library and more, there are lots of winks and nods to the Beauty and the Beast along the way in this love story!

This YA novel is a queer retelling of the “Snow White and Rose Red” fairy tale. Rosie and Ivory are twins who’ve grown up in their bearded lady, ringmaster mother’s circus. Told partly in verse, the story unfolds when the circus returns to the twins’ birthplace to find a religious fundamentalist regime has taken over. After a devastating fire in the circus tent, Ivory must abandon her behind-the-scenes work to become the ringmaster. She must hold together the circus for her disappeared family while working to find them and the people responsible for the tragedy.

This novel borrows from “Hansel and Gretel” as well as the “Gingerbread Man” story to bring about a mystical world between the one we know and one we’ve read about in fairy tales. Perdita Lee and her single mother appear normal to the outside world. But inside their home, there are signs they aren’t such a average British family. Most of all, there is something peculiar about the gingerbread they make to send home to Predita’s mother’s childhood best friend Gretel in the land of Druhástrana. But what is only hinted at in Perdita’s life unfolds in front of her as she travels to this land to find Gretel and uncovers mysteries from her mother’s past.

This contemporary Western romance is a loose retelling of “Sleeping Beauty.” In it, Evie is the star of a cooking show who develops amnesia after a mysterious fall down the stairs. Evie hasn’t returned to her family ranch out West in years. Not since her best friend Zach told her that there would never be more than friendship between them. But with no one else to help her, Zach flies to New York and brings her home. He doesn’t want to let her out of his life again, but will their fresh start be ruined once her memory returns? Once you read this one, Weatherspoon has a whole series of fairy tale inspired cowboy romances for you to enjoy!

This YA fantasy is a murder mystery inspired by many of the more obscure Brothers Grimm fairy tales. In the middle of a dark, dangerous forest, there is a small town where the villagers never leave: the town of Greymist Fair. The story starts when the Heike, the town’s tailor, discovers a dead body in the road. Told through multiple perspectives, this horrible crime reveals more and more mysterious secrets embedded in Greymist Fair’s history.

A strange alien invasion has taken over the world, and while most people have embraced the almost utopian changes, Trina has not. When her wife, Deeba, decides to use Seep technology to start over as a baby, reliving her childhood for the better this time, there’s nothing left for Trina but to run away. Deep in an alcoholic haze, she stumbles across a young boy and sets out on a quest to save him from the grip of the Seep. But is it really a quest, or just a desperate bid to escape her grief?

A renowned violin instructor paying off a deal with the devil and an alien refugee running a donut shop with her children come together in unexpected ways in this lyrical novel that blends together fantasy and science fiction. What does it mean to be a parent, a family? And what are we willing to sacrifice for the ones we love? As both women experience the complications of motherhood, in all its various forms, they realize that love is worth it, no matter the consequences.

In this eldritch horror novella, a 55-year-old professor at the Ulthar Women’s College follows a wayward student across the Dreamlands when she elopes with a dreamer from the waking world. It’s a dangerous journey that will send her into the very depths of her own mysterious past. Vellitt Boe is a seasoned adventurer in addition to being a math professor, but will she be able to track down her missing student in a land of ever-changing dreams?

A retired pirate with a young daughter is drawn back into a dangerous job on the high seas when a rich woman tracks her down and threatens her family. Amina Al-Sirafi thought she had left that life behind her when she gave birth to her daughter, determined to keep her little girl safe. But now, it’s only by going on a perilous journey that reunites her with the girl’s otherworldly father and a cast of criminals both friend and foe that she can hope to keep her daughter out of harm’s way. And maybe being back on the sea and at the helm of her own ship, even if it means being worlds away from the ones she loves, might be worth it anyway.

A disgraced doctor working at a village clinic in India is approached by a family one night with a strange request: if the doctor can mend their fatal wounds before sunup, they’ll be brought back to life. The surgeon and his assistant will have to work through the night to save them. And by morning, they’ll both have gained knowledge that no mortal should ever have.

A floating city in the Arctic Circle protects it’s citizens from devastation after the world was rocked by the climate wars. But the city, once a marvel of engineering, is now fraying along the edges. Crime, poverty, and corruption are destroying the city’s way of life. When a mysterious woman riding an orca arrives with a polar bear by her side, she encourages a wave of resistance. And four people living on the periphery are brought together to save their city from its own decay, discovering shocking truths about themselves in the process.

At 75 years old, after attending his wife’s funeral, John Perry enlisted in the Colonial Defense Force. They’re not interested in young soldiers; they want people with a lifetime of knowledge and skill. And if recruits like John can survive two years in the service, they’re given a homestead of their own on one of the colony planets they’re fighting so hard to protect. But first, he’ll have to undergo the process of becoming the sort of soldier the Colonial Defense Forces want — and that means being changed, body and soul.

The living avatars of New York City come together when they realize their city is coming to life in this urban fantasy novel from SFF master N.K. Jemisin. A disparate collection of New Yorkers, representing the city’s five boroughs, learn of their true nature and the nature of their city as they fight to protect it against ancient and mysterious forces that would keep it — and all other great cities — from ascending. Success would see the city flourish, but failure could mean the end of New York City as we know it. And when even some of their own decide to work against them, the city teeters on a precipice that will see it changed for good.

In this fairy tale retelling, Red Riding Hood isn’t a little girl going up against a big bad world; she’s a middle-aged woman running from her past and helping an archer with an equally storied life protect the countryside from the ravages of sunbirds. But when their pasts begin to catch up with them, both women must reckon with the choices they’ve made and how those choices continue to affect them — and those around them.

Survivors from Earth make up the Exodus Fleet, a relic of a spaceship just trying to survive after humanity was accepted into the Galactic Commons. Most humans have moved on to other planets, but for those Exodans left, life on the Exodus Fleet is carefully guarded. A lifelong spacer, a young apprentice, an alien academic, a newcomer, and others wrestle with what it means to stay on a ship after you’ve reached your destination and whether their way of life is even worth protecting in this gorgeous novel from Becky Chambers Wayfarers series.

I loved Isaac Fellman’s trans vampire novel Dead Collections, but I hadn’t heard of his debut, a meditative, melancholic story about a woman whose life is forever changed by a mountain-climbing expedition. Lamat Paed, along with a priest, sets out to summit the most sacred mountain in her people’s realm, known as God’s own head. After the expedition, her climbing partner becomes famous, but Lamat retreats into hiding, and is eventually exiled from her homeland. Years later, she finally tells the full story to her partner, revealing secrets she’s been keeping for years.

This dark, lush historical, set in New York City in the 1940s, is a beautiful and complicated story about trauma and power. It takes place in a world where some people of color have supernatural abilities, termed “hands” — gifts that allow them, through their hands, to wield knives with incredible precision, draw out secrets, foresee danger, and more. It unfolds in triptych, focusing on characters whose lives are defined by these powers, and especially on one woman who’s skill with knives gets her entangled in the city’s criminal underbelly.

Set in Mombasa, Kenya, this is a quietly beautiful coming-of-age novel about a young woman who sets out on a quest to find her father, a fisherman who goes missing at sea. She travels on a magical boat, and is accompanied by a crew of talking animals. The quest changes her forever, awakening her to new possibilities, both in herself and in the world she thought she knew. It’s a satisfying blend of adventure, family drama, and magical fable.

If you’re looking for something fantasy-esque but epic quests and complicated magic systems aren’t your thing, how about a book about three generations of polar bears? These bears exist in human society as writers and circus performers. But though they live with humans, they are not human — they remain perpetual outsiders, and in constant danger. Told from the perspective of three bears, the story moves from the Soviet Union to Canada to East Germany. It’s a sweeping historical novel that illuminates changing political and social norms — with just the right amount of magic and whimsy.

The novella category of the Hugo and Nebula awards doesn’t get as much love as it should! The 2021 Nebula winner for best novella might not be on your radar, so let me make this pitch: in a bleak future world, fueled by rampant capitalism, a murdered courtesan comes back to life to get revenge on her the man who killed her. I honestly don’t know what could be better than ghost vengeance!

If you missed this book back when it came out, now’s your chance to fix that! Jevick, the son of a merchant, loves books, but they’re almost nonexistent where he lives. When his father dies and he has to travel in his place to Olondria — a kingdom known for its books — he can hardly believe it. But his dream trip gets complicated when he’s possessed by the ghost of a dead girl desperate for someone to listen to her story. He’s soon caught up in Olondria’s dangerous politics, and it forces him to reexamine everything he thought he knew about art, literature, reading, and storytelling.

This is a gorgeous love story and a heartbreaking exploration of grief, loss, and our relationship with the dead. Yejide comes from a long line of women who have helped souls pass into the afterlife. Darwin takes a job digging craves to help support his mother, even though his religion instructs him to stay away from the dead. When they meet in a cemetery, it changes the trajectory of both their lives. It’s a lush and beautifully written novel effortlessly woven through with magic.

Epic fantasy fans, don’t worry — I have something for you, too. This one has it all: a powerful empire that has fallen into ruin; a reluctant hero who sets off on a life-changing quest despite his better judgement; ancient prophecies and dark magic; a fierce witch with a penchant for flame; political turmoil. It’s the first book in a trilogy, and the second one won a British Fantasy award as well.

Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate has been dismissed from the Kel Command in disgrace but is given a chance to redeem herself by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles. Kel aligns herself with skilled, but unconventional tactician Jedao in a gamble to preserve both her own reputation and the hexarchate. The technologies and magic of the hexarchate are based on complex mathematics and the author uses them well in building the world of Kel and Jedao.

This historical reimagining takes place in Poland, where mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot is a pioneer in fractal geometry. Mandelbrot uses his understanding of the topic to develop his wizarding powers, which then allows him to fight against the Nazis in World War II.

After an invasion of Earth by the Ilori that killed one-third of the human population, the Ilori now rule Earth, and art and books are illegal. However, high school student Ellie maintains a secret library in the Ilori-controlled New York City where she is living, as a means of keeping human knowledge alive. By teaming up with rebels and using math and codes to communicate, Ellie is able to harness her powers against the Ilori in an attempt to save humanity.

Set in 1940s San Francisco, six women find their lives intersecting on the magical edges of the city. The book incorporates mathematical concepts like tesseracts, Klein bottles, and fourth-dimensional travel into its storyline. The story plays with the power of math and art to sustain us, and tells stories of forbidden love in the gay and lesbian communities of the 1940s.

Several of the short stories in this collection play around with the magic and philosophy of mathematics. In the title story, a magical library is filled with books containing every possible combination of words and letters, including some that are completely nonsensical. The magic in this library explores the notion of infinity and randomness to generate the library’s magic.

High school math genius Quentin Coldwater is fascinated with a series of fantasy novels set in a land called Fillory and finds his real life dull by comparison. When Quentin is unexpectedly admitted to a magical school and realizes that his fantasies are real, he has to face up to the fact that magic is both darker and more complex than he had imagined. Far from casting spells with simple words or phrases, the magicians at the school must use complex, mathematical formulas to achieve their magical aims.

Sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro is the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and turned him into a technopath, AKA a person with the ability to control technology. Noam has spent his life since then fighting for his fellow refugees and undocumented immigrants who have been targeted by the government’s magical control. In the society Noam lives in, magic is both highly feared and tightly controlled by the government, which uses it to keep the population in line. When Noam is offered the chance to learn how magic works, in exchange for helping advance defense technologies, he sees it as both a means of creating change and of getting a better life for himself. But, as Noam agrees to use his mathematical abilities to help the government manipulate technology, he begins to question where his loyalties lie.

In a world of cloistered scholars living in monastic kingdoms called “maths,” Erasmus, one young scholar, has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the world. This will call him and his fellow scholars into the world beyond their cloister, to try and halt the coming global disaster. Throughout the book, Stephenson uses the laws of math and physics to build the fantasy world in which Erasmus and his fellow scholars live and the story includes many explanations of the complex logic that underlies the mathic communities.

A book that plays around with the concept of infinity, this is part fantasy, part science fiction, and part evil empire story. In the kingdom of Ashdod, the ruling Magi are a math-obsessed group of leaders who have spent decades building a pyramid they believe will allow them to connect with the infinite, at the cost of the lives of the enslaved laborers working on it. When Tirzah, an enslaved glassblower, comes to the attention of the Master of the Magi, he becomes determined to manipulate her and use her for his own power. But what the Magi don’t understand is that Tirzah has a gift for communicating with glass and that her magical powers allow her to see the threat from infinity that might end them all.

In this interdimensional journey through the boroughs of New York City, six characters represent the city’s souls and its history. Each character is an avatar that must team up with the others and save the city from destruction. Though the math in this book is more subtle, it does a great job of pairing interdimensional concepts, a fascinating premise, and a rich, fantasy world.

The graduates of the Aurora Academy are about to embark on their first mission. Tyler Jones thinks he’s a star, but his own mistakes land him with a ragtag group of near-reject cadets. When they stumble upon Auri, a girl who’s been asleep for 200 years, an interstellar war might just erupt.

At 17, Ana’s chosen family is her android, D09, and her space-faring crew. When D09 starts to glitch and break down, this family of scoundrels and outlaws are determined to band together and fix it. But someone else has beat them to the one thing they need. Soon, an entire space kingdom is on their trail, and D09 only has so much time.

You want found family in young adult books in space? Go with a crew of thieves. In this case, Zara is on the run after a crime goes afoul in New Detroit. Salvation comes in her recruitment to a group selected to explore the outer edges of the universe. Zara doesn’t expect to find real companionship out there, let alone the dangers and mysteries lurking.

While technically not labeled YA, this coming-of-age sci-fi adventure will appeal to young adult readers. Hailing from a remote Himba village, Binti disrupts everything when she’s accepted to the renowned Oomza University. She’ll have to leave the village and the planet for this education, upsetting everyone she knows. When an age-old conflict reignites with Binti in the middle, she’ll have to rally around her chosen family to broker peace.

This book has flown way under the radar, which is a shame. Maia has been running from her past for most of her young life. Her life is about to get more complicated when she lands in the middle of a peace initiative, filled with conspiracy and incredible evil. Fortunately, she’s going to make a lot of friendships along the way that she’ll need.

How about a graphic novel option? An unlikely crew of teens are traveling to the edge of space. Their mission: to rebuild decrepit structures and learn about the past. Along the way, some of them will fall in love, and all of them will find family that will last a lifetime.

This found-family YA book is only partly in space, but it’s too good to not include. Cyra and Akos were raised in rival countries, fighting for dominance over their little planet. When Akos is kidnapped by Cyra’s brother, Akos has to fight for their life, but soon realizes that Cyra is, too. Together, though, they might be the key to a true rebellion against both countries.

Blending science fiction with fantasy and Arthurian retelling, you have to read this book. Ari has been wandering the galaxies as an undocumented immigrant her whole life. After crashing down on Earth, she pulls a sword from a tree, and discovers that she is the reincarnation of King Arthur. Only with the help of her Merlin will she be able to save humanity from itself.

Not all of these stories involve found family, but quite a few of these stories focused on the Latin American diaspora do. From the far reaches of space to magical and mystical lands, a star-studded list of YA authors put together some incredible short stories for this collection. Telling stories in deep space and close to home, all of these stories are so important.

Leave it to Marie Lu to write one of the best young adult books in space. Talin is an outcast, even amongst her fellow Strikers, trained and loyal fighters. She works as hard as the rest of them to quell the evil Federation and their terrifying beasts. A new prisoner throws Talin’s world into disarray, however. Are they a spy or a friend? A terrible result of experiments? Talin will just have to get to know them better to find out.

Solara needs to get away from Earth, but space travel is expensive. At last, she finds passage on the Banshee, but it’s captained by Doran, the rich quarterback who made her miserable in school. But when a strange turn of events hits, Doran is on the run too, and pretends to be Solara’s servant in order to hide. Now they’re both on the run, and they need each other if they want to survive.

This last book is not quite set in space, but space plays an important role in this sapphic romance with found family. Ryann has always wanted to go to space, but there’s no way she could ever afford it. Then she meets Alexandria, a loner whose mother is an astronaut rocketing away on a one-way trip. As Alexandria mourns her mother, Ryann offers comfort, and a budding friendship becomes so much more.

Fantasy books involving magic and circuses must be its own sub-genre by now, yes? In this debut set after World War I, the Circus of the Fantasticals wows the midwest with their show night after night. But its ringmaster Rin is being pursued by a dark, shadow circus that hunts her wherever they go — and it’s getting closer.

Gong is a bestselling author of YA fantasy books inspired by Romeo and Juliet. For her adult debut, she’s taking another page (book pun!) from Shakespeare’s book. In this Antony and Cleopatra-inspired tale, the citizens of the kingdom of Talin gather to watch the palace games. Competitors win big in a fight to the death, but the losers, well, die. Three strangers with scores to settle enter the games for different reasons, but find they can advance by relying on each other…to a point.

In this Egyptian-inspired debut fantasy, the last heir of the ruined kingdom of Jasad is seeking vengeance. Having been in hiding for ten years, Sylvia is ready to get her revenge. No one even knows she’s still alive after all the destruction. But to carry out her plan, she may have to rely on the help of her greatest enemy, the heir to the kingdom responsible for destroying everything she loved.

Two young women, both very different. One is kept alive by the magic of a dark sorceress, and the other is trying to fight the tempting lure of magic’s call. Both very different, but both on a quest. They will have to fight monsters, curses, magic, and temptation, to survive in this colonial South American-inspired debut fantasy.

What do you do if you’re a vampire real estate agent who can’t get a ghost to stop haunting a house you want to sell? If you’re Viola, you call a medium. Enter Fox D’Mora, ghost remover — and godson of Death. Okay, so he’s a liar and a fraud, but as he and Viola work together to get rid of the pesty poltergeist, the magic they feel is real. This paranormal fantasy romance is penned by the author of the runaway hit The Atlas Six!

Fairy tales are filled with curses, but what if a curse was actually cast for a good reason? That’s the set-up behind this exciting “Sleeping Beauty” retelling by Kingfisher, a bestselling, award-winning storyteller. Toadling is tasked by faeries with protecting a new child. But things don’t quite work out that way. Now she spends her life hanging around the tower where the princess sleeps a forever slumber in an empty kingdom. Prince after prince has attempted to enter the tower, to no avail. But not one has ever thought to ask if she should be woken up…

In one of the most anticipated fantasy books of the year, Huang has delivered an exciting martial arts adventure! For years, Lin Chong has trained the Emperor’s soldier in the art of war and battle. But all that is taken away from her by a jealous man. Now branded a criminal, Lin joins up with an order of bandits with a thirst for justice against the empire and those who harm the vulnerable. And together, they just might be able to get it.

From the bestselling author of the Six Crimson Cranes series comes an exciting new YA fantasy about two sisters. Channa was cursed with the visage of a monster to appease the Demon Witch. Only her beautiful sister Vanna has never treated her like a monster. When Vanna is to be married off in a horrible contest for the village’s profit, Channa takes on the worst suitor in a battle to save her sister that will consume their lives.

After a plague of creatures wreaked havoc on the Morning Realms two decades before, magic was banished from the lands. Its practitioners now must keep to the shadows, keep their gifts a secret. Zhara hides her talents from her wicked stepmother, but when the rumors of a new plague turning magicians to monsters reach her ears, she knows she must do something to protect herself and her younger sister. It’s a magical Cinderella monster mash (up)!

When I first picked up Riot Baby, it was because I thought it was horror. The premise had echoes of all those other horror books I’d read in the past in which a child realizes they have the otherworldly power to see ghosts or deaths or the future. Apparently, however, the book is marketed as a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. What are genres even? In Onyebuchi’s novel, a young girl realizes she has the power to see other people’s futures. When her brother is incarcerated, she struggles with seeing her brother suffer and wonders whether it’s wrong to use her burgeoning power to lash out. This book grapples with racism in America and with the love we carry for family.

It feels like an eternity since I first read Nimona. At the time, I picked it up because I was a huge fan of Stevenson’s Lumberjanes series. The eponymous Nimona is a feisty shapeshifter who begs a not-so-evil villain to let her be his sidekick. The heart of this graphic novel is in the friendship that develops between them. The surprise is in the dark turn it all takes. The character development, the humor, and the charm are so all-encompassing that I barely noticed I was reading a book with dragons and magic and, well, fantasy-type stuff.

When it comes to fantasy, genre overlap is often the key in making me a fan. And this particular collection is a delicious mix of horror, speculative fiction, magical realism, and feminism. Machado’s short stories play with the question of what it means to be a woman and who is allowed to claim ownership of women’s bodies. What I found most refreshing was how unapologetic her protagonists were when it came to their own sexual appetites. This world of sexually voracious women was one I wouldn’t mind living in, despite the terrors that tended to lurk in dark corners.

The book cover pictured here — and linked to above — is the first in a series of graphic novels. There are five books in all…so far. Anyway. The graphic novels are based on a comedic podcast of the same name, that itself follows an IRL Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Stephanie, you’re probably saying to yourself. It’s a book set within the world of D&D. Of course it’s fantasy. But when I first read it, I was so dazzled by the humor with which the characters interacted, I didn’t give a frak what genre it was. I promise you there are LOLs on every page.

This sci-fi/fantasy was built on such an interesting premise, I couldn’t resist it. In an America beset by a pandemic, a young woman signs up for a one-way ticket to the future so she can work as a bonded laborer, paying for the life-saving treatment her boyfriend desperately needs. But something gets screwed up, and our poor protagonist is sent five years further than originally intended. Lost and alone, she must navigate this new world and do her darndest to find the man she left behind.

This all-ages graphic novel was a hit with both me and my child. In it, our protagonist and her two adopted siblings are sent to spend the summer with their estranged grandmother in her rundown hotel. They’re tasked with fixing up the place, but they soon discover that each hotel room contains a portal to another world. In accessing these worlds, however, they begin to collide, racing toward impending doom. Can these three children and their grandmother save all the worlds?

This YA work of contemporary fantasy is set in Nigeria, where a young albino girl — born in America but living in West Africa — finds that she doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. When she discovers her latent magical powers, however, she finds belonging in a small group of other similarly powered students. But things get real serious real quick when they’re asked to catch a criminal who also has magical powers. I always love a good tale of misfits saving the world.

This one’s a classic in the world of magical realism, but one I didn’t read until recently. There is some contention about whether magical realism counts as fantasy. But its definition — a story in which the world is firmly grounded in reality, but with magical elements — sounds a whole lot like that of low fantasy. Anyway. In Esquivel’s novel, Tita’s longing for love is thwarted by her mother, who insists she remain single so she can stay home and provide care as her mother ages. Throughout the book, Tita turns to cooking in order to magically convey her emotions.

Another book with a bit of genre overlap, in this YA romance, young protagonist Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love. Why? She’s suddenly developed a magical power in which, upon observing a couple’s first kiss, she sees a vision of their entire love story, from beginning all the way to its heartbreaking end. But then, while taking ballroom dancing lessons, she finds herself falling in love. But how can she trust it when she knows that all love must inevitably end?

I will read anything written by T. Kingfisher. ANYTHING. She drew me in with her horror, creepy and with just the right amount of humor. She charmed me and my 8-year-old with her Hamster Princess series, written under her real name (Ursula Vernon). So when she put out a dark fantasy, all I could do was shrug my shoulders and dive in. In this book about a princess determined to save her older sister from an abusive prince, this author’s well developed characters and delightful sense of humor remain fully intact. But what I love the most is that it’s feminist AF, showing that, with determination, a woman can break the shackles that seek to keep her powerless in the face of powerful men.

This one was such a fun read, with just the right amount of magic to get me hooked. Once upon a time, well-known musician Violet Volk pulled a literal disappearing act. Her sister, filled with resentment, has tried to move on, but with the 10 year anniversary of Violet’s disappearance approaching, it gets harder and harder. And then there are the things she can’t explain: troubling sleepwalking episodes and odd coincidences. Is magic really real? Is Violet still out there somewhere? And can her sister ever forgive her?

Another work of magical realism, this book was mesmerizing. Life in the Montoya household has always been odd, and the unexplainable has always been brushed under the rug. Eventually, everyone but the titular matriarch leaves home…until they receive word that Orquídea Divina is about to die. She invites them to her funeral, urging them home to collect their inheritance. When they arrive, instead of the answers they’d hoped for, Orquídea Divina transforms into a tree and magical gifts begin to manifest in her descendants. What does it all mean? They end up traveling to Ecuador — where Orquídea Divina’s story began — to find out.

I read this historical fantasy (two genres I usually avoid) when I was going through a witchy phase. And, well, witches are apparently pretty common in the world of fantasy. In this novel, which takes place in 1893 in the town of New Salem, witches have been wiped out. In fact, the only promise of power to be found by women is in the ballot box. But when three previously estranged sisters run into each other for the first time in years, they decide to bring witchcraft to the burgeoning suffragist movement. Chaos ensues. Delightfully fun chaos.

There was a time when I’d wait with bated breath for the next Stephen King book. As I’ve come to discover new and exciting horror authors, that has become less true. But I truly enjoyed this more recent title, about a teen who inherits the keys to a parallel world…one that needs saving. This coming-of-age fantasy was downright epic, like all of my favorite Stephen King doorstoppers.

This short story collection is chock full of everything from dystopian sci-fi to magical realism. Fu uses a mix of the real and the fantastic to explore the contradictions inherent in human nature. If you’re still uneasy about dipping a toe into fantasy, these bite-sized treats may be just what you need.

This book is billed as both horror and dark fantasy, but what really drew me in was the ’80s-tastic nostalgia of it all. I’ve written about this one before but, as a reminder, The Shadow Glass is a story in which the puppets from a cult favorite fantasy film come alive, threatening London and, perhaps, the world. The book is rife with references to such ’80s favorites as The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story, E.T., and more, all in service to a narrative in which fox-like creatures battle hideous monsters for control over a world that seems to have emerged from the power of imagination alone. Who could resist that!?

In this dark sci-fi/fantasy, our protagonist learns that her biological mother — a reclusive artist who abandoned her when she was just an infant — has died. But Ula Frost wasn’t a typical artist, and rumors abound. Because it’s been said that this painter’s portraits actually summon the subjects’ doppelgangers from parallel universes. Could it be true? Could the real Ula still be out there? This story is a wild ride that gets progressively more and more bonkers.

In this long-running comic series, a young man discovers that his grandmother is a retired monster hunter and, well, it seems she needs to come out of retirement. You see, some very bad actors are attempting to resurrect King Arthur so that he can reclaim England and, according to Duncan’s Gran, this can only spell doom. Built around legends and myths, this series — with its juxtaposition between the oldest tales ever told and the present day — is a whole lot of fun.

Here’s another overtly feminist tale. (Maybe feminism is the key to getting me to pick up more fantasy novels?) In this one, women pushed to lead lives of submission instead become dragons in what is known as the Mass Dragoning of 1955. Because this transformation is tied to women’s bodies, it is considered a taboo topic. But one young woman who was left behind has questions. Caught between a mother who refuses to acknowledge the existence of dragons (but who seems to have magical powers of protection?) and an aunt who transformed into one, our young narrator struggles to find her way in a world that doesn’t seem invested in her or in her dreams. Will she embrace her own inner dragon, or find another way entirely? I’m obsessed with this book.

Finally, here’s one I’m looking forward to. It’s the first in a romcom fantasy and, honestly, I would read it based upon the title alone. But the book’s description is similarly hilarious. In writing about a handsome demon our protagonist ends up on a quest with, for example, we’re treated to the sentence, “On the bright side, at least he keeps burning off his shirt.” SOLD.