Summer is here, and Peak Reading Season is upon us. Whether that means you’re spending some quality time al fresco, lounging poolside, or soaking up the sun in a far-off destination, there’s no better or necessary accessory for a successful summer season than a good book. After all, there are entire publishing categories dedicated to beach reads and every reader over the age of thirty has fond memories of racking up free pan pizzas thanks to the Book It summer reading program. This time of year and books just go together, which is why we’re so lucky that so many good titles are heading our way over the next few months. Fantasy fans, especially, are spoiled for choice, continuing a 2023 trend that has seen so many excellent sequels, thrilling series openers, intriguing standalones, and buzzy new debuts we can barely keep up with them all.
Here are some of our picks for the best fantasy titles arriving this summer.
Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch
Release Date: June 13 from Random House Canada
Why We’re Excited: Publishing’s (extremely welcome) obsession with the infamous, supposedly bad women of myth and legend continues with this feminist reimagining of Morgan le Fay, the sorceress of King Arthur fame, and all I can say is, it’s about time.
Publisher’s Description: Young Morgan of Cornwall lives a happy life in Tintagel Castle until King Uther Pendragon, with the help of the sorcerer Merlin, murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage. Furious, brilliant, and vengeful, Morgan defies her brutal stepfather, taking up a secret education, discovering a lifelong affinity with the healing arts, and falling in love with a man far beneath her station. However, defiance comes at a cost. Used as a bargaining chip in her stepfather’s war games, Morgan finds herself banished to a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, amidst the machinations of kings, sorcerers, and men.
But some desires are not easily forgotten, and the search for her independence is a quest Morgan cannot give up. As the era of King Arthur approaches, she must use all her wit, knowledge, and courage to fight against those who wish to deny her intelligence, crush her spirit, and control her body. But, in seeking her freedom, Morgan risks losing everything–her reputation, her loved ones, and her life.
The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson
Release Date: June 13 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: A heartfelt fantasy story about a World War I-era magical circus filled with misfits, outcasts, and members of other persecuted, marginalized groups that’s described as perfect for folks who loved The Night Circus and The Mysterious Life of Addie LaRue? Sign me up right now.
Publisher’s Description: Ringmaster — Rin, to those who know her best — can jump to different moments in time as easily as her wife, Odette, soars from bar to bar on the trapeze. And the circus they lead is a rare home and safe haven for magical misfits and outcasts, known as Sparks.
With the world still reeling from World War I, Rin and her troupe — the Circus of the Fantasticals — travel the midwest, offering a single night of enchantment and respite to all who step into their Big Top.
But threats come at Rin from all sides. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their show and everyone in it. And Rin’s past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow she can’t fully escape.
It takes the form of another circus, with tents as black as midnight and a ringmaster who rules over his troupe with a dangerous power. Rin’s circus has something he wants, and he won’t stop until it’s his.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
Release Date: July 11 from Tordotcom
Why We’re Excited: It’s possible that I would read anything that has a cover as gorgeous as this book does, but the premise of The Saint of Bright Doors sounds plenty intriguing in its own right, a postcolonial fantasy that reportedly pits divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane disappointments of modern life. Um, yes please?
Publisher’s Description: Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy
He walked among invisible devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.
Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.
Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long
Release Date: July 11 from Titan Books
Why We’re Excited: A nautical fantasy set in a world inspired by Jacobian England where witches known as Stormsingers can control the weather through song is a strangely bizarre Venn diagram of precisely my interests.
Publisher’s Description: Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.
Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.
Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.
The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan
Release Date: July 11 from Angry Robot
Why We’re Excited: A historical fantasy that reimagines the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia is not something I ever knew I needed, but wow do I need it now.
Publisher’s Description: Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow of his grandfather, Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate, is determined to create a single empire that covers the entire world. His method? Violence.
His youngest son, Temujin Khan, struggles to find his place in his father’s bloody rule. After another failure, Temujin is given one last chance to prove himself to Hulagu, who is sure there is a great warrior buried deep inside. But there’s something else rippling under the surface… something far more powerful and dangerous than they could ever imagine…
Reduced to the position of one of Hulagu’s many wives, the famed Blue Princess Kokochin is the last of her tribe. Alone and forgotten in a foreign land, Kokochin is unwilling to spend her days seeking out trivial pursuits. Seeking purpose, she finds herself wandering down a path that grants her more power than a wife of the Khan may be allowed.
Kaivon, the Persian rebel who despises the Mongols for the massacre of his people, thirsts for revenge. However, he knows alone he cannot destroy the empire. When given the opportunity to train under the tutelage of Hulagu, Kaivon must put aside his feelings and risk his life for a chance to destroy the empire that aims to conquer the world.
Ebony Gate by Julie Vee and Ken Bebell
Release Date: July 11 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Who isn’t immediately curious about a fantasy story that’s described as “a female John Wick story with dragon magic”??
Publisher’s Description: Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she’s drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume.
The Butcher of Beijing now lives a quiet life in San Francisco, importing antiques. But when a shinigami, a god of death itself, calls in a family blood debt, Emiko must recover the Ebony Gate that holds back the hungry ghosts of the Yomi underworld. Or forfeit her soul as the anchor.
What’s a retired assassin to do but save the City By The Bay from an army of the dead?
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Release Date: July 18 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: Come for the epic Egyptian-inspired fantasy elements and complex political intrigue, stay for the (extremely) slow-burn romance that is excruciating in all the best ways.
Publisher’s Description: In this Egyptian-inspired debut fantasy, a fugitive queen strikes a deadly bargain with her greatest enemy and finds herself embroiled in a complex game that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever.
Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic outlawed; its royal family murdered down to the last child. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe.
The lost Heir of Jasad, Sylvia never wants to be found. She can’t think about how Nizahl’s armies laid waste to her kingdom and continue to hunt its people—not if she wants to stay alive. But when Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, staying one step ahead of death gets trickier.
In a moment of anger Sylvia’s magic is exposed, capturing Arin’s attention. Now, to save her life, Sylvia will have to make a deal with her greatest enemy. If she helps him lure the rebels, she’ll escape persecution.
A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity even as hatred shifts into something more. Soon, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she left behind. The scorched kingdom is rising, and it needs a queen.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Release Date: July 25 from Gallery/Saga Press
Why We’re Excited: If you loved Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights series—a dark Romeo & Juliet retelling about teens from rival gangs, monsters, and magic in 1920s Shanghai—then you’re likely already over the moon that she’s dipping her toe into the world of adult fantasy this summer with Immortal Longings. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, it’s got politics, betrayal, and a dystopian competition where contestants fight to the death by swapping bodies.
Publisher’s Description: Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.
Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.
Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.
Light Bringer by Pierce Brown
Release Date: July 25 from Del Ray Books
Why We’re Excited: Pierce Brown is releasing another Red Rising book, do fantasy fans even need more reason than that to get hype?
Publisher’s Description: The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.
But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.
The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
Release Date: July 25 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: Adult fantasy based on South American folklore is always going to be a yes from me, particularly because we so rarely see it in our current publishing landscape. But its incredibly rich world-building, forthright explorations of prejudice and colonization, and strong premise—a young noblewoman and a servant girl who aren’t quite human to start with become vessels of ancient gods to save their nation—means this story is destined to be a summer banger.
Publisher’s Description: Reina is desperate.
Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.
Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.
Eva Kesare is unwanted.
Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her.
Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.
The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Release Date: July 25 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: After her extremely underrated (and incredibly excellent) historical fantasy debut The Witch’s Heart, I’ll read anything Genevieve Gornichec writes, but this tale of pagan Norway and the Viking witch destined to become its queen sure does make that vow an easy one to keep.
Publisher’s Description: Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth-century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always.
When Oddny’s farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined—but she’s determined to save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack. And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of all Norway.
But the bonds—both enchanted and emotional—that hold the two women together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.
Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey
Release Date: August 1 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Jacqueline Carey is returning to the world of her cult fantasy hit Kushiel’s Dart—21 years after it was published!—with this novel that retells the epic love story between courtesan Phedre and celibate warrior Joscelin, from his point of view. Dedicated fans the world over are obviously counting down the days.
Publisher’s Description: In Kushiel’s Dart, a daring young courtesan uncovered a plot to destroy her beloved homeland. But hers is only half the tale. Now see the other half of the heart that lived it.
Cassiel’s Servant is a retelling of cult favorite Kushiel’s Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, Cassiline warrior-priest and protector of Phèdre nó Delaunay. He’s sworn to celibacy and the blade as surely as she’s pledged to pleasure, but the gods they serve have bound them together. When both are betrayed, they must rely on each other to survive.
From his earliest training to captivity amongst their enemies, his journey with Phèdre to avert the conquest of Terre D’Ange shatters body and mind… and brings him an impossible love that he will do anything to keep.
Even if it means breaking all vows and losing his soul.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Release Date: August 15 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: T. Kingfisher’s delicate, bittersweet style of fantasy is like nothing else on shelves at the moment and, as a result, she’s an author whose work I would read without knowing one single fact about it. But, in case you need facts, this Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist is a perfect blend of sharp-edged humor and horror-tinged heart.
Publisher’s Description: There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
But nothing with fairies is ever simple.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…
Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick
Release Date: August 15 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: M.A. Carrick’s dense Rook & Rose trilogy has been packed with complex characters, difficult moral choices, and unexpected plot twists, so who can even begin to guess what surprises this final installment has in store for readers?
Publisher’s Description: Ren came to Nadežra with a plan. She would pose as the long-lost daughter of the noble house Traementis. She would secure a fortune for herself and her sister. And she would vanish without a backward glance. She ought to have known that in the city of dreams, nothing is ever so simple
Now, she is Ren, con-artist and thief. But she is also Renata, the celebrated Traementis heir. She is Arenza, the mysterious pattern-reader and political rebel. And she is the Black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the legendary Rook.
Even with the help of Grey Serrado and Derossi Vargo, it is too many masks for one person to wear. And as the dark magic the three of them helped unleash builds to storm that could tear the very fabric of the city apart, it’s only a matter of time before one of the masks slips—and everything comes crashing down around them.
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Release Date: August 22 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Anyone who read She Who Became the Sun is most likely already counting down the days to the arrival of the conclusion to this duology. (If you haven’t read Shelley Parker-Chan’s debut yet, here’s a reminder that you’ve still got a couple of months to fix that.) How it will end is anyone’s guess, but it seems obvious that this historical fantasy will rip your heart out and stomp on it.
Publisher’s Description: Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.
All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes to win. But when desire is the size of the world, the price could be too much for even the most ruthless heart to bear.
The Midnight Kingdom by Tara Sim
Release Date: August 22 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: The second installment in Tara Sim’s debut adult fantasy series, The Midnight Kingdom finds the heirs to the four noble houses scattered across different realms and desperate to restore balance to the world.
Publisher’s Description: A cataclysmic battle to save the city of Nexus has left the four noble heirs scattered across the four realms
Taesia, the shadow-wielding rebel of House Lastrider, and Nikolas, the solider son of House Cyr, have been cast into Noctus, the realm of night. But they are not alone. The dangerous and unpredictable god of light has traveled with them, and he will do anything in his power to destroy Noctus once and for all.
Risha, the peace-loving necromancer of House Vakara, has finally found her way to Mortri, the realm of death. But she still cannot help the wayward spirits trapped in Vaega, nor does she have any idea how to get herself and her friend Jas home. All she knows is that no mortal can survive for long in Mortri. And the creatures that walk the realm of death don’t take kindly to the living.
Angelica, the stubborn elementalist of House Mardova, finds herself alone in Vaega. With the other three heirs vanished, it is up to her help keep the city of Nexus from unraveling. But Angelica secretly suffers from a sickness that her goddess left in her veins. And when she is sent on a delicate diplomatic mission, she knows that any sign of weakness will have disastrous repercussions for her family, her city, and her dreams of the throne.
All will encounter old friends and new enemies as they attempt to restore the balance of the world. But as the gods grow stronger, they’ll need more than their powers and their wits to survive.
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
Release Date: August 22 from Tordotcom
Why We’re Excited: A queer epic fantasy retelling inspired by the story of the 14th-century Chinese classic Water Margin gets an automatic yes from me. The fact that it draws comparisons to Shelley Parker-Chan’s incredible She Who Became the Sun is the icing on top of the historical fantasy cake.
Publisher’s Description: Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.
Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.
Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.
Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.
The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
Release Date: August 29 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: An ancient prophecy engulfs an assassin, a princess, and a king in a fantasy debut that mixes in sci-fi elements, political intrigue, romance, and Hindu mythology. Um, yes, please.
Publisher’s Description: For Elena Aadya Ravence, fire is yearning. She longs to feel worthy of her Phoenix god, of her ancestors who transformed the barren dunes of Sayon into a thriving kingdom. But though she knows the ways and wiles of the desert better than she knows her own skin, the secrets of the Eternal Flame elude her. And without them, she’ll never be accepted as queen.
For Leo Malhari Ravence, fire is control. He is not ready to give up his crown—there’s still too much work to be done to ensure his legacy remains untarnished, his family protected. But power comes with a price, and he’ll wage war with the heavens themselves to keep from paying it.
For Yassen Knight, fire is redemption. He dreams of shedding his past as one of Sayon’s most deadly assassins, of laying to rest the ghosts of those he has lost. If joining the court of flame and serving the royal Ravence family—the very people he once swore to eliminate—will earn him that, he’ll do it no matter what they ask of him.
But the Phoenix watches over all and the fire has a will of its own. It will come for all three, will come for Sayon itself….and they must either find a way to withstand the blaze or burn to ash.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB.