The best fantasy books to get lost in this November

November opens with an invitation. With softening days and shifting lights, there’s permission to disappear into a world that isn’t your own. Fantasy opens up a portal to exactly that: a season for stories that crackle with possibility, an escape, a thrill, a reminder of wonder. This month’s picks are particularly decadent: think epics that span centuries, love and fascination between an angel and a demon, romantasy that simmers with tension, gothic tales dripping with atmosphere, and clever ways in which magic slips into everyday life.

These are the books to read when tucked into bed, or during stolen hours during long drives, for they are stories that remind us why fantasy remains one of literature’s most enduring forms of delight.

The City In Glass, Nghi Vo, Published by Tordotcom

Nghi Vo offers a dangerously intoxicating premise. The City In Glass traces the story of Vitrine, a demon who has shaped Azril for generations, and sees her beloved city burn at the hands of angels. Bound by grief and fury, she curses one of the invading angels to haunt the ruins with her. Their shared devastation becomes something stranger: an attraction that neither can escape. As they unravel the city’s buried past, they begin to rebuild something new together. But war looms once more, threatening everything they have dared to hope for. Their bond becomes the hinge on which Azril’s future turns. Vo’s world-building is rich, decadent, and fiercely detailed. 

Alchemised, SenLinYu, Published by Del Rey (Penguin Random House)

Alchemised delivers a dark, gripping fantasy about memory, power, and survival. Helena Marino begins as a prisoner—of war, of the necromancers who won it, and of her own fractured mind. Her captors insist she was an insignificant healer, but her lost memories suggest otherwise. Sent to the High Reeve, a ruthless necromancer with secrets of his own, Helena enters a decaying estate full of dangers she can’t yet name. The world she once knew has been reshaped by corruption, undead soldiers, and the remnants of a brutal rebellion. As the High Reeve digs deeper into her mind, Helena realises she may hold the final spark of the Resistance’s last stand. The more she uncovers, the more she risks losing herself entirely. But even stripped of her past, she refuses to be a pawn. This is a story of a woman fighting to reclaim her agency in a world determined to rewrite her.

Wild Reverence, Rebecca Ross, Published by Saturday Books

Wild Reverence is a mythic, romantic tale that bridges realms and destinies. Matilda, the youngest goddess of the Under Realm, carries messages through worlds, and a secret that could spark divine bloodshed. She has spent her life avoiding the gods’ hunger for power. But everything changes when she crashes through a mortal’s window: Vincent, a man who once begged her for help in a moment of despair. He has long forgotten that night, yet their connection flares instantly. Together, they must face ancient rivalries and a world where love is a rebellion, and fate is negotiable.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab, Published by Tor (Pan Macmillan) 

There will always be space on our bookshelves for an interesting vampire romance. With Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, VE Schwab weaves a narrative of three women across three centuries, each wrestling with desire, danger, and escape. María, in 1532, dreams of freedom in a world that only sees her as a prize. Her choice to trust a mysterious stranger sets her on a distinct path. In 1827, Charlotte’s sheltered life fractures after one forbidden moment sends her to London. A beautiful widow offers her new possibilities—at a cost she couldn’t have imagined. And in 2019, Alice flees her past for Boston, only to stumble into a night that forces her to confront everything she thought she had outrun. Each story thrums with longing: romantic, emotional, existential. And in true Schwab fashion, the threads converge to reveal that these women share a single, furious truth: they want more than the world has ever allowed.

The Knight and the Moth, Rachel Gillig, Published by Orbit

Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth is an atmospheric fantasy threaded with prophecy, danger, and a maddeningly enticing knight. Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming for others, her visions guided by the six omens who shape fate. As she nears the end of her service, she wants nothing more than a quiet life. But when her fellow Diviners begin disappearing, her dreams twist into something far darker. Enter Rodrick, the heretical knight with sharp eyes and even sharper opinions. He wants nothing to do with prophecy, yet he’s the only one Sybil can trust beyond the cathedral walls. Their uneasy alliance draws them closer to danger, and to each other.

Fallen City, Adrienne Young, Published by Titan Books

If you’re looking for a story that is sweeping, political, and lushly imagined, pick Fallen City. Luca Matius is meant to inherit influence in the Forum, but his noviceship drops him into chaos instead. Maris Casoeria has grown up inside the Citadel’s manipulative systems and quietly dreams of change. Their meeting triggers a chain of events that neither of them can control. As unrest grows and a deadly secret surfaces, the city begins to fracture. Luca becomes an unexpected symbol of rebellion. Maris must choose between loyalty to a broken city and a future she barely dares to imagine. The gods of this world are watching, writing, and meddling, and ensuring that Luca and Maris will shape the city’s fate.

Conform, Ariel Sullivan, Published by Ballantine Books 

Conform opens with a chilling premise: a future ruled by the Illum, where genetics, beauty, and reproduction determine human worth. Emeline has spent her life trying—and failing—to blend in. She sorts ancient art marked for destruction, quietly questioning the world’s rigid expectations. When she is finally chosen as a Mate, the shock is doubled: her partner is Collin, an Illum with secrets and a strangely protective streak. Her new life thrusts her into the world of Courting, where gowns and rituals mask brutal surveillance. As she navigates this glittering trap, she discovers a rebellion simmering beneath the city’s polished surface. And at its heart is Hal, the last person she should want. Torn between two men and two futures, Emeline faces the truth about the Illum’s power. The deeper she falls, the more she risks becoming either a weapon or a warning. It’s a romantic dystopia about choices and identity.

Arcana Academy, Elise Kova, Published by Hodderscape 

Clara Graysword has survived Eclipse City through talent and sheer nerve until a job gone wrong earns her a life sentence. Her rare ability to ink tarot cards should have made her powerful; instead, it becomes her downfall. Rescued by Prince Kaelis, the academy’s enigmatic headmaster, she’s forced into a bargain. To conceal her identity and keep her close, he introduces her as his bride-to-be and a new student. Navigating royal intrigue and magical politics, Clara must outsmart both classmates and enemies. Arcana Academy is sharp, romantic, and irresistibly fun.

His Face Is the Sun, Michelle Jabès Corpora, Published by Sourcebooks Fire

His Face Is the Sun launches a sweeping Ancient Egypt–inspired romantasy full of prophecy, magic, and rebellion. The four central characters: Princess Sita, priestess-in-training Neff, farmer’s daughter Rae, and tomb robber Karim, find their fates colliding. Each carries a wound, a gift, or a secret that threatens the kingdom. Sita uncovers a devastating betrayal that puts the entire royal court at risk. Neff’s visions hint at dark forces. Rae burns with anger at the injustices inflicted on her land. Karim awakens something ancient and terrifying in the desert’s shadows. As rebellion rises and a prophecy unfolds, the four must unite to save Khetara. But power, politics, and desire complicate every bond they form. This is a story about who survives empire—and who dares to fight it.

Shield of Sparrows, Devney Perry, Published by Red Tower Books

Shield of Sparrows blends slow-burn romance with high-stakes fantasy in the story of a princess who refuses to be powerless. The gods sent monsters to the kingdoms to enforce obedience, and Princess Wren has spent her life bowing. Her future is supposed to be political and ceremonial, but an unexpected encounter with a legendary monster hunter shatters that destiny. Forced into marriage and into a dangerous journey across cursed lands, she must confront the roles others have forced upon her. Her companion despises her—at first—but their shared mission sparks reluctant trust. As betrayal and danger circle them, Wren begins to discover her own strength. She questions every expectation, every tradition, every prophecy. And when she finally reaches for power, the world begins to shift.

Lead image: Getty Images; Book images: Amazon 


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