I Read 70 Fantasy Books in 2024. These were My Top 10 Reads
2024 was the best year for reading I have ever had, both in terms of the number of books I managed to read and how much I enjoyed them.
While I liked almost every book I read this year, only a few were particularly outstanding. And since I know how hard it is to curate a TBR list due to the sheer number of fantasy books out there, I thought I would share a list of my ten favorite fantasy books out of the 70 I read this year. These are the creme-de-la-creme, five-star reads that should be on your TBR for 2025 if you haven’t read them already!
To make this a more well-rounded list, I’m limiting my choices to one book per series because otherwise it would be completely dominated by Brandon Sanderson. (As opposed to partially dominated!)
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10. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Cozy fantasy is usually not my favorite subgenre, but I was surprised by how much I adored this first installment of the Emily Wilde series.
The story takes place in an alternative version of the early 1900s and follows Emily Wilde, a driven scholar who ventures to the small, extremely isolated town of Hrafnsvik to study a rare type of faerie. She hopes to include this information in her encyclopedia of faeries and thus secure her tenure at Oxford in the dryadology department. (Dryadology being the study of faeries.) But she gets off on the wrong foot with the townspeople and her rival and best friend, Wendell Brambleby shows up to “help.”
I loved the refreshing chemistry between Emily and Brambleby. Emily is the irritable, no-nonsense sort, whereas Brambleby is a charismatic slacker who takes nothing seriously. The writing style, told from Emily’s point of view through her journals, is impeccably clever and witty. It’s very rare for a book to make me snicker out loud but this one achieved that on more than a few occasions.
While considered “low stakes” compared to some of the fantasy epics on this list, it’s the perfect book to read on holiday or if you want something light-hearted between your more serious reads. The second book, Emily Wilde’s Map to the Otherlands, is just as enjoyable, and Fawcett has a third book on the way too.
9. The Will of the Many by James Islington
This Roman-inspired high fantasy is the first book in the Hierarchy series and follows the story of Vis Teliumus, an orphaned teenager. He gets recruited/adopted by a high-ranking member of the military senate and sent to the Catenan Academy as a spy to investigate a mysterious death.
One of my favorite things bout this book is the complex magic system, which is a pyramid hierarchy where rank determines how much “will” or life force a person receives from the people below them. For example, those of a high rank tap into the will of tens of thousands of people, while those near the bottom of the pyramid only tap into a few – or none at all. The more will a person has, the greater their magical abilities and strength.
Part dark academia, part mystery, The Will of the Many is chock-full of action, political intrigue, and subterfuge. It kept me guessing right until the very end, and I was feverishly tearing through its 600+ pages to know what happened next.
Just a warning though: the second book in the series is only expected to be released in late 2025, and let’s just say that is a painful fact for us fans!
8. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
At 246 pages, Piranesi is one of the shortest books I read this year, but it packs a wallop that has stayed with me ever since I finished it back in February.
The story is told through Piranesi’s (somewhat garbled) journals, and it is quickly apparent that there is something strange about our hero and his surroundings. He lives in an infinite labyrinth of corridors, statues, and staircases, some of which are periodically flooded by the ocean. His entire purpose in life appears to be exploring this “house” and sharing his findings with the sole other person there known only as “The Other.”
The writing in this book is superb, and I quickly came to love Piranesi and his childlike wonder and optimism. I love a book that features an unreliable narrator, and I was trying to figure out what was going on right from page one. The mystery element was so gripping that I read the whole book in one sitting.
7. The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
I never thought military fantasy would be a genre I could get into, but M.L. Wang proved me wrong with The Sword of Kaigen. This standalone Asian-inspired fantasy features gorgeous writing, complex characters, cool elemental magic, and masterful character development.
The story is told mainly through two points of view: Misaki, a thirty-something wife and mother, and Mamoru, Misaki’s eldest son. They live in the mountainous Takayubi, a highly-traditional village known for raising the world’s best fighters. Yet, they have not seen war in an age, and rumors of invasion are on the rise…
I’m not going to lie, there are some heavy moments that left me gasping, and it’s one of the few books I’ve read in recent years to make me cry. But it is so beautifully written and I love the poignant way Wang approaches the themes of war, identity, and relationships.
You will be thinking about this book long after you’ve reached the last page.
6. Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Blood Over Bright Haven is M.L Wang’s second standalone fantasy novel, and I loved it even more than The Sword of Kaigen! This dark academia high fantasy is about Sciona, the first woman mage to be accepted into Tiran’s exclusive society of high mages. Her job is to assist in the expansion of the city’s magical barrier that repels the Blight – a mysterious and lethal phenomenon that preys on all living things.
Disdained by her peers, she is given a janitor for an assistant as a cruel joke. But it turns out there’s more to the janitor – a Kwen man named Thomil who came as a refugee to Tiran some years before – than meets the eye. They team up, working well together until they begin uncovering dangerous secrets…
From the intense opening chapter of this book, I knew I was in for a top-tier read. It’s one of those books that is narrated so well I could see it playing out like a movie in my head. The pacing is perfect and the character development is impressive despite it being a modest 430 pages. It is easily my favorite standalone novel of the year.
5. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Strange the Dreamer is the first book in a duology and my only Young Adult pick for this list. This book features gorgeous prose, lovable, well-developed characters, and one of the sweetest romances I’ve ever read.
Lazlo Strange is an orphan and librarian obsessed with tales about the lost city of Weep. So when he finally gets a chance to visit the city and find out what became of it, he jumps at the chance. What entails is a highly original, fascinating, and charming story that you will not want to put down.
I love how the multi-dimensional characters challenge the traditional stereotypes of “good guys” and “bad guys.” Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do, and although there is no shortage of conflict, I ended up having compassion for every character in the book.
Its sequel, Muse of Nightmares, is a great conclusion to the duology as well!
4. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
A Conjuring of Light is the last book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, which is one of my favorite series of all time. These books follow Kell, a rare and powerful antari magician who can travel between parallel Londons.
As the adopted son of the King and Queen of “Red London,” he serves as the ambassador to “Grey London” (the magicless London of our world) and “White London” (a desolate world with dwindling magic and merciless rulers.)
But as a young man with a rebellious streak, he soon gets himself in hot water that threatens the safety of all three Londons. He finds an unlikely ally in Lila Bard, a street thief with questionable morals and big ambitions.
This third book is my favorite in the series as it is the pinnacle of action and character development. The romantic subplot in this book is also one of my favorites of all time! This is a good series to start with if you are just getting into fantasy or looking to bridge the gap between YA and adult fantasy.
3. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
Royal Assassin is the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, which is the first of several series that make up the Realm of the Elderlings. Although I have only read this first trilogy so far, I have already proclaimed Hobb one of my favorite writers as her books contain some of the best prose and character development I’ve read in any genre.
The Farseer Trilogy is about a boy named Fitz, the illegitimate son of the king-in-waiting, Prince Chilvalry. Ineligible for the throne, Fitz’s grandfather, King Shrewd, instead grants him a place within his court as his secret assassin’s apprentice. We follow Fitz’s journey as he grows up in a politically complex environment and navigates his special abilities – one of which he must hide from everyone he knows.
The plot is very much character-driven, and some people find the pacing too slow for that reason. But I adored every word of it, especially this middle book because of certain characters that get introduced and the development of more than one romantic subplot.
The ending also gave me chills and I think about it all the time.
2. Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
The fact that I finished this 1344-page book within four days after its release should give you an idea of how much I enjoyed it. This is the fifth book of The Stormlight Archive, which takes place in Sanderson’s expansive cosmere universe on a planet called Roshar, a world ravaged by fierce highstorms and warring nations.
Every single book in this series is a masterpiece, but Wind and Truth – which marks the end of the first major story arc in what is intended to be a ten-book series – is close very close to perfection.
By this point, there’s a multitude of impeccably developed characters and different storylines weaving together, each one equally gripping. I can’t tell you how many times this book made me gasp, cry, or cheer (sometimes all three at once!)
The only reason it doesn’t take the number one spot on this list is because it isn’t technically the end of the series and leaves enough questions hanging by the end that I was left wanting more instead of being fully satisfied.
1. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Taking my number one read of 2024 (and indeed, my number one favorite read of all time) is the last book in the Mistborn trilogy, The Hero of Ages. What begins as a “heist story” in the first book evolves into a sweeping epic with legendary characters, political intrigue, complex magic, and a hundred twists along the way.
One of my favorite things about this trilogy is how Sanderson weaves details throughout the three books that have a poignant impact in the final book.
No other story has had a greater emotional impact on me than this one. I ugly cried for the entire last 100 pages of the The Hero of Ages, and was in a contemplative daze for a week after I finished it.
This trilogy is not only one of the best in its genre, it’s also an excellent entry point if you’re new to Brandon Sanderson. (Although, if you’re intimidated by how long the books are, you can also start with one of his standalones – see my cosmere reading guide for more information!)
Final Thoughts
Part of me worries that I’ll never have a reading year as good as this one, but I have a ton of books on my 2025 TBR that I’m very excited to read!.
In the meantime, I hope you add at least a few of these book recs to your own TBR because they are almost guaranteed to change your brain chemistry in the best possible way.
Here’s to 2025 and another year of great reads!
