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Fantasy is everywhere these days, and I’m not complaining. I’ve always loved reading about other worlds, with their kings and queens and dragons and epic romances. When I was younger, most of the fantasy authors I would see on the shelves were men. These days, I’m happy to see that more and more female authors are being published within the genre. I might even go as far as to say we’re in a boom of female-driven fantasy. Thank God.

While I could just put endless amounts of books in this list, here are 15 recent (or about-to-be released) fantasy novels I just can’t wait to read; all written by women, of course.

  1. Marked in Flesh (The Others #4), Anne Bishop (Roc, March 8)

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I’ve been a huge fan of Bishop since her wildly popular Black Jewels Trilogy. Marked in Flesh continues the story of the Others, with tensions rising between humans, shifters and the blood prophets they’ve aligned themselves with.

 

  1. A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2), Victoria Schwab (Tor Books, February 23)

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Young adult author Schwab tackles grown-up fantasy in this sequel to 2015’s A Darker Shade of Magic. Journey back to a world of multiple Londons to find out the fate of Kell, Rhy, Lila and new characters you’re sure to love.

 

  1. The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4), by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic Press, April 26)

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Stiefvater concludes her YA fantasy series with a heart-pounding novel that wraps up all the loose ends and delivers the lush and beautiful prose we’ve come to expect from such a talented author.

 

  1. League of Dragons (Temeraire #9), Naomi Novik (Del Rey, June 14)

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Novik continues her best-selling Temeraire series, which blends history, dragons and swashbuckling fun.

 

  1. Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1), Susan Dennard (Tor Teen, January 5)

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In this new series, YA author Dennard creates a world filled with magic and a witch who has a power both deadly and desired: the ability to tell truth from lies.

 

  1. Necessity (Thessaly #3), Jo Walton (Tor Books, July 12)

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Necessity picks up after a generation has passed since the previous two books in Walton’s series. Combining Greek gods and science fiction, this anticipated sequel is bound to please fans.

 

  1. Passenger, Alexandra Bracken (Disney-Hyperion, January 5)

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Time travel fantasy is the best kind of fantasy, which is why I devoured Bracken’s Passenger, about a teen violinist who travels through time and ends up on a deadly quest that will hopefully lead her back home.

 

  1. Revenge and the Wild, Michelle Modesto (Balzer+Bray, February 2)

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Magic meets the old west in this exciting and slightly gruesome new YA novel by debut author Modesto.

 

  1. Reign of Shadows, Sophie Jordan (HarperTeen, February 9)

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Jordan’s sweeping YA fantasy feels like a dark fairytale come to life: the kingdom of Relhok has been plunged into a perpetual darkness, and lost princess Luna must decide if she’s finally ready to leave the safety of her tower.

 

  1. Glass Sword (Red Queen #2), Victoria Aveyard (HarperTeen, February 9)

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Last year, Aveyard’s Red Queen took the YA fantasy world by storm. The sequel is just as compelling, continuing the story of Mare, a rare red-blooded commoner who somehow has the powers of an elite Silver.

 

  1. The Glittering Court, Richelle Mead (Razorbill, April 5)

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Popular author Mead takes us on a journey to the Glittering Court where the wealthy Adelaide is looking to escape an arranged marriage and hopefully change her future.

 

  1. The Rose and the Dagger, Renee Ahdieh (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, April 26)

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This highly anticipated sequel to last year’s The Wrath and the Dawn, picks up where Shahrzad’s story left off: she’s fallen for the ‘evil’ king, and now must harness her own magic in order to be reunited with him.

 

  1. And I Darken, Kiersten White (Delacorte Press, June 28)

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White’s latest YA novel is being marketed as Game of Thrones set in the Ottoman Empire. Sign me up.

 

  1. The Winged Histories, Sofia Samatar (Small Beer Press, February 15)

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This is the companion novel to Samatar’s award winning debut, A Stranger in Olondria. It tells the story of how a vicious rebellion affects four different women: a soldier, a scholar, a poet and a socialite, all on differing sides of the fight.

 

  1. The Edge of Worlds (The Books of the Raksura #4), Martha Wells (Night Shade Books, April 5)

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In the first book of her new series, Wells introduces us to Fell, groundlings and the Raksura, winged, shape-shifting beasts who are trying to stop an ancient evil from escaping into their world.

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Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter grew up surrounded by trees and snow and mountains. She graduated from the University of Vermont and Columbia University, where she received her MFA in nonfiction writing. She is the author of the So Close to You series with Harperteen. These days you can find her working on her next novel in the woods of Vermont.

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