Recently arrived fantasy fiction
Ophelia Grimm enters Phantasma, a deadly competition in a haunted manor to save her sister, Genevieve, and prevent financial ruin. Inheriting necromancy, Ophelia navigates nine hellish trials, battling demons and her own OCD where she forms a forbidden bond with Blackwell, a mysterious phantom and a Prince of Devils, who guides her through the challenges. A unique blend of gothic horror and intense romance.
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton
Holton's wickedly funny and hugely inventive Dangerous Damsels series reimagines Victorian England with piratical houses, fighting matrons and cannonballs at dawn. It follows a cast of unconventional women who are secretly pirates, witches, and spies as they navigate outrageous adventures involving flying houses, magical amulets, and high-stakes espionage – all while upholding proper etiquette and enjoying afternoon tea. A delightful blend of swashbuckling action and charming romance.
The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton
Estranged geography professors Elodie and Gabriel Tarrant, secretly in love despite their failed marriage of convenience, are unexpectedly reunited. Both experts in magical phenomena, they're assigned to the same emergency mission when magic erupts in a Welsh village, threatening England. Forced to work together under perilous conditions – including the infamous "only one bed" trope – this grumpy/sunshine pair must navigate their unresolved feelings while trying to prevent catastrophe. A popular Kiwi author.
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
In this haunting literary fairytale set in the Alaskan wilderness, Birdie, a struggling single mother, seeks a new life with her daughter, Emaleen, alongside the enigmatic Arthur Neilsen, a recluse drawn to the wild. After falling in love, they move to his remote cabin, trading civilization for an idyllic, yet increasingly unsettling, existence. As their isolation deepens, Birdie discovers Arthur harbors a mysterious, dangerous secret. A thought provoking exploration of nature's unforgiving beauty, and the blurred line between reality and myth.
The City and it's Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
In typical Murakami surrealist style, an unnamed protagonist's lifelong search for a girl from his youth who spoke of a mysterious walled city where her "true self" resided. The narrative shifts between the protagonist's teenage years, his adult life working in a remote library, and his eventual entry into the enigmatic walled city itself where shadows are separated from their owners, unicorns roam, and dreams are read in a strange library.
Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky
"The Tyrant Philosophers" series is a dark, complex fantasy saga centered on the ruthless expansion of the Palleseen, an empire dedicated to bringing "Perfection and Correctness" to the world through the eradication of superstition and magic. Days of Shattered Faith follows Sage-Invigilator Angilly "Gil," a Palleseen diplomat whose loyalties are tested amidst a succession crisis in the Usmiat, delving into the moral ambiguities of working for a colonial power, showcasing the human cost of empire. While standalone, it enriches the series' overarching themes of ideological conflict, dark humour, and intricate world-building through new characters and geographical expansion.
Malinalli is a young Nahua woman, kidnapped into slavery and possessing magical powers. Driven by a desire for revenge against Moctezuma, she becomes a crucial interpreter for Hernán Cortés, navigating the brutal realities of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Chapa weaves a fantastical tale of survival, sisterhood, and resilience, giving voice to a woman often blamed for the fall of the Aztec Empire and reimagining the controversial historical figure often known as La Malinche.
The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M Anderson
Peter Shaughnessy, an immortal ghost hunter cursed to wander for over two centuries is exhausted by endless loss and his inability to die. Peter centers his life on the dead, however, when his path leads him to Harrington, Ohio, and a vengeful spirit, he's drawn into the lives of the townsfolk, finding himself caring for others for the first time in a century. The Keeper of Lonely Spirits is a heartwarming cosy queer story tale about grief, found family, and learning to live and love despite inevitable heartbreak.
