Five fantasy standouts from the 2025 reader vote

How we chose these books

Selected in Goodreads’ 2025 Fantasy results order after filtering for calendar-year 2025 publication. Wind and Truth is excluded because it was published in 2024; The Strength of the Few is the next eligible title. This is a reader-vote selection, not our own scored ranking.

Choose by reading mood

Fantasy is a broad invitation. The books here include intimate supernatural stories, contemporary magic and a continuing epic. Consider both the setting you want and the commitment you are ready to make. An independent novel, a series opener and a second volume ask different things of the reader before the first page.

1. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

V. E. Schwab

Consider Schwab for gothic fantasy centered on women’s lives, desire and immortality. The useful question is what freedom means when the ordinary limit of time changes.

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2. Katabasis

R. F. Kuang

Choose the academic-underworld premise if rivalry and institutional authority intrigue you. This is a separate novel; reading Babel is not a prerequisite.

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3. Alchemy of Secrets

Stephanie Garber

For contemporary urban magic, Garber offers Los Angeles and competing claims of protection. It begins a new series, so treat it as an opening rather than assuming complete closure.

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4. The Sirens

Emilia Hart

Hart is the historical and coastal choice, with sisters linked across time. Consider it for the meeting of family history and myth, while checking the difficult themes before choosing it as a gift.

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5. The Strength of the Few

James Islington

Islington is the substantial sequel commitment. Read The Will of the Many first and avoid detailed summaries of this volume until you are ready for information from that earlier ending.

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Before choosing your edition

The language of this list is not the language of every edition available to buy. Our linked editions are in English. Check the ISBN, format and seller information before ordering, especially when a title belongs to a series or has a limited first printing.