10 new fantasy books to escape into in 2026

Maggie wakes in Kair Toren, the brutal setting of an unfinished fantasy series she knows intimately. Her knowledge of the story gives her a head start on its rival warlords, scheming nobles and looming disasters, but it does not make the world any less dangerous. The strange part is that Maggie cannot die, a useful advantage in a kingdom where practically everyone seems to want something from her.

Ilona Andrews—the pen name of writing duo Ilona and Andrew Gordon—combines portal fantasy with political manoeuvring and the delicious problem of a reader who knows too much. The premise also plays into the appeal of stories that blur the line between fiction and reality: if you have ever shouted at a character for making an obviously terrible decision, imagine being dropped into the book and having to do better yourself.

Centuries after necromancy nearly destroyed the world, knight-in-training Mathaiik discovers that the accepted story of that catastrophe is not quite what it seems. When forests swallow trespassers and creatures mutate into monsters, he makes a desperate decision: awaken one of the dreaded Grim Lords beneath his order’s fortress.

Jenn Lyons builds this standalone fantasy around forbidden magic, ancient secrets and a natural world that has become genuinely hostile. There is an environmental-horror edge to the premise, as well as the familiar fantasy pleasure of discovering that the institutions entrusted with preserving order may have been concealing the truth. Readers who prefer their escapism unsettling rather than cosy should put this one on the list.

The sequel to The Knight and the Moth returns to Rachel Gillig’s Stonewater Kingdom, where Sybil Delling’s gift for receiving visions from mysterious Omens has drawn her into a world of knights, gods and dangerous secrets. With Aisling Cathedral in ruins and the king taking Sybil as his bride, the story pushes its heroine deeper into a crisis that threatens both the kingdom and her relationship with the enigmatic Rodrick Myndacious.

Gillig has become a notable name in gothic romantasy, a corner of the genre that favours eerie settings and fairy-tale unease over glittering castles and uncomplicated happily-ever-afters. The Knave and the Moon is for readers who want their love stories wrapped in prophecy, peril and a healthy amount of candlelit gloom.

Fia Ives is a spellwright who longs to enter Thistledown Library in search of magic that could lead her to her late mother’s spellbook. When she finally breaks into the forbidden stacks, she discovers three mysterious figures already searching for something there. Soon, a dangerous grimoire has been stolen, suspicion falls on Fia and she has to investigate the theft while running her inherited spellshop.

Her unlikely accomplice is Penbrook Madbury, a secretive magician whose charm is matched by his stubbornness. With curses spreading through town and a growing threat to both of them, Spellwright brings together magical mystery, light academia and a romantic thread. It is a good option for readers who want their fantasy books a little whimsical, with a mystery to solve and a library that clearly needs better security.

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The next instalment in Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses universe returns readers to a world still reckoning with betrayal, fractured alliances and the consequences of previous battles. With the threat of Koschei the Deathless looming, the Night Court faces the difficult work of rebuilding trust while new dangers gather.

Few fantasy franchises have made the combination of fae politics, elaborate world-building and high-voltage romance as commercially powerful as A Court of Thorns and Roses. The new book is an obvious choice for readers already invested in the series—though newcomers should start at the beginning rather than attempt to navigate the Night Court’s relationship history on the fly.

In Danielle L Jensen’s post-apocalyptic fantasy, the world has been fractured by magic, and the night is full of deadly creatures. Lirien, whose magic helped break the world, has devoted herself to Dawnrider, a high-speed rig that carries a privileged group of survivors toward safety. But she is also plotting to overthrow the tyrant who rules it. Just as she is ready to act, she is abducted by Vox, the king of the feralists.

The first book in a new duology, Defy the Dusk promises a different kind of fantasy escape: less glittering courtship, more survival and political rebellion. It is a good choice for readers who want a dangerous setting, a heroine with agency and a world where simply making it to morning counts as a victory.

Devney Perry continues the story she began in Shield of Sparrows, returning readers to a world of monsters, mysteries and dangerous trials. The sequel expands the series’ fantasy setting while keeping its central characters and their complicated relationships in focus.

For readers who like their world-building accompanied by romantic tension, Rites of the Starling is an easy pick. It also makes a useful reminder that romantasy is not just a matter of adding a brooding love interest to this kind of novel: the strongest fantasy books in the genre make the relationship part of the danger, the choices and the wider conflict. Start with Shield of Sparrows to appreciate the lore better.

This young adult romantic fantasy follows a royal kitchen maid swept into palace intrigue and a forbidden love triangle. The trouble escalates when she becomes the vessel for thousands of spirits and deities, placing her at the centre of forces far beyond her station.

The premise combines the familiar appeal of court politics with a supernatural twist, giving readers a heroine whose life changes dramatically before she has much chance to prepare for it. For fans of fantasy that marries romance, mythology and a young woman navigating a treacherous royal household, this is one to watch as the late-year releases arrive.

Alix E Harrow’s collection gathers previously published stories alongside five new ones, exploring histories that might have happened, dreamers and ghosts and places just beyond the edges of the familiar world. It includes her Hugo Award-winning story “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies”.

A short-story collection offers a different kind of escape from a 700-page epic: you can dip into one strange world at a time, without committing to a sprawling series or memorising the genealogy of every royal family. For readers who like fantasy with a literary sensibility and a taste for alternate histories, Harrow’s collection is a welcome change of pace.

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