Hands down, this is one of the best high fantasy romances ever written, and I don't say that lightly. Draven has a once-in-a-generation gift for storytelling, and the words just float off the page and into your psyche, burying them there to take root in your imagination. It is a classic story of a mismatched pair being married for the sake of their kingdoms. Ildiko and Brishen are as unlikely as they come — he a creature of granite skin and teeth more resembling a snake's than a human's, and her, a firey princess determined to bring peace. The series stands currently with two books and three novellas, but is nowhere near complete, and that makes me downright giddy.

A girl is what she makes herself. In RF Kuang's epic debut, young Rin is mired in a life where she has no choices, and her future is grim. Unwilling to accept her fate, she studies and tests into the realm's most elite training academy, where she finds out that she is more special — and crucial in the upcoming wars — than she could have imagined.

The Poppy War has all of the gravity of the steepest climb in literary fiction, but also manages to be completely engaging and entertaining. Kuang deals with ideas around gender, race, class, poverty, and religion with aplomb, and the world building is *kisses fingers.*

Chances are you've heard of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, and for good reason. It's one of those books that has become a part of the literary cultural zeitgeist; it's just that good. The epic series reads as though a bard is telling you a tale by the light of the fire. It's brilliantly plotted, and beautifully told. This one feels like what would happen if Martin cared as much for love as he did for revenge. (And honestly, it's just a better series.)

Inspired by Ancient Rome, this story follows a poor girl who would battle the world to save her brother. It is dark and brutal, but reads so fast you won't know what end is up by the time you turn the last page. This is true high fantasy in every sense of the word, but the scorching brilliance of the prose is refreshingly modern.

Based on Nigerian legends, this high fantasy YA novel is set in the U.S., but crosses from magical realism to fantasy pretty swiftly. This book , and its magical characters, will have you aching to learn all you can about the legends behind it. Falling in love with the characters in this story is the work of an instant, and you won't soon forget them.

Imagine if Cersei wasn't a complete dumpster fire of a human being. All of that wicked intelligence used to do good instead of evil.

The Fifth Season is everything you want in a fantasy. It challenges stereotypes, it weaves unreality with absolute truth, and the plot is so intensely intricate that each thread is essential to the entire tapestry of the narrative. After you finish the book, you will have no cause to ask, "What was that for?" Jemisin won a Hugo award for this novel, and it was richly deserved.

If you're one of the GoT fans who is particularly bloodthirsty, this book is for you. It opens with a god being flayed by a Valkyrie, over and over again, unable to die.

This is the story of the lesser known goddess, Circe, and her son Telegonus. You might have heard of them in the story of her lover, Telegonus' father, Odysseus. But you don't know the half of it.

This is one of the best books I've read in the past year, and I recommend that if you can, get it on audiobook. The narration is wonderful, and really brings it to life.

I honestly just finished this book last week, and I already want to read it again. There are not enough fantasy novels that center queer characters, so when I found this book, I knew I needed to read it. The romance is secondary to the adventure of the story. From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey is a vivid, sparkling fantasy, burning with the ecstatic storytelling few authors are able to achieve.

Why on earth would anyone be interested in learning an entire fictional culture's monetary practice or fiduciary requirements? Before this book, I would tell you that you don't need to know these things, but Dickinson not only makes them crucial, he makes them addictive, engrossing. You find yourself being pulled into his world of colonialism and the systemic erasure of a culture, and suddenly, you want to know everything, even how they make and spend their coin. If Bronn and Tyrion are your favorite Thrones characters, buy this book immediately. Buy it even if they aren't.

When a conwoman in Cairo accidentally summons a mysterious jinn warrior, you know it's about to go down. This fantasy is like stepping into paradise only to realize that it's full of venomous snakes. You have to keep your eyes open and remain alert at all times, lest something jump at you from the shadows. City of Brass is nothing short of otherworldly in its ability to plumb the resources of the reader to force them to expel every last ounce of energy they possess to keep on reading.