Fantasy Books February 2023!
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Best new release fantasy books in February 2023!
Some awesome new fantasy book out in February 2023!
Not being biased or anything, but I’m most excited about the launch of my prequel novel, House of Ravens!
Another book I’m looking forward to getting my hands on is Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith.
Wishing you a productive month full of reading!
Let me know in the comments which books you want to read!
February 1st
1.Eleventh Cycle (Mistland #1) by Kian N. Ardalan
Fantasy | Adult | Grimdark | Science Fiction Fantasy
It has been a thousand years since the last Seed abandoned their duty. The mists are closing in. Finally, the Morning Bell tolls. A new Seed is born, but is it too late?
The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear.
But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.
Will the cycle finally be completed? Or will the mist swallow all?
A seed is born and the evil is slain, so doth another cycle commence. Yet the last Seed born hath turned traitor, and the mists, which had been pushed back, returneth.
CONTENT WARNING (can contain minor spoilers): This book is Grimdark. There is a lot of violence, gore, heavy language. It also deals with very heavy themes like realistic representation of disability, has descriptive sexual content, self-harm, mental illness, rape and suicidal ideation.
February 7th
2. Stardust in Their Veins (Castles in Their Bones #2) by Laura Sebastian
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | LGBT
Immerse yourself in the second book in a fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Pricess series. The sequel to Castles in Their Bones is the story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown.
Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother's grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress's control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What's worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.
Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother's sights.
With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can't trust anyone--least of all each other. If they've learned anything, though, it's that the Empress's game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses' favor . . . if they manage to avoid meeting their sister's fate before they can make their next move.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon
Read Book #1- Castles in Their Bones
3. Seven Faceless Saints (Seven Faceless Saints #1) by M.K. Lobb
Fantasy | Young Adult | Mystery | LGBT | Thriller
In the city of Ombrazia, saints and their disciples rule with terrifying and unjust power, playing favorites while the unfavored struggle to survive.
After her father’s murder at the hands of the Ombrazian military, Rossana Lacertosa is willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle the corrupt system—tapping into her powers as a disciple of Patience, joining the rebellion, and facing the boy who broke her heart. As the youngest captain in the history of Palazzo security, Damian Venturi is expected to be ruthless and strong, and to serve the saints with unquestioning devotion. But three years spent fighting in a never-ending war have left him with deeper scars than he wants to admit… and a fear of confronting the girl he left behind.
Now a murderer stalks Ombrazia’s citizens. As the body count climbs, the Palazzo is all too happy to look the other way—that is, until a disciple becomes the newest victim. With every lead turning into a dead end, Damian and Roz must team up to find the killer, even if it means digging up buried emotions. As they dive into the underbelly of Ombrazia, the pair will discover something more sinister—and far less holy. With darkness closing in and time running out, will they be able to save the city from an evil so powerful that it threatens to destroy everything in its path?
Discover what’s lurking in the shadows in this dark fantasy debut with a murder-mystery twist, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kerri Maniscalco.
4. These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom #2) by Tahereh Mafi
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | Mythology | High Fantasy
With the heat of a kiss, the walls between Alizeh, the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, and Kamran, the crown prince of the Ardunian empire, have crumbled. And so have both of their lives.
Kamran’s grandfather, the king of Ardunia, lays dead, the terrible secret of his deal with the devil exposed to the world. Cyrus, the mysterious copper-haired royal, has stolen Alizeh away to Tulan, the neighboring kingdom where he rules. Cyrus has made his own deal with the devil—one that would require Alizeh to betray her feelings for Kamran if she’s to reclaim the Jinn throne.
Alizeh wants nothing to do with Cyrus, or his deal with Iblees. But with no means of escaping Tulan, and with the tantalizing promise of fulfilling her destiny as the heir to the Jinn, she’s forced to wonder whether she can set aside her emotions—and finally become the queen her people need.
Kamran, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces of his broken kingdom. Facing betrayal at every turn, all he knows for certain is that he must go to Tulan to avenge his grandfather. He can only hope that Alizeh will be waiting for him there—and that she’s not yet become queen of Tulan.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon
Read Book #1- This Woven Kingdom
5. The Severed Thread (The Bone Spindle #2) by Leslie Vedder
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | Gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty Retelling | LGBT
Which threads of fate will hold—and which will break?
Clever, bookish Fi and her brash, ax-wielding partner Shane are back in this action packed sequel to the bestselling The Bone Spindle, the gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and The Cruel Prince.
Fi has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi’s own Butterfly Curse all stand between them and happily ever after.
Shane has her partner’s back. But she’s in for the fight of her life against Red, the right hand of the Spindle Witch who she’s also, foolishly, hellbent on saving.
Briar Rose would do anything to restore his kingdom. But there’s a darkness creeping inside him—a sinister bond to the Spindle Witch he can’t escape.
All hopes of restoring Andar rest on deciphering a mysterious book code, finding the hidden city of the last Witches, and uncovering a secret lost for centuries—one that just might hold the key to the Spindle Witch’s defeat. If they can all survive that long…
Set in a world of twisted fairytales, The Severed Thread combines lost ruins, ride-or-die friendships, and heart-pounding romance.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon
Read Book #1- The Bone Spindle
6. Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | Historical | Jamaica
Eighteen-year-old Victoria is a Wildblood. Kidnapped at the age of six and manipulated by the Exotic Lands Touring Company, she’s worked as a tour guide ever since with a team of fellow Wildbloods who take turns using their magic to protect travelers in a Jamaican jungle teeming with ghostly monsters.
When the boss denies Victoria an earned promotion to team leader in favor of Dean, her backstabbing ex, she’s determined to prove herself. Her magic may be the most powerful on the team, but she’s not the image the boss wants to send their new client, Thorn, a renowned goldminer determined to reach an untouched gold supply deep in the jungle.
Thorn is everything Victoria isn't - confident, impossibly kind, and so handsome he leaves her speechless. And when he entrusts the mission to her, kindness turns to mutual respect, turns to affection, turns to love. But the jungle is treacherous, and between hypnotic river spirits, soul-devouring women that shed their skin like snakes, and her ex out for revenge, Victoria has to decide - is promotion at a corrupt company really what she wants?
February 8th
7. Time's Orphan (Odriel's Heirs #3) by Hayley Reese Chow
Fantasy | Young Adult | Epic Fantasy
Speak of pain, and I’ll tell you of the Time who stole it away…
Besieged by war, ravaged by monsters, and crawling with the undead, the land of Okarria is dying. Seventeen-year-old Emara survives by using her modest healing gift to save as many as she can while eluding the invaders who thirst for her enchanted blood.
So when a cursed cat saves her life and reveals Emara is the legendary Time Heir the necromancer king’s been searching for, she agrees to act as bait in a plot to destroy him. But when the plan goes horrifically awry, Emara must discover how deep her powers go, what she can change…
And what she cannot.
Unfortunately, Time Heirs have a history of getting killed, and with Okarria’s future on the line, Emara may have no choice but to follow in her ancestors’ footsteps.
Read Book #1- Odriel's Heirs
February 14th
8. Fit for the Throne: The Trial of Ten by S. McPherson
Fantasy | New Adult | Fantasy Romance | Enemies to Lovers
The only way out, is to play the Game...
When Varialla von Hastings is abducted and forced to compete in a supernatural reality show to take the Eternal Throne, she's convinced there's been a mistake. She's just an ordinary human girl. But, no one will listen. Least of all, Exekiel V'alin; the powerful Fae bastard who brought her there.
With love, lies & her life on the line, Varialla must find a way to escape. However, the only way out of the Games is to play them. And the more she plays, the more she discovers that her life has never been her own, and the secrets that surround her are deep enough to drown in.
The Selection meets The Hunger Games in this New Adult, enemies to lovers, spicy fantasy romance perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout.
9. The Tyranny of Faith (Empire of the Wolf #2) by Richard Swan
Fantasy | Adult | Epic Fantasy
From a major new debut author in epic fantasy comes the second book in a trilogy where action, intrigue, and magic collide. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is an Emperor's Justice: a detective, judge, and executioner all in one. But these are dangerous times to be a Justice....
A Justice's work is never done.
The Battle of Galen's Vale is over, but the war for the Empire's future has just begun. Concerned by rumors that the Magistratum's authority is waning, Sir Konrad Vonvalt returns to Sova to find the capital city gripped by intrigue and whispers of rebellion. In the Senate, patricians speak openly against the Emperor, while fanatics preach holy vengeance on the streets.
Yet facing down these threats to the throne will have to wait, for the Emperor's grandson has been kidnapped - and Vonvalt is charged with rescuing the missing prince. His quest will lead him - and his allies Helena, Bressinger and Sir Radomir - to the southern frontier, where they will once again face the puritanical fury of Bartholomew Claver and his templar knights - and a dark power far more terrifying than they could have imagined.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon
Read Book #1- The Justice of Kings
10. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Fantasy | Adult | Gothic | Horror | Romance | Mystery
A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales--the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.
Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after--and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.
But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.
Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
11. Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith
Fantasy | Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Romance | Prohibition-era New York
Inspired by Moulin Rouge! and set on an island in a magical version of Prohibition-era New York, Revelle is a breathtaking YA stand-alone fantasy full of dazzling magic, romance, and mystery from debut author Lyssa Mia Smith.
On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the price of a gemstone.
Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion. With Prohibition threatening their livelihood, her family struggles to make a living, watering down champagne and patching holes in their sequined costumes. So when the son of Charmant’s wealthiest family makes her an offer—everything the Revelles need to stay in business, in exchange for posing as his girl and helping him become mayor—she can’t refuse.
The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. An orphan with as few memories as gemstones, he’s desperate to learn what happened to his parents. But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering a truth that just might break his heart.
When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments. But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game . . . one that could destroy them both.
February 16th
12. The Shadow Casket (The Darkwater Legacy #2) by Chris Wooding
Fantasy | Adult | Epic Fantasy | Adventure
A BAND OF REBELS.
A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.
A REVOLUTION ABOUT TO BEGIN.
It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.
Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there's only one of her.
But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope.
The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon
Read book #1- The Ember Blade
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13. The Elemental's Guardian (The Elementals Trilogy, #1) by S.W. Raine
FANTASY | ADULT | URBAN FANTASY
Everything changed the day he ran into her with his jet thousands of feet in the sky.
Freelance pilot Ferenc Janos's life is turned upside down when Olivia Gillies, a woman who can control air and travel through lightning, tells him he's the guardian of the air elemental. Around the same time as her sudden arrival, masked figures have been appearing around the city with the ability to summon and control strange creatures. Their target? The homeless girl who happened to steal his wallet.
Ferenc doesn't understand his new role or why he feels a strange need to protect her, but if he can't set aside his skepticism long enough to learn from Olivia, then a much more powerful threat could be unleashed onto the universe.
14. House of Ravens (The Shadow Atlas #0.5) by Jenny Sandiford
FANTASY | YOUNG ADULT | MAGIC SCHOOL | MAGES | URBAN FANTASY
Something dark awoke inside him…
Sixteen-year-old Torin will be a shadow mage; it’s his destiny. But when he discovers his father’s legacy is built on lies and innocent blood, Torin’s eyes are opened to a dark new reality. And he wants no part of it.
But, in a cruel twist of fate, Torin manifests a rare Shadow Magic power—killing with the touch of his hand—and becomes a pawn for his father’s vengeance.
With blood on his hands and a future paved with death, Torin must make a choice—betray his father and do what is right, or take on his dark legacy and become the monster he’s been running from. . .
House of Ravens is a dark, coming of age, urban fantasy, and the captivating prequel to The Shadow Atlas series.
Read Book #1- Initiate
15. Death & Dragons (Witch of Ware Woods, #2) by Sonja F. Blanco
FANTASY | YOUNG ADULT | CONTEMPORARY | PARANORMAL | WITCHES
A bargain with the enemy.
A spell aided by Death.
And a need to protect all she loves at any price.
Sara Lochton broke the curse and released her magic to become High Witch of Ware Woods. But she is new to the magical world, and her inexperience puts the forest and everyone she loves—including her bonded mate, Thomas—at risk.
When tragedy strikes and her sworn enemy, Samson, warns of a formidable evil intent on destroying their entire magical region, Sara recklessly agrees to a blood bargain with him. But the pact is a tenuous truce for Sara. Determined to best Samson and defeat the evil, she conjures aid from powerful yet questionable allies—an arrogant vampire, an imposing wolf shifter, and an evasive witch.
As darkness and dragons descend upon Ware Woods, Sara must decide who she can trust and how far she will go to save those she loves. And face the fatal consequences.
Death & Dragons is the second book in the Witch of Ware Woods trilogy, an upper YA contemporary paranormal series with a strong female main character, a diverse cast of family and found family, unique magic, a touch of romance, and a world so fresh you can smell the pine trees.
Expect witches, a one-of-a-kind vampire, shifters, dragons, a pinch of death, a sentient treehouse, a persnickety grimoire, and plenty of twists and turns in this spellbinding sequel as Sara keeps her friends close and her enemies even closer.
Read Book #1- Witch of Ware Woods
16. Iron Wolf (Vardari #1) by Siri Pettersen
FANTASY | YOUNG ADULT | MYSTERY | HIGH FANTASY | NORSE INSPIRED
Juva knows all about blood readers. Praised for their Sight, they are nothing but swindlers, preying on people’s fears for power and profit. Born by blood readers herself, she knows only too well, and she has vowed never to become one of them.
But when her family is threatened by vardari, the eerie lasting ones, who never age, Juva is entangled in a desperate hunt for the blood readers’ legacy: a dark secret that once changed the world, and may do so again.
In order to survive, she has to confront the terrifying childhood memory she fought to forget.
Iron Wolf is a new spellbinding fantasy mystery from Siri Pettersen, built on a Norse foundation, about blood, desire and addiction. It’s the first book in the trilogy VARDARI, an independent series set in the universe of the award-winning fantasy phenomenon THE RAVEN RINGS.
17. The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
FANTASY | ADULT | HISTORICAL FANTASY | IRISH CULTURE | MAGIC
It is 1912, and for the last seventy years magic has all but disappeared from the world. Yet magic is all Biddy has ever known.
Orphaned in a shipwreck as a baby, Biddy grew up on Hy-Brasil, a legendary island off the coast of Ireland hidden by magic and glimpsed by rare travelers who return with stories of wild black rabbits and a lone magician in a castle. To Biddy, the island is her home, a place of ancient trees and sea-salt air and mysteries, and the magician, Rowan, is her guardian. She loves both, but as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she is stifled by her solitude and frustrated by Rowan’s refusal to let her leave. He himself leaves almost every night, transforming into a raven and flying to the mainland, and never tells her where or why he goes.
One night, Rowan fails to come home from his mysterious travels. When Biddy ventures into his nightmares to rescue him, she learns not only where he goes every night, but the terrible things that happened in the last days of magic that caused Rowan to flee to Hy-Brasil. Rowan has powerful enemies who threaten the safety of the island. Biddy’s determination to protect her home and her guardian takes her away from the safety of Hy-Brasil, to the poorhouses of Whitechapel, a secret castle beneath London streets, the ruins of an ancient civilization, and finally to a desperate chance to restore lost magic. But the closer she comes to answers, the more she comes to question everything she has ever believed about Rowan, her origins, and the cost of bringing magic back into the world.
February 24th
18. The Binding of Bloom Mountain (The Valley #1) by Siggy Chambers
FANTASY | ADULT | CONTEMPORARY FANTASY | FOLK FANTASY
“One fool in search of money wins a cursed mountain and a lifetime of nightmares...”
When Celeste Foster loses her job with the US Forestry Service, she finds solace in drinking herself stupid every night. But when she sees an ad that says “ADVENTURERS WANTED” and “compensation upon completion”, she pulls herself together to head for the town of Milton.
In the mountains of Northwest Virginia, she enters a portal to an alternate Shenandoah Valley. Here monsters and gods live alongside humans, and every family has magic in their blood. But a curse festers on the slopes of Bloom Mountain. A decade has passed with no one to bind the magic, and soon the curse will destroy Milton.
Armed with a recording, a bag of ritual items, and fresh scones from the cute barista that housed her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The Binding tests her endurance, sanity, and ability to adapt to this new world. If she can survive the horrors on the mountain, there might be more than just money waiting for her at the end.
February 28th
19. A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos #0) by Samantha Shannon
Fantasy | Adult | High Fantasy | Dragons |LGBT
The stunning, standalone prequel to the New York Times bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.
To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be.
The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.
When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.
Intricate and epic, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the world of A Priory of the Orange Tree, showing us a course of events that shaped it for generations to come.
20. The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
Fantasy | Young Adult | Pirates | Historical Fiction | Transgender | LGBT
El Diablo is in the details in this Latinx pirate fantasy starring a transmasculine nonbinary teen with a mission of revenge, redemption, and revolution.
On Mar León-de la Rosa's 16th birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.
When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up your soul to save your father by the Harvest Moon or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain and there's no way their magic is any match for el Diablo. Then, Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate -- and the captain's son; and Dami, a genderfluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption -- or it could mean certain death.
Make sure you add the ones you like to your TBR pile! Which ones do you like the look of? Let me know in the comments☺️