“You’re an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature.”
Fall 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting season for fantasy readers, with a host of new fantasy books set to capture imaginations and whisk us to magical worlds. Whether you’re a fan of epic fantasy adventures, dark fantasy mysteries, or YA fantasy stories, this autumn promises something for everyone. From highly anticipated fantasy novels by bestselling authors to debut works that are already generating a buzz, there’s no shortage of titles to add to your reading list. Today at What We Reading, we’ve rounded up the best new fantasy novels coming out in fall 2025, making it easier for you to discover your next favourite read. If you’ve been wondering which upcoming fantasy novels 2025 is bringing, or which new fantasy releases this fall are worth your time, you’ve come to the right place! Get ready to explore worlds brimming with magic, adventure, and unforgettable characters.
Alchemised – SenLinYu
First stop on our list of new fantasy novels is SenLinYu’s Alchemised. Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner of war and her own mind. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers holds her captive. According to the records, she was a healer of little importance within the Resistance. Yet Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder whether she really is as insignificant as she appears.
To uncover the memories buried within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own – secrets that Helena must unearth, whatever the cost may be.
Release date: 23 September 2025
A Curious Kind Of Magic – Mara Rutherford
Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father’s shoppe hasn’t sold anything magical in decades, and it’s only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon’s teeth Willow sells as charms, along with “enchanted” ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimaeras, and talismans made of fools’ gold. Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willo’s fakes into exactly what they’re supposed to be. But, try as Willow might to enlist Bri’s help, she wants nothing to do with her and her curiosities.
That’s because Brianna is cursed: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. The pair strikes a deal to help find the girmorie that holds the key to ending Bri’s curse. But, along the way, they soon discover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. In this new cosy fantasy by Mara Rutherford, Willow learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever imagined.
Release date: 21 October 2025
I, Medusa – Ayana Gray
Meddy has spent her entire life as a footnote in someone else’s story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters, she dreams of leaving her family’s island for a life of adventure. So, when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena and is invited to become one of her priestesses, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home. Surrounded by Athens’ colourful market streets, Meddy finally gets her first taste of purpose and power. But, after a drunken night with the god Poseidon, the course of her promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity – not as a victim, but as a vigilante – and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth. In her upcoming fantasy novel for fall 2025, Ayana Gray portrays a fabled young woman caught in the crosscurrents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.
Release date: 18 November 2025
Check Out All The Best New Fall Books From 2025
Wild Reverence – Rebecca Ross
Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with the humble messenger magic. Yet, in a land where gods often kill one another to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age quickly than most. To complicate matters further, there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact that they have never met in the waking world.
Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life, begging the goddess for help. When his request went unanswered, he moved on, becoming the hardened lord of the river who had long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him. Matilda and Vincent are destined to find one another. But to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, Matilda must learn to be vulnerable and finally allow herself to be loved.
Release date: 2 September 2025
Alchemy Of Secrets – Stephanie Garber
Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally starts making sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an object called the Alchemical Heart.
With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled into the magical world within the heart of Los Angeles – and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he swears to Holland that his sister sent him there to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart in this new fantasy novel, Holland realises everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger.
Release date: 7 October 2025
Brimstone – Callie Hart
Saeris Fane doesn’t want power. The very last thing she needs is her name whispered on an entire court’s lips. But now that she’s been crowned queen of the Blood Court, she’s discovering that a queen’s life is not her own. Her ward – and her brother – need her back in her homeland. Born under blazing sons, Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver. Which means that, once again, she must send someone else in her stead.
Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate has defeated armies and survived all manner of horrors. But, travelling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift may just be the death of him. The male just will not shut up. Hidden dangers await them down the narrow alleyways of the Silver City. Unfolding dangers pose impossible threats. And in this new second entry in the Fae & Alchemy series by Callie Hart, Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.
Release date: 18 November 2025
Fallen City – Adrienne Young
Luca Matius has one purpose – to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosophoer places him in the epicentre of a crisis that alters the destiny of his people. Maris Casoeria was raised amongst the strategic manoeuvrings of the Citadel’s inner workings and knows what the future holds. But her years of serving the last Priestesses who possess the stolen magic of the Old War have made her envision a new future for her city.
Luca and Maris hatch a plot together to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power as secrets come to light and the city is thrown into chaos. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. Adrienne Young kicks off her Fallen City duology with this new fantasy novel, where Luca and Maris need to find their way back to one another before there’s nothing left.
Release date: 4 November 2025
Our Vicious Oaths – N.E. Davenport
Princess of the Aether Dominion, Kadeesha, wants nothing to do with fae politics. She is a warrior, first and foremost. But bound since infancy to be betrothed to the Hyperion High King, ruler of all Dominions, she has no option but to do what men have chosen for her. On the day of her wedding, Kadeesha and her husband-to-be are attacked by Malachi. He kills her father, wounds the High King, and takes her hostage.
But Kadessha is no true hostage. She and Malachi form a pact: she will help lure the High King so Malachi can kill him once and for all. In return, he will not harm her nor any of the Aether people. And even as they are forced to publicly display their connection to provoke the High King’s jealousy, the pair soon struggle to resist the allure between them in order to achieve their ultimate goals.
Release date: 28 October 2025
The Primal Of Blood And Bone – Jennifer L. Armentrout
Another one of the best new fantasy novels coming this fall 2025, this thrilling penultimate chapter of the viral Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout follows Poppy and Casteel as they face their most perilous challenges yet as old enemies and ancient powers stir from their slumber.
Bound by love but driven by destiny, they must navigate a world on the brink of devastation – where every choice has deadly consequences. With their bonds tested and their future hanging in the balance, the fate of the realm rests on the strength of their hearts and the power of the Deminyen.
Release date: 23 September 2025
Hazelthorn – C.G. Drews
Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow: he can never leave the estate, he can never go into the gardens, and he can never be left alone with Byron’s charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.
That final rule has been in place for the past seven years, since Laurie tried to kill Evander. Despite this, Evander is still utterly obsessed with him. When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits all his sprawling grounds and incredible wealth. But Evander is sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only person able to help him. Worse still, the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores into the house with each passing day. In this upcoming fall 2025 fantasy book, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once again.
Release date: 28 October 2025
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
