The longest day of the year is in our collective rearview, which means we’ve officially entered the peak reading season that is summer. Days are long, the weather is warm (or stifling in some cases, depending on where you live), and vacation days, beach trips, and pool time are calling out to us all. What better accessory than a good book (or several)? Fantasy fans, in particular, are in for an excellent summer, with loads of buzzy new titles hitting shelves nonstop for the next three months.
June’s fantasy haul has plenty to recommend it, with multiple sprawling epic sagas, swoony romantasies, and stories that reimagine our understanding of history (with a magical twist). Also, there’s a new V.E. Schwab, so if you haven’t already grabbed that one, consider this your reminder that you should. (It’s excellent.)
Here are our picks for the best fantasy books hitting shelves in June.
A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
Release Date: June 3 from S&S/Saga Press
Why We’re Excited: A good old-fashioned sprawling sci-fi/fantasy epic that follows a clan of warriors who stand against monsters by invoking the spirits of their ancestors, A Song of Legends Lost is an African-inspired story that explores lost truths and forgotten history, bursting with complicated worldbuilding and internal lore.
Publisher’s Description: The people of Nine Lands know their history. The kingdom once belonged to the Scathed people, until their greyblood servants rose up and slaughtered them. King Ahiki and his warlords laid claim to the realm by defeating the rebels and driving them out to the Feverlands.
Now, thousands of years later, attacks by the greybloods are rebuffed by the invoker clans, warriors of noble blood who summon their ancestors to fight with them in battle. But the war has gone on too long. A general draft is called to take the battle to the Feverlands and defeat the greybloods once and for all. A plan that seems doomed to fail.
When Temi, a commoner, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she believes it could be the key to ending the centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor, and some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.
Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil
Release Date: June 3 from Bindery Books
Why We’re Excited: This Filipino-inspired matriarchal fantasy is set in a post-colonial island nation where women rule—and command more than just their thrones. The mix of elemental magic, court intrigue, and deep alternate history vibes that dig deep into what such a kingdom might really look like.
Publisher’s Description: Hara Duja Gatdula, queen of the island nation of Maynara, holds the divine power to move the earth. But her strength is failing and the line of succession gives her little comfort. Her heir, Laya, is a danger—a petty and passionate princess who wields the enormous power of the skies with fickle indifference. Circling the throne is Imeria Kulaw—the matriarch of a traitorous rival family who wields recklessly enhanced powers of her own—with designs to secure a high-ranking position for her son and claim the crown for her family. Each woman has a secret weakness—a lover, a heartbreak, a lie. But each is willing to pay the steepest price to bring down her rivals once and for all.
A Dance of Lies by Brittany Arena
Release Date: June 10 from Del Ray
Why We’re Excited: The story of an imprisoned dancer forced to become an imperial spy by the king who framed her for murder, A Dance of Lies features rival kings, bloody betrayals, a surprisingly well-handled depiction of chronic illness, and more.
Publisher’s Description: Vasalie Moran was once a dancer in King Illian’s court, until he framed her for murder. Barely surviving her two years in the dungeons, she’s suddenly called to face her king. He offers her a deal: become his spy at the six-week royal Gathering and he’ll grant her freedom.
As Illian’s orders grow bloody and dangerous, forcing her to harm and betray those around her, Vasalie discovers that the monster she serves may be aligned with a bigger monster—one far closer to home. With her world threatened, Vasalie enlists the help of Illian’s brother and greatest adversary, the infamous King of the East.
As the rivalry between brothers escalates, with Vasalie caught in the middle, the horrifying truth of her past comes to light. If she wants to survive, she must decide who to trust, who to fight for, and how much of her soul she’s willing to damn in the process.
Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race
Release Date: June 10 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: This adult debut from YA author Holly Race puts a deliciously fantastical twist on the world of Tudor England (and puts all of Henry VIII’s queens on the same side, for once). Featuring dragons, political intrigue, romantic yearning between two of the wives, and a story that allows a group of women who’ve been set against one another throughout history to reject the idea that they should be enemies, it’s twisty and satisfying.
Publisher’s Description: As tradition has it, the king of Elben must marry six queens and magically bind each of them to one of the island’s palaces or the kingdom will fall.
Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be her beloved Henry’s favorite queen. She relishes the games at court and the political rivalries with his other wives. Seymour is the opposite – originally sent to Boleyn’s court as a reluctant spy and assassin, she ends up catching Henry’s eye and is forced into a loveless marriage with the king.
But when the two queens become the unlikeliest of things – friends and allies – the balance of power begins to shift. Together, they uncover a dark and deadly truth at the heart of the island’s magic. Boleyn and Seymour’s only hope of survival rests on uniting all six of the rival queens – but Henry will never let that happen.
Realm of Thieves by Karina Halle
Release Date: June 10 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: Dragon and dragon-adjacent fantasy is everywhere right now (thanks, Rebecca Yarros), and this series opener from Karina Halle hits the right notes. A story of a heroine who makes her living stealing dragon eggs and the formidable lord who blackmails her into searching for a secret to immortality, the familiar enemies to lovers vibes are familiar but well done.
Publisher’s Description: For Brynla Aihr, crime and survival have always gone hand in hand. Ever since she escaped the fanatical dragon-worshipping cult that controls her homeland, she’s had to carve out a life doing the unthinkable: stealing dragon eggs. Egg theft is illegal and, in most cases, fatal. To breach a dragon’s nest means a harrowing journey through the ancient wards spelled to keep the monstrous beasts confined. Dragons can’t get out and only those with a death wish can get in.
Despite the risks, dragon eggs are highly coveted for their magic. An illegal trade flourishes under competing criminal empires, and Brynla’s loyalty has always been to the highest bidder. Until she finds herself kidnapped and blackmailed by Lord Andor, a formidable lieutenant of House Kolbeck, and thrust into the dangerous political games of rivaling dynasties.
Brynla and Andor clash at every turn, sparking heat in ways Brynla’s never felt before. But in a world that’s prophesized to return to the dragons, and rife with betrayal and secrets at every turn…how close to the flames is she willing to stand?
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Release Date: June 10 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Described by the author herself as a more feral version of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil crosses centuries, continents, and cultures to tell the story of three female vampires whose afterlives are not what they expected. The end result is something that feels an awful lot like a modern-day spin on Interview with the Vampire, just with more female perspectives and overt queer relationships. Schwab has rarely been better.
Publisher’s Description: Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1827. Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
The Palace of Illusions by Rowenna Miller
Release Date: June 10 from Redhook
Why We’re Excited: A lavish retelling of The Nutcracker from the author of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill, The Palace of Illusions follows Clara Ironwood whose mysterious Christmas gift proves the key to entering a dazzling alternate version of early 1900s Paris full of both wonders and very real dangers.
Publisher’s Description: In the run up to the 1900s World’s Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures and Loie Fuller’s serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather’s mechanical creations, and she’d rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world’s fair.
When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather’s toys was real.
As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There’s no ignoring the danger she’s in, but Clara doesn’t know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both.
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman
Release Date: June 17 from Dial Press Trade Paperback
Why We’re Excited: An irreverent, feminist exploration of fairytale tropes that’s technically a comic retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s “The Twelve Huntsmen”, This Princess Kills Monsters shines because of its scrappy, snarky heroine, its openly queer vibes, and its subversive treatement of the idea of telling stories in the first place. Hilarious and fun.
Publisher’s Description: Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal.
Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she’s been commanded to marry a king she’s never met.
When hideous spider-wolves attack her on the journey to meet her husband-to-be, she is once again rescued—but this time, by twelve eerily similar-looking masked huntsmen. Soon she has to contend with near-constant attempts on her life, a talking lion that sets bewildering gender tests, and a king who can’t recognize his true love when she puts on a pair of trousers. And all the while, she has to fight her growing attraction to not only one of the huntsmen, but also her fiancé’s extremely attractive sister.
If Melilot can’t unravel the mysteries and rescue herself from peril, kingdoms will fall. Worse, she could end up married to someone she doesn’t love.
A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry
Release Date: June 17 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: A fantasy riff on Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, H.G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing is a twisty, thorny story of faerie changelings, revenge, and family secrets. (With no small amount of heartbreak thrown in.)
Publisher’s Description: The faeries stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faery Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.
It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.
Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.
The Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton
Release Date: July 17 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: The first installment in a sweeping new fantasy series from the author of The Queens of Innis Lear, The Mercy Makers is a story of forbidden magic and forbidden love that boasts fantastically intricate worldbuilding, political intrigue, and multi-facted characters. A rich and satisfying start.
Publisher’s Description: Iriset is a prodigy and an outlaw. The daughter of a powerful criminal, she dons her alter ego Silk to create magical disguises for those in her father’s organization, but she longs to do more with her talent: to enhance what it means to be human by giving people wings, night-sight, and other abilities; to unlock the possibilities of gender and parenthood; to cure disease and even to end mortality itself.
Everything changes when her father is captured and sentenced to death. To save him, Iriset must infiltrate the palace and the empire’s fanatical ruling family. There, she realizes she has a chance—and an obligation—to bring down the entire corrupt system. She’ll have to entangle herself in the lives of the emperor and his sister, getting them to trust and even to love her. But love is a two-way street, and Iriset’s own heart holds the most mysterious and impenetrable magic of all..
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB