November is a weird time in the publishing industry, as the final push toward the holidays begins in earnest. Sure, most of us have only just put away our Halloween costumes and turned our attention to cozier pursuits, but in the world of new book releases, the countdown clock to Christmas is steadily ticking louder by the day. Many of the biggest fantasy titles of the season actually hit shelves back in September and October, in an attempt to get them in front of as many potential buyers as possible in the run-up to the all-important holiday shopping season. (Just know that if you’ve already finished buying your gifts, I am deeply jealous of you.)
But while there are perhaps fewer overall releases this month than in previous ones, there are still plenty of books for fantasy lovers to get excited over. From Callie Hart’s long-awaited Quicksilver sequel and Jay Kristoff’s epic conclusion to his Empire of the Vampire trilogy to a new installment in Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes universe, there multiple heavy hitters waiting to drop in the next few weeks.
Here are the best fantasy books hitting shelves this November.
The Burning Queen by Aparna Verma
Release Date: November 4 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: This dramatic sequel to The Phoenix King has a little bit of everything fantasy fans crave: deadly secrets, new alliances, and a heroine determined to get revenge for her people.
Publisher’s Description: Ravence has fallen. Her enemies have ravaged her people. And now Elena Aadya Ravence must decide how far she will go to reap her revenge. As she is pulled into a bitter war that will decide the fate of her kingdom, a new tyrant rises to reclaim his home, and Elena finds that perhaps her hunger isn’t enough.
And his knows no bounds.
[ad]
Witchlight by Susan Dennard
Release Date: November 4 from Tor Teen
Why We’re Excited: if you’re not extremely hype for the fifth and final installments of Susan Dennard’s Witchlands series, what are you doing with your life? Paths converge and prophecies unfold on the way to a thrilling conclusion.
Publisher’s Description: Safi and Iseult, the legendary Cahr Awen, must heal the final Origin Well. But first, they’ll have to actually reach it—and time is not on their side. With ancient figures rising from the past, with the Raider King’s armies gathering for war, and with the magic at the heart of everything dying too fast, all of the Witchlands is on the brink of collapse.
To succeed, Safi and Iseult will have to call on every favor owed and every ally they’ve ever made, from Prince Merik Nihar to the Bloodwitch Aeduan and beyond. Yet all who fight for the Cahr Awen will soon discover that Eridysi’s Lament is not the prophecy they believed it was—and their journeys are only just beginning.
[ad]
Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff
Release Date: November 4 from St. Martin’s Press
Why We’re Excited: The conclusion to Jay Kristoff’s epic Empire of the Vampire saga will undoubtedly emotionally damage us all several times over before its final pages.
Publisher’s Description: Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and his last hope of ending the endless night―the Holy Grail, Dior. With no desire left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of the Augustin Empire to claim the life of the Forever King.
Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives―speeding towards Augustin’s besieged capital in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath forever. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King’s legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may be the last time, there will be no one left for them to trust.
Not even each other.
[ad]
The War Beyond by Andrea Stewart
Release Date: November 4 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: Andrea Stewart is hands down one of the most underrated writers of epic fantasy today, and sequel The War Beyond builds on the extensive world-building of its occasional clunky predecessor to tell a story that’s a thrilling adventure from its first pages.
Publisher’s Description: Hakara risked her life to find her long-lost sister Rasha, only to lose her all over again. Now she and her Unanointed rebels hunt for the shapeshifter Lithuas, knowing that defeating her would strike a blow to the plans of the tyrant god Kluehnn.
Rasha once longed to be reunited with Hakara. No longer. Now she is a Godkiller and proud to serve Kluehnn’s divine will. Yet she also harbours doubts about Kluehnn’s teachings. When she is sent to destroy Hakara and her allies, Rasha will have to decide where her loyalty truly lies.
As the two sisters hurtle towards a bloody reunion, Sheuan continues her shadowy games of intrigue to uncover the secret that killed her father, while her cousin Mullayne seeks the tomb of Tolemne. There, Mull believes he’ll find the answers he desires.
[ad]
A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody and C. L. Herman
Release Date: November 4 from Tor Teen
Why We’re Excited: This first installment in a new duology from the writing duo behind (the excellent) All of Us Villains is a fast-paced Chosen One fantasy in which two teen magicians must fight to protect their kingdom from a devastating and deadly Winter. When one of them bonds with the most powerful Living Wand in Alderland, it seems she is destined to become the hero her people need. Until the other accidentally creates a Winter-based wand of her own that changes everything for both of them and sets them at odds with one another.
Publisher’s Description: For most of the year, Summer reigns peacefully over Alderland. Then, for six brutal weeks, Winter rages, obliterating towns and wreaking casualties. Magicians bond with powerful wands of Summer to defend the nation, a duty that costs many their lives.
Domenic Barrow never wanted such responsibility—but destiny hasn’t granted him a choice. The greatest Summer wand has awakened for the first time in a century, warning that an icy cataclysm looms on the horizon. And despite his reputation as the least suited of his classmates, the wand Chooses Domenic to wield it.
Ellery Caldwell spent years striving to be a perfect Summer magician—and burying her fears of her own power. But her worst suspicions are proven true when she accidentally creates the first ever Winter wand.
Now, as the unprecedented Chosen Two, Domenic and Ellery must thwart the oncoming cataclysm together. And in trying to fulfill their destinies, they wonder if they were brought together for a second fate: to fall in love.
Until they discover the unthinkable truth. The Chosen Two aren’t fated allies, but eternal rivals, and the only way to save their home is for one of them to slay the other.
This is no love story. It’s a tragedy.
[ad]
Fallen City by Adrienne Young
Release Date: November 4 from Saturday Books
Why We’re Excited: Popular YA author Adrienne Young is another name jumping into the adult fantasy space this Fall wth Fallen City, a Romeo and Juliet-esque story of political intrigue, rebellion, and forbidden romance in which a legionnaire and a Magistrate’s daughter hatch a plan to marry and tip the scales of power in their kingdom.
Publisher’s Description: Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.
Maris Casperia was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.
As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.
[ad]
Ship of Spells by H. Leighton Dickson
Release Date: November 4 from Entangled: Red Tower Books
Why We’re Excited: Described as One Piece meets Shadow and Bone, this lush and magical romance follows the story of a would-be mage, an infamous (and infuriating) pirate captain, and the sentient ship that’s bound to him. Swashbuckling adventures and likely no small amount of enemies-to-lovers style flirtation are sure to ensue.
Publisher’s Description: When Ensign Bluemage Honor Renn is rescued from the wreckage of her first naval post, she expects death or disgrace. Instead, she wakes aboard the Touchstone, a mythic vessel whispered of in dockside ballads and royal war rooms alike. With a crew of misfits. A mysterious, elven captain. And a mission tied to the Dreadwall, the crumbling barrier that has kept the Overland and Nethersea from open war for a hundred years.
But the tragedy that sank her last ship didn’t just take lives—it left something behind.
Now Renn carries a secret everyone wants. A magik that’s chimeric, arcane…and slowly killing her. But the captain’s mission may be her only chance to survive, even if he still doesn’t trust her.
Caught between privateers, princes, and spies, Renn knows each choice could sink her future—or set the sea on fire.
[ad]
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Release Date: November 11 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: The latest installment in Travis Baldree’s popular cozy fantasy universe that started with the megapopular Legends & Lattes, Brigands & Breadknives, is an all-new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern.
Publisher’s Description: Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple…
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.
[ad]
The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
Release Date: November 11 from Flatiron Books
Why We’re Excited: The conclusion of Mary E. Pearson’s debut adult duology, The Last Wish of Bristol Keats, features even more romance, secrets, and magic than its predecessor, as Bristol must decide once and for all whether or not to claim her birthright—and what she’s willing to risk to save Elphame.
Publisher’s Description: After Bristol Keats nearly loses her beloved King Tyghan to the monsters her mother had unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But when a daring rescue attempt turns into a disaster, and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could have ever imagined—and more dangerous. Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he encounters his former best friend and betrayer again, Bristol’s own father, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question.
Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she fully embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a different kind of monster from her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most, if it means keeping them safe?
[ad]
The Strength of the Few by James Islington
Release Date: November 11 from S&S/Saga Press
Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed The Will of the Many may well be more intricate and heavily plotted than its predecessor, integrating multiple worlds and versions of characters across its pages (and taking the sort of wild narrative swings that probably shouldn’t pay off but do.)
Publisher’s Description: The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.
But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.
I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.
I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.
Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.
I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.
[ad]
Brimstone by Callie Hart
Release Date: November 18 from Forever
Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated sequel to Callie Hart’s megapopular Quicksilver finally arrives later this year and will see Saeris becoming queen of the Blood Court as Kingfisher travels to Zilvaren and tries to return to his mate.
Publisher’s Description: 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. A heavy weight rests upon her shoulders. Her ward—and her brother—need her back in her homeland…but the changes that have strengthened Saeris have also made her weak. Born under blazing suns, 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 traveling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift might 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 secrets pose impossible threats. Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.
[ad]
The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers
Release Date: November 18 from Redhook
Why We’re Excited: I’m always a sucker for a story about a magical bookshop or two, and this one from the author of The City of Stardust delves into a world where a secret network of such establishments has existed below the streets of London for millennia. But when they begin to slowly disappear, it’ll be up to disgraced bookseller Cassandra to find the truth—and a way to save them all.
Publisher’s Description: If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron’s bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it’s a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic.
For Cassandra Fairfax, it’s a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she’s used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.
Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it’s this: the bookshop must always have an owner.
But she’s not the only one interested. There’s Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can’t seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron’s murderer, who is still on the loose.
As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely…
[ad]
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
Release Date: November 18 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: A cozy fantasy romance about a powerful plant witch and a grumpy alchemist must work together to save their quiet town from a magical plague is a sweet story of starting over and second chances.
Publisher’s Description: Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.
The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.
Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.
When a mysterious blight endangers every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together, through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another, to save their community. But with a figure from her previous life knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
[ad]
As Many Souls as Stars by Natasha Siegel
Release Date: November 25 from William Morrow
Why We’re Excited: A speculative romantic fantasy described as perfect for those who loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, As Many Souls as Stars follows the story of a witch and an immortal demon whose Faustian bargain binds them across multiple lifetimes.
Publisher’s Description: 1592. Cybil Harding is a First Daughter. Cursed to bring disaster to those around her, she is trapped in a house with a mother paralyzed by grief and a father willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of magic.
Miriam Richter is a creature of shadow. Forged by the dark arts many years ago, she is doomed to exist for eternity and destined to be alone—killing mortals and consuming their souls for sustenance. Everything changes when she meets Cybil, whose soul shines with a light so bright, she must claim it for herself. She offers a bargain: she will grant Cybil reincarnation in exchange for her soul.
Thus begins a dance across centuries as Miriam seeks Cybil in every lifetime to claim her prize. Cybil isn’t inclined to play by the rules, but when it becomes clear that Miriam holds the key to breaking her family curse, Cybil finds that—for the first time in her many lives—she might have the upper hand. As they circle each other, drawn together inescapably as light and dark, the bond forged between them grows stronger. In their battle for dominance, only one of them can win—but perhaps they can’t survive without each other.
[ad]
Lacy Baugher Milas writes about Books and TV at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB
Keep scrolling for more great stories.