It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Spooky season is officially upon us, which means the official countdown to Halloween is officially on, and it’s now perfectly okay to indulge all your inner cravings involving stereotypical autumnal activities, like pumpkin spice lattes, hay rides, haunted houses, and copious amounts of candy. But while October is traditionally a time for horror stories by most in the world of pop culture, fantasy fans shouldn’t worry.
There’s no shortage of big-name releases and buzzy debuts hitting shelves this month in the lead-up to the all-important Christmas shopping season, and most of them don’t have a ghost or a killer with a hook for a hand in sight. Instead, buckle up for warring gods, self-rescuing princesses, dark magic, and even a little bit of Dust.
Here are the best fantasy books hitting shelves in October.
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
Release Date: October 7 from Flatiron Books
Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated adult debut from YA powerhouse Stephanie Garber, Alchemy of Secrets is something of a swerve from the author of such megapopular titles as Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart. A contemporary fantasy that follows university student Holland St. James, a believer in magic who’s taking a class about folklore and urban myths with a bunch of skeptical classmates. But her world takes a turn for the truly fantastical when she encounters the Watch Man, a figure of local legend said to predict the time of one’s death.
Publisher’s Description: It starts with a class in an old movie theater.
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 that 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 makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.
With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.
The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
Release Date: October 7 from Sourcebooks Fire
Why We’re Excited: Anything that’s described as a book for fans of The Cruel Prince and Outlander is immediately going to get my attention. The latest book from the authors of Night of the Witch mixes fairy magic with Tudor politics, following a fae guardian and a spy for Queen Elizabeth I as they attempt to unravel a conspiracy that threatens both their kingdoms.
Publisher’s Description: Samson Calthorpe’s curse has isolated him from everyone he has ever cared about. So, when the opportunity arises to break the curse, he grabs it. All he has to do for his freedom is risk his life and become a royal spy, using every bit of the skills and resolve he’s picked up on the streets of London to infiltrate the court of the Scottish Queen and uncover a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
For years, Alyth Graham has been protecting Mary Queen of Scots from threats both physical and magical, including the Queen’s own husband, Lord Darnley. Alyth is more than meets the eye though, the child of a fae prince and a human mother, she is among the most powerful protectors in Scotland: guardians sworn to defend against the Red Caps, a bloodthirsty fae clan. . . that Lord Darnley is in league with to overtake Scotland.
The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw
Release Date: October 7 from Delacorte Press
Why We’re Excited: Romantasy meets dark academia in the latest from author Rachel Greenlaw, set at a magical military university where young magic wielders must earn their spot in the class by competing in a series of deadly trials. Described as perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, The Ordeals is full of dark creatures, high-stakes choices, enemies-to-lovers spice, and lots of atmosphere.
Publisher’s Description: Twenty-year-old Sophia DeWinter has only known life bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector, thanks to a blood bond he exacted from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth College, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she knows it is her only chance to finally break free. But to gain entry, she will have to compete against other illusionists, masquiers, botanists, and alchemists in a series of brutal trials that many hopefuls don’t survive—the Ordeals.
Sophia knows her skills as an illusionist are weak; she only makes it through the first challenge by teaming up with a powerful (and insufferably sexy) botanist, Alden Locke. To make it out alive, she will have to hone her magic and learn to identify who is a rival, who could be an ally, and who is a murderer.
Because now, not only does she have to protect her heart but her very life. Hopefuls are being viciously picked off one by one between the challenges. In her haste to escape the Collector’s trap, Sophia may have fled straight toward her own death sentence.
Savage Blooms by S. T. Gibson
Release Date: October 7 from Redhook
Why We’re Excited: The first installment in a new trilogy from S.T. Gibson, author of such bangers as Evocation and An Education in Malice, Savage Blooms is described as the start of a “ravishingly dark” trilogy featuring gothic manors, faery magic, and forbidden desires set in the Highlands of Scotland. Um, yes, please?
Publisher’s Description: For as long as Adam can remember, the legends passed down from his world-traveling grandfather have called him to a crumbling manor in the Highlands. His closest friend Nicola longs for the same adventure, as well as for Adam himself. She’ll follow him just about anywhere – even to the remote wilds of Scotland – if it pushes the pair to surrender to their shared attraction.
But when a storm strikes and strands them unexpectedly, Adam and Nicola find themselves at the mercy of the eccentric owner of the infamous house, Eileen, as well as her brooding groundskeeper, Finley.
Trapped by the weather, and bound by ancient faery magic, Nicola and Adam get more than they bargained for as they become entangled in Eileen and Finley’s world of mind games, deceit and forbidden desire. As ancestral sins are unearthed, Adam and Nicola will have to reckon with the spell Eileen and Finley have cast over them – and whether or not they even want to be free.
The River and the Star by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
Release Date: October 7 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: This sequel to The Sun and the Void sees two women find themselves caught in an ancient feud between ruthless entities and embark on an epic quest for power and liberation.
Publisher’s Description: Reina is full of hope. At long last, Reina has the peace she’s been searching for on the idyllic islands of Tierra’e Sol with the lover she’s always wanted and in service to the god of the sun. But she can’t quite trust how long this will last. When monstrous creatures of the Void appear on the isle’s shores, she is certain she knows who is behind the attacks. Reina will stop at nothing to protect the woman she loves, but it could cost her everything she’s fought so hard for.
Eva is cherished. Finally reunited with her father, the Liberator, Eva struggles to prove herself worthy of being his heir while keeping secret her alliance with the god of the Void. As destruction, both human and magical, tears across the lands, Eva is thrust into a power struggle she’s ill-prepared for. Confronted with the limits of her own ambition, Eva must fight to save herself from the powerful corruption of the Void before she loses the family she holds dear.
The warring gods are returning and the only thing between them and absolute power are two young women. But for the first time in their lives, Reina and Eva have something to fight for. And they won’t back down.
The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs
Release Date: October 14 from Harper Voyager
Why We’re Excited: Another entry in Fall’s long-overdue ladies with swords trend, The Princess Knight is one part charming romance and one part medieval Legally Blonde retelling. It follows the story of a fashion-loving princess who joins the military academy to prove herself after the prince she was planning to marry refuses to propose, insisting she’s too weak to be the queen his kingdom needs. Thankfully, his most loyal knight doesn’t see her that way and volunteers to help her train. Full of banter and featuring a heroine who leans into the idea that bravery can come in many forms, it’s super sweet.
Publisher’s Description: Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.
Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?
Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz into arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.
He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.
But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms…and test all their hearts.
Red City by Marie Lu
Release Date: October 14 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Marie Lu is joining the ranks of the popular YA authors crossing over into the world of adult fiction this Fall with Red City, a contemporary urban fantasy that’s described as perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and V.E. Schwab. Loosely inspired by Lu’s own immigrant childhood, the story explores dark themes of trauma, wealth inequality, ambition as it follows the story of two alchemists from opposing magical syndicates who are pit against one another.
Publisher’s Description: Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city—and the paths of their lives—will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates’ brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
Release Date: October 14 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: One of the absolute best covers of Fall belongs to Serra Swift’s Kill the Beast mixes cozy fantasy and gritty adventure in a story of revenge, redemption, and friendship.
Described as The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle, the story of a monster hunter with a troubling past and an uncertain future who joins forces with a wealthy client to track down the famed beast that killed her brother deftly mixes familiar tropes and original twists.
Publisher’s Description: The night Lyssa Cadogan’s brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.
Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and―even more surprising―retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.
Alderic is ill-equipped for a hunt and almost guaranteed to get himself killed. But as the two of them search for the rest of the materials that will be the Beast’s undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa’s better judgment, an unlikely friendship begins to bloom―one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa’s quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.
The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
Release Date: October 21 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: A new release from award-winning author Tasha Suri is reason enough to celebrate on its own, but The Isle in the Silver Sea has basically been assembled in a lab to play to every one of the The Jasmine Thone author’s interests and strengths. (Plus, another entry in the Fall’s most delightful trend: Ladies with swords!)
Described as “heart-shattering” and “full of sapphic longing”, it’s a story that mixes medieval folklore, a mysterious assassin, and a love story that spans both lifetimes and centuries.
Publisher’s Description: In an England fuelled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes.
Simran is a witch of the woods. Vina is a knight of the Queen’s court. When the two women begin to fall for each other, how can they surrender to their desires, when to give in is to destroy each other?
As they seek a way to break the cycle, a mysterious assassin begins targeting tales like theirs. To survive, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them.
The Book of Dust: The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
Release Date: October 23 from Knopf Books for Young Readers
Why We’re Excited: The third and final installment in Phillip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy will bring the story of beloved His Dark Materials heroine Lyra Silvertongue to an end, and maybe even (at long last) reveal the secret and origins of Dust along the way.
Publisher’s Description: Picking up right where The Secret Commonwealth left off, this story finds Lyra alone in a city haunted by daemons, searching for her beloved Pan. Malcolm Polstead isn’t far behind, searching for Lyra. And they are both racing toward the desert of Karamakan, following the trail of roses said to hold the secret of Dust.
Their allies and enemies are converging on the mysterious red building at the heart of the desert: Marcel Delamare and the military might of the Magisterium; the radical Men from the Mountains; scientists, scholars and spies; troops of witches and other people of the air. And awaiting them all is a previously unseen and chilling new threat that will change everything.
The intertwining odysseys of Malcolm and Lyra, their journeys both internal and external, will test their limits and challenge even their most dearly held beliefs.
Blood for the Undying Throne by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur
Release Date: October 28 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: The follow-up to last year’s (outstanding) Blood of the Old Kings adds two new POV characters as it continues to build out its wildly detailed exploration of history, conquest, and consequences.
Publisher’s Description: The Empire continues to enforce its so-called peace with massive war machines that destroy anything that opposes their might. Though the conquered are wholly at the mercy of the Empire, desperate odds such as these can be fertile soil for heroic resistance.
Last seen rallying under Loran’s banner, Emere is now a powerless politician in the Imperial Capital. But when an assassination attempt is made on his life, he discovers that he may just be at the center of sinister plots brewing in the highest levels of the Empire.
Arienne has crossed the continent on a mission to learn more about the Star of Mersia, the infamous yet mysterious weapon that decimated the country of Mersia in a single day. But when she arrives at the supposedly lifeless land, Arienne is shocked to find much more than ruins.
One hundred and seventy years ago, before the Empire laid waste to its plains and its people, Mersia suffers under the whims of the ruthless Grim King Eldred. When Yuma, the chief cattle herder, meets an emissary from the Empire, she dares to hope that this foreign nation might have the power to overthrow the Grim King and end his reign of terror. But Yuma will learn, only once it’s too late, that aligning with the Empire will have consequences that reverberate through the ages.
Sacrifices must be made in the fight against tyranny, but some sacrifices may be too great.
Spellbound by Georgia Leighton
Release Date: October 28 from Grand Central Publishing
Why We’re Excited: A Sleeping Beauty retelling with no Prince Charming and fueled by female rage feels like exactly the sort of fairytale that 2025 requires.
Publisher’s Description: In a remote castle perched atop a windswept island, a long-awaited royal heir is born. In accordancewith ancient custom, a blessing ceremony takes place to bestow the princess with magical gifts—along with a terrible curse.
Except this is not the love story you may think you know. There is no enchanted sleep for the princess, and no handsome prince to come to her rescue. Just three women, who together concoct a desperate plan of misdirect that changes the course of all their lives.
But dark magic cannot be tricked, and as the end of the curse edges closer, Violanna, Meredyth and Sel have a choice to make. They can wait to find out if the worst will happen, or they can turn to face the coming storm . . .
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Release Date: October 28 from Tor Books
Why We’re Excited: Alix E. Harrow, author of such bangers as Ten Thousand Doors of January and Starling House, gets into the Fall’s big ladies with swords trend with The Everlasting, a timey-wimey epic love story that feels like the best sort of Arthurian legend (just, you know, self-aware and about a woman this time.) The result is a truly unique tale that’s one part romance, one part genre-defying quest, and one part meditation on storytelling itself. A banger.
Publisher’s Description: Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story–they’ll have to rewrite history itself.
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
