Is your life devoid of pizazz? Deficient in je ne sais quoi? Lacking in glitz, glamour, and magic? When you’re feeling down in the mundane dumps, you know what you gotta do. Fill your life with meaningful, real world joy? No, silly! Cope with fantasy! When finding the beauty in real life feels like a Sisyphean task, it’s time to lay that boulder down and read about the truly beautiful – the fair folk. Beings of magic and glamour and copious amounts of glitter! Oh, and relationship drama, don’t forget about that! These fae beings may be older than the forest itself, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re mature. Capricious. Chaotic. Charismatic as hell, these are the 10 best fantasy books with fairies to spice up your life.
The Kingkiller Chronicles
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss is the story of Kvothe – a level 20 bard gone into hiding for (allegedly) offing a royal. How did Kvothe achieve such renown? Who is the murdered monarch? What happens next for our hero? I’m certain you don’t care about these questions – nor should you. Kvothe is a boring human, after all. But he’s had plenty of dealings with far more interesting fae – adventures that are responsible for his fame. Aside from having a satyr prince for a bestie, Kvothe has been intimate with all sorts of fairies. And yes, I mean intimate. Kvothe had a famous tryst with the Felurian, an immortal seductress who taught him the arts of pleasure and magic. We could all use one of those in our lives.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass has a sexy reputation that proceeds itself. Known for being one of Booktok’s spiciest, the series exploded onto the scene with its graphic depictions of fae on fae action. The story begins with a young huntress named Feyre killing a sacred wolf – a crime for which she’s kidnapped by a beast-man and taken to the fae realms as punishment. In the courts of the fae world, she faces more than justice, she also gets entangled in the arms of the fairies themselves. Drawn into a world of political and interpersonal drama, Feyre is a stranger in a strange land – but she and the fae will soon be intimately acquainted.
An Enchanment of Ravens
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson is essentially a magical yet heterosexual version of Portrait of A Lady On Fire. While painting the portrait of a powerful fae lord named Rook, the mortal Isobel makes the rookie mistake of depicting the noble with a human-ishly sad look in his eye. Now exposed as the vulnerable softie he pretends he isn’t, the furious Rook kidnaps Isobel and takes her to the fae realm to serve justice. Trouble is, political turmoil has settled upon the world of the fairies, and Isobel’s trial will have to wait. In order to survive the coming dangers, Rook and Isobel will have to depend on one another – and maybe kiss a little bit in the process .
The Iron King
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa is the story of Megan Chase, a young woman who has just discovered that her long, lost father is the faerie king Oberon himself. Like a star-crossed lover straight out of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Megan rushes into the faerie forests to rescue her half brother – who was spirited away by the spirits of the air. While traipsing about through the woods, Megan meets all manner of Shakespearean fae – Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck), Queen Mab, and the fairy queen Titania. If you’re looking for a YA romp to feed your inner theatre kid, The Iron King series is an absolute must read.
The Changeling
The Changeling by Victor LaValle is an old school fairy tale, one that reminds readers that the fae weren’t always regarded as steamy dreamboats, but magical nightmare fuel. Apollo Kagwa is a rare book dealer in New York City, attempting to support his wife Emma and their newborn son. Despite his best efforts, something is… off about Emma. She seems strangely disconnected from their newborn baby boy – almost as if she thinks he’s not her own. The novel is a modern reinterpretation of the infamous changeling myth – the idea that children were kidnapped by fae beings and replaced with magical, malicious doppelgängers. Poor Apollo may soon find that the old myths were more than just stories after all.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke is the story of (spoiler alert) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, two rival magicians living in Victorian England. Norrell and Strange weren’t always bitter enemies – they were once a mentor and protege pair. Due to their differing views on magic, Norrell and Strange called their student/teacher relationship quits, and have dedicated their lives one-upping each other through increasingly irresponsible acts of magical meddling. The biggest faux pas? One of them summons an ancient fae being known as The Gentleman With The Thistledown Hair – a crafty and capricious trickster who is more Mephistopheles than Queen Mab. As Norrell and Strange feed the fires of their rivalry, The Gentleman uses his masterful powers of manipulation to pour gasoline on the flames – and watch their Victorian world burn down.
In The Jaded Grove
In The Jaded Grove by Anela Dean is the story of Jessa, a young poet who discovers a high fantasy battle a-brewing in her backyard. While traipsing through a sunflower field she discovers something far less whimsical than her picturesque surroundings would seemingly allow: the climax of a bloody battle between pixies and trolls. After saving a fae from certain death, Jessa’s fate becomes bound together with pixie knight Simith of Drifthorn – a veteran of the troll vs. pixie war. Now that the magical realm is bleeding into the Jessa’s mundane world, she and her newfound compatriot will need to figure out how to put a stop to the conflict, lest it consume them both.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is essentially the fairy version of A Natural History of Dragons – an academic chronicle of magical creatures. Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is a scholastic natural, a hard-thinking and hard-driving seeker of knowledge with little time for much else. The world’s foremost expert on the fae, she’d rather be rummaging through magical forests than making small talk at university soirees. After journeying to the remote village of Hrafnsvik to study a particularly elusive type of fairy, she’s faced with her most toughest challenge yet: dealing with the frustratingly handsome Wendell Bambleby, who has arrived to conduct research of his own. An academic enemies to lovers story, Emily Wilde might be labeled as a treatise on faeries, but it’s first and foremost a lesson in romance.
The War of The Flowers
The War of The Flowers by Tad Williams is the story of Theo Vilmos – a rockstar you’ve never heard of. “Star” is putting it generously. The thirty-something is the lead singer of an unsuccessful rock band in California, who was recently dealt a cruel hand by life. After the loss of his partner and the death of a parent, the grief stricken Theo takes refuge in a remote cabin once owned by his mother, and finds a mysterious journal penned by his great-uncle. As Theo begins reading this whacky chronicle of faeries and spirits, he soon discovers that he’s great-uncle’s flights of fantasy are, in fact, very real. After nearly being killed by a zombie-like being, Theo is transported to a fairy world by a foul-mouthed sprite that will stretch his already thin-spread sanity. Caught in the middle of a war between rival faerie courts, Theo will need to master his wits and reconcile his grief in order to survive.
Phantastes
Phantastes by George MacDonald is the original faerie story, a seminal work of the genre. Written in 1858, the novel revolves around Anodos – a 21 year old who finds a magic lady living in his desk. After being shown a vision of Fairy Land by his unexpected roommate, Anodos awakens the next day to discover that his room has transformed into a magical forest. Now a wanderer in Fairy Land, Anodos is free to explore a world beyond his wildest imaginings. So what does he do? What any 21 year old would, he tries to hook up with something. He has a romantic fling with a tree. Then he develops a crush on a statute come to life. He befriends faeries that live in flowers. He gets bullied by gnomes. He nearly gets murdered by a different tree. He slays giants. He nearly gets captured by a cult. Classic lawless twenty-something behavior. This novel feels like a precursor to Studio Ghibli’s The Boy And The Heron – you won’t always understand the story’s dreamlike logic, but you’ll be enraptured by the magical vibe.
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