By Lianne Ponferrada, First year, English and classical studies
With the start of the new year, bibliophiles across the world are setting their 2026 reading goals. Those reviving a lost love for reading might be aiming to read five or six books this year, whilst the most avid readers are aiming for over ninety. Wherever you are on your literary journey, I’d recommend introducing fantasy into the mix.
Between your other New Year’s Resolutions and the start of another term, beginning a new year can be stressful. The fantasy genre is your opportunity to escape from life’s inevitable anxieties, whilst contributing to this year’s Goodreads reading challenge. But the benefits of reading fantasy go beyond escapism. Indulging in fantastical tales places the reader in all sorts of situations, allowing them to explore scenarios without experiencing genuine risk and empathise with all sorts of characters.
This might seem ridiculous. How can regular people resonate with the struggles of those who wield magic or traverse hell?
At their core, fantasy books tackle deeply human experiences. Whether it be relationships, grief, or recovering from burnout, I’m certain at least one of these recommendations will resonate with you.
- Watermoon by Samantha Sotto Yambao (2025)
Do you enjoy Studio Ghibli movies? If so, this whimsical fantasy is for you!
To most, this quiet alley in Tokyo holds a cosy ramen restaurant, but to the chosen ones, it is a pawnshop where they trade their life choices and deepest regrets. On her first day managing the shop, Hana finds it ransacked. Its most valuable items and her father are missing. An eccentric but charming stranger is eager to help her. Together, they journey through a mystical world to find her father and the stolen choice. As they approach the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own, or risk making an irreversible decision.
- Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood (2024)
I read Rewitched during a sunny September, and the vibes were immaculate. It can only be described as a ‘magical Gilmore Girls’ as Lucy Jane Wood perfectly emulates the best bits of autumn within a fantastical adventure. If this book were a drink, it would be a pumpkin spice latte with extra vanilla!
Burnt-out bookseller, Belladonna, fails her coven’s trial, and she risks losing her magic. She has October to perfect her magic skills, but with dark forces working against her, she needs all the help she can get: from the women in her life, an eccentric tutor, and even a (frustratingly handsome) watchman.
- Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (2025)
This one is for those who write with fountain pens, sniff old books, and wear too much tweed. Alice, who is tantalisingly close to completing her PhD in analytical magick at Cambridge, feels responsible for the freak accident that kills the world's greatest magician, Professor Jacob Grimes. Inconveniently landing in Hell, Alice decides to endure a katabasis to save him. The frustratingly perfect Peter joins her at the last minute. Realising that Hell hardly resembles the philosophical treatises they’ve scoured over, they must look beyond their rivalry to survive.
- Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang (2023)
If you thought Katabasis by R.F. Kuang fascinating, you’ll love this one! Blood Over Bright Haven is a gritty tale about a woman’s determination to succeed in a system entirely against her.
For twenty years, Sciona has thought about nothing but magic in order to be the first woman ever admitted into the High Magistry. Finally clawing her way to highmage, her colleagues are eager to hinder her progress by assigning her the academy’s janitor, rather than a trained lab assistant. Sciona and her colleagues are clueless about the janitor’s magical history, which has left him with an inquenchable desire for vengeance…
- This Cursed House by Del Sandeen (2024)
Fans of Toni Morrison’s Southern Gothic tales should check this one out! Desperate to leave Chicago and the spirits she always sees, Jemma moves to New Orleans to work for the mysterious Duchon family. But, they are not as they seem.
Light enough to pass as white, they look down on Jemma’s brown skin. The entire family’s relationship to reality is tenuous, and they soon realise that they are under a curse. Jemma is the only one with the power to destroy it, forcing her to confront her powers head-on whilst discovering the Duchon’s twisted secrets…
- Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh (2024)
Staying within the Gothic tradition, written by the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement and ‘Queen of African Horror’, this is a poignant Nigerian-set horror tale of possession, the supernatural, and murder.
Bata, an 11-year-old who is tormented by nightmares, wakes up to see a soldier outside her cousin’s door. Her cousin is to marry the next day, if she can escape a ghost-bride’s vicious attack. Possessed, Bata’s newfound powers help her fight malevolent ghost-brides before she returns to the human realm. Along the way, she learns about family drama, long-held secrets, and how to protect her loved ones.
Lauren Matthews
- Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (2021)
Inspired by West African mythology, this ‘unforgettable’ oceanic debut depicts an intense tale of survival. Simi serves the gods as a Mami Wata– a mermaid that collects the souls of those who die at sea and blesses their journeys back home. After a living boy is thrown to sea, she risks a fatal punishment by saving his life. To protect the other Mami Wata, she must visit the Supreme Creator to make amends, but nothing is as it seems…
- Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui (2026)
Here’s a book to look forward to this year! Set to be published in March, Aicha is the ‘ultimate female rage fantasy’ as well as a ‘devastatingly powerful epic fantasy’. Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom fighter, is fueled with an insatiable desire for vengeance after witnessing the Portuguese colonisers torture and destroy her people. Only Aicha’s secret lover and rebellion leader, Rachid, can soothe her. But as Morocco’s fierce fight for freedom ensues, the creature that simmers below her skin must be unleashed.
9 The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham (2026)
Known as @readwithcindy on YouTube, Cindy Pham will publish her debut novel, The Secret World of Briar Rose, in June. Pham reimagines Sleeping Beauty as a ‘lush and immersive queer’ tale.
Corin, a jaded thief, searches the dormant kingdom of Glyndan’s underground tunnels for her younger sister, Elly, who has fled to find the sleeping princess in hopes of a better life. Finding a portal to Princess Amelia’s subconscious, they meet her whimsical alter ego, Briar Rose and Malicine, a magical demon. As they explore Amelia’s dreams, Corin becomes increasingly suspicious of Briar Rose. Surely no one’s subconscious is this perfect, right?
Which one will you sink your teeth into first?
Featured Image: Unsplash
