Fantasy · November 2026
7 New Fantasy Books Coming in November 2026
Seven November fantasy releases I’m considering, from new epics and dangerous romances to a bard’s heist and illustrated faerie stories.
November has several fantasy beginnings that caught my eye: a new John Gwynne epic, Danielle L. Jensen’s Sundering Duet and Nora Roberts’s Coven of Three. There are familiar worlds here too, with Cassandra Clare returning to Shadowhunters and Holly Black collecting illustrated faerie stories. Those are different decisions from picking up the first book of a new series.
The Wolves of War is my starting point for an epic, while Prudence Marsh Is Not a Nobody Anymore has the cozy appeal of a bard who refuses to let a robbery end her plans. For romance in a much harsher setting, there is Defy the Dusk. Here is what caught my attention in each of these seven releases, including the earlier reading worth doing first.
01 · Young adult fantasy
The Last King of Faerie
By Cassandra Clare
· US · Knopf Books for Young Readers
Drusilla is a prisoner in Faerie, and a disappearance brings Kit and Ty back together. The Last King of Faerie opens The Wicked Powers, but these characters already have a history in Shadowhunters.
The returning cast is the draw for me, especially the chance to follow the people from The Dark Artifices into another trilogy.
Best for: Returning Shadowhunters readers, especially those following the cast beyond The Dark Artifices.
The Wicked Powers, book 1, within the ongoing Shadowhunters story. Follow Clare’s recommended series order: The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours before this trilogy. New to the world? Start with City of Bones.
02 · Slavic-inspired epic fantasy
The Wolves of War
By John Gwynne
· US · Orbit
Ivan wants to protect his family among the conquered clans. His daughter Halia dreams of wolves as her magic awakens, while rival powers prepare for war. Slavic folklore, including an iron-toothed witch, runs through this opening to The Wolfheart Chronicles.
This is the new epic fantasy series I’m most drawn to on the list. The family gives me something to latch onto beyond the armies and rival powers, and there is no earlier Wolfheart story to catch up on.
Best for: A new epic series with family loyalties, occupied lands and Slavic folklore.
The Wolfheart Chronicles, book 1. Start here; there is no earlier volume.
03 · Post-apocalyptic fantasy romance
Defy the Dusk
By Danielle L. Jensen
· US · Del Rey
After Lirien’s magic broke the world, the powerful found a way to stay ahead of a deadly night aboard a moving rig. Everyone else has to manage without that refuge. Vox takes Lirien captive, and their attraction develops amid the damage she caused.
That moving refuge is what catches my attention. Safety depends on who can get aboard, and the romance involves the woman blamed for the disaster. There is quite a lot for these two to work through before attraction can make anything simpler.
Best for: Romantasy with a dangerous setting, a captive heroine and magic that has changed how people live.
The Sundering Duet, book 1. A new duology; no Bridge Kingdom reading is needed.
04 · Illustrated young adult faerie stories
A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters
By Holly Black
· US · Alvina Ling Books / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
This is a collection of six illustrated stories from Holly Black’s faerie worlds, with artwork by Solenne Songer. Four stories have appeared before and two are new. It is a return to familiar people and places rather than the next full-length Elfhame novel.
I’m including it for readers who want the stories and illustrations together. The practical question is which pieces you already own, especially if the two new stories are your main reason for buying it.
Best for: Readers already invested in Elfhame and the Modern Faerie Tales who want an illustrated collection.
A companion collection. Read The Folk of the Air before the Elfhame stories and the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy before stories involving its cast. Later situations can reveal earlier developments.
05 · Robin Hood-inspired romantasy
Queen of Foxes
By Jennifer Estep
· UK · Red Tower Books
Rinley survived a political coup and now has a chance to turn a theft at an enemy stronghold into revenge. Prince Zoren has his own reasons to catch the outlaw causing trouble. Their attraction complicates a Robin Hood-inspired story of robbery and rebellion.
The heist is my reason to look closer. Rinley has something to steal as well as someone to evade. Compared with the broken-violin problem in Prudence Marsh, this theft is about revenge against the people in power.
Best for: An outlaw heroine, political revenge and attraction between people on opposing sides.
Queen of Foxes, book 1. This begins a new romantasy series.
06 · Cozy fantasy romance
Prudence Marsh Is Not a Nobody Anymore
By Emily Krempholtz
· US · Ace
Pru heads off to audition as a bard for a royal wedding, only for a robbery to leave her with a ruined violin. She refuses to leave the bandits until they replace it. A cursebreaker named Callum and a palace heist soon make her career plans even less straightforward.
A musician insisting that the bandits owe her a violin is exactly the sort of small, stubborn problem that appeals to me in cozy fantasy. It gives the adventure a clear starting point before the palace heist and romance enter the picture.
Best for: Cozy fantasy with a musical heroine, a bandit romance and a royal heist.
A standalone companion to Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore. Either book works on its own; Violet adds context for those who want it.
07 · Witchcraft and romantic fantasy
Birth of the Witch
By Nora Roberts
· US · St. Martin's Press
Neve McShane’s story connects a seventeenth-century past with a modern life shaped by witchcraft, family and an old threat. Birth of the Witch begins A Coven of Three, with a romance that reaches beyond one lifetime.
I like the sound of following the same danger across such different lives. It is also a useful option for anyone who wants to begin a trilogy now, without the earlier-book homework that comes with Clare and Black.
Best for: Witchcraft, family ties and a love story spanning centuries.
A Coven of Three, book 1. A new trilogy, separate from The Lost Bride.
If you want a different kind of fantasy
For a different way to narrow the choice, the fantasy without romance guide separates out stories where a love story is not the main draw. I keep the wider release selection on New Books.