Incredible New Release Fantasy Books in August 2025!
Best new release fantasy books in August!
Some wonderful fantasy reads to look forward to in August include A Theory in Dreaming by Ava Reid, Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne, Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher, and Katabasis by R.F. Kuang.
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August 1st
Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods
Horror | Young Adult | Fantasy | Gothic
A group of hauntingly beautiful girls have been bound together by a cruel curse—and one of them will go to any lengths to save them from their violent dance. A breathtakingly gorgeous gothic fantasy about love and control that will never let you go. This spellbinding debut is perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber!
In the legendary ballet theatre of New Kora, the girls on stage enchant the audience each night with their grace and divine beauty. Before Emberlyn became the show’s star, it was her dream to become one of the ballerinas… until she learned the price of their living nightmare.
A curse has bound the girls to the show’s mastermind, Malcolm, so they must obey his every command. They are controlled by the magic’s invisible strings that has the power to wield their limbs like marionette dolls. Only the commands don’t stop when the curtain comes down, and the girls live a life of fear from Malcolm’s wickedness and the twisted truth that each dancer is destined to turn to dust when the curse finally consumes her.
When the troupe is invited to perform in the glitzy city of Parlizia, Emberlyn knows this could be her best chance to save them all. She meets an elusive boy made of shadows with a magical connection to the girls. Together, they work to unravel the haunting truth about their creation and fight for their survival. But the cost of freedom might be too high, and as she dances closer to the edge of darkness she realizes she might break the curse… or break her own heart forever.
August 5th
2. The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
Fantasy | Adult | Cozy Fantasy | Adventure | Historical Fiction
The beloved author of Holes presents his first adult novel, a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us.
Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.
The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.
When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?
3. A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning #2) by Ava Reid
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | Gothic | Mystery | Fae
Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology.
All stories come to an end.
Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.
But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?
With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.
As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.
Are dreams ever truly just dreams?
Read Book #1- A Study in Drowning
4. Accomplice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #3) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Fantasy | Adult | Romance | Humor | High Fantasy
Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.
REWARD OFFERED: Apprentice to The Villain wanted for treason (light), magical property damage (alleged), and one incident involving a weaponized scone (accurate). Frequently seen with a grumpy frog (crowned, judgmental). Answers to “Evie” or “Stop that.”
Evie Sage didn’t mean to become the right-hand woman to the kingdom’s most terrifying villain. One minute, she was applying for an entry-level position that promised “light paperwork and occasional beheadings,” and the next, she was knee-deep in magical mayhem, murder plots, and an entirely inappropriate crush on her brooding, sharp-jawed, walking disaster of a boss.
Now, with a magical prophecy unraveling, assassins showing up in the break room, and a suspicious amount of frogs wearing crowns, Evie has to figure out how to survive her job without setting the kingdom on fire—or her dignity, which is hanging by a very sarcastic thread.
Being evil-adjacent was never part of the five-year plan. But then again…neither was falling for The Villain.
A magical office comedy with grumpy bosses, snarky frogs, and definitely-not-feelings.
Read Book #1- Assistant to the Villain
5. Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | High Fantasy | Paranormal
"Like stepping into one of my favorite RPGs." - Susan Dennard, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series
An epic, multi-POV debut fantasy perfect for fans of The Bone Shard Daughter and Six of Crows, where a necromancer trying to resurrect her sister gets embroiled in bigger, world-ending plans instead.
Necromancer Azul del Arroyo only wants one thing: to steal her sister back from Death by reclaiming her sister’s bones. But the Emissary of the Lord Death will do anything to stop her, no matter how alluring he finds her . . .
As their paths collide, they’re drawn into a deadly game of pawns and power with a count who begrudgingly works for a child king, a faceless witch who transforms the bones of gods into dreams she can peddle, and a long-lost half-brother with a secret of his own—and soon realize the fate of the lands is hanging in the balance.
For long ago the gods raised the continents, binding them with their own bones to keep humanity alive. But in an era when the gods’ sacrifice has been forgotten, Death might not be the only resentful god Azul must defy.
Swashbuckling, grand, and tragically romantic, Mistress of Bones is a can't-miss start to a duology about love, loss, and, of course, death.
August 12th
6. Alchemy and a Cup of Tea (Tomes & Tea #4) by Rebecca Thorne
Fantasy | Adult | Cozy Fantasy | Pirates | LGBT
Reyna and Kianthe have no trouble ruling the Queendom, battling evil alchemists, and rescuing adorable baby dragons, but can they save their town from the ravening influx of.... tourists?!?
On the night of her kidnapping, all Reyna wanted was a relaxing cup of tea. She didn’t expect to be dropped in a hidden cell, but what the hells. She’s flexible.
When Kianthe “rescues” her wife, she expects they’ll be back at New Leaf having tea by noon. But there’s a problem: an alchemy circle marred Reyna’s cell. What does a radical group of alchemists want with the Queendom’s newest sovereign… and why did they think they could get away with this?
To make matters worse, Kianthe and Reyna’s hometown is having its own problems. Word of New Leaf Tomes and Tea―and its celebrity owners―has finally spread, and tourists are flooding into Tawney. As their friends struggle with the sudden influx, Kianthe and Reyna have to face a bigger conundrum than rogue alchemists: the fact that closing their bookshop might be the only way to save their town.
Things can’t just be simple, can they?
Read Book #1- Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
6. Blood Moon (Blood Moon #1) by Britney S. Lewis
Fantasy | Young Adult | Paranormal | Vampires | Romance | Werewolves
Eighteen-year-old Mirabella “Mira” Owens grew up in Timber Plains, Kansas hearing all about the local legend—that werewolves had, many years ago, traveled to their small Midwest town to protect humans from the growing threat of a vampire enclave. Just a story of course, a fairy tale, one Mira had stopped believing in when she was young—just like she stopped believing in the idea of her mom returning, after she up and left without a trace when she was only thirteen.
Mira is grown up now, starting freshman year at the nearby Lakeland University. College feels normal, exactly the thing she’s been craving most... except for one particular classmate: Julian Santos, a mysterious boy with long hair, golden eyes, and a coldness that seems directed exclusively at Mira for reasons she can’t understand and he won’t explain.
When Mira receives an unaddressed letter from her mother, she’s told the world isn’t as it seems. She suspects her mom might be telling the truth when she stumbles across strange animal tracks on a hiking trail, and when she’s miraculously saved from a twenty foot drop by the one and only, Julian Santos.
The problem? Julian would have had to jump the length of the cliff to catch her, making him incredibly fast and strong beyond belief. When she confronts him about this, he denies everything.
But when a Blood Moon rises, Mira soon finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient, magical war, with Julian on the other side of the line. She discovers there’s much more truth to the old town legends than she could ever have anticipated—and her family’s historic role in it will change her world forever.
BLOOD MOON is a dark and thrilling, intensely romantic ride, a fresh take on a werewolf love story for a new generation of paranormal romance readers, and is the first book in a series. It is set against a high-stakes paranormal backdrop—a world ripe with secret identities, rich supernatural lore, and a forbidden romance... that comes with a deadly bite.
7. Dream by the Shadows (The Shadow Weavers Duology #1) by Logan Karlie
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romantasy | Gothic | Enemies to Lovers
For fans of One Dark Window and Belladonna comes a darkly beautiful Gothic fantasy about a soul-stealing dream curse, a villain who fights for redemption, and a romance carved from the darkest of shadows.
In the Kingdom of Noctis, dreams are deadly and darkness reigns.
For nineteen-year-old Esmer Havenfall, life is nothing but a series of loss and misfortune at the hands of the wicked Shadow Bringer, a cruel creature who haunts dreams and corrupts souls:
1) Her sister is dead.
2) Her future is bleak and without prospects.
3) Her village is tormented by demons that prey on dreams — and so is she.
To make matters worse, Esmer is unexpectedly accused of betraying her kingdom and promptly banished to the Shadow Bringer's monster-infested castle. While there, Esmer must face both her inner darkness and the villain she hates to ensure her own survival. Even more vexing is the fact that his powers speak to something within her — and she can wield them, too.
But as her initial hatred for the Shadow Bringer melts into something more passionate, drawing her closer to truths she never thought possible, Esmer realizes they might be the only ones left who stand a chance at conquering the evil plaguing their kingdom. Unfortunately, time is running out — even as they traverse a precarious dreamscape and outwit the demons that haunt it, rushing to unravel a centuries-old curse, more dreamers are falling prey to corruption and dying.
If they succeed, Esmer and the Shadow Bringer will rewrite history and forge a new future for their kingdom. But if they fail, they'll be lost to the Dream Realm forever.
Be careful what you dream of . . .
8. Woven From Clay by Jenny Birch
Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance | Contemporary | Mythology | Magic
In this fresh and imaginative contemporary fantasy, a golem must master the magic that binds her together and finds an unexpected ally in the mysterious boy sent to ensure her demise.
Terra Slater might not know anything about her birth family or where she comes from, but that’s never stopped her, and she fully intends her senior year to be her best yet. Until the dark and mysterious Thorne Wilder―a magical bounty hunter―moves to town, bringing revelations that wreck all of her plans.
When Terra learns she is a golem, not born but crafted from mud and magic by a warlock, her world is upended. Worse, Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her, is a fugitive, on the run from the witches who want to hold him accountable for his past crimes. But Quill’s sentence is death, which would unravel the threads of magic that hold Terra―and all of the other golems that he crafted―together.
Desperate to save herself and her friends, Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and his coven to preserve the warlock’s life and his magic. If she can prove her worth to the coven by mastering the magic within her, the golems will survive. If she can’t, they’ll perish along with Cyrus. As Thorne helps her to see and manipulate the tapestry of magic that surrounds them, their unexpected alliance evolves into something more and Terra comes to understand the depths of her magic, her humanity, and her love for the people most important to her.
August 19th
9. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
Fantasy | Adult | Horror | Fairytale | Snow White Retelling | Mystery
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind
Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.
Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.
But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.
Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.
Or it might be the thing that kills them all.
10. Once a Villain (Monsters #3) by Vanessa Len
Fantasy | Young Adult | Time Travel | Paranormal | Fantasy Romance
The final book in the lauded Only a Monster trilogy is here—where the unstoppable love and high stakes of Divine Rivals meets the propulsive thrills of This Savage Song in a last-ditch, breathless race against time.
Joan has failed to stop Eleanor.
Now Eleanor rules over a cruel new timeline where monsters live openly among humans, preying on them and subjugating them.
Nick—once a hero to humans, and Joan’s first love—is tormented by the choice he made to save her over the timeline itself. And Aaron—the ruthless heir to a powerful monster family—now finds himself in a world where monsters have power beyond imagining while his feelings for Joan grow.
Wrenched between love and rivalry, the three of them must negotiate their fractured pasts to survive the new world and restore what was lost. Because only they remember that there was once a better timeline.
But how will they defeat a whole world of monsters with control over time itself?
11. The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D'Amato
Fantasy | New Adult | Paranormal Romance | Vampires | Urban Fantasy | College | LGBT
Heartstopper meets Buffy in this queer paranormal rom-com where a college freshman must navigate suddenly becoming a vampire, the underground society he's now part of, and the cute boy who discovers his secret.
It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for.
Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good” vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks” near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had.
Filled with humor and heart, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends has a gentle bite.
12. Lady Dragon by A.M. Strickland
Fantasy | Young Adult | LGBT | Dragons | Romantasy
Rachel Hartman's Seraphina meets The Priory of the Orange Tree in Lady Dragon, a sapphic YA romantasy from A.M. Strickland.
The age of queens is over . . . unless they can save it..
Since the last war between humans and dragons left the leaders of both species slain—the last human king of Andrath and the legendary dragon queen—both queendoms have been living under a tentative truce: only women will sit on the throne of Andrath, the dragons will have free passage through the human lands . . . and if men ever try to retake the throne, the draconic realm will retaliate.
Samansa and Kirek are two new leaders coming of age in war-scarred lands—Samansa a reluctant human princess and Kirek the favored contender for the draconic queenship. Per tradition, Kirek must undergo the distasteful task of using a mysterious gem called the Heartstone to shift into human form and maintain the strained ties between the species . . . and study human weaknesses, a new and secret task she’s been given by her queen. As the princess and the dragon girl grow closer, they are sent to investigate a potential breach of the treaty and encounter a plot that could reignite an even bloodier war. While fighting to maintain the peace their ancestors fought for and uncovering centuries-old secrets, Samansa and Kirek must grapple with betraying their clashing nations . . . or their unexpected feelings for each other.
August 27th
13. Sails and Sirens by Cynthia Brubaker
Fantasy | Little Mermaid Retelling
Love grows with the tide–and can destroy like a tidal wave.
The Seven Kingdoms are under threat. Sea Hunters, descendants of Pirates, are slaughtering sirens and sea creatures alike. Siren Princess Eliana Leilani of Cerulia is tasked with going to the surface with her little sister, Elara, in an attempt to infiltrate the college campus, where the suspected Hunters dwell. Little does Eliana know that uncovering the Sea Hunters responsible for the attacks on her people would change everything she’s ever known, both about her world and herself.
Will Sawyer is a ruthless Sea Hunter, fighting alongside his father and younger brother, Aidan, to protect unsuspecting humans from the wrath of supernatural entities. He holds a dark grudge against sirens–they killed his grandfather in cold blood. Hunting and sailing are his only sources of solace–until he meets Eliana. He is instantly beguiled by her, tumbling head over heels, with disastrous consequences.
Tensions rise when the Siren Kingdoms and Hunter Association encounter an even larger threat than they can handle. Family bonds will be tested, worldviews will be challenged, and love will prove to be an unbreakable force–or used as a weapon for revenge.
August 28th
14. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Fantasy | Adult | Mythology | Historical Fiction | Fantasy Romance | Academia | Hell
Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.
Make sure you add the ones you like to your TBR pile! Which ones do you like the look of? Let me know in the comments☺️
