Stories of fae are ancient but they are still being reimagined by authors today. I love books with fae and I’m immediately interested if I hear a book has fae in it. Books with fae are magical and adventurous and take place in captivating worlds. One of my favorite series has fae in it which leads me to the first book on my list:
1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
This is an 8 book series that quickly made it on my list of favorite books. It follows an assassin who’s in a competition to become the King’s Champion. As you go through the books, you realize that the competition is only the start and the story is so much more than that. The first book only hints at the magic in the world. As you dive deeper into the story you meet the fae and uncover the hidden secrets of the world. It is a bit of a commitment but I highly recommend reading this series.
Synopsis
Lethal. Loyal. Legendary.
Enter the world of Throne of Glass with the first book in the #1 bestselling series by Sarah J. Maas.
In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not come to kill him. She has come to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three murderers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King’s Champion.
Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a faraway country will befriend her. But something rotten dwells in the castle, and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying mysteriously, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival—and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
2. Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
This is a new release that I am very much looking forward to reading. It has both elves and fae in it. It follows two elven sisters who discover the secret world of the fae after being exiled.
Synopsis
Yeeran was born on the battlefield, has lived on the battlefield, and one day, she knows, she’ll die on the battlefield.
As a warrior in the elven army, Yeeran has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future.
When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, both sisters are forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders.
There they encounter the impossible: the fae court. The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world, torn among their loyalties to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts.
3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
This is a much darker fae series. The world is dangerous and not easy for a human to live in like the main character does. It follows most of the myths about the fae so if you eat the fruit you could quite literally be dancing for the rest of your life. Nonetheless, I loved this enemies-to-lovers series and highly recommend it.
Synopsis
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
4. These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
This is another book I’m really looking forward to reading. It is a magical story featuring a deal with the king and a love triangle.
Synopsis
Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.
Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie’s only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.
Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart.
5. Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
I’m really looking forward to reading this series. It has a dangerous magic school with dragons, vampires, fae and more which is all I need to hear. As a twin myself, I love reading books with twins… as long as it’s not a tragic twin story. I also love that there are 12 books in the series so if you get hooked you will have plenty of stories to read in this world!
Synopsis
I’m a Gemini. Impulsive. Curious. Headstrong. A twin. Heir to a throne I know nothing about. And it turns out, I’m Fae.
But of course there’s a catch – all I have to do to claim my birth right is prove that I’m the most powerful supernatural in the whole of Solaria. And sure, technically that’s true as I’m the daughter of the Savage King. But the bit they didn’t put in the brochure was that every single Fae in this Kingdom would claim my throne if they could.
The school they’ve sent me to is both dangerous as sh*t and one helluva party. Vampires bite weaker students in the corridors, the Werewolf pack has orgies in the Wailing Wood at every full moon and don’t even get me started on the dark and twisted ways the Sirens use their powers on people’s emotions, or how my sinfully tempting Cardinal Magic teacher hosts detentions that leave people needing therapy.
Classes are totally interesting if you manage to live through them. And that Gemini star sign I mentioned? It now determines my elemental magic and affects my destiny, so learning astrology is essential if I’m going to beat down my classmates – which is actively encouraged by the way.
My biggest problem is the drool worthy Dragon shifter who has his eyes on my throne. He and his three psycho friends are determined to make my time here hell.
All I’ve got to do is survive. But fate might have other ideas.
Dammit, why couldn’t I have gotten a letter to Hogwarts?
6. Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
This books sounds so heartwarming and perfect for a cozy time. Emily appears to be a super relatable character as she’s not good with people and prefers books over people. She somehow manages to fall in love with her rival after moving to a new place. Along the way she discovers the magic of faeries in the forest outside of town. This seems like a different kind of fae but I am all for it.
Synopsis
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart.
7. Court of Winter by Krista Street
Being locked in a castle with a lethal but beautiful prince makes this book intriguing. The prince may have stolen everything she knows, but she has to decide to either join forces with him or watch the kingdom go to war.
Synopsis
Being a defective marks me in the eyes of the Solis Fae.
Wingless. Magicless. Weak.
To my kind, I’m nothing—not when strength is needed to survive the perpetual snow and ice that shrouds our northern continent in endless winter.
But I’ve persevered, living a meaningful yet simple life with my sister . . . until the hated Crown Prince of the Winter Court thunders into our village.
Prince Norivun’s massive black wings and potent magic cloud my senses and steal my breath. He’s beautiful yet brutal, so when he whisks me away and locks me in his castle I’m certain my death is tomorrow’s promise.
Yet my end doesn’t come, not when the prince looks at me with hunger in his gaze while revealing the true reason for my abduction.
Now I’m faced with an impossible choice—either join forces with the hated prince who’s robbed me of everything I love or watch our kingdom start a devastating war.
8. Frost by C.N. Crawford
Ava seems to be having a terrible time when the King comes and offers her a bargain. Ava thinks she has nothing to lose and agrees to enter a tournament. Turns out she could lose her life but she gets to hang out with the sexy Seelie King so really it’s a win. Everything about this book sounds intriguing and I can’t wait to read it.
Synopsis
On the worst birthday of my life, I come home to find my boyfriend in bed with another woman. Within hours, I’m drunk, homeless, and pledging to stay single forever. And that is when the dangerously sexy Seelie King rolls through town, looking for fae like me.
Every generation, the king holds a competition for Seelie queen. But for reasons he won’t explain, Torin is looking for a charade, not a real marriage. So when I drunkenly sling insults his way, I have his attention.
When Torin offers me fifty million to participate, I think, “What have I got to lose?” The answer turns out to be “my life,” because my competition will literally kill for the crown.
And the more time I spend with the seductive king, the harder it becomes to remember it’s all supposed to be fake. Now, my life—and my heart—are on the line.