Some of my favorite fantasy books of 2025
By the time August wrapped up, I had finished 33 books and DNF’d five others. I have so many from this year that I deeply love or loathe, and a few that I just found “meh” (which is the worst to me TBH). Out of all of them, though, the top five that I can't stop talking, thinking, dreaming, and breathing about are The Phoenix King, An Ember in the Ashes, A Song to Drown Rivers, Spark of the Everflame, and Fireborne.
The Phoenix King centers on Princess Elena as she is about to inherit her father’s throne while trying to master fire magic (or her lack of) and fall in love with a literal assassin that she is very much not engaged to. At one point, Elena sets people on fire who piss her off. That should be all you need to know, honestly…
An Ember in the Ashes… let me tell you something… I have put off reading this book for years because I knew I would love it too much. I knew it would break me and make me scream. I was told countless times that this book is a masterclass in writing revolutions and overthrowing the government. TikTok didn’t lie, and now I hate everything because I still haven’t had the time to buy and read book two.
A Song to Drown Rivers made me bawl my stupid eyes out. I don’t want to spoil it so you get the full experience, but just know, my Lexapro almost failed me that day because I felt real tears in my eyes for the first time in months. It is inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. If you are familiar with this legend, hopefully you’ll enjoy it. If not, I recommend avoiding learning about it to avoid spoilers.
Spark of the Everflame, unfortunately, has a “Shadow Daddy” in it, which I’m not a fan of, but this one, he can stay. He’s a good man, Savannah. To be honest, while it is marketed and categorized as a romantasy, I would argue it is more of a romantic fantasy, or just a fantasy with good romance. The politics are there, the world-building is fleshed out well, and the characters are unique. The romance doesn’t suffocate the rest of the story, and in fact, if they erased that part of the story, there would still be something there to talk about. It is a classic slow-burn, tear the government down but accidentally gain some power in the process and realize everything isn’t what it seems, kinda story, but I was super hooked the entire time.
Fireborne is what Fourth Wing wishes it was. There, I said it. Dragon-riding school, secret identities, rebels with a cause, corrupt government, and dragons, dragons, dragons. It’s amazing and so well done.
Each of these books is perfection in its own way, and all have themes of justice, feminism, female rage, the dangers of totalitarianism, and the ramifications of blind hatred hiding as a true revolution.
Have you read any of these? If so, which one is your favorite? And can someone please discuss The Phoenix King and An Ember in the Ashes with me? Those books are like giant brain worms that have taken over my thoughts, and I need more people to read them so I can scream about it all with others!
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