Dragons and Thrones Fantasy Novels
From kingdoms to fire-breathers
For fans of Game of Thrones and Fourth Wing these books need to make your TBR list now! Mostly composed of new books from 2023 and 2024, but we've added some favorites that you may have missed from a few years back. These are the dragons and thrones fantasy books you want to get your hands on. Because let's be real…. Game of Thrones, ACOTAR and Fourth Wing, left us NEEDING more! Either you already loved fantasy or those books got you into fantasy, it's a genre and theme you are ready to fully lean into.
Discover more far off kingdoms. Feel the heat from the fiery breathe of dragons. Questions the supreme Queen's decisions. Hope for a better tomorrow where there's equal justice for all the lands.
Do you sense the next adventure? Because it's here, in this Dragons and Thrones Fantasy book list below!
A Day of Fallen Night
by Samantha Shannon
"A magnificent, sweeping epic. Shannon has created a world rich in intricate mythology, beautifully realized and complex." Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.
The Wild Ways
by Tanya Huff
"The Gales are an amazing family, the aunts will strike fear into your heart, and the characters Allie meets are both charming and terrifying." -#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris
Alysha Gale's cousin Charlotte is a Wild Power, who allies herself with a family of Selkies in a fight against offshore oil drilling. The oil company has hired another of the Gale family's Wild Powers, the fearsome Auntie Catherine, to steal the Selkies' sealskins. To defeat her, Charlotte will have to learn what born to be Wild really means in the Gale family...
When Women Were Dragons
by Kelly Barnhill
A GOODREADS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A fiery feminist fantasy tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman's place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.
In the first adult novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Ogress and The Orphans, Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex's beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn't know. It's taboo to speak of.
Fourth Wing
by Rebecca Yarros
A #1 New York Times bestseller - Optioned for TV by Amazon Studios - Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 - Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 - Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 - NPR "Books We Love" 2023 - Audible Best Books of 2023 - Hudson Book of the Year - Google Play Best Books of 2023 - Indigo Best Books of 2023 - Waterstones Book of the Year finalist - Goodreads Choice Award, semi-finalist - Newsweek Staffers' Favorite Books of 2023 - Paste Magazine's Best Books of 2023
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general--also known as her tough-as-talons mother--has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you're smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don't bond to "fragile" humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother's daughter--like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She'll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Gilded
by Marissa Meyer
In Gilded, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer returns to the fairytale world with this haunting tale.
Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller's daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue. Or so everyone believes.
When one of Serilda's outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her... for a price. Love isn't meant to be part of the bargain.
To Shape A Dragon's Breath: The First Book of Nampeshiweisit
by Moniquill Blackgoose
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, PopSugar, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, She Reads, Autostraddle
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations--until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon's egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit--a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising--and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
Dragon Champion
by E E Knight
From the national bestselling author of the Vampire Earth series comes the first novel in an epic fantasy saga where dragons struggle to survive in an age of fire...
High in the mountains, deep in the safety of a cave, a brood of dragons is born. The four young ones are among the last of a dying breed--the last hope for dragons' survival. But hope shatters when a murderous group of slave-trader dwarves breaks into the cave, leaving a wake of death and destruction...
Only young Auron, a rare, defenseless gray dragon, manages to escape. Armed with nothing but his claws and a boundless determination to survive, he sets off in search of his kind. But to find other dragons--or, at least, find out who's killing them off--Auron will have to search a world of mercenary elves, vicious humans, and dangers of all kinds. Finding allies in the strangest places--and finding himself along the way--Auron is about to make the trek of a lifetime.
Eragon: Book I
by Christopher Paolini
A new adventure hatches in Book One of the Inheritance Cycle, perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings! This New York Times bestselling series has sold over 40 million copies and is an international fantasy sensation.
When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save--or destroy--the Empire.
The Familiar
by Leigh Bardugo
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen--and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
The Encanto's Daughter
by Melissa de la Cruz
A young woman claims the throne of a realm inspired by Filipino mythology in this YA romantic fantasy, the first in an enchanting new duet by #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.
MJ Rodriguez has spent her life hiding in the human world, keeping a heavy secret: She's half-encanto. As the only child of King Vivencio of the Sirena Court, she's also next in line for the throne. And now, upon her estranged father's sudden death, MJ must claim her place as rightful heir.
In wondrous Biringan, the road to the throne is paved with thorns. Without a reigning monarch, the realm has spiraled into disarray. MJ has to win over a backstabbing council that objects to a half-human ruler. And when it looks like her father's passing wasn't natural but possibly inflicted by a curse, she must hunt down the sorceress behind this merciless magic.
This Woven Kingdom
by Tahereh Mafi
New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people--Tahereh Mafi's first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.
To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.
The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can't put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom--and the world.
The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
by Anna Bright
In this gorgeous stand-alone fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales--as two princes vie for her heart.
Magic is fading from Wales--choked off by King Offa's Dyke, the enemy earthworks that spans the entire border. Even the dragons have disappeared. And now an attack is imminent.
So Let Them Burn
by Kamilah Cole
An INSTANT National Bestseller!
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She's a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she's forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn't expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon--or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
Road of the Lost
by Nafiza Azad
Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince, this gorgeous young adult fantasy follows a girl who discovers she's spent her life under an enchantment hiding her true identity on her quest into the magical Otherworld to unlock her powers and discover her destiny.
Even the most powerful magic can't hide a secret forever.
Croi is a brownie, glamoured to be invisible to humans. Her life in the Wilde Forest is ordinary and her magic is weak--until the day that her guardian gives Croi a book about magick from the Otherworld, the world of the Higher Fae. Croi wakes the next morning with something pulling at her core, summoning her to the Otherworld. It's a spell she cannot control or break.
Sword and Shadow
by Michelle Sagara
Beyond the Emperor's law
In the city of Elantra, the law is upheld by a few groups, and the most feared are the Wolves--the Emperor's executioners. The newest member of this elite force is Severn Handred.
Granted a leave of absence to pursue information about his unknown past, Severn joins a mission to an enclave well outside the boundaries of the Empire. And he will be in danger the entire time. Still, the instincts that led him to the Wolves and the sense of duty that keeps him there can't be discarded as easily as the tabard he wears.
While he's in the heart of the West March, enmeshed in a tangled web of mysteries that have been held for centuries, Severn's belief in justice is going to be tested. It's one mortal man and his single ally against a community of immortals who will kill to keep their secrets. But they don't know who they're up against.
Consort of Fire
by Kit Rocha
From cult-favorite writing duo Kit Rocha comes a fiery novel set in a lush fantasy world brimming with ancient magic, dangerous secrets, and erotic connections.
For three thousand years, an ancient dragon god has protected the borders of the Sheltered Lands. In return, he makes only one demand: every one hundred years, the mortal ruler must send their heir to serve as his consort...for as long as they can survive.
Sachielle of House Roquebarre is the thirty-first consort to be sacrificed to the monster who guards the mountain passes. She is young, beautiful--and she has three secrets.
First: she's a disposable orphan trained in seduction.
Second: her handmaid, Zanya, is an assassin and the only person she has ever loved.
The King's Blood
by Daniel Abraham
War and madness cast shadows over the lands dragons once ruled.
Geder Palliako's star is rising. He is a hero of Antea, protector to the crown prince, and darling of the court. But storms from his past are gathering, and with them, a war that will change everything.
Cithrin bel Sarcour founded a powerful bank on stolen wealth, forged papers, and ready blades. Now every move she makes is observed, recorded, and controlled. Unless Cithrin can free herself from her gilded cage, the life she made will be for naught; war may provide just the opportunity she needs.
An apostate priest sees the hidden hand behind all: a long-buried secret of the dragon empire threatens everything humanity has built. An age of madness and death approaches, with only a few doomed heroes to stand in its way.
The Cruelest Mercy
by Natalie Mae
In this sequel to The Kinder Poison--which People magazine proclaimed a "delicious high-stakes adventure"--the magical kingdom of Orkena is on the brink of war, and the only person who can save it is Zahru, the girl they once doomed to death.
After surviving the Crossing, Zahru has sworn off adventures. While Crown Prince Jet navigates the looming threat of war, she's content to simply figure out what the future holds for them. But they're dealt a devastating blow when prince Kasta returns with a shocking claim: he's the true winner of the Crossing and the rightful heir, and he bears the gods' mark as proof. Even more surprising--he's not the only one.
Somehow, Zahru possesses the very same mark, giving her equal right to the throne. The last thing she wants is to rule beside her would-be executioner, but she can't let Orkena fall into his merciless hands. So Zahru, Jet, and their allies must race against the clock to find a way to stop Kasta, because once he's crowned, there's no telling what horrors he'll unleash to win the war.
Zahru will do whatever it takes to keep Kasta from taking the throne...but to stop a villain, is she willing to become one herself?
Ebony Gate: The Phoenix Hoard
by Julia Vee - Ken Bebelle
A CALIBA 2023 Golden Poppy Book Award Finalist
Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle's Ebony Gate is a female John Wick story with dragon magic set in contemporary San Francisco's Chinatown.
Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she's drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume.
The Discord of Gods
by Jenn Lyons
THEIR CONFLICT COULD END THEM ALL.
Relos Var's final plans to enslave the universe are on the cusp of fruition. He believes there's only one being in existence that might be able to stop him: the demon Xaltorath.
As these two masterminds circle each other, neither is paying attention to the third player on the board, Kihrin. Unfortunately, keeping himself classified in the 'pawn' category means Kihrin must pretend to be everything the prophecies threatened he'd become: the destroyer of all, the sun eater, a mindless, remorseless plague upon the land. It also means finding an excuse to not destroy the people he loves (or any of the remaining Immortals) without arousing suspicion.
The Keeper's Six
by Kate Elliott
You never stop worrying about your kids, even when they're adults. Kate Elliott's action-packed The Keeper's Six features a world-hopping, bad-ass, spell-slinging mother who sets out to rescue her kidnapped adult son from a dragon lord with everything to lose.
It's been a year since Esther set foot in the Beyond, the alien landscape stretching between worlds, crossing boundaries of space and time. She and her magical traveling party--her Hex--haven't spoken since the Concilium banned them from the Beyond for a decade. But when she wakes in the middle of the night to her grown son's cry for help, the members of her Hex are the only ones she can trust to help her bring him back from wherever he has been taken.
Witch King
by Martha Wells
Nominated for the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel
"I didn't know you were a... demon."
"You idiot. I'm the demon."
Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....
After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai's magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.
But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?
Together We Burn
by Isabel Ibañez
An ancient city plagued by dragons
Eighteen-year-old Zarela Zalvidar is a talented flamenco dancer and daughter of the most famous Dragonador in Hispalia. People come for miles to see him fight in their arena, which will one day be hers. But disaster strikes during one celebratory show, and in the carnage, Zarela's life changes in an instant.
A flamenco dancer who must become a dragon hunter to save her family legacy.