12 hand-picked fantasy and female protagonist books curated by NextBookAfter.
For fans of Two Twisted Crowns' atmospheric dark fantasy and slow-burn romance, A Dawn of Onyx offers a captivating tale of a healer captured in a war-torn kingdom, blending intricate magic, forbidden attraction, and high-stakes intrigue in a richly built world.
If you loved the shadowy intrigue and supernatural persuasion at Drayton College, this book delivers a similarly atmospheric dark academia vibe with witchcraft, moral quandaries, and queer undertones in an elite boarding school setting.
For fans of Hell Bent's dark academia and supernatural mysteries, A Study in Drowning offers a haunting tale of folklore, mental health struggles, and uncovering hidden truths in a crumbling estate, blending atmospheric tension with a fierce female protagonist's quest for redemption.
This gripping YA fantasy echoes the thrilling quests and moral ambiguities of Northern Lights, with a fierce young heroine navigating oppression, alliances, and hidden truths in a brutal empire, blending high-stakes adventure with themes of resistance and identity.
For fans of One Dark Window's gothic atmosphere and a heroine grappling with inner darkness, Belladonna delivers a haunting tale of spectral visions, forbidden romance, and unraveling mysteries in a crumbling manor.
For fans of Katabasis's blend of cultural mythology, witty banter, and journeys through supernatural realms, Black Water Sister offers a fresh take on ancestral spirits and modern rivalries in a Malaysian Chinese underworld of gods and ghosts, emphasizing queer identity and familial redemption.
For fans of One Dark Window's atmospheric dark fantasy and slow-burn romance, For the Wolf offers a haunting fairy tale retelling with a fierce heroine navigating cursed woods, ancient magic, and forbidden desires that echo themes of destiny and inner strength.
For fans of Wicked's sympathetic villain origin story and moral complexity, Malice offers a queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty that flips the script on fairy tale tropes, exploring prejudice, power, and forbidden love through the eyes of a misunderstood enchantress.
For fans of Hamingje's atmospheric Norse magic and themes of healing from trauma, Pet delivers a plot-adjacent tale of uncovering hidden monsters in a utopian world, blending magical realism with queer identity exploration and found-family bonds.
For fans of A Novel Love Story's blend of magical realism and small-town romance, Starling House offers a gothic twist on healing through mysterious discoveries and slow-burn connections in an enchanting yet eerie setting.
For fans of Wild Seed's immortal power struggles and feminist explorations of race and survival, The Salt Roads offers a mesmerizing blend of historical fantasy and spiritual resilience, following women across time bound by a divine force amid colonialism and enslavement.
For fans of Ninth House's blend of dark academia and occult mysteries, Vita Nostra offers a mind-bending dive into a secretive institute where education unlocks terrifying metaphysical powers, echoing the trauma and intrigue of elite magical worlds without retreading Yale's secret societies.