13 Best New Fantasy Books Releasing This Fall/Winter

Published Sep 13, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Hannah is a senior writer and self-publisher at ScreenRant. There, she focuses on writing news, features, and list-style articles about all things comics, books, anime, and manga. She works as a freelance writer in the entertainment industry, focusing on video games, anime, and literature. Her published works can be found on Screen Rant, FinanceBuzz, She Reads, and She Writes. Fall and winter 2026 are shaping up to be an unusually strong stretch for fantasy readers, with major releases spanning dark academia, romantasy, epic fantasy, illustrated faerie tales, and even adaptations of beloved games. The schedule is packed with established authors returning to popular worlds, alongside ambitious new series that could become the next major obsession. From the conclusion of Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House trilogy to Brandon Sanderson's latest Cosmere standalone, these books offer plenty of reasons to keep a bookmark handy through the end of the year. Whether the priority is dragons, morally complicated heroes, dangerous magic, or a romance with catastrophic consequences, there is a major fantasy release arriving almost every week. Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo September 15, 2026 Leigh Bardugo's Dead Beat is the highly anticipated third and final installment in the Ninth House trilogy, bringing Alex Stern's Yale nightmare to its explosive conclusion. The 496-page novel finds demons moving through New Haven and the Yale campus after Alex leaves the door to Hell open, while the corrupt Lethe Board and a deadly vampire create additional threats. The biggest draw is seeing Alex reunite with allies including Dawes, Turner, Mercy, Tripp, and Darlington for what Bardugo promises to be their most dangerous battle yet. Darlington's return is particularly important, as he is now back in the flesh and carrying dangerous powers of his own. The Emperor's Enemy by Jasmine Mas September 15, 2026 Jasmine Mas follows Blood of Hercules with The Emperor's Enemy, the first book in the new Unsurvivable Love Duet. The 448-page dark romantasy centers on Zora Ravenal, a hardened hunter who joins the Crimson Army to destroy the empire and eventually becomes a Knight Mage, one of the Commonwealth's most formidable defenders. Her greatest problem is Aleksander, the divinely ordained Emperor and Royal Mage determined to capture her. The story deliberately embraces enemies-to-lovers tension while placing Zora in a much more active role than the usual damsel-in-distress heroine. Even better, Aleksander's obsession does not stop Zora from hunting him back. The Mirror of Infinite Endings by Stephanie Garber September 22, 2026 Stephanie Garber's The Mirror of Infinite Endings returns readers to the Magnificent North and the world of Once Upon a Broken Heart. Jacks and Evangeline Fox have supposedly reached their happily ever after, but Garber immediately signals that something is wrong. The 256-page companion features more than 20 full-page illustrations by Lotusbubble. The book is especially enticing for readers who miss the series' elaborate fairy-tale atmosphere. Garber promises cameos from familiar characters and another story built around the unsettling idea that every fairy tale might contain infinite endings, giving this installment a playful opportunity to revisit beloved characters without simply repeating the original trilogy. Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher September 29, 2026 T. Kingfisher takes on one of Baldur's Gate 3's most recognizable characters in this 272-page dark fantasy adventure focused entirely on Astarion Ancunin. Before becoming the charming vampire spawn players know, Astarion was a magistrate forced into servitude under the vampire lord Cazador Szarr, where even survival required him to hunt for blood. The novel gives Kingfisher room to explore the character's centuries of captivity outside the structure of the game itself. When Cazador announces a twisted competition, Astarion sees a possible path toward freedom, eventually forming an unlikely alliance around a rare prize. It promises the gothic humor and unsettling fantasy sensibility that fit both author and character. Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros September 29, 2026 Rebecca Yarros' Threshing Day returns to the brutal world of Basgiath with thirteen stories centered on the defining day when dragon riders are chosen. Rather than continuing Violet and Xaden's story after Onyx Storm, this companion collection revisits Threshing Day through different perspectives, including Xaden's, offering a broader look at the Empyrean world. That structure makes the collection particularly appealing to readers who want more context for characters who were previously seen only briefly. Threshing Day will also deepen the series' military-college setting by showing how different riders experienced the same dangerous milestone, while preserving the battle, violence, peril, and romance that define Yarros' dragon-rider fantasy. The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V. L. Bovalino September 29, 2026 V. L. Bovalino's The Thief and the Traitor Bride is a standalone romantic fantasy set in the world of The Second Death of Locke. The 592-page story follows Nore Gordon, a skilled spy masquerading as a wine merchant, who is assigned to infiltrate enemy territory and recover a powerful relic. Unfortunately for Nore, the thief she needs is Caspian, her estranged husband. The mission forces the former couple to pretend they are happily married, creating a delicious combination of espionage, forced proximity, deception, and unresolved resentment. Since Caspian has betrayed Nore before, rebuilding trust may be more dangerous than stealing the relic itself. Victorious by V. E. Schwab October 6, 2026 V. E. Schwab finally brings the Villains trilogy to an end with Victorious, the third novel following Vicious and Vengeful. The 592-page Tor hardcover returns to Victor Vale and Eli Ever, once best friends and now bitter enemies, as their long-running conflict reaches its decisive stage. Schwab's superhero-inspired fantasy has always been interested in the moral distance between heroes and villains, and Victorious promises to push that question into its final confrontation. Allies and archrivals are drawn onto a strange chessboard against an unexpected opponent, giving the series one last opportunity to turn its complicated loyalties and supernatural rivalries upside down. The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman October 13, 2026 Christopher Buehlman's The Thrice-Bound Fool is the next installment in the fantasy adventure series that began with The Blacktongue Thief. The 384-page sequel puts professional thief Kinch Na Shannack in an especially strange predicament: he must decipher a stolen sentient book that actively tries to kill him whenever he opens it. Kinch is not facing the magical tome alone. Galva, a veteran of the goblin wars, has sworn to protect him because the book may contain the secrets needed to defeat the shadowy forces threatening the queen she serves. With the Taker's Guild pursuing them, the pair must leave the known world behind. A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas October 27, 2026 Sarah J. Maas returns to Prythian with A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The 352-page novel begins as Koschei the Deathless stirs after being trapped for millennia, while powerful allies gather around him and the human territories once again face a devastating threat. The danger is not only external. The Night Court is dealing with betrayals and revelations that have fractured relationships just as Prythian attempts to recover from the Hybern War. Maas' latest installment combines the series' familiar political intrigue and romance with a larger question about whether old alliances can survive when trust has already been shattered. Defy the Dusk by Danielle L. Jensen November 3, 2026 Danielle L. Jensen launches The Sundering Duet with Defy the Dusk, a 672-page post-apocalyptic fantasy about a world where darkness has become lethal. Twenty years earlier, Lirien's magic fractured the world and unleashed nocturnal creatures that nearly destroyed civilization. The survivors now face a brutal choice: follow the dawn or confront what comes after sunset. Lirien has spent years using her magic to support Dawnrider, a high-speed refuge for powerful survivors, while secretly plotting against the tyrant controlling it. Jensen combines survival horror, relentless action, world-ending magic, and a forbidden slow-burn romance, making this a promising choice for readers who prefer romantasy with a much harsher post-apocalyptic edge.