10 Best Fantasy Books with Female Protagonists Shining Bright!
Hey there, folks! Are you tired of the same old macho hero in every fantasy novel you pick up? Looking to plunge headfirst into mystical and magical realms, but with a change of scenery and a heroine who knows her way around a sword or maybe even a spell or two? Then buckle up, because you're on the right ride!
We're here to introduce you to a world that's more than just dragons, dwarfs, and kings. It's time to turn the page (pun intended) on your typical fantasy stereotype, and see the world through an empowering female lens. After all, who says only guys get to slay monsters and come home with the treasure?
We've done the heavy reading for you, sifting through enough dusty pages to fill a dragon’s lair, to bring you ten of the most enchanting and enthralling fantasy books that feature the badass heroines you deserve. These tales of adventure, courage, and self-discovery, all spearheaded by forces-of-nature female characters, will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Trust us: you won't be able to put these ones down. Grab your cup of tea or coffee, get comfortable, and get ready to meet your new literary best friends... and maybe a few dragons. Dive right in!
『Throne of Glass』
After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Author | Sarah J. Maas |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing USA |
Release Date | May 07, 2013 |
Source | Google Books |
『Graceling』
Discover the Graceling Realm in this unforgettable, award-winning novel from bestselling author Kristin Cashore A New York Times bestseller ALA Best Book for Young Adults Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and BCCB Best Book of the Year "Rageful, exhilarating, wistful in turns" (The New York Times Book Review) with "a knee weakening romance" (LA Times). Graceling is a thrilling, action-packed fantasy adventure that will resonate deeply with anyone trying to find their way in the world. Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, who is smart and beautiful and lives in the Seven Kingdoms where selected people are born with a Grace, a special talent that can be anything at all. Katsa's Grace is killing. As the king's niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his brutal enforcer. Until the day she meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, and Katsa's life begins to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. Awards: Winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature, winner of the SIBA Book Award/YA, Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2008 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, 2008 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Amazon.com's Best Books of 2008, 2008 Booklist Editors' Choice, Booklist's 2008 Top Ten First Novels for Youth, 2009 Amelia Bloomer List, BCCB 2009 Blue Ribbon List And don't miss the sequel Fire and companion Bitterblue, both award-winning, New York Times bestsellers, and full of Kristin Cashore's elegant, evocative prose and unforgettable characters.
Author | Kristin Cashore |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Release Date | Jan 01, 2008 |
Source | Google Books |
『Champion of Fate』
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake comes a new epic duology following a young woman’s training to shepherd a princely hero to victory. Perfect for fans of Alexandra Bracken and Stephanie Garber. The Aristene are an elusive order of immortal female warriors. To be championed by them is to become a legend. They are the Heromakers. As an orphan raised by the order, Reed has always dreamed of taking her place beside her sisters-in-arms. To do that, she must to guide her first hero to victory. Nothing is going to stop Reed. Until, that is, she meets her assigned hero – the fiery and infuriating Hestion. But what begins as a strategic alliance turns into something more and she starts to question the true cost of becoming an Aristene. With battle looming, Reed must make an impossible choice – her hero or her order.
Author | Kendare Blake |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Sep 21, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『A Study in Drowning』
“Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page.” —Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold. Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny. But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin. Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.
Author | Ava Reid |
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Price | $12.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Sep 19, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『Shadow and Bone Boxed Set』
Author | Leigh Bardugo |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Orion Children's Books |
Release Date | Nov 01, 2018 |
Source | Google Books |
『Nightbirds』
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • In a dazzling new fantasy world full of whispered secrets and political intrigue, the magic of women is outlawed but four girls with unusual powers have the chance to change it all. Magic is illegal in Simta, but for the right price, the wealthy can always partake. They need only procure a visit with a Nightbird, girls who can gift their rare powers with a kiss. Usually a tight-knit group, this Season’s Nightbirds couldn’t be more different. Matilde, the group’s veteran, relishes the feeling of power and freedom she thinks her Nightbird status affords, but rebels against her family’s growing expectation that she finally choose a suitor and pass her magic on to the next generation; fiery orphan Sayer, resigned to this life as a means to support herself, resents each transaction and the world Matilde so reveres; and novice Æsa, fears her own magic and thinks her very existence is a sin. But when the Nightbirds find themselves at the heart of a deadly political scheme that shakes the world as they know it, they must put their differences aside and band together to fend off those who would exploit them. In doing so, they discover their magic is more powerful than they could have ever imagined, and they see the Nightbirds system for what it is: a gilded cage. United, they are a potent force that could upend the patriarchal system that would hunt them as witches. But wielding their power could cost them more than they are prepared to lose. They must make a choice: to remain kept birds or take control, remaking the city that dared to clip their wings. Fiercely feminist and set in a thrilling, intoxicating world evoking the Jazz Age—full of speakeasies with magic cocktails, sharp-edged, duplicitous glamour, and handsome rogue alchemists—Nightbirds is an exciting debut fantasy that dazzles as powerful girls emerge from the shadows to determine their own fates.
Author | Kate J. Armstrong |
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Price | $8.99 |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Feb 28, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『That Self-Same Metal (The Forge & Fracture Saga, Book 1)』
Now in paperback, a stunning YA fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Justina Ireland, about a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. Joan’s skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal—an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually that doesn’t involve much except noting the faint glow around a Fae’s body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel Lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds. Swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare’s London, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story—and a heroine unlike any other.
Author | Brittany N. Williams |
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Price | $11.69 |
Publisher | Abrams |
Release Date | Apr 25, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『Six Crimson Cranes』
A princess in exile, a shapeshifting dragon, six enchanted cranes, and an unspeakable curse... Drawing from 'The Wild Swans' and East Asian folklore, this breathtakingly original fantasy from the author of Spin the Dawn is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo or Tomi Adeyemi. Shiori'anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear--no matter what the cost.
Author | Elizabeth Lim |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Ember |
Release Date | Jul 26, 2022 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Frozen Crown』
"Propulsive and intricate, Greta Kelly has constructed a world of twisting politics and thrilling magic following a heroine who is both clever and uncompromising, but ultimately, has heart. A stellar read that I thoroughly enjoyed." -- Emily Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints A princess with a powerful and dangerous secret must find a way to save her country from ruthless invaders in this exciting debut fantasy, the first novel in a thrilling duology packed with heroism, treachery, magic, and war. Askia became heir to the Frozen Crown of Seravesh because of her devotion to her people. But her realm is facing a threat she cannot defeat by sheer will alone. The mad emperor of the Roven Empire has unleashed a horde of invading soldiers to enslave her lands. For months, her warriors have waged a valiant, stealth battle, yet they cannot stop the enemy’s advancement. Running out of time, she sets sail for sun-drenched Vishir, the neighboring land to the south, to seek help from its ruler, Emperor Armaan. A young woman raised in army camps, Askia is ill-equipped to navigate Vishir’s labyrinthine political games. Her every move sinks her deeper into court intrigues which bewilder and repel her, leaving her vulnerable not only to enemies gathering at Vishir's gates, but to those behind the palace walls. And in this glittering court, where secrets are worth more than gold, Askia fears that one false step will expose her true nature. For Askia is a witch gifted with magical abilities—knowledge that could destroy not only her life but her people. As her adversaries draw closer, Askia is forced to make an impossible choice—and no matter what she decides, it may not be enough to prevent Seravesh’s fall.
Author | Greta Kelly |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Jan 12, 2021 |
Source | Google Books |
『Gallant』
Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source. #1 New York Times-bestselling author Victoria Schwab weaves a dark and original tale about the place where the world meets its shadow, and the young woman beckoned by both sides. The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak in this stand-alone novel perfect for readers of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman.
Author | Victoria Schwab |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Greenwillow Books |
Release Date | Mar 01, 2022 |
Source | Google Books |
In conclusion, each of these fantasy novels offers more than just a thrilling plot and a magical world. They serve up strong, dynamic female leads who aren’t afraid to take charge and make a difference in whatever they set after. Whether it's battling mighty dragons or navigating the treacherous political waters, these heroines are outstandingly portrayed with depth and complexity, defying stereotypes and breaking the norms. They inspire, they move, they lead and they fight their own battles. Along with their hair-raising adventures, you'll get a hefty dose of courage, resilience, and determination. If you're tired of mundane reads and drought of fierce female protagonists, these books are your thirst quenchers. Reading them not only promises a captivating dive into the fantastical realms, but also empowers each reader with their portrayal of women pushing boundaries, overcoming fears, and relentlessly pursuing their destinies. Perfect for young adults and adults alike, these novels give girls and women characters they can truly admire. Get your hands on these reads because it's high time ladies took the helm in the fantasy world!
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