The 10 Best Fantasy Magic Book Series to Disappear Into

Kell is a Traveler. He can jump between different versions of the world—Red London, Grey London, White London—all lands that he passes through as the official ambassador from Red London. But never Black London, which no one speaks of anymore. When Kell’s unofficial job as smuggler lands him in hot water and he meets a mysterious young woman, he sets off on an adventure like no other.

Ophelia is quiet and mousy on the outside; but on the inside, she has nerves of steel. She is content to live a quiet life on Anima, reading objects’s pasts and traveling through mirrors, until her family betroths her to a man from the distant Poles. Unable to refuse, she travels with her brooding fiancé to his home, which is full of danger, political intrigue, and people who use magic to inflict torture without lifting a finger. As Ophelia navigates her hostile new home, she discovers she plays a much bigger role in a larger conspiracy than she could have ever imagined—and she must learn to assert her power to survive. This is an exciting new series that mashes fantasy and steampunk, translated from the French!

Fonda Lee has created a fantastic world, inspired by Asia’s history and mythology, where jade is the ultimate currency. Not only is it valuable, but it’s also used by warriors to augment their magical abilities and protect their homeland of the island Kekon. That all changes when a powerful drug allows anyone—even foreigners—to wield jade and magic, and Kekon becomes a dangerous place of rivalries, shifting loyalties, and betrayals.

Seanan McGuire’s novella series is centered on Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, an unusual refuge for children of our world who slip through portals to fantasy worlds, and then come back...but need a little help readjusting. They are told that there is no chance of ever returning to their beloved fantasy worlds, but that’s not always true, as these novellas prove! This is a great series with a different protagonist for each story, but a lot of character overlap! Some books are narrated by the author, and one, Beneath the Sugar Sky, is narrated by Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey fame.

Building on West African mythology, Tomi Adeyemi’s Audie Award-winning series conjures up a vibrant, amazing fantasy world in which magic once thrived, a segment of the population is grievously oppressed, and a young woman becomes the leader she was meant to be. Bahni Turpin’s mastery of the accents expertly brings the wide array of characters to life, carrying you with the young rebel and her crew across the physical and emotional landscapes that make this listen so special.

Set in the provincial woods of Imperial Russia, this series stars Vasilisa, the youngest daughter of an influential landowner who grows up on the stories of magical beings who live in harmony with the family on the edge of wilderness. She is brought up learning the old ways, which keep their lives in balance. But when her father returns from Moscow with a new, God-fearing wife who forbids Vasilisa from using magic, a darkness creeps in that only she can fight off.

When Rin unexpectedly aces an empire-wide test to determine eligibility to an elite military academy, no one can believe that she actually achieved such a high score without cheating. But it is no trick or mistake, and no one is more shocked than Rin when she finds herself the newest student at the academy. There, she is bullied and ostracized for being poor, dark-skinned, and an orphan...until she discovers she has an incredible aptitude for magic. But she better learn to control her newfound power fast, because war is brewing.

Ravka has long been marred by a swath of darkness that runs straight down the entire length of the country. There, monsters and demons lurk, making passage dangerous. Alina and Mal are orphans and best friends, and lately conscripts in the army. When forced to cross the shadow fold one day, Alina saves Mal from death by summoning light—a rare power she never knew she possessed, and one that immediately makes her a pawn in a deadly power struggle across Ravka for freedom and light! With each title performed by beloved narrator Lauren Fortgang, the Grisha series is a must-listen!

N.K. Jemisin exploded in popularity when her Broken Earth trilogy, winning a Hugo Award three years in a row. But don’t skip her first trilogy, about a woman named Yeine Darr who is shocked to find that she, a distant northerner, has been summoned to the capital city and named an heir to the throne. But nothing is guaranteed, and as she is plunged into a dangerous game for the kingdom, she learns more and more about the powers at play and her mother’s secret past.

Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom is a place without technology, where magic flourishes unpredictably, demons take animal forms, necromancers raise the dead, and the Abhorsen sends them back. Sabriel has grown up at a boarding school outside of the Old Kingdom. When her father, the Abhorsen, disappears, she must travel through her unfamiliar birthplace to discover her own powers and banish an evil that has held onto the kingdom for centuries.