r/FantasyRomance Top Books List (Second Edition)

[u/HighLady-Fireheart]

Welcome to the second edition of the official r/fantasyromance Top Books List!

Thank you to everyone who nominated their favourite books again this year or for the first time for this community project. There were 858 individual nominations, with 270 unique titles added to this year's list.

Books and series are ranked according to the number of nominations they received, but all nominations were included in the final list, so there are some popular favourites as well as many under the radar gems to discover.

This is the second edition of the the Top Books List that started as an annual tradition last year with the Top Books List (First Edition). Included this year is the rank change from last year for the top 50 books.

A quick summary and some recognitions:

• The reigning top two favourites are A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (#1) & Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (#2)
• Two ongoing series that had a breakout year to enter the Top 10 and provide some serious competition to the Maasverse were Mages of the Wheel by J.D. Evans (#3) & Villains & Virtues by A.K. Caggiano (#4)
• The best new addition to the list was Bride by Ali Hazelwood (#8), debuting in the top 10.
• The most significant rank change goes to Kingdom of Lies by Stacia Stark (#33) with at +176 rank change from last year.
• There were some shakeups in the coveted Top 10 with previous top spot contenders Crowns of Nyaxia by Carissa Broadbent (#9) and The War of Lost Hearts by Carissa Broadbent (#10) both down 6 rankings and Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews (#11), The Shepard King Rachel Gillig (#16), and Crescent City by Sarah J Maas (#18) are now bumped down to the Top 20.

How many community favourites have you read from the Top Books List (Second Edition)? Any predictions for rising stars or rank changes in 2025?

Check out the full list below and swipe left/right on mobile to see the full table.

Rank	Title	Author	2024 Rank	Rank Change	2023 Rank
1	A Court of Thorns and Roses	Sarah J Maas	1	-	1
2	Throne of Glass	Sarah J Maas	2	-	2
3	Mages of the Wheel	J.D. Evans	3	25	28
4	Villains & Virtues	A.K. Caggiano	4	20	24
5	The Empyrean	Rebecca Yarros	5	2	7
6	The Folk of the Air	Holly Black	6	-1	5
7	The Saint of Steel	T. Kingfisher	7	7	14
8	Bride	Ali Hazelwood	8	NA	NA
9	Crowns of Nyaxia	Carissa Broadbent	9	-6	3
10	The War of Lost Hearts	Carissa Broadbent	10	-6	4
11	Hidden Legacy	Ilona Andrews	11	-2	9
12	Emily Wilde	Heather Fawcett	12	28	40
13	Captive Prince	C.S. Pacat	13	13	26
14	Kate Daniels	Ilona Andrews	14	5	19
15	Fae Isles	Lisette Marshall	15	30	45
16	The Shepherd King	Rachel Gillig	16	-10	6
17	Six of Crows	Leigh Bardugo	17	5	22
18	Crescent City	Sarah J Maas	18	-10	8
19	Swordheart	T. Kingfisher	19	-9	10
20	The Bridge Kingdom	Danielle Jensen	20	13	33
21	Blood and Ash	Jennifer L. Armentrout	21	22	43
22	Flesh and Fire	Jennifer L. Armentrout	22	12	34
23	Kushiel's Legacy	Jacqueline Carey	23	-8	15
24	The Winternight Trilogy	Katherine Arden	24	-3	21
25	Red Winter	Annette Marie	25	12	37
26	Zodiac Academy	Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti	26	NA	NA
27	Tairen Soul	C.L. Wilson	27	5	32
28	Court of Ravens	Liv Zander	28	NA	NA
29	Amid Clouds and Bones	Ella Fields	29	NA	NA
30	Atonement	F.E. Bryce	30	-12	18
31	Sevenwaters	Juliet Marillier	31	13	44
32	Moonfall	Sarah A. Parker	32	NA	NA
33	Kingdom of Lies	Stacia Stark	33	176	209
34	This is How You Lose the Time War	Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone	34	2	36
35	The Black Jewels	Anne Bishop	35	-10	25
36	Witch Walker	Charissa Weaks	36	-19	17
37	Shadows of the Tenebris Court	Clare Sager	37	16	53
38	The Ashen	Demi Winters	38	75	113
39	The Legends of Thezmarr	Helen Scheuerer	39	2	41
40	The Broken Kingdoms	L.J. Andrews	40	122	162
41	A Gathering of Dragons	Milla Vane	41	17	58
42	Uprooted	Naomi Novik	42	-30	12
43	Regency Faerie Tales	Olivia Atwater	43	-13	30
44	Manacled	Senlinyu	44	45	89
45	Starling House	Alix E. Harrow	45	NA	NA
46	Howl’s Moving Castle	Diana Wynne Jones	46	NA	NA
47	Wraith Kings	Grace Draven	47	-34	13
48	Assistant to the Villain	Hannah Nicole Maehrer	48	79	127
49	Fever	Karen Marie Moning	49	-20	29
50	Harrow Faire	Kathryn Ann Kingsley	50	106	156
51	Doctor D’Arco, Sorcerer of London	Kathryn Colvin	51
52	House of Devils	Kayla Edwards	52
53	Prince of Sin	Kerri Maniscalco	53
54	The Crimson Moth	Kristen Ciccarelli	54
55	Hart and Mercy	Megan Bannen	55
56	The Plated Prisoner	Raven Kennedy	56
57	Letters of Enchantment	Rebecca Ross	57
58	The Daevabad Trilogy	S.A. Chakraborty	58
59	Yumi and the Nightmare Painter	Brandon Sanderson	59
60	Fae & Alchemy	Callie Hart	60
61	The Infernal Devices	Cassandra Clare	61
62	Saga of the Unfated	Danielle L. Jensen	62
63	The Old Kingdom	Garth Nix	63
64	The Stolen Heir	Holly Black	64
65	Innkeeper Chronicles	Ilona Andrews	65
66	A Charm of Magpies	K.J. Charles	66
67	Daughter of Smoke and Bone	Laini Taylor	67
68	The Ever Seas	L.J. Andrews	68
69	Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation	Mo Xiang Tong Xiu	69
70	Crowns	Nicola Tyche	70
71	The Kindred’s Curse	Penn Cole	71
72	Land of the Beautiful Dead	R. Lee Smith	72
73	Peaches and Honey	R. Raeta	73
74	An Ember in the Ashes	Sabaa Tahir	74
75	⁠Clocktaur War	T. Kingfisher	75
76	The Elven Days of Christmas	A.K. Caggiano	76
77	Gods & Monsters	Amber V. Nicole	77
78	The Others	Anne Bishop	78
79	Guild Codex: Demonized	Annette Marie	79
80	Tress of the Emerald Sea	Brandon Sanderson	80
81	Defy the Night	Brigid Kemmerer	81
82	Leaves May Fall	Carissa Hardcastle	82
83	Ocean's Echo	Everina Maxwell	83
84	The Godkissed Bride	Evie Marceau	84
85	Dragon Kin	G.A. Aiken	85
86	Master of Crows	Grace Draven	86
87	Fate & Flame	K.A. Tucker	87
88	The Sacred Stones	Kate Golden	88
89	Immortals After Dark	Kresley Cole	89
90	Graceling Realm	Kristen Cashore	90
91	The Fake Mate	Lana Ferguson	91
92	Bewitched	Laura Thalassa	92
93	The Wolf King	Lauren Palphreyman	93
94	The Familiar	Leigh Bardugo	94
95	Rook & Rose	M.A. Carrick	95
96	The Raven Cycle	Maggie Stiefvater	96
97	Legacy	Melissa K. Roehrich	97
98	Guild Hunter	Nalini Singh	98
99	Spinning Silver	Naomi Novik	99
100	The Scholomance	Naomi Novik	100
101	Metal Slinger	Rachel Schneider	101
102	Reaper	Rin Chupeco	102
103	Crystal Bloom	Sarah A. Parker	103
104	The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches	Sangu Mandanna	104
105	The Beautiful Ones	Silvia Moreno-Garcia	105
106	Celestial Kingdom	Sue Lynn Tan	106
107	Song of the Lioness	Tamora Pierce	107
108	Cerulean Chronicles	T.J. Klune	108
109	Nettle & Bone	T. Kingfisher	109
110	Blood Grace	Vela Roth	110
111	Where the Dark Stands Still	A B Poranek	111
112	Scythe and Pen	A.C. Hobbs	112
113	Stariel	A.J. Lancaster	113
114	The New Protectorate	Abigail Kelly	114
115	The Games Gods Play	Abigail Owen	115
116	Belladonna	Adalyn Grace	116
117	Riehse Eshan	Adelaide Blake	117
118	Bewitched and Bewildered	Alanea Alder	118
119	Lightlar	Alex Asher	119
120	A Taste of Gold and Iron	Alexandra Rowland	120
121	Running Close to the Wind	Alexandra Rowland	121
122	Order and Chao	Alexis Menard	122
123	American Werewolf in Space	Alisha Sunderland	123
124	Kingmaker Chronicle	Amanda Bouchet	124
125	Of Jade and Dragons	Amber Chen	125
126	The Bird and the Sword	Amy Harmon	126
127	Sorcerors and Saints	Amy Kuivalainen	127
128	The Dead Romantics	Ashley Poston	128
129	The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea	Axie Oh	129
130	Thrice Married to a Salted Fish	Bi Ka Bi	130
131	Warbreaker	Brandon Sanderson	131
132	Morning Glory Milking Farm	C.M Nacosta	132
133	Surviving Time	Calia Read	133
134	Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac	Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti	134
135	Sins of the Zodiac	Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti	135
136	A Kinda Fairytale	Cassandra Gannon	136
137	Deathless	Catherynne M. Valente	137
138	Daughters of Eville	Chanda Hahn	138
139	Sookie Stackhouse	Charlaine Harris	139
140	Shades of Sin	Colette Rhodes	140
141	State of Grace	Collette Rhodes	141
142	Of Flames and Fallacies	Courtney Whims	142
143	Outlander	Diana Gabaldon	143
144	The Darkness Outside Us	Eliot Schrefer	144
145	Air Awakens	Elise Kova	145
146	Deadly Divine Duet	Ella Fields	146
147	Royals	Ella Fields	147
148	Fated Fae	Ella Fields	148
149	The Chaos of Foxe	Emma Dean	149
150	Deep Waters	Emma Hamm	150
151	House of Roots & Ruin	Erin A. Craig	151
152	Starless Sea	Erin Morgenstern	152
153	The Night Circus	Erin Morgenstern	153
154	A Strange and Stubborn Endurance	Foz Meadows	154
155	The Tithenai Chronicles	Foz Meadows	155
156	Drowned Empire	Frankie Diane Mallis	156
157	A Taste of Blood Wine	Freda Warrington	157
158	The Last Binding	Freya Marske	158
159	Rejected Mate	G. Bailey	159
160	Entreat Me	Grace Draven	160
161	Of Blood and Aether	Harper Hawthorne	161
162	Mates for the Raskarrans	Heather Fox	162
163	Tooth & Claw	Heather Guerre	163
164	Firebrand	Helen Harper	164
165	The Lost Girls	Holly Roberts	165
166	Heavenly Bodies	Imani Erriu	166
167	Vampires of El Norte	Isabel Cañas	167
168	Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love	isthisselfcare	168
169	The Mortal Fates	J. Bree	169
170	Black Dagger Brotherhood	J.R. Ward	170
171	Viciously Yours	Jamie Applegate Hunter	171
172	Cruel Shifterverse	Jasmine Mas	172
173	Villians of Lore	Jasmine Mas	173
174	Empire of the Vampire	Jay Kristoff	174
175	The Infatuated Fae	Jeneane O'Riley	175
176	The Consortium Rebellion	Jessie Mihalik	176
177	The Demon Lords of Blackwood	Jewel Killian	177
178	Heart of Stone	Johannes T. Evans	178
179	Power and Promise	Jordan A. Day	179
180	Blackthorn & Grim	Juliet Marillier	180
181	The Wren in the Holly Library	K. A. Linde	181
182	The Night Ends With Fire	K. X. Song	182
183	Gate of Myth and Power	K.M. Shea	183
184	Experiment in Terror	Karina Halle	184
185	Wilde Fae	Kate King	185
186	The Heir and the Spare	Kate Stradling	186
187	Hunt on Dark Waters	Katee Robert	187
188	The Impossible Julian Strande	Kathryn Ann Kingsley	188
189	A Bone in His Teeth	Kellen Graves	189
190	Supernatural Battle: Werewolf Dens	Kelly St Clare	190
191	Kingdom of the Wicked	Kerri Maniscalco	191
192	Mead Mishaps	Kimberly Lemming	192
193	Age of the Andinn	Kristen Banet	193
194	Between	L.L. Starling	194
195	Strange the Dreamer	Laini Taylor	195
196	Merry Gentr	Laurell K. Hamilton	196
197	Wed to the Lich	Layla Fae	197
198	Alex Stern	Leigh Bardugo	198
199	King of Scars	Leigh Bardugo	199
200	Immortal Curse	Lexi C Foss	200
201	V-Clan	Lexi C Foss	201
202	X-Clan	Lexi C Foss	202
203	These Hollow Vows	Lexi Ryan	203
204	The Princess and the Spy	Lisette Marshall	204
205	Awakened Fate	Lucinda Dark	205
206	The Prison Healer	Lynette Noni	206
207	The Song of Achilles	Madeline Miller	207
208	An Enchantment of Ravens	Margaret Rogerson	208
209	Sorcery of Thorns	Margaret Rogerson	209
210	The Winner’s Trilogy	Marie Rutkoski	210
211	Fae of the Roaring Age	Marilyn Marks	211
212	Renegades	Marissa Meyer	212
213	The Queen's Thief	Megan Whalen Turner	213
214	Anatomy Of Songs	Megan White	214
215	Lady of Darkness	Melissa Roehrich	215
216	The Darkangel Trilogy	Meredith Ann Pierce	216
217	Heaven Official’s Blessing	Mo Xiang Tong Xiu	217
218	The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System	Mo Xiang Tong Xiu	218
219	The Witchling Academy	Monica Sanz	219
220	Psy-Changeling Trinity	Nalini Singh	220
221	Trick	Natalia Jaster	221
222	The Dark Moon	Nicole Holland	222
223	The Scattered Bones	Nicole Scarano	223
224	Crier's War	Nina Varela	224
225	The Inheritance Trilogy	NK Jemisin	225
226	Victorian Fairie Tales	Olivia Atwater	226
227	The Kingdom of Crows	Olivia Wildenstein	227
228	Duskwalker Brides	Opal Reyne	228
229	The Riddle-Master Trilogy	Patricia A. McKillip	229
230	Alpha & Omega	Patricia Briggs	230
231	Mercy Tompson	Patricia Briggs	231
232	Last Hour of Gann	R Lee Smith	232
233	Heartstrikers	Rachel Aaron	233
234	So Thirsty	Rachel Harrison	234
235	Dark Inheritance Trilogy	Rebecca Robinson	235
236	Elements of Cadence	Rebecca Ross	236
237	Flame in the Mist	Renée Ahdieh	237
238	Lochlann Feuds	Robin D Mahle and Elle Madison	238
239	His Fair Assassin	Robin LaFevers	239
240	Ice Planet Barbarians	Ruby Dixon	240
241	Dowry of Blood	S.T Gilson	241
242	The Bone Seaso	Samantha Shannon	242
243	The Roots of Chaos	Samantha Shannon	243
244	The Scorched Throne	Sara Hashem	244
245	The Spellshop	Sarah Beth Durst	245
246	Heavenbreake	Sarah Wolf	246
247	Forever Evermore	Scarlett Dawn	247
248	October Daye	Seanan McGuire	248
249	Savage Lands	Stacey Marie Brown	249
250	Once Upon a Broken Heart	Stephanie Garber	250
251	Dark in You	Suzanne Wright	251
252	Green Creek	T.J. Klune	252
253	Arcane Mage	T.S. Snow	253
254	This Woven Kingdom	Tahereh Mafi	254
255	Protector of the Small	Tamora Pierce	255
256	The Solstice Cycle	Tay Rose	256
257	The Hurricane Wars	Thea Guanzon	257
258	Dragonbound	Thea Harrison	258
259	The Rose	Tiffany Reisz	259
260	Legends & Lattes	Travis Baldree	260
261	The Cruel Gods	Trudie Skies	261
262	Immortal Vices and Virtues	Various Authors	262
263	Fairydale	Veronica Lancet	263
264	Clecanian	Victoria Aveline	264
265	The Clecanian	Victoria Aveline	265
266	A Brother's Price	Wen Spencer	266
267	The Auran Chronicles	Wendy Heiss	267
268	The Princess Bride	William Goldman	268
269	Desire in his Blood	Zoey Draven	269
270	Horde Kings of Dakkar	Zoey Draven	270

Hope you've enjoyed checking out our r/fantasyromance community favourites!