Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

 By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it.

Alex Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch. Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies who tamper with forbidden magic and raise the dead. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder.

This had everything I love about dark academia. Ninth House is full of secret societies up to no good, ghosts who hang around campus, a twisty murder mystery, and an underdog outsider who will not allow a girl's death to fade into obscurity. My only niggle was that it was a little slow at the start but it was absolutely necessary to create the rich and believable world of Ninth House.

Recommended For: Fans of dark academic stories with a touch of the supernatural

Read On: Not fantasies, but The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova are other dark academia books I've really enjoyed. I also loved Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a YA-fantasy duology.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold, but its god is dead and the once grand city is crumbling to pieces around the few survivors. Tormalin the Oathless has no desire to sit around and wait to die so he abandons Ebora to be among the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine. When eccentric scholar, Lady Vincenza de Grazon, takes him on as a hired sword, he eagerly agrees even when the job involves facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, Tormalin has no intention of ever returning home.  But not everyone is as willing to let Ebora fade away, and Tormalin is slowly drawn into a tangled mystery centuries in the making.

The Ninth Rain is a hefty classical-style high fantasy, and the first book of the Winnowing Flame trilogy. If I'm being honest, I found it quite hard to get into at the beginning and wasn't entirely convinced about the whole concept of alien invasions in a fantasy world. Also, there was a LOT crammed into a few short chapters with witches, vampires, monster plants, and aliens. And yet, once the story really got going, it all kind of works. The world-building is rich and detailed and so cleverly done so that it fades into the background - you always know what you need to know, but the story never gets bogged down by exposition. 

Also, I really liked the diverse and lovable characters, particularly the three protagonists who are the heart of the story, and their experiences give The Ninth Rain its depth and complexity. I rooted for all of them, and the banter between them made me giggle. Plot-wise, like I said, The Ninth Rain started slow and the 'OMG, I have to know what happens next!' page-turning feeling didn't hit me until about a quarter into the book. However, once that happened, I flew through the chapters as the characters became more and more entangled in a web of magic, prophecy, and ancient mysteries.

Original, fun to read and full of diverse and likeable characters, The Ninth Rain is a great start to an exciting fantasy series. Get through the first few chapters, and you'll be rewarded with a story full of heart, humour, and heroics.

Recommended For: Fans of classical fantasy full of quests, magical creatures, ancient enemies, and heroes you can root for.

Read On: The next book in the trilogy is The Bitter Twins. If you love epic fantasy with a lot of heart, you'll like the Amra Thetys series by Michael McClung - the first book is The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests, and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its evil at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years. Agnieszka is terrified when she is chosen, but she finds that the Dragon, the Wood, and magic itself are far more complicated than she ever thought...

I loved this gorgeous young adult fantasy steeped in the rich traditions of Eastern European folklore. The story quickly swept me up and I found myself absorbed in the tale of Agnieszka and the Dragon as they battled to keep the Wood at bay. I also really liked the quiet humour which underlaid the first person narrative. My only niggle was that there was so much crammed into the plot, especially in the last half of the book, that it felt a bit rushed. I wanted to both devour Uprooted in one sitting because I was desperate to know what happened next and also wanted to slow down and savour the story properly... definitely one for a future re-read!

At its heart, Uprooted is about the power of love; love may make you vulnerable and desperate at times, but the ties it creates are powerful.

Recommended For: Anyone who likes their YA fantasy full of folklore and magic

Read On: Spinning Silver is another retelling by Naomi Novik, as is To Kill a A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. Another tale of a malevolent and ancient forest aimed at adults is In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey.

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Doctor Miles Singer went to war to escape his destiny, and came home a changed man. With a fake name and a gift for healing, Miles is working in a cash-strapped veterans hospital when a fatally poisoned man asks him to catch his killer. With the help of the mysterious Mr Hunter and a sister he cannot trust, Miles must risk his hard-won anonymity and freedom to unravel a conspiracy that could topple nations.

Witchmark is a cute historical fantasy that was perfect for a lazy morning in bed. While the story hasdits flaws, I did like Witchmark even though I was never hooked by it. For me, the world-building was very skinny indeed, and I felt like too much information was revealed far too late in the story. Also, the mystery at the centre of the book was very shaky at times, relied a lot on coincidental meetings, and took ages to get anywhere interesting which made Witchmark very easy to put down between chapters. 

That being said, I still enjoyed it. Set in a world reminiscent of Edwardian England, Witchmark just about managed to stay on the right side of twee, and the romance between Miles and Tristan was endearing, if a little instalovey. What I really liked - and kept me reading - was Miles' very complicated relationship with his sister and his constant fight to be his own person.

Recommended For: Anyone in need of a light and undemanding read on a lazy day

Read On: The second book in the Kingston Cycle is Stormsong. Another enjoyable historical fantasy romance is Soulless by Gail Carriger. 

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan

Born in the slums of Imardin and struggling to make an honest living, Sonea hates the magicians. She hates their arrogance, she hates their power, and, most of all, she hates the way they use their magic to oppress the poor. So no one is more surprised than she is when she throws a stone through a magician's protective shield and knocks him out... 

The Magician's Guild is a high fantasy and the first book in the Black Magician trilogy. It was ok, but not amazing or even particularly memorable. It's a generic and inoffensive fantasy story with a largely predictable plot, a stock-and-trade medieval European setting, and flat characters. Mostly what it lacked was depth and complexity. I did like the premise though, and there were hints of a darker and much more interesting story to come.

Recommended for: I think this might appeal more to younger readers, or anyone looking for a quick and unchallenging fantasy story.

Read On: The next book in the Black Magician Trilogy is The Novice.  A similar fantasy about a slum girl finding her magical powers is The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away - home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and the chance to escape the darkness for ever...

I liked A Wizard of Earthsea, but I loved The Tombs of Atuan even more. The writing is just as beautiful, the story is just as simple and absorbing, and the world-building is as compelling. What makes the difference for me, however, is that The Tombs of Atuan is a story framed by women. A Wizard of Earthsea was good, but there is barely a female character in sight. The Tombs of Atuan, however, is dominated by female characters, whether they are protagonists, antagonists, friends, or mentors  -  a rare bird indeed in fantasy. 

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a short and beautifully written children's fantasy

Read On: The next book in the Earthsea Quartet is The Furthest Shore.