3 More Books for Fans of Fantasy

by MK French

Here we are at the end of the month, and there are still a few more books in the fantasy genre that you will want to add to your reading list. These run a little darker than the earlier fantasy books I've reviewed this month, though the last one has elements of a romantasy. 

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Ballad of the Bone Road by A. C. Wise

January 2026; Titan Books; 978-1835413784
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); horror

Port Astor is a city of human and fae roads, ghosts, and the remnants of a past fae court. Paranormal investigators Brix and Bellefeather live in the city and have their own quirks: Brix trapped the soul of his dead fiancée in the land of the living, and Belle shares her body with the demon Belizial. The pair investigates a haunting at the infamous Peony Hotel, but the ghost haunting it is more than the remnant of an actor and favorite of the former fae queen. In fact, his presence is tied to the hauntings of the investigators and the fae themselves.

The story starts eight months ago when a pair of lovers summon the singer and actor Jimmy Valentine, who might be fae-touched. There are ramifications for the Peony Hotel at large, with the room disappearing entirely: off the floor plans, from people's memories, and even from the floor itself. Ghosts are drawn to the hotel, causing trouble for the living. At the same time, Belle's sister arrives in Port Astor because her husband is behaving erratically and might be cheating. There's more to his story, just as there's more to Brix keeping his fiancée's soul around and the demon hiding inside Belle's body. There were terrible things that happened years ago: Belle's family abusing her in the name of religion, and the Hollow Queen torturing the demon that wound up bonding to Belle. Something strange and terrible is happening in the present, with the different layers of reality breaking into each other.

The Bone Road is the route that ghosts take to move on from the land of the living. It's figuratively inside a medium, and Brix is a good one who breaks the rules to see his fiancée after death. Belle wants to have some kind of relationship with her sister, who married a preacher who not only believes the same toxic things their parents did, but also believes the lure of the Hollow Queen is God. He's a different kind of hypocrite than Brix and Belle, twisting whatever happens to justify his actions instead of ignoring the rules of the supernatural out of grief and love. The Hollow Queen is a scary thing of the fae, weaponizing grief and longing. It's a chilling concept, and it kept me guessing how she would manipulate victims and how the protagonists would try to stop her from breaking into the world. 

Buy Ballad of the Bone Road at Amazon

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi

January 2026; Titan Books; 978-1835410608
audio, ebook, print (362 pages); short story anthology

This is a collection of twenty short stories, all written by award winning horror author Ronald Malfi. 

We open with "The Dinner Party," told in the second-person POV of a new mother, paranoid and possibly seeing things. The final line hits like a suckered punch as the realization kicks in. This is the way a lot of Malfi's longer works go, and to have the same effect in short stories really brings home the horror in a way that makes me nauseous at the implications of the stories. I feel it viscerally, just the way he meant us to.

Some of the horror is born from guilt or grief, such as the story "The Glad Street Angel," which is incredibly sad until the twist ending. Snippets in between some stories also have a haunting quality to them, adding to the creepy feeling, like it's bleeding out of the stories. I have a similar sensation in "Pembroke," which also carries the phrase "you should have left well enough alone," echoing the book title. "All Is Calm" is another second-person POV story, and the grief is a strange thing, with the horror a quiet and personal one. 

"Then There Is Boston" is less horror and more a reflection on relationships and being known, as well as the fear if perfection that dogs every writer. It's a nice story to close out the collection before we get the author's note. He mentions that he's a "dread writer." I definitely agree with his assessment; even if there isn't the traditional horror in a story, there's the same emotional weight and fear in the ending, exactly the tone for horror writing. This collection definitely reflects that atmosphere. 

Buy We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone at Amazon

King of Ravens by Clare Sager

January 2026; Forever; 978-1538781289
ebook, print (480 pages); dark fantasy

Rhiannon is dying from an unknown illness, and she spends her time searching for a cure. When fae King Drystan of the Dead invades her home, he offers an impossible choice: become his bride in the underworld or watch her family die. Rhiannon refuses to be a pawn in courtiers' games and keeps running away. Drystan eventually offers her a new bargain: if she can escape his deadly labyrinth, he will set her free. If she fails, she will remain in the underworld.

Rhiannon long searched for a name and a cure for her illness. She is exhausted all the time, has joint and muscle aches, is weak, and has heart palpitations. She knows how to dose herself and others with plants, and has her parents and brother. The Morrigan had a son with each of the kings of the underworld, and Drystan is the youngest and most dour, with his kingdom caught in winter. She was promised to him before she was even born, and her parents tried to hide her from Death. The realm itself abhors weakness, emotions, and things that aren't perfect, so Rhiannon must hide her illness and survive. The labyrinth is full of trials and dangerous creatures, but her only way to escape the underworld.

This enemies-to-lovers book outlines a stark place for unseelie fae to jockey for power at court. Rhiannon and Drystan have an attraction and develop grudging trust and affection.  There's even the development of love, though the finale ends on a heartbreaking note after some cruel discoveries. This is very much a romantasy that will have readers wanting the next book as soon as possible. 

Buy King of Ravens at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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