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Urban / Contemporary Fantasy Hidden Gems

Solid, well-rated Urban / Contemporary Fantasy books that fly under the radar — less hype, more discovery.

  1. 1 Libriomancer
    Libriomancer
    Jim C. Hines
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 3.89 · 🕯️🕯️ Mild

    Gifted with the ability to draw objects out of books, Isacc Vainio, a Libriomancer, seeks assistance from a Harley-riding dryad after a number of vampire attacks are reported by other members of his secret, magic organization.

    Hidden SocietyQuestMagical Artifacts
  2. 2 Dead Beat
    Dead Beat
    The Dresden Files #7
    Jim Butcher
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.49 · 🕯️🕯️🕯️ Serious

    The USA Today Bestselling Author's new Dresden Files novel...finally in paperback-and soon to be a Sci Fi Channel movie!Filled with kickass adventure and supernatural fireworks, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels have been compared to Harry Potter. Now, Harry Dresden must save Chicago from black magic and necromancy-all in a day's work for the city's only professional wizard.

    Hidden SocietyForbidden MagicEnd of the World Stakes
  3. 3 Changes
    Changes
    The Dresden Files #12
    Jim Butcher
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.57 · 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ Dark

    The new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...He's fighting to save his child.

    Cursed CharacterSecond Chance RomanceAnti-Hero
  4. 4 A Desolation Called Peace
    A Desolation Called Peace
    Teixcalaan #2
    Arkady Martine
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.14 · 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ Dark

    Fleet Captain Three Seagrass sends her former partner Mahit Dzmare a message from the front lines of a war against an alien species. Together they must determine what the aliens actually are—and whether first contact might be possible—before the empire decides to simply destroy them.

    War Between KingdomsEnd of the World StakesPolitical Intrigue
  5. 5 Beneath the Sugar Sky
    Beneath the Sugar Sky
    Wayward Children #3
    Seanan McGuire
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.13 · 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ Dark

    At Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, new arrival Rini faces a unique dilemma: she doesn't belong in this world. Born a princess in a fantastical realm of sugar and sweets, a twist of fate brought her here, and now she's slowly dissolving. To save her life, a courageous group of Wayward Children—including the quiet Nancy and the determined Kade—must embark on a desperate quest. They will journey through treacherous portals, facing bizarre landscapes and dark magic, to find a way back to Rini's sugary home beneath a fantastical sky. Their bond will be tested as they race against time, for if they fail, Rini will vanish forever.

    Portal FantasyComing of AgeOutcast Hero
  6. 6 In Other Lands
    In Other Lands
    Sarah Rees Brennan
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.19 · 🕯️🕯️ Mild

    Georgia Peach Award Nominee • Florida Teens Read Award Nominee • ABC Best Books for Young Readers • Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year • A Junior Library Guild Selection • Hugo & Locus award finalist In Other Lands is an exhilarating novel from bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools - friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world — even if it means giving up your phone. Excerpt: The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border — unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and — best of all as far as Elliot is concerned — mermaids. "What’s your name?" "Serene." "Serena?" Elliot asked. "Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle." Elliot’s mouth fell open. "That is badass." Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world. Chapter illustrations by Casey Nowak.

    Portal FantasyComing of Age
  7. 7 The Witch's Heart
    The Witch's Heart
    Genevieve Gornichec
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 3.89 · 🕯️🕯️ Mild

    Angrboda's story begins where most legends end: with a punishment. Odin burns her three times and she keeps coming back. She retreats to the farthest edge of the world, where she meets Loki and begins a family. But fate has a way of catching up, even with a witch who has been forgotten by the gods.

    Immortal CharacterCursed CharacterDivine Magic
  8. 8 The Bone Season
    The Bone Season
    Samantha Shannon
    ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 3.97 · 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ Dark

    The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

    Hidden SocietyOutcast HeroForbidden Magic