The fae are the most magical creatures that exist, in my humble opinion. Love them or hate them, they still provide loads of entertainment with their tricks, schemes, and otherworldly nature. Plus, the unique and always enchanting magic!
Check out these five YA fantasy series starters to explore unique faerie worlds and experience the magical and enthralling tales of the fae.
The Inner World Book 1
Highlights: elves and fae, portal fantasy, slow-burn romance, crafty magic
This was their world.
I was the strange one. I was the prey.
I’d never been ‘normal’. Unless you considered invisible stalkers, animal telepathy, and reading people’s thoughts normal. Oh, and the panic attacks that came out of nowhere. Those were fun.
So, you’d think when goblins abduct my mom and an elf assassin claims to be my guardian, I wouldn't totally freak. Not so much.
Cue panic attack.
He tells me I'm a halfling. Not those cute little guys. I'm half elf and half human. A freak. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I discover just why my mom never talked about her past. Like the fact that she is the rightful heir to a literal fairy tale kingdom. Only this one is not filled with cute little pixies and singing animals. Oh, no. It’s darker—much, much darker.
Now, I’m forced to endure the trials of each of the deadly fae courts. If I win, my so-called family won’t kill me. But what will it take to win? The last piece of my humanity?
Faery Realm Book 1
Highlights: a truly unique faery realm, epic friendship, travel between worlds, elves and many kinds of fae, courtly conflict, a dark prince
Do you believe in faeries? Alexis does, but not instinctively. She prefers a logical explanation for her friend Molly's disappearance. But after coming up with only dead ends, she wonders if the impossible could be possible.
Is Molly lost in the Faery Realm? Determined to find her friend, Alexis makes a deal with one of the fae to bring her into the Faery Realm. But it is dangerous, and if Alexis isn't careful, Molly won't be the only one who needs saving.
The Folk of the Air Book 1
Highlights: faerie/mortal struggle, deadly magic, enemies to lovers, courtly drama, enchanting world of Faerie
Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him—and face the consequences. In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
The Fair Chronicles Book 1
Highlights: alluring world of magic, captivating fairy prince, chosen one, dangerous creatures, adventure
The trees in Hartwood forest are hiding an ancient secret, a door into a magical realm where fairy princes and monsters are one and the same.
Seventeen-year-old Aria is bored of her small town and dreams of a life filled with excitement and adventure. She’s about to learn the meaning of “be careful what you wish for”.
After a chilling encounter at the local summer fair, Aria is ripped from her normal life and dragged through the Veil into the Fair Realm by a strange, silver-eyed boy and his band of fairy soldiers. They believe she is the legendary Fair Queen, the subject of a prophecy that promises to unite the war-ravaged realm and bring an end to the centuries-long conflict between the Five Kingdoms.
But it can’t be true. Can it?
Beset by terrifying creatures at every turn, and hunted by a tyrannical king who will stop at nothing to prevent the prophecy from coming true, Aria will have to rely on her wits if she’s to escape the Fair Realm with her life.
The Navarre Chronicles Book 1
Highlights: magical kingdom, royalty, multiple points of view, demon king, prophecy, found family
A Princess. A Warrior. A Slave. A kingdom falling to ruin. And a Queen meant to save them all. Navarre has been at peace for three hundred years, the prophecies of the promised princess no more than a whispered memory of the past. Sheltered from the world around her, naïve Princess Joseline is no stranger to the responsibility and isolation of being heir. But when an attack on her eighteenth birthday reveals the looming return of the legendary demon king, shattering every protective boundary around her, Joseline is thrown full force into the long-forgotten prophecy and the role she plays in his demise.
Saved from Aeron’s clutches by a secret organization of warriors trained to protect her, Joseline is forced to choose between her curiosity to understand their motives and her duty to her people’s safety. Swept into the impending war threatening her country, Joseline must learn at all costs not only to fight, but to control the ancient magical power awakening within her.
Her life and the lives of her people depend on it.
This article was written by Allison Rose.
Allison Rose writes YA fantasy featuring magic and otherworldly beings. Her current series feature a truly unique world of Faerie. Click the covers below to check them out.
