Look, I need to be upfront: “ruined me” is a compliment. These are the fantasy series that lodged themselves into my brain and refused to leave. The ones that made me stare at a wall for 20 minutes after finishing. The ones that made every other book feel like it wasn’t trying hard enough.
In no particular order (because ranking them would start a civil war in my own head):
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
★★★★★
Yes, it’s the obvious pick. No, I don’t care. ACOTAR walked so BookTok could run. Feyre’s journey from survival mode to power is the arc I never get tired of rereading. And Rhysand? Don’t get me started. (Too late, I’ve already started.)
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fae courts, chosen one, found family
2. The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson
★★★★★
Sanderson built a world so detailed it has its own weather physics. The character work in these books is staggering. Kaladin Stormblessed carrying his depression and his bridge crew through a war zone is the most real thing in a fantasy novel about magic storms.
Tropes: epic fantasy, hard magic system, reluctant hero, mental health rep
3. Six of Crows — Leigh Bardugo
★★★★★
A heist crew of traumatized teenagers pulling off the impossible? Yes. The banter, the backstories, the “no mourners, no funerals.” Kaz Brekker is the morally gray character other morally gray characters aspire to be.
Tropes: heist, found family, morally gray, slow burn
4. The Poppy War — R.F. Kuang
★★★★★
This series took a sledgehammer to my expectations. Military fantasy inspired by Chinese history that goes from “magic school” to “war crimes” at a pace that gives you whiplash. Rin is one of the most complex protagonists in the genre.
Tropes: dark fantasy, military, anti-hero, revenge
5. Realm of the Elderlings — Robin Hobb
★★★★☆
Robin Hobb wrote Fitz Chivalry Farseer to suffer, and I read all 16 books knowing that, and I suffered right along with him. The Fool is one of the greatest characters in fantasy literature. I will die on this hill.
Tropes: court intrigue, assassin protagonist, lifelong friendships, animal bonds
6. The Cruel Prince — Holly Black
★★★★☆
Jude Duarte is a human girl raised among faeries who decides she’s going to claw her way to power through sheer spite. The enemies-to-lovers in this trilogy is so well done it should be studied in workshops.
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fae, mortal among immortals, political scheming
7. Mistborn — Brandon Sanderson
★★★★★
Sanderson again, because the man deserves two spots. The original Mistborn trilogy has one of the best magic systems ever created, a heist-gone-revolution plot, and an ending that retroactively makes everything click into place. Chef’s kiss.
Tropes: heist, chosen one subversion, hard magic, revolution
8. The Priory of the Orange Tree — Samantha Shannon
★★★★☆
A standalone epic fantasy with queer rep, dragons, and a political scope that spans continents? In one book? Samantha Shannon really said “I can do what other authors need five books for.”
Tropes: dragons, queer romance, political fantasy, standalone epic
9. An Ember in the Ashes — Sabaa Tahir
★★★★☆
Roman Empire-inspired fantasy with gut-punch twists, a resistance story, and characters you will worry about like they’re your actual friends. Helene Aquilla’s arc across the series is one of the best slow-burns in YA fantasy.
Tropes: resistance, dual POV, slow burn, brutal world
10. The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss
★★★★☆
Yes, book three isn’t out. Yes, I’m putting it on the list anyway. Kvothe’s narration is so compelling that I reread The Name of the Wind for the prose alone. The tragedy of the unreliable narrator who might be lying about everything. It’s maddening and beautiful.
Tropes: unreliable narrator, magic university, tragedy, “please release book three”
The Damage Report
After these series, my standards are broken. I can’t read a fantasy novel without comparing the magic system to Sanderson’s, the banter to Bardugo’s, the romance to Maas’s. They’ve collectively ruined me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What series ruined you? Let me know so I can add them to my TBR and suffer some more. 🤓