Shveta Thakrar is a writer of South Asian–flavored fantasy, part-time nagini, and full-time believer in magic. Her debut novel Star Daughter is coming 11 August 2020 from HarperTeen, and her short fiction and poetry have appeared in a variety of magazines and anthologies.
A Curious Kind of Magic (2025) Mara Rutherford "This is cozy fantasy at its best: a charming concept; an earnest, endearing heroine; and her equally lovable found family. Reading A Curious Kind of Magic feels like sipping rose hot chocolate while nestling under a fuzzy blanket on a rainy day. It made me so happy, and I can't wait for my own copy!"
The Changeling Queen (2025) Kimberly Bea "I never knew just how much I needed the dark and thorn-riddled history of Tam Lin's fabled foe until I read The Changeling Queen. As entrancing as the ever-shifting magic at its core, it had me rooting for the Queen of Faery and her journey of sacrifice from misfit to monarch until the very last line."
Beasts of Carnaval (2025) Rosália Rodrigo "Beasts of Carnaval is, quite simply, a marvel. Rodrigo's skillful storytelling unmasks the rot behind the seductive gilt facade of empire while simultaneously rendering resilient, multifaceted characters with such nuance and compassion that I was left aglow with hope."
Embrace the Serpent (2025) Sunya Mara "A story as multifaceted and compelling as any necklace its clever jewelsmith crafts, Embrace the Serpent will keep the reader eagerly chasing after Saphira and her Serpent King until the last page."
A Market of Dreams and Destiny (2023) Trip Galey "If, like me, you have ever longed to nibble on forbidden fruit, if you have ever wished to enter into your own foolish faerie bargain, then read this book. Deliciously written and drenched in imagination, A Market of Dreams and Destiny builds on the wicked allure of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market while examining what happens in a world when literally everything can be bottled and sold for the right price."
Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove (2022) Rati Mehrotra "Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove is the high fantasy novel I've been hungering for. An exciting, richly drawn world grounded in ancient Indian lore and tradition? Multifaceted monsters both human and otherwise? A sword-wielding heroine who must discard everyone else's stories in order to find her own? Um, yes, please! Read this book."
Our Crooked Hearts (2022) Melissa Albert "A dark, searing force burns at the core of Our Crooked Hearts, one that circles the reader as subtly, as inevitably as a hunter closing in on a rabbit before the kill. Deftly melding intoxicating witchcraft with the equally potent spell of trauma handed down from mother to daughter, Melissa Albert examines how far love and friendship can be twisted before they corrode into something else-and, in the aftermath, what it truly means to claim one's power. An ominous and irresistibly compelling read."
A Dark and Starless Forest (2021) Sarah Hollowell "A Dark and Starless Forest reeled me in, vine by creeping vine, and held me under the sway of its mysterious forest and magical siblings from the first page until the last. Hollowell skillfully combines the wonder and challenges of found family with a deadly tug-of-war between insidious forces eager to exploit that family in an eerie, resonant tale about learning to reclaim your own power and anger to protect those you love."
Girl, Serpent, Thorn (2020) Melissa Bashardoust "Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a tale a rose might tell, lushly perfumed and lined with thorns in all the right places. With complex women, Persian demons, a gorgeously twisting narrative, and the age-old question of what it means to be a monster, it had me eagerly flipping pages until the very end. I only wish there were more!"
