Recs if you like The Star-Touched Queen...

I'm sure some of these are already on your TBR, so might as well add some more! Let me know if I am missing any of your favorites!

Fantasy inspired by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and/or Afghanistan (myths, setting, etc.)

books for the barbie movie lovers

Indian inspired/set fantasy and folklore. Crowd-sourced from an ask in the Asian-inspired Fantasy quest, so check that out too, but always open to suggestions ☺️ Mostly Desi authors, though not exclusively. I have yet to read any, so join me as I work my way through these (and thanks to everyone who suggested them 🤍)

the staples of the book community on youtube in the early to mid 2010s.

Bored of fantasy books that are loosely set in Medieval Europe? Me too. Here are some epic, adventurous, mythological, dark, and spellbinding fantasies set in ancient worlds outside of Europe.

original fantasies INSPIRED by mythology and folklore (Greek, Arthurian, Norse, Buddhist, Slavic, Jewish, Irish, and more!)

books inspired by a range of mythologies (mostly Greek, Egyptian, & Hindu)

Two nobles arranged in marriage, magical worlds, fragile political alliances, kingdoms at stake... what could go wrong?

Some marriages will flourish, some are simply convenient, and some won't end happily ever after ❤️‍🔥

Growing up, I didn't see myself represented in any of the books I read. Today, I get excited when I find a book with a South Asian character. This is an incomplete list of middle grade and YA novels with South Asian characters by South Asian authors that I have found so far!

Books that retell the story of Hades and Persephone or are inspired by Hades and Persephone

Books with sun, moon, stars, or a time of day in the title.

Just getting back into reading and feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the options? These were my go to recommendations for people while I was a longtime bookseller! I've tried to touch on most genres in this master list so you have a good selection, but I definitely could have missed a few since there are so many.

fantasy books written by south asian authors, featuring south asian characters

I love retellings, especially of mythology or fairy tales. Here's a bunch of my favorite retellings. I've only included the first book if it's a series, but in most cases, all the books are worth reading.