Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Historical Fantasy Books

This week’s Top Ten prompt is Books From My Favorite Genre. At first, I thought about trying to narrow down my favorite YA fantasy books, but then I realized my favorite genre is actually historical fantasy. Give me turn-of-the-century New York with magic or an alternate history of World War II, and I am there. Here are ten historical fantasy books I enjoyed.

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell: If you’ve been around a while, you already know how much I adore The Last Magician and its sequel The Devil’s Thief. It’s one of the first books I read that made me realize that historical fantasy is totally a thing and it’s my thing.

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy: Again, if you’ve been around, you know I adored this book. While the fantasy/magic isn’t as crazy as The Last Magician, I love the story and the characters. It spoke to my soul, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever truly be over it.

Jackaby by William Ritter: You say Sherlock meets Supernatural and I say “Where do I sign up?” I love how this series is reminiscent of the Sherlock Holmes turn-of-the-century but mixes in monsters and ghosts and supernatural murder. It’s fun.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling: I’m counting this as a book since they have the screenplays available, though I’d recommend watching the movie over reading the screenplay. Still, I love the 1920s New York with magic. The speakeasy, the Second Salemers society, all the magical beasts… I need more books like this.

Enchantée by Gita Trelease: I’ve never have a huge interest in French history outside of context for Les Mis, but Enchantée made me intrigued. The magic mixed with the glamour of French aristocracy is brilliant.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi: Again, like Enchantée, this book made me intrigued for French history. I love all the magic details mixed with historical descriptions. I think the magic brings the story to life in a new way, giving history another angle to tell its tale.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes: I’ve never read a retelling of the Gunpowder Plot, so Fawkes was an interesting book. I like the color magic and how it ties into the historical events. It’s definitely a unique book!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: This book is magic, through and through, but I don’t think it’d be quite the same story if it was set in present day. It’s the allure of history that brings the circus to life.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin: I don’t know if this considered science-fiction or fantasy since aspects of the book could be both, but I’m counting it. Set in an altered history where the Nazis win, this book is powerful and heart-wrenching. I don’t think I breathed properly the entire time I read it.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: Like Wolf by Wolf, I don’t know if this would be classified as science-fiction or fantasy. Another type of altered history, this story follows the daughter of a former slave during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War… except in this version of history there are zombies. It’s a fun book, even if you aren’t a fan of zombie stories. Plus, Jane, the main character, is a firecracker.

What historical fantasy stories do you like? Any suggestions? Don’t forget to join the link-up!