5 Great Fantasy Books with Royal Intrigue

This fantastic debut is the first in a completed trilogy about an evil empire and a young woman who vows to bring it down. Baru Cormorant joins the Empire of Masks after it conquers her country and kills one of her fathers. She wants to get revenge by taking the empire down from the inside, so she joins the civil service and is sent to Aurdwynn, a faraway colony. There Baru discovers that a rebellion is brewing, involving dukes and duchesses, and decides to use her position as an Imperial agent to help the political unrest in her favor. But will she survive to see the end of her long game?

This is another exciting debut. It’s inspired by Egyptian mythology and a hidden heir. A decade ago, the Nizhal destroyed the kingdom of Jasad, murdered the royal family, and took over the land. But the Nasad were mistaken—one member of the royal family survived. Sylvia has been in hiding since her family was killed, trying to evade the Nasad army as they search for Jasad rebels. But when her magic powers (but not her identity) are accidentally revealed in front of the Nizhal heir, Asin, he says he will spare her life if she helps him find the rebels. Can Sylvia figure out a way to keep from actually betraying her people or revealing her identity while saving her own life?

This is my favorite T. Kingfisher novel, which is saying something because they are all great! It’s about Marra, a princess from a teeny kingdom. To keep a much larger kingdom from conquering them, Marra’s parents agree to a marriage between her older sister and that kingdom’s prince. But it turns out he really sucks. Like, he’s Joffrey-bad. So Marra decides to leave the convent where she has been living and kill him. She knows the evil prince is protected by a spell placed on him by his fairy godmother. To get around it, she gathers a witch, a (different) fairy godmother, a bone dog, a warrior, and a demonic chicken, and heads to the kingdom to destroy the prince. Because he totally deserves it. This is a darkly funny fantasy adventure you won’t soon forget. (Did I mention there’s a demonic chicken?)

Assassins, and dragons, and queens, oh my! This epic fantasy has a queen, Sabran the Ninth, who has failed to give birth to a daughter, which is needed to keep her kingdom safe. Ead Duryan is a secret mage and lady-in-waiting who vows to keep the queen safe from assassination attempts. And Tané is a dragonrider across the sea. An ancient evil will bring them together, exposing them to parts of the world they’ve never seen, and uniting enemies and strangers. This doorstopper is a richly detailed fantasy for lovers of exquisite world-building.

And last, but not least, a novel of an imprisoned princess and a servant with a secret. Malini is a princess held captive in the cliffside ruins of the Hirana by her power-hungry brother. Hirana was once filled with magic but is now just a shell of itself. Malini’s only visitor in her prison is the servant Priya, who is hiding the fact that she is actually a priestess. But the magic of the Hirana brings out Priya’s powers, and Malini sees them and begins to scheme. Can they work together to free Malini, take down her brother, and save Priya’s family?

For even more fantasy with that royal touch, check out these eight fantasy royalty books.