As the epic second season of House of the Dragon kicks off, fans are left craving more of the intricate politics, fierce dragon battles, and rich character dynamics that define the world of Westeros. While waiting for news about the third season, there’s no better way to satiate the hunger for high-stakes fantasy than diving into a new set of books that have similar dragon-filled stories as Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin. Dive into some of the best dragon fantasy reads as you devour the new season of House of the Dragon. 

Blood & Fury by Tessa Graton and Justina Ireland

In this gripping conclusion to the Chaos & Flame saga, Darling Seabreak, now transformed into the legendary Phoenix, is struggling to understand her new powers and her destiny to be the one that reunites the fractured houses and brings peace. Meanwhile, Talon Goldhoard is still in love with Darling but still feels the sting of her betrayal. All he can do is hope that her rebirth will end the war that his family started, and stop the kingdom from collapsing in violence. Together, they must overcome the dark forces and their own tumultuous pasts to harness Darling’s ancient magic and save the kingdom. 

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The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

In the midst of the Three Kingdom’s war, Mellin’s father plans to sell her for her dowry to have more funds for his opium addiction, but she escapes, disguising herself as a boy and enlisting in the army under his name. Her hard work earns her a reputation and friendships, leading her to Sky, a prince turned training partner. As she questions her new place and her feelings of captivity, she has visions of a sea dragon offering true power at a deadly cost. Meilin must choose between trusting Sky, the spirit of her visions, or an enemy prince who makes her question everything she knows about her kingdom and herself.

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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a millennium, and Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from impending destruction while facing the threat of assassination. Ead Duryan, an outsider and lady-in-waiting to the queen is a secret mage from a hidden society, using her forbidden magic to covertly protect the queen from her would-be assassins. Across the sea, Tané, who has trained to be a dragonrider, is forced to make a decision that will alter her life forever. Priory of the Orange Tree is a tale of three women from different kingdoms and their stories as the East and West divide and the world comes to chaos. 

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The Ruin of Kings

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Kihrin, a thief and minstrel’s son from the slums of Quur, is unexpectedly claimed as the missing son of a treasonous prince, thrusting him into a world of political schemes and ruthless power plays. As a near-prisoner, Kirin soon learns that being a long-lost prince is nothing like the stories tell. The storybooks tend to lie about a lot of things like dragons, gods, and prophecies. For Kihrin was not destined to save the world, but to destroy it. 

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The Rage of Dragons

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

For nearly two centuries, the Omehi people have been embroiled in an endless and unwinnable war. Only the fortunate are born with gifts, and among them, one in every two thousand women commands dragons, while one in every hundred men possesses the ability to transform into formidable warriors. The rest are mere fodder, destined to die in battle. Tau, a young man without gifts, plans to escape this fate through injury, but when his loved ones are brutally murdered he dives into battle, seeking vengeance and the chance to be the greatest swordsman alive.

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Murtagh by Christopher Paolini 

Murtagh, along with his dragon Thorn, faces a dangerous world of hostility and isolation after the downfall of an evil king. As rumors of unsettling changes throughout the land spread, Murtagh and Thorn embark on a challenging journey across unfamiliar and unknown territories. Together they confront foes and allies, leading them to the deceptive witch and her plan that could destroy the world forever. This fourth book within Christopher Paolini’s acclaimed Inheritance Cycle can be read as a standalone, inviting new readers to the World of Eragon. 

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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, originally destined for a scholarly life in the Scribe Quadrant, is thrust into the deadly world of dragon riders under the command of her formidable mother. Despite her fragile body and the danger posed by ruthless competitors like Xaden Riorson, Violet must prove herself worthy of bonding with a dragon or die in the process. Welcome to Basgiath War College, where alliances are fragile and betrayal lurks at every turn. 

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So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Seventeen-year-old Faron Vincent, known for her divine powers, finds herself lost after liberating her island from the Langley Empire. Forced to attend a peace summit, she knows that she will be shown off as a novelty of her people, but her plans are disrupted when her sister Elara forms a forbidden bond with an enemy dragon. As Faron seeks alternatives to breaking the bond without sacrificing her sister, Elara uncovers many dangerous truths about their enemies, and the two sisters face choices that will change their lives forever.

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To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

When fifteen-year-old Anequs discovers a dragon’s egg on the remote island of Masquapaug she forges a bond with the hatchling and unknowingly changes her life forever. After bonding with the hatchling, Anequs is reluctantly allowed to attend an Anglish dragon school, where the Anglish conquerors threaten to kill her dragon if she fails. Despite her lack of formal education and cultural differences, Anequs is determined to protect her dragon and be the one to change the world for the better.

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Kill Your Darlings by L.E. Harper

Fantasy author Kyla, isolated and battling severe depression, finds comfort and peace in writing about the realm of Solera, a world that she created and is full of dragons, magic, and bad endings. On the brink of giving up, Kyla wakes up trapped in her fictional world, surrounded by her beloved characters and facing the villain she created. To survive and save Solera, Kyla must overcome her mental illness and fight to change the story’s grim ending.

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Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey 

In the idyllic world of Pern, an ancient way of life faces a new threat. Lessa, an outcast with a stolen birthright and murdered parents, has always dreamed of revenge. When the ancient danger resurfaces, she bonds telepathically with a mighty dragon, and together they will soar to change Pern’s fate forever.

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When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

In a world similar to ours, young Alex Green lives in the aftermath of the Mass Dragoning of 1955, where countless women transformed into dragons, leaving the world in utter chaos. Alex is grappling with many questions about why her aunt Marla transformed but her mother did not and what happened to those left behind. Amidst the taboo surrounding the event, Alex faces an overprotective mother, an absent father, the denial of her aunt’s existence, and her cousin Bea’s dangerous obsession with the forbidden. 

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Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Gyen Jebi is a painter, not a fighter or a rebel. Jobless and desperate, Jebi is recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint mythical sigils for the occupying government’s soldiers. But when they uncover the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes and the dark origins of the mythical pigments, Jebi realizes that they cannot remain apolitical. Determined to take action, Jebi decides to steal Arazi, the ministry’s powerful dragon automaton, and find a way to resist. 

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Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

Annie and Lee were just children when a revolution upended their world, allowing everyone, even the lowborn, a chance to become dragonriders. Now both have become powerful in the new regime, despite their contrasting backgrounds. Annie’s lowborn family was killed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. As war looms, their friendship morphs into rivalry and Lee must choose between his loyalty to his last remaining family and his beliefs, while Annie must decide whether to protect Lee or become the leader her city needs. 

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Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amélie Wen Zhao

This New York Times bestselling conclusion to the Song of the Last Kingdom duology will bring fantasy fans to a whole new height. The Demon Gods have risen, Skies’ End has fallen, and Lan and Zen have chosen opposing sides. Lan, inheriting the power of the Silver Dragon, believes the Demon Gods must be destroyed to save her kingdom, leading her to seek the mythical Godslayer weapon. Meanwhile, Zen, who bound the Black Tortoise with a steep price, aims to use the Demon Gods’ power to liberate the Last Kingdom and awaken a magical army to battle the colonizers. As the two follow separate paths, their lives converge once more in the mysterious city of Shaklahira to find the answers that will determine their fate. 

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Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying’s dream of becoming a world-class engineer is shattered by her father’s sudden murder. Armed with only her father’s journal of engineering secrets and a jade pendant from the assassin who murdered him, she disguises herself as her brother to infiltrate the male-only Engineers Guild, with the help of Prince Aogiya Ye-yang. As Ying learns the guild’s deadly secrets and evades those who are targeting her for her father’s renown, she must decide between seeking vengeance or continuing her father’s legacy.

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Fathomfolk

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

Tiankawi, a seemingly perfect human civilization, hides a darker reality where humans live in luxury above, and the oppressed fathomfolk- sirens, kelpies, kappas, and seawitches- inhabit the polluted waters below. Half-siren Mira’s promotion to captain of the border guard offers her a chance to help her people, but her efforts are complicated by the arrival of Nami, an exiled water dragon princess. When a group of extremists attacks a city festival, escalating violence and repression against the fathomfolk, Mira and Nami must decide whether freeing their people is worth the risk of losing everything.

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Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

Maren, raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, dreams of a peaceful life with her girlfriend Kaia. But when Kai is taken by the emperor’s prophetic agents, Maren devises a plan to steal one of the emperor’s dragons and rescue her from the Aurati stronghold. As visions of an underground beast plague her and she becomes an apprentice to the emperor’s dragon trainer, Maren uncovers the dangerous secrets of a lost prince, brewing rebellion, and a world-shattering prophecy. 

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Seraphina by Rachel Hartman 

Half-dragon Seraphina, who had a dragon mother and a human father, lives in a world where dragons and humans coexist amid rising tensions. She keeps her true identity hidden, but when a royal family member is murdered she is drawn into the investigation with Prince Lucian. As the two uncover a plot to shatter the kingdom’s fragile peace, Seraphina finds it increasingly difficult to protect her secret, which, if revealed, would cost her life. 

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The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

Deep within Gloamgard Castle, a magically sealed black tower conceals a perilous secret that has been guarded for millennia. Ryxander, the Warden, knows that the ancient warning insists the Door must remain sealed. But when one rash decision results in bloodshed and releases a threat, the world may soon be plunged into darkness. 

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A Vow of Dragons and Storms by G. Bailey

The last dragon rider fae has been trapped in a mansion with no escape for five hundred years, but Story Dehana finds a way in and is the first to enter. The riders, unaware of the vampyre’s world rule in their absence, are suspicious of Story, especially Ziven, the king of the forgotten Moon Dynasty. When Ziven forces Story into the deadly Decidere trial in the dragons’ caves, marking her a traitor, the Sun Dynasty king offers her help and kindness. But as time goes on, Story’s survival becomes uncertain as dragons and enemies come after her at every turn. 

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