If you loved howl’s moving castle by Diana Wynne Jones, you should read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia Of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
If you’re a fan of the whimsical vibes and just… well, Howl as a love interest, then Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries could be the perfect Orbit book for you! (I’d also recommend Olivia Atwater’s books too, but more on that later…)
‘Emily Wilde is good at many things: she is the foremost expert on the study of faeries; she is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encylopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby.
But as Emily gets closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones - the most elusive of all faeries - she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all - her own heart.’
If you loved spells for forgetting by Adrienne Young, you should read wild and wicked things by Francesca May
Spells For Forgetting is dark, mysterious and witchy, and if you loved Spells For Forgetting I think Wild and Wicked Things would be a great Orbit pick for you!
'In the aftermath of the First World War, a young woman gets swept into a glittering world filled with illicit magic, romance, blood debts and murder in this lush and decadent debut novel.
On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface. But Annie Mason never expected her enigmatic new neighbour to be a witch.
When she witnesses a confrontation between her best friend Bea and the infamous Emmeline Delacroix at one of Emmeline’s extravagantly illicit parties, Annie is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where magic can buy what money cannot; a world where the consequence of a forbidden blood bargain might be death.’
If you loved Circe by Madeline Miller, you should read Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
These two books get enough comparisons, so I won’t go into too much detail, but while Kaikeyi is still on my TBR, I thought I would include it here anyway (we’ll be reading Kaikeyi later this year for my book club!)
Retellings of mythology and epic literature have become increasingly popular over the last few years, and Kaikeyi is a reimagining of the infamous queen Kaikeyi from the Indian epic the Ramayana!
'The only daughter of a king, Kaikeyi watches as her mother is banished and her own worth is reduced to what marriage alliance she can secure. Although she was raised on stories of the might and benevolence of the gods, her prayers for help go unanswered. She turns to her mother’s library and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat and favoured queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.
But when evils from her childhood stories threaten her world, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak - and what legacy she intends to leave behind.’
If you loved Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, you should read Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
And finally, I had to include two of my favourite romantic fantasy novels of 2022!
If you love the dynamic between Evangeline and Jacks, and the whimsical fairytale inspired writing of Once Upon a Broken Heart (and The Ballad of Never After) by Stephanie Garber, I think you’d love Half a Soul* by Olivia Atwater!
'Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world… but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.'
*I think this would also be an excellent recommendation for anyone looking for an adult fantasy with Howl vibes!Have you read any of the books on this list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!