Magic is real. (Or at least, we’d like to believe it is.)
And that’s part of the reason we love fantasy so much, it lets us escape our (sometimes boring) reality to go off on other-worldly adventures filled with fantastical creatures, powerful heroines, and (ideally) a not-so-bad boy who is secretly a prince who doesn’t like anyone but the MC…but we digress. Whether we’re reading a fairy tale retelling or an urban fantasy, we’re transported to worlds where the mundane is magical.
This is especially true when it comes to the genre of magical realism, where authors weave fantasy and reality together as an inseparable force. Magical realism is especially exciting to explore during Latine Heritage Month because the genre originally flourished in Latin America where authors drew inspiration from their cultures and communities to build worlds where magic existed in tandem with our reality. Translation: it’s the closest we’ll get to experiencing real magic (yes, please!).
So if you’re eager to find the magic in your own life, we recommend adding these 19 Latine fantasy books to your TBR right now.
22 Latine Fantasy Books
THAT ARE MUST-READS
1. Breakup From Hell by Ana Dávila Cardinal
Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.
It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.
Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.
She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?
2. Capitana by Cassandra James
Ximena Reale has spent most of her life training at La Academia to join the Cazadores, seafaring hunters who track down pirates. But her future is uncertain, thanks to her parents’ questionable reputation. They were traitorous pirates, and though they were executed when Ximena and her sister were young, they permanently damaged the Reale name in the eyes of the Luzan Empire.
Ability alone won’t make Ximena a Cazadoro—or earn her the coveted Cazadoro cloak. So, when the legendary pirate Gasparilla returns and captures the Empire’s queen, Ximena offers to bring back the queen and the notorious pirate in exchange for a cloak. But there’s a catch: Only one cloak is available, and Ximena’s competition is Dante, an infuriating yet handsome classmate with mysterious motives.
With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest across the high seas. But no matter how far Ximena sails, her family’s legacy haunts her, and her exposure to a world outside of la academia leads her to question the very laws she’s always fought to uphold. Is it possible she’s been on the wrong side all along?
3. Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes
When you grow up in a funeral home, death is just another part of life. But for sixteen-year-old Jaxon Santiago-Noble, it’s also part of his family’s legacy. Most dead bodies in the town of Jacob’s Barrow wind up at Jaxon’s house; his mom is the local mortician, after all. He doesn’t usually pay them much mind, but when Christian Reyes is brought in after a car accident, Jaxon’s world is turned upside down.
There are a lot of things Jaxon wishes he could have said to his once best friend and first crush. When he accidentally resurrects Christian, Jaxon might finally have that chance. But the more he learns about his newfound necromancy, the more he grasps that Christian’s running on borrowed time—and it’s almost out.
As he navigates dark, mysterious magics and family secrets, Jaxon realizes that stepping into an inherited power may also mean opening up old family wounds if he wants to keep the boy he may be falling for alive for good.
4. Frontera by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo
Mateo makes the dangerous journey back home to the United States through the Sonoran Desert with the help of a new friend, a ghost named Guillermo in a supernatural borderland odyssey by debut graphic novelists Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo.
As long as he remembers to stay smart and keep his eyes open, Mateo knows that he can survive the trek across the Sonoran Desert that will take him from Mexico to the United States. That is until he’s caught by the Border Patrol only moments after sneaking across the fence in the dead of night.
Escaping their clutches comes at a price and, lost in the desert without a guide or water, Mateo is ill-prepared for the unforgiving heat that is sure to arrive come sunrise. With the odds stacked against him, his one chance at survival may be putting his trust in something, or rather someone, that he isn’t even sure exists.
If you’d asked him if ghosts were real before he found himself face-to-face with one, Mateo wouldn’t have even considered it. But now, confronted with the nearly undeniable presence of Guillermo, he’s having second thoughts. Having spent his afterlife guiding migrants to safety, Guillermo knows things about the Sonoran Desert far beyond what could be explained by a mere hallucination. But even as Mateo forms an uneasy partnership with Guillermo, survival is still uncertain.
The Sonoran Desert, with its hostile temperatures and inhabitants, is teeming with danger as the Border Patrol and rogue militias prowl its deadly terrain. As his journey stretches on, Mateo will have to decide exactly what and who he’s willing to sacrifice to find home.
5. The Hills Of Estrella Roja by Ashley Robin Franklin
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for Girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home; it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile, or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.
Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.
Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
6. Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia
A scorned god.
A mysterious acolyte.
A forgetting drug.
A dangerous forest.
One girl caught between the freedom she always wanted and a sister she can’t bear to leave behind.
Under the cover of the Night Forest, will Lucha be able to step into her own power…or will she be consumed by it?
This gorgeous and fast-paced fantasy novel from acclaimed author Tehlor Kay Mejia is brimming with adventure, peril, romance, and family bonds–and asks what it means for a teen girl to become fully herself.
7. The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
“Only the most powerful and honorable semidioses get chosen. I’m just a Jade. I’m not a real hero.”
As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the chaotic Obsidian gods at bay. Sol selects ten of the most worthy semidioses to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all–they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body melted down to refuel the Sun Stones, protecting the world for another ten years.
Teo, a seventeen-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of the goddess of birds, isn’t worried about the Trials . . . at least, not for himself. His best friend, Niya is a Gold semidiós and a shoo-in for the Trials, and while he trusts her abilities, the odds of becoming the sacrifice is one-in-ten.
But then, for the first time in over a century, the impossible happens. Sol chooses not one, but two Jade competitors. Teo, and Xio, the thirteen-year-old child of the god of bad luck. Now they must compete in five trials against Gold opponents who are more powerful and better trained. Worst of all, Teo’s annoyingly handsome ex-best friend and famous semidiós Hero, Aurelio is favored to win. Teo is determined to get himself and his friends through the trials unscathed–for fame, glory, and their own survival.
8. The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero
Magic will burn you up.
Sent to stay with her aunt in Prague and witness the humble life of an artist, Ilana Lopez—a biracial Jewish girl—finds herself torn between her dream of becoming a violinist and her immigrant parents’ desire for her to pursue a more stable career.
When she discovers a forgotten Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage, she meets the ghost of a kindhearted boy named Benjamin, who died over a century ago. As Ilana restores Benjamin’s grave, he introduces her to the enchanted side of Prague, where ghosts walk the streets and their kisses have warmth.
But Benjamin isn’t the only one interested in Ilana. Rudolph Wassermann, a man with no shadow, has become fascinated with her and the music she plays. He offers to share his magic, so Ilana can be with Benjamin and pursue her passion for violin. But after Ilana discovers the truth about Wassermann and how Benjamin became bound to the city, she resolves to save the boy she loves, even if it means losing him—forever.
9. The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
On Mar León-de la Rosa’s 16th birthday, el Diablo comes calling.
Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn’t enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar’s father and the entire crew of their ship.
When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up your soul to save your father by the Harvest Moon or never see him again. The task is impossible–Mar refuses to make a bargain and there’s no way their magic is any match for el Diablo. Then, Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate — and the captain’s son; and Dami, a genderfluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption–or it could mean certain death.
10. The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
One night can change our entire lives. This is a truth that Graciela Cristales knows all too well after her world is upended when she and a boy she barely knows, Lock, are assaulted at the same party. In the days that follow, Ciela loses her ability to make enchanted pan dulce and the world shatters around her like broken mirrors.
Grappling with her own trauma and guilt, Ciela tries to befriend Lock only to discover that while she remembers what happened, he does not. At first glance, The Mirror Season is an exploration of trauma and healing, but at its heart, McLemore highlights the way gender and colorism affect the way we treat sexual assault survivors.
Through all the self-doubt, confusion, and shame, Ciela attempts to put the broken pieces back together.
11. Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
The world in the Infinity Son series is one rife with generational oppression caught in a ravenous cycle of violence. Set in New York, two brothers Emil and Brighton have joined the Spell Walkers, a group of vigilantes determined to rid the world of specters, creatures who steal the magic from endangered creatures.
But where Brighton wishes for his own magic so he can join the fray, Emil just wants to put an end to the war. Everything changes when Emil finds himself with powers of his own, powers he never wanted, and Brighton is left with nothing.
With personal relationships put to the test and a struggle to find humanity at the heart of it all, brotherhood and loyalty are called into question in this fast-paced fantasy where no one will leave the same as they started.
12. Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
Xochital only wants one thing: to have someone to share her spirit with. Trouble is, she’s on a journey to fulfill her destiny of wandering the desert alone and sharing the stories of the villagers she meets along the way.
For years, she’s content to do this until Xo hears a story she doesn’t want to tell from an unlikely storyteller: Emelia, daughter of a murderer who is as cold as she is beautiful. That night, Xo resolves to return to her home and save her people, their magic, and her life. Each of Us a Desert helps us realize that no matter how lonely we might feel we are never truly alone.
13. Nocturna by Maya Motayne
An unlikely duo teaming up, an ancient power accidentally unleashed, and overcoming childhood trauma? Sign us up.
Finn is a faceshifter who hasn’t seen her own reflection in years, and when she’s forced to steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or risk losing her magic forever, she crosses paths with the heir-apparent, Prince Alphie, who is obsessed with bringing his brother back from the dead at any cost—even if it means using dark magic.
When their fates collide, they accidentally unleash a centuries-old power that threatens to destroy the world. Finn and Alphie must work together in a race against time to save Castallan, even if it means risking themselves and uncovering parts of them they’d rather keep buried.
14. Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova
As a Robari, Renata Convida possesses one of the rarest and most coveted magical abilities of the Moria: she can rip memories from minds and leave them with nothing. When she was just a child, she was kidnapped by the Royal Family and forced to use her magic to help them in their quest to destroy magic entirely.
But what the King doesn’t know is that she’s fighting for the Whispers, a rebel group working to save the Moria from certain death. When the commander unit—who also happens to be her lover (swoon)—is captured, Ren resolves to risk everything to save him.
Along the way, Ren learns she must help herself before she can help anyone else. Through it all one thing is clear: the person she thinks she is, and who she is destined to be are two very different people.
15. The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older
This generational fantasy about a Cuban American family is part love-letter part ghost story exploring how our past never really stays in the past.
During the Cuban Revolution, Marison vanished without a trace, leaving nothing behind but her spirit. In the present day, her spirit visits her nephew, Ramón, and encourages him to learn her story and uncover their family history, no matter how painful it might be. In his journey to find the truth, Ramón reconnects with his identity, falls in love, and finds himself in the crosshairs of a murderous gangster all in the name of finally finding freedom, for himself and his ancestors.
In Daniel José Older’s book, we learn the past is never really behind us, it’s part of who we are.
16. Diamond City by Francesca Flores
In a city filled with corruption and criminals, Aina Solís becomes an assassin in order to survive after her parents are executed for their religious beliefs. Her wit as sharp as her blade, Aina is trapped in a world in desperate need of saving.
Forbidden romance and blood magic are just the icing on top of the cake in this story of overcoming oppression and rising up against an overbearing power. In a world where right and wrong aren’t ever black and white, Aina must decide between continuing to serve the man who saved her or finally learning to stand on her own.
Nothing is what it seems…can Aina learn to trust anyone but herself?
17. The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind by Meg Medina
Where does power come from? For the villagers of Tres Montes, Sonia Ocampo’s power of protection is a gift from God and she was sent to spare them from a storm that should have destroyed them all.
But Sonia isn’t so sure. She doesn’t believe in herself, in her power to save and heal, and still the villagers come to her in their time of need, desperately searching for a little bit of hope. Torn between who she thinks she is and who everyone believes her to be, Sonia turns to unlikely sources to help her on her way. With the help of the ghost of her abuela, an orphan, and a lost brother, Sonia learns that miracles are more than magic, and that hope might be the most powerful force of all.
18. Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes
Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana’s deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother’s mystical blessing—one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations.
Then Nana’s ghost appears with a challenge from beyond the grave. As it turns out, Nana did give Ava a blessing, but it missed its target, landing with the boy from the night of the storm instead. Was it fate? Ava refuses to believe so. With the help of her sisters and Nana’s rather bumbling spiritual guide, she’s determined to reclaim her share of the family magic and set Nana free.
For guarded Ava, befriending some random boy is the last thing she wants to do. She’s gotten along just fine protecting her heart—keeping people at a distance is a great way to ensure no one ever hurts you. But as Ava embarks on her mission to retrieve the lost blessing, she starts to wonder if getting close to thunderstorm boy is worth the risk.
19. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.
With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
20. All of Us with Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil
Xochi is alone, abandoned, betrayed, and determined to run from a past that is too painful to face when she meets Pallas, who makes her an offer that changes her life.
With her newfound chosen family, Xochi finally feels at peace. That is, until she and Pallas accidentally unleash a pair of dangerous ancient creatures who leave nothing but destruction in their wake (oops?). The mystical beings have exactly one goal: to seek revenge on the people who have hurt Xochi. But nothing is as simple as it seems, and more than the people in Xochi’s past are at risk.
21. Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore
Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water. But Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who’ve been there. Bastián grew up both above the lake and in the otherworldly space beneath it. Lore’s only seen the world under the lake once, but that one encounter changed their life and their fate.
Then the lines between air and water begin to blur. The world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don’t want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it, and to do that, they have to work together. There’s just one problem: Bastián and Lore haven’t spoken in seven years, and working together means trusting each other with the very things they’re trying to hide.
22. You’ve Awoken Her by Ann Dávila Cardinal
All Gabi wants is to spend the summer in his room, surrounded by his Funkos and books, but with his mom traveling, his bags are packed for the last place he wants to visit—the Hamptons. Staying with his best friend should have him willing to peek out of his cave, but ever since Ruth’s nouveau riche family moved, their friendship has been off.
Surrounded by mansions, country clubs, and Ruth’s new boyfriend, Frost Thurston—the axis that Hampton society orbits around—it doesn’t take long for Gabi to feel completely out of place. But when he witnesses a woman being pulled under the ocean water, and no one—not the police or anyone else in the Hamptons—seems to care, Gabi starts to wonder if maybe the beachside town’s bad vibes are more real than he thought.
As the “accidental” deaths and drownings begin to climb, Gabi knows he’ll need proof to convince Ruth they’re all in danger. And while the Thurston family name keeps rising to the top, along with every fresh body, what’s worst is that all the signs point to something lurking beneath the water—something with tentacles and a thirst for blood. Can Gabi figure out how the two are intertwined and put an end to the string of deaths…before becoming the water’s next victim?
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