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Hidden Magic fantasy books

The world looks ordinary. It absolutely is not.

Magic exists. Most people don't know it. A few do, and they're very good at keeping the seams of the world stitched shut. Hidden magic trades on the thrill of the threshold — the moment a character steps through a door they walked past a hundred times and finds out it leads somewhere else. The familiar becomes strange. The strange becomes home.

The foundation of urban fantasy and portal fantasy alike. Pairs naturally with chosen-one reveals, secret societies, and protagonists who suddenly realize their weird childhood made perfect sense. Available across every age band, from cozy middle-grade discoveries to adult novels where the hidden world is closer to a war zone than a wonder.

What to expect
  • Magic just beneath the ordinary
  • Discovery moments that hit hard
  • Secret societies and rule-keepers
  • Worlds within the world we know
34 books
Newest firstHighest rated
Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
PG-13YA 12-17
Spellcaster
Spellcaster
Claudia Gray
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Untold
Untold
Sarah Rees Brennan
PG-13YA 12-17
Shadowfell
Shadowfell
Juliet Marillier
PG-13YA 12-17
The Shadow-Collector's Apprentice
The Shadow-Collector's Apprentice
Amy Gordon
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Charmfall
Charmfall
Chloe Neill
PG-13YA 12-17
The Magic Cake Shop
The Magic Cake Shop
Meika Hashimoto
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
The Death of Yorik Mortwell
The Death of Yorik Mortwell
Stephen Messer
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Out of the Waters
Out of the Waters
David Drake
PG-13Adult 18+
The Wretched of Muirwood
The Wretched of Muirwood
Jeff Wheeler
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Guardian of the Dead
Guardian of the Dead
Karen Healey
PG-13YA 12-17
Magic's Design
Magic's Design
C. T. Adams;Cathy Clamp
RAdult 18+
Magic's Design
Magic's Design
Cat Adams
RAdult 18+
The Museum's Secret
The Museum's Secret
Henry Chancellor
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Return to Me
Return to Me
Julia Templeton
RAdult 18+
The Camelot Spell
The Camelot Spell
Laura Anne Gilman
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Touch of Night
Touch of Night
Susan Spencer Paul
RAdult 18+
Shapeshifter's Quest
Shapeshifter's Quest
Dena Landon
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Sky Carver
Sky Carver
Dean Whitlock
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
47
47
Walter Mosley
PG-13YA 12-17
The Trouble with Magic
The Trouble with Magic
Patricia Rice
PG-13Adult 18+
Sunshine
Sunshine
Robin McKinley
RAdult 18+
Wizards of the Game
Wizards of the Game
David Lubar
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country
Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country
Patricia C. Wrede;Caroline Stevermer
PGYA 12-17
Exile's Honor
Exile's Honor
Mercedes Lackey
PG-13YA 12-17
The Fire Within
The Fire Within
Chris d'Lacey
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
The door in the tree
The door in the tree
William Corlett
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
The Fall
The Fall
Garth Nix
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Griffin's Castle
Griffin's Castle
Jenny Nimmo
PGMiddle Grade 8-12
Wild Magic
Wild Magic
Jo Clayton
PGMiddle Grade 8-12