How Fantasy Readers Choose Their Next Book

Fantasy readers rarely pick blindly. By the time someone opens a new book, they’ve already run it through a series of quiet filters, and most of that happens without them ever noticing they’re doing it. If you write in the genre, or you simply want to understand your own reading habits, it helps to see those filters laid out in the open. 

Here’s how the decision usually goes, in roughly the order it happens. 

Fantasy readers rarely pick their next read blindly. By the time a reader opens a new book, they’ve already run it through a series of quiet filters, often without even noticing they are doing it. 

For fantasy writers, or even readers who want to understand how they subconsciously decide which book to read next, it helps to see and understand those filters. How the decision is made, and the order in which it happens, is actually quite interesting, and for authors, it gives a good idea of how to appeal to your audience long term. 

THEY FOLLOW AUTHORS THEY ALREADY TRUST 

The strongest pull in fantasy is loyalty. Somewhere between sixty and seventy percent of readers reach for a new book because they already loved something the same author wrote, which makes a continuing series about the biggest reason anyone buys. A first book that lands well gives the second one a head start that no cover design or back-cover blurb can fully replicate, because the reader has already handed over their trust once and found it rewarded. 

One of the strongest pulls in fantasy is loyalty. Somewhere between sixty and seventy percent of readers choose a new book based on having already enjoyed something by the same author, which makes an ongoing series one of the biggest drivers in fantasy book sales. When the first book delivers, the next already has an advantage that no striking cover or clever back-cover blurb can quite match. The reader has taken a chance on that author once or twice before, enjoyed the experience, and is far more willing to trust them again. 

That’s why a clear continuation path matters so much in the genre. A reader who finishes the first In All Jest novel and enjoys it wants to know where the next instalment sits and when the one after it arrives. On this site that path is spelled out, running from A Fool’s Errand through to Blood and Amber, the fourth book, listed as a pre-order with a release date of 25 August 2026. The whole run lives on the series page, so nobody has to guess what comes next. 

That is why having a clear path through a fantasy series matters so much. Take the In All Jest series. Once a reader finishes the first In All Jest novel and enjoys it, they want to know what comes next and how they can continue the story. The series makes that easy, with a clear path from the first book in the series, A Fool’s Errand, continuing through to Blood and Amber, the fourth book in the series. That’s why an author website matters: it puts your books and series in one place, so readers can find the complete reading order and avoid guessing which book to pick next. 

THE COVER DOES A LOT OF WORK 

Before a single word is read, the cover has already made an argument. Fantasy readers cite cover design as a top-three factor in their decision more often than readers in any other fiction genre, because it’s the first piece of world-building they ever encounter. It signals tone, scale, and subgenre in a single glance, and it either promises the kind of story a reader wants or quietly tells them to keep scrolling past. 

Before a reader takes in a single word, the cover has already started telling them something about the book. For fantasy readers in particular, cover design can be a major part of the decision to take a closer look. In many ways, it is their first glimpse of the world waiting inside, signalling the tone, scale and even the type of fantasy they can expect. A good cover can immediately suggest that this is their kind of story, while the wrong one may have them scrolling past without ever reading the blurb (and potentially missing a great story). 

World-building signals reach past the jacket, too. The interactive chapter-by-chapter maps of Scurra are a good example of this principle at work, letting a reader track where characters are as the story moves and giving them a fairly tangible sense of how much thought sits under the surface. A feature like that works on a browsing reader much the same way a strong cover does, by showing that the world is real and considered before they’ve paid anything for it. 

Those world-building signals can extend well beyond the cover. The interactive chapter-by-chapter maps of Scurra are a great example, letting readers follow the characters’ journeys as the story unfolds and gain a clearer sense of the world they move through. Details like these can also reveal how much thought went into creating the setting. Like a strong cover, they can capture the attention of someone discovering the series for the first time, showing them a carefully imagined world with real depth behind it. 

THEY CHECK WHAT OTHER READERS THINK 

Peer opinion carries real weight in this genre. Fantasy is the most-shelved and most-reviewed fiction genre on Goodreads, and readers here tend to trust a fellow reader’s rating more than a professional critic’s verdict, because that reader is presumed to share the same appetite for the same pleasures. A stack of honest reviews from ordinary readers tells them whether a book actually delivers on what the cover promised. 

What others think can carry a lot of weight when it comes to fantasy. Reviews and ratings from friends, family and other readers offer something that professional criticism and reviews don’t always do: the perspective of someone like the reader who simply enjoys the same kind of stories. Fantasy readers often want to know whether others who love the genre found the characters compelling, the world convincing and the story worth getting lost in. While professional verdicts can be helpful, genuine reader reviews help answer a potential reader’s questions and show whether the book lives up to the expectations that have been created through the cover, the description and the author’s previous works. 

The reviews on this site are named and dated, drawn from Amazon in the UK and the USA and from Kobo, and they run from October 2020 through to June 2026, a span that shows the series has been building its readership steadily across several years. One of them does a particular job that the genre loves. An Amazon UK reviewer compared the magic system in A Fool’s Errand to the inventiveness of Brandon Sanderson, and that single “if you liked X” line does more discovery work than a whole page of description, because it hands a prospective reader a familiar reference point against which to measure something they haven’t yet read. 

The reviews featured on this website are named and dated, with feedback from readers on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Kobo stretching from October 2020 to June 2026. Together, they show a series that has kept finding new readers over several years. 

One review of A Fool’s Errand offers an especially useful point of comparison, with an Amazon UK reader likening the inventiveness of the magic system in the In All Jest series to the work of Brendon Sanderson. For someone discovering the series for the first time, a comparison like this can be incredibly helpful. It gives them something familiar to relate to and a better sense of whether the book might appeal to the kind of fantasy they already enjoy. 

SUBGENRE TELLS THEM IF IT’S FOR THEM

Fantasy readers self-identify by subgenre, and they do it fast. Grimdark, cosy fantasy, LitRPG, epic, high, low, each label carries a specific set of expectations, and a book that positions itself clearly within one signals “this is for you” far quicker than a general fantasy tag ever could. A misaligned subgenre signal sends the right reader straight past a book they’d have loved, simply because nothing in the packaging spoke their language. 

Fantasy readers often identify strongly with particular subgenres, and they tend to know what they enjoy. Grimdark, cosy fantasy, LitRPG, epic, high and low fantasy each come with their own expectations around everything from tone and setting to characters and storytelling. 

When a book positions itself clearly within one of these subgenres, it can signal “this is for you” far more quickly than a genre fantasy label ever could. Get those signals wrong, however, and the right reader may pass over a book they would otherwise have loved, simply because nothing about it suggested it was the kind of story they were looking for. 

If you’re still working out where your own taste sits, or where a given book belongs, a couple of guides on this site are worth a look. There’s a guide to eight fantasy subgenres that maps out the main territories, a comparison of epic and high fantasy for readers who use those terms interchangeably, and a piece on high fantasy versus low fantasy that draws the line between the two. Knowing your subgenre is one of the quickest filters you’ve got. 

If you are still working out where your own tastes lie, or where a particular book fits, a few guides can help. The guide to eight fantasy subgenres explores some of the genre’s main categories and what sets them apart, while the comparison of epic and high fantasy looks more closely at two terms that are often used interchangeably. 

Understanding these distinctions can make it much easier to recognise the kinds of fantasy you enjoy and find more books that match your tastes. 

THEY READ A SAMPLE BEFORE THEY COMMIT 

Fantasy readers sample at a higher rate than readers in most other genres, which puts real pressure on an opening. The first chapter has to establish voice, world, and tone quickly, because a reader who isn’t hooked in those early pages will simply close the sample and move on to the next candidate on their list, and with a genre this crowded, that list is never short. 

Perhaps unlike readers of many other genres, fantasy readers are often willing to sample a book before deciding whether to commit, which puts a lot of pressure on those opening pages. The first chapter needs to give them an early feel for the voice, world and tone of the story, while offering enough intrigue to make them want to keep reading. If those first few pages fail to capture their attention, it is easy to close the sample and try something else. And, in a genre this crowded, there is certainly no shortage of alternatives. 

That’s where free entry points earn their keep. The serial story following Yarek works as a fairly low-risk way to try the author’s voice, and it carries insights you won’t find in the novels themselves, so it rewards the reader who takes the chance rather than merely recapping what they already know. There’s also a free companion world guide that lets a curious reader wander through the world of Scurra before spending anything at all. Both do much the same job a strong first chapter does, which is to let the reader feel the story before they buy it. 

That is where free ways to explore an author’s work can be particularly valuable. The serial story following Yarek gives readers a chance to experience the author’s voice and storytelling before committing to a novel, while also offering insights not found in the books themselves. 

A free companion guide to the world of Scurra also gives curious readers another way to explore the setting, its history, and its details before picking up the series. Much like a strong first chapter, both offer a taste of what lies ahead and help readers decide whether this is a world they want to spend more time in. 

COMMUNITIES AND ALGORITHMS NUDGE THE REST

Two forces round out the picture. The first is community. Fantasy has some of the most active reader communities online, across Reddit, Discord, and BookTok, and a title that catches fire in one of those places can see a measurable jump in sales driven almost entirely by word of mouth passing between readers who trust each other’s recommendations far more than they trust any publisher’s marketing. The second is the retailer’s own recommendation engine. Amazon and Kobo suggestions are a common way readers stumble onto something new, and those engines are particularly good at subgenre matching, quietly steering a grimdark reader towards more grimdark and a cosy fantasy reader towards the warmth and wit they came looking for. 

A few other influences can help fantasy readers discover their next book. One of the biggest is community. Fantasy has a strong presence across platforms such as Reddit, Discord and BookTok, where recommendations can quickly pass from one reader to another. When a particular book starts generating genuine enthusiasm, that word of mouth can introduce it to readers who may never have discovered it through traditional promotion. Recommendations from people who share similar tastes can be especially persuasive, particularly in a genre where readers often know exactly what they like. 

Retailer recommendations also play a part. Suggestions from Amazon, Kobo and other booksellers can introduce readers to authors and series they have not encountered before. Because these recommendations are often shaped by previous browsing and reading habits, they can also help readers stay within the corners of fantasy they already enjoy, whether that means grimdark, cosy fantasy, epic fantasy or something else entirely. 

Awards sit alongside both of these as a trust signal for readers stepping outside their usual circles. A Hugo, Nebula, or World Fantasy nomination reassures someone trying an author they’ve never heard of, giving them an external measure of quality to lean on when their own social networks have nothing to offer. 

Awards offer another useful signal, especially when readers venture beyond familiar authors and recommendations. Recognition from established fantasy awards such as the Hugo, Nebula or World Fantasy Awards can give an unfamiliar book an extra layer of credibility. They don’t guarantee every reader will love it, but they can give you another reason to take a closer look when deciding what to read next. 

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Most readers use several of these filters at once, layering author loyalty over a cover impression over a quick scan of reviews over a subgenre check, and only then reading a sample to settle the matter. A book that does well on one filter and poorly on the rest tends to lose the reader somewhere along the chain, which is why the strongest releases tend to hold together across all of them, with the cover, the subgenre positioning, the reviews, and the opening pages all telling the same story. 

In reality, most fantasy readers don’t rely on just one of these factors when choosing what to read next. Familiarity with an author might attract their attention, followed by the cover, the subgenre, a quick look through the reviews and perhaps a sample of the opening pages. Each provides another clue about whether the book is right for them. The books that make the strongest impression tend to have those elements working together to create a consistent sense of the story and world waiting inside. 

If you’re new to the genre and want a friendlier starting point than a wall of filters, the beginners’ guide to epic fantasy series is built for exactly that. And if you already know your taste and you’re looking for your next read, the full In All Jest range sits in the shop, ready when you are. 

If you are new to fantasy and are not quite sure where to begin, the beginner’s guide to epic fantasy series offers an accessible introduction to the genre and some of the stories you might enjoy exploring. If you already know what you like and are looking for your next fantasy read, you can also explore the complete In All Jest range in the shop.