5 of the Coolest Settings in YA Fantasy

The Night Court (A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas)
Okay, you should probably start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, in which Feyre first finds herself living in the Kingdom of Prythian with Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court, after sort-of-accidentally killing one of the Fae. But A Court of Mist and Fury is where it really gets good. After saving Tamlin from the darkness threatening the entire faerie realm, Feyre has to fulfill a bargain she struck with Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. And sure, the Spring Court is nice, if you like flowers and stuff, but the Night Court is dark and threatening and stuffed to the brim with mysterious power. It’s also beautiful and artistic and surprisingly charming. And the best part? There’s still more of Prythian to explore.

Weep (Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor)
Lazlo Strange is a junior librarian who has been dreaming of the visiting the lost city of Weep for as long as he can remember. So when emissaries from Weep show up at his library’s door, he seizes his chance and winds up somewhere beyond his wildest imaginings. Weep is haunted, both by the effects of a 200-year-old conflict between its mortal residents and the blue-skinned gods who landed a giant citadel in the city and by actual ghosts. When Sarai, one of the Godspawn secretly living inside the citadel, starts visiting Lazlo in his dreams, the two find themselves at the heart of a very long and complicated war.

Alaka (A Crown of Wishes, by Roshani Chokshi)
In this companion novel to the gorgeousness that is Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen, Gauri and Vikram, two royals from enemy kingdoms both attempting to secure political stability, team up to compete in the Tournament of Wishes. But getting to the tournament is half the battle. It’s held in the mythical world of Alaka, the residence of many magical creatures and dangerous deities who could easily kill a couple of mortals. The risk is worth it: if they win, they get a wish. Gauri and Vikram face death in style, surrounded by opulent palaces, lush gardens, and beautiful immortals, in a world we would dearly love to visit.

Rogue City (Revenge and the Wild, by Michelle Modesto)
In this wild west fantasy, orphaned Westie is seeking revenge on the cannibals who killed her family and took her arm—and Rogue City is the best place to find it. The city is home to saloons and gunfights and monsters and a failing magical ward that stops the monsters from killing humans (and vice versa). Westie’s adopted father is looking for investors to back his latest invention, which could stop the ward from falling apart. The problem? The prospective investors may be the cannibals who ate Westie’s family. This is a gun-slinging fantasy world you’ll want to crawl into—and then quickly crawl out of before you turn into dinner.

The Kingdom of Brooklyn (Vassa in the Night, by Sarah Porter)
If you prefer fantasy worlds of the creepy, surreal variety, Vassa in the Night is the story for you. In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, magic can help or hurt. In Vassa’s working-class corner of Brooklyn, it mostly hurts. So when Vassa is sent out to Babs Yaggs’ bodega—the location of many a late-night shoplifter’s beheading—she knows things could get messy. And, of course, they do. Trapped in indentured servitude at the bodega, Vassa quickly realizes there are much stranger things afoot than a store that dances on chicken legs. (And even that’s pretty weird in this dark, otherworldly version of Brooklyn.)