8 Fantasy Books With Festival Settings
There’s something utterly magical about a festival—the glowing lanterns flickering against the night sky, the rhythmic pulse of drums and laughter, the tantalizing scent of spiced food in the air. Now, imagine all that infused with fantasy: enchanted masquerades, deadly competitions, and celebrations where magic crackles like fireworks. These books whisk you away to worlds where festivals aren’t just background scenery—they’re the heart of the story, brimming with intrigue, romance, and spectacle.
Whether you’re drawn to mystical carnivals, high-stakes tournaments, or secret midnight revels, these eight fantasy books will make you feel like you’ve stepped straight into an unforgettable celebration.
1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber
For fans of: Illusion, high-stakes games, and romance as intoxicating as dark wine
Caraval isn’t just a festival—it’s a game, a performance, and a world of its own. When Scarlett Dragna receives an invitation to this legendary event, she and her rebellious sister, Tella, enter a realm where reality and fantasy blur. The prize? A wish. But when Tella is kidnapped as part of the game, Scarlett must navigate dazzling illusions, cryptic clues, and a dangerously charming stranger to win her sister back.
🎭 Why It’s Captivating: Caraval is a story wrapped in silken mystery, where love and betrayal waltz together under lantern-lit skies. The lush descriptions make you feel like you’re running through the festival yourself, caught between wonder and danger.
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
For fans of: Star-crossed lovers, breathtaking magic, and dreamlike storytelling
Le Cirque des Rêves is no ordinary circus. It arrives without warning, opens only at night, and is unlike anything the world has ever seen. But behind the mesmerizing illusions, two young magicians, Celia and Marco, are locked in a competition they don’t fully understand—a game of magic that will determine their fate. As their connection deepens, so does the peril, for only one can win.
🎪 Why It’s Captivating: The Night Circus is pure enchantment. Every page drips with lush descriptions that make you taste caramel apples, hear the whispers of an unseen audience, and feel the ache of impossible love.
3. Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
For fans of: Burlesque-style performances, masked rivals, and sizzling tension
In the city of Glorian, the grand Spectaculore festival is more than just a show—it’s a battleground. Magicians compete for fame and power, but for Kallia, an ambitious and dangerously talented showgirl, it’s her chance to shatter the glass ceiling. Yet, as the festival progresses, competitors begin vanishing, secrets surface, and Kallia realizes that the true performance may be hiding something much darker.
🔥 Why It’s Captivating: Think Moulin Rouge meets Phantom of the Opera, with a heroine who is equal parts glamorous and defiant. The festival’s blend of dazzling showmanship and eerie mystery makes every moment pulse with suspense.
4. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
For fans of: Fae courts, forbidden love, and autumnal magic
Isobel is a human artist renowned for painting portraits of the fae. But when she paints sorrow into the eyes of the autumn prince, Rook, she unknowingly commits a deadly mistake. Whisked away into the heart of the fae world, Isobel finds herself in a landscape of eternal festivals, dangerous masquerades, and courtly intrigue—where every step she takes could be her last.
🍂 Why It’s Captivating: The fae revels in this book are intoxicatingly beautiful yet dripping with danger. Every moment feels like walking through an enchanted autumn forest, where whispers of magic and stolen kisses linger in the air.
5. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
For fans of: Bookish adventures, secret societies, and labyrinthine storytelling
Deep beneath the earth, a vast underground world exists—a place where books whisper, doors lead to other realms, and festivals are woven from myth and legend. When graduate student Zachary Ezra Rawlins finds a mysterious book that tells his own story, he’s pulled into the realm of the Starless Sea, where masked balls and moonlit feasts are merely pieces of a greater puzzle.
📖 Why It’s Captivating: This novel feels like wandering through a festival of stories, where each turn leads to something more wondrous than the last. It’s a book for those who love to get lost in the magic of words and imagination.
6. Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
For fans of: Chinese mythology, celestial romance, and breathtaking worldbuilding
Xingyin has spent her life hidden on the moon, but when her mother—the moon goddess—is imprisoned, she sets off on a journey across the celestial kingdom. Along the way, she enters a grand festival held by the emperor, where dazzling tournaments, dangerous tests, and a forbidden romance with a prince threaten to change her destiny forever.
🌙 Why It’s Captivating: The celestial festival is a feast for the senses, blending starlit duels, delicate lanterns, and whispered courtly secrets. The romance is slow-burning yet utterly consuming, like a love written in the stars.
7. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
For fans of: Dark fantasy, blood magic, and chaotic love stories
In a world of warring gods and monstrous power, Nadya is a cleric with the ability to speak to deities. When she crosses paths with a rogue prince and a deadly blood mage, she finds herself caught in a festival unlike any other—one of masked rituals, dark enchantments, and unholy alliances. But in a world where magic is both sacred and cursed, who can she trust?
🖤 Why It’s Captivating: This book is hauntingly atmospheric, with a festival that feels like a forbidden revel—one where every dance step might be your last, and every masked figure hides a secret.
8. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
For fans of: Mulan retellings, magical competitions, and tailor-made love stories
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the empire, but as a girl, she’s forbidden from entering the imperial competition. Disguising herself as a boy, she embarks on a journey filled with mythical trials—including a grand festival where she must craft a dress woven from sunlight. But falling for the emperor’s enigmatic enchanter was never part of the plan…
✨ Why It’s Captivating: The festival setting in this book is pure magic—threaded with stardust, whispered prophecies, and a romance that shimmers like moonlight on silk.
Which Festival Will You Visit First?
From enchanted carnivals to celestial tournaments, these books offer the kind of fantasy escapism that feels like stepping into another world—one filled with fire-lit revels, dangerous beauty, and romance as intense as a midsummer night.
Which of these festival-filled fantasies will you read first? Or do you have a favorite magical celebration that belongs on this list? Let’s talk festivals, romance, and all things wondrous in the comments! 🎭✨
