One Of The Biggest YA Fantasy Franchises Of The Past 20 Years Returns Today

Published Nov 3, 2026, 3:10 PM EST Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer and TV critic who covers sci-fi shows like Doctor Who and Pluribus, fantasy shows like The Magicians and Percy Jackson, and horror of all kinds. They also cover Marvel and DC TV shows and movies, with a robust knowledge of comic books. Their TV reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes. Dani is also part of ScreenRant's books team, using their fiction writing and literature studies as the backbone for their book analyses. They have covered events, such as the Denver Fan Expo. Professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale, have shared their articles. Their review of Ponies was quoted in the show's TV trailer. In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18. Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity. A YA fantasy series that has dominated the genre for nineteen years returns today. The past two decades have been great for the YA fantasy genre, with franchises like Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Folk of the Air, and The Twilight Saga becoming global phenomena with fandoms that last to this day. It became extremely popular even before BookTok and other social media bookish communities boomed, and it grew even more lucrative once fantasy and romantasy took off online, normalizing the already existing interest in the genres. However, few have been as big and long-running as The Shadowhunters Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, which has absolutely dominated YA fantasy since the first book, City of Bones, was released in 2007. Now, the series returns with The Last King of Faerie. The Last King of Faerie, which officially comes out today, is the first book in The Wicked Powers trilogy, the final chapter of the long-running series. In the book, former best friends Ty Blackthorn and Kit Herondale must bury their past and unite on a journey to save Ty’s sister, Dru, after Prince Ash Morgenstern kidnaps her and holds her captive in the world of Faerie. This brings back together fan-favorite ship Ty and Kit, aka Kitty or Thorndale. What’s more, as Cassandra Clare mentions in her interview with ScreenRant, the book is the first time we see Faerie as more than a waystation. Purchase The Last King of Faerie here. The Wicked Powers functions as a sequel to The Dark Artifices. Clare is known for trying to make her series-within-a-series as accessible as possible to folks who haven’t read the expansive backlog, which includes 18 main books, as of the time of writing, plus companion novels. As such, The Last King of Faerie isn't completely unreadable for newbies. It’s still best to read the earlier books, though, to fully understand the world, characters, and ongoing conflicts. At the very least, The Dark Artifices gives new readers a solid foundation. Of course, the most agonizing part of picking up The Last King of Faerie is the wait for future books. The good news is there are plenty of books to revisit or read for the first time. There’s so much Shadowhunter lore to learn about. The OG series, The Mortal Instruments, also got turned into a pretty entertaining fantasy TV show titled Shadowhunters, starring Katherine McNamara and Dominic Sherwood as Clary and Jace. It’s a good way to revisit the world while biding time. On top of that, the wait for more The Wicked Powers books isn't too long, and we know the titles. Ahead of The Last King of Faerie's release, Clare’s team announced the final two titles. The Last Prince of Hell, the second book in the trilogy, is expected in Fall 2027. Meanwhile, The Last Shadow doesn’t have a release date yet, but it's expected to conclude the main Shadowhunters storyline. Release Date 2016 - 2019-00-00 Network Freeform Directors Andy Wolk, Mick Garris, Mairzee Almas, Catriona McKenzie, Tawnia McKiernan, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Oz Scott, Mike Rohl, Kelly Makin, Ben Hernandez Bray, Joshua Butler, Jeremiah S. Chechik, James Marshall, J. Miller Tobin, Gregory Smith, Chris Grismer Writers Peter Binswanger, Allison Rymer, Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin