Standalone fantasy to whisk-me-away. Fairy-tale adventure vibes.
I'm looking for a book to whisk me away and totally suck me in. I feel like as a kid I was transported to another world by books but I can't find any recently. It needs to have some element of magic to it (not necessarily wizards casting spells it could just be a magical place like Narnia or something. either / and / or works). It should have some adventure feel to it. Kind of fairy tale feeling too. I'd prefer a solo book not a series, though that's not a hard requirement. Some similar ones I've read in the past are the Night Circus, or Gallant by Schwab.
I'd prefer it not have a "dark academia" feel. I don't dislike the genre but it feels like every single book in the bookstore I see under Fantasy or YA is like some dark occult thief book where a girl gets sucked into a world of blood and lies and secrets yadda yadda. I want something bright, not dark. I've been eyeing The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, for example.
