If I want to start reading fantasy novels what would you recommend?

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig - I'm not usually a fantasy reader but I really enjoyed this one. It's part of a duology call The Shepherd King, the second book being "Two Twisted Crowns", built around a card-based magic system.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett for cosy fantasy.

Has anyone suggested The Night Circus? It's a bit marmite but it could be a contender.

Jacquline Carey kushiels Dart series. Alternate medieval France no dragons monsters or gods! On the romantasy line but from before romantasy was a thing (and vastly better written than most).

Anything by Janny Wurtz but probably don’t start the Wars of light and shadow (curse of the mistwraith) as your first..there 12 books in that series.

i do like the Anne Mccaffrey make sure you read in publication order. You might like her crystal singer books too - very light sci fi

I thought I hated fantasy until I read Babel by R F Kuang. It starts like a normal fiction book and slowly becomes more fantasy. I described it as "real enough to believe it".

I know the exact kind of book you mean OP. Not full Game of Thrones odd names and dragons, rather mildly fantasy grounded in some reality.

Mistborn is an excellent recommendation

It's not good if it doesn't suit you though. Following trends is stupid. Some of us like Death Metal - are you going to get into that for fear of missing out?

What about some children's fantasy?
E. Nesbit - one of the first, if not the first, to write in the genre. Influenced, among others, C.S.Lewis.

Real-world children having magical adventures:
Five Children and It
The Phoenix and the Carpet
The Story of the Amulet

Some good calls out there. Robin Hobb is good but you have to really get into it. I'd say Locke Lamora is a great introduction to fantasy. Also Anthony Ryan.

Currently reading the Zero Blessing by Christopher Nuttall and it's great. No saving the world so far and I'm at the end of book 2. It's about a pre-teen girl finding her place in a world full of magic when she has none of her own, and I expected nothing going in but it's actually really really good and quite addictive. No weird names either.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is also very good. Lots of weird names going on but the palace intrigues are great and no world saving either.

And finally, this is perhaps the one that fits your wishes best - clandestine magic by Colleen Cowley. It has magic but it's also about feminism, and while there is a "saving the world" element to it, it has more of a suffragette feel than an epic battles one.

Ursula Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness. Usually classed as sci-fi, but has no science and no interplanetary whatsits. An envoy arrives in a world where there are no sexes — everyone is an asexual androgyne for most of every month, then turns sexually male or female for five days, depending on who they’re around etc. It’s a kind of thought experiment.

"I felt exactly like you before — turns out there are some brilliant, low-key stories out there! Not all fantasy is dragons and doom 😄"

You're right. I read about a page of one once. Something with Elephant in the title. Thought it was awful. But re people wanting to try fantasy. I think it's fomo. If so many folk like fantasy it must be good.

I'm on book 3 of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and I'm loving them! I don't know if they're the kind of fantasy books you're looking for, but this is the first time I've read anything like this as I'm normally a detective type book person but there have been parts in these books where I've had to stop reading and take a moment to reflect and compose my emotions before I could continue reading, I don't think I have ever had to do that with any other books I've read.

Does everyone just suddenly want to try fantasy now because it's a current trend? Is that what this is about? Fantasy books for people who hate the whole idea of reading fantasy, but are just curious...🙄
Yeah, you'll probably still hate it 😁

You won't like Pratchett then.

I sort of understand. I'd like to try fantasy but not outlandish unpronounceable names and silly plots.

Well - there is the Game of Thrones series by George R R Martin. The books are a lot more involved than the TV version.
But I love Kate Elliott's books, particularly the Crown of Stars series. They are based on historical political interactions and civilisations.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson if you want a trilogy, or Tress of the Emerald Sea for a standalone. The whole Cosmere series is very big and complex but they are both great starters and you can just read them and be done with it! My non-reader DH is currently hooked on Mistborn so it’s definitely accessible.

Another vote for Robin Hobb and Terry Pratchett.

Sarah J Maas - Throne of Glass or A Court of Thorns and Roses if you want more romance.

Fourth wing

Lois McMaster Bujold. For fantasy I would recommend The Curse of Chalion to start with. Perfectly constructed plot.

I would second Ann McCaffrey Pern series but if you like a bit of gore with your fantasy try RR Hayward The Undead series is amazing it makes you laugh and cry sometimes at the same time!

I'll echo all the PP recommending Rivers of London series, Chronicles of St Mary's series and Winternight trilogy.

Also Naomi Novik standalone novels - Uprooted or Spinning Silver.

Most recently I finished the Godkilker series by Hannah Kaner. Books 1 & 2 were great, ending book 3 was a bit meh

I’ve only been reading fantasy for about 18 months (having previously eschewed it entirely). I started with Fourth Wing, moved onto the Sarah J Maas books and am now reading mostly fantasy and Romantasy stuff because I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!