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

Just read the Drawing of the Dark which is a bit high stakes and of it's time but nonetheless fairly speeds along, now into Last Call which is quite different. There's one about Christina Rosetti and vampires which is also good and not at all Anne Rice.

Seconded Rivers of London series which are really very enjoyable and like many others on this thread I don't really like fantasy much!

Personally I'd rather poke my eyes out than read Robin Hobbs which for me is like Tolkein but much crapper!

Op, look no further than Fourth Wing. Purist fantasy readers will probably poo poo it but it has a cult following for a reason. Trust me.

Another vote for Guy Gavriel Kay, sometimes described as history with a quarter turn to fantasy. Tigana, Sailing to Sarantium, The Lions of Al-Rassan.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is mostly mainstream SF, but The Doors of Eden is more fantasy.

Jonathan Stroud - the Bartimeus stories.

Jodi Taylor - the St Mary’s Chronicles.

Terry Pratchett of course. Going Postal is the first one I read and was hooked for life.

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardiago is good.Fast paced & limited fantasy elements. Great characters & are based around criminal elements so no world saving involved

The lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch is very entertaining and the world building element is pretty minor. Band of thieves so no world saving going on.

Another favourite for me is Little, Big by John Crowley. Very far removed from the traditional sword and sorcery fantasy epic, it's really quaint.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Its cosy fantasy and its wonderful.

Ilona Andrews is good for urban fantasy which can be a bit more accessible, a bit more modern, rather than the medieval settings you tend to get with a lot of fantasy.

The books are written by a husband and wife team (called Andrew and Ilona), tend to feature strong female protagonists and each series features magic but in different ways in modern settings. The Kate Daniels series is my favourite but there are a few shorter ones, like The Edge Trilogy, that might be good to start with.

Stephen kings the dark tower series. The first one is very slow but the second book ..... always blows me away. Enjoy!!

There are different sub-genres under the fantasy umbrella.

What about trying urban fantasy like Charles de Lint - Trader or Someplace to be Flying. They are real world with fantasy elements.

You could also look at some Folkore/Fairytale inspired fantasy - Katherine Arden Winternight trilogy or Hannah Whitten For the Wolf and For the Throne.

Romantasy has already been mentioned but much of it has strong elements of good v evil. Sarah Maas is the best known romantasy writer currently.

For modern fantasy with elements of magic check out Leigh Bardugo or Olivie Blake.

Samantha Shannon - The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night is a masterpiece of modern fantasy but it might be too extreme to start with.

Anne McCaffrey wrote loads of fantasy novels, including a series about dragons. She is an amazing writer who transports you into so many different worlds. Easy reading for teens too.

Rivers Of London series - not just fantasy but history and geography thrown in.

Terry Pratchett - Inspector Vimes, the witches, Mort, Moist von Lipwig (I have a fiction crush on MvL 😂)

Philip Pullman

I loved The Winternight Trilogy! It's more folklore than fantasy though.

Totally baffled by this. Sorry.
I don't understand why you think you want to read fantasy but you don't want other worlds, strange names or good vs evil. Isn't that a bit like saying you want to read crime but nothing involving murder or detectives...?

However, in agreement that Robin Hobb is probably a good call. Ditto Terry Pratchett, who is probably the one that most non-fantasy readers rate.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I don't love fantasy, but I loved that book.

I love Raymond Feist and Riftwar series and related mistress of the empire. LJ Modesitt song wars (starting with soprano sorceress) and so Robin Hibb for me thr Liveship books

I second Guy Gavriel Kay- his books are like historical fiction with a tiny bit of magic. Try a standalone like The Lions of Al-Rassan first.

Or Terry Pratchett- if you like comic sending up of our real life through his Discworld series- warm and witty- lots of places you can start- I’d go for Small Gods.

More character driven? Robin Hobb- start with The Assassin’s Apprentice- the story of a young illegitimate son of a royal line.

Finally for grimdark- much grittier world’s- lots of swearing and deaths and backstabbings- try Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series or Peter McLean’s Priest of Bones series.

If you’re into romance and curious about romantasy, I’d ask about that specifically in your op as I reckon most romantasy readers (Fourth Wing, Sarah J Mass etc) are probably predominantly romance readers rather than fantasy readers. (Edited for autocorrect- bound to find another once I hit save…)

Another vote for the Robin Hobb series. Everything she has written is brilliant.

It’s not fantasy but a few months ago I listened to the audiobook Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. He wrote The Martian. It’s genuinely become my favourite book ever. I was stuck queuing for passport control for 90 minutes and couldn’t have cared less because I was enjoying it so much. I’m not normally an audiobook person but they chose an excellent narrator.

Guy Gavriel Kay, try Tigana for a standalone or the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy.

The Keltiad books by Patricia Kennealy Morrison too, Silver Branch is the first. They are old paperbacks now, but well worth a read.

Yes this was really good, it was my first foray into to fantasy after 20 years and I enjoyed it.

Sir Terry Pratchett.
I would start with the guards or witches. not with the colour of magic.