Whumpalicious

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

First book in NA fantasy trilogy but can be read as standalone, fantastic whump for main character Kel who is an orphan with extremely rare and othering magic who is raised by the royal family in his country with no memory of his life before living with them. He can travel between 4 parallel dimensions and gets caught up in cross-dimensional crime with people who are much more fucked up and powerful than him. Super fun world building, interesting characters on all sides of the conflict, my beloved, have reread multiple times just because it's so good. Notable whump tropes: stabbed, choking on blood, drugged

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 

First book in adult fantasy series (3 books so far and they come out insanely slow, you can also read the first and be done if you want). Not urban fantasy but very grounded with super interesting world building. Tons of emotional and physical whump for the main character Locke who is a Gentleman Bastard (a thief and con artist who pulls high risk high reward jobs on rich marks because they can blend in with the upper class). Someone makes a power grab in the cities underworld and Locke gets caught in the crossfire. Fantastic thriller, phenomenal supporting cast (I love these boys so bad), extremely funny, Locke is not a fighter but that doesn't stop him from getting in to fights.  Notable whump tropes: drugged, beaten, stabbed

White Cat by Holly Black

First book in a YA urban fantasy crime/mystery trilogy (rest of the series is take it or leave it). The main character Cassel is the only non magic user "worker" in a family of workers. Working is outlawed/regulated so Cassel's family put their talents to use working for an organized crime family. Cassel is kicked out of school which leads him to having to stay with his family and he starts to notice some things about them that don't add up and have dire implications. There is great emotional and physical whump for Cassel and the Magic system is super interesting and has gnarly consequences for the people who use it. I've been rereading this book since I was a teenage and I personally think it totally holds up. Notable whump tropes: nightmares, psychological/magical manipulation, beaten

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

First book in an NA urban fantasy mystery trilogy (third book not out yet) about a woman who can see ghosts getting inducted to the elite magical underbelly of Yale University and its secret societies. Some I know thing happens to her mentor before the start of the book and Alex investigates despite being told to leave it alone. Technically the whump is Lady!Whump but honestly when it comes to reading a book (as opposed to watching something) I'm pretty gender apathetic because there isn't the same visual component as with tv/film that can squick me out when it comes to Lady!Whump. That being said oh my god she gets so fucked up and they utilize magical healing so well to get away with doing a debilitating or lethal amount of damage because they can heal her up and get her back on her feet but it is costly and extremely unpleasant. Some people say this book is really slow I think those people are boring and don't understand the ✨vibes✨. This book has some extremely salvageable flaws but imo slowness isn't one of them. Notable whump tropes: beaten, painful magical healing, magically attacked

Last but not least is a book that is very complex to recommend. 

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

Adult fantasy (no magic or magical creatures) romance (eventually), technically a trilogy but they're super short and really just one book split into three parts. The first book in the series especially has some non-con elements, which is generally something I avoid, but which, in this case, is baked into the fabric of the culture and the two main characters relationship to each other in a way that I think is extremely nuanced and interesting and thematically relevant but also if you don't want to read that I get it. That being said this book is genuinely one of the best, most intricate and tightly plotted books I've ever read. Genuinely phenomenal. It's about Damen, a prince set to inherit his throne until he is betrayed by his brother and gifted (in disguise) as a slave to the prince of an enemy nation as part of a peace treaty. He must keep his identity a secret or risk punishment at the hands of his greatest enemies. I thought this book was gonna be silly smut when I read it for a book club but not only was it not particularly smutty (like 3-4 sex scenes in the entire trilogy which are all character studies) but the writing was so good 😭. That being said this book is so hard and complicated to recommend (despite being one of my favorite books I've read in the last 5 years) because it looks like silly smut (silly smut is valid queens I'm not yucking the smut) but is plotted like a fantasy political thriller and is thematically dark/complex. The whump is crazy good too but like it would be irresponsible to say that without giving context.  Notable whump tropes: held captive, whipped, psychological whump