Culpeper County Library271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper, Virginia 22701 | 540-825-8691https://www.cclva.org |
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Fantasy and Science Fiction August 2025 |
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| Idolfire by Grace CurtisIn this post-apocalyptic science-fantasy mashup, two women on opposite sides of the world set out towards Nivela, a once-powerful city teeming with ancient magic waiting to be reawakened. When Aleya and Kirby's paths converge, their alliance may be the key to saving the world. For fans of: LGBTQIA+ fiction with in-depth worldbuilding and bittersweet romance such as Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. |
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The enchanted greenhouse
by Sarah Beth Durst
"New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. The hardcover edition features beautiful sprayed edges. Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium. This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She's starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes-at least until she's ready to sail home. But Terlu can't return home and doesn't want to-the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing-causing the death of everything within them-Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again. This time, though, she isn't alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island-and have a fresh chance at happiness and love. Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances-to others and to yourself"
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A forbidden alchemy
by Stacey McEwan
"This stunning slow-burn romantasy follows a fated pair who uncover a world-changing secret and are thrust into a violent class war, navigating love, loss, and devastating betrayals. Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are twelve years old when they are whisked away from the shadows of their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to discover their magical potential. Those who pass Belavere's test will become Artisans, wielders of powerful elemental magic destined to fulfill the city's grand ambitions. For Nina, the Artisan School symbolizes a dream and an escape from her harsh reality, while Patrick yearns to return to his Craftsman family, whose extraordinary physical strength serves the idium mines keeping the city alive. And then they uncover a devastating truth: Artisans aren't born, they're chosen. They part ways on very different paths, leaving them to carry the burden of this secret alone. In the years that follow, a Craftsman revolution ignites, thrusting Nina and Patrick into opposingfactions of a brewing war. Now an elite Artisan with the very rare talent for charming earth, Nina has turned her back on the fight, haunted by the loss of her found family. But fate intervenes when she is captured by Patrick's rebel group. Despite the years and conflict that separates them, Patrick hasn't forgotten Nina. He desperately seeks her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City. Reluctantly, she agrees, battling the sparks flying between them. But when Nina's first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the sake of the Artisans, Nina faces an impossible choice that could alter the fate of their world"
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| Greenteeth by Molly O'NeillWhen Temperance, falsely accused of witchcraft, is thrown into a lake, she is unexpectedly rescued by a sharp-toothed monster lurking within its depths. This monster, Jenny Greenteeth, forms an unlikely alliance with Temperance to save the town and Britain from an encroaching evil. For fans of: richly detailed fantasy laden with monsters who are more than their fangs, such as Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher. |
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| The Incandescent by Emily TeshDoctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School, and one of the most powerful magicians in all of England. Demonic forces converge on the school, and Doctor Walden must balance her considerable power, uphold her responsibility to keep the students safe, and even confront a potential evil from within. Fans of sapphic fantasy and dark academia "won’t want to miss this thoughtful exploration of privilege, power, and private school education" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Wearing the lion
by John Wiswell
"Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings a humanizing and humorous touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth-and the goddess reluctantly bound to him"
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Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame
by Neon Yang
Yeva, the masked guildknight, has had a gift for slaying dragons since she was 13. Now, she must travel to the kingdom of Quanbao where dragons are not slain, but revered, to kill a dragon for her emperor. As Yeva searches for the beast, she finds herself opening up to the kingdom -- and its queen Lady Sookhee. This emotional and character-driven queer fantasy novella "will be a hit with fans of dragons and slow-burn romantasy" (Library Journal).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Culpeper County Library271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper, Virginia 22701 | 540-825-8691https://www.cclva.org |
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