Fantasy and Science Fiction December 2025 |
|
|
|
Recent Releases in Fantasy |
|
|
|
The Phoenix King
by Aparna Verma
The Ravani kingdom was born of a prophecy, carved from unforgiving desert sands and ruled by the Ravence bloodline: those with the power to command the Eternal Fire.
Elena Aadya is the heir to the throne--and the only Ravence who cannot wield her family's legendary magic. As her coronation approaches, she will do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy successor to her revered father. But she doesn't anticipate the arrival of Yassen Knight, the notorious assassin who now claims fealty to the throne. Elena's father might trust Yassen to be a member of her royal guard, but she is certain he is hiding something.
As the threat of war looms like a storm on the horizon, the two begin a dangerous dance of intrigue and betrayal. And the choices they make could burn down the world.
The Ravence Trilogy #1
|
|
|
|
The Princess Knight
by Cait Jacobs
Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match--or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.
Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he's attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?
Warrior Ronan promised himself he'd never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz into arenas like they're attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are...well, cute.
He doesn't want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there's no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.
But as they say, love is a battlefield--and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It's a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms...and test all their hearts.
|
|
|
|
The River and the Star
by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
Reina is full of hope.
At long last, Reina has the peace she's been searching for on the idyllic islands of Tierra'e Sol with the lover she's always wanted and in service to the god of the sun. But she can't quite trust how long this will last.
When monstrous creatures of the Void appear on the isle's shores, she is certain she knows who is behind the attacks. Reina will stop at nothing to protect the woman she loves, but it could cost her everything she's fought so hard for.
Eva is cherished.
Finally reunited with her father, the Liberator, Eva struggles to prove herself worthy of being his heir while keeping secret her alliance with the god of the Void. As destruction, both human and magical, tears across the lands, Eva is thrust into a power struggle she's ill-prepared for.
Confronted with the limits of her own ambition, Eva must fight to save herself from the powerful corruption of the Void before she loses the family she holds dear.
The warring gods are returning and the only thing between them and absolute power are two young women. But for the first time in their lives, Reina and Eva have something to fight for. And they won't back down.
The Warring Gods #2
|
|
|
|
The Isle in the Silver Sea
by Tasha Suri
In an England fuelled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes.
Simran is a witch of the woods. Vina is a knight of the Queen's court.
When the two women begin to fall for each other, how can they surrender to their desires, when to give in is to destroy each other?
As they seek a way to break the cycle, a mysterious assassin begins targeting tales like theirs. To survive, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them.
|
|
|
|
The Everlasting
by Alix E. Harrow
Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion's greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children's books and recruiting posters--but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory--failed soldier, struggling scholar--falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives--and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una's legend--if they want to tell a different story--they'll have to rewrite history itself.
|
|
|
|
The Things Gods Break
by Abigail Owen
The gods want her dead...Hades will bury them.
You'd think I'd have learned by now:
Don't mouth off to deities.
Don't fall for the King of the Underworld.
And definitely don't get dragged into a divine death match where I'm the cursed mortal prize.
But here I am--trapped in Tartarus, humanity's worst pit stop, squaring off against monsters who make the gods look merciful. Titans, twisted by centuries of rage and ruin, are sealed behind seven ancient locks.
And guess what?
I'm the key.
To escape, I'll have to survive every horrifying trial they throw at me.
To win, I might have to become something the gods never saw coming.
Oh, and Hades?
He's about to break every rule the gods ever wrote.
Because to save me...the god of death will burn the world.
But if I break free? So do the Titans.
And the world won't just suffer--it'll beg for the end.
Crucible #2
|
|
|
|
The Witching Moon Manor
by Stacy Sivinski
The Crescent Moon is thriving after a much-needed expansion, with the ladies who step through its doors continuing to seek comfort in the glimpses of their futures found in the swirls at the bottom of their teacups. Anne is leading the city's witches as Chicago's Diviner, Beatrix is swept away on a book tour across the country, and Violet has found her place with her feet swinging through the air above the circus crowds. That is, until the Quigley sisters find themselves stumbling on their chosen paths, and they are drawn back home in search of refuge in each other's company.
As Anne struggles to balance her growing responsibilities, Beatrix fears she has lost her gift for storytelling, and Violet is shaken after an accident at the circus, the future the sisters had drawn for themselves feels murkier than ever. And, when the threads of fate begin to unravel, Anne must lean on her sisters and team up with a mysterious--and oddly infuriating--necromancer to save the city from an uncertain destiny and help old friends find a happy end.
With all three Quigleys back in the warm comfort of the Crescent Moon, they set out to bargain with Fate once more. But will the sisters find the courage to embrace who they have become while returning to what they left behind, or will the future unfold in a way that even a Quigley couldn't have predicted?
The Spellbound Sisters #2
|
|
|
|
A Heart of Crimson Flames
by A. K. Mulford
War has begun, and the fate of humans and Wolves alike lies in the hands of three fierce members of the Golden Court scattered across every corner of Aotreas.
Briar Marriel, once the heir of the Golden Court, is now a prisoner in the heart of enemy territory. But when her ex-lover Maez--now a dark sorceress--comes to ""rescue"" her, Briar must decide if she's willing to trust the twisted version of the woman she once loved or remain under the rule of the cruel King Nero. In a war where enemies wear familiar faces, escape might come at a terrible cost. But if she can harness Maez's newfound magic, could it mean winning the war?
Meanwhile, Sadie with the help of Navin races to harness ancient magic that could turn the tide of the war. With their dragon at their side, the Songkeepers uncover long-buried secrets that could save their people--or destroy them all.
At the Golden Court, Queen Calla faces an impossible choice: prepare for the looming battle or risk everything to rescue their twin sister Briar. With alliances crumbling and betrayal lurking at every corner, Calla must rally their court and lead their people into war, knowing the price of failure is unthinkable.
As war ravages the land, and love is tested by darkness, Briar, Sadie, and Calla must confront their pasts and find the strength to reclaim their future. In this epic conclusion to the Golden Court Trilogy, the battle for freedom--and for love--has never been more harrowing.
Golden Court #3
|
|
|
|
The Burning Queen
by Aparna Verma
"So what will you become, Elena? Villain, hero, or conqueror?"
Ravence has fallen. Her enemies have ravaged her people. And now Elena Aadya Ravence must decide how far she will go to reap her revenge. As she is pulled into a bitter war that will decide the fate of her kingdom, a new tyrant rises to reclaim his home, and Elena finds that perhaps her hunger isn't enough.
And his knows no bounds.
The Ravence Trilogy #2
|
|
|
|
I, Medusa
by Ayana Gray
Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else's story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents--both gods, albeit minor ones--she dreams of leaving her family's island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
In the colorful market streets of Athens and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena's favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, the course of Meddy's promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
When her locs are transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity--not as a victim, but as a vigilante--and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.
|
|
|
|
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore
by Emily Krempholtz
Guy Shadowfade is dead and Violet Thistlethwaite doesn't know what to do with herself. Having spent her life as the dark sorcerer's right hand, the powerful witch is now at loose ends. But she does know one thing: she doesn't want to be evil anymore. For once, she wants to sprout peonies instead of poison. The quaint town of Dragon's Rest, she decides, will be her second chance at life-a place where she can set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (and mildly homicidal) houseplant out of trouble, and quit dark magic after a lifetime of villainy.
While Violet's vibrant bouquets and feats of plant magic soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, nothing she does seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. What Violet doesn't know is that Nathaniel is desperately seeking a second chance of his own. But just as Violet thinks she's pruned away all the thorns of her nefarious former life, a mysterious blight threatens her new home and a figure from her past comes knocking. Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, their pasts, and their growing feelings for one another to save their community.
But with everything she's built on the line, Violet can't help but wonder...does a villain like her truly deserve to grow her own happily ever after?
|
|
|
|
Fallen Stars
by Imani Erriu
Never make a bargain with a god.
Elara is out for revenge. Her love, Prince Enzo, is trapped between the realms of life and death, and her enemy has vanished, leaving Elara with a life she never wanted and new powers she cannot control.
Now a disgraced queen on the run, Elara must find a way to wake Enzo while also seeking the lost Titans, a league of gods who ruled the world long before the Stars.
But there is a darker power at play, one that even Ariete, King of the Stars, is afraid of. With enemies at every turn, Elara must tread carefully if she has any hope of saving her soulmate and fulfilling her promise to make every Star fall.
Heavenly Bodies #2
|
|
|
|
Empire of the Dawn
by Jay Kristoff
From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs' sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.
Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and his last hope of ending the endless night--the Holy Grail, Dior. With no desire left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of the Augustin Empire to claim the life of the Forever King.
Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives--speeding towards Augustin's besieged capital in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath forever. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King's legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may be the last time, there will be no-one left for them to trust.
Not even each other.
Empire of the Vampire #3
|
|
|
|
Brigands & Breadknives
by Travis Baldree
Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller's life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend's coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple...
It turns out that fixing your life isn't a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue's gallery of ne'er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.
Legends & Lattes
|
|
|
|
Fallen City
by Adrienne Young
Luca Matius has one purpose--to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city's Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.
Maris Casperia was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel's inner workings, and she knows what her future holds--a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.
As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.
Fallen City #1
|
|
|
|
Brimstone
by Callie Hart
Duty. Blood. Honor. Power.
Saeris Fane doesn't want power. The very last thing she needs is her name whispered on an entire court's lips, but now that she's been crowned queen of the Blood Court, she's discovering that a queen's life is not her own. A heavy weight rests upon her shoulders. Her ward--and her brother--need her back in her homeland...but the changes that have strengthened Saeris have also made her weak. Born under blazing suns, Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver.
Which means that, once again, she must send someone else in her stead...
"Keep your mouth shut. Stick to the shadows. And for the love of all seven Gods, do NOT crack any jokes."
Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate has defeated armies and survived all manner of horrors, but traveling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift might just be the death of him. The male just will not shut up. Hidden dangers await them down the narrow alleyways of the Silver City. Unfolding secrets pose impossible threats. Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.
A darkness falls across Yvelia. The realm and their friends are in danger. Together, Saeris and Fisher will pass through fire and brimstone to save them.
Fae & Alchemy #2
|
|
|
|
The Great Work
by Sheldon Costa
Alone in a frontier town in the nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest, Gentle Montgomery is grieving his best friend. Liam was an alchemist, killed when he tried to capture a creature that shouldn't exist: a giant salamander that drives men mad. When Gentle's nephew, Kitt, arrives at his doorstep, the two set out together to track the monster down so they can use its blood in an alchemical formula that will bring Liam back to life.
It's a hard and haunted journey. The salamander produces surreal nightmares and waking dreams of a blighted, burning future. And Gentle and Kitt soon find themselves pursued by a bloodthirsty hunter, a sadistic judge, and a doomsday cult, all of whom have their own plans for the river monster. Armed with nothing but Liam's alchemical notebooks, they must not only find the salamander but learn to understand it--and the terrifying visions it causes--before it's too late. And as Gentle struggles to comprehend this harrowing experience, it becomes clear that the Great Work of the alchemists may pale in comparison to the small work of human connection.
|
|
|
|
The Strength of the Few
by James Islington
OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM
The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.
But with all that has happened--with what I fear is coming--I am not sure it matters anymore.
I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything--and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.
I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.
Above all, though, I need to find answers before it's too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.
I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.
The Hierarchy #2
|
|
Recent Releases in Science Fiction |
|
|
|
Hole in the Sky
by Daniel H. Wilson
On the Great Plains of Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, a strange atmospheric disturbance is noticed by Jim Hardgray, a down-on-his-luck single father trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Tawny. At NASA's headquarters in Houston, Texas, astrophysicist Dr. Mikayla Johnson observes an interaction with the Voyager 1 spacecraft on the far side of the solar system, and she concludes that something enormous and unidentified is heading directly for Earth. And in an undisclosed bunker somewhere in the United States, an American threat forecaster known only as the Man Downstairs intercepts a cryptic communication and sends a message directly to the president and highest-ranking military brass: "First contact imminent."
|
|
|
|
Red Star Hustle / Apprehension
by Sam J. Miller
Red Star Hustle
Aran, a happy-go-lucky high-class escort, is on the run after he's framed for the assassination of his famous filmmaker client. The last thing he needs is to fall for the studly and noble clone of a murderous puppet monarch while he's trying to stay one step ahead of an ace bounty hunter, who is trying to keep a fatal secret from her toxic boss/mom, which means she can't stop to worry about a little thing like whether her target might actually be innocent. Set within a universe of epic mech battles, and billions of human-made wormholes that make traveling to a distant star as easy as walking through a door or scheduling car service.
Apprehension
A family vacation arranged by Bonnyjean, a grieving mother, her son-in-law Jax, and her six-year-old grandson Tristan, quickly becomes disastrous as Tristan is kidnapped by a terrorist operation that is hoping to affect the planet's upcoming elections between rival parties. They believe Bonnyjean was given a secret by the double agent who died in her arms. However, not only is this a deadly misunderstanding, but it's also a dangerous one as Bonnyjean was last on Nahatanau when she was a special forces operative. Unfortunately, that was over thirty years ago, but she won't let the years nor her bad hip get in the way of rescuing her grandson.
|
|
|
|
Simultaneous
by Eric Heisserer
Federal agent Grant Lukather works for an unknown department of Homeland Security called Predictive Analytics. They look for patterns in tips and chatter to prevent a terrorist event before it happens. One of these calls, about a possible explosion in New Mexico, leads Grant to a case with unimaginable consequences.
He meets Sarah Newcomb, a therapist who uses past-life hypnosis in her treatment but has recently stumbled upon a phenomenon that seems to defy logic. Grant follows this thread to another crime: a copycat killer case in Colorado. With the help of one of Sarah's patients, they embark upon an investigation that spans multiple states, timelines, and consciousnesses. With limited time and only a tenuous grasp of how this phenomenon works, the unlikely trio are in a race for their lives--past, present, and future.
|
|
|
|
Gold Dust
by Catherine Asaro
The worlds of three interstellar civilizations vie for honors in the Olympics. The more populous worlds have always dominated the Games. The team from Raylicon, a dying world of scorching temperatures, has never won honors.
But Mason, the coach for the Raylicon track and field team, makes a startling discovery: in the Undercity, a place where crushing poverty exists alongside a culture of dramatic beauty, a group of spectacular runners has existed for millennia.
The Dust Knights are the best of those marvels. With the help of Major Bhajaan, an Undercity native, Mason recruits the Knights. The Undercity faces a civilization they've never trusted, one that sees them as barely even human. Now, they must all learn to work together.
The Imperialate of Skolia needs the Undercity to trust them--for hidden within its enigmatic population is one of humanity's greatest resources. Their population has a uniquely large concentration of Kyle operators. Kyles can do more than run; only they have the neurological makeup needed to utilize a vital technology, one that gives Skolia its sole advantage over their enemies. The army needs the Kyles, but after centuries of being despised and left to die by the rest of humanity, the Undercity wants nothing to do with them.
Until Angel, one of the top runners among the Knights, joins the Kyle Corps--and dives into a world of neurological marvels, including star-spanning networks that access a dimension with dramatically different laws than our space-time universe.
Dust Knights #2
|
|
|
|
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025
by Nnedi Okorafor
Of science fiction and fantasy, guest editor Nnedi Okorafor writes, "There are times when it feels like a box, but within it, technically, you can expect anything."
The twenty stories in this collection simultaneously fulfill and defy expectations of genre, showcasing boundary-pushing authors at their best. In this year's Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, a robot will struggle to make friends, a team of auditors determines the financial value of a lifetime, an alien species will teach you how to read, and maybe, just maybe, someone will finally do something about the kid in Ursula K. Le Guin's Omelas hole. From the joyous to the terrifying, to the heart wrenching and the absurd, these stories encourage you to open your mind and, as Okorafor promises: "Watch your world expand."
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|