Recent Releases in Fantasy |
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Fear the flames : a novel
by Olivia Rose Darling
As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she's ready to do what's necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.
Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can't ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.
As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she'll stop at nothing to see that promise through.
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A dark and drowning tide : a novel
by Allison Saft
Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she's only read about.
The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader--Lorelei's beloved mentor--is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again--and a coup begins in earnest.
But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.
As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth--and resist their growing feelings for each other--they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all.
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The naming song
by Jedediah Berry
There's nothing more dangerous than an unnamed thing
When the words went away, the world changed.
All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named--Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names--could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.
For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future--for the words she carries will reshape the world.
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Bringer of dust
by J. M. Miro
Agrigento, Sicily, 1883. With the orsine destroyed, Cairndale lies in ruins, and Marlowe has vanished. His only hope of rescue lies in a fabled second orsine--long-hidden, thought lost--which might not even exist.
But when a body is discovered in the shadow of Cairndale, a body wreathed in the corrupted dust of the drughr, Charlie and the Talents realize there is even more at stake than they'd feared. For a new drughr has arisen, ferocious, horned, seemingly able to move in their world at will--and it is not alone. A malevolent figure, known only as the Abbess, desires the dust for her own ends. And deep in the world of the dead, a terrible evil stirs--an evil that the corrupted dust just might hold the secret to reviving or destroying forever.
So the dark journey begun in Ordinary Monsters surges forward, from the sinister underworld of the London exiles, to the mysteries of a sunlit villa in nineteenth-century Sicily, to the deep catacombs hidden under Paris. Against bone witches, mud glyphics, and a house of twilight that exists in a netherworld all its own, the Talents must work together--if they are to have any hope of staving off the world of the dead, and saving their long-lost friend.
Talents #2
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Buried Deep and Other Stories
by Naomi Novik
From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the gothic magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy, through the realms next door to Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik's most beloved stories. Here, among many others, we encounter:
- A mushroom witch who learns that sometimes the worst thing in the Scholomance can be your roommate.
- The start of the Dragon Corps in ancient Rome, after Mark Antony hatches a dragon's egg and bonds with the hatchling.
- A young bride in the Middle Ages who finds herself gambling with Death for the highest of stakes.
- A delightful reimagining of Pride & Prejudice, in which Elizabeth Bennet captains a Longwing dragon.
- The first glimpse of the world of Abandon, the setting of Novik's upcoming epic fantasy series--a deserted continent populated only by silent and enigmatic architectural mysteries.
Though the stories are vastly different, there is a unifying theme: wrestling with destiny, and the lengths some will go to find their own and fulfill its promise.
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Vilest things
by Chloe Gong
Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er's bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She now serves as royal advisor to Kasa's adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne.
Only Calla knows it isn't really August.
Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla's betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August's body to survive and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a yearslong coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy's authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom's far reaches to prevent anarchy...even if their empire might be better off burning.
Flesh & False Gods #2
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Six Scorched Roses : A Crowns of Nyaxia Short Novel
by Carissa Broadbent
Six roses. Six vials of blood. Six visits to a vampire who could be her salvation... or her damnation.
Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But while she long ago came to terms with her own imminent death, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands.
Desperate to find a cure, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood--the one hope for her town's salvation.
But when what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more, Lilith is faced with a terrifying realization: It's dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire...and in a place already suffering a god's wrath, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.
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A song of ash and moonlight
by Claire Legrand
THE OLD WAR IS OVER. A NEW ONE IS JUST BEGINNING.
The curse plaguing the Ashbourne and Bask families has finally been broken, but Farrin, the eldest Ashbourne daughter, still struggles to find peace. Unflappable and tireless, her composure masks a seething sorrow. Since her mother abandoned the family, Farrin has been their rock--managing her father's temper, running the estate, keeping tight control over her dangerous musical power, and ignoring her own need for rest, distraction, and most of all, love.
In Ryder Bask, Farrin's stubborn strength has met its match. The man infuriates her. He's coarse, arrogant, annoyingly handsome. He's as tired of their feuding parents as she is, and he brims with some secret anger that mirrors Farrin's frustrated rage.
But Farrin must work with every ally she can--even the man she has been raised to hate. With every rising dawn, the Middlemist weakens further. Anointed magicians are disappearing. A fiery Olden creature is stalking Farrin. Strange visions haunt the High Queen Yvaine. And as Farrin and Ryder race to find stolen loved ones, they begin to realize a horrifying truth:
The gods are not dead. They're waking up. And someone is hunting them.
The Middlemist Trilogy #2
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Phantasma
by Kaylie Smith
When Ophelia and her sister discover their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia's sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma--a competition where most contestants don't make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.
The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win . . . if her fears don't overtake her first.
When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn't trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister's life on the line, Ophelia can't afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.
Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart . . .
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The Ending Fire
by Saara El-arifi
The Wardens' Empire is falling. A vigilante known only as the Truthsayer is raising an army against the wardens. Sylah and Hassa must navigate the politics of this new world, all the while searching for Anoor.
Across the sea, the Blood Forged prepare for war, requesting aid from other governments. Jond's role as major general sees him training soldiers for combat, but matters of the heart will prove to be the hardest battlefield.
The Zalaam celebrate the arrival of the Child of Fire, heralding the start of the final battle. Anoor's doubts are eclipsed by the powers of her new god. Soon the Zalaam will set off on their last voyage--and few expect to return.
Do you feel it? Cresting the horizon? The darkness drawing in, the shadows elongating . . .
The Ending Fire comes.
The Ending Fire #3
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Valley
by Stacey Mcewan
"All things find a way back home."
At the bottom of the Chasm, Dawsyn and her followers traipse through the darkness to find their long-awaited home. But there are whispers all around them and safety is never guaranteed. With her powers much depleted, and food supplies running low, will they even survive the journey?
Above, the Queen and the new King of Glacia still bay for Dawsyn's blood, and they will not stop in their quest to destroy her. And with the help of someone Dawsyn thought of as her friend, they creep ever closer.
Long-buried secrets will be revealed, hearts will be broken and a new day will dawn. Who will reign?
The Glacian Trilogy #3
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Dungeon crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman
The apocalypse will be televised!
You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That's what.
Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world--or just get to the next level--in a video game-like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that's actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain't your ordinary game show.
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
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Recent Releases in Science Fiction |
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Sky full of elephants
by Cebo Campbell
In a world without white people, what does it mean to be black?
One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he's now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn't even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family.
Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly "post-racial" America in search of answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.
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Space Oddity
by Catherynne M. Valente
The Metagalactic Grand Prix--part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past returns and the fate of the Earth is once again threatened. The civilizations opposed to humanity have been plotting and want to take down the upstarts. Can humanity rise again?
Space Opera #2
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The fallen fruit : a novel
by Shawntelle Madison
On a rainy day in May 1964, history professor Cecily Bridge-Davis begins to search for the sixty-five acres of land she inherited from her father's family. The quest leads her to uncover a dark secret: In every generation, one offspring from each Bridge family unit vanishes--and is mysteriously whisked back in time. Rules have been established that must be followed to prevent dire consequences:
Never interfere with past events.
Always carry your free Negro papers.
Search for the survival family packs in the orchard and surrounding forest. The ribbon on the pack designates the decade the pack was made to orient you in time.
Do not speak to strangers unless absolutely necessary.
With only a family Bible and a map marked with the locations of mysterious containers to aid her, Cecily heads to the library, hoping to discover the truth of how this curse began, and how it might be ended. As she moves through time, she encounters a circle of ancestors, including Sabrina Humbles, a free Black woman who must find the courage to seize an opportunity--or lose her heart; Luke Bridge, who traverses battlefields, slavery, and time itself to reunite with his family; Rebecca Bridge, a mother tested by an ominous threat; and Amelia Bridge, a young woman burdened with survivor's guilt who will face the challenge of a lifetime--and change Cecily's life forever. It is a race through time and against the clock to find the answers that will free her family forever.
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This world is not yours
by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancée Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend, Jesse.
The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a "self-cleaning" mechanism that New Belaforme's scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray.
As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself.
There's more than one way to be eaten alive.
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Rumor has it
by Cat Rambo
The crew of the You Sexy Thing have laid a course for Coralind Station, hoping the station's famed gardens will provide an opportunity to regroup, recoup, and mourn their losses while finding a way to track down their enemy, pirate king Tubal Last.
All Niko wants to do is pry their insurance money from the bank and see if an old friend might be able to help them find Last. Unfortunately, old friends and enemies aren't the only unreliable elements awaiting her and the crew at Coralind.
Each will have to face themselves--the good and the bad--in order to come together before they lose everything.
Disco Space Opera #3
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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