Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

DRAW DOWN THE MOON de P.C. et Kristin Cast

Introducing a dark and magickal world filled with incredible danger and irresistible romance, this is the first in an exciting new duology from New York Times bestselling authors P.C. and Kristin Cast.

DRAW DOWN THE MOON
by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Wednesday Books, April 2024

Wren Nightingale isn’t supposed to have any powers. Born of magickal parents but not under a moon sign, she was destined for life as a Mundane—right up until she starts glowing on her eighteenth birthday. In a heartbeat, Wren’s life is turned upside down, and she’s suddenly leaving her home for the mystical Academia de la Luna—a secret magickal school on a hidden island off the Seattle coast. Lee Young has always known about his future at the Academia. He has one goal: pass the trials, impress the Moon Council, and uphold his family’s reputation. But he wasn’t expecting to be attending alongside the girl he’s been secretly in love with for as long as he can remember. As Wren and Lee are thrown into the Academia’s grueling trials, they quickly learn there’s something different—and dangerous—about the school this year. Wren will have to navigate a web of secrets, prophecies—and murder. And Lee will have to decide who to protect—his family’s legacy or the girl he loves.

P.C. Cast is the #1 New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling author of the House of Night novels, including Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, and Untamed. She was born in the Midwest and grew up being shuttled back and forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology. After high school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. She now lives in Oregon surrounded by beloved cats, dogs, horses, and family.

Kristin Cast is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author who teams with her mother to write the wildly successful House of Night series. She has editorial credits, a thriving t-shirt line, and a passion for all things paranormal. When away from her writing desk, Kristin loves going on adventures with her friends, family, and significant other, playing with her dogs (Grace Kelly and Hobbs the Tiny Dragon), and is obsessed with her baby.

A BITE ABOVE THE REST de Christine Virnig

Welcome to Samhain . . .

A BITE ABOVE THE REST
by Christine Virnig
Aladdin, August 2024
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Imagine moving to a town where every day is like Halloween: where costumes are worn daily, Halloween decorations stay up year-round, and the town hall looks like a vampire’s castle. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you’re Caleb Fisher. Caleb thinks Samhain, Wisconsin, is the strangest place he’s ever been—and not strange in a good way. Strange in a creepy something-is-definitely-not-right-around-here way.

Then things become even stranger when a terrifying run-in with the mayor leaves Caleb wondering: Are the citizens of Samhain really just humans playing dress-up as monsters? Or are actual witches and werewolves and blood-sucking vampires hiding in plain sight?

With the help of his best friend, Tai, Caleb sets out to uncover the truth . . . ideally before a werewolf devours them for breakfast, or a witch turns them into earwigs. But if Caleb’s growing suspicions are correct—and he and Tai are the only ones who realize what’s actually going on—can they find a way to save a town that doesn’t want saving?

Christine Virnig makes her kidlit debut with Dung for Dinner. Christine is a pediatric physician specializing in allergies where—in addition to dodging the occasional snot rocket or projectile vomit—she gets to talk about topics that most adults find downright repulsive, like phlegm, snot, and dust mite poo. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, two children, and two hairball producers.

THE SOUL THIEF de Madeline Te Whiu

In this gripping story, debut author Madeline Te Whiu creates an unforgettable world rife with grave secrets and suspenseful romance.

THE SOUL THIEF
by Madeline Te Whiu
New Dawn Publishing, 2022 – 2023
(via Kaplan/DeFiore)

Book 1: THE ASSASSIN THIEF (October 2022)

Betrayed by her queen.

Haunted by her gifts.

Forgotten by her people.

Telium was once the most feared assassin in all Alkoria. Now she lives out her days in exile as she fights for dominance over her dark gifts.

But all that changes when an errant Fae warrior enters her domain. Drawn by rumours of a powerful being said to be borne from the shadow of the dark goddess Tenebris.

With their kingdoms on the brink of chaos, he calls for her aid in his mission to defeat the Mad Fae King and prevent an all-out war.

But the road to the Fae capital of Meannthe is a long one, and haunted by memories of her past, Telium must decide if she can risk losing dominance over the darkness in her soul.

Book 2: THE SOUL THIEF (November 2023)

Telium’s greatest mistake has cost her more than she can bear. With the revered King of Thresiel dead, the fragile balance between kingdoms is crumbling, and she may be too broken to stop it.

Now, the mission she lost everything to prevent is resurging. Her traitorous lover is gone, and someone far more menacing has stepped in to take his place.

Forced before an unforgiving Queen to pay for her crimes, Telium is ordered to stop the rising rebellion. With her soul bonded to another, Telium faces a world of corruption, fickle gods and well-buried secrets. She must bargain with her life to protect her people, whatever the cost.

In the thrilling second instalment, Madeline Te Whiu returns us to a world of heartbreak, deadly power and treacherous betrayal.

Madeline Te Whiu is a debut author. Madeline is a veterinary nurse residing Perth, Western Australia along with her husband, dog, two cats and small flock of chickens. Her passion for books began when she was growing up in rural South Australia. She has always had an avidity for reading with her favourite authors are Victoria Aveyard, Sarah J Maas and Peter V Brett, just to name a few.

THE MONSTROUS KIND de Lydia Gregovic

Sense and Sensibility meets The Walking Dead.

THE MONSTROUS KIND
by Lydia Gregovic
Delacorte, Summer 2024
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)

Merrick and Estella Darling are the last residents of Norland House, and the heirs apparent to their family’s Manor seat after the disappearance of their mother leads to their father’s suicide. As the next Manor Lord, one of them will assume the responsibility of ruling over the Darling province of Sussex—and, more importantly, guarding it against the monsters that lurk, unseen, in the fog that edges the province’s borders. History tells that the Phantoms used to be human, until the mist crept into their veins and turned their blood white instead of red. Now, the Manors are all that stand between the creatures and their redblooded prey. Vain and beautiful Merrick just wants to get back to the bustle of New London, where she never wants for an admirer. She sees an advantageous marriage to a Manorborn man from one of the wealthier, more cosmopolitan, Inner Ring provinces as her ticket out of provincial, countryside Sussex. But when her return home to Norland House results in the reveal of a world-altering secret—that her father was himself a Phantom—her future changes in a flash.
Merrick discovers that her father’s condition isn’t the only skeleton in Norland House’s closet. There may be more to their mother’s death than meets the eye—and the deeper Merrick looks, the surer she becomes that whoever killed her isn’t finished quite yet.
THE MONSTROUS KIND is a fantasy retelling of Jane Austen’s classic romance Sense and Sensibility, set in an alternate, Victorian-inspired England. A meditation on sisterhood, privilege, and the strict system of class hierarchy that governed Austen’s novels, it will appeal to fans of Hannah Whitten, Melissa Albert, and Erin A. Craig.

Lydia Gregovic grew up in the suburbs of Texas and along the coastline of Montenegro, where she inherited her love of storytelling from her grandmothers. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York, along with a couple half-dead plants and the complete works of Jane Austen. THE MONSTROUS KIND (prev. titled A Bleeding Like Smoke) is her first novel.

NEVER THE ROSES de Jennifer K. Lambert

With atmospheric and lyrical stylings akin to This Is How You Lose the Time War and Genevieve Gorniches’s The Witch’s Heart, NEVER THE ROSES is a debut star-crossed loversfantasy romance that is perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Stephanie Garber, Elodie Harper, and Erin Morgenstern.

NEVER THE ROSES
by Jennifer K. Lambert
Tor, 2025
(via Nancy Yost Literary)

Oneira’s tale begins at the end, or so she thought. Exiling herself from the warring courts of men, she seeks peace in a remote forest where the mountains meet the beach. She’s long acceptedthat her death is near, as it and destruction have been her constant companions since she was a child when her family sold her to the Academy of Sorcerers.

Her seclusion is first interrupted by three otherworldly companions—a near-mythical wolf, a goddess’s avatar in the form of a kestrel, and a feline that embodies magic itself. Then on a whim,or perhaps at the behest of fate, Oneira invites a second interruption when she makes an unlikely and otherworldly trip to the most extensive library in existence. Which is the home of hermost powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.

There, she finds herself stealing a book from him, and this act of reckless thievery inadvertently initiates an unlikely correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connectionneither has—nor could ever find—in any other. But a relationship is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire.

When Stearanos is called to war, he pleads with Oneira to help, jeopardizing the vows Oneira made to herself on her darkest day and to the Queen she once served. Faced with the impossible,to save her love or herself, Oneira must once again choose between life and death.

NEVER THE ROSES gives fantasy readers everything they could want: expansive world-building, an intriguing magic system, a timeless story of star-crossed lovers, and beyond all else—a yearning forsomething more.

Jennifer K. Lambert is a member of SFWA.