Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

THE BOOK OF FIRE TRILOGY de Michelle Kenney

Life outside the domes is not possible. At least that’s what Insiders are told. A debut fantasy perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner.

THE BOOK OF FIRE TRILOGY
by Michelle Kenney
HQ/HarperCollins UK, 2017-
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Book 1: BOOK OF FIRE (August 2017)

Twins Eli and Talia shouldn’t exist. They’re Outsiders.
Their home is a secret. Their lives are a secret. Arafel is a secret.
An unexpected forest raid forces Talia into a desperate mission to rescue her family while protecting the sacred Book of Arafel from those who would use it as a weapon. As Talia and her life long friend Max enter the dome, she makes some unexpected discoveries, and allies, in the form of rugged Insider August, that will change the course of her life forever.

She’ll stop at nothing to save her family but will she sacrifice her heart in the process?

Book 2: CITY OF DUST (October 2018)

The fight is never over.
Life in Arafel is no longer safe. Not since August’s disappearance, and whispers of a ghost controlling Pantheon.
Meanwhile, Talia stands torn between secretive twin, Eli, and best friend, Max.

Betrayal forces Talia to leave the sanctuary of her forest home as she pursues the stolen Book of Arafel. A book which could destroy the freedom of all those she loves if it falls into the wrong hands. And when she enters the ancient ruined city of Isca, she fights to protect the vulnerable from the iron grip of the Pantheon, while learning to fight for the man she loves.

But with the shadow of the Black Aquila looming ever closer, will she put the freedom of others above her own, or will she follow her heart?

Book 3: STORM OF ASH (December 2019)

As Talia treks back through the treacherous North Mountains, she knows only three things:

Pantheon has stolen nearly everyone she loves;
Her blood is the only control over the Voynich’s oldest secret;
And Cassius won’t stop hunting Arafel until every last outsider is destroyed.

Will Talia finally face her legacy and defeat Cassius before it is too late?

 

Michelle Kenney is a firm believer in magic, and that ancient doorways to other worlds can still be found if we look hard enough. She is also a hopeless scribbleaholic and, when left to her own devices, likes nothing better than to dream up new fantasy worlds in the back of a dog-eared notebook. Doctors say they’re unlikely to find a cure any time soon. She holds a LLB (hons) degree, an APD in Public Relations and is an Accredited Practitioner with the CIPR (with whom she’s won awards for Magazine & PR work). But she’s definitely happiest curled up against a rainy window, with her nose in a book.



BEYOND THE RUBY VEIL de Mara Fitzgerald

A dark, queer YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst.

BEYOND THE RUBY VEIL
by Mara Fitzgerald
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020 – 2022
(via Laura Dail Literary Agency)

Book 1: BEYOND THE RUBY VEIL (October 2020)

Emanuela Ragno always gets what she wants. With her daring mind and socialite schemes, she refuses to be the demure young lady everyone wants her to be. In her most ambitious move yet, she’s about to marry Alessandro Morandi, her childhood best friend and the heir to the wealthiest house in Occhia. Emanuela doesn’t care that she and her groom are both gay, because she doesn’t want a love match. She wants power, and through Ale, she’ll have it all.   But Emanuela has a secret that could shatter her plans. In the city of Occhia, the only source of water is the watercrea, a mysterious being who uses magic to make water from blood. When their first bruise-like omen appears on their skin, all Occhians must surrender themselves to the watercrea to be drained of life. Everyone throughout history has given themselves up for the greater good. Everyone except Emanuela. She’s kept the tiny omen on her hip out of sight for years.   When the watercrea exposes Emanuela during her wedding ceremony and takes her to be sacrificed, Emanuela fights back … and kills her. Now Occhia has no one to make their water and no idea how to get more. In a race against time, Emanuela and Ale must travel through the mysterious, blood-red veil that surrounds their city to uncover the secrets of the watercrea’s magic and find a way to save their people — no matter what it takes.

Book 2: INTO THE MIDNIGHT VOID (January 2022)

Fans of Holly Black and Kendare Blake will obsess over the conclusion to this deliciously dark YA fantasy duology!

Emanuela has finally gotten what she’s always wanted. Since escaping her catacomb prison, she’s become the supreme ruler of everything under the veils. Finally, she has the power to throw aside senseless, old traditions and run things exactly the way they should be.

But when cracks in her magic start to show, Emanuela begrudgingly allies herself with her enemies, including her frustratingly alluring archnemesis, Verene. Together, they discover deeper truths about the mysterious blood magic Emanuela and Verene both wield. There is a higher, otherworldly authority outside the veils, and in order to save Occhia and the other realms, Emanuela may just have to rip another crown off someone’s head.

Mara Fitzgerald writes YA fantasy about unlikable female characters who ruin everything. She is a biologist by day and spends entirely too much time looking at insects under a microscope. She was born in the same state as Disney World and now lives in the same state as Dollywood, which is just as good.

WANDER LOST de Laura Martin

From the critically acclaimed author of Float and Glitch comes a new stand-alone adventure full of humor and heart, perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Dan Gutman!

WANDER LOST
by Laura Martin
HarperCollins, June 2024
(via Writers House)

Rhett and his brother, Nash, have never been allowed to play board games. It’s their mom’s most important rule; the twins don’t know why, but they know not to push her on it. When their mom suddenly disappears, they’re reunited with Ace, their long-lost grandfather, who reveals that their family is descended from a board game character who escaped his game and lived in the real world. Their family now has the ability to enter the world of any game they want—but this gift also comes with a price. A game character who’s wanted revenge against their mom for decades has finally caught her and is holding her hostage in the world of a game. Which game? That’s up to Rhett and Nash to figure out, even if it means breaking Mom’s most important rule.

But as they learn to use their newly discovered ability, exploring new worlds and facing new challenges and risks, the brothers quickly realize that saving Mom won’t be all fun and games. It’s game on. . . or game over.

Laura Martin is a mom by day and a middle grade author by night, although in her heart she will always be a seventh-grade language arts teacher. She lives in the Indianapolis area with her family.

THE INCORRUPTIBLES de Lauren Magaziner

A dash of The School for Good and Evil, a pinch of Lockwood & Co., and a whole heap of queer joy make up this brand-new grounded middle-grade science fantasy series from internationally bestselling author, Lauren Magaziner!

THE INCORRUPTIBLES
by Lauren Magaziner
Simon & Schuster, 2025 – 2026
(via Writers House)

Fiora Barrowling has lived with her uncle ever since her parents disappeared on what was supposed to be a quick trip, presumably struck down by sorcerers. Fiora hates sorcerers. Only the worst kind of person would take a Dark Deal and sell their soul for a hint of power. But when an important client comes to collect a special cloak, Fiora learns exactly why her tailor uncle has gotten so secretive about his business over the past few years. Rather than crafting garments for the resistance, he’s been serving their sorcerer overlords instead. And when the sorcerer-client offers a Dark Deal and apprenticeship to Fiora, she refuses. But these are not people who take no for an answer.

A scuffle ensues and the stranger who comes to their aid informs Fiora and her uncle they’ve tangled with the Radiance, the worst of the worst sorcerers, and they’ll need to evacuate. But now that Fiora knows the resistance is real, she can’t go back to being just a girl, she wants to be an Inc.—one of the highly-trained human resistance fighters that have created tech to beat sorcerers at their own game.

But Inc. Academy is already in session and Fiora’s presence at their top-secret location is not welcome. Fiora must prove she deserves her place at the academy on a trial-basis, but when suspicious accidents start to occur on Inc. training missions, all eyes turn to Fiora. Now she must prove that she not only deserves to stay, but that she isn’t the spy selling the Incs out!

A story of the corrupting influence of power and the scrappy human ingenuity it takes to fight for good—however messy and hard that may be.

Lauren Magaziner is the author of the internationally bestselling Case Closed series and The Mythics series, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega. She has also authored three stand-alone books: The Only Thing Worse Than Witches, Pilfer Academy, and Wizardmatch.

DIVINE MORTALS d’Amanda M. Helander

Mona can name anyone’s soulmate—but she’ll never divine her own.

DIVINE MORTALS
by Amanda M. Helander
Disney Hyperion, November 2024
(via Kaplan DeFiore Rights)

Blessed by the crow god of love, eighteen-year-old Mona Arnett has the power to traverse the watery realm of the gods, speak with its seven deities, and divine soulmate matches with absolute certainty. Though Mona refuses to read her own match, she’s predicted pairings for wealthy nobles seeking amusement and lovesick couples desperate for affirmation. Still, it’s a shock when the king’s closest advisor demands her services.

The king is dying without an heir, explains Master Delmar Whitman—and if the royal line ends, the realm’s gods-given nexus will shatter and magic will vanish from the land. Only Mona can name the future queen and prevent the kingdom’s collapse.

But according to her reading, Mona is the king’s soulmate. Mona is destined to be queen—a role she doesn’t want and doesn’t believe she deserves. Worse: It’s not the king she thinks about when she’s alone at night.

Mona will lie, cheat, or contend with scheming gods if it keeps her off the throne. The only thing she can’t do is face her past. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens murder, confronting her secrets may be the only way to survive.

Amanda M. Helander is a romantic fantasy author and paralegal from Seattle, Washington. She likes to write about mental health struggles and hot wizard boyfriends. When she’s not writing, Amanda can be found watching horror movies, learning to crochet, or eating entire blocks of parmesan in one sitting.