Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

THE MASK OF MIRRORS by M.A. Carrick

Darkly magical and beautifully imagined, THE MASK OF MIRRORS is the unmissable start to the Rook & Rose trilogy, a rich and dazzling fantasy adventure in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord must unite to save their city.

THE MASK OF MIRRORS
(Rook and Rose, Book 1)
by M.A. Carrick
‎ Orbit, January 2021
(via JABberwocky)

Nightmares are creeping through the city of dreams . . . Renata Virdaux is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadezra – the city of dreams – with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune and her sister’s future. But as she’s drawn into the aristocratic world of House Traementis, she realises her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as corrupted magic begins to weave its way through Nadezra, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled – with Ren at their heart.

“Utterly captivating. Carrick spins an exciting web of mystery, magic, and political treachery in a richly drawn and innovative world.” ―S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass

“Wonderfully immersive—I was unable to put it down.” ―Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

Book 2: THE LIAR’S KNOT (Orbit, December 2021)
An unmissable fantasy collaboration by two renowned authors in which a con artist returns to the city that betrayed her, determined to have her revenge—only to find that her fate might be to save it.

M.A. Carrick is the joint pen name of Marie Brennan (author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent) and Alyc Helms (author of the Adventures of Mr. Mystic). The two met in 2000 on an archaeological dig in Wales and Ireland — including a stint in the town of Carrickmacross — and have built their friendship through two decades of anthropology, writing, and gaming. They live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

THE ONES WE BURN de Rebecca Mix

Love and duty collide in this richly imagined, atmospheric young adult debut about a witch whose dark powers put her at the center of a brewing war between the only family she’s ever known and the enemy who makes her question everything.

THE ONES WE BURN
by Rebecca Mix
‎ Simon & Schuster BYR, November 2022
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Monster. Butcher. Bloodwinn. Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik’s wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill. Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn’t want to marry Ranka; he doesn’t want to be king at all. And it’s his sister—the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis—who seems to be the real threat.
But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she’ll help Ranka learn to contain her deadly magic. As the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she’s meant to fight for. Soon, she will have to decide between the coven that raised her and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be. But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.

Rebecca Mix is a fantasy author and Michigander who writes about messy girls and creepy magic. Her work has been featured by BuzzFeed, Tor, Bustle, HuffPost, and more.

DAUGHTER OF SPARTA TRILOGY de Claire M. Andrews

In this thrilling reimagining of ancient Greek mythology, a headstrong girl becomes the most powerful fighter her people have ever seen.

DAUGHTER OF SPARTA TRILOGY
by Claire Andrews
Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown, 2021 – 2023
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Book 1: DAUGHTER OF SPARTA (June 2021)

Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, hoping to be accepted by the unyielding people of ancient Sparta. But an unexpected encounter with the goddess Artemis—who holds Daphne’s brother’s fate in her hands—upends the life she’s worked so hard to build. Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods’ waning powers will fade away, the mortal world will descend into chaos, and her brother’s life will be forfeit.
Guided by Artemis’s twin—the handsome and entirely-too-self-assured god Apollo—Daphne’s journey will take her from the labyrinth of the Minotaur to the riddle-spinning Sphinx of Thebes, team her up with mythological legends, such as Theseus and Hippolyta of the Amazons, and pit her against the gods themselves.
A reinterpretation of the classic Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, DAUGHTER OF SPARTA by debut author Claire Andrews turns the traditionally male-dominated mythology we know into a heart-pounding and empowering female-led adventure.

Book 2: BLOOD OF TROY (September 2022)

The sequel to Daughter of Sparta thrusts warrior Daphne and her love interest, the Olympian god Apollo, into the middle of the Trojan War in this epic YA fantasy reimagining of Greek mythology.
A year after saving the powers of Olympus by defeating Nyx, the Goddess of Darkness, Daphne is haunted by still-looming threats, her complicated feelings for the god Apollo, and the promise she made to the Olympian gods that she would help them again when they called upon her. When their command finally comes, it is deceptively simple: secure herself a spot as one of Queen Helen’s guards.
A war is coming, and all of Sparta must be prepared.
In the midst of a treaty summit among the monarchs of Greece, Daphne and Helen uncover a plot of betrayal—and soon, a battle begins that leads to all-out war. As the kingdoms of Greece clash on the shores of Troy and the gods choose sides, Daphne must use her wits, her training, and her precarious relationship with Apollo to find a way to keep her queen safe, stop the war, and uncover the true reason the gods led her to Troy. But the gods are keeping more than one secret, and Daphne will be forced to decide how far she is willing to go to save those she loves—and whose side she’s on in a war that is prophesized to be the downfall of her people.
Claire M. Andrews continues to turn Greek mythology on its head in this thrilling sequel that centers a female protagonist in a land ruled by powerful men and gods alike, filled with exhilarating action, unforgettable romance, and a destiny that could destroy the world.

Book 3: STORM OF OLYMPUS (September 2023)

The heart-pounding conclusion to the Daughter of Sparta series forces Daphne to face her past, her deepest fears, and an enemy who can defeat even the all-powerful gods of Olympus in this epic reimagining of classic Greek mythology, for fans of Circe. 
After fighting in the Trojan War against her own people, Daphne is plagued by memories—of her family, of her shortcomings, of her lover, Apollo, and of the secrets he and the gods keep. As she reels from the horrendous sacrifice she had to make and her own failure in the battle for Troy, she knows the Titans are out there—just beyond the island of Aeaea where she has taken refuge—raging a war against the world.
As Daphne struggles to regain her will to fight as well as rein in the new abilities that have been thrust upon her, the gods call for her help once more. But it has been prophesized that she will bring about the ruin of Olympus and the downfall of Sparta, just as she caused the destruction of Troy. Now, as she begins to witness her terrible destiny coming true, she must become a hero to rival those of myth and save the gods, her people, and the world. Or she will watch it all burn around her.
Claire M. Andrews has crafted a jaw-dropping conclusion to an epic series that gives women a powerful place among Greek mythology, flipping the world of gods and goddesses on its head. This breakneck race to the finish will have readers devouring its pages late into the night with one mind blowing twist after another, in a finale fit for a heroine who rivals any Ancient Greek hero.

 

« Free of vanity, indifferent to the male gaze, and portrayed without objectification, Daphne’s the compelling hero of an epic closer in tone to its Homeric source than to many pop-culture iterations…. A vivid, riveting sequel. » ―Kirkus, starred review

« Nonstop action, drama, and an unforgettable female warrior will keep readers turning pages…. Awe-inspiring. » ―School Library Journal

Claire M. Andrews was raised in both Alaska and Scotland, but currently lives in Vermont; when not writing, she can usually be found outside swimming, skiing, or hiking across the state’s famous green mountains. She can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @cmandrewslit.

THE HOTEL WITCH de Jessica Miller

A spellbinding middle-grade tale of determination and love. Its characters sparkle and delight. It’s a brilliantly rich magical tale that young readers will fall in love with.

THE HOTEL WITCH
by Jessica Miller
Text Publishing (Australia), March 2023

Sibyl loves possibilities, and at the Grand Mirror Hotel everything seems possible. It might even be possible that one day her grandmother will let her open the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic. Sibyl is the apprentice hotel witch. Under the watchful care of her grandmother she is memorising spell patterns to keep the hotel staff and guests happy. But the spells don’t always go exactly as planned: sometimes the spell to make the cakes rise works a little too well, and eclairs and chocolate cakes float up to the ceiling.
When Sibyl’s grandmother goes missing, other things mysteriously disappear from the Grand Mirror Hotel. At first, the harp doesn’t sound quite so ‘harp-y’, then the grandfather clock loses its ‘boooong’ and the Golden Nightingale, the world’s most wonderful soprano, loses her voice. When Sibyl discovers that something or someone is stealing their shadows, she knows it’s up to her to find the right spell to return them before the magic of the Grand Mirror Hotel is lost.

Jessica Miller is a children’s writer from Brisbane, currently living in Berlin. She has written for a variety of publications including Kill Your Darlings and Stilts. Her first novel, Elizabeth and Zenobia, was shortlisted for the Text Prize and the Readings Prize. It was also a CBCA Notable Book, as was her second book, The Republic of Birds.

THE MYSTIC TRILOGY de Jason Denzel

A fantasy trilogy for lovers of Robert Jordan, Tamora Pierce or Mistborn, about a low-born teenager who has the chance to join an order of powerful and revered sorcerers, and must break both law and tradition as she proves her worth.

THE MYSTIC TRILOGY
by Jason Denzel
‎ TOR
(via JABberwocky)

Book 1: MYSTIC (Tor, 2015)

For hundreds of years, high-born nobles have competed for the chance to learn of the Myst. Powerful, revered, and often reclusive, Mystics have the unique ability to summon and manipulate the Myst: the underlying energy that lives at the heart of the universe. Once in a very great while, they take an apprentice, always from the most privileged sects of society. Such has always been the tradition-until a new High Mystic takes her seat and chooses Pomella AnDone, a restless, low-born teenager, as a candidate. Commoners have never been welcomed among the select few given the opportunity to rise beyond even the highest nobility. So when Pomella chooses to accept the summons and journey to Kelt Apar, she knows that she will have more to contend with than the competition for the apprenticeship. Breaking both law and tradition, Pomella undergoes three trials against the other candidates to prove her worthiness. As the trials unfold, Pomella navigates a deadly world of intolerance and betrayal, unaware that ruthless conspirators intend to make her suffer for having the audacity to seek to unravel the secrets of the Myst.

Book 2: MYSTIC DRAGON (Tor, 2018)

Seven years have passed since lowborn Pomella AnDone became an unlikely Mystic’s apprentice. Though she has achieved much in a short time, as a rare celestial event approaches, Pomella feels the burden of being a Mystic more than ever. The Mystical realm of Fayün is threatening to overtake the mortal world, and as the two worlds slowly blend together, the land is thrown into chaos. People begin to vanish or are killed outright, and Mystics from across the world gather to protect them. Among them is Shevia, a haunted and brilliant prodigy whose mastery of the Myst is unlike anything Pomella has ever seen. Shevia will challenge Pomella in every possible way, from her mastery of the Myst to her emotional connection with Pomella’s own friends―and as Shevia’s dark intentions become more clear, Pomella fears she may be unstoppable.

Book 3: MYSTIC SKIES (Tor, October 2022)

The world is Changed. Fifty-four years have passed since Crow Tallin, the catastrophic celestial event that merged Fayün and the human world. One devastating result of that cataclysm is that most human babies are born fused with fay spirits. The Mystics of Kelt Apar, once beloved, are blamed for this worldwide phenomenon. On the island of Moth, the Barons have declared the Myst illegal and imprisoned all Mystics under house arrest. Under the watchful eyes of deadly Hunters, a much-older Pomella AnDone now lives as a prisoner at Kelt Apar with her granddaughter and apprentice Mia, as well as the rapidly declining High Mystic of Moth, Yarina Sineese. When the time comes to conduct the ceremony intended to pass the title of High Mystic from Yarina to her successor Vivianna, something goes horribly wrong, leaving the lineage of Mystics in doubt. With new rivals seeking to claim Moth for their own, Pomella must undergo a dangerous dreamwalk into the mind-bending and heart-wrenching Mystic Skies in order to learn the mystical name of the island itself.
In this epic conclusion to Jason Denzel’s The Mystic Trilogy, which spans decades and timeless realms and dreams, Pomella must confront her greatest and most personal challenge yet. For the Deep mysteries of the world will reveal themselves only to the most powerful and dedicated of Mystics.

Jason Denzel is the founder of Dragonmount, the leading online community for Robert Jordan’s « The Wheel of Time » saga and the web’s top destination for franchise-related news, features, and discussion. Dragonmount has been featured in USA Today, CNN, ABC, Wired, and the Los Angeles Times. Denzel lives in Northern California with his two young boys, and owns a lot of swords.