Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

RISE OF THE SNAKE GODDESS de Jenny Elder Moke

The beautiful island of Crete, an archaeological find for the ages, and one seriously pissed-off Greek goddess. It’s just another day for Samantha Knox.

RISE OF THE SNAKE GODDESS
(Samantha Knox, Book 2)
by Jenny Elder Moke
‎ Disney-Hyperion, June 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

After being snubbed by her college’s archaeology department for an honor she rightfully earned, Sam is hell-bent on proving her worth to her misogynistic department head. So when an opportunity presents itself to solve the hidden meaning behind a symbol found inside a cave in Greece, Sam is all over it, and she’s bringing Bennett and Jo with her for the cross-Atlantic trip. Once on the island of Crete, Sam finds a treasure she never expected―the golden girdle of an ancient and powerful goddess, and she can’t resist its siren call, or the accolades she would win for discovering it. But before she can take credit for the find, the girdle is stolen and the island is hit with a series of earthquakes that don’t feel quite coincidental.
Soon Sam, Bennett, and Jo are embroiled in a wild hunt―one that takes them to tiny island shops, a glamorous high-stakes auction, and a fiery near-death experience―to find the girdle before someone can use it to raise the ancient goddess from her slumber. An unexpected heist, a terrifying trek through a labyrinth, and a fight to the death with the Minotaur itself lead to a final standoff she and her friends won’t soon forget―one that might just break up Sam and Bennett for good.
Set against the gorgeous backdrop and ancient ruins of the Greek islands, the pulse-pounding action in this twisting mystery will appeal to action-adventure fans, romance die-hards, and mythology buffs alike.

“Jenny Elder Moke has done it again! Witty banter, ancient mysteries, thrilling action, and a mix of clever and dubious characters will keep you up all night in book two of the Samantha Knox series. A fantastic adventure!” ―Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, author of Lies Like Wildfire

Jenny Elder Moke writes young adult fiction in an attempt to recapture the shining infinity of youth. Her debut novel, Hood, released in 2020 and was a JLG Selection, a Mayor’s Book Club selection, and received critical acclaim. Her new series kicks off in 2021 with Curse of the Specter Queen. When she is not writing, she’s gathering story ideas from her daily adventures with her two irredeemable rapscallions and honing her ninja skills as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Jenny lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two children.

FRACTURED PATH de J. C. Cervantes

Can dreams come true when you’re living with a family curse? The third book in the innovative YA fairy-tale quartet, written by best-selling authors Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, L. L. McKinney, and J.C. Cervantes, following one family―and the curse that plagues it―over several generations.

FRACTURED PATH
(The Mirror, Book 3)
by J. C. Cervantes
Hachette Go, July 2022
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

1965―San Francisco, California. The 1960s are bursting with music and movement and love in San Francisco, perfect for a budding artist like Blake. Unfortunately, the art world is not welcoming to people of her gender or her multi-racial heritage, making it tough to land an internship that could put her on the map. That, plus the fact that Blake’s family has been notoriously riddled with bad luck, makes her feel like she can’t catch a break. Things only get worse when Blake starts to have ominous, confusing visions that grow stronger and more frequent, prompting Blake’s aunt and uncle to tell her about a long-lost family heirloom that could be the key to everything
Fueled by the ambiguous clues in her visions, Blake sets out on a journey through the city to retrieve her ancestors’ legendary mirror. But Blake is not the only one looking for it. Soon she must attempt to unleash her own dormant powers . . . or else risk all she holds dear.

Presentation of Books 1 and 2 here.

J. C. Cervantes is the New York Times best-selling author of The Storm Runner, which Booklist called « a rip-roaring adventure » in a starred review. Her first novel, Tortilla Sun, was a 2010 New Voices pick by the American Booksellers Association and was named to Bank Street’s 2011 Best Book List. Jen grew up in San Diego and was fascinated by stories about Maya gods and magic.

THE BRIDGE KINGDOM de Danielle L. Jensen

What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy? Passionate and violent, THE BRIDGE KINGDOM is a seductive fantasy perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

THE BRIDGE KINGDOM (Book 1)
by Danielle L. Jensen
‎ William Morrow, August 2022
(via Context Literary)

A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that she’ll be the one to bring him to his knees.
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara’s homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.
Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save… and which kingdom she’ll destroy.

“An epic, action-packed tale of love, revenge, and betrayal.” —Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author of Kill the Queen 
“Exquisite, phenomenal, and sexy, THE BRIDGE KINGDOM is the epitome of fantasy romance perfection. I adored Jensen’s world and characters. Aren and Lara were magnificent individually and together, a couple you’ll root for from beginning to end. »—Olivia Wildenstein, USA Today bestselling author of Feather

Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Novels: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, Warrior Witch, and The Broken Ones, as well as the Bridge Kingdom series and the Dark Shores series. She lives with her family in Calgary, Alberta.

THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE de Francesca Flores

A queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn.

THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE
by Francesca Flores
‎ Wednesday Books, March 2023
(via Park & Fine Literary)

Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she’s a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother’s plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes.
Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. On the night that Ava escapes, Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she’d started to have for Kaye before that terrible night.
But with monstrous trees that devour humans whole, vampires who attack from above, and Ava’s stepfather tracking her, the woods are full of danger. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other’s greatest threat―and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.

Francesca Flores is a writer, traveler and linguist. Raised in Pittsburgh, she read every fantasy book she could get her hands on and started writing her own stories at a young age. She began writing the City of Diamond and Steel duology while working as a corporate travel manager. Francesca currently resides in San Francisco.

THE THREE HARES TRILOGY de Scott Lauder & David Ross

Sara Livingstone’s school trip to the Beijing Palace Museum takes a terrifying turn when an encounter with the ancient Qingming Scroll thrusts her a thousand years into China’s past. With secrets in the shadows and danger around every corner, Sara relies on her wits and her Granny Tang’s stories to survive. As dark forces gather, she must take her place in a cosmic battle and find the courage to face an unworldly ancient magic.

THE THREE HARES TRILOGY
by Scott Lauder & David Ross
‎ Neem Tree Press
(via Emily Randle Literary)

THE JADE DRAGONBALL (Book 1, September 2019)

Meet Sara Livingstone. A normal schoolgirl in Beijing who enjoys playing the clarinet and learning new words of the day like ‘sepulchral’ and ‘debacle’. Yes, totally normal… Except from when she’s starting to experience disturbing hallucinations when she sees pictures of a strange-looking man in the newspaper. And not just any strange-looking man, either… Specifically, the 17 year-old CEO of a big mining corporation based up in Northern China, carrying out illegal genetic testing in China and mining a rare mineral near the ecologically fragile beaches of San Salvador. The hallucinations are one thing – she can try to ignore them, kind of – but when she studies the Qingming scroll with her class on a field trip, and accidentally time travels to medieval China, she can’t ignore what’s happening to her any longer. Whether she wants to or not, Sara is being called by The Immortals to help them defeat an ancient and vengeful plot that threatens an end to humanity. As if that wasn’t hard enough, she has to find her two counterparts in this challenge, whoever and wherever they might be. It seems this mission is rather urgent.

THE GOLDEN MONKEY KEY (Book 2, May 2021)

Sanjeev’s dog Jigsaw is missing in the middle of winter in New Jersey. But this tragedy is dwarfed by what happens to him in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Has he really entered the 6th Century and become the slave to monks traveling the Silk Road to Byzantium – and might they just be murderers? Trouble is, even if he figures out how to get out of this, he’s got other problems: someone, or something, is coming after him. Part of the answer might be Sara, a girl who contacts him on the net and keeps talking about the Immortals. But who or what are The Three Hares and how can they stop the darkness about to engulf the world?

THE TERRACOTTA HORSE (Book 3, October 2022)

Salma Mansour is a black belt in taekwondo, a skill she will need to stay alive. One second, she’s in the British Museum, the next a thousand years away in a battle between the Saxons and Vikings. And she’s supposed to help? Things momentarily brighten when she encounters Sara and Sanjeev, who seem to understand. They don’t have much time to plan though; without warning, all three are transported to Xi’an, stronghold of Chan, a wealthy gang leader bent on immortality. Chan has kidnapped world famous geneticist Lin Dan and assembled fragments of an ancient magic. Chan will stop at nothing to fulfil his dream… even if it means releasing forces far beyond his control. The Three Hares must work together to defeat Chan and the power that controls him … or else.

Scott Lauder was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. Having taught in Greece, Japan, and England, he now lives with his wife and four cats in the UAE where he teaches English. His other books include The Right Thing, A Single Shot, and The Boy-King Tutankhamun.
David Scott Ross has traveled and taught throughout Asia since he first moved there in 1987. He currently teaches in upstate NY, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He is writing two other novels.
The authors met as English teachers in Japan. It’s through their shared love of languages, travel and world cultures that the idea for this global and mythological YA trilogy was born. Read more about them in a recent interview here.