Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

I’M NOT THE HERO de Tommy Kerper AKA SourpatchHero

In addition to strength, steel, and courage, a hero discovers he’s in need of a friend, in the first installment of a daring and dangerous fantasy adventure. An isekai buddy comedy with endearing characters, found family and LitRPG elements.

I’M NOT THE HERO
by Tommy Kerper AKA SourpatchHero
Podium, December 2023

When it comes to action and adventure, every hero needs a good sidekick. Holmes has Watson, Batman has Robin, and Daniel has . . . Orrin. More like brothers than friends, they always have each other’s backs. And as Daniel is the big, strong, handsome type, Orrin is more than happy to remain in his shadow at school, at parties, pretty much everywhere.

Then things take a turn for the truly weird when a terrible accident catapults the pair into a world totally unlike their own, in which the rules of a role-playing game hold sway. Naturally, Daniel is classified as a “hero,” while Orrin is—also naturally—relegated to the fantasy equivalent of “bleh.” Nothing new there.

But in this realm populated with lethal foes both inhuman and inescapable, sticking together matters more than ever, and soon Daniel and Orrin will discover more about themselves—and each other—than either one thought possible. In fact, Orrin just might find the confidence and strength to become something other than your average sidekick . . .

The first volume of the hit LitRPG fantasy series!

SourpatchHero is the author of LitRPG series I’m Not the Hero. When he’s not writing new stories, you’ll find him spending time with his two sons and his wife, reading, or playing video games. He resides in Virginia with his wife and two kids.

A DANGEROUS BARGAIN d’Erin Cotter

A young artist who has bargained away most of his life for divine inspiration pairs up with fellow apprentice Leonardo da Vinci to infiltrate the Medici family and find out the truth about his missing brother in this Renaissance-set young adult mystery perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens.

A DANGEROUS BARGAIN
by Erin Cotter
Simon & Schuster BYR, September 2026
(via KT Literary)

It’s the height of the Italian Renaissance. In the golden city of Florence, art is equal to holiness—and angels walk among us, bestowing their talents…for a price.

Seventeen-year-old artist Virgil is in trouble. To support his family, he’s bargained most of his life away to an angel—only to discover that his missing brother is in danger, and nothing but magic can rescue him. Now, with just a few months left to live, Virgil is desperate enough to try the one thing he swore he would never, ever do—team up with the infuriating, annoyingly talented, and most notorious playboy in all of Florence, the charming Leonardo da Vinci.

As the two journey through Florence’s gilded streets, luxurious cathedrals, and glorious Medici palaces, they unearth dark truths beneath the city’s facade.

Those in power will do anything to keep their deadly secrets safe, but with his feelings for Leonardo giving him new life, Virgil is determined to expose their lies before he runs out of time.

Even if it might cost him his soul.

Erin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing, she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.

THIS DREAM WILL DEVOUR US de Emma Clancey

The Inheritance Games meets Caraval in this YA contemporary fantasy debut about a girl thrust into the intoxicating and dangerous world of magical high society.

THIS DREAM WILL DEVOUR US
by Emma Clancey
Amulet Books, April 2026
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

Sometimes you have to kill a dream to escape a nightmare.

Nora is the opposite of lucky. She’s still wrangling her late father’s debts when a mysterious illness lands her brother in the hospital. But her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she wins the lottery to attend the Lamour family’s exclusive, magical Dream Gala.

If Nora can win over the Lamour heirs, she’ll get a coveted spot on their magical training program—and the money she needs to save her brother.

There’s just one problem: Nora never bought a lottery ticket.

Determined to discover who wants her at the gala—and why—Nora plunges headfirst into magical high society. Caught up in a decadent world of brutal billionaires and cutthroat celebrities, Nora is soon in over her head and entangled in a messy love triangle.

When her search for answers uncovers a sinister conspiracy, will Nora stay silent or risk the wrath of a family powerful enough to get away with murder?

“Debut author Clancey’s unusual, perfectly paced, queer-centered narrative will leave readers struggling to find a good place to put the book down and stop reading…A page-turner that shows what our reality would be if magic were a drug in our capitalist society.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“The high society of morally bankrupt profiteers and social- media driven celebrity make a perfect backdrop to a mystery dripping with bad actors, false leads, and wicked fast pacing. The development and use of levic indicts a healthcare system built on addiction and profit, adding a timely and emotional facet to this cleverly crafted page-turner.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Emma Clancey is a fantasy writer and medical student living in Sydney, Australia. In 2024, she was awarded the Ray Koppe/Australian Society of Authors Young Writers Fellowship. When not writing or horrifying her friends with unsolicited medical facts, she’s likely jabbering about her latest reads on Instagram @emma.clancey.

RECRUITMENT de K.A. Riley

The first in a bold new YA dystopian trilogy blending the psychological intensity of The Maze Runner with the layered secrecy of The Darkest Minds.

RECRUITMENT
by K.A. Riley
Sourcebook Fire, November 2026

In the Valta, no matter what month you were born, everyone is assigned the same birthday. November 1st. It’s the anniversary of the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order. The day you turn seventeen, the Recruiters come to take you away. And no one ever hears from you again.

It’s October 31st. Today, Kress is sixteen years old. Tomorrow, she’ll be taken.

The good news? So will her best friend Cardyn, and Brohn, the handsome, enigmatic boy she’s avoided all her life. The bad news? Recruitment isn’t what any of them expected.

Weeks of training await. Military and psychological tests, escape rooms, hand-to-hand combat. The Recruits are told they’re the key to winning the war. But with each day that passes, things begin to make less sense.

If only Kress had been able to bring her trained raven, Render, with her. If only none of them had ever had to come to this place.

RECRUITMENT is Book 1 in the timely Resistance Series, a story about connection as resistance within a world that demands complete obedience. Kress’s unforgettable bond with her raven, Render, adds a Golden Compass–like dynamic and could be the key to her survival.

Residing in Ontario, K.A. Riley is a top-selling self-published author in the young adult dystopian space, with over 20,000 TikTok followers. In her spare time, she loves walking her drooling pup, traveling, and interacting with readers on TikTok while chugging copious amounts of coffee. She may or may not also eat plentiful chocolate while on the treadmill.

THIS WILD WANTING de Sophie Gonzales

Introducing Sophie Gonzales’ sensational fantasy debut, where a magical potion comes at a terrible price to a noble’s son ―and the potion maker’s daughter who is determined to rescue him.

THIS WILD WANTING
by Sophie Gonzales
Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s, November 2026

A dangerous bargain. A forbidden alliance. An impossible love.

Everybody knows about the faerie market that borders the crumbling edges of the mortal world. It is a place where almost anything can be bought . . . by those willing to pay terrible prices. Skills, memories, years of your life―even the freedom of one’s own mind are the currency of choice.

Declan Bonfeld, the only son of a noble house, has never encountered a price he cannot afford to pay. Until the day he attempts to bargain with a ruthless potion merchant for the impossible: a way to bring back someone he loves. When Declan dares to steal from the tyrant’s shelves with the help of the merchant’s captive daughter, Calla, the two discover a horrifying truth. Once a stolen potion is consumed, the thief pays the price, no matter who drinks it.

With Declan’s mind and body unravelling piece by piece, Calla must help him outwit her father, the man she has spent a lifetime fearing, before Declan is stripped of everything he is, and she loses the only person who has ever truly seen her.

Sophie Gonzales is a young adult contemporary author. She graduated from the University of Adelaide and lives in Adelaide, Australia, where she can be found ice skating, painting, and practicing the piano. She is also the author of Perfect on Paper, Only Mostly Devastated, The Law of Inertia, and If This Gets Out with Cale Dietrich.