Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

SECRETS OF STONE de Coltrane Seesequasis

A fast-paced, fantasy adventure novel set in the post-human world ruled by sentient animals. A debut middle-grade novel and the first book of a planned four-book series that follows the adventures of the young wolf Silversong. Perfect for fans of Erin Hunter’s work, The Wings of Fire series, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

SECRETS OF STONE
(A Wolf in the Sun, Book 1)
by Coltrane Seesequasis
Kegedonce Press, July 2024
(via The Rights Factory)

Centuries have passed since the forces of nature won the war against humanity. Sentient animals now rule a healing world, and as the stain of mankind continues to dwindle, a young wolf called Silversong is determined to rise in the hierarchy of his pack. Strong at manipulating wind and air, all he needs is a way to prove himself to his Chief.

Before he can get the respect he deserves, however, Silversong’s aspirations are cut short by the Heretic and his outcast wolves. Against all odds, the Heretic and his band of exiles escape their imprisonment far to the west and wreak havoc on Silversong’s pack. The exiles pose a threat unlike any other, and their enigmatic leader won’t stop his brutal conquest until all wolfkind submits to him.

Silversong can’t let a monstrous wolf like the Heretic roam free. With the wind at his back, he pursues the leader of the exiles into forests of shadow and into ancient places better left forgotten. But the further he strays from home, the more he comes to realize that maybe his enemies aren’t so evil after all. Maybe there’s a reason for the destruction they seek. and maybe there’s a far greater danger lying in wait.

Coltrane Seesequasis is a young fantasy writer of Willow Cree heritage who grew up in Gatineau, Quebec. Inspired by a love of nature as well as myths and folklore that challenge the limits of creativity, Coltrane Seesequasis joins a new generation of writers, adding his voice to the immersive genre of fantasy.

 

MY NAME IS MAGIC de Xan van Rooyen

For fans of witchcraft and wizardry looking for a new, inclusive story, MY NAME IS MAGIC, is a story about finding strength from within and potential where you least expected it.

MY NAME IS MAGIC
by Xan van Rooyen
Tiny Ghost Press, September 2022
(via The Rights Factory)

Despite coming from a long line of powerful Finnish mages, and their name literally meaning magic, Taika can’t perform the simplest of spells.

Forced to attend Myrskyjärvi International School for the Magically Gifted on account of their mom being principal, Taika has a hard time fitting in. Sometimes, they wonder if not having magic has something to do with the fact they’re neither a girl nor a boy and if they’re fated to be Taika the Talentless forever.

Life goes from bad to worse when Taika sees a liekkiö and recognizes the spirit’s voice begging for help as that of their former BFF and major crush, Natalie Khumalo, whose recent absence from class hadn’t gone unnoticed. When more students go missing, Taika must take the lead in a race against time to save friends old and new before a powerful group of chaos mages can unleash the legendary Sampo, an artifact capable of either renewing the world’s waning magic or destroying everything Taika holds dear.

To rescue Natalie, Taika will have to journey to the liminal space between worlds where they’ll be forced to battle mythical monsters and their own flagging self-esteem. In doing so, Taika might just discover that magic—and love—comes in many different forms.

Xan van Rooyen is a genderqueer, tattooed storyteller from South Africa. They currently live in Finland where they find the heavy metal soothing and the cold, dark forests inspiring. Although they have a Master’s degree in music, Xan prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When they grow up, they want to be an elf—until then, they spend their time (when not writing) climbing, buying far too many books, and entertaining their shiba inu, Lego.

THE VANISHING STATION d’Ana Ellickson

A lyrical and bold YA debut about an underground magic system in San Francisco—and the lengths one girl is willing to go to protect the ones she loves.

THE VANISHING STATION
by Ana Ellickson
Amulet/Abrams, April 2024

Eighteen–year–old Filipino American Ruby Santos has been unmoored since her mother’s death. She can’t apply to art school like she’s always dreamed, and she and her father have had to move into the basement of their home and rent out the top floor while they work to pay back her mother’s hospital bills.

Then Ruby finds out her father has been living a secret life as a delivery person for a magical underworld—he “jumps” train lines to help deliver packages for a powerful family. Recently, he’s fallen behind on deliveries (and deeper into alcoholism), and if his debts aren’t satisfied, they’re going to take her mother’s house. In an effort to protect her father and save all that remains of her mother, Ruby volunteers to take over her dad’s station and start jumping train lines.

But this is no ordinary job. Ruby soon realizes that the trains are much more than doors to romance and adventure: they’re also doors to trafficking illicit goods and fierce rivalries. As she becomes more entangled with the magical underworld and the mysterious boy who’s helped her to learn magic, she realizes too late that she may be in over her head. Can she free her father and save her mother’s house? Or has she only managed to get herself pulled into the dangerous web her father was trapped in?

Ana Ellickson writes about fierce girls, family curses, and everyday magic. THE VANISHING STATION is her debut novel, inspired by daydreams about jumping portals in the San Francisco subway. Roman the Renegade–her graphic novel script about street art and Filipino monsters–was awarded the 2021 New Visions Honor by Lee & Low Books. She lives in sunny Santa Barbara.

CAPITANA de Cassandra James

Brimming with adventure, romance, danger and just the right amount of mystery, CAPITANA is perfect for fans of the high seas in Adrienne Young’s Fable, the romance of Isabel Ibañez’s Together We Burn, and the enchanting Caraval books by Stephanie Garber.

CAPITANA
by Cassandra James
HarperCollins, January 2025
(via Writers House)

Ximena Reale is certain of one thing: the only good pirate is a dead one.

Ximena has trained for eight years to become one of the black-cloaked Cazadores, seafaring hunters who capture the pirates pillaging the Luzan Empire. Although Ximena is the top candidate at La Academia, passing the Royal Examination alone will likely not be enough for a daughter of the notorious Reales—pirate captains who, when Ximena and her wayward sister Marquesa were children, were executed for their crimes against the empire. Ximena scours La Academia’s Archives for something, anything, that might point her towards her one chance of redemption: Gasparilla. The greatest pirate alive. The ultimate prize. A man who may—or may not—exist.

So when a pirate calling himself Gasparilla attacks Luza’s capitol and steals every coin in the Empire’s vaults, also capturing Luza’s queen, Ximena leaps at the chance to catch Gasparilla. She offers to bring the pirate, and their queen, back in exchange for her Cazadoro cloak. This is an offer the Empire accepts, with one catch: there’s only one Cazadoro cloak up for grabs, and she must compete against Dante De León, the pompous and infuriating son of Luza’s High Minster, who will lose his inheritance if he fails to best her.

With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest across the Archipelago, led by a turncoat member of Gasparilla’s crew. But no matter how far Ximena sails, her family’s pirate legacy continues to haunt her, and her exposure to a world outside of La Academia leads her to question the very laws she’s always fought to uphold. It all leads her to wonder: is it possible she’s been on the wrong side all along?

Cassandra James recently graduated from Princeton University, where she studied English with a focus on Creative Writing. She is originally from Florida, where she lives with her family of Colombian immigrants and dreams of setting sail. She was inspired to write CAPITANA by the Floridian legend of the pirate captain Gasparilla, and drew from various aspects of pirate history—including the real-life Republic of Pirates which was founded by Blackbeard and others—to create the fictional empire of Luza.

THE GLITTERING EDGE d’Alyssa Villaire

Certain to enchant fans of Maggie Stiefvater and C. L. Herman, Alyssa’s wry prose will charm readers while she puts them on a ride through the many twists and turns that Idlewood has hiding up its sleeve…and as she shows sometimes love has an unexpected dark side.

THE GLITTERING EDGE
by Alyssa Villaire
Little, Brown Books, Summer 2025
(via Park & Fine Literary and Media)

Photo by Bianca Dansoh

Rumors are the lifeblood of Idlewood, Indiana. The locals whisper that the De Lucas are witches, and that decades prior they cursed the wealthy Barrion family as revenge for a love gone tragically wrong: now, if a Barrion falls in love with you, you’ll die. If this isn’t reason enough for wallflower Penny Emberly to stay away from both families, she doesn’t know what is. But when Penny’s mom is in an accident that leaves her on the brink of death, Penny can’t ignore the rumors anymore—because the Barrion curse is real. And her mom is its latest victim.

In order to save her mom’s life, Penny must bring together two bitter enemies on either side of the feud, and work with both of them to find a way to break the curse. For star quarterback Corey Barrion, doing so would mean finally saving his family from the magic that killed his mom. And for misfit witch Alonso De Luca, it would mean convincing Penny—and everyone else in Idlewood—that he isn’t the villain they believe him to be.

But as the trio navigates Alonso’s unpredictable magic, the tangled web of Barrion-De Luca history, and an increasingly chaotic group chat, it soon becomes clear that the curse is not what they expected. Did a De Luca really curse the Barrions in a fit of jealousy, or is something even more sinister afoot? Penny will have to conquer her anxiety, wrestle with her budding feelings for Alonso, and delve deep into dangerous, forbidden magic to find the truth—or risk losing her mom forever.

Alyssa Villaire is a writer of young adult fantasy. While she’s based in Los Angeles, most of her stories harken back to the places where she grew up—from the woods of rural Indiana to the lakeshores of Wisconsin and Michigan. She has published short stories in Luna Station Quarterly and in an anthology titled Journeys to Uncharted Lands. When she’s not writing, Alyssa is probably eating spicy food, watching horror movies, or waiting in a virtual Ticketmaster line.