Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

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.

BRIGHT RUINED THINGS de Samantha Cohoe

A glittering 1920s retelling of The Tempest in which forbidden magic and family secrets are revealed over the course of one dramatic night.

BRIGHT RUINED THINGS
by Samantha Cohoe
‎ Wednesday Books, February 2022
(via JABberwocky)

Forbidden magic, a family secret, and a night to reveal it all… The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the island’s magic and its spirits. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted. When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae realizes that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past. As Mae and her friends unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on.
In this YA fantasy, Samantha Cohoe wonderfully mixes magic and an atmospheric setting into a fantastically immersive world, with characters you won’t be able to forget.

• A Goodreads “Most Anticipated” 2022 novel
• Highlighted by BuzzFeed as a new release
• Part of BookRiot’s “Ultimate Guide to New Winter YA Books 2022”
• Part of PopSugar’s “Best New YA Books 2022 So Far”

« A novel whose sumptuous setting alongside the careless, magical rich proffers undeniable pleasures. » ―Publishers Weekly
« Cohoe’s prose moves at a clip through a night packed with intrigue…Fans of Shakespeare’s The Tempest will find much to enjoy, as will readers eager for a luxurious 1920s period piece…An intriguing story about the rot that lies beneath splendor. » ―Kirkus Reviews

Samantha Cohoe writes historically-inspired young adult fantasy. She was raised in San Luis Obispo, California, where she enjoyed an idyllic childhood of beach trips, omnivorous reading, and writing stories brimming with adverbs. She currently lives in Denver with her family and divides her time among teaching Latin, mothering, writing, reading, and deleting adverbs. Her debut novel A Golden Fury was published in October 2020.

CRAZY IN POUGHKEEPSIE de Daniel Pinkwater

The inimitable Daniel Pinkwater brings his zany wit and wisdom to this charming and silly slice-of-life adventure story, in which a boy seeking guidance embarks on an adventure around the city of Poughkeepsie with his brother, an eccentric guru, and their misfit friends.

CRAZY IN POUGHKEEPSIE
by Daniel Pinkwater
illustrated by Aaron Renier
Tachyon, May 2022
(via JABberwocky)

Mick is a good kid, but maybe he can use just a little guidance. But it’s unclear who will be guiding whom, because Mick’s brother came home from Tibet with the self-proclaimed Guru Lumpo Smythe-Finkel and his dog Lhasa―and then promptly settled both of them in Mick’s bedroom. The thing about this kind of guru is that he doesn’t seem to know exactly what he’s trying to do. He sure does seem to be hungry, though. So Mick agrees to something like a quest, roaming the suburbs with the oddest group of misfits: Lumpo and Lhasa; graffiti-fanatic Verne; and Verne’s unusual friend Molly. Molly is a Dwergish girl―don’t worry if you don’t know what that is yet―and she seems to be going off the rails a bit. Along the way, the gang will get invited to a rollicking ghost party, consult a very strange little king, and actually discover the truth about Heaven. Or a version of the truth anyway, because in a Daniel Pinkwater tale, the truth is never the slightest bit like what you’re expecting.

Daniel Pinkwater is the author and sometimes illustrator of over eighty (and counting) wildly popular books, including The Neddiad, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. He has also illustrated many of his own books, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife, illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater. Pinkwater is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and appears regularly on Weekend Edition Saturday, where he reviews kids’ books with host Scott Simon. Pinkwater also contributes to Wondertime, and has in the past been spotted on the pages of the New York Times Magazine, OMNI, and many other publications. He lives with his wife and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New York’s Hudson River.
Aaron Renier (Illustrator) is the author of three graphic novels for younger readers; Spiral-Bound, Walker Bean, and Walker Bean and the Knights of the Waxing Moon. He is the recipient of the Eisner award in 2006 for talent deserving of wider recognition, and was an inaugural resident for the Sendak Fellowship in 2010. He teaches drawing and comics at universities in Chicago.

CHAOS & FLAME de Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland

From New York Times bestselling author Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton comes the first book in a sprawling YA fantasy duology featuring ancient magic, warring factions, and a romance between the two people in the world with the most cause to hate one another.

CHAOS & FLAME (Book 1)
by Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland
Razorbill/Penguin YR, March 2023

Darling Seabreak cannot remember anything before the murder of her family and the bloody fall of House Sphinx, but she does know she owes her life to House Kraken—most especially the adoptive father who liberated her from the sewers where she spent her childhood. So when her father is captured in battle, Darling proves willing to do anything to save him—even killing each and every last member of House Dragon.
Talon Goldhoard has always been a dutiful Dragon and a brave warrior to boot, leading the elite troops o fhis brother, the High Prince Regent, in battle. But as a war general, Talon must split his time between the front lines and the home front, where his brother’s erratic rule threatens to undo a hundred years of House Dragon’s hard work. So when Talon encounters a ferocious girl who looks exactly like the one his brother has painted obsessively, repeatedly, for years, Talon knows he must capture her alive.
Together, Darling and Talon must navigate the treacherous waters of House politics, caught up in the complicated game the High Prince Regent is playing. The unlikeliest of allies, they’ll have to put aside the blood-soaked history of their Houses, and learn to tolerate—even trust—one another in order to survive.

Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels and four anthology contributions, including Dread Nation and Deathless Divide. She is a former editor in chief of FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award, and her work has been shortlisted numerous times for state and literary awards. She holds a BA in History from Georgia Southern University and an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University.

Tessa Gratton is the author of adult SFF The Queens of Innis Lear and Lady Hotspur, as well as several YA series and short stories. Her most recent YAs are Strange Grace and Night Shine, from McElderry Books. Her novels and short stories have been translated into twenty-two languages and nominated twice for the Tiptree Award. She’s associate director of Madcap Retreats, and has worked as a lead writer on Serial Box’s Tremontaine series.