Archives de catégorie : Fantasy

THE REDWOOD BARGAIN de Markelle Grabo

In this gothic fairy tale, a maid poses as her lord’s stepdaughter to fulfill his bargain with the murderous lord of the woods.

THE REDWOOD BARGAIN
by Markelle Grabo
Page Street/St. Martin’s, March 2026

To free her cousin from an indentured contract, Katrien agrees to fulfill their lord’s bargain with the fabled “Redwood Man.” Three maids before her have posed as his stepdaughter, Lady Zaviera, and met this lord of the forest as promised. But Katrien means to be the first to fool him—and live. Impersonating a lady is no easy feat, especially one as beautiful and aloof as Zaviera. With one month before she’s sent off, Katrien is put through endless lessons, even as the Redwood Man’s suffocating vines overtake the manor and threaten its staff. Zaviera takes a special interest in her training, and their shared interests grow into shared affections. But the Redwood Man awaits his prize. Caught between duty and desire, her future and her past, Katrien must navigate a tricky bargain—or risk failing those she holds dearest.

Markelle Grabo retells the fairy tales that frustrate her, which, based on that guideline, could include nearly all of them. She earned her master’s degree in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University and lives in Illinois with her partner and their two cats, Matcha and Kava. She is the author of Call Forth a Fox.

THE MYSTERIOUS MAGIC OF LIGHTHOUSE LANE d’Erin Stewart

A tender and heartfelt new middle-grade fantasy from the author of The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner.

THE MYSTERIOUS MAGIC OF LIGHTHOUSE LANE
by Erin Stewart
Simon & Schuster, February 2026
(via Writers House)

People are seriously overrated. At least that’s how Lucy sees it. People come with feelings, and Lucy feels them all too strongly.

Lucy doesn’t like that she can feel the anger when her parents fight, or that a lonely octopus at the aquarium filled her with so much sadness that she sobbed in front of her whole sixth-grade class. So when her parents suggest that she spend the summer with her grandfather at his isolated cabin on Prince Edward Island, she jumps at the chance to get away from people, feelings—all of it.

Lucy arrives at her grandfather’s with the only thing she really needs: her camera. From behind the lens, she can watch the world without having to feel any of it. Then Lucy finds her grandmother’s old camera and darkroom. When she starts taking pictures of the people in town and developing photos, she sees things in a new light—a new, magical light. In the pictures, she can see everything: her subjects’ deepest fears and hidden desires.

As Lucy tries to get to the bottom of the photographic magic, she realizes she’s been given a special gift by her grandmother. Between the camera’s magic and her own ability to feel everything, maybe Lucy’s big emotions could actually do something good for once.

But figuring out the mystery means giving up on her summer of being alone. Is Lucy ready to open her heart to new friends—and new feelings—in order to help the people in her summertime home?

THE INFERNO’S HEIR DUOLOGY de Tiffany Wang

Fearing for her life, an outcast princess joins the rebellion against her own kingdom and family . . . but when playing with fire, someone always gets burned.

THE INFERNO’S HEIR DUOLOGY
by Tiffany Wang
Bindery Books
(via KT Literary)

BOOK 1: INFERNO’S HEIR (October 2024)

Teia Carthan abandoned her morals long ago, and now there’s nothing she won’t do to stay alive. So far she has survived her parents’ deaths, the ire of the Council, and innumerable attempts on her life, orchestrated by Jura, her half-brother and soon-to-be king of Erisia. Teia’s rare control over two elements marks her as both an outsider and a formidable opponent—but once Jura is crowned king, there will be no way to survive him. Not for Teia, not for anyone.

When Jura moves to crush the rebellion that seeks to overthrow the monarchy, Teia sees one last opportunity to ensure her own safety. She can infiltrate the rebels, locate their base . . . and betray them to Jura, trading their lives for her own.

Yet when Teia meets the rebels, she gets far more than she bargained for. And when she gains not only their trust but their friendship, she begins to have doubts. Perhaps the rebels are right. Perhaps the Golden Palace should be torn down and the monarchy destroyed.

But then again—what if there is another possibility? What if Teia were on the throne instead?

“A mesmerizing debut fantasy.” –Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

“A fantastical romp filled with intrigue and suspense.” —Kirkus Reviews

BOOK 2: TEMPEST’S QUEEN (October 2025)

The queen has won her crown. Now, she must prove she’s worthy to wear it.

Six months ago, Teia Carthan seized the throne against all odds. She sacrificed everything—her morals, her friends, even the spark of love—to hear the whisper of her new title: Highness.

Now, Teia sets sail across the Dark Sea to warn her cousin, the Shaylani emperor, of a threat that could doom the Five Kingdoms: Cornelius Lehm lives, and he’s planning to raise the Serkawr. But as she begins a furious journey across Shaylan, Teia knows she needs help to defeat Lehm—even if it means working with the very rebels she betrayed to claim her crown.

Trust is a fragile thing, and Teia crushed it beneath her heel. Can she earn the Dawnbreakers’ friendship once again? Or will the consequences of her treachery win out, dragging all she’s fought for like a wave to the depths?

Tiffany Wang hails from a town in North Texas and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, although she’s currently wandering her way through New York City. In her spare time, she enjoys browsing through bookstores, hunting for a quiet place to write, and snacking on a questionable amount of Cheetos.

THE BLOODSTONE THIEF de Sabina Khan

Inspired by Islamic mythology, this hilarious and richly-woven middle-grade fantasy sparkles with humour, magic, friendship, and heart—perfect for fans of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief and Percy Jackson.

THE BLOODSTONE THIEF
by Sabina Khan
Scholastic, September 2025
(via Writers House)

Laila Habib is having the worst birthday ever, as she’s just discovered that her family’s two-year stay in Houston, Texas, is going to be extended . . . indefinitely. With one foot in her current life and one foot back in her old home in Mumbai, she doesn’t feel like she truly belongs anywhere.

But her day only gets worse from there. Opening up what she thinks is a hidden birthday present, Laila unleashes an evil jinn from a magical amulet. Trapped there long ago by Laila’s father, the jinn is eager for revenge, and drags Laila’s father back to the magical world of Qaf.

To save her father, Laila must travel to Qaf, where she discovers that there’s only one hope for freeing him. She must find the Bloodstone, an object that gives the holder absolute power. But doing so will require a quest that changes everything Laila ever thought she knew about who she is, what she believes, and who she can trust. Not fully belonging in the jinn world or our own, Laila has to create her own community, forge friendships, and fight for her family-no matter who or what they are.

Sabina Khan is the author of The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali (Scholastic, 2019). She is an educational consultant and a karaoke enthusiast. After living in Germany, Bangladesh, Macao, Illinois and Texas, she has finally settled down in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and three daughters, one of whom is a fur baby.

CALL OF THE DRAGON de Natasha Bowen

Eragon meets African mythology in a kingdom where dragon gods rule the earth and sky—until the gods are betrayed, and one girl embarks on a journey to save the world from war and ruin. From the New York Times bestselling author of Skin of the Sea.

CALL OF THE DRAGON Book 1
by Natasha Bowen
Random House, February 2026
(via Writers House)

Moremi has only ever known of two dragon gods watching over a prosperous Kingdom of Kwa. It is thanks to the great dragons, after all, that an unspeakable evil is kept at bay. But when someone tries to claim the gods’ power for their own, the process goes dreadfully wrong. The dragons are injured and flee . . . and the world’s darkest shadows are released.

Overnight, Kwa’s ancient tales of monsters become all too real. Yet as death comes for those around her, Moremi suddenly finds herself magically connected to both dragon gods—a feat that should be impossible. However, Moremi is now Kwa’s only hope for restoring the gods to full strength—setting off whispers that she is meant to save the kingdom and rule over them all.

But will Jagun, the mysterious prince, let her anywhere near the gods? And how does her childhood friend, Nox, feel about it all? In any case, if Moremi fails her quest, then she risks the earth caving in and the sky crumbling down. . .

Natasha Bowen is a writer, a teacher, and a mother of three children. She is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and lives in Cambridge, England, where she grew up. Natasha studied English and creative writing at Bath Spa University before moving to East London, where she taught for nearly ten years. Her debut book was inspired by her passion for mermaids and African history. She is obsessed with Japanese and German stationery and spends stupid amounts on notebooks, which she then features on her secret Instagram. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watched over carefully by Milk and Honey, her cat and dog.