Tag Archives: fantasy

Dark Fantasy, Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres

Design of Darkness by R.D. Pires 

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The shadow of the great usurper, King Fogosombre, has kept the East in darkness for twelve long years. Made paranoid by a foretelling of his downfall, the king’s indiscriminate violence reaches a new zenith, leaving twins Arsenio and Mariana orphaned and homeless, their village burnt to the ground.

Now, as the dying embers of their rebellion fade into the night, the twins make a promise to find aide for their people in foreign lands. To get out from under the king’s reach, they must venture across the Great Ocean into a world they had only dreamt about through travelers’ stories. From their perilous quest arises a tale of emperors and queens, marauders and mysticism, fortitude and forbidden love.

Meanwhile, King Fogosombre conducts profane rituals driven by his lust for indomitability. Toiling with malign magic that may yield dire consequences for all the known world, he seeks a pact with the shadows, a plan to cement his reign indefinitely: a design of darkness.

Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres, Romantic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

The Exiled by Jason Leigh Smith

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With fleets of airships, mancery, and the ability to read anyone’s Truth, the Elves have squashed every rebellion with bloodshed and war. But the arrival of a foreign race on the shores of Belissia threatens to tip the balance of power.

Airship Captain Selouteau of the Elven Armada, races to save her home from the Human invasion by seeking an alliance with the exiled Prince of the Ez. But in the Prince’s court, Selouteau finds someone that brings the legitimacy of the entire Elven reign into question.

Old tensions rise and as the continent slips towards another war, Selouteau grapples with the weight of what she’s discovered.

Can Captain Selouteau stop the next Belissian war before it begins? And if she can’t, do the Elves—her own race—deserve to remain in power?

Dark Fantasy, Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres, High/Epic Fantasy

The Wizard’s Path by T. D. Ash 

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Enter the world of Craton, where Ascendant gods roam and magic decides wars, in the first novel of the Smiter Saga.

Sixteen-year-old Bjorn Smiter has only known a life of swinging a hammer in his family’s forge. There is no destiny written or songs sung for peasants like him. And when his brother’s life was taken years ago, there was no vengeance offered to the weak.

When Bjorn earns the opportunity to study at a university of magic, he hopes this will be his chance at power. This could catapult him to fulfill the potential he knows is inside him. He could become strong enough to protect those he loves and become a mage knight or even a god.

But on his journey, an encounter of chance or fate spells trouble for Bjorn as it places unwanted attention on him from the royal palace. Even at the university life is not easy for a half-dwarf half-elf like Bjorn. He must learn quickly to control his magic, navigate relationships with other spellcasters, and survive the brutal contests of Mage Rage.

All the while, his suspicions grow that dark forces not seen in centuries are returning to Craton.

Dark Fantasy, Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres

Living with Your Past Selves by Bill Hiatt 

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Many teenagers struggle to find their identity, but for Taliesin Weaver, that struggle has become life or death–and not just for him. Tal, as he prefers to be called, believes in reincarnation, and with good reason. When he turned twelve, his mind was nearly shattered by a flood of memories, memories of his past lives, hundreds of them. Somehow, Tal managed to pull himself together and even to make good use of the lessons learned and skills developed in those previous lives. He even had the ability to work magic–literally–and there was no denying that was cool. No, his life wasn’t perfect, but he was managing.

Now, four years later, his best friend, Stan, has begun to suspect his secret, and Stan isn’t the only one. Suddenly, Tal is under attack from a mysterious enemy and under the protection of an equally mysterious friend whose agenda Tal can’t quite figure out. An apparition predicts his death. A shapeshifter disguised as Stan attacks him. An old adversary starts acting like a friend. He and some other students get hurled into Annwn (the Otherworld), face Morgan Le Fay, and only just barely get back alive–and that’s just during the first month of school!

By now Tal knows he is not the only one who can work magic and certainly not the only one who can remember the past. He realizes there is something that he is not remembering, something that could save his life or end it, some reason for the attacks on him that, as they escalate, threaten not only him but everyone he loves as well. In an effort to save them, he will have to risk not only his life, but even his soul.

Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres, High/Epic Fantasy

The Traitor’s Son by Pedro Urvi 

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A kingdom in danger, a great betrayal, a boy seeking to redeem his father’s honor. Will he succeed in exonerating him and saving the realm from an enemy in the shadows before it is too late for the whole North?

By the age of fifteen, Lasgol has endured a hard childhood and lives, cornered and hated, in a small village in the North. He is the son of the traitor, the man who betrayed the kingdom and tried to kill the King. His only companions are the mountains and the snow, ever-present in the region. Yet he refuses to believe that his father is guilty, even though the King himself was a witness to the betrayal.

Lasgol is determined to clear his father’s name and to do this he has only a single option: the School of Rangers, a secret place where the respected and feared defenders of the lands of the kingdom are trained for four years. Going there is insane, hate and death await him. But as the son of a Ranger, he is entitled to attend.

At the Camp he will find himself involved in political intrigues, disloyalties and fights. He will encounter hatred and fearsome enemies, but also a handful of friends, novices as much out of place as he is himself, determined to do whatever is necessary to pass the first year… without dying in the attempt.

Will Lasgol survive the first year of instruction at the Rangers’ Camp? Will he find out what happened to his father? Will he be able to clear his name?

Find out while you follow fascinating adventures with a group of characters you will fall in love with.

Epic fantasy full of adventure, action, magic, mystery and some romance for all ages: children, teens and adults.

Enjoy this book with your kids and family.

Fairytale Fantasy, Featured Fantasy by Sub-Genres, High/Epic Fantasy

Dellia by David Scidmore 

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Lost and alone in a vast world with all his technology broken and no food or water, Jon is in dire need of help. Skilled and knowledgeable, Dellia is just the help he needs, if only he can keep from falling for the one woman whose duty might compel her to stop him.

All Jon ever yearned for was a simple life with few responsibilities and someone to share it with. In the middle of an ordinary day, a shattering accident rips him from his uncomplicated life and plunges him into a baffling world that defies the physical laws he knows so well. Stuck in a world of impossible phenomena, terrifying creatures, and mystifying prophecies, his only hope of returning home is a harrowing journey that would propel him through three distinct realms.

But his arrival has not gone unnoticed. Suspicious of the circumstances of his appearance, a jittery ruling council requires someone to investigate. So they send the one warrior best suited to the job: the dedicated and compassionate Dellia. She lives to help people. It is what gives her life purpose and meaning, but as a protector, her duty binds her with an unshakable devotion to the council.

Dellia’s heart calls her to give the desperate Jon whatever aid he requires. Yet, how can she when every step walks a knifes edge between her own deeply held convictions and a nervous ruling council determined to see him as a threat?

An epic high-fantasy romance about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, Dellia blends alternate worlds, action, adventure, and dire peril, with political intrigue and a pinch of humor.

Urban Fantasy

Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler 

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If you love urban fantasy, coming of age stories, and sarcastic narrators that don’t know when to shut their mouth, you’ll love Soul Fraud.

A demon stole Matthew Carver’s soul. They’re not supposed to do that.

Matt has a terrible life. Seriously—it’s awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: 10 years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.

But Dan is a salesman behind on his quota and his demonic managers are running out of patience. He forges Matt’s signature on the dotted line, stealing his soul and thrusting him into a supernatural world he never knew existed. Matt must learn to navigate the hidden society of demons, faeries, demigods, and worse.

Matt has to get his soul back and stop a supernatural war before it is too late….

“I’m proud of you.” (Andrew’s mom)

“I didn’t even know you could read.” (Andrew’s grandfather)

“Neat.” (Some girl at a party)

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Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

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“A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale…exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully…a dark delight.” —Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades

https://amzn.to/3JHOSUT

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly).



You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.

And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious events: the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.

But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her fellow competitors, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.

Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

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Silence and Shadow (Blood and Moonlight) by Erin Beaty

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In this unforgettable sequel to the fantasy thriller Blood and Moonlight, sizzling romance, dangerous magic, and deadly secrets collide when Catrin and Simon face a cunning new serial killer who threatens to tear them apart.

https://amzn.to/3QtTul0

Forced to flee for their lives after an explosive confrontation with a depraved killer, Selenae novice Catrin and brilliant criminal profiler Simon arrive in the sprawling city of Londunium, hoping for a fresh start and an opportunity for Catrin to hone her newfound magic. To avoid raising suspicion, they pretend to be a married couple, but don’t expect to keep up the ruse for long. Until a ruthless council of magical leaders at the local Selenae university discover Catrin’s forbidden “marriage” to an outsider and threaten to erase Simon’s memories to protect their secrets.

Terrified to lose each other, Catrin and Simon take desperate steps to keep him safe, like playing the parts of husband and wife for longer than they had anticipated. But when a string of mutilated bodies turns up in the woods outside the city, and Simon is recruited to profile the killer, Catrin is pulled back into a world of murder, mayhem, and magic . . .

Perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco, Mary E. Pearson, and Criminal Minds, Erin Beaty weaves a riveting and romantic conclusion to the Blood and Moonlight duology in Silence and Shadow.

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The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage 

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In the vein of The Couple Next Door, a debut psychological thriller about a woman who moves with her family to the gothic seaside house where her husband grew up — and where 15 years ago another family was brutally slaughtered.

https://amzn.to/4a0lZxL

For Sarah and Patrick, family life has always been easy, until her mother’s death sends Sarah spiraling into depression. When she overdoses on sleeping pills, Sarah insists it was an accident, but neither Patrick nor their teenage children believe her. Determined to give their family a fresh start, Patrick convinces her to move back to the idyllic beachside home where he grew up.

But there’s a catch: The once-beautiful old house is now known as the Murder House. It has been standing empty for fifteen years, ever since another family was brutally slaughtered within its walls. Nostalgic for his childhood, Patrick is adamant that this can be their “dream home” again. Sarah tries to bring it back to its original warmth, but as locals hint that the house is haunted, the children begin having nightmares, strange writing appears on the walls, and creepy “gifts” suddenly arrive on the doorstep at odd hours. With the news that the murderer has been paroled, Sarah can’t shake the feeling that something just isn’t right. Not with the house, not with the town, not even with her own loving husband–whose stories about his perfect childhood suddenly aren’t adding up. Can Sarah uncover the secrets of the Murder House before another family is destroyed?

With an irresistible, fog-drenched atmosphere that hides its knife-sharp twists, Vanessa Savage’s THE WOMAN IN THE DARK is the perfect new read for fans of I Let You Go and The Couple Next Door, a chilling psychological thriller about a dark family dysfunction and the secrets that haunt us.

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