Book picks similar to
Spyder's Web (Seven Realms of Ar'rothi Book 4) by Alison Naomi Holt
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fantasy
lesbian
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The Bone Shard Daughter
Andrea Stewart - 2020
But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.
Phoenix Rising, #1-5
Annie Anderson - 2021
Maybe he saved it. Now, it's my turn to save us both.Living forever isn't all it's cracked up to be.Fall into the realm of Phoenixes and Wraiths who guard the gates of the beyond. The Phoenix Rising Complete Series Box Set contains all five books in this thrilling paranormal romance series.
Hero Born
Andy Livingstone - 2015
Now he must do everything he can to survive.Miles away, word is spreading of a growing evil; a deposed and forgotten Emperor is seeking a weapon to use in his bid to rise once again to power. Ruthless and determined, nothing and no one can stand in his way. Especially not a galley slave like Brann.But heroes can be forged in the most unlikely of ways, and Brann’s journey has only just begun.
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang - 2018
Jemisin.” -- BooknestA brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.But surprises aren’t always good.Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
White Heart: The Prophecy
Destiny Hawkins - 2018
First, with the will of the gods, but after much bloodshed and loss, they fought for revenge. I was taught that the Light Elves were heartless killers, but it was hard to believe that someone with such a benevolent spirit could be as heartless as they say. That’s probably why I ended up falling in love. I should’ve known better though. I should’ve known the consequences of falling for her kind. The night I thought that we were finally going to be together, I found myself alone at the bottom the ocean with more power than any elf could bear. I had the power to destroy kings…and maybe even end a war.
Anchor Leg
Jack Croxall - 2017
Stranded with a saboteur, stranded with a killer.Humanity has spilled out into the Solar System, into a succession of giant space stations known as the Relay. Seren Temples is a security apprentice running the Relay’s remote Anchor Leg. When sabotage strands her vessel near another damaged ship, Seren and her team are sent across to investigate. The second ship is a zero-G graveyard. Inside its vast hold, nothing but a single vial of frozen blood.
A Crown for Cold Silver
Alex Marshall - 2015
One legendary general. A final quest for vengeance.Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history.Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner.
The City of Brass
S.A. Chakraborty - 2017
Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for...
The Dark Citadel
Michael Wallace - 2011
They flee west to enlist the aid of griffin riders, an order of wizards, and a band of ascetic knights to come to the city's defense.Meanwhile, a young queen named Kallia leads a heroic struggle to keep both her city and body free from the dark wizard's cruel embrace.The first book of a new epic fantasy series by Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Michael Wallace, The Dark Citadel combines a rich fantasy world with page-turning plot and flawed, heroic charactersBooks in the Dark Citadel series:Book 1: The Dark CitadelBook 2: The Free KingdomsBook 3: The Golden GriffinBook 4: The Warrior KingBook 5: War of Wizards (spring, 2015)
Madrenga
Alan Dean Foster - 2020
A desperate queen. A hero in the making.He is plainly too young and too inexperienced for the mission, but on the advice of her aged adviser Natoum, and with her husband off at war, the Queen reluctantly assigns the task of delivery to…Madrenga. Accompanied only by a runt of a pony and a scrap of a pup, he sets off to transport the royal message to its destination. No matter what it might take.But things are not always what they seem. Heroes are sometimes made of the strangest stuff, and love is to be found in the most unexpected places. If one doesn’t die while treading the lethal path…
Spellslinger
Sebastien de Castell - 2017
The first is to demonstrate the strength to defend your family. The second is to prove you can perform the high magic that defines our people. The third is simply to reach the age of sixteen. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn’t be doing any of those things.Magic is a con game. Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage's duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is gone. As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen falls back on his cunning in a bid to avoid total disgrace. But when a daring stranger arrives in town, she challenges Kellen to take a different path. Ferius Parfax is one of the mysterious Argosi - a traveller who lives by her wits and the three decks of cards she carries. She's difficult and unpredictable, but she may be Kellen's only hope...
The Shattergrave Knights
David M. Haendler - 2011
The Merriwether family traditions are dark magic, devil worship and insurrection. Jack and Olive Merriwether thought they were two ordinary teenagers until they learned they were descended from the murderous sorcerer Gorgyaz. Now that the truth about their ancestry is out, the government wants to take their freedom, a witchfinder wants to take their lives and the shadowy leader of the Thirteenth Division wants to take their souls. Jack and Olive didn't intend on following in their infamous forefather's footsteps, but they'll have to learn the family traditions to survive.
Servant of the Crown
Melissa McShane - 2015
Even the prospect of access to the Royal Library doesn’t seem enough to make up for her sacrifice, but Alison is prepared to do her service to the Crown. What she’s not prepared for is Prince Anthony North, Queen Zara’s playboy brother, who’s accustomed to getting what he wants—including the Countess of Waxwold.When the fallout from an unfortunate public encounter throws the two of them together, Alison has no interest in becoming the Prince’s next conquest. But as the weeks pass, Alison discovers there’s more to Anthony than she—or he—realized, and their dislike becomes friendship, and then something more—until disaster drives Alison away, swearing never to return.Then Alison is summoned by the Queen again, this time to serve as Royal Librarian. A threat to Tremontane’s government, with her treasured Library at stake, draws Alison into the conflict…and into contact with Anthony once more. Can they work together to save the Royal Library and Tremontane? And can she open her heart to love again?
The Dark Path
James M. Bowers - 2012
Raised by a master assassin then barely escaping with his life after a betrayal by his own guild, he finds himself with a new mission and a chance to start a new life in a far away land. Will he survive this new school of magic? Can he, with the help of some new friends, find a way to heal from the past? Will this place prove to be too much of a challenge for this boy, this weapon?
Stone Bound
Eric T. Knight - 2017
His mother is cut down before his eyes. Yet somehow, when the blade is turned on him, he survives without a scratch. But the attack awakens a strange power inside him, the same power that killed his father years ago.Aislin came from the sea, her origins a mystery. Within her is an innate power over water, as natural as breathing. But she lives in a world of her own, emotionally isolated from everyone else, including Netra, the woman who is raising her. Bullied by the other children, Netra fears that one day Aislin will turn her power on them.Karliss was touched by the wind at birth, destined to be the greatest wind shaman his people have ever seen. But he is careless with his power and he ignores the warnings about the madness that afflicts those who don't protect themselves against the spirits in the wind. When a ritual goes wrong and strikes down his mentor, Karliss suddenly has to deal with the true responsibilities of power.The powerful, inhuman denizens of the Abyss are reaching out to take the world, and only these three children have a chance of stopping them, but only if they can learn to master not just their powers, but themselves...