Book picks similar to
Bringer of Light by J.R. Boles
fantasy
missouri-authors
local-authors
fiction
Rise of the Dragons
Morgan Rice - 2014
As she struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious inner power, she realizes she is different than the others. But a secret is being kept from her about her birth and the prophecy surrounding her, leaving her to wonder who she really is.When Kyra comes of age and the local lord comes to take her away, her father wants to wed her off to save her. Kyra, though, refuses, and she journeys out on her own, into a dangerous wood, where she encounters a wounded dragon—and ignites a series of events that will change the kingdom forever. 15 year old Alec, meanwhile, sacrifices for his brother, taking his place in the draft, and is carted off to The Flames, a wall of flames a hundred feet high that wards off the army of Trolls to the east. On the far side of the kingdom, Merk, a mercenary striving to leave behind his dark past, quests through the wood to become a Watcher of the Towers and help guard the Sword of Fire, the magical source of the kingdom’s power. But the Trolls want the Sword, too—and they prepare for a massive invasion that could destroy the kingdoms forever.With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, RISE OF THE DRAGONS is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, of ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.
Vessel
Sarah Beth Durst - 2012
She will dance and summon her tribe's deity, who will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But when the dance ends, Liyana is still there. Her tribe is furious — and sure that it is Liyana's fault. Abandoned by her tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. The desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice — she must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate — or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.
Blade & Rose
Miranda Honfleur - 2017
Which one will she save? Elementalist Rielle hasn't heard from her best friend in far too long. Yet no one at the Tower of Magic seems to care about Olivia’s silence, or the curtain of secrecy surrounding the distant capital. Before Rielle can investigate, she's assigned a strange new mission: escort a paladin named Jon across the kingdom. When whispers reveal mercenaries have killed the king, taken the capital, and that no one is coming to help, Rielle can’t leave Olivia in peril. But as infamous mages and deadly assassins hunt Jon, she can’t leave him unprotected either—especially as she finds herself falling for his strength, his passion, and his uncompromising goodness. Her past returns to haunt her, a werewolf stalks their steps, and an ancient evil is gathering, yet the restraints forbidding their love strain and snap one by one. Saving Olivia and the kingdom means defying orders and sacrificing her every ambition, and could mean losing the man who's become so much more to her than a mission. Which will she choose: her best friend and the kingdom, or the love of her life? Dive into a medieval world sensual and dark, full of magic and greed, love and blades, where factions vie for influence and there are no easy choices.
Hunted
A.D. Starrling - 2012
One fall night in Boston, the Hunt starts again, resulting in Soul's fifteenth death and triggering a chain of events that sends him on the run with Reid Hasley, a former US Marine and his human business partner. From Paris to Prague, their search for answers leads them deep into the Immortal societies and brings them face to face with someone from Soul’s past. Shocking secrets are revealed and fresh allies come to the fore as they uncover a new and terrifying threat to both immortals and humans.To defeat his enemies, Soul must embrace his tortured fate and become the Hunter. But time is running out. Can he protect the ones he loves and prevent another Immortal War before his seventeenth and final death?Hunted is the first installment in AD Starrling’s bestselling supernatural thriller series Seventeen. If you like high-octane, fast-paced adventures that combine science and fantasy then you’ll love the world of Seventeen.
The Orphan Queen
Jodi Meadows - 2015
When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.
Stonebriar Academy: School for Dragon Riders
Tom Boyhan - 2016
Jamie and his mother have returned to his mother’s home, Aurellius—a world where dragons, dwarves, elves, and other so-called mythological creatures actually exist. It is a world created by the leader of the Dragons, Dragonith, and his mate, Gwenith. Even though life on Aurellius is not the ideal that Dragonith and Gwenith had envisioned, it is still far better than Earth, where the nine races have wreaked havoc and exploited Earth’s people. But now a movement, led by a group called The Sisterhood, would seize the powerful “Dragon’s Heart” in order to gain total control of Aurellius. Jamie is unwittingly being drawn into this struggle, with his very life at stake. In order to survive, he must learn many skills that he can only learn in Stonebriar Academy. However, competition to enter Stonebriar Academy is grueling, and only one hundred students will be granted admission. And gaining admission is Jamie’s only hope if he is to survive against the Sisterhood. Jamie desperately wants to be admitted to Stonebriar, not only to give himself a fighting chance against the Sisterhood but also so that he might learn something that a few short months ago he didn’t even know existed—how to fly with a Dragon.
A Question of Will
Alex Albrinck - 2012
They burned down his house. They beat him within an inch of his life. And then they realized they had the wrong man.They should have killed him when they had the chance.Will Stark is a thirty-five-year-old self-made billionaire. He's happily married and father to a young son he adores. He's well-loved in his community for his philanthropic efforts. He lives in a beautiful home inside a private, secure community designed to provide safety for his family from those who would do them harm.His idyllic world is shattered when, despite his best efforts, men storm his community, murder his family in their home, and burn his house down. In his efforts to rush to the aid of those he loves, Will is seized, beaten, and nearly killed.And as it's happening, the men who've attacked him realize they've mistaken him for someone else.Will's rescue from certain death brings him into the midst of a battle between two factions of a secret society, one in which members learn the secrets of developing superhuman abilities. And it's a battle in which a man named Will Stark has been the focal point. Will seizes the opportunity to learn these secrets, and battle those who destroyed his family. His own rapid development, however, means he may become a target for attack of his own accord.As he builds his new life, however, Will is faced with a critical decision. Will he use his new abilities to seek out vengeance? Or will he risk everything he has to save those he holds most dear?
How to Save an Undead Life
Hailey Edwards - 2017
Hoop skirt and parasol aside, it's not a bad gig. The pay is crap, but the tips keep the lights on in her personal haunted mansion and her pantry stocked with ramen.Life is about as normal as it gets for an ex-necromancer hiding among humans. Until the society that excommunicated Grier offers her a second chance at being more than ordinary. Too bad no one warned her the trouble with being extraordinary is it can get you killed.Warning: This book contains one ex-con/ex-heiress with a pet zombie parakeet who lives next door to her ex-army/ex-crush. Brace yourselves, we're talking more exes than a pirate treasure map here.
Immortal Bound
T.G. Ayer - 2017
Special Agent. Supernatural CSI.Beneath New York’s cosmopolitan veneer lies a darker truth—a concrete jungle of the supernatural kind. But humanity is protected, their souls guarded by powerful ancient Gods. Vee deals in death—demons, evil spirits, possessions, and even the odd rogue God or two. But Vee’s power to read life essences is both a gift and a curse. She’s a Warrior of the Gods, but she’s also in the crosshairs of powerful demonic forces. And from the shadows, dark things come, dogging her every step, threatening her every move.Vee doesn’t know it, but her power means more than just a quirk of her DNA. Her true identity is a secret better left untold. But as both her alliance with a mystery informant and her strange powers grow, Vee must confront a truth that will make her question her very existence. Before all hell breaks loose. Literally.
Waters of Salt and Sin
Alisha Klapheke - 2017
But when a madman enslaves her sister, Kinneret must make a deal with the local ruler: Find the island to secure the ruler’s place in history. In return, the woman’s fighting sailors will rescue Kinneret’s sister.Using Salt Magic to navigate cursed waters, Kinneret and Calev struggle to hide their taboo, caste-breaking feelings, knowing if the ruler witnesses the attraction, she will cancel the agreement. But when Calev makes a terrible mistake, Kinneret must choose between the life of her only remaining family member and saving the boy she loves from a traitor’s death.
Powder Island: the Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mysteries, Book 26
Charles Veley - 2021
A wounded ally. And the rise of a new and powerful enemy . . . When an unforeseen blast destroys part of England’s largest gunpowder factory, Inspector Gregson, a former ally of Sherlock Holmes, is put on the case. Holmes waits for a call to help Gregson investigate, but the call never comes. Soon Gregson will be demoted to a lowly beat patrolman, walking the streets of Whitechapel. Nine months later, the factory owner comes to Holmes for help. He has rebuilt the demolished structure and needs to resume operations. But he's received an anonymous note threatening another explosion.All known suspects have iron-clad alibis, and there are no other leads. If the culprit is not caught, the factory may never reopen, and the livelihoods of four hundred workers and their families will vanish permanently.Then Gregson is brutally stabbed in a Whitechapel alley. More mysterious circumstances unfold. Holmes realizes the Baker Street team is up against a powerful and complex enemy who will stop at nothing to avoid being caught. Can the team unmask the malefactor before more damage is done? Or will all their efforts go up in smoke?A thrilling and fast-paced take on a classic Sherlock who-done-it, complete with unexpected twists and turns, clever sleuthing, and diabolical villainy. Powder Island stays faithful to the spirit of the beloved original series, while adding fresh new mysteries and dynamic new characters. Get it today!
Tiger's Curse
Colleen Houck - 2011
Fate. Loyalty.Would you risk it all to change your destiny? The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever. Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.
Steel Maiden
Kim Richardson - 2015
But she is caught, and the punishment for stealing is death. And yet in that moment she is given a choice—death or to become one of the High priests' champions in The Great Race.Elena is catapulted without warning into the bloodiest race in all the realms, forced to compete with a man she hates while she develops a growing passion for another. She struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious healing powers that she must keep secret. Within a world built on a religious sect and dangerous secrets, she becomes a woman torn between obligation and desire, between a man she supposedly hates and another.As Elena comes to terms with her own secret, she discovers the truth behind the race and must stop the ancient, wicked evil that threatens all living things before it's too late.
The Burning Sky
Sherry Thomas - 2013
The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.The Burning Sky—the first book in the Elemental Trilogy—is an electrifying and unforgettable novel of intrigue and adventure.