Book picks similar to
The Woe of Shadows by D. Fischer


young-adult
sadies-spotlight
young-adult-fantasy
ya-indie-authors

Hexing


Ciara Graves - 2017
    Druids. Shamans. Priests. Familiars. Military experiments. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. Magic and Alchemy will suck you in. Rori’s dream to bake in her mother’s shop went up in smoke when she was pulled into a supernatural school for magic types. On her first day there, she meets two guys. Chas and Brogan. One’s mysterious and brooding. The other one’s sweet and hunky. And Rori’s in the middle of a rock and a hard place when she can’t figure out what type of supernatural she is and what path she should follow. And what does her missing father have to do with any of this? Warning: Unputdownable action-packed fantasy, with necromancers, druids, shamans, and priests.

The Cloud Warrior Saga: Books 4-7


D.K. Holmberg - 2017
     Fortress of Fire (book 4) The barrier has fallen. The king is gone. Tan has secured the artifact, but now the Fortress of Fire in Incendin burns more brightly than it has in a generation. To master his connection to the elementals, Tan needs to rediscover knowledge about the elemental power that has been lost for centuries. When the draasin bonded to him is injured, Tan must rely on everything he’s learned to save him and discovers a new threat to the kingdoms more powerful than anything he's ever faced. Forged in Fire (book 5) War is coming to the kingdoms. Tan now knows that a threat greater than Incendin exists, one he suspects will require ancient enemies to forge an uneasy alliance. He must use the control he’s gained over shaping to rescue a friend, protect the draasin, and convince the kingdoms of the true danger, or everything he knows will be destroyed. Serpent of Fire (book 6) Tan now serves as Athan. The remaining draasin have bonded. Elle and all of Doma saved. And Par-Shon has been defeated. Tan knows the victory is short lived. Par-Shon knows how to obscure their shapers, and they could hide anywhere. When Tan discovers Par-shon shapers within the kingdoms, a dangerous and wild elemental is released. As Tan tries to defend his bonds, he learns the terrible history of this elemental, one that the draasin would hide from him. Tan must find a way to protect the elementals, stop the serpent of fire released by Par-shon, while understanding the reason that mysterious Chenir would chose now to send a delegation to Ethea. Servant of Fire (book 7) Chenir has allied with the kingdoms. The great serpent has bonded to the lisincend. And the ancient draasin Asboel lies injured. Tan enters the Fire Fortress, seeking an alliance with the lisincend. Doing so requires him to attempt a shaping he isn’t certain he can control, and this time without his draasin for help. The Par-shon attack has reached the mainland, pushing through Chenir, as the final battle with the unstoppable Utu Tonah approaches. Survival hinges on old friends and a new connection, but can Tan control enough power to defeat him, with one of his bonded near death?

Facing the Sun


Carol Beth Anderson - 2018
    At age fourteen, her magic awakens, but her uncontrolled power nearly destroys her school, leaving her confidence as shaken as her surroundings. Tavi and her friends train to use their gifts, unaware of the threat developing in a distant city. Dissidents have banded together, and they’re killing to attain gray magic, an ominous new force that breaks the rules of ordinary magic. But to seize true power, the Grays must grow their ranks—and Tavi is a prize worth pursuing. In a fight where confidence is as crucial as strength, even extraordinary gifts aren’t sufficient. If Tavi is to prevail against the Grays, she must find a courage that goes deeper than magic itself. Here’s what early readers are saying: “Facing the Sun kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. I fell in love with the characters (especially Tavi and Tullen). It was clear to me that the author was a masterful storyteller.” -Sarah Lentz “The Sun-Blessed Trilogy was one of the most exciting, breathtaking, and heart-stopping series I’ve ever read! Readers of all ages will enjoy this wonderful series.” -Madysun Waldrop “Face it! You won’t be able to put these books down. Order them as a trilogy. You’ll want the next one at your fingertips when you finish the first one.” -Brenda Elliott “Facing the Sun introduced me to wonderfully complex characters. Anderson creates characters you want to know and a world you might even want to live in!” -Kim Decker “I thoroughly enjoyed the Sun-Blessed Trilogy. Following Tavi and her friends through their journey of growing up, getting stronger and wiser kept me on the edge of my seat. All along I was either rooting or crying for them. Made me wish I were born blessed too!” -DeDe Pollnow

The Descent of the Drowned


Ana Lal Din - 2021
    He is meant to kill. Survival is their prison. Choice is their weapon.As the sacred slave of a goddess, Roma is of a lower caste that serves patrons to sustain the balance between gods and men. What she wants is her freedom, but deserters are hunted and hanged, and Roma only knows how to survive in her village where women are vessels without a voice. When her younger brother is condemned to the same wretched fate as hers, Roma must choose between silence and rebellion.Leviathan is the bastard son of an immortal tyrant. Raised in a military city where everyone knows of his blood relation to the persecuted clans, Leviathan is considered casteless. Lowest of the low. Graduating as one of the deadliest soldiers, he executes in his father's name, displaying his worth. When he faces judgement from his mother's people—the clans—Leviathan must confront his demons and forge his own path, if he ever hopes to reclaim his soul.But in the struggle to protect the people they love and rebuild their identities, Roma's and Leviathan's destinies interlock as the tyrant hunts an ancient treasure that will doom humankind should it come into his possession—a living treasure to which Roma and Leviathan are the ultimate key.Set in a colonised Indo-Persian world and inspired by pre-Islamic Arabian mythology, The Descent of the Drowned is a tale about power, identity, and redemption, and what it takes to hold on to one's humanity in the face of devastation.

Shadowplay (Spellmonger: Legacy and Secrets Book 1)


Terry Mancour - 2021
    

The Changeling Sea


Patricia A. McKillip - 1988
    Her mother sinks into a deep depression and spends her days gazing out at the sea. Unable to control her anger and sadness any longer, Peri uses the small magic she knows to hex the sea. And suddenly into her drab life come the King's sons—changelings with strange ties to the underwater kingdom—a young magician, and, finally, love.

Ulysses Exposed


N. Gray - 2019
    She doesn’t know her name, has no memory of what happened to her, who attacked her or why. Three men discover her and offer her help. One of her rescuers is a master vampire, and everybody knows their kind can’t be trusted. The other two are were-animals capable of ripping her apart. Before she can protest to their aid, she passes out from blood loss. When she wakes, she is lying in a bed between two strangers she doesn’t recognize and has healed from her near-fatal wounds. Can she trust the vampire who saved her from death and offers her his protection? Can she put her life in the hands of a were-animal as they race to understand their night together, and how she is ultimately connected to the vampire?

Divine By Mistake


P.C. Cast - 2001
    But then her latest purchase--a vase with the Celtic goddess Epona on it--somehow switches her into the world of Partholon, where she's treated like a goddess. A very temperamental goddess... It seems that Shannon has stepped into another's role as the Goddess Incarnate of Epona. And while it has some very appealing moments--what woman doesn't like a little pampering now and then?--it also comes with a ritual marriage to a centaur and the threat of war against the evil Fomorians. Oh, and everyone disliking her because they think she's her double.Somehow Shannon needs to figure out how to get back to Oklahoma without being killed, married to a horse or losing her mind... .

Bloodlet


T.S. Howard - 2021
    Forced to commit horrendous crimes or be executed, Faron struggles to balance his morality with the need to survive. But survive for what purpose?As hopelessness and guilt threaten to consume him entirely, Faron hears whispers of a lost city, a society of immortals who are kidnapping children, and the truth about his dead family that push him to action. How far will he go to unravel these deadly truths, and will he even recognize himself when he’s done?

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...

Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas


Michael Scott - 2011
    Billy the Kid and Scathach the Shadow. Now that lost story can be told . . . Billy the Kid is immortal. And being immortal means following unpredictable paths. With this exclusive eBook, Michael Scott offers readers a never-before-seen short story from the world of the bestselling series the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel: the tale of how Billy the Kid and Scathach meet for the first time and join forces against the unseen, deadly and eternally hungry vampyres who control the city of Las Vegas—where Scathach must face her greatest fear.

Snakes and Shadows


Amy Hopkins - 2019
    Together, we've been recruited into the Academy of Myth and Legend. Who's Boots? A rainbow serpent--magical creature come to life--no big. It's actually not so unusual these days. Mythical creatures are tumbling through the Veil every two seconds. The Academy not only teaches us how to fight the bad ones, but to protect the good ones as well.That's why I joined. I'm only here to make sure Boots stays safe. Once we figure out a plan, I'm out. At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself — and my new friends, including Cisco. It's only a coincidence that I blush when he talks to me, I swear.It's exciting to be recruited as one of the first wave of students at the Academy, but it's no joke. There are the classes, of course. And then there are poltergeists, bigfoot hunting expeditions, and psychotic gnomes. Just staying alive is a challenge. But together with Boots, I can face anything. And I will. No matter what happens.

The Automaton's Treasure


Cassandra Rose Clarke - 2013
    A tale exploring Marjani's first steps beyond Qilar, when she is dismissed from her home for scandalous behaviour.Marjani's ship is stolen by pirates and, in order to save her own life, she pretends to know the location of great treasure.

Tales from Sand & Sea


Alwyn Hamilton - 2018
    Includes ... The Girl from the SeaThe Stolen CargoThe Tale of the Hero Attalah & Princess HawaThe Djinn and the Runaway

Gilded Ashes


Rosamund Hodge - 2014
    And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?