Book picks similar to
Beyond the Shroud by Elliott VanDruff


fantasy
young-adult
bq
books-at-top-of-tbr

Dragonfly


Resa Nelson - 2015
    Broken. Lost.Trusting and naïve, Greeta knows she’s different. All she has to do is look at herself. She’s tall and pale, but lives among people who are small and dark. Although she remembers nothing of her origin, Greeta knows she possesses the blood of Northlanders, fierce and mysterious warriors decimated years ago by gods. Betrayed and devastated by those she loves, Greeta abandons the peaceful village that once welcomed her. After enduring travels that leave her lost and alone, Greeta meets Finehurst, the man who could be her true love – until she learns his dark and disturbing secrets.Secrets that give him the power to place the entire world under his spell.Can Greeta warn the village she fled before a new danger destroys them all?

House of Dragons


Jessica Cluess - 2020
    A liar, a soldier, a servant, a thief, and a murderer will answer it. Who will win?When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year, these five outcasts will answer the call....THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free--he must take what he wants.THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.

Midlife Muse


Donna McDonald - 2021
    Haven't you heard of me? No? Bet you've heard of my twin sister, Athena, the Goddess of War. Sure. Everyone’s heard of her.Shunned by my birth family, I grew up with the Muses as sisters and friends. Being a Muse sucked, though, and I failed at inspiring others.What can I say? Being a warrior is the song that sings in my blood. Just hand me a sword and move back while I call down lightning. Be careful though because my aim’s not what it used to be. Becoming a 40-year-old and mostly mortal woman has taken a toll, especially on my knees.Because of my father, my entire pantheon is also mortal and dying. I have to find a worthy champion to help me save us all. Failure is not an option no matter how old or mortal I get.My name is Atlanta, Goddess of the Doomsday Prophecy. And this is my Mortal Midlife Story.Author Note: This new story is both paranormal (think Trolls, Pegasi, and Dragons) and women’s fiction (think about growing older). Some fantasy and romantic elements are also included. This is the first book in my new series, Nine Heirs and a Spare, which has its roots in Greek mythology. You can count on the good guys winning some of their battles, but that’s the only promise I can make. As with all my writing, there will also be lots of laughs along the way.

Initiate


Tara Maya - 2010
    A DETERMINED GIRL Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan... AN EXILED WARRIOR Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.

Everflame


Dylan Lee Peters - 2012
    Over time, humans lost their connection with a world they had been created to protect, they forgot the ways of their ancient creators, and accepted the Tyrant’s lies as truths from the mouth of a god.  Now, deep in the forests that surround Gray Mountain, two bears find a small child that is abandoned and left for dead. The bears name him Evercloud, raise him as a member of their kingdom, and teach the boy of the Ancients, all underneath the light of the Everflame, the flame that burns atop Gray Mountain as a monument to the integrity and spirit of the bears.  As Evercloud grows, rumors reach the bear kingdom of the Ancients’ return, and now the young man must leave his home to find them and help save the world he holds dear.  Will Evercloud lose himself in the darkness of the Great Tyrant’s lies, or will he have the courage to judge his own heart, the strength to master the darkness, and the faith to follow his purpose until it burns within his heart like the Everflame?

The Murder Complex


Lindsay Cummings - 2014
    For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

The Merciful Crow


Margaret Owen - 2019
    Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.A fugitive prince.When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.A too-cunning bodyguard.Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?

The Last Namsara


Kristen Ciccarelli - 2017
    But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

Gateway to Fourline


Pam Brondos - 2015
    Sending one young woman through may be the key to survival for the kingdom of Fourline. Strapped for cash, college student Natalie Barns agrees to take a job at a costume shop. Sure, Estos—her classmate who works in the shop—is a little odd, but Nat needs the money for her tuition.Then she stumbles through the mysterious door behind the shop—and her entire universe transforms.Discovering there’s far more to Estos than she ever imagined, Nat gets swept up in an adventure to save his homeland, an incredible world filled with decaying magic, deadly creatures, and a noble resistance of exiled warriors battling dark forces. As she struggles with her role in an epic conflict and wrestles with her growing affection for a young rebel, Soris, Nat quickly learns that nothing may go as planned…and her biggest challenge may be surviving long enough to make it home.

Warrior Mage


Lindsay Buroker - 2015
    That choice doomed the family she left behind to a life of disgrace.Yanko White Fox doesn’t remember his mother, but as the only gifted child in the family, he is expected to erase the mark she left on them all. With an affinity for earth magic and communicating with animals, he’s not the most natural candidate to become a warrior mage, but it’s the only sure route back into the Great Chief’s good graces. He has resigned himself to training for that destiny, whether it matches his passions or not.Long before he’s ready for his first battle, insurrection comes to his distant corner of the empire. Rebels take over the salt mine his family manages and slay the only relative who ever supported Yanko. On the heels of the tragedy, a courier brings a message from the Great Chief’s son. Whether he is prepared or not, Yanko must undertake a quest, one that could save millions of lives… or fail utterly, leaving him dead, his family forgotten, and his people the victims of starvation and endless war.

The Girl King


Mimi Yu - 2019
    Lu knows she is destined to become the dynasty's first female ruler, while Min is resigned to a life in her shadow. Then their father declares their male cousin Set the heir instead—a betrayal that sends the sisters down two very different paths.Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu goes on the run. She needs an ally—and an army—if she is to succeed. Her quest leads her to Nokhai, the last surviving wolf shapeshifter. Nok wants to keep his identity secret, but finds himself forced into an uneasy alliance with the girl whose family killed everyone he ever loved…Alone in the volatile court, Min's hidden power awakens—a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set's reign…or allow Min to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one Emperor, and the sisters' greatest enemy could turn out to be each other.

The Eyes of Tamburah


Maria V. Snyder - 2019
    Even though Shyla is sun-kissed - an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess - she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps and obscure historical documents. Her quiet life is about to change when Banqui, an archaeologist, enlists her services to find The Eyes of Tamburah: legendary gemstones that bestow great magic on their wielder. These ancient objects can tip the balance of power and give whoever possesses them complete control of the city.But chaos erupts when The Eyes are stolen soon after they're found - and Shyla is blamed for the theft. Forced to flee, with the Prince's soldiers and the Priestess's deacons on her trail, Shyla must recover the jewels and clear her name. A quest that will unearth secrets even more valuable than The Eyes of Tamburah themselves...

Realm Breaker


Victoria Aveyard - 2021
    But she won’t be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions:A squire, forced to choose between home and honor.An immortal, avenging a broken promise.An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty.An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight.A forger with a secret past.A bounty hunter with a score to settle.Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.

Fireborne


Rosaria Munda - 2019
    Annie's lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee's aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he's come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.

Alrin


Kyle King - 2016
    Our insatiable desire for greatness is shadowed only by our overwhelming hatred for complacency. Whether for fame or fortune, aware of it or not, we strive for the highest rung only for our grasp to instantly crave the next ladder. Yet still we reach, for the void must always be filled. Seventeen-year-old Alrin Turner lives in a place where power is everything, and pursuing it is the only thing that seems to ebb the burning desire. Each person is born with three numbers on their hand that show the might of their strength, magic and intellect, so seeing the full extent of one’s power is as simple as glancing in the mirror. In a world teeming with such illustrious competition, qualities like kindness and humility are in short supply, and Alrin knows it all too well. He cares nothing of power and holds firm to the belief that there is more to life than what is found on your hand, despite the relentless insults he receives for it. While hunting in the woods with his brother, a selfless act forces Alrin off the edge of a cliff only for him to stop feet above the ground by a flash of brilliant light and a mysterious symbol that appears over his hand. The source of this power intrigues a sudden benefactor, who takes Alrin under his wing to train him in his magic guild—an honor never before given to someone so insignificant. When mighty warriors start to appear in his town, Alrin not only learns that the power that saved him has been sought out for thousands of years, but like it or not, he has fallen into a story much larger than himself. Everyone he loves is either taken or cursed and Alrin is faced with an impossible task: delve deeper into the realm of power to unlock the riddle of the void and save his family, yet somehow cling to the part of himself that was worthy of power at the start.