Book picks similar to
The Apples of Idunn by Matt Larkin
fantasy
mythology
fiction
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The Watchers of Eden
T.C. Edge
Her world is her prison. Her fate is bigger than she knows... In the hot and harsh farming region of Agricola, 16 year old Cyra prepares to be tested to discover what duty she'll hold for life. All school leavers across the regions are in the same position, and few expect anything more than to follow in their parents' footsteps and stay in the region they live in.For Cyra, there was never a choice. With her father dead and brother and sister assigned elsewhere, she's desperate to stay close to her sick mother so she can take care of her.On the day of the Duty Call, however, Cyra's world turns upside down in one stroke. She's to be assigned to Eden, the largest and most powerful sea city and central hub of control. Only the most important live there, and no one from Cyra's town has ever been assigned there in her lifetime. So, she sets off on a journey away from everything she knows, without knowing what her duty will be. Soon, she discovers that she, along with a small number of school leavers from across the regions, has a special power; a gift that will pit her as a secret protector of the nation. Only, it's not a gift, it's really a curse, and before long Cyra will learn that her once small world is filled with a great deal more corruption and injustice than she ever thought possible.
Runes
Ednah Walters - 2013
The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her. Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run. Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life
Loki's Wolves
K.L. Armstrong - 2013
When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.The gods died a long time ago.Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.
Basics of Spellcraft
L.C. Mawson - 2020
Blocked memories. And an Academy for young witches that might just hold the answers. I should have known something was wrong when my weird aunt arrived in town just as I started getting killer headaches. But how was I supposed to know that it was a sign of repressed magic? Or that an ancient witch had escaped her tomb and sent demons after me? Demons who cursed my mother. I wanted to stay with her, even if she wouldn’t wake, but I was sent to Ember Academy for Young Witches instead. Somewhere the demons hopefully can’t get me. I need to find a way to lift the curse, but there’s a block on both my magic and memories that everyone is refusing to lift. A block that might hold the answers as to why an ancient witch is after me in the first place. If I can figure her out, maybe I can figure out this curse. My teachers don’t want me digging into it, worried about the danger. But I don’t care. My mother was cursed because of me, and I’m not going to rest until she’s safe again. BASICS OF SPELLCRAFT is the first book in the Ember Academy for Young Witches YA Urban Fantasy Academy series. If you love kick-ass heroines, Sapphic slow-burn romances, and magical boarding schools, you’ll love this latest fast-paced series in L.C. Mawson’s Snowverse.
A Thousand Ships
Natalie Haynes - 2019
From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war. A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.
The Beast of London
L.D. Goffigan - 2017
Now she has settled into a quiet routine as a schoolteacher in London, engaged to the respectable solicitor Jonathan Harker, attempting to fit into the stuffy upper class London society to which he belongs. Her dark past comes careening into her present when Jonathan is abducted by a group of vampires from a society ball. Determined to rescue him, she teams up with her former paramour Abraham Van Helsing and his colleague, Scotland Yard Inspector John Seward. As they pursue Jonathan’s abductors from England to the Low Countries and beyond, Mina realizes that Jonathan’s abduction is tied to a larger threat against humanity…
A Most Extraordinary Pursuit
Juliana Gray - 2016
As the personal secretary of the recently departed Duke of Olympia—and a woman of good character—Miss Emmeline Rose Truelove never expected to be steaming through the Mediterranean on a luxuriously appointed yacht under the watchful and jovial eye of one Lord Silverton. But here they are, as improper as it is, on a quest to find the duke’s heir, whereabouts unknown. An expert on anachronisms, the adventurous Maximilian Haywood was last seen at an archaeological dig on the island of Crete. And when Truelove and Silverton disembark, they are met with incidents of a violent nature: a ransacked flat, a murdered government employee, an assassination attempt. And as they steam from port to port on Max’s trail, dodging danger at every turn, Truelove will discover the folly of her misconceptions—about the whims of the heart, the desires of men, and the nature of time itself...
The Broken Sword
Poul Anderson - 1954
Now the elves need the weapon for their war against the trolls. Only Scafloc, a human kidnapped and raised by elves, can hope to persuade Bolverk the ice-giant to make Tyrfing whole again. But Scafloc must also confront his shadow self, Valgard, the changeling in his place among men.
Fallible Justice
Laura Laakso - 2018
After a man is declared guilty of murder and sentenced to death, his daughter turns to private investigator Yannia Wilde to do the impossible and prove the Heralds wrong.Yannia has escaped a restrictive life in the Wild Folk conclave where she was raised, but her origins mark her as an outsider in the city. These origins lend her the sensory abilities of all of nature. Yet Yannia is lonely, and struggling to adapt to life in the city. The case could be the break she needs. She enlists the help of her only friend, a Bird Shaman named Karrion, and together they accept the challenge of proving a guilty man innocent. So begins a breathless race against time and against all conceivable odds. Can Yannia and Karrion save a man who has been judged infallibly guilty?
Dangerous To Know
K.T. Davies - 2014
Sentenced to five years bonded servitude to a one-handed priest magician, Breed must find the hammer of the ancient hero known only as The Hammer of the North within a year and a day... Or Else. So, with only a drug-addicted vagrant, a rat-faced child, and a timid priest for backup, Breed sets out for the mighty city of Valen and the tomb of the Hammer. What could possibly go Wrong? Grim, dark and funny, Dangerous To Know is an epic sword and sorcery adventure.
Runemarks
Joanne Harris - 2007
. . . Not that anyone would admit it was goblins. In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours – all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. The “ruinmark” she was born with on her palm proves it – and makes the other villagers fearful that she is a witch (though helpful in dealing with the goblins-in-the-cellar problem). But the mysterious traveler One-Eye sees Maddy’s mark not as a defect, but as a destiny. And Maddy will need every scrap of forbidden magic One-Eye can teach her if she is to survive that destiny.
Turning Grace
J.Q. Davis
She wakes up in the morning with bags under her eyes, lifeless hair, and a hunger like she’s never had before.Her mother—former doctor and current personal chef to Gracie—insists that these changes are hormonal. But Grace is growing skeptical of her mom’s knowledge on the matter, especially after Grace willingly dines on Fluffy, the very delicious four-legged neighborhood feline. When her mom introduces Grace to Dr. Walker, he promises to help her curb her sudden craving for living things…in another country. Grace can’t leave her life behind, not when her long-time crush, Tristen, is finally showing some interest. But when a couple of serious crimes are committed—assault and murder—Grace must decide whether or not to run away. It may be the only way to protect the people she cares about…from herself.
Thunder Hunter
Rachel Medhurst - 2018
His death will bring him peace.After slaying almost two hundred demons, Trygger Odinson is struggling to track down the last five Fallen Ones. Just five more killings before he can die, and live with the gods. A goal he’ll be happy to achieve.He’s well on his way to his goal, until Chloe comes along. Sent by the gods to help him, her fumbling ways do nothing but interfere with his mission. Her kindness digs at his hard exterior, attempting to soften him when he finally gets a lead on the Fallen One. What did she have to hide? And, why was there a cult suddenly threatening them? If he wasn’t careful, he would die before his mission was done… and be sent straight to Helheim. Contains mature content.
Ignited
Desni Dantone - 2013
Good thing she has her guardian angel to protect her...sort of.Kris is aided by Nathan, the mysterious man that ends up being anything but angelic when he rescues her for the fourth time in fourteen years. Even if the handsome hero illusion is shattered by his harsh treatment of her, he knows how to fight this strange enemy and is determined to keep her safe at all costs. As the body count rises in their wake, Nathan introduces Kris to a world in which not everyone is human and the battle lines between good and evil are clearly drawn. Kris's piece in the puzzle is something neither is aware of and, as they uncover the truth, neither is prepared for what they find. Overcoming twists and revelations that shatter both of their lives, they discover that nothing is as it seems and nothing, least of all their hearts, are safe. From debut author, Desni Dantone, Ignited is the first novel in a tale of first love, mystery and adventure that will introduce you to an exciting new world as Kris discovers how she fits in it.
Winter Solstice Winter
E.J. Squires - 2013
But Ailia's on the verge of discovering that she hasn't even seen the tip of the iceberg that sleeps below...On Winter Solstice Ailia visits her favorite place to ponder: a large cliff overlooking her hometown. On her way home, Eiess and an army of Vikings capture her before attacking the Northlandic Kingdom. After usurping the Northlandic Throne, Eiess immediately suspends the seasons on the darkest and coldest day of the year and begins her preparations for the prophesied battle to end all battles.Princess Lucia, sole heir to the Nothlandic Throne, is taken prisoner by Eiess and is thrown into the castle’s tower. For months, Lucia wastes away, never knowing when this nightmare of beatings, starvation and bitter cold will end. But when she miraculously escapes, she learns that she has a twin sister she must find before Eiess completely destroys the Northlandic Kingdom.Months later, Ailia wakes up in a glacier cave with no memory of how she ended up there. On her way home, a handsome, yet mysterious young man named Soren rescues her from wolves and a dangerous shape-shifter. Ailia is immediately drawn to Soren, thinking she knows him from somewhere, maybe from her dreams of another life? He reveals he is a Sentinor sent by the gods to defeat Eiess and is waiting to be reunited with his soul mate, Lucia, so they together can defeat the Empress.As Eiess continues to amass her forces, Ailia, Lucia and Soren are about to discover that their destinies are intertwined behind a veil of dark secrets and lies. If they are to take back the Northlandic Throne, they must work together and form an alliance.But their mission to overthrow the Empress is stalled when the secrets and lies surface. And when a strong love develops between two, jealousy and duplicity arise between them, causing one of them to betray the others – a betrayal which puts their lives and the lives of humanity in grave danger. WINTER SOLSTICE WINTER is a Young Adult/New Adult fantasy romance set in the Viking Era. With Suspense, Norse paranormal elements and a breathtaking soul mate love story, it's a great read for those who enjoy a page-turning story. This is the first book in its series.