Book picks similar to
The Buttercross Dragon: A Tale of the Blue Order by Maria Grace
fantasy
dragons
genre-novella
trope-dragons
Daygo's Fury: Heroic Fantasy (The Daygo Stream Book 1)
John F. O' Sullivan - 2015
Liam is an orphan, living with eight others in a dilapidated flat. Every day is a battle in the war to survive. As conditions worsen, and casualties rise, Liam begins to lose faith. He looks at the bums on the side of the streets with hate. They’ve given up the fight. They are weak. But it frightens him, how he sometimes longs for their life. Panic grows within his chest. Racquel offers him hope, something good to live for, in a place where there seems nothing but dirt. But what form of survival is worth living for? And what is Liam willing to do to survive? What is he willing to become? Niisa lives in the great forests of the Chewe mountains. He knows he is the odd one in the tribe. He knows he is different. Daygo calls to him, it speaks to him in the sounds of the forest, in the falling of the rain, in brief glimpses of sunlight through the canopy of trees overhead. It is the life that inhabits all things, that fuels all movement. He will do anything to join the Waloleng de Kgotia, the famous priests of the daygo stream. The tribespeople might consider his actions evil … but they don’t understand. The world is on the brink of famine and war. New magic, yet to be discovered, is set to be unleashed. The beasts in the north, long forgotten, considered only a surreal page in history, raise their heads and consider, once again, marching south. Daygo flows, but which way will the current pull …
The House Lost at Sea
R.J. Blain - 2020
Hiding in plain sight as an investment banker, she waits for the end of eternity and the death she has rightfully earned. When a rich client's fascination with her captain and her lover threatens to exhume the watery grave of Catalina's past, she must take up arms against friends and enemies alike to protect her captain's legacy. Should the Calico's sunken ruins be discovered, Catalina’s one true treasure, the House Lost at Sea will be plundered, exposing the secret of Catalina's immortality, and guaranteeing she'll lose the only thing she has left: her freedom.
A Temptation of Angels
Michelle Zink - 2012
Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel. Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.
Changeling
Molly Harper - 2018
That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor...But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical.
Scarlet Huntress
LeAnn Mason - 2019
Where, for years, I was held captive by evil shape-shifting witches. I thought it was for my Shaman abilities. I was wrong.But their ritual failed. Instead of dying, I survived, while another’s blood stained the forest floor.In my escape, I discovered Grimm Hollow—a place deep in the forest in which I hoped to hide. The secret town teems with magic and a Shifter who wants to help me hone my skills. But the big, bad witchy-wolf is hot on my scarlet tail, and he won't hesitate to destroy everyone and everything to get me back—or kill me.Hiding is no longer an option. Instead, I must become the hunter. Bring on the big, bad wolf.*Grimm Hollow books are loosely based on the Grimm Fairy Tales in a modern paranormal setting.*
Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling
Nicolette Andrews - 2015
Falling in love was unthinkable. Because to save her own life, she has to destroy his.Rin is an immortal kitsune, or at least she was until a witch’s curse turned her human. To regain her yokai powers and avoid being turned into a fox, she must make the lord’s son fall in love with her before the next full moon. Her kind has been seducing humans for centuries, and it should be easy, as long as he doesn’t find out she’s a kitsune… except that the curse also took her voice.Hikaru is betrothed to the daughter of a rival lord, and he will fulfill his duty, protecting his clan from others and from the yokai. But when he’s saved by a mysterious red-haired woman, he can’t forget her, try as he might. Then she turns up at his door… Only it can’t be his savior, because this woman has ebony hair, but there’s something inexplicably bewitching about her. Yet his father’s treaty depends on his marriage to another, and even an innocent dalliance could ruin everything. Falling in love is dangerous for them both. Not only are they from different worlds, but their time together can only end in heartache. Hikaru’s marriage means security for his clan, and Rin must destroy it or be turned into a fox. And truly loving Hikaru means revealing she’s one of the hated yokai and an immortal. Will they risk it all for love? Or will their two worlds rip them apart for good?Fans of fairy tale retellings, anime, and manga love Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling, an old tale retold from a fresh perspective.
Finnikin of the Rock
Melina Marchetta - 2008
Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself.
The Palace Job
Patrick Weekes - 2012
The most powerful man in the republic framed her, threw her in prison, and stole a priceless elven manuscript from her family.With the help of a crack team that includes an illusionist, a unicorn, a death priestess, a talking warhammer, and a lad with a prophetic birthmark, Loch must find a way into the floating fortress of Heaven's Spire–and get past the magic-hunting golems and infernal sorcerers standing between her and the vault that holds her family's treasure.It'd be tricky enough without the military coup and unfolding of an ancient evil prophecy–but now the determined and honourable Justicar Pyvic has been assigned to take her in.But hey, every plan has a few hitches.
The Awakening
Nora Roberts - 2020
In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…
Poison Study
Maria V. Snyder - 2005
She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...
Thief of Lies
Brenda Drake - 2016
That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.
The Girl in the Steel Corset
Kady Cross - 2011
except the "thing" inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her.
Darkblade Avenger: Defenders of Legend Omnibus 1
Andy Peloquin - 2019
But playing by the rules won’t silence the beating of hell’s blackest hearts… 3 immersive novels. 1,000+ pages of demons and dark reckonings. The Hunter spills blood to quiet the voices in his head. With his cursed dagger by his side, the feared assassin vows his ruthless gift will only strike down the wicked. So when dark enemies trick him into taking an innocent life, he unleashes the full force of his rage. Devastated by his irreversible actions, he won’t stop until he dismantles the evil syndicate that deceived him. With each traitorous criminal he cuts down, the more determined he is to expose the secrets of the killing blade that torments his mind. Will the truth set him free or seal his eternal damnation? Darkblade Avenger: Defenders of Legend Omnibus #1 is a boxed set containing three action-packed epic fantasy novels. If you like graphic battles, sprawling settings, and quests for redemption, then you’ll love Andy Peloquin’s thrilling series. Buy Darkblade Avenger to watch an assassin get his revenge today!
Truthwitch
Susan Dennard - 2016
After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.