Book picks similar to
A Voice That Thunders by Cully Mack
fantasy
young-adult
indie
fiction
Sapphire & Lotus
Shae Geary - 2016
Like most prophecies, it leaves out a lot of the important details… The very ordinary elf girl who runs for the hills—and gets lost in a forest instead. The dragon egg, precariously perched high in a tree on a dark winter’s night. And what happens when egg meets girl. Dragon Kin: Sapphire & Lotus is book one of a new fantasy series for readers of all ages. If you love dragons, ordinary heroes, or bravery that has to be earned one day at a time, we hope you’ll give this book a try!
Call of the Dragon
Jessica Drake - 2018
Fire-breathing dragons. Epic adventures. Your thrill ride awaits in this brand new dragon rider series, for fans of Eragon and Dragon Riders of Pern! Zara Kenrook has never wanted to be ordinary. Abandoned at an orphanage, destined for a life in the slums, she’s clawed her way to the top and made herself a name as one of the best treasure hunters in Elantia. But Zara hasn’t gotten to where she is without making enemies, and when one of them calls in a debt, her entire livelihood is thrown into peril. Suddenly, Zara is faced with two impossible choices—break into a dragon rider’s home and steal a priceless artifact, or lose the career she’s worked so hard to build. Luckily, Zara has some experience pulling off heists, and she’s never been one to back down from a challenge. But when the object she tries to steal turns out to be a dragon egg, her whole world changes. For this particular dragon is about to hatch, and once it lays its fiery eyes on Zara, her life will never be the same… Scroll up and grab your copy today!
Oath Taker
Audrey Grey - 2019
Maas and Emily R. King, this first book in a dark and action-packed new series is impossible to put down! Light magic is forbidden. Dark magic spells death. Haven has both. After the Prince of Penryth saved her from captivity, seventeen-year-old Haven Ashwood spends her days protecting the kind prince and her nights secretly fighting the monsters outside the castle walls. When one of those monsters kidnaps Prince Bell, Haven must ally with Archeron Halfbane and his band of immortals to rescue her friend. Her quest takes her deep into the domain of a warped and vicious queen where the rules are simple: break her curse or die. Lost in a land of twisted magic and fabled creatures, Haven finds herself unprepared, not just for the feelings she develops for Archeron, but for the warring powers raging inside her. Her rare and forbidden type of magic may be their only hope . . . but mixing light and dark comes with a steep price. Haven’s soul. Faced with impossible love, heartbreaking betrayals, and a queen intent on destroying the realm, only one thing remains certain. Haven must shatter the curse or it will devour everything she loves. Welcome to the Kingdom of Runes where immortals and humans clash, light and dark magic reign, and mythical creatures lurk in the shadows. If you like fierce heroines, enemies-to-lovers romance, wild plot twists, and endearing characters that stay with you long after you reach the end, you need to discover the book readers are calling dark fantasy at its best. Just make sure to clear out some space on your calendar first! **Oath Taker was previously published in the boxed set Shattered Worlds under the name Curse Breaker. This is a revised second edition. The Kingdom of Runes series is upper/mature YA and contains mild cursing and adult situations, including romance.**
The Human Familiar
Honor Raconteur - 2017
For that matter, being magically bound to a mage-in-training hadn’t ever crossed his mind. Being the first human familiar ever summoned in Corcoran? Not on his to-do list. Rena certainly needs all of the help that she can get, as her magic is very different, inhibiting her of the normal shields and protections. Everyone says her summoning a human familiar is a mistake, that she needs to break the bond and send Bannen back. But Bannen doesn’t like this idea, not one iota. Renata Rocci has the magic of a Grim Reaper, the heart of a lion, and a body too frail to keep up with either. She can face assassins; meddlesome mages; politicians; and legendary, nightmarish monsters without flinching. Without losing and that’s sexy as sin. This is definitely not the adventure he signed up for. It’s far, far better.
The Savior's Champion
Jenna Moreci - 2018
He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority. Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign’s Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting—and killing—for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness. Trigger warning: this novel contains graphic violence, adult language, and sexual situations.
A Trial of Sorcerers
Elise Kova - 2021
She’s the most unwanted apprentice in the Tower of Sorcerers until the day she decides to step out and compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms.Pitted against the best sorcerers in the Empire, Eira fights to be one of four champions. Excelling in the trials has its rewards. She's invited to the royal court with the “Prince of the Tower,” discovers her rare talent for forbidden magic, and at midnight, Eira meets with a handsome elfin ambassador.But, Eira soon learns, no reward is without risk. As she comes into the spotlight, so too do the skeletons of a past she hadn't even realized was haunting her.Eira went into the trials ready for a fight. Ready to win. She wasn't ready for what it would cost her. No one expected the candidates might not make it out with their lives.This is the first book in a young adult, epic fantasy that's a tale of competition, coming of age, distant lands, elemental magic, and romance. It's perfect for fans of the Legend of Korra, Truthwitch, and A Sorcery of Thorns.
A Kingdom of Exiles
S.B. Nova - 2017
Serena Smith is unusual. Growing up in a backwoods village, her life is lonely and dull. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, she's gifted a magical heirloom only to be snatched by fae and condemned to a lifetime in chains.Dragged to Aldar, a fae kingdom ruled by a tyrant witch, Serena discovers a forbidden love, and meets fellow outcasts, each with their own dark secrets. As the lives of warriors, rebels, and witches clash, they find a shared destiny. For only together, and with Serena's unique gifts, can they survive long enough to build the flames of a revolution. Only together can they go to war ...
Fledgling
Nicole Conway - 2013
Jaevid Broadfeather has grown up as a wartime refugee, hiding from the world because of his mixed racial heritage. He feels his future is hopeless, until a chance encounter with a wild dragon lands him in Blybrig Academy—a place usually forbidden to anyone but the rich and royal. But Jaevid’s case is special; no dragon has voluntarily chosen a rider in decades, so the proud riders of Blybrig must begrudgingly let him join their brotherhood despite his bloodline. Lieutenant Sile Derrick, a sternly tempered man with a mysterious past, becomes his instructor and immediately takes a peculiar interest in Jaevid’s future. While struggling through the rigorous physical demands of training, things begin to go awry. Jaevid witnesses the king’s private guards kidnapping Sile in the dead of night. When none of the elder riders are willing to help him, Jaevid begins a dangerous adventure to save his instructor. Everything Jaevid learned at the academy will now be put to the ultimate test.
Nocturnal
Chelsea M. Cameron - 2012
Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that her greatest solace comes from someone who's already dead.Peter Hart saves her one night in a graveyard from an attacker just as strange as he is, and now Ava can't stop thinking about him. She wants to see him again – even after he warns her he's dangerous, and she begins to realize what he is. Her best friends don't know anything about death, but Peter does, intimately. He's waiting for her the next night she comes to the cemetery, and the next...But their growing bond comes up against a promise Peter made a long time ago, a promise that could destroy them both. Now Ava has to decide just what she's willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever.
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.
Windswept
Kaitlin Bellamy - 2018
In the same way that he could smell the snow, and the same way he knew when the caravan would arrive, he could feel something in the air. A fire, in some town a day or so away. And there was a hint of fear in the air, the wild panic of a trapped animal before the slaughter." The wind has always spoken to Fox, but it was just instinct, wasn't it? Not a god's Blessing ... not magic. But his powers are growing, and soon, he cannot ignore it anymore: he has a gift. And he is the only one. Why the gods chose to make his homeland magically barren generations ago, he doesn't know. Why he's been chosen now is an even greater mystery. Now, he must learn to control his mysterious Blessing, before it controls him. Or worse.
Arcane
Sever Bronny - 2014
. .
Fourteen-year-old Augum and friends Bridget and Leera dream of becoming warlocks. But with a kingdom in total chaos, it will take courage, sacrifice, and an iron will to make that dream come true.The Lord of the Legion, a vicious tyrant, has overcome the king in a murderous quest for seven mythic artifacts--and Augum's mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, possesses one. While Augum struggles with demons from a painful childhood, a betrayal puts him, his friends and his mentor through a harrowing ordeal that threatens to destroy them all . . . and change the course of history.Arcane, the debut novel in the epic fantasy adventure series The Arinthian Line, follows three friends as they navigate an ancient abandoned castle, endure grueling training, challenge old mysteries, and learn that a bond forged in tragedy might just be the only thing to save them from a ruthless enemy.Primary style influences: J.K. Rowling, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. TolkienReader age: Suitable for ages 10 to retiree.Genres: Fantasy, coming-of-age, sword & sorcery, action & adventure, epic, young adult.Foundational tropes: Orphan farmboy discovers the power of magic and friendship while mentoring under a cranky old warlock.Setting: quasi-medieval times.Explicit language: None.Is the series complete? Yes.Audiobooks: The Arinthian Line narrated by Grammy winner Stefan Rudnicki
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.
Dragon Speaker
Elana A. Mugdan - 2016
Despite this disability, the goddess Shivnath tasks her with saving the last living dragon. Desperate to prove her worth to a world that has told her she's worthless, Keriya accepts the mission.But darkness is stirring in the Empire of Allentria. An ancient and powerful warlord has broken free of his prison with one goal: to kill the dragon. Keriya has bitten off more than she can chew, and she must stay a step ahead of his forces if she wants to survive.On a journey that tests her courage at every turn, Keriya has to decide what she believes in and who she wants to be. She'd better decide fast, because she discovers that she's at the center of an age-old war...A war that will decide the fate of everything.Contains: Fantasy violence
Flamecaster
Cinda Williams Chima - 2016
The son of the queen of the Fells, Ash is forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos. Now Ash is closer than he’s ever been to killing the man responsible, the cruel king of Arden. As a healer, can Ash use his powers not to save a life but to take it?A blood-based curse.Abandoned at birth, Jenna Bandelow was told the mysterious magemark on the back of her neck would make her a target. But when the King’s Guard launches a relentless search for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna assumes that it has more to do with her role as a saboteur than any birth-based curse. Though Jenna doesn’t know why she’s being hunted, she knows that she can’t get caught.Destiny’s fiery hand.Eventually, Ash’s and Jenna’s paths will collide in Arden. Thrown together by chance and joined by their hatred of the king, they will come to rescue each other in ways they cannot yet imagine.Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series a generation later, this is a thrilling story of dark magic, chilling threats, and two unforgettable characters walking a knife-sharp line between life and death.