The City of Dusk


Tara Sim - 2022
    For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.But their defiance will cost them dearly.

Beanstalk: The Adventures of a Jack of All Tales


E. Jade Lomax - 2013
    Grey doesn’t want to save anyone but himself. He wants to know everything and majoring in sagework at the Academy is the best way to do that.Laney Jones left her home to avoid the constraints there, only to find different barriers holding her back at the Academy. Eager to learn, to excel, to escape, she has far from given up.Rupert Willington Jons Hammerfeld the Seventh would just like everything to be orderly, thank you very much, but it seems the only way to make monsters and myths (and malicious but mundane men) to stop rampaging through his world is to go out and do some hero-ing himself.They are put together as an unwilling study group, but they become something more.

Daughter of the Empire


Raymond E. Feist - 1987
    Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan.  Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni.  While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spy-master plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir.  Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival.  But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy.  Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all--in his own impregnable stronghold.  An epic tale of adventure and intrigue.  Daughter of the Empire is fantasy of the highest order by two of the most talented writers in the field today.

Even Greater Mistakes: Stories


Charlie Jane Anders - 2021
    The woman who can see all possible futures is dating the man who can see the one and only foreordained future.A wildly popular slapstick filmmaker is drawn, against his better judgment, into working with a fascist militia, against a background of social collapse. Two friends must embark on an Epic Quest To Capture The Weapon That Threatens The Galaxy, or else they’ll never achieve their dream of opening a restaurant. The stories in this collection, by their very outrageousness, achieve a heightened realism unlike any other. Anders once again proves she is one of the strongest voices in modern science fiction, the writer called by Andrew Sean Greer, “this generation’s Le Guin.”

Black Dog Blues


Rhys Ford - 2013
    Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old either and it doesn't look like Kai will be the exception.

Son of the Storm


Suyi Davies Okungbowa - 2021
    Damn good stuff!" —Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of KingsIn the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.

Cloaked in Shadow


Ben Alderson - 2017
    But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn't know what he is.Zacriah joins forces with new friends and they soon find themselves embroiled in a clash between the three Elven continents. With war looming on the horizon, Zacriah must learn to use his latent power to fight and protect those he loves before they are destroyed.

Prosperity


Alexis Hall - 2014
    This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart. Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless. Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe. This volume (available for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition.

The Horse Mistress: Book 1


R.A. Steffan - 2015
    I was born female, but I've been secretly living as a boy in my adoptive village of Draebard, doing a job the elders insist could never be done by a woman. My life is complicated enough already, so the last thing I need is to fall for not one, but two unattainable men—a fierce warrior and a reluctant wolf-shifter with a horrific past.Now, with the powerful Alyrion Empire poised to invade our lands, I must choose whether to keep my secret or reveal it… not only to the men I love, but also to the powerful female ruler whose army could help protect Draebard during the coming war.Either way, strife is coming to our island.Win or lose, things are about to change irrevocably for the three of us.* * * The Horse Mistress  by USA Today bestseller R. A. Steffan is a 2016 Rainbow Award winning LGBT fantasy romance series.This series is part of the Eburosi Chronicles: The Horse Mistress  (4 books, complete) The Lion Mistress  (3 books, complete) The Dragon Mistress  (4 books, complete) Master of Hounds  (3 books, complete in early 2022) The War Mistress  (4 books, coming in late 2022)While loosely linked, each series may be read on its own.A special note for Fantasy readers: This series is polyam romance with steamy scenes and strong LGBT content. The main character is genderqueer. One of the love interests is a eunuch. If your gut reaction to any of that is “Eww” or even “Meh,” you probably won't enjoy these books.

Song of Blood & Stone


L. Penelope - 2015
    Penelope's Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.The kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar have been separated for centuries by the Mantle, a magical veil that has enforced a tremulous peace between the two lands. But now, the Mantle is cracking and the True Father, ruler of Lagrimar and the most powerful Earthsinger in the world, finally sees a way into Elsira to seize power.All Jasminda ever wanted was to live quietly on her farm, away from the prying eyes of those in the nearby town. Branded an outcast by the color of her skin and her gift of Earthsong, she’s been shunned all her life and has learned to steer clear from the townsfolk…until a group of Lagrimari soldiers wander into her valley with an Elsiran spy, believing they are still in Lagrimar.Through Jack, the spy, Jasminda learns that the Mantle is weakening, allowing people to slip through without notice. And even more troubling: Lagrimar is mobilizing, and if no one finds a way to restore the Mantle, it might be too late for Elsira. Their only hope lies in uncovering the secrets of the Queen Who Sleeps and Jasminda’s Earthsong is the key to unravel them.Thrust into a hostile society and a world she doesn’t know, Jasminda and Jack race to unveil an ancient mystery that might offer salvation.Per Author: Special Earthsinger Edition is nearly 40K words longer than the original, hardcover edition and expands the storyline of an existing character but also brings you brand new characters and action. Jack and Jasminda's story is the same, but I hope you'll love Ella and Benn just as much!

The Silvers


Jill Smith - 2014
    What they find is a race of humanoids who are sentient, but as emotionless and serene as the plants and placid lakes they tend. B, captain of the mission, doesn't believe that the "Silvers" are intelligent, and lets his crew experiment on them. But then he bonds with Imms, who seems different from the others-interested in learning, intrigued by human feelings. And B realizes that capturing, studying, and killing this planet's natives has done incalculable damage.When a fire aboard B's ship kills most of the crew and endangers Imms, B decides to take him back to Earth. But the simplicity of the Silver Planet doesn't follow them. Imms learns the full spectrum of human emotions, including a love B is frightened to return, and a mistrust of the bureaucracy that wants to treat Imms like a test subject, even if they have to eliminate B to do it.(Note: This is a revised second edition, originally published elsewhere.)

Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea


Diana Marcellas - 2001
    When the seafaring Allemanii tribes came to their shores, the two races lived side by side for generations, staying apart but trading and learning from each other in peaceful harmony. But something went horribly awry and the shari'a people were suddenly and brutally slain by the settlers who had come to dominate the land. They feared the shari'a . . . and more important, the witches who led them and who held powers that the Allemanii could barely comprehend. The remnants of this gentle people were scattered, and any shari'a who held the knowledge of the old ways and powers were proscribed and hunted to death. That was long ago, and young Brierley thinks she is the last shari'a witch in the world. She knows what discovery it would mean, but she cannot deny her gifts as a healer; risking discovery, she goes out time and again to bring solace . . . despite the fact that those Brierley saves are the very people who killed most of her race.When she saves the life of a nobleman's wife-a nobleman sworn to obliterate any trace of witchery-Brierley stumbles into a web of deceit and power struggles more deadly than anything she has ever faced. But she refuses to walk away-and by staying the course, Brierley gains the possibility of finding a love to last the ages, as well as a way to reclaim her people's heritage.With Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, Marcellas has crafted a beautiful first novel that explores what it means to be different, to value that difference, and what happens when one trusts in true love.