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| Chapel of Ease by Alex BledsoeContemporary Fantasy. When Ray Parrish, creator of the off-Broadway musical Chapel of Ease, dies just before opening night, the show's lead actor, Matt Johanssen, offers to bring Ray's ashes to Cloud County Tennessee, home of Ray's people, the Tufa. But closure isn't Matt's only motive: he's also curious about Ray's origins. During his stay, Matt learns about the Tufa and their traditions, including secrets that perhaps should have stayed buried. Intrigued by the Tufa and their Appalachian enclave of Cloud County? Check out the rest of this series, which begins with The Hum and the Shiver. |
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| The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth DurstEpic Fantasy. Something's rotten in Renthia, where elemental spirits are kept in check by the chosen Queen Fara, her elite guard of Champions, and their apprentices, the Heirs. Lately, the spirits have been breaking free of their wards and slaughtering people. Daleina, a student at the Academy, works hard to be selected as an Heir so that she can prevent attacks such as the one that devastated her village. But when she joins forces with exiled Champion Ven, Daleina discovers that the problem is bigger than anyone imagined. Enjoy detailed world-building and political intrigue? Don't miss this 1st installment of the Queens of Renthia series. |
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| The Ferryman Institute: A Novel by Colin GiglContemporary Fantasy. For the past 250 years, Charlie Dawson has worked for the Ferryman Institute, guiding the souls of the deceased to the afterlife. Although he hates his job, he's never once failed to carry out his duty...until the day he prevents Alice Spiegel from taking her own life. Needless to say, that sort of thing is against the rules. Charlie and Alice become fugitives, with the Institute's dogged Inspector Javrouche hot on their trail. This whimsical, offbeat debut may appeal to fans of Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job, which also stars a reluctant psychopomp. |
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| Cloudbound by Fran WildeFantasy. In Updraft, Kirit Densira and her wing-brother Nat led the Towers in a rebellion to overthrow the ruling Singers and bring down the Spire. In the aftermath of those events, Nat, now a junior councilor for his Tower, discovers a conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything he and Kirit have worked for. This 2nd book in the Bone Universe series expands on its predecessor's detailed world-building as it follows its sympathetic characters' journeys to adulthood. |
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| Red Country by Joe AbercrombieMilitary Fantasy. When Shy South returns from a trip to town with her stepfather, Lamb, she finds the family farm burned to the ground and her younger siblings missing. Suspecting that this is the work of child-abducting slave traders from the North, Shy and Lamb embark on a perilous journey to rescue the children. Although it's set in the same world as author Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, this novel (itself a loose sequel to the stand-alone book The Heroes) requires no previous knowledge of the series. However, newcomers who enjoy gritty, violent military-focused fantasy will no doubt want to immerse themselves in all the books' vividly rendered setting. |
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| Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. DellamonicaFantasy. Magically transported from an alley in San Francisco to Stele Island, stronghold of the strange maritime world of Stormwrack, 24-year-old Sophie Hansa -- adopted as a young child -- discovers that her biological family is more unusual than she ever imagined. Upon splashing down in Stormwrack, Sophie must tread carefully in a foreign realm whose language she doesn't speak, where political conspiracies abound, and in which she is persona non grata. As she navigates Stormwrack -- aided, grudgingly, by a pirate captain and her own long-lost sister -- Sophie must decide where she truly belongs and figure out how to get there. |
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| The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil GaimanContemporary Fantasy. Returning to his childhood home in the English countryside for a funeral, the unnamed middle-aged narrator of this haunting, lyrical fable finds himself drawn to an ordinary-looking farmhouse that's anything but. As long-buried memories surface, he recalls events that occurred at Hempstock Farm when he was seven. When the malevolent Ursula Monkton insinuates herself into the fabric of his close-knit family, Hempstock's inhabitants, especially 11-year-old Lettie, offer their friendship and protection to the lonely, abused boy. However, their aid comes at a price, requiring a sacrifice he's unprepared to make, whose repercussions will echo throughout his entire life. |
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| Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillipContemporary Fantasy. California-based bookstore owner Sylvia Lynn returns to her ancestral home in upstate New York to attend the funeral of Liam, her beloved grandfather. At the insistence of her grandmother, Sylvia stays for the reading of the will and learns, to her surprise, that she is to inherit Lynn Hall. She also discovers that the local Fiber Guild to which Gram belongs is actually a secret coven which has spent over a century using magic to protect Lynn Hall from the Fay. When the Fairy Queen threatens the Lynn family, Sylvia -- still reeling from the revelation that she has fairy ancestry -- must find a way to protect those she loves in this complex tale of love and loss. |
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