Loved itthis is one of my favorite books of all time I love Juliet M's writing and in particular this and the first book in the S mores daughter of the forest are two of the most wonderfully written fantasy novels
Dreamer's pool (2014)
Others: Leaning positive After escaping her wrongful imprisonment, magical healer Blackthorn, living on the fringe of a mysterious forest with a former prison mate named Grim, is duty bound to assist anyone who asks for her help. "In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help. Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters. With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic" --
- ISBN:
- 9780451466990
- Length:
- 434 pages
Genres: fantasy
Lists: …
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The harp of kings
Juliet Marillier
2019 · 448 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveEighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and is a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan’s burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places on the force, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies. Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the heir will not be accepted and the kingdom will be thrown into disarray. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision—and the consequences may break her heart. This description comes from the publisher. The Harp of Kings is the first book in the Warrior Bards series; this is the sequel series to the Blackthorn and Grim series, the first of which is Dreamer's Pool.
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Also fantasy53%On 2 of the same lists38%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations9%The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy Book 1)
James Islington
2014 · 740 pages · 7 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveIt has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience. As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests. But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…
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Also fantasy51%On 4 of the same lists45%Similar descriptionsPersonalize your recommendations4%Deathless
Catherynne M. Valente
2011 · 352 pages · 8 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveKoschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century. Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.
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Also fantasy57%On 4 of the same lists33%A creator reacted alikePersonalize your recommendations10%Malice
John Gwynne
2012 · 628 pages · 20 reviews
Others: Mostly positive"The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, but now giants are seen, the stones weep blood and giant wyrms are stirring. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. For if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind's hopes and dreams will fall to dust ... and it can never be made whole again. Malice is a dark epic fantasy tale of blind greed, ambition, and betrayal."--
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Also fantasy60%On 4 of the same lists30%A creator reacted alikePersonalize your recommendations10%Forest of Souls
Lori M. Lee
2020 · 400 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveSirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo. And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life. Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for. Danger lurks within the roots of Forest of Souls, an epic, unrelenting tale of destiny and sisterhood, perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Susan Dennard.
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Also fantasy63%On 2 of the same lists34%Similar descriptionsPersonalize your recommendations3%Tooth and Claw
Jo Walton
2003 · 355 pages · 5 reviews
Others: Positive“It’s a sentimental Victorian novel in which all the characters are dragons who eat each other.” Jo Walton, author
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Also fantasy65%On 2 of the same lists24%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations11%
Loved it
Mixedelements of this book I enjoyed quite a bit Juliet Mia's writing style ... I just didn't like the plotting of this quite as much as some of her other books