Others: Overwhelmingly positive Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you've sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy? Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If she’s picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won't stand by and become someone’s pawn--but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? With extraordinary world-building and breathtaking prose, Raybearer is the story of loyalty, fate, and the lengths we're willing to go for the ones we love. source: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/raybearer_9781683357193/
Genres: fantasy, romance, young adult
Lists: …
Tracy Deonn
2020 · 507 pages · 18 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveAfter her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants to escape. A residential programme for bright high-schoolers seems like the perfect opportunity – until she witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus . . . A flying demon feeding on human energies.
What made the match, strongest first
Cassandra Clare
2019 · 624 pages · 16 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveCordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior with the blood of the angel Raziel. When her father is accused of a crime, she, her mother, and her brother travel to London, where she hopes to prove his innocence. She soon encounters James and Lucie Herondale, her childhood friends, and is drawn into their exciting, glittering, world. All the while she must hide her love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else. All this is interrupted by a series of demon attacks unlike anything the Shadowhunters have ever seen. They poison whoever they touch, can walk in daylight, and are all but impossible to kill. When London is quarantined, Cordelia and her friends face a horrible choice that will reveal the price of being a hero.
What made the match, strongest first
Aiden Thomas
2020 · 320 pages · 14 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveYadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
What made the match, strongest first
Anna-Marie McLemore
2019 · 320 pages · 5 reviews
Others: MixedSummer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes. With McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.
What made the match, strongest first
Sabaa Tahir
2015 · 464 pages · 36 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positive"Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution"--
What made the match, strongest first
Sue Lynn Tan
2022 · 512 pages · 19 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveGrowing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the powerful Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin's magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. Alone, untrained, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the Crown Prince, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the emperor's son. To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. When treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, however, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream--striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itthis duology is beautifully written and honestly I feel like it reads like a modern interpretation of a fairy tale the characters the tropes the story arc just the different precarious moral situations that our characters are put in the lessons that are gleaned from this and just how the whole thing is constructed and put together it's stunning
Loved itthis is definitely one of the just best fantasies that i've read in such a long time
Loved itsuch a cool world such a great debut fantasy loved it
Loved iti think the character development was really good the magic system was really good and it was just a really intriguing book
