The most recommended books with prophecy

As a fellow genderqueer/non-binary Asian writer, I’m happy to champion the first in Neon Yang’s Tensorate series. A YA novella set in a non-Western fantasy landscape, this book tackles issues of gender identity and choice head-on, introducing us to a society where children are referred to individually using they/them pronouns, and can select one of the binary genders when they come of age or chose to remain non-binary. We see the world through the eyes of twins Mokoya and Akeha as they come into their gender expressions and their powers in a feudal, monastic society largely reminiscent of those found in Asian history.

About as classic as modern fantasy gets, Rise of the Ranger nevertheless breathes fresh air into the genre. Both an epic and a quest story, it features characters spread out across the entirety of the world, yet their fates slowly become connected in the grand war that is only beginning. Witness the conflicts between elves, assassins, mages, and dragons all navigated by a host of likable and interesting protagonists, and enjoy a quest as it was meant to be.

Ashley who is heading home for Christmas, meets a mysterious woman on a train, and wakes up wearing an antique charm bracelet.

Once home, Ashley keeps running into her former high school boyfriend, hot firefighter Aidan. If you love small town romances (and I do) then you’ll love Ashley’s hometown which is full of community spirit, family and friends and hot chocolate, and holiday traditions. Ashley soon realizes that each charm indicates an event that happens in real life.

It all adds up to the feeling that Ashley and Aidan are meant to be. Sweetly adorable and utterly charming.

CF Welburn writes beautifully, and this book is no exception.

We begin with a revenge plot, but this story takes us in unexpected directions. There is an air of mystery around Oben’s journey to take revenge on his Viking-inspired enemies – is he an agent of prophecy? How will his experiences change him, and those he meets?

This book is so much fun and so light-hearted. It’s a perfect example of cozy fantasy romance.

It starts at the moment when our group of heroes slay the evil overlord; instead of following the usual fantasy content of battles and enemy attacks, it follows the friends as they inexpertly struggle to run the country they just inherited by accident, all while the new king secretly pines for his best friend.

It’s quirky and delightful, and it helped me escape the darkness of the real world for a few hours each day.

This was a reread for me. (Before I ventured onto the next 2 in the series.)

The story has great characters, great plot, and is very well written. Best of all, the MC was deeply religious without being portrayed as deluded or fanatic. It also features a heavy-weight protagonist (before they were trendy.) There is a little romance element but not cliche and refreshingly unsappy.

I know how it feels to believe you don’t belong, to see the world differently than most, and to stand out when you want more than anything to fit in.

Nova Hawthorne, the primary protagonist, embodies this misguided belief about herself, too. But Nova has to set aside her fears when she learns that magic is real and the people she loves most and the whole world are in danger.

Through Nova’s story, readers are shown that no one must prove themselves worthy of love, we’ve all already been redeemed, and we are loved just as we are. Not only are there wonderful, poignant lessons beautifully woven into this young adult portal fantasy narrative, but there is disabled and neurodivergent representation as well!  

Spoiler, From The Grave, by Kresley Cole, is the final installment of The Arcana Chronicles and can’t be read as a standalone. It’s sad and worrying when you know it’s the last book in a series, wondering how things will wrap up and if it will be satisfying. AKA, Lost or Game Of Thrones, television endings… However, this book isn’t one to disappoint, though I’m crushed to leave these characters and world.

Evie and Aric's journey culminates in a way that's both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, providing the closure I wanted. The world-building, character development, and pulse-pounding action throughout the series reach a magnificent conclusion. With twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.

It's a must-read for lovers of paranormal romance and post-apocalyptic adventure.

This is a really splendid book and an original approach to the history of the Morisco community of Spain as they struggled for survival and sought to gain either recognition as Spaniards or rehabilitation as Muslim. Mercado uses a range of sources in Latin, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, and Aljamiado, to examine the internal religious life of these forcibly converted Muslims. Her entrée into this world—through the prophecies and predictions, made by Moriscos themselves or as gleaned through the reading of “new” inquisitorial records and through the reaction of the Catholic and royal establishment.

Illuminating a dark corner of sixteenth-century European and Islamic history, Green-Mercado presents both the Old Christians and Moriscos with admirable nuance, while at the same time avoiding both a moralizing or nostalgic approach to the subject. 

The entire Wings of Fire series has stories full of mystery and adventure. And the best part is that the main characters are dragons. This is an animal-based fantasy where the dragons have to end a war. Dragons are definitely one of my favorites! I highly recommend this series to my peers (around my age, 10+).