I was raised Catholic, and while I think there are a lot of good things about catholic doctrine, I was not able to find my place in the actual practice of Catholicism. Getting to read about characters and write my own characters who stray away from prescribed beliefs about themselves, their society, or the way life is “meant” to be lived has been very cathartic for me on the journey of religious self-discovery. I hope if you’re struggling in a similar manner that you can find peace and hope within the pages of these books. I hope you can find a mirror of yourself in these fantasy settings, because everyone deserves to feel known.
To be gifted once is a blessing, twice is a curse. Or at least, that’s what Saiden’s always been told, though she’s tried to fight against the stigma. When she’s appointed to Queensguard, her resolve will be tested. Torn between her loyalty to her queen and her responsibility to the people, Saiden will do everything in her power to avoid becoming the monster everyone thinks she is. When friends become enemies and century old secrets are revealed, fate and the gods may force her hand. It’s up to her to decide whose blood will spill, and whose monster she is going to be.
In This Vicious Grace the main character Alessa is the Finestra, a position designed for the one who can save their island from a terrible enemy.
She’s been kept in isolation, only allowed to interact with her suitors, people whose powers should compliment her and make it possible for her to fulfill her destiny. Except Alessa’s powers are so strong that she keeps killing her partners.
Now Alessa must grapple with the fact that if she can’t figure this out, everyone on the island she’s meant to protect will die. So, instead of accepting her faith, Alessa steps outside of the life that’s been prescribed for her, going against the religious standards set for the Finestra and looks for another path.
The writing is magnificent, the romance is so well paced and the characters really tug at your emotions. I loved seeing Alessa struggle with what she’s supposed to do and what she feels is the right path because I think a lot of us struggle with this.
"One of the best fantasies of the year." - Buzzfeed
"Riveting, passionate, and full of high stakes danger." ―Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Emily Thiede's exciting fantasy debut, This Vicious Grace, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!
Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.
Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and…
Of every set of triplet princesses, two must die so that one can be queen. This is the way things have been for centuries, so when this set of triplets comes of age, they are prepared for the brutality that awaits them.
To me, this was such a fascinating premise, and the book is so vivid that I literally dreamed of scenes while I was reading it. I loved seeing these sisters struggle against their prescribed lives, because I don’t want to follow someone else’s idea of what my life should look like. If you have power, like these sisters have gifts, or even without, we have choices to make, no matter what other people say.
We have to control our own lives, and these sisters are learning that while also trying to figure out a way to escape their fates.
Three Dark Crowns is a heart-stopping fantasy from Kendare Blake, acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomach-ache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest…
Tarisai was born with a wish in her heart, but not her wish. Her mother wants to use her to harm an old enemy, and Tarisai has no choice but to go along with it.
But as she finds her own found-family out in the world, she learns that there are some things more powerful than wishes. Her mother’s wish can only have so much power over her when she fights against her mother’s desires for her life. And Tarisai is stronger than she’s ever believed, which was an incredible twist to the plot.
I loved seeing Tarisai come into her own, while figuring out that she can control the shape of her future.
The epic debut YA fantasy from an incredible new talent-perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir
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…
Red has spent her childhood knowing that she was going to be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Wood.
It’s a fate she hasn’t quite accepted, but every thing she has done to fight it has faile.d She doesn’t want to be another girl killed by the forest, or the wolf. But things aren’t exactly what she expected when she finally meets the wolf.
And now, instead of a sacrifice to the woods ravenous appetite Red is prepared to fight, for herself and her wolf. She didn’t want to be the victim of her own story, so she changed the way it was going to be written, and that is something we all need to see.
Everyone of us has the power to change the path we are walking on, to stop being the victim in our own stories.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIKTOK SENSATION!
The first daughter is for the Throne. The second daughter is for the Wolf.
An instant NYT bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation, this dark, romantic debut fantasy weaves the unforgettable tale of a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return…
Soraya is cursed to kill anything she touches. Except, what’s she always considered to be a curse is a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface.
Locked away by her family, Soraya has lived a life of insulation, one that she had resigned herself to, until things around her start to change. Seeing Soraya find her footing and release that wanting is not a dangerous thing, even if she just wants to be free is a powerful storyline.
If you’ve been stuck in a life that you no longer want to live, seeing someone else chose to be free is so cathartic, and it really resonated with me as a reader.
From the author of Girls Made of Snow and Glass, this captivating and utterly original Persian-inspired fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch is perfect for fans of Natasha Ngan and Naomi Novik.
'Monstrously beautiful and enchanting' Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away from everyone, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it's not just a story.…
Born Nameless. Raised in ice and snow. Destined to rule.
Arya Nameless has sidestepped her destiny in favour of joining House Ravenstrike and helping Thiara Ravenstrike become High Warlord of Dunidaen. First, Arya must ensure that Thiara’s only son, Rorin, succeeds in running the Dreadwater Gate into Khadini, a deadly rite of passage that none have survived for decades. If they triumph, Arya will be named general of Ravenstrike’s army and land a political blow against their powerful adversary, Warlord Mathas Crowtalon.
Yet Khadini holds challenges far beyond what they expected. And while Arya contends with wild jungles, fierce enemy warriors, and potential new allies, the Nightstalker continues to seek her with relentless intensity. The monsters hunting her wield a dark magic she has no way of countering. Survival relies on staying hidden, secret.
Yet, when Arya’s wyvern calls, the time for hiding is over.
Born Nameless. Raised in ice and snow. Destined to rule.
Arya Nameless has sidestepped her destiny in favour of joining House Ravenstrike and helping Thiara Ravenstrike become High Warlord of Dunidaen. First, Arya must ensure that Thiara's only son, Rorin, succeeds in running the Dreadwater Gate into Khadini, a deadly rite of passage that none have survived for decades. If they triumph, Arya will be named general of Ravenstrike's army and land a political blow against their powerful adversary, Warlord Mathas Crowtalon.
Yet Khadini holds challenges far beyond what they expected. And while Arya contends with wild jungles, fierce enemy…
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