There's a song lyric I've fallen in love with that sums up my feelings on found families perfectly: “Soulmates aren't found, they're made.” To me, it means that no one is tailor-made to fit any one person's every whim and need. Instead, relationships are about compromise, communication, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder when it's time to circle the wagons. Relationships are about facing the fire together and coming out stronger—and in a genre like fantasy, that fire isn’t just metaphorical! The best found family stories are about individuals finding something that unites them, bringing them closer together than any one of them thought possible, and becoming stronger because of that bond. Because families aren't found, they're made.
I love a good heist story and this is one of the best! A notorious gang leader, Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker knows better than to trust anyone—but when an opportunity falls into his lap that he can't ignore, he needs to put together a team of the best specialists he can find, and fast! The narrative is shared among the main characters and slowly reveals the secrets hidden in each character’s past. At the beginning, each main character begins alone, but by the end they are so tightly interwoven that even when they're fighting amongst each other, it's still apparent how much they care for one another. And the story is so fast-paced with unexpected twists and turns, you'll find yourself holding your breath by the end!
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Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017, this fantasy epic from the No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Grisha trilogy is gripping, sweeping and memorable - perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin, Laini Taylor and Kristin Cashore.
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams - but he can't pull it off alone.
A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can't walk…
I would argue that just about every book TJ Klune writes is a found family masterpiece, but for me, it doesn't get any more heartwarming or beautiful than The House in the Cerulean Sea. What begins as a routine assignment for our protagonist, Linus Baker, turns into a paradigm-shifting experience involving the fate of an orphanage full of misfit, magical children. I never thought I would fall in love with a sassy young garden gnome or feel fiercely protective of...whatever Chauncey is, but learning the stories behind each of the children at the orphanage—and, ultimately, the story behind its proprietor, Arthur Parnassus, this story of found family had me in tears multiple times—in a good way!
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not…
I fell deeply in love with the bond between Rune and Brand because, at the very beginning, that's all they had: each other. It doesn't stay that way for long, as Rune is tricked into taking on a ward from another house at the start of the first novel. As challenging and unexpected as this first new family member is, Rune and Brand must adapt quickly because their little family only grows larger from there—and as an ongoing series, I hope it's not finished growing yet! While love, healing, and family are at the root of this series, it absolutely does not lack action, political intrigue, mystery, and magic; making it fast-paced and thrilling while also being genuine and heart-warming. One of my very favorite new series, I cannot recommend The Tarot Sequence enough!
In this debut novel and series starter, the last member of a murdered House searches for a missing nobleman, and uncovers clues about his own tortured past. Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary…
This is a bit of a different spin on the found family trope in fantasy. Rather than an origin story, where the bonds of family are still being formed, Kings of the Wyld starts with a retired group of adventurers who have grown apart since their former glory days, losing touch over time as many of us do. But when one of them needs help rescuing his daughter from a city besieged by monsters, he endeavors to get the band back together again for one final quest. This story of humor and heart swept me up quickly and didn't let go until the end, but what I loved most was seeing the team members reconnect and tell stories of the past, create new legends, and prove that no matter how far apart they've grown over the years, the bonds of family are immutable.
'An outstanding debut which will make you laugh and cry and hold your breath. This is a book that has it all' - K. J. Parker Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best - the meanest, dirtiest, most feared and admired crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld. But their glory days are long past; the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk - or a combination of the three. Then a former bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help: his daughter Rose is trapped in a city…
Most found family stories involve individuals coming together, seeing them forged in fire to become something new, something whole, and unbreakable. The Gray House is a twist on found family in that it begins with strong family bonds already in place, so the true story becomes: What happens when a found family breaks apart? The Gray House is a home and school for disabled children and teenagers, where they need to rely on each other for everything—even things as basic as getting dressed in the morning. And while the shifting perspectives and timelines do tell the story of family bonds forged among individuals, the threat of Graduation Day looms over the house’s seniors, heralding an ending, rather than a beginning. With a low fantasy setting that I can’t describe without spoiling the story, I can only assure you that this book will take you on a completely unexpected journey.
"The Gray House is enigmatic and fantastical, comic and postmodern...Rowling meets Rushdie via Tartt...Nothing short of life-changing." -The Guardian
The Gray House is an astounding tale of how what others understand as liabilities can be leveraged into strengths.
Bound to wheelchairs and dependent on prosthetic limbs, the physically disabled students living in the House are overlooked by the Outsides. Not that it matters to anyone living in the House, a hulking old structure that its residents know is alive. From the corridors and crawl spaces to the classrooms and dorms, the House is full of tribes, tinctures, scared teachers, and…
Shattered Legacy is my first collaborative series, written with Andrew Rowe and set in the world of his series Arcane Ascension. This incredibly detailed setting featuring swords, sorcery, and the dangerous Soaring Spires, offers a rich playground of possibility for additional stories by different authors, and it has been my honor to be invited into this world! Shattered Legacy is the story of a team of adventurers on a quest that takes them through each of the spires of Kaldwyn, where they must overcome vicious monsters, deadly traps, and tricky puzzles in order to succeed—or die trying. To beat the odds and survive this quest, Team Guiding Star Legacy will need to become something greater than a group of individuals. Only the bonds of family will survive the trials ahead.
As a child, I lived in a small valley sheltered from the night city lights. I could see the stars, and from that time, that is where my imagination dwelled. As a teenager, I read several of the books I have listed here, and from that point, I was inspired to read more and also to write myself. I sincerely believe that despite our current problems, humanity will outlive its troubled childhood and reach for the stars. We are destined for the stars, and only in the works of science fiction writers is that future explored. The books below helped me to become a successful author in my own right.
An alien starship appears in the Solar System! Humanity faces a glorious future, or total extinction, and only Joe Falcon can make the choice. Never would Joe have imagined it would fall to him to make the decision that would alter the destiny of two worlds, launching humanity towards a glorious future, or to extinction.
Falcon's Call is an action packed dive into the unknown, written in the style of the great, classic, science-fiction stories. If you like surprising plot twists, compelling characters and a hero who actually cares, you must read this new novel by Mike Waller.
Reader's Favorite Gold Medal winner 2019 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 2019 Chill With A Book Premier Award 2019
In a heart-pounding battle for humanity's survival, one man holds the key to a glorious future or utter extinction.
In a race against time, Earth and Mars race to claim a derelict alien ship as it enters the Solar System, both aware that whichever planet succeeds might in so doing achieve technological advantage over the other. But who should they send? Joe Falcon, an unlikely candidate, never saw himself as the "right" person. Accompanied by a crew of misfits, each fleeing their own…
