I grew up in an era when princesses were big and the idea that a woman needs a man to be saved was just beginning to be questioned. I also lived in a single-parent household when that was still something society shamed. Watching my mother, I got a front-row seat to just how loving, vulnerable, and tough-as-nails women can be, and this instilled a desire to tell stories that highlight these sorts of women. My novels have survivors who discover that relationships do not need to be the only thing that defines them, but instead that relationship shapes both parties in ways neither can expect.
Really, the entire Clockwork series by Cassandra Clare earns its place here. The love story between Tessa, Will, and Jem remains my absolute favorite because it’s honest in that you can love more than one person, even if you find that you’re having to choose between them. I don’t normally go in for love triangles, but in this one there was a delicate beauty to their story that I find myself going back to time and time again. Clockwork Princess sees the culmination of that love story and shows how each character has grown and been challenged by the love they have for one another.
Danger and betrayal, love and loss, secrets and enchantment are woven together in the breathtaking finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
Danger intensifies for the Shadowhunters as the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy comes to a close.
If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it?
The clock is ticking. Everyone must choose.
Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment.
Danger closes in around the Shadowhunters in the final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.
This is the second book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series but I recommend it in particular because it shows the healing process of a deeply traumatized woman and how she slowly mends. Yes, ultimately it is love that mends her, which my romantic heart swoons over, but it does things the right way. The character is not coddled but given the space she needs at the same time, and ultimately that’s what won me over to their love story. There are some swoon-worthy moments, and at the very end we are left seeing that the two love interests stand as equals, which is often rare in romance.
'With bits of Buffy, Game Of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series of total joy' - STYLIST _____________________________ Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court - but at a steep cost. Though she now possesses the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, the mesmerising High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates his dark web of political games and tantalising promises,…
This series walks the line of Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Romance, but since there’s time travel involved and “faerie stones” as the vehicle by which this travel happens, I’m counting it. Jaime and Clare’s marriage is deeply satisfying. There are plenty of other romances that crop up during the series as a whole, but everyone’s really watching how Jaime and Clare remain devoted to one another amid war and tragedy. There’s a realness to their reactions that is difficult to find in fiction sometimes and I am desperately waiting to see what happens in the next book.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.
One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…
I fought between the Kaz Brekker/Inej romance and the Mal/Alina romance of the previous series in the Grishaverse that Leigh Bardugo created. Both are lovely and full of sacrifice, but when it comes down to it, I just plain loved Kaz better. He is dark and tragic and full of complexities and Inej comes to a point where she realizes she has to let go of what she feels for Kaz in order to live fully. Their romance is one that reminds me that love can follow you no matter where you go, even if it means stepping away from the person that love is centered around.
*See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with Shadow and Bone, now a Netflix original series.*
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…
Being a Jane Austin fan myself, it’s hard for me not to love the Glamorist series by Kowal. I deeply enjoyed the magic system she built in the series, and the characters were like… well, like old friends. Vincent provides enough of a Mr. Darcy feel for me that I was pleased by the romance written in here and I quite liked the fact that Jane was “plain” as opposed to the stunning beauties often written in the romance genre.
This is a fantasy novel you wish Jane Austen had written. "Shades of Milk and Honey" is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth of Dorchester, a woman ahead of her time in a version of Regency England where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. Despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester's society are not that different: Jane and her sister Melody's lives still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men. While Jane's skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of…
Trenna and Nelek were happy to live the rest of their lives in exile, but the war had other plans. When a blood mage arrives to demand their son be placed on the throne, Nelek and Trenna must set out to prove how much they’re willing to sacrifice for peace. Worse yet, a cry for help has been sounded from the one place they thought was safe from harm: Kiavana Fortress. Can Nelek and Trenna keep their family safe as they race through the battlefields surrounding their homeland?
Growing up in New England, my mother had a set of books that she kept in the living room, more for display than anything else. It was The Works of Edgar Allen Poe. I read them and instantly became hooked on horror. In the seventh grade, I entertained my friends at a sleepover by telling them the mysterious clanking noise (created by the baseboard heater) was the ghost of a woman who had once lived in the farmhouse, forced to cannibalize her ten children during a particularly bad winter. And I’ve been enjoying scaring people ever since.
In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunged off a waterfall to her death, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in secrets. Her great-niece Julia, a struggling journalist recovering from a divorce, seeks answers decades later.
Tasked with retrieving Dr. Greer’s discovery–a flower that could have world-changing properties–Julia unearths a story rife with hidden agendas and a missionary community unwilling to share the truth. As she confronts the eerie legends and a fellow traveler with his own motives, Julia finds that the longer she stays, the thinner the line between reality and the fantastical becomes until she…
From the award-winning author of Dead Souls and Poe comes an all-new bone-chilling novel where a mysterious island holds the terrifying answers to a woman's past and future.
In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunges off a waterfall to her death, convinced the spirits of her dead husband and daughter had joined the nightmarchers-ghosts of ancient warriors that rise from their burial sites on moonless nights. But was it suicide, or did a strange young missionary girl, Agnes, play a role in Irene's deteriorating state of mind?
