I've been a fantasy reader since the fourth grade when my father introduced me to The Hobbit. As I grew older, I found myself drawn to female-led fantasy stories. Before I started writing fiction, I reviewed books on a (now defunct) blog, learning from those authors as I critiqued what worked and what didn’t. Now, as a fiction author in my own right, I’ve focused on the story elements that truly speak to me; characters who live and breathe on the page, adventures through magical lands and diverse cultures, myths that feel so true they could almost be real, and heart-pounding action that breaks me out of my own safe little world.
Kelley Armstrong has long been one of my favorite authors, but this book in particular struck a positive chord with me. The quirky heroine, Kennedy, is an actual adult without being a middle-aged divorcee. A twenty-something entrepreneur, she runs a small business selling formerly cursed antiques (which she can verify, since she’s a curse weaver who unmakescurses.) Of course, things get complicated when a new client tries to coerce her into a job that sets her at odds with the rest of the magical community. I loved the fresh contemporary setting—no dark and seedy urban underground—and the surprising twist on ancient mythology. All in all, it was a really fun, clean, modern fantasy for grown-ups.
Struggling curse weaver Kennedy Bennett's motto is Carpe Diem. Wealthy luck worker Aiden Connolly has never leapt without looking—usually twice. Forced together on an adventure, they're going to drive each other crazy...in all the best ways.
Kennedy Bennett comes from a long line of curse weavers. For centuries, her family has plied their trade in Unstable, Massachusetts, an unconventional small town that’s welcomed paranormal practitioners since the dawn of spiritualism. Kennedy has recently struck out on her own, opening an antiques shop in Boston, where her speciality is uncursing and reselling hexed objects. Then Aiden Connolly walks into her life…
The Elf Tangent is an adorable (yet surprisingly dangerous) romp through the woods. Our heroine, Aldari, is an intellectual princess who has reluctantly agreed to marry the prince of a neighboring kingdom (sight unseen!) to save her own people. As she travels to her wedding day, her party is attacked and she and her bodyguard are kidnapped by elves who need her help to break a generations-old curse. For once, someone needs—and appreciates—her brains! Caught between the needs of her people and the intriguing puzzle presented by the elves (oh, and the enticing commander of their party), Aldari must use her wit—and at one point a shovel—to get out of her predicament.
As a princess in the impoverished kingdom of Delantria, it’s Aldari’s job to look pretty, speak little, and marry a prince.
Studying mathematics and writing papers on economic theory in an effort to fix her people’s financial woes? Her father has forbidden it. With war on the horizon, they must focus on the immediate threat.
Reluctantly, Aldari agrees to marry a prince in a neighboring kingdom to secure an alliance her people desperately need. All is going to plan until the handsome elven mercenary captain hired to guard her marriage caravan turns into her kidnapper. His people are in trouble,…
The first chapter is titled "Butt Cobras". That was enough of a recommendation for me! I loved the sense of humor throughout this book, including the over-the-top Jewish mother and the fact that our heroine, Talia, is a tattoo artist who’s afraid of needles and has no tattoos of her own. Add in magical tattoos that come to life—including the titular butt cobra and a rainbow-colored bird named Biscuit—a trek through the fae lands where carnivorous magical plants try to eat her, vampires are real, and a siren saves her life in exchange for a vial of her blood... and well, you have an action-packed adventure that’s nearly impossible to put down.
When Zayn, your smoking hot boss, tells you never to touch the cache of deluxe tattoo ink locked away in his office, you listen to him… until the day you run out of your own ink, your squirming client is on the verge of peeing his pants, and your boss is nowhere to be found. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?
I fully expected Zayn to yell at me when he returned to the shop. What I didn't expect was the fresh cobra tattoo on my client’s butt magically springing to life. Or the interdimensional filing cabinet hiding in…
Half witch, half…something else…Genevieve is a zombie hunter. Sort of. Undead are legal in this near-future alternate New Orleans, but only if they consent to be raised. So when a bunch of anti-draugr businessmen starts rising from their graves Genevieve is hired by both the Queen of the Undead and the wealthy son of one of the victims. Thing is, Genevieve isn’t entirely human, and her magic isn’t quite working properly. Fruit makes her drunk, and alcohol gives her energy. There’s only one person who can help—without getting caught in the crossfire and ending up dead himself—the local bar owner, Eli. With wicked action sequences and a unique twist on the vampire/zombie motif, I thought this one was more than worth the read.
In near-future New Orleans, draugar, again-walkers, are faster and stronger than most humans, but not venomous until they are a century old. Until then, they shamble and bite. Since not everyone wants to see their relatives end up that way, Geneviève Crowe makes her living beheading the dead.
But now, her magic's gone sideways, and the only person strong enough to help her is the one man who could tempt her to think about picket fences: Eli Stonecroft, a faery who chose bar-owner in New Orleans over a life in Elphame.
When human businessmen start turning up as draugar, both…
This book was an emotional rollercoaster ride filled with everything I love about epic fantasy, but without the stereotypical cookie-cutter women. Set in an alternate ancient middle east, where sultans rule and magic is elemental, Naime is the only child of the declining sultan. She’s smart, self-controlled, a powerful air mage, and dedicated to the prosperity of her kingdom. Unfortunately, the king’s council is mired in tradition and opposed to a woman on the throne. With the threat of invasion from a technologically superior anti-magic nation, Naime must navigate the web of political intrigue to broker an alliance with the neighboring warrior realm. Enter Makram, brother to their king and one of the powerful (and feared) death mages. As obstacles are thrown in Naime’s way, success is not guaranteed. There were moments I had to pause to breathe, the tension was so high. I loved every minute.
A woman on the run. A mysterious magical heritage. When Rie Lhethannien is attacked by assassins from the enemy Shadow Realm, she finds herself mired in an ancient battle between the elven realms. Framed as a traitor, she has no choice but to forsake her oaths and flee to enemy lands to prove her innocence. Can she uncover the truth of her past before the high elf king takes her head?
If you like action-packed fantasy filled with mythological creatures, magic, and mayhem, you won't want to miss this!
I lived in Latin America for six years, working as a red cross volunteer, a volcano hiking guide, a teacher, and an extra in a Russian TV series (in Panama). Having travelled throughout the region and returning regularly, I’m endlessly fascinated by the culture, history, politics, languages, and geography. Parallel to this, I enjoy reading and writing about the world of international espionage. Combining the two, and based on my own experience, I wrote my novel, Magical Disinformation, a spy novel set in Colombia. While there is not a huge depth of spy novels set in Latin America, I’ve chosen five of my favourites spy books set in the region.
This book is a spy novel with a satirical edge which will take you on a heart-pumping journey through the streets, mountains, jungles, and beaches of Colombia. Our Man in Havana meets A Clear and Present Danger.
In the era of ‘fake news’ in the land of magical realism, fiction can be just as dangerous as the truth...
Discover Lachlan Page’s Magical Disinformation: a spy novel with a satirical edge set amongst the Colombian peace process. Described by one reviewer as “Our Man in Havana meets A Clear and Present Danger.”
Oliver Jardine is a spy in Colombia, enamoured with local woman Veronica Velasco.
As the Colombian government signs a peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas, Her Majesty’s Government decides a transfer is in order to focus on more pertinent theatres of operation.