Fans pick 82 books like The Fealty of Monsters

By Ladz, Soren HƤxan (illustrator),

Here are 82 books that The Fealty of Monsters fans have personally recommended if you like The Fealty of Monsters. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Blood Trials

Brent C. Lambert Author Of A Necessary Chaos

From my list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Worldbuilding is something I absolutely adore, and I have always wanted to see more fantasy in worlds created around a more modern thought process. Worlds that got away from the medieval and instead found inspiration in places like 1920s America or 1950s Mexico or anywhere with cars and motorcycles existing right alongside dragons. Itā€™s what I try to write and its desperately what I want to read. Fantasy has so much more range than I think it is given credit for. 

Brent's book list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds

Brent C. Lambert Why did Brent love this book?

I love this book because it marries the brutality of military sci-fi with epic fantasy in a colossally satisfying fashion. It has dark gods, blood magic, and the grueling rigors of military training. And Ikenna, the main character, takes no crap from anyone, no matter how powerful. You canā€™t help but to root for her!

By N. E. Davenport,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Blood Trials as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport's fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

It's all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen's deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

Forā€¦


Book cover of The Gutter Prayer

Brent C. Lambert Author Of A Necessary Chaos

From my list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Worldbuilding is something I absolutely adore, and I have always wanted to see more fantasy in worlds created around a more modern thought process. Worlds that got away from the medieval and instead found inspiration in places like 1920s America or 1950s Mexico or anywhere with cars and motorcycles existing right alongside dragons. Itā€™s what I try to write and its desperately what I want to read. Fantasy has so much more range than I think it is given credit for. 

Brent's book list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds

Brent C. Lambert Why did Brent love this book?

I walked away from reading this book with my imagination completely on fire. I can promise youā€™ll never look at wax quite the same after reading this book. It takes the pollution of a post-industrial world but filters the premise through magic and god wars. The politics are juicy and the characters come from all walks of life.

By Gareth Hanrahan,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Gutter Prayer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The Gutter Prayer is captivating and complex. Guerdon is a city that seethes with history, horror, and hidden secrets" (Nicholas Eames).
A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy.
Enter a city of saints and thieves . . .

The city of Guerdon stands eternal. A refuge from the war that rages beyond its borders. But in the ancient tunnels deep beneath its streets, a malevolent power has begun to stir.

The fate of the city rests in the hands ofā€¦


Book cover of The Dawnhounds

Brent C. Lambert Author Of A Necessary Chaos

From my list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Worldbuilding is something I absolutely adore, and I have always wanted to see more fantasy in worlds created around a more modern thought process. Worlds that got away from the medieval and instead found inspiration in places like 1920s America or 1950s Mexico or anywhere with cars and motorcycles existing right alongside dragons. Itā€™s what I try to write and its desperately what I want to read. Fantasy has so much more range than I think it is given credit for. 

Brent's book list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds

Brent C. Lambert Why did Brent love this book?

This book has one of the most refreshing and terrifying take on the concept of immortality that Iā€™ve ever seen. I love it because of how it tackles policing, what it means to be a decent person, and how power unchecked will inevitably consume all it touches. Also, itā€™s extremely queer, and the prickly immortals were just too hard not to fall in love with.

By Sascha Stronach,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dawnhounds as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gideon the Ninth meets Black Sun in this queer, Maori-inspired debut fantasy about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it.

The port city of Hainak is alive: its buildings, its fashion, even its weapons. But, after a devastating war and a sweeping biotech revolution, all its inhabitants want is peace, no one more so than Yat Jyn-Hok a reformed-thief-turned-cop who patrols the streets at night.

Yat has recently been demoted on the force due to "lifestyle choices" afterā€¦


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Book cover of Girl of Light

Girl of Light by Elana Gomel,

A girl of Light in a world of darkness.

In Svetlana's country, itā€™s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invadingā€¦

Book cover of No Gods For Drowning

Brent C. Lambert Author Of A Necessary Chaos

From my list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Worldbuilding is something I absolutely adore, and I have always wanted to see more fantasy in worlds created around a more modern thought process. Worlds that got away from the medieval and instead found inspiration in places like 1920s America or 1950s Mexico or anywhere with cars and motorcycles existing right alongside dragons. Itā€™s what I try to write and its desperately what I want to read. Fantasy has so much more range than I think it is given credit for. 

Brent's book list on fantasy happening in modern-inspired worlds

Brent C. Lambert Why did Brent love this book?

I canā€™t say enough about how dark and foreboding this book is the entire way through. The gods are not kind in this book and yes, it plays with exactly how awful living in such a world would be. Itā€™s such an atmospheric book that I swear I pictured it as being cloudy and rainy the entire way through.

I couldnā€™t stop thinking of it as a heavy, dark episode of a police procedural but far more critical of the powers at play.

By Hailey Piper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked No Gods For Drowning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

IN THE BEGINNING, MAN WAS PREY, WITHOUT THE GODS, THEY'LL BE PREY AGAIN
The old gods have fled, and the monsters they had kept at bay for centuries now threaten to drown the city of Valentine, hunting mankind as in ancient times. In the midst of the chaos, a serial killer has begun ritually sacrificing victims, their bodies strewn throughout the city.
Lilac Antonis wants to stop the impending destruction of her city by summoning her mother, a blood god-even if she has to slit a few throats to do it. But evading her lover Arcadia and her friends meansā€¦


Book cover of Captain Vampire

Tyler R. Tichelaar Author Of Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides: The Marriage of French and British Gothic Literature, 1789-1897

From my list on classic French gothic you probably never heard of.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been attracted to the Gothic before I even knew the term. From watching The Munsters as a child to wanting to live in a haunted house and devouring classic Gothic novels like The Mysteries of Udolpho and Dracula, Iā€™ve never been able to get enough of the Gothic. After fully exploring British Gothic in my book The Gothic Wanderer, I discovered the French Gothic tradition, which made me realize how universal the genre is. Everyone can relate to its themes of fear, death, loss, guilt, forgiveness, and redemption. On some level, we are all Gothic wanderers, trying to find meaning in what is too often a nightmarish world.

Tyler's book list on classic French gothic you probably never heard of

Tyler R. Tichelaar Why did Tyler love this book?

This novel, published in 1879, is set in Romania at the time of the 1877-8 Russo-Turkish War. It is significant for its setting because it predates Dracula (1897) in being set in Romania (home of Transylvania). Nizet was a twenty-year-old Belgian woman who encountered Romanians in Paris who told her about how Russians had treated them during the war. Nizet created the character of Captain Vampire to represent how Russia acted like a vampire toward the Romanians, even though they were Russiaā€™s allies. Captain Vampireā€™s behavior is shocking yet fascinating. As a critique of war, the novel is extremely relevant today given Russiaā€™s recent invasion of Ukraine. Personally, I am amazed by how a woman who never saw a battlefield could capture warā€™s essence so vividly.

By Marie Nizet, Brian Stableford (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Captain Vampire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Written in 1879 (18 years before Dracula) by 19-year-old Marie Nizet, Captain Vampire, in its method and tone alike, is way ahead of its time. Although its plot has supernatural elements, and its antagonist is manifestly demonic, the novel's true purpose is to bring out the horror of war. A significant work in the history of horror fiction, it is undoubtedly one of the finest literary works ever to have made use of the vampire motif.


Book cover of A Bargain of Blood and Gold

Reni Stankova Author Of The Enemy of Heaven

From my list on MM fantasies in alternate worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been an avid reader of MM literature in all its genres and sub-genres, since I was a teenager. Even now, MM fantasy titles are some of my favorite books of all time. Iā€™d love to share my preferences with other readers so they could see the magic I see.

Reni's book list on MM fantasies in alternate worlds

Reni Stankova Why did Reni love this book?

Johnathan Newman is a novice hunter who teams up with a five-hundred-year-old vampire named Vic on a dangerous mission.

The town is plagued by mythological creatures in need of saving and they work together to solve the mystery. However, Vicā€™s secrets bring trouble, and their mutual attraction doesnā€™t make things any easier.

A Bargain of Blood and Gold is one of the best-written books Iā€™ve ever read. There hasnā€™t been a book where every word was chosen so perfectly to my liking. It has the exact amount of descriptions and dialogue. The style is simply perfect.

Additionally, the characters were so vivid and fun to read. John and Vic had such distinguished ways of expressing themselves that I knew every time who was talking without being told.

They are easily one of my favorite M/M couples.

By Kristin Jacques,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Bargain of Blood and Gold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A novice hunter with a mission. A five-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by creatures in need of saving.

When Johnathan Newman arrives in Cress Haven, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by a clandestine league of vampire hunters to investigate a string of murders, signs point to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathanā€™s attempt to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with Vic, the town's most eligible, enigmatic bachelor.

As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vicā€™s secrets come back toā€¦


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Book cover of Beneath the Veil

Beneath the Veil by Martin Kearns,

The Valor of Valhalla series by Martin Kearns is a pulse-pounding dark urban fantasy trilogy that fuses the raw power of Norse mythology with the grit of modern warfare. Set in a world where ancient gods and mythical creatures clash with secret military organizations and rogue heroes, the series followsā€¦

Book cover of Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead

Kurt Amacker Author Of Bloody October

From my list on making you a true vampire scholar.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a comic book writer, novelist, and vampire aficionado. I always want to learn the truth of a matter. Iā€™ve moved in and out of the gothic subculture for years and spent time with members of the vampire subculture. Iā€™ve found that most peopleā€™s understanding of vampires (and really, everything) is influenced by fiction. Even if you point out that their beliefs are only as accurate as a movie, they will still argue for them. As much as I love a good vampire movie, I want to shatter illusions and explore the myths and folklore that reflect our human experience in all of its horror and glory.

Kurt's book list on making you a true vampire scholar

Kurt Amacker Why did Kurt love this book?

Whereas Barber expounds upon the anthropological origins of the vampire myth, McClelland focuses on the practices, principles, and logistics of killing the dead. The most familiar form comes in the unearthing and mutilation of bodies. McClelland explains the whys and wherefores of that practice, but he also gives their killers more than their due, explaining the role of vampire slayers as shamans, village elders, and quasi-religious figures during Europeā€™s transition from its pagan roots to modern Christianity. He demonstrates that vampires fell into an uneasy space between a fading system of peasant folklore and the organized religious rituals and beliefs that ultimately took their place. There are no vampires in the Bible, so where was the church during the vampire hysteria of the 1800s and how did they regard these mythical creatures? McClelland answers that and more. He also includes an overview of our modern conception of vampire slayers fromā€¦

By Bruce McClelland,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Slayers and Their Vampires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In contemporary Western popular culture, the vampire has evolved into one of the most recognizable symbols of evil. Yet, less has been said - and even less has been understood - about its nemesis, the vampire slayer. ""Slayers and Their Vampires"" is the first work to explore how the vampire slayer began, and it goes further to ask why the true history of the vampire slayer has been so long ignored. Author Bruce McClelland describes how the literary and screen dramas obscured the darker nature of the slayer, whose persecution of a corpse is accepted as heroic rather than corrupt.ā€¦


Book cover of A Quick Bite

S. G. Blinn Author Of Rebellion

From my list on rebellious characters with a villainous twist of fate.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write what I see. Dark Fantasy has been the escape I have needed my entire life. It helped me understand hard topics such as war, greed, and loss. Working through a character's struggles has saved me from the darkest parts of my mind and guided me to where I can love myself.

S. G.'s book list on rebellious characters with a villainous twist of fate

S. G. Blinn Why did S. G. love this book?

A world exists around us that we never knew existed. When all you want is to be accepted, it is hard to find love.

I found that two people can find love regardless of what creature bore them. Family may not always understand what you want, but as long as there is trust and a little bit of humor, anything is possible. 

By Lynsay Sands,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Quick Bite as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

True love: good from the first bite ...

Etienne Argeneau can turn one human into a vampire in his lifetime - an honour his kind usually reserved for their life mates, to let their love life forever.

But it's all a bit more complicated than that. Rachel Garrett, a beautiful coroner, has just saved his life and now she's about to lose hers. Etienne has a choice: he can save her life in turn, and thus doom himself to an eternity alone, unable to create his own life mate. Or he can watch his saviour die in the name ofā€¦


Book cover of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut

David Lee Summers Author Of Vampires of the Scarlet Order

From my list on vampires you want to root for.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first started reading vampire stories when I worked at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the 1990s. One of my co-workers suggested that we were the vampires of the mountain because we were only seen between sunset and sunrise. She encouraged me to read Anne Rice, whose work gave me a taste for heroic vampires. A while later, I moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, known as the City of Crosses. Another friend suggested I write a story asking what a vampire would make of such a thing. That became an early chapter in Vampires of the Scarlet Order.

David's book list on vampires you want to root for

David Lee Summers Why did David love this book?

In this Japanese light novel, vampires are an oppressed people living in a country adjoining a Soviet Union-like country, the Republic of Zirnitra. In this world, almost all of the stories you've heard about vampires being evil and hunting humans are Zirnitran propaganda, but vampires do drink blood and are sensitive to sunlight. Irina is a young vampire woman who volunteers to be a test subject for the Zirnitran space program so she can get closer to the moon, which she loves. The story is based on the real Soviet space program of the 1960s and I rooted for Irina as she overcame her own fears and Zirnitran oppression to fly in orbit and see her beloved moon up close before any human went into orbit.

By Keisuke Makino, KAREI (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Irina as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fierce space race between two global superpowers gives rise to the Nosferatu Project, a top-secret plan to train up some unusual cosmonauts - vampires! When Lev Leps, a human soldier, is ordered to supervise vampire test subject Irina Luminesk, the unlikely pair bonds over their shared dream of reaching the stars. Together, can the human and vampire duo rise above the chaos and corruption down on Earth and blast off into the final frontier?


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Book cover of Vivian Amberville - The Weaver of Odds

Vivian Amberville - The Weaver of Odds by Louise Blackwick,

Vivian AmbervilleĀ® is a popular dark fantasy book series about a girl whose thoughts can reshape reality.

First in the series, The Weaver of Odds introduces 13-year-old Vivian to her power to alter luck, odds, and circumstances. She is a traveler between realities, whose imagination can twist reality into impossibleā€¦

Book cover of Swipe Date Bite

Tania Gold Author Of Prophecy of a Vampire

From my list on a different perspective of the Vampire genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve loved Vampire Romance themes since I was a teenager. They were all over the house, with my mum and my sister both reading them too, all part of our home library. I canā€™t count how many series and standalone books Iā€™ve read, but I donā€™t foresee it ever stopping. Whilst I am also a fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I love the romance factor in Paranormal books. As a result, I find them to be best suited for my mood. I not only read paranormal romance but write it and have dabbled in researching backgrounds on the myths of vampires, which led me to read vampire novels that integrate fiction and speculation.

Tania's book list on a different perspective of the Vampire genre

Tania Gold Why did Tania love this book?

I found this book funny and different from what I expected.

There is a love triangle, suspense, and a twist between the three characters, which I found refreshing too.

Itā€™s got that ā€˜new ageā€™ feeling to it, based on a dating app, but with a delicious twist. 

Something that also caught my eye was that it is a standalone, so it's perfect if you just want a vampire romance to read and leave it at that. I usually read series, so it was nice to not have to mentally prepare myself to dive into a sequel. 

By Tori Tucker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Swipe Date Bite as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dating apps are hard, at least for 26-year-old Aurora Lopez, who feels like her love life and career are both going nowhere fast. After a string of eighteen first dates in less than four months, Aurora has had enough of dating. Out on her luck and running out of patience, a friend manages to persuade her into one last effort at finding Mr. Right on an app called Love Bites. I mean, why couldn't this dating app work for her? Her friend's coworker's best friend's cousin had success with it, or was it her friend's cousin's best friend's coworker? Eitherā€¦


Book cover of The Blood Trials
Book cover of The Gutter Prayer
Book cover of The Dawnhounds

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