81 books like Together We Burn

If you want a feisty, rodent-come feline companion with a taste for eyeballs, then look no further than Sabastien de Castell’s Spellslinger series. Along with a neat magic system and desert worldbuilding, we have Kellen, a young and staggeringly unskilled magic user who is on the cusp of his test to become a mage. If he fails, he’ll become a slave among his clan. Unfortunately, the latter is looking pretty likely, until he meets an Argosi, a mysterious travelling nomad with a deck of cards, and everything Kellen thought he knew and valued is called into question. 

While Kellen narrates the story, his squirrel cat companion, Reichis, often steals the show. The first in this series, Spellslinger, is a quick and entertaining read for teens and adults alike.

This is a high fantasy adventure that does hilarious things with classic RPG tropes.

A magical kingdom grows fed up with hosting epic fantasy adventures for tourists from the world next door, complete with Wizard Guides, tavern stays, dragons, and epic battles with a Dark Lord.

Wizard Derk is assigned to be this year’s Dark Lord and—while he’s at it—save the world from these destructive tours.

The story romps across countries and continents, includes plenty of action, and doesn’t hold back when it comes to the somewhat messy familial relationships between Derk, his wife, and his children.

This is one of those books that reveals something new every time you read it.

Creating a book recommendation list of clean fantasy books with animal companions and not including The Girl Who Drank the Moon is like going ice skating without skates—I just can’t do it!

Though written for a middle grade audience, this fantasy novel is one all ages can enjoy. It is clean and the narrative focuses on found family, goodness in life despite bad things happening, and hope—there’s so much beautiful hope in this book. But wait; there’s more! The cast of lovable characters includes Fyrian, a Perfectly Tiny Dragon (who believes he is a Simply Enormous Dragon).

Every Luna needs a Fyrian. And every witch. Oh, I can’t forget about swamp monsters—it seems everyone needs a Fyrian!

If, like me, you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away or Ponyo, then this graphic novel is for you. It not only tackles a story revolving around growing up with magic but it adds in many other things that many of us have struggled with such as family expectations, living up to your potential, and more. Of course, everything feels a little more exciting when magic is added to the mix, but those themes that exist in the real world ground this story and allow for a strong connection to Sophie, our young protagonist.

Even if you know nothing about dance, this (not short) memoir takes you inside one of the most imaginative collaborations of the twentieth-century avant-garde, and gives you the flavor of some of its extraordinary characters—not only Cage and Cunningham, but Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Morton Feldman, and others.

For an intriguing, first-hand account of the art and life of the greatest ballerina of our time, don't miss this grand read. Natalia Makarova, the prima ballerina of them all gives this thrilling autobiography life as she describes not only her roles at the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg and at American Ballet Theatre in New York City, but also her daring escape from KGB agents in London where she defected. Glorious photography crowns this amazing achievement. On a personal note, my life changed after seeing her dance—first in a video of Giselle and then later in person at the Metropolitan Opera House. 

I can’t remember a 600-page book that I’ve ever read so fast and yes, so hungrily. Baker’s trajectory defies credulity. Above all, it is the paradigmatic story of a Black American targeted by racism in her own country, who found acceptance and fame (and in Baker’s case, so much more) in Paris. From the slums of St. Louis, at nineteen she became an instant sensation with her dazzling performance at La Revue Nègre. She strolled the Champs Élysées with a cheetah and, during the war, hid Jewish refugees in her château in the Dordogne. In the 1963 March on Washington, she spoke alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, the only woman to address the crowd that day. With exhaustive research that never weighs down the narrative, author Jean-Claude Baker, her unofficial thirteenth child who worked for her towards the end of her life, paints a portrait of a hugely complex woman.… show more.

Prince was different things to different people and one of the things you’ll discover through these books is that they work as a mosaic showing different sides of him. Only two people will ever know what it was like to be married to Prince, and Mayte is one of them.

In this immersive memoir, Kassabova observes that people who’re drawn to the difficult dance of tango are usually complex and thin-skinned and thus, when relationships form between tango partners and, inevitably, end the suffering is excruciating because… complex and thin-skinned. Steeped in the history of tango and its music, the contemporary element comes from the Kassabova’s freelance life; accepting travel writing assignments at short notice, stepping off a plane into another city’s tango scene. Her relationship with dancing evolves over a decade and several continents, similarly her connections with tango aficionados encountered around the globe. There’s more than one heartbreak, described in lucid, compelling prose but the end is heart-healing because, as an Ecuadorian friend tells her, "The universal woman makes her own way."

This is a beautiful story about the friendship and bonds between sisters, not just ordinary sisters, but Princess sisters Naomi and Miranda. They were very close but like all siblings, sometimes, they did not get along so Princess Naomi left their castle where she came upon a beautiful little unicorn that had fallen asleep among the red poppies (known for putting unicorns to sleep). She managed to wake the unicorn and they started out to find the unicorn’s baby that was missing. After her fun-filled adventure, she realized she was no longer angry with her sister and could not wait to share her story with Princess Miranda! The bond between family is strong and a wonderful thing.