Fantasy stories that feature protagonists in their mid-to-late-teens. Return to general Fantasy
Note: these books are currently sorted by release date, with newest first.
Word Count: 99000 Summary: Watchers’ eyes track a miles-distant bird. Listeners’ ears hear a whisper a village away. Knowers, extinct for 500 years, possessed telepathic powers straight out of a nightmare. Alesea’s sole extraordinary trait is her musical talent. But when Watchers invade her tiny island on the night of her professional debut, she’s the only one who escapes—unwittingly using the powers of a Knower. Now, it’s up to her to save her people while coming to grips with her dangerous new identity, her pacifist beliefs, and only a traitor to help her.  Published: 01/19/2023 Word Count: 51004 Summary: Captured! It didn’t matter that Mercy found a cure for lycanthropy or fended off bloodthirsty werewolves in Crowsmirth. Oscar the hunter still found her. Finding herself in a place she never wanted to return to again, her captor insists she play a twisted game. Oscar wants to be the father she never had, and Mercy his doting daughter. Refusal is not an option. Plotting to escape while playing along is dangerous, but Mercy is determined to get home. She must unravel the mystery of her parents’ past and conceal her growing fury if she hopes to see her friends again. Book 4 of The Wolves of Kanta series  Published: 12/20/2022 Word Count: 34000 Summary: Koyu thought she had done her duty, but deep inside she knows it will never be over. She is bound to her master forever and will have to execute his every command. But when he demands she’ll invade his sworn enemy’s dreams, she chooses to rebel. Koyu risks her existence to help the ‘other side’ by purposely disobeying her master's orders. Koyu knows she'll pay with her life for her impertinence. Is there, indeed, no hope for her? [embed]https://youtu.be/ASa3ptKCwjo[/embed]  Published: 11/25/2022 Word Count: 56024 Summary: Mercy is on a mission. She plans to administer her partial cure to as many werewolves as she can find, giving them a new chance at life. That means leaving Kanta and convincing werewolves of her good intentions. But finding their campsites during the day isn’t easy. Hot on the heels of a large camp somewhere near Crowsmirth, Mercy and Andrei get side-tracked by an unexpected rescue mission. They soon learn that there are far more werewolves in those woods than they expected. They’re outnumbered, completely unprepared for the sheer numbers against them, and worse yet, running out of daylight. Desperate to get out of the forest before night falls and the slaughter begins, they run straight into a team of highly organized werewolf hunters. Surrounded by vicious killers and countless werewolves, can Mercy and her friends survive the long night in Crowsmirth? Book 3 of The Wolves of Kanta series.  Published: 09/20/2022 Word Count: Information not available Summary: Jody Burns borrows her brother Peter's silvery bracelet because it looks good with her outfit. She doesn’t remember it’s the key to another world—until a green-haired girl steps out of nowhere in the mall and asks Jody’s help rescuing her grandmother from a great evil. Jody ignores Peter's warning about the land on the other side of the Watcher—until the haunted tree pulls her inside. Suddenly, she’s trapped in a place where no one listens to her. And then her jacket starts sprouting leaves. Return to the world where horses can be wizards, and trees talk, and an ancient evil is planning to destroy every last living thing.  Published: 09/16/2022 Word Count: 108000 Summary: The destruction of the embargo has made Darynn Mark a lot of enemies: an interstellar bounty hunter, the Grand Cardinal, families of the fallen. On top of that, Darynn struggles with his new responsibility to discover the truth behind Vastire’s gods, while battling his growing internal desire to destroy. Darynn and Fyra must travel to the frozen planet Yiptae to find the final pieces of the gods’ puzzle. But Yiptae has problems of its own, from a violent revolution to the assassination of a key political figure for immigrant rights. In the middle of it all is Kaylaa, whose mysterious past leads to new opportunities, conflicts, and enemies. Darynn, Fyra, and Kaylaa must work with new allies to solve the secret to the past while navigating the revolution and solving the murder. If they don’t, they will be buried in a frozen wasteland, and the truths of two worlds will be obscured forever.  Published: 09/13/2022 Word Count: 99000 Summary: Gavin Booker, a school librarian at Cooper Road Elementary, Raleigh, Northern Carolina, leads an orderly, normal life. Work, jogging, friends from work, his son every other weekend. Gavin is also a secret. He is a hybrid, or part-fairy, and in the Columbian Empire, hybrids are under an automatic death sentence. Magic is illegal. So is loving another man, another capital crime. Fairies are locked away in ghettoes, magical beasts, such as gryphons, unicorns, and pegasi are kept in zoos. The others, the tree and water spirits, the talking beasts, fauns, and the rest, are in hiding. This is the world in which Gavin grew up. He survived, thanks to his mother. He can never forget he is different: ministers preach against people like him constantly; hating the other is a part of every school’s curriculum. But now, things are changing fast, and apparently, for the worst. Earthquakes, volcanoes, killer storms are all frequent occurrences. The medicine Gavin takes to suppress his body’s glowing, isn’t working. The spells cast by his doctor, a witch, are losing their power. If anyone finds out what Gavin is, he is dead. Under threat, the Empire always goes after its marginalized people. Can Gavin survive the coming catastrophe? Will he ever recover from losing the boys he loved? Can he find the fairy man who has haunted his dreams all his life before it is too late? Can his scarred heart ever heal?  Published: 09/03/2022 Word Count: Information not available Summary: His love is locked inside an enigma. Can he solve the mystery to make himself a home? A hidden kingdom. The 18th century. Alden grew weary of battle long ago. And now the honorable soldier seeks to put the horrors of war behind him to settle in a land of peace and start a family. And while an attractive shopkeeper catches his eye, he finds himself caught up in the kingdom’s greatest riddle: the twelve daughters of the king and queen vanish every night and reappear in the morning with their shoes worn out. Drawn to a shared passion for dancing as he spends more time with the woman of his dreams, Alden can’t avoid a growing involvement with the land’s enchanted magic. And as he does so, he starts to realize that the alluring woman he’s falling for may hold the key to answering the perplexing mystery. Can Alden unravel a magical entanglement and find his way to happily ever after? Twelve is a charming fairy tale retelling. If you like upstanding heroes, picturesque romance, and delightful surprises, then you’ll adore Joan Marie Verba’s heartwarming story. Read Twelve to expose the realm’s enchanting secrets today!  Published: 08/02/2022 Word Count: 54418 Summary: Mercy must unlearn her past if she hopes to find her future. After eluding hunters who wanted her dead, Mercy finds herself in a strange new place to call home. With the help of the bizarre Thomas Farrell and the mysterious Leyda, she discovers how different the world is from what her father taught. The violence of her past still haunts her, but the truth she uncovers rattles her core. Mercy must put her past and fears behind her, unlearn what she once believed to be doctrine, and uncover her true capabilities as a burgeoning scientist if she hopes to make a difference in Kanta. Drawn to the laboratory and to caring for the werewolves she once worked so hard to capture, Mercy discovers her own true passions instead of those demanded of her. When Andrei, a young, handsome werewolf, enters her life, Mercy sees firsthand the harsh realities of the werewolves she once demonized. She wants to help, but does Mercy have the courage and the wits to do the impossible? Book 2 of The Wolves of Kanta series  Published: 06/21/2022 Word Count: 150000 Summary: Free bird? Don't make me laugh. I'm Mavis Merlini and I want out. Of my shady family, this rowdy school, maybe even the world. My brother got kicked out of Gallows Hill School for inciting mermaid violence. I'm determined to cut out all distractions and be the first of my six siblings to actually graduate. Which means living on campus and ignoring my extroverted roommate. All my plans are doomed to failure when a goth lion shifter in a trench coat drops his feather. Of course I pick it up. It's shiny and I'm a raven shifter. I swear I meant to give it back. But now it's magically bonded to me and I can't. Now I've got obligations to a Faerie Monarch on top of everything else. And if I shirk them, I'll spend a hundred years in his dungeon. Can I soar through this double life, or will I end up failing to launch?  Published: 04/25/2022 Word Count: 31131 Summary: The daughter of a werewolf hunter will become so much more. Thirteen-year-old Mercy Pinkerton thought her days of cleaning house, fixing the barricade, and wiring electric prongs were over. She would finally get to train to be a werewolf hunter, what she has always wanted. She doesn’t know that there are worse monsters in Kanta than the werewolves that plague Kanta each night. Danger lurks around every corner. She’ll have to avoid her father’s temper and follow his orders, even if it means risking her life. It is supposed to be Mercy’s big day, but will take a drastic turn for the worse. She’ll have to keep her wits about her, remember her training, and prepare for the ultimate test of bravery if she hopes to survive. Book 1 of The Wolves of Kanta series  Published: 03/22/2022 Word Count: Information not available Summary: In this second instalment of the Damien the Devil series, we see Damien has found a new, more permanent home outside the foster system with Pat, Damien's Renfield and caseworker, and his twin brother Matt. He is also enjoying a budding romantic relationship with Brian, another boy from the foster home. But after the two of them are caught kissing, Damien is kicked out on the streets in the middle of the night-only to find himself in a very dangerous situation with a vampire. Brian, feeling guilty about the whole situation, goes looking for Damien the next evening, only to fall victim to the vampire's trap himself. Damien and Pat save Brian, but he's unable to remember what happened that night-until he starts to be plagued with nightmares. Meanwhile, Damien is too afraid to reveal to Brian that he is a vampeal: a half-vampire and half-human. Will they both be able to handle the truth of what each other is hiding?  Published: 03/06/2022 Genres:
Word Count: 50000 Summary: An act of desperation by young magician Brandon accidentally snatches Scott Hathaway from our world. Struggling to adapt to his new life, Scott becomes ensnared in dark local politics. He realizes he can use the knowledge he brought from his world to save his new friends, but at what cost? The first in a series. A story about an engineer who gets accidentally transported to a medieval type world where magic is real. But all is not as it seems!  Published: 12/06/2021 Word Count: 110899 Summary: Can she stop what she unleashed? How in the world did Shaleigh Mallett find herself standing on a volcanic mountain facing the fire dragon, Tanwen? She isn’t supposed to be here. She’s supposed to be in high school, studying for classes and exploring abandoned buildings with her best friend. But no, she’s stuck on the Peak of Gwern, hoping that the dragon will somehow show mercy and stop the Madness that plagues them. There is still so much to do, so many wrongs to right. She can’t abandon her friends after she’s come so far. She won’t abandon them. Not even Talek, who is all but consumed by the Madness. She must take down Keriam the Magician, she must face the Bloody Forest, and she must lead if she ever wants to see home again. Book 3 of the Stolen series  Published: 03/23/2021 Word Count: Information not available Summary: When Centriel roams the Earth in a dark mood and atypical despair, in a mountain clearing, far from humankind, he unexpectedly discovers a runner, followed by a petite hunter. The way the woman treats the giant fugitive amuses the Archangel, but he quickly learns that neither of them are what they seem to be. Simin Arnatt is an extraordinary woman. Her occupation as a Bounty Hunter takes her all over the world, as she follows her prey to the most unusual places. She would have never expected to meet the famous Centriel while on a hunt. When he offers to help her, she feels the enormous attraction, but she knows, with the secret she holds, she could never dare to hope for love. Neither of them could guess that with her next assignment, Hell is breaking loose… [embed]https://youtu.be/dK4mKAhhvow[/embed]  Published: 03/13/2021 Word Count: 11500 Summary: Jey awakens to find himself in the care of a handsome stranger - a cheff from one of the mouuntain tribes, enemies of his own people. Afraid for his life, Jey has no choice but to let the man take care of him and his broken leg. Avain is on his Aud'ling - his coming-of-age test that requires him to spend a couple months alone, away from his own people. When he finds the steader trapped under his aur with a broken leg, he knows he has to help. But not being allowed to speak during his test makes things... difficult. The two of them will have to come to an understanding if they're not going to kill one another. And Avain has a secret to share with Jey, one that that will change his life forever.  Published: 03/10/2021 Word Count: Information not available Summary: High schooler Crispin Haugen already has so many identities to sort through—Asian, Scandinavian, not to mention gay. Then a messenger from another world arrives to tell him he also carries the blood of dragonsin his veins. Transported to the Realm of Fire, where dragons and humans live in harmony, Crispin falls for Davix, a brooding, nerdy scholar. But dark mysteries threaten the peace of Crispin’s new world. Without warning, dragons from the Realm of Air unleash a bloody war. With everything he cares about on the line, Crispin must find the courage to fight...for justice and for love. The writing of this book was supported by the Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.  Published: 12/15/2020 Word Count: Information not available Summary: The system is broken and if I’m not careful, it’ll break me too. While my peers get excited for college, I brace for disaster. I’ve learned at Hawthorn Academy that danger can happen to anyone. To the jock. To the class clown. To my brother. Now I’m in the line of fire. All known extramagi must have their abilities tested. The way they do it is a horrifying secret. After witnessing one last year, I made a plan to expose the ugly truth. But there’s a mind magus on campus now, threatening me. And he’s totally within his rights to do so. Mr. Fairbanks leads the Board of Trustees, which demoted the headmaster and expelled my brother. Last year’s threat was only a symptom of bigger problems. Half the Trustees play quid pro quo while the rest flex their authority for personal vendettas. Mr. Fairbanks blames me for his daughter’s troubles. Mrs. Onassis says I poisoned her son’s mind. And Mr. Pierce thinks I’m taking advantage of his children. All because extramagi are supposedly evil. But now I suspect we’re scapegoats the influential families pin blame on. They say you make your own future. But can I survive the present first?  Published: 12/09/2020 Word Count: 71387 Summary: Beware the Gray People Each Seeking, the magic that protects the town of Carra must be renewed, which means the children of the Exalted Family must go into hiding. Whether through disguise or bribe, through trusted friends or perfect hiding places, every child of the Priest family must avoid capture for the full day of The Seeking. When things go wrong with the renewal, it’s up to seventeen-year-old Dahlia, the middle child of the Priest family, and her girlfriend, Bisa, to escape Carra and find the magical beings responsible for the protection. They must learn who would require such a cruel game every year and if the protection of the Gray People is really worth such a price. What they will discover is far worse.  Published: 10/27/2020 Genres:
Word Count: 76144 Summary: Fairy tales. Prince Charming fights evil, wins the princess, lives happily ever after. Three sons, three wishes, witches, dragons, a quest, and happily ever after. These stories are part of our cultural fabric. The stories change in retellings to reflect contemporary culture, such as Princess Charming, or heroes and heroines as people of color. In this collection, queer characters take center stage in stories that grew out of questions: What if the prince falls in love with Cinderella's gay stepbrother? What if Rumpelstiltskin doesn't really want the Queen's child but rather the King himself? What if Beauty and the Beast are two men? These stories explore metaphors of magic and the magical, this time, with a gay perspective. What price must be paid for happily ever after? Duty or love? Is love worth great sacrifice? Once upon a time ...  Published: 09/23/2020  |
