The Falconer (The Falconer, #1) by Elizabeth May Also by this author: The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)
Published by Chronicle Books on May 6, 2014
Pages: 378
One girl's nightmare is this girl's faery tale
She's a stunner.Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.
She's a liar.But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.
She's a murderer.Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.
She's a Falconer.The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.
The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
My Life as a White Trash Zombie (White Trash Zombie, #1) by Diana Rowland, Daniel Dos Santos Also by this author: My Life as a White Trash Zombie, Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
Published by DAW on July 5, 2011
Pages: 320
Angel Crawford is a loser.
Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.
That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in a horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.
Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!
Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.
Literally.
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal Also by this author: Ghost Talkers, Shades of Milk and Honey
Published by Tor Books on August 3, 2010
Pages: 208
The fantasy novel you’ve always wished Jane Austen had written
Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Jane Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.
Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane’s skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) by Ernest Cline Also by this author: Armada
Published by Crown Publishers on August 16, 2011
Pages: 374
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn & Grim, #1) by Juliet Marillier Also by this author: Dreamer's Pool, Tower of Thorns
Published by Roc on November 4, 2014
Pages: 434
Award-winning author Juliet Marillier "weaves magic, mythology, and folklore into every sentence on the page" (The Book Smugglers). Now she begins an all-new and enchanting series that will transport readers to a magical vision of ancient Ireland...
In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.
Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.
With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.
Red Rising (Red Rising, #1) by Pierce Brown Also by this author: Red Rising, Golden Son
Published by Del Rey (Random House) on January 28, 2014
Pages: 382
"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."
"I live for you," I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch Also by this author: Dark Matter
Published by Crown on July 26, 2016
Pages: 342
“Are you happy with your life?”
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”
In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.
From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
Lock In (Lock In, #1) by John Scalzi Also by this author: Lock In, The Dispatcher
Published by Tor Books on August 26, 2014
Pages: 336
Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.
But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It's nothing you could have expected.
The Tethered Mage (Swords and Fire, #1) by Melissa Caruso Also by this author: The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir
Published by Orbit on October 24, 2017
Pages: 438
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled -- taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.
Torn (The Unraveled Kingdom #1) by Rowenna Miller Also by this author: Torn, Fray
Published by Orbit on March 20, 2018
Pages: 480
A seamstress who stitches magic into clothing finds herself torn between loyalty to her brother and her secret love for a nobleman in this debut fantasy inspired by the French Revolution.
In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side.Sophie, a dressmaker and charm caster, has lifted her family out of poverty with a hard-won reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly embroidered spells. A commission from the royal family could secure her future -- and thrust her into a dangerous new world.Revolution is brewing. As Sophie's brother, Kristos, rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement, it is only a matter of time before their fortunes collide.When the unrest erupts into violence, she and Kristos are drawn into a deadly magical plot. Sophie is torn -- between her family and her future.
Love this list! There are a bunch on here that I can totally see spending a rainy day reading, like Red Rising and The Falconer?
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…THE LUMINOUS DEAD by Caitlin Starling – Review
Ready Player One has been on my TBR for ages. I really should read it!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Great list! The Falconer and My Life as a White Trash Zombie are such good picks, they’re great fun for a rainy day. The Tethered Mage and Dreamer’s Pool are both on my TBR.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Books to sweep you away on a rainy day
It’s a complicated topic there
My Life as a White Trash Zombie sounds so interesting. I’ve often wondered if certain social classes and other groups would be more (or less) likely to survive a zombiepocalypse in the longterm.
My theory is that wealthier people might have better odds in the beginning, but folks who are used to struggling would do much better over the longterm because of how much practice they have at making the best of what they’ve got and being resilient.
My TTT.
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Rainy Day Reads
The Blackthorn and Grim series is nothing short of *perfect* for losing oneself in a book on a rainy day. Or even on a sunny one… 😉
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE OUTSIDER, by Stephen King
Tethered Mage is on my TBR for next month, looking forward to it!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Top Five Predicted Five Star Reads
Such a great list, I love a lot of these. Dreamer’s Pool is so underrated imo, love those books so much.
Lisa @ waytoofantasy recently posted…Book Review: The True Queen by Zen Cho
The Falconer sounds really good. And of course, Ready Player One is a book I have to read someday too.
Brooke Lorren recently posted…Rainy Day Reads
I LOVED Dark Matter! And The Falconer is a series I’ve always wanted to read, and never seem to get to!
Greg recently posted…Top Ten
Nice list! A couple of these are great books for any weather!
Really great list! Definitely agree about red rising 🙂
Lovely list – I really liked seeing the Falconer on here.
Lynn 😀