The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman is a young adult fantasy novel, mildly inspired by Indian culture and mythology. It features the main character — Vira, Queen of Ashoka. Having grown up in the palace with her three siblings, destined to be the next queen, she idolized her mother’s extroverted personality and grace. She was awed at how her mother was able to gain respect and love from her citizens. Vira, however, is not as perfect and struggles to prove her capabilities to be the perfect queen.
Wanting answers about her past, Bree infiltrated the Lengendborn society, magical descendants of King Arthur’s knights, only to discover she had powers of her own. Bree has a power that is completely unique and makes her important to the Order. The Regents will do anything to hide her from the war, but all Bree wants is to rescue Nick; a task that comes with many dangers and forces her to work with Selwyn, Nick’s Kingsmage. Bree is set on Nick but if she wants any chance of saving him and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers, and herself.
In a mix between historical fiction and fantasy, R.F Kuang’s Babel illustrates the idea of colonialism and the strong hold over government that language and communication have. Robin Swift, a young boy from Canton, loses his family and is brought to London by Professor Lovell, a teacher at Oxford. He is swept into the world of English propriety and the education of languages in preparation to attend Oxford’s Royal Institute of Translation.
After her mother’s death, 16-year-old Bree Matthews attempts to escape her guilt and pain by attending a program at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she discovers a secret society of “Legendborn” students that hunt down demon energies feeding on the school. Caught by a mysterious mage, an effort to wipe Bree’s memory fails, and instead reveals a hidden memory about the night her mother died. She recruits Nick, a Lengendborn, who reluctantly joins Bree in a partnership.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber, is a fantasy book about a girl named Scarlett Dragna. Scarlett grew up on the Conquered Islands of Trisda with her sister Dontella and her father who never allowed her to leave the Island. Growing up her grandma would tell her and her sister stories of a magical game called Caraval which was created and run by a man named Legend. Scarlet and her sister always dreamed of visiting Caraval, especially Scarlett who wrote to Legend multiple times hoping to receive a response back.
Brandon Sanderson’s book, Mistborn, is a wonderful book that shows you the maturing phase of Vin as she learns the line between trust, and being smart. The whole book is mainly set in the same city, Luthadel, and follows Vin’s path as she learns to become a mistborn, and lead a rebellion against the Lord Ruler.
Maia Tamarin is a secret seamstress from a small coastal town within the empire. Her father was a master tailor, but age has crippled his ability to sew. Maia stepped up in his absence, and her talent is unmatched, with offers from everywhere coming in for her work. Or her father’s work. It is illegal for women to have a trade, so she works under her father’s name. This angers Maia, but she understands the consequences if she were to come clean.
In this heart-wrenching, blood curdling third book in the Woven Kingdom trilogy, a gripping fantasy written by Tahereh Mafi, Alizeh is torn between loving her sworn enemy and killing him, her life and the lives of her people teetering in the hands of the devil. Despite her friends' avid warnings, Alizeh can’t help but draw closer to him, even in the face of death…. The inexplicable shift in Alizeh’s behavior toward Cyrus, now more obviously passionate, has me confused as a reader and, at the very same time, begging for more.
Once Upon A Broken Heart is the first installment of its namesake series by Stephanie Garber. Evangeline Fox is a young girl desperate to save her lover from what she believes to be a cursed and false marriage. She prays to the magical Prince of Hearts in order to get what she seeks. However, she doesn’t quite get what she expected. She ends up married to Prince Apollo of the Magnificent North, and is constantly at odds with the Prince of Hearts himself, Jacks.
Iris Winnow is hung by anticipation with her brother’s departure to fight in a war between the gods. Life is messy with her mother’s addiction and money being tight. So, winning the columnist position at the Oath Gazette seems like seems like the only thing that can get her out of the mess. She is worried about her brother’s absence, so she writes letters to him and slips them under her wardrobe. All of that only to fall into the hands of her rival at the Oath Gazette, Roman Kitt, who is also fighting for the columnist position.
