Please enable JavaScript
All Books | Page 31 | LitPick Book Reviews
All Books
Citadels of the Lost
Tracy Hickman
Synopsis: The second novel in the "enthralling" (Midwest Book Review) Annals of Drakis fantasy epic

The Rhonas Empire of the elves is built upon an unquenchable thirst for conquest. The elves control the Aether—the mystical substance that fuels their magic. And one use of this Aether is to compel total obedience on the part of the slaves drawn from the races they have defeated.
 
But there are legends that tell of an age when humans and the other slave races were free, ruling powerful empires of their own. Tales carried down from generation to generation speak of a hero who will lead an uprising against the empire. That hero, so the stories say, will be a human named Drakis.
 
When a captive dwarf called Jugar works Aer magic to destroy the Aether wells of the Western Provinces, it signals the start of a rebellion straight out of legend. In the ensuing chaos, the warrior-slave named Drakis, along with a small group of fellow slaves, flees—lured on by a melody that coils itself around his mind and conjures disturbing visions of dark wings, claws, iridescent scales, and fire.
 
Pursued by the Rhonas Iblisi Inquisitors, this desperate band of fugitives makes its way across the ocean only to find a desolated, seemingly lifeless land. Following the melody he alone can hear, Drakis stumbles on the incredible truth: dragons are real.
 
Attacked by these fierce, fire-breathing beings, the group escapes through a fold that opens into the remains of a once-great empire. Cut off from the world they know, can they survive the dangers of this treacherous realm, and find a way back to those they left behind—bringing the truth of the legends to the army of the rebellion even now being raised in the name of Drakis?



Publication Date: 07/03/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues
Synopsis: Horror meets humorous urban fantasy in second book of the White Trash Zombie series • Winner of the 2012 Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist by the RT Awards

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right—the zombie mafia.

Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower—and maybe a brain smoothie as well—in order to get through it without falling apart.
Publication Date: 07/03/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Waking Storms
Sarah Porter
Synopsis:

After parting ways with her troubled mermaid tribe, Luce just wants to live peacefully on her own. But her tranquility doesn’t last long: she receives news that the tribe is on the verge of collapse and desperately needs her leadership. The tribe’s cruel queen wants Luce dead. Dorian, the boy Luce broke mermaid law to save, is determined to make her pay for her part in the murder of his family. And while the mermaids cling to the idea that humans never suspect their existence, there are suddenly ominous signs to the contrary.
     But when Luce and Dorian meet, they start to wonder if love can overpower the hatred they know they should feel for each other. Can Luce fulfill her rightful role as queen of the mermaids without sacrificing her forbidden romance with Dorian?

Publication Date: 07/03/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Eve
Anna Carey
Synopsis:

The first book in Anna Carey’s chilling Eve trilogy, Eve is perfect for fans of The Handmaiden’s Tale.

After a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a terrifying place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has grown up isolated from the rest of the destroyed world in an all-girls school. But it isn’t until the night before her graduation that she discovers what her duties will be once she graduates.

To avoid the horrifying fate that awaits her, Eve flees the only home she’s ever known. On the run, she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Eve knows she shouldn’t trust him, but he slowly wins her confidence…and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Eve is the first book in Anna Carey’s trilogy, full of romance, adventure, sacrifice, all set in a near future that is both wonderfully strange, and chillingly familiar.  

Publication Date: 07/03/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Ruby
Amanda Burke
Synopsis: Publisher: Solstice Publishing Printer: Createspace ‘During the Salem witch hunts, an evil witch named Natasha Sullivan tricks a demon into confining himself inside an enchanted music box. She casts a spell that foretells that the demon will emerge in an unknown time in future after the birth of a child known as the Lumen Child. This child’s destiny is to bring light to the planet and Natasha knows that if he is killed then darkness will prevail. Natasha’s identical twin Sarah, discovers what her sister has done. Although she cannot break the spell she casts her own prophecy. It states that three witches known as the Triple Enchantresses will be born in the same time as the Lumen Child and they will be his supernatural protectors. The girls are not sisters, yet they will share a common destiny. Ruby is the story of the first witch and how she very nearly dies before discovering her true identity. Having grown up unaware of her powers, she is rescued by her loving grandmother who is also a white witch and taken back to the family estate where she learns everything she can about what her future holds. Ruby is the first in a four book series.’
Publication Date: 06/29/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Knights of 2nd Earth: Tears of an Honorable King (Book I)
Synopsis: Welcome to The City of God In the metropolis of Vanguard, corruption among law enforcement, politicians, and big business is commonplace, as are the injustices of social inequality. Tylan Dean is a teenage boy who calls the unforgiving slums of this city home. Along with his super-powered companions, Jaxon and Corrina, Tylan will use the powers of an ancient and unruly spirit from another world to fight mysterious monsters that plague the earth and dismantle the corrupt institutions that threaten the future of Vanguard's integrity. Welcome to the world of Knights of 2nd Earth!
Publication Date: 06/27/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Moon Coin (The Moon Realm Series, Book 1)
Richard Due, Carolyn Arcabascio
Synopsis: Moonbeam Children's Book Award Winner

As children, Lily and her brother Jasper were captivated by tales of the Moon Realm, with its magical lunamancers, undersea merfolk, winged dragons, and Lily's favorite, the heroic Rinn.

Their Uncle Ebb made it sound like he'd been there himself. "Tales, unlike stories, never lie. Would you like to hear one?"

He made them sound so real--like place you could visit, like a place you could . . . touch.

Illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio. Volume One of the The Moon Realm Series.
Publication Date: 06/20/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
A Quarter of Magic
Zoë Tyson
Synopsis: Fantasy Adventure for Young Adults from Zoë Tyson. In a World born out of magic lives 14 year old Miloney Merren. In his World humans are ruled by an immortal species of creature. And the creatures have one major rule. A human must never have magic. Unfortunately for Milo, he does... And it’s getting out of control. Will he be able to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to help his family and friends? "When magic becomes dangerous, you need to remember one thing. It will either define you or kill you."
Publication Date: 06/19/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Chance Falls
James Unger
Synopsis: Have you ever questioned your sanity? Thinking back now, it's funny to believe I would have given my life for her. Don't get me wrong, I would do the same now, but I don't think it would be quite the same noble gesture. Chance Falls is a young adult fiction novel which explores the growing relationship between two high school students as they take a journey in a fast-paced murder mystery. The only question is how can it be murder if no one is dead? In a gripping exploration of one's mental stability, Chance Falls is an unforgettable leap into the unknown. Is it love? Is it a murder? Is it fate? You Decide!
Publication Date: 06/19/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Rapture: A Fallen Novel
Synopsis:

The conclusion to the worldwide bestselling FALLEN series, with exclusive content from the darkly romantic world of FALLEN and an excerpt of Lauren Kate's novel TEARDROP.

A USA Today bestseller
A New York Times bestselling series
More than 3 million series copies in print!

When evil triumphs . . . when the world ends . . . trust your love.

The sky is dark with wings. . . . Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn't know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they've borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who will win? The astonishing conclusion to the Fallen series. Heaven can't wait any longer.

And don't miss FALLEN on the big screen! The first book in the worldwide bestselling FALLEN series is now a motion picture available for streaming.

“Sexy and fascinating and scary . . . I loved loved loved it!”
—P. C. Cast, New York Times bestselling author on Fallen 

Publication Date: 06/12/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Spellcrossed
Barbara Ashford
Synopsis: It's not easy losing the love of your life...

But when Maggie Graham freed Rowan Mackenzie from the curse that bound him to this world, she took the first step toward her new life as director of the Crossroads Theatre. As a hectic new season begins, magic takes a back seat to ticket sales as Maggie balances the demands of her interfering board president and a company of actors that includes bewildered amateurs, disdainful professionals, a horde of children, and an arthritic dog. But magic is hard to banish from the old white barn, where memories lurk like ghosts in the shadowy wings and the unexpected is as time-honored a tradition as the curtain call. And when the tangled spells of the past turn Maggie's life upside down, it will take more than magic to ensure the happy-ever-after ending she longs for.
Publication Date: 06/05/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Faelorehn: Otherworld Trilogy (Book One)
Synopsis: I never heard him come after me and even as I climbed the slope and stumbled onto our shaded back lawn, I didn’t look back. It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . . Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own. Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.
Publication Date: 06/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Black Stone Prophecy (Volume 1)
Synopsis: Tom O'Malley is a sarcastic, popular 12-year old who has spent the past year avoiding friends and hiding out at home after a terrible accident. But when Tom finally agrees to leave home for summer camp, he is drawn into the transformative world of Nyi, where the secrets of Earth -- from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the origins of trolls -- are revealed, and where Tom and his friends must face an ancient evil. This suspenseful, witty debut novel deftly explores the power of friendship and the importance of believing in and accepting one's own transformation. It leaves readers begging for the second book in what has the potential to become a beloved middle grade fantasy series.
Publication Date: 06/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Faelorehn - Book One of the Otherworld Trilogy (eBook)
Synopsis: I never heard him come after me and even as I climbed the slope and stumbled onto our shaded back lawn, I didn’t look back. It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . . Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own. Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.
Publication Date: 06/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Avalonia: The Three Realms
Ashley Kate Simmons
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 05/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Sara and the Chimera (Book 2) - Seven Stars (eBook)
Synopsis: The angel Rithrial made it very clear that Sara Starbright was in no way, shape, or form to even think about her father, lest she draw the attentions of the ancient beings and forces that hunt him.  But when you are only thirteen years old, have no home to go back to, and everyone you meet wants to take your gifts for themselves, following the rules is the last thing on your mind.
 
Free for now from the foul attentions of the fish-like Mongrel after shattering his sinister Prison of Light, Sara and the Chimera have yet to find a place amongst creation for themselves.  When an ill-fated attempt at going home again sends them again on the run, this time with Sara's mom in tow, things begin to again spiral out of control.  With their options quickly running out, Sara decides to gamble everything on locating her reclusive father, the mysterious Seventh Star of Twilight.
 
So how does a girl that quite literally knows everything go about finding an enigmatic primordial creature that has erased himself from history?  Even when your best friend is a constantly-evolving monster capable of nearly anything, it's hard to even know where to start.  With only straws to grasp at, Sara feels her best bet is gathering together as many allies as she can--all those who had been close to her father in recent years.  In numbers there is strength, and when that number is seven, there lies a little magic as well.
Publication Date: 05/30/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS