Kiera's Recs

Kiera


 

Staff Pick Badge
The Storm Crow By Kalyn Josephson Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781492672937
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Sourcebooks Fire - July 9th, 2019

In the kingdom of Rhodaire, giant magic-wielding Crows soar through the air, heal the ill, and defend the empire. Yet the wondrous land is soon brought to its knees with the massacre of the Crows by the neighboring, imperious regime. Much like her kingdom, Ana, princess and Crow rider, must rise from the ashes of her grief in order to save her people, and bring back the Crows. Inspiring and powerful, The Storm Crow is a coming of age story for those who have been powerless, and still prevailed.

-Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Sorcery of Thorns By Margaret Rogerson Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781481497619
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Margaret K. McElderry Books - June 4th, 2019

Prepare yourself for a world where books live and think as we do, whose pages hold both fantastical wonders and menacing enchantments. Elisabeth is a librarian’s apprentice, sworn to protect the mystical tomes from the world, and the world from them. But when a deadly mishap throws Elisabeth to the mercy of the royal courts, she must seek help from her sworn enemy, a sorcerer. Witty and magical, you won’t be able to pull yourself from the magic this story holds!

-Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Wicked Saints: A Novel (Something Dark and Holy #1) By Emily A. Duncan Cover Image
$18.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9781250195661
Published: Wednesday Books - April 2nd, 2019

Dripping with blood and betrayal, The Wicked Saints is as devious as its characters, set in a lethally beautiful world that is ravaged with war. Nadya is a saint who has been raised as a soldier and is the only one left who can speak to the Gods. After a devastating attack to her home from the enemy prince, Nadya flees to save both her life and her power. Forced to team up with a band of misfits, including a heretical blood mage, Nadya’s absolute loyalty to her Gods is challenged throughout the journey to infiltrate the enemy country and end this centuries-long war. Deliciously gothic and unapologetically brutal, the line between holy and heretical is blurred into a turmoil of heartbreak and darkness in this grim tale.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Little Darlings: A Novel By Melanie Golding Cover Image
$26.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9781683319979
Published: Crooked Lane Books - April 30th, 2019

During the early hours of the morning in the maternity wing, Lauren is torn awake by a grim woman who seems to have stepped out of a fairy-tale, threatening to take her newborn twins. Now tormented with a stalker that only she has seen, Lauren soon finds herself to be the only reliable protection for her children, which comes at the cost of her own sanity. This creepy mystery lifts a veil to another domain that blends reality with fantasy, where the horrors of the world are indistinguishable from the horrors of our own minds.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
A Curse So Dark and Lonely (The Cursebreaker Series) By Brigid Kemmerer, Brigid Kemmerer Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781681195087
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bloomsbury YA - January 29th, 2019

When Harper finds herself suddenly thrust into a fantastical world of frozen lands, she’s a bit shocked, considering she had been standing on the streets of Washington D.C. just a moment ago. Now trapped in Emberfall, with its castle frozen in time and less-than-charming prince, Harper must sort out a way to save her temporary home if she ever hopes to return to her world. Both compelling in its characters and romance, A Curse So Dark and Lonely sets itself apart with a heroine who is fierce in both attitude and courage, despite her cerebral palsy.

-Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Blood Heir By Amélie Wen Zhao Cover Image
$18.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9780525707790
Published: Delacorte Press - November 19th, 2019

AWAITING PUBLICATION

This dark Anastasia retelling gives the lost princess a monstrous new tale that is as gruesome as her realistic history. With the power to manipulate certain elements, Affinities are regarded as demons in the kingdom of Cyrilia. Ana has been a smudge on the royal family’s name due to her affinity for blood, and now must prove her innocence after being framed for the king’s murder. Though naïve to the faults of her kingdom after living locked behind castle walls, Ana realizes that not only must she hunt down her father’s murderer, but also fight for those who have been deemed as monsters. Amelie has crafted a world full of diverse and complex characters who cope with oppression, tragedy, and the painful decisions that come with fighting for something bigger than oneself.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) By Holly Black Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780316310352
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - January 8th, 2019

Jude has now grasped control over the fey’s High King in this harrowing sequel to The Cruel Prince. Her grip is as tenuous as her control over the wicked court, filled with even more cutthroat enemies and questionable allies. Unable to show the slightest bit of weakness, Jude must secure the threads of her plan before her contracted time is up…that is, if she doesn’t get assassinated before that. Prepare yourself to be entranced by the spell that is Holly Black’s writing, and the ending that she weaves in the most devastating way.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Skyward (The Skyward Series #1) By Brandon Sanderson Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780399555770
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Delacorte Press - November 6th, 2018

After successfully conquering the genre of fantasy, Brandon Sanderson has now set his sights and imagination on science fiction. Skyward follows Spensa and her quest to become a Pilot, the highest honor that any citizen of Alta can hold, as they are the defenders of this small society from an alien race called the Krell. Spensa fights to bring honor back to her family’s name, after her father’s unforgettable betrayal of Alta, and must prove that his cowardice was not inherited. This novel shows how powerful hope can be when humanity is on its last leg, and leaves you gripping your seat through every Starship battle for their home. Intense and hilarious, you’ll feel the G-forces with every takeoff as you soar through the world that Sanderson has created. 

-Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) By Jenn Lyons Cover Image
$24.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9781250175489
Published: Tor Books - February 5th, 2019

Jenn Lyons let her creativity shine when crafting this tale of a long-lost prince, which demands that you adventure into the pages with it. Told from a prison cell, Kihrin recounts the events that locked him in the decrepit hole - from discovering his true birth right after living as a thieving orphan, to being in the center of a war between gods and demons. This novel is gripping and fantastical at all the right moments, spinning a web of treachery that connects a multitude of kick-ass characters who will make you laugh, even in the hardest of times.

Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
A Winter's Promise: Book One of the Mirror Visitor Quartet By Christelle Dabos, Hildegarde Serle (Translator) Cover Image
$19.95
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9781609454838
Published: Europa Editions - September 25th, 2018

The Earth has been shattered, leaving floating shards of land called “arks” to orbit the world’s remains. Living on the ark Armenia, Ophelia is a pensive young woman with a knack for traveling through mirrors. When she is arranged to marry a man from a distant ark called the Pole, her simple life on Anima is disrupted. Thrust into the snow-covered ark, her fiancé proves to be as frigid and foreboding as her new home. Forced to play the political game of the courts, will Ophelia prove to be more than a pawn, or will she be driven into the blizzard of treachery around her?

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) By Laini Taylor Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780316341714
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - October 2nd, 2018

Laini Taylor has managed to capture all the splendor and complexity of the world onto the pages of this sequel. The fairytale continues in Muse of Nightmares, weaving the story into an unexpected epic that delves into the horrors resting behind the doors of other worlds. One cannot put into words how emotionally tying this duology is to readers, and the heartbreaking feeling that comes when those ties are broken at its conclusion.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good By Helene Tursten, Marlaine Delargy (Translated by) Cover Image
By Helene Tursten, Marlaine Delargy (Translated by)
$13.99
ISBN: 9781641290111
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Soho Crime - November 6th, 2018

Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is fed up with people. Her coping mechanism? Keep an orderly and solitary life by murdering whoever she finds particularly obnoxious. Pesky neighbors, ex-lovers, and local celebrities looking to sabotage the small home she has built will now face this unassuming and bold lady. Will Maud’s modest façade keep her from suspicion, or will the Detective Inspector find the dead body in her apartment a bit too suspicious? Told in a collection of five stories centering around Maud’s antics, this hilarious novel will be the perfect stocking stuffer for anyone who enjoys a quiet cup of tea… and a little murder.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Strange the Dreamer By Laini Taylor Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9780316341677
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - May 22nd, 2018

The poetic writing of this novel will remind readers why they fell so deeply in love with reading. Strange the Dreamer is an utterly strange and beautiful novel that follows the journey of an orphan who lives buried in the old tomes of the library he considers a home, never expecting be a part of a story himself. Lazlo Strange always dreamt of the city of Weep, the mythical land where alchemists turn lead into gold and gods walk among man. Obsessed with this fantastical place, Lazlo dedicates years to researching the lost city, long considered a fairytale to others. Unbeknownst to him, he is the hero of this story, and will be offered the chance to not only visit Weep, but also save it. This is a rich world, full of magic, love, and nightmares, with the age-old tale of the dreamer who wanted to be so much more woven throughout this masterpiece.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
The Light Between Worlds By Laura E. Weymouth Cover Image
$17.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9780062696878
Published: HarperTeen - October 23rd, 2018

The Light Between Worlds pays tribute to the magical worlds where children escape, whether they walk through a wardrobe or fall into a rabbit hole. It is a story of what may happen when one has lived another life, in another world, and is suddenly thrust back into reality. Siblings Evelyn, Phillipa, and Jamie are wished into the Woodlands during the bombing of London in WWII. While Evelyn believes the Woodlands are where her heart belongs, Phillipa and Jamie wait for the day they can return to London, especially when war looms on the horizon of this magical world. After years of living in the Woodlands, the siblings return home to the moment they left, and must forget the life they lived; that is, if Evelyn can forget the place in which she found her true home. Hauntingly beautiful and deeply literary, this original story will captivate readers who have also questioned where they truly belong.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Seafire By Natalie C. Parker Cover Image
$18.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9780451478801
Published: Razorbill - August 28th, 2018

Caledonia has lost everything. Her parents, her brother, and her happy life were all killed by the Lord of the Sea and his army of Bullets. Over the course of four years, she captains a ship of battle-worn women on the Mors Navis. Her goal? Dismantle the empire and avenge the deaths of those she loved. When a fight goes south, a Bullet, who saves Caledonia’s best friend, is taken as their prisoner and spared a gruesome death. Caledonia very much wants him dead, but he may be the key to the justice she seeks for her family. Lovers of Pirates of the Caribbean and steampunk tech will be happy to join the fight for revenge in this adventure story.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Uprooted: A Novel By Naomi Novik Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780804179058
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Del Rey - March 1st, 2016

In Agnieszka’s quiet valley home, life is simple within the village. Surrounding its borders, though, lurks the ancient Wood, which corrupts all who enter it and houses unseen evils. Its only source of protection is the Dragon, a recluse wizard who keeps the Wood’s growth at bay. But he does have his own conditions: the valley must supply a peasant girl to serve him for ten years, and he will serve as a protector. Agnieszka was never concerned about being chosen, always exceptionally ordinary, and living in the shadow of her best friend’s perfection. Yet it is not her best friend who is chosen. Not so ordinary after all, Agnieszka will discover the power she holds within, which will not only save herself, but everyone she loves as well. With the air of a fairytale, and the originality of a classic, Uprooted will stir a sense of unease and excitement for all who delve into this adventure in the Wood.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Dance of Thieves By Mary E. Pearson Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250159014
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) - August 7th, 2018

Kazi is a thief. Jase is a king. Both are unwittingly thrust together in a battle of survival and wits in this action-packed debut. When Kazi is sent by her queen with an elite group of soldiers to arrest the old ruler of Hell’s Mouth, a city ruled by the Ballenger dynasty, the last thing she expects is to be captured by slave traders. Even more surprising, she soon finds herself shackled (literally) to the new ruler of Hell’s Mouth, Jase. Filled with political scheming, page-turning battles, and heated romance, readers will be immersed in this lush fantasy from page one.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy) By Claire Legrand Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781492656623
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Sourcebooks Fire - May 22nd, 2018

Furyborn is the story of two girls leading very different paths, from very different times. In one era we have Rielle, who has been forced to hide her impossible ability to control all the elements of magic. After her kingdom discovers her secret, she must compete in trials to prove she will not become the prophesized Blood Queen, or face execution. A thousand years in the future lives Eliana, a bounty hunter who only cares for protecting her family. When her mother vanishes, Eliana must uncover the mysterious disappearances of women throughout the empire, for the sake of her mother’s life. Featuring a dual point-of-view between the two women, their stories intertwine in the most satisfying way. This world is dangerous. It is dark. And Claire Legrand did not hold back when creating a rich saga full of both magic and blood.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) By Tomi Adeyemi Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250170972
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) - March 6th, 2018

In the land of Orisha, magic used to thrive with the power of the sacred maji, who were said to have been touched by the Gods. Then one day, the magic disappeared, leaving the maji vulnerable to the hate of the kingdom that once cherished them. Now Zelie, a young maji, must fight to survive in a society that sees her as nothing more than a maggot. When she discovers she has the power to save her people, she sets off on a journey with her brother and the princess of Orisha to restore magic to the world. This West-African inspired fantasy is filled with stunning world building, dynamic characters, and subtly addresses the issues of systematic racism still present today.  

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
A Lite Too Bright By Samuel Miller Cover Image
$17.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9780062662002
Published: Katherine Tegen Books - May 8th, 2018

A Lite Too Bright follows Arthur Louis Pullman III, a young man who sets out on a journey to find answers that have been lost with his grandfather’s memories, and his sequential death. Arthur watched Alzheimer’s quickly take his grandfather, the first Arthur Louis Pullman, leaving a shell of the classic author in his place. Yet Arthur still needs to know what happened the week before his grandfather’s death - the week his grandfather vanished. As his own life starts to fall apart, Arthur uncovers clues left by a dementia-fueled mind, and soon begins a cross-country train ride in order to uncover the mystery that was his grandfather. Anyone whose life has been derailed by Alzheimer’s will breeze through this refreshingly original story of healing, family, and the bittersweet truth of growing older.

-Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) By Holly Black Cover Image
$20.99
ISBN: 9780316310277
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - January 2nd, 2018

Holly Black’s best work to date goes back to her roots as a composer of powerful fantasy filled with dynamic characters. After watching the brutal murder of her parents as a child, Jude and her two sisters must now assimilate into the life of Faerie, and prove themselves worthy amongst the cruel fey. But Jude doesn’t want to just belong; she wants to conquer. Her struggle against her mortal status, a constant reminder of her weakness, sends her spiraling into a web of deceit in the Courts of Faerie. Now her determination to become a great knight will be tested as civil war threatens to break out amongst the courts. This book will make you believe in magic after experiencing the immersive world, and keep you craving for the sequel.

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Unearthed By Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner Cover Image
$17.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9781484758052
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - January 9th, 2018

Indiana Jones in Space: the only description that gives justice to this action-packed, near-future science fiction book filled with ancient booby-trapped temples, remorseless mercenaries, and extinct aliens. The partnership of a scholar and a scavenger is unconventional, but so is dying on an alien planet. Clashing interests aside, our two unlikely heroes must fight together through dangerous puzzles in order to unlock the mysteries of Gaia, an alien planet whose technology may be the answer to Earth’s fatal problems. Unearthed has a perfect balance of humor and lethal mystery, and at its core, questions what’s most important to us: saving whom we care about most, or saving our world?

- Kiera


Staff Pick Badge
Blood Water Paint By Joy McCullough Cover Image
$17.99
Email or call for price/availability
ISBN: 9780735232112
Published: Dutton Books for Young Readers - March 6th, 2018

This inspiring debut is shockingly necessary in this day and age. The exploration of female strength is both spare and evocative, as it exposes the truth of what young women can go through in their lives. Joy McCullough composed this timely verse in a way that is fresh and relevant, paying homage to the horrors that were experienced by Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi and the strength of Biblical heroines. Artemisia’s voice is both real and modern, making it completely accessible, and will follow you through the power it demands. Blood Water Paint reads as though it were whispered in confession, yet its stories should now be spread to anyone who wishes to experience raw and haunting history.

- Kiera