Books like 'Shades in Shadow'
Readers who enjoyed Shades in Shadow by N.K. Jemisin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy high fantasy action / adventure supernatural magic epic afrofuturism poc-mc lgbtq gods
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The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 88 ratingsWho is the Hero of Ages? To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed... -
![Enchanter by Terry Mancour]()
Enchanter by Terry Mancour
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMinalan The Moody! Meanwhile, back at the castle . . . Minalan the Spellmonger faces the boredom of house arrest after being confined to his lands by Prince Tavard for his defiance with the Wilderlands refugees... -
![The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn unholy attack upon his brother-in-law General Arisaydia pitches sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona headlong into the snake-pit of Cedonian imperial politics. But they will not travel alone. The mission from his god brings Penric some of his strangest new allies yet, and the return of some of his most valued old ones... -
![Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko]()
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsTarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11... -
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![Diamantine by Andrew Rowe]()
Diamantine by Andrew Rowe
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAfter bonding with Dawnbringer, the Sacred Sword of Light, Keras Selyrian travels to the nation of Edria to compete in the Tournament of the Sacred Sword. The winner of the tournament will be given a chance to fight for the Sacred Sword of Stone if they can defeat the current wielder, the impossibly powerful Emperor of Edria, in single combat. Winning the tournament will be no simple endeavor... -
![Seduction by Jaymin Eve, Jane Washington]()
Seduction by Jaymin Eve, Jane Washington
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsWilla Knight: Dweller? Sol? Accidental evolutionary hiccup? Willa has never been a particularly useful dweller: she isn’t very good at chores, she isn’t very good at worshipping, she isn’t very good at not having opinions, and she isn’t very good with rules—but none of that matters anymore. The rules are changing... -
![The Rise of the Dawnstar by Farah Oomerbhoy]()
The Rise of the Dawnstar by Farah Oomerbhoy
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAurora Firedrake returns in the spellbinding sequel to The Last of the Firedrakes.The seven kingdoms of Avalonia are crumbling and evil is spreading across the land like a plague. Queen Morgana is close to finding a way to open The Book of Abraxas and it’s only a matter of time until she uses the power trapped inside its pages to enslave the entire world... -
![Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton]()
Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen gunslinging Amani Al'Hiza escaped her dead-end town, she never imagined she'd join a revolution, let alone lead one. But after the bloodthirsty Sultan of Miraji imprisoned the Rebel Prince Ahmed in the mythical city of Eremot, she doesn't have a choice... -
![Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton]()
Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsRebel by chance. Traitor by choice.Gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she’s fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne... -
![Webs & Wards by Benjamin Medrano]()
Webs & Wards by Benjamin Medrano
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsJoy can’t get a break. Having survived a chance encounter with a demon lordling, and made an immense sacrifice, one might expect Joy to at least have some time to rest and recover. Instead, when Joy’s friends learn what she sacrificed, they decide they’ll repay her, no matter what it takes, and they take the adventurous bee-girl on a quest to find another apis hive which can help her... -
![Hives & Heroism by Benjamin Medrano]()
Hives & Heroism by Benjamin Medrano
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsDemons loom over Dorma.Despite Joy’s victory over Alethus’s servants, his plans haven’t been stopped. Even so, a glimmer of hope lies before her, and she and her friends are determined to grasp it.That doesn’t mean it will be easy, though. An army is invading Dorma, one with the same destination as Joy. Their goals are sinister, but they aren’t going to stop Joy and her friends... -
![Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan]()
Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsAge of Myth inaugurates another six-book series set in Elan.Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever... -
![House Name by Michelle West]()
House Name by Michelle West
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this epic fantasy series for fans of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb, Jewel Markess must contend with deadly court politics, and visions of looming magical threats. Jewel has been assigned the task of finding the entryways to the ancient undercity that lies beneath the streets of the empire’s capital in exchange for shelter for her and her den at House Terafin... -
![Penric’s Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Penric’s Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn his 30th year, Penric fell in love with light.Learned Penric, a sorcerer and divine of the Bastard's Order, travels across the sea to sunlit Cedonia on his first covert diplomatic mission, to attempt to secure the services of a disaffected Cedonian general for the Duke of Adria. However, nothing is as it seems... -
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![The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWhen a mysterious plague breaks out in the army fort guarding Vilnoc, the port capital of the duchy of Orbas, Temple sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona are called upon by General Arisaydia to resurrect Penric’s medical skills and solve its lethal riddle... -
![The Prisoner of Limnos by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Prisoner of Limnos by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn this sequel novella to “Mira’s Last Dance”, Temple sorcerer Penric and the widow Nikys have reached safety in the duchy of Orbas when a secret letter from a friend brings frightening news: Nikys’s mother has been taken hostage by her brother’s enemies at the Cedonian imperial court, and confined in a precarious island sanctuary... -
![Hell's Ascendant by Benjamin Medrano]()
Hell's Ascendant by Benjamin Medrano
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe heavens are about to explode. Reunited at last, Isalla, Kitania, and Rose survived the machinations of Haral despite the odds against them. They’ve won one battle. Now they have to avert a war, racing the clock to unveil their enemies.The Society of the Golden Dawn has not been idle; the conspirators have begun to move more quickly... -
![Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko]()
Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsFor the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar's throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer. She must then descend into the Underworld, a sacrifice to end all future atrocities.Tarisai is determined to survive. Or at least, that's what she tells her increasingly distant circle of friends... -
![Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse]()
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic... -
![Mist Dragon by D.K. Holmberg]()
Mist Dragon by D.K. Holmberg
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe dragon misfits are the key to saving the dragons of Lorach but they must act before a stranger destroys them.Jason has secured a tentative peace for Dragon Haven. With his control over illusion, and the Lorach threat thwarted for now, his time is spent preparing for the next attack, knowing the Dragon Souls will not be easily stopped... -
![Oracle by Michelle West]()
Oracle by Michelle West
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn this epic fantasy series for fans of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb, Jewel Markess must contend with deadly court politics, and visions of looming magical threats.Beneath the streets of Averalaan, capital city of the Essalieyan Empire, lie the three Princes of the firstborn, doomed to sleep until the end of days... -
![The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhen the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father... -
![The Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier]()
The Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsJuliet Marillier continues the epic fantasy begun with" The Dark Mirror, " which" Interzone" called: "A fascinating evocation of life in Pictish England and an emotional roller coaster of a story." King Bridei is a man with a mission. His wish to unite his kingdom seems almost within his grasp but there are forces working to undo his dream... -
![The Riven Shield by Michelle West]()
The Riven Shield by Michelle West
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the fifth novel of the Sun Sword series, acclaimed author Michelle West returns to a war-torn world of noble houses divided and demon lords unleashed.. -
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![Awakening by Robert M. Kerns]()
Awakening by Robert M. Kerns
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings*** Updated February 7, 2019, with corrections! *** Gavin Cross is a young man in an unfamiliar city with no knowledge of how he came to be there. A desperate choice awakens a power he must learn to control, or it will kill him.Marcus is an ancient master, possessing countless secrets of forgotten lore. He trivializes workings of magic anyone else would say is impossible... -
![City of Night by Michelle West]()
City of Night by Michelle West
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDemonic activity has escalated in both the Undercity and the mortal surface level city as the worshipers and servants of the Lord of the Hells strive to complete the rituals that will return their god to the mortal realm... -
![Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani]()
Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame... -
![Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn this sequel to the novella “Penric’s Mission”, the injured Penric, a Temple sorcerer and learned divine, tries to guide the betrayed General Arisaydia and his widowed sister Nikys across the last hundred miles of hostile Cedonia to safety in the Duchy of Orbas... -
![Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi]()
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsThey killed my mother.They took our magic.They tried to bury us.Now we rise.Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.But everything changed the night magic disappeared... -
![Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin]()
Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOrsina of Melidrie is a paladin of the Order of the Sun, sworn to drive out corruption and chaos wherever she finds it. She has been ordered to leave her home and travel around Vesolda in search of a great evil she is supposedly destined to destroy. But after two years of fighting monsters and demons and evil gods, she does not seem to be any closer to her goal—or ever returning home... -
![The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons]()
The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Memory of Souls is the third epic fantasy in Jenn Lyons’ Chorus of Dragons series.THE LONGER HE LIVESTHE MORE DANGEROUS HE BECOMES Now that Relos Var’s plans have been revealed and demons are free to rampage across the empire, the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies—and the end of the world—is closer than ever... -
![Incendiary by Carole Cummings]()
Incendiary by Carole Cummings
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Book 4 of Wolf's-own"Fen Jacin-rei finds himself again on the run after discovering the reality of what he is and why the gods won't let him go. His one source of support, Kamen Malick, is suddenly unavailable, and now hounded and chased by ghosts who want to drive him into insanity and keep him there, Fen will have to face life all alone.Or maybe not... -
![Rune Scale by Devin Hanson]()
Rune Scale by Devin Hanson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRune Scale is set in a world ruled by dragons. Humans survive by their wits and through the use of alchemy, a mysterious magic possessively controlled by the secretive Alchemists Guild. Andrew Condign is an ordinary man with dreams of a better world, where humans can live without the constant fear of dragon attacks... -
![The Avatar's Flames by Benjamin Medrano]()
The Avatar's Flames by Benjamin Medrano
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsRuethwyn’s life was promising. Talented in magic, the young elven woman didn’t fit in in her hometown, but was scheduled to attend the most renowned academy of magic in the kingdom, and was even building up the courage to confess her love in the hope that it might be returned. That all ended in a dragon’s fire... -
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![Shadow Cursed by D.K. Holmberg]()
Shadow Cursed by D.K. Holmberg
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Carthenne Rel first came to Nyaesh, she feared the A’ras. Now she trains with them, struggling to use the magic they teach, and cut off from the shadow blessing within her. Isolated for her differences, she has only a few friends among the other students. When the strange and powerful Master Invar offers to teach her to access the powers warring within her, Carth is isolated even more... -
![Caprion's Wings by T.L. Shreffler]()
Caprion's Wings by T.L. Shreffler
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA novella of The Cat's Eye Chronicles.Release Date: February 28th, 2014By the age of nineteen, all Harpies know how to fly—except Caprion. He has yet pass the test of the Singing and gain his wings. His family has disowned him in shame and people are beginning to talk. Now an evil voice haunts his dreams, taunting him, drawing out his worst fears—that he will remain wingless forever... -
![Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two by Dean Cadman]()
Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two by Dean Cadman
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNeala's life hangs in the balance as she's forced to return to Stelgad with Skelly and face Shiva's justice alone. Renn, a faithful paladin of Aysha has agreed to help Lusam rescue Neala, but the only way they have a chance of arriving at Stelgad before Neala and her captor, is by travelling directly through The Dark Forest... -
![The Speaker by Traci Chee]()
The Speaker by Traci Chee
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHaving barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move. Haunted by painful memories, Archer struggles to overcome the trauma of his past with the impressors, whose cruelty plagues him whenever he closes his eyes... -
![Sting & Song by Benjamin Medrano]()
Sting & Song by Benjamin Medrano
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWhat happens when the god of chaos wins a divine poker game? Bee-girls. The life of a giant bee is a simple one. The life of a giant bee when her queen turns the entire hive into human-like apis to fend off an attack? That’s a good deal more complicated. Getting down from a 50-foot giant rose without wings, while surviving the attacks of malevolent wasps is just a start... -
![The Midnight Star by Marie Lu]()
The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsThere was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows... -
![The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin]()
The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsIn the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a homeless man who glows like a living sun to her strange sight. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city... -
![Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman]()
Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsEon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army... -
![Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast]()
Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn this follow-up to Elphame's Choice, Brighid flees her centaur clan's rigid traditions and prejudice to find peace and acceptance among the humans of Clan MacCallan. When her family summons her home, Brighid must make a fateful decision... -
![Polgara the Sorceress by David Eddings, Leigh Eddings]()
Polgara the Sorceress by David Eddings, Leigh Eddings
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsShe soars above a world of warriors, kings, and priests. The daughter of Belgarath and the shape-shifter Poledra, she has fought wars, plotted palace coups, and worked her powerful magic for three thousand years. Now, Polgara looks back at her magnificent life, in this fitting crown jewel to the saga that is the Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean cycles... -
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![A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee, Grace Rolek]()
A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee, Grace Rolek
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratings"A THOUSAND STEPS INTO NIGHT is a Japanese-inspired YA fantasy, featuring a kiss, a curse, a quest, and SO MANY DEMONS!" -- via Chee's... -
![Weregild by Carole Cummings]()
Weregild by Carole Cummings
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBook 2 of Wolf's-own The amorality of gods makes it hard to tell bad from good and right from wrong. Fen Jacin-rei doesn't care. All Fen cares about is saving his family, and he'll sacrifice anything that gets in his way. Including his own soul. No longer willing to wait for the machinations of the gods' minions, Fen accepts the trade Kamen Malick offers... -
![The Ninth Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne]()
The Ninth Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the blackest dungeon of the Clockwork City, a prisoner lies bound in silver shackles. Who is she? And why are the wizards so afraid of her? Seventeen-year-old Gwyn has no family and no past. Apprenticed to a half-mad herbalist, she travels the snow-blasted High Country, hawking potions in a peddler’s wagon... -
![The Sending by Isobelle Carmody]()
The Sending by Isobelle Carmody
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt came to me then, like a chilly draught from an unseen gap, that I had always known in my deepest heart that it would be like this, a slipping away from a life full of people I had come to love, in a place I had helped to shape, in a land I had helped to free... -
![Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer]()
Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power. Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital. But the king isn’t the only one interested in Bleak's powers... -
![Voice of the Gods by Trudi Canavan]()
Voice of the Gods by Trudi Canavan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsUnable to avoid being drawn into the terrible conflict, Auraya, now protector of the Siyee, fears she will be unable to meet the conditions of the all-powerful gods she once served. And an offer from a mysterious woman may be impossible for Auraya to refuse, but, if revealed, would brand her an enemy of the gods...
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