Books like 'Passing Strange'
Readers who enjoyed Passing Strange by Ellen Klages also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy romance urban fantasy alternate history mystery 20th century supernatural historical-fiction lgbtq
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Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDon’t miss this spin-off from Allie Therin's acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe! Their scandalous pasts have left them wounded and unworthy—and hopelessly perfect together. London, 1925Sebastian de Leon is adjusting to life after three years spent enthralled by blood magic...Categorized as:
historical-fiction lgbtq magic magical-realism paranormal poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure -
![Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood]()
Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship historical-fiction lgbtq magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure -
![Starcrossed by Allie Therin]()
Starcrossed by Allie Therin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen everything they’ve built is threatened, only their bond remains…New York, 1925Psychometric Rory Brodigan’s life hasn’t been the same since the day he met Arthur Kenzie. Arthur’s continued quest to contain supernatural relics that pose a threat to the world has captured Rory’s imagination—and his heart...Categorized as:
historical-fiction lgbtq magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult age-gap -
![The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg]()
The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg returns to the enchanting world of The Paper Magician.Alvie Brechenmacher has arrived in London to begin her training in Polymaking—the magical discipline of bespelling plastic. Polymaking is the newest form of magic, and in a field where there is so much left to learn, every Polymaker dreams of making the next big discovery... -
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![Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey]()
Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsMercedes Lackey's magical Elemental Masters series recasts familiar fairy tales in a richly-imagined alternate Victorian worldEleanor Robinson’s life had shattered when Father volunteered for the Great War, leaving her alone with a woman he had just married...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book -
![Spellbound by Allie Therin]()
Spellbound by Allie Therin
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTo save Manhattan, they’ll have to save each other first… 1925New YorkArthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects...Categorized as:
found-family historical-fiction lgbtq low-fantasy magic magical-realism paranormal poc-mc -
![The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey]()
The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsMercedes Lackey returns to form in The Serpent's Shadow, the fourth in her sequence of reimagined fairy tales. This story takes place in the London of 1909, and is based on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs... -
![The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey]()
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBeauty Meets Beast in San FranciscoAccepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children, no wife, and she is not to meet with him face to face. Instead, her duties are to read to him, through a speaking tube, from ancient manuscripts in obscure, nearly-forgotten dialects... -
![Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey]()
Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn 1910, in an alternate London, a penniless young dancer is visited by a cat who communicates with her mind to mind. Though she is certain she must be going mad, she is desperate enough to follow the cat's advice and impersonates a famous Russian ballerina. The cat, it turns out, is actually an Elemental Earth Spirit, and leads her to minor stardom... -
![The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg]()
The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsThree months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness... -
![The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, Daniel Kraus]()
The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, Daniel Kraus
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIt is 1962, and Elisa Esposito—mute her whole life, orphaned as a child—is struggling with her humdrum existence as a janitor working the graveyard shift at Baltimore’s Occam Aerospace Research Center. Were it not for Zelda, a protective coworker, and Giles, her loving neighbor, she doesn’t know how she’d make it through the day...Categorized as:
historical-fiction lgbtq magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey]()
Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe new novel in Mercedes Lackey’s bestselling series of an alternative Edwardian Britain, where magic is real—and Elemental Masters are in control.Lionel Hawkins is a magician whose act is only partially sleight of hand. The rest is real magic. He’s an Elemental Magician with the power to persuade the Elementals of Air to help him create amazing illusions... -
![Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey]()
Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA brand-new Elemental Masters novel from the national bestselling author Mercedes Lackey. Richard Whitestone is an Elemental Earth Master. Blaming himself for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth, he has sworn never to set eyes on his daughter, Suzanne...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book -
![Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett]()
Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure adult alpha-mc alternate-history -
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![Ella, the Slayer by A.W. Exley]()
Ella, the Slayer by A.W. Exley
Rated: 3.69 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Ella copes the best she can; caring for her war-injured father, scrubbing the floors, and slaying the undead that attack the locals. Vermin they're called, like rats they spread pestilence with their bite. Ella's world collides with another when she nearly decapitates a handsome stranger, who is very much alive... -
![Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble]()
Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
Rated: 3.47 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWhat really happened to Anastasia Romanov? Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history book fairy-tale -
![Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin]()
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsNew York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake, orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side... -
![The Professor's Daughter by Joann Sfar, Emmanuel Guibert]()
The Professor's Daughter by Joann Sfar, Emmanuel Guibert
Rated: 3.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTHREE THOUSAND YEARS MAY SEPARATE THEM, still... they love each other.19th-century London. She is the lovely daughter of renowned Egyptologist Porfessor Bowell, he the dashing mummy Imhotep IV, owned by the professor and awake for the first time in thirty centuries. They stroll through London arm-in-arm and find their way into an abiding love, but everything seems to be getting in the way of it...
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