Books like 'The Cuckoo Tree'
Readers who enjoyed The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy action / adventure alternate history mystery 20th century historical-fiction children gothic suspense
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Warbound by Larry Correia
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNew York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author's gritty urban fantasy set in an alternate noir 1930s. A tough P.I. battles an interdimensional monster that wants to suck magic power out of the world. Sequel to Hard Magic and Spellbound. Book Three in the Grimnoir Chronicles... -
![Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart]()
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together, they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure... -
![The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones]()
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsHis father and uncles are enchanters, his mother a powerful sorceress, yet nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. Then Christopher discovers that he can bring real, solid things back from his dreams...Categorized as:
children humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook boarding-school -
![Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin]()
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 humor suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
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![Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin]()
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsHer story begins on a train.The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo... -
![The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman]()
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 89 ratingsLost in a new world, Lyra finds Will—a boy on the run, a murderer—a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.Each is searching—Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power... -
![The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart]()
The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn the valley of Sorrows, a monk is brutally murdered for a worthless manuscript, and the abbot of the humble monastery calls upon Master Li and Number Ten Ox to investigate the seemingly senseless killing. The most likely suspect is the infamous Laughing Prince, founder of the valley, whose murderous frenzies have made him a legend... -
![Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken]()
Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSimon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea...Categorized as:
children gothic historical-fiction humor suspense 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history -
![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... -
![Hard Magic by Larry Correia]()
Hard Magic by Larry Correia
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsJake Sullivan is a licensed Private Eye—with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someone to go after a suspected killer who's been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree... -
![Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken]()
Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHaving had enough of life on board the ship that saved her from a watery grave, Dido Twite wants nothing more than to sail home to England. Instead, Captain Casket's ship lands in Nantucket, where Dido and the captain's daughter, Dutiful Penitence, are left in the care of Dutiful's sinister Aunt Tribulation. In Tribulation's farmhouse, life is unbearable...Categorized as:
children gothic historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history book -
![The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken]()
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school... -
![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 suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult age-gap alternate-history audiobook -
![Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold]()
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsCharles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—is a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini. But nothing in his career has prepared Carter for the greatest stunt of all, which stars none other than President Warren G. Harding and which could end up costing Carter the reputation he has worked so hard to create... -
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![The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon]()
The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsD-Day is threatened, but one man could rip the heart of the Nazis -- with his bare claws....He is Michael Gallatin, master spy, lover -- and werewolf. Able to change shape with lightning speed, to kill silently or with savage, snarling fury, he proved his talents against Rommel in Africa. Now he faces his most delicate, dangerous mission: to unravel the secret Nazi plan known as Iron Fist...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![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... -
![Declare by Tim Powers]()
Declare by Tim Powers
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAs a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war. Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart]()
Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsOnce again World Fantasy Award-winner Barry Hughart blends folklore and fantasy to create a work of enchantment set in an ancient China that never was…but should have been. Master Li and Number Ten Ox—heroes of Bridge of Birds and The Story of the Stone—return to solve the mystery of how and why respected mandarins are being mysteriously murdered... -
![Polostan by Neal Stephenson]()
Polostan by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe first installment in Neal Stephenson’s three-part Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora...Categorized as:
historical-fiction fiction sci-fi historical audiobook fantasy espionage 20th-century -
![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 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book epic fairy-tale -
![The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells]()
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsNicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Madeline. He is also the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien..Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book dark -
![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:
historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult age-gap alternate-history audiobook -
![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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook book edwardian -
![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...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book epic -
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![Arcadia by Iain Pears]()
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Cold War England, Professor Henry Lytten, having renounced a career in espionage, is writing a fantasy novel that dares to imagine a world less fraught than his own... -
![Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede]()
Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsKim doesn't hesitate when a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into the travelling magician's wagon in search of a silver bowl. Kim isn't above a bit of breaking-and-entering. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London-disguised as a boy!-has schooled her in one hard lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But there is something odd about this magician...Categorized as:
children female-mc historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history book -
![Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle]()
Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSir Nigel is a historical novel set during the Hundred Years' War, by the British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Written in 1906, it is a fore-runner to Doyle's earlier novel The White Company, and describes the early life of that book's hero Sir Nigel Loring in the service of King Edward III at the start of the Hundred Years' War...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book classics -
![The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken]()
The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWinner of the Guardian Prize for FictionIn the small town of Pennygaff, where Owen has been sent to live after his mother’s death, a legendary golden harp has been found. Knowing of the prophesy of the Harp of Teirtu, Owen must prevent the magic harp from falling into the evil clutches of its reputed owner, the sinister and diabolical Lord Mayln. But it won’t be easy... -
![Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsCat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack... -
![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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook book cats -
![The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones]()
The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsTonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter -- but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook -
![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 Anubis Gates by Tim Powers]()
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsBrendan Doyle, a specialist in the work of the early-nineteenth century poet William Ashbless, reluctantly accepts an invitation from a millionaire to act as a guide to time-travelling tourists. But while attending a lecture given by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1810, he becomes marooned in Regency London, where dark and dangerous forces know about the gates in time... -
![The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont]()
The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWho Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?Take a journey back to the desperate days of America post the Great Depression, when the country turned to the pulp novels for relief, for hope and for heroes. Meet Walter Gibson, the mind behind The Shadow, and Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage, as they challenge one another to discover what is real and what is pulp... -
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![The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix]()
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix.In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met... -
![A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones]()
A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTime City — built far in the future on a patch of space outside time — holds the formidable task of overseeing history, yet it's starting to decay, crumble .... What does that say for the future of the world ... for the past .. -
![Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly]()
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. At the turn of the twentieth century, a former spy is called into service to hunt down a vampire killer...Once a spy for Queen Victoria, James Asher has fought for Britain on every continent, using his quick wits to protect the Empire at all costs. After years of grueling service, he marries and retires to a simple academic’s life at Oxford...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![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 suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney]()
The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsFor two years, Oriana Paredes has been a spy among the social elite of the Golden City, reporting back to her people, the sereia, sea folk banned from the city’s shores.... When her employer and only confidante decides to elope, Oriana agrees to accompany her to Paris. But before they can depart, the two women are abducted and left to drown... -
![Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust, Emma Bull]()
Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust, Emma Bull
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is 1849. Across Europe, the high tide of revolution has crested, leaving recrimination and betrayal in its wake. From the high councils of Prussia to the corridors of Parliament, the powers-that-be breathe sighs of relief. But the powers-that-be are hardly unified among themselves. Far from it..Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book epistolary espionage -
![Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsGhost Talkers: a new novel from beloved fantasy author Mary Robinette Kowal featuring the mysterious spirit corps and their heroic work in World War I.Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Hartshorne, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book death -
![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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century abuse action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book dragons -
![On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers]()
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAboard the Vociferous Carmichael, puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle, when the vessel is captured . . . by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton]()
The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIn a London of the future, the drudgery of capitalism and bureaucracy have worn the human spirit down to the point where it can barely stand. When a pint-sized clerk named Auberon Quinn is randomly selected as head of state, he decides to turn London into a medieval carnival for his own amusement...Categorized as:
historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
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![Apocalypso by Robert Rankin, Axel Merz]()
Apocalypso by Robert Rankin, Axel Merz
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Ministry of Serendipity at Mornington Crescent runs everything. And that is everything. When the Ministry learns of' a spacecraft that crashed four thousand years ago into the Pacific Ocean, it sends Sir John Rimmer and his elite team of' paranormal investigators to recover it. Amongst Sir John's team is Danbury Collins, and Danbury isn't keen. He's seen the movies... -
![The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman]()
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDays after she witnesses a mysterious explosion in 19th-century London, 16-year-old Becky Winter is on her way to a small country In Central Europe, as a companion to Adelaide, a Cockney commoner who'd rather play board games than be a princess... -
![The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers]()
The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWorld Fantasy Award Winner Michael Crawford is forced to flee when discovers his bride brutally murdered in their wedding bed. Yet it is not the revengeful townspeople he fears but the deadly embrace of the malignant spirit that is claiming him as her bridegroom.Crawford will not travel alone; soon he is aided by his fellow victims, the greatest poets of his day—Byron, Keats, and Shelley...Categorized as:
gothic historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke]()
The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery...Categorized as:
children female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history book cold-war -
![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 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book epic fae -
![Breach by W.L. Goodwater]()
Breach by W.L. Goodwater
Rated: 3.73 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe first novel in a new Cold War fantasy series, where the Berlin Wall is made entirely of magic. When a breach unexpectedly appears in the wall, spies from both sides swarm to the city as World War III threatens to spark.AFTER THE WAR, THE WALL BROUGHT AN UNEASY PEACE...
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