Books like 'A Star Shall Fall'
Readers who enjoyed A Star Shall Fall by Marie Brennan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been uninhabited for more than a century, Merritt is ready to call it home—until he realizes he has no choice. With its doors slamming shut and locking behind him, Whimbrel House is not about to let Merritt leave. Ever... -
The Shadows over Marquette by Álex Gilbert
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAriane has found refuge in Illinois, and now plans her rightful return to vampire society. She must stay in control while hiding in nature, while foes old and new converge on her territory... -
The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this thrilling historical fantasy, time-traveling Librarian spy Irene will need to delve deep into a tangled web of loyalty and power to keep her friends safe.Irene is trying to learn the truth about Alberich-and the possibility that he's her father...Categorized as:
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Southern Storm by Randi Darren
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 24 ratings[Spoiler for the faint hearted at the bottom of the blurb. Please read all the way through.] Before world war two could reach its conclusion, the world suffered what could only be defined as a cataclysm. Now, Yosemite city stands as the gateway between two worlds, and an equal power in the continent. Unfortunately it’s surrounded on all sides by those who would love to see them fail... -
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The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud, Simon Jones
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIt is 950 B.C.E., and King Solomon rules Jerusalem with a steely hand; a hand on which gleams a magic ring of immense and unforgiving power. Solomon has just begun work on his marvelous temple, charging Khaba, a formidable magician in his royal court, to oversee its construction. The workforce is an ill-behaved bunch of demons, a particularly unruly djinni named Bartimaeus among them...Categorized as:
fae historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure alternate-history -
Kindred Rites by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNow that Alfreda has begun to learn the Wise Arts, she is needed at home in the village of Sun Return. The woods around the cabin are alive with poltergeists. Candles light by themselves, and even the rocks dance. There is much work for an apprentice practitioner.But a more dangerous task calls. For a new family has moved to the frontier; a family with strange ambitions and even stranger powers...Categorized as:
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Tempting Fate by April White
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Clocker, Saira Elian is back on the run and being hunted by Mongers. The Descendants of War are amassing power in the 21st century, bent on controlling all the Immortal Descendants. Their attempt to kidnap Saira, a rare Descendant of Time and Nature, reveals just how brazen they’ve become...Categorized as:
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A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Radical Act of Free Magic is the conclusion to this genre-defying series of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.The Concord has been broken, and a war of magic engulfs the world... -
The Dark by Marianne Curley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEthan and Isabel, heroes from The Named, are on a more exciting journey than ever and are joined by Isabel's brother Matt, who is still getting accustomed to life in the Guard. Arkarian, their ageless mentor, has been kidnapped and sent by the Goddess of Chaos to a frighteningly dark underworld...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic myths paranormal action-adventure alternate-history book dark -
The Key by Marianne Curley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe battle to protect the future is coming to an end as the evil Order of Chaos launches their final attack on the Named. To defeat the Order, the Named must locate the Key to a treasury of weapons hidden somewhere in the ancient city of Atlantis. The race is on to capture the Key before a horde of undead soldiers find it...Categorized as:
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The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA corrupt countessA spy in dangerAnd an assassin at largeThe fifth title in Genevieve Cogman's witty and wonderful Invisible Library series, The Mortal Word is a rollicking literary adventure.Peace talks are always tricky, especially when a key diplomat gets stabbed. This rudely interrupts a top-secret summit between the warring dragons and Fae...Categorized as:
dragons fae historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure alternate-history audiobook -
The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsAt only fourteen, Nathaniel is a rising star: a young magician who is quickly climbing the ranks of the government. There is seemingly nothing he cannot handle, until he is asked to deal with the growing Resistance movement, which is disrupting London life with its thefts and raids...Categorized as:
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Night Calls by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe werewolves came shattering the peace of the village of Sun Return. Five were taken before the girl's parents agreed to give her up. They called in Cousin Cory, Aunt Marta, all the known practitioners. The ones who could teach me how to hide in a leaf, dip into minds, and find the secret herbs that heal. Her childhood now over, the girl must face the Dark of the Other Side... -
The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAfter being commissioned to find a rare book, Librarian Irene and her assistant, Kai, head to Prohibition-era New York and are thrust into the middle of a political fight with dragons, mobsters, and Fae. In a 1920s-esque New York, Prohibition is in force; fedoras, flapper dresses, and tommy guns are in fashion: and intrigue is afoot...Categorized as:
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The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA professional spy for a mysterious Library which harvests fiction from different realities, Irene faces a series of assassination attempts that threaten to destroy her and everything she has worked for.Irene is teaching her new assistant the fundamentals of a Librarian's job, and finding that training a young Fae is more difficult than she expected... -
Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Kat’s family travels to a grand country house on the Devon coast for her sister Angeline’s wedding, Kat is stalked by a dangerous magical enemy - and finds everything she thought she knew about her late mother called into question...Categorized as:
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Radical by Colleen Cowley
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWomen have no ability to cast spells. That's what wizards have said for generations—and it's a lie.In this second book of the Clandestine Magic trilogy, Beatrix Harper wants to expose that lie to protect her sister's life. Her desperate plan: Train tens of thousands of women in secret, then shock the nation with a display of their magic... -
Firestarter by Tara Sim
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe crew of the Prometheus is intent on taking down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely. Now captives, Colton, Daphne, and the others have a stark choice: join the Prometheus’s cause, or fight back in any small way they can and face the consequences. But Zavier, leader of the terrorists, has a bigger plan—to bring back the lost god of time...Categorized as:
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The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsR. S. Belcher’s debut novel, The Six-Gun Tarot, was enthusiastically greeted by critics and readers, who praised its wildly inventive mixture of dark fantasy, steampunk, and the Wild West. Now Belcher returns to Golgotha, Nevada, a bustling frontier town that hides more than its fair share of unnatural secrets.1870...Categorized as:
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Jolene by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe beloved Elemental Masters series moves to America for the first time in a rich retelling of The Queen of the Copper Mountain, set against the backdrop of Tennessee coal country.Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner. When her father succumbs to Black Lung, the coal company wastes no time in turning the family out of their home...Categorized as:
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The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsA spellbinding novel of bloodlines, self-discovery, and redemption by the author of the Washington Post bestseller The Vine Witch.Abandoned as a child in turn-of-the-century Paris, Yvette Lenoir has longed to uncover the secrets of her magical heritage and tap her suppressed powers. But what brave and resourceful Yvette has done to survive the streets has made her a fugitive... -
The Shadow Dragons by James A. Owen
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica are at war. The Imperial Cartological Society, led by Richard Burton, have collected all of the doors from the Keep of Time, and are building a new tower in our world at the request of an old enemy: The Winter King’s Shadow...Categorized as:
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The Indigo King by James A. Owen
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJohn and Jack are mystified when they discover a cryptic warning on a medieval manuscript—a warning that is not only addressed to them, but seems to have been written by their friend, Hugo Dyson. But before they can discover the origins of the book, Hugo walks through a door in time—and vanishes into the past.In that moment, the world begins to change... -
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsChava is a golem, a woman made of clay, able to hear the thoughts and longings of the people around her and compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a perpetually restless and free-spirited creature of fire, imprisoned in the shape of a man...Categorized as:
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The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA Librarian’s work is never done, and once Irene has a quick rest after their latest adventure, she is summoned to the Library. The world where she grew up is in danger of veering deep into chaos, and she needs to obtain a particular book to stop this from happening...Categorized as:
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Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.Ever since a faerie cursed her, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear, embarrassment, or even happiness—a condition which makes her sadly prone to accidental scandal...Categorized as:
fae fairy-tale historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure alternate-history audiobook -
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsNebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of DjinnCairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer... -
The Hungry Dreaming by Craig Schaefer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe discovery of lost letters between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, describing historical events that never happened, sends shockwaves through the academic world. Meanwhile, a citywide surveillance program is coming to New York on a groundswell of dirty money and dead bodies. To hard-nosed Brooklyn reporter Nell Bluth, the two mysteries couldn't be more different...Categorized as:
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Hemmed in Silver by Forthright .
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFairies in the garden. Frost on the pumpkins. Farmhands at the dance. Wyn Outler doesn’t talk about where he came from (or how long ago). All part of the vows he took when he and his best friend turned their backs on the In-between... -
Blood Cartel by Nicholas Woode-Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBeing a hero sucks…You can slay a hundred monsters and some people will still look down on you. And for every person that calls you a hero, there’s another that calls you a murderer.I’ve been punished for doing my job and tossed to the side to solve a sham of a case, when I’d rather be busting the heads of undead and necromancers.People go missing in Hope City every day... -
The Queen of Swords by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1870. Maude Stapleton, late of Golgotha, Nevada, is a respectable widow raising a daughter on her own. Few know that Maude belongs to an ancient order of assassins, the Daughters of Lilith, and is as well the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Anne Bonney, the legendary female pirate...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure adult alternate-history -
The Cecelia and Kate Novels: Sorcery & Cecelia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician by Patricia C. Wrede
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsCourageous cousins are forced to do battle with magical foes in this series, collected here in a single volume In Sorcery & Cecelia, cousins Kate and Cecelia have been inseparable since childhood. But in 1817, as they approach adulthood, their families force them to spend a summer apart...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure alternate-history book family female-author -
The Paradox by Charlie Fletcher
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSOMETIMES YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR – SOMETIMES IT LOOKS BACKThose who belong to the secret society called the Oversight know many things. They know cold iron will hold back the beasts in the darkness. They know it is dangerous to stand between two mirrors. And they know that, despite their dwindling numbers, it remains their duty to protect humanity from the supernatural. And vice versa...Categorized as:
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Subversive by Colleen Cowley
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn an America controlled by wizards and 100 years behind on women’s rights, Beatrix Harper counts herself among the resistance—the Women’s League for the Prohibition of Magic. Then Peter Blackwell, the only wizard her town has ever produced, unexpectedly returns home and presses her into service as his assistant.Beatrix fears he wants to undermine the League...Categorized as:
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The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark's short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane...Categorized as:
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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:
fae historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings 20th-century action-adventure -
The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 29 ratings"'The Crusade has begun'... "There's an old myth in the Archipelago," he went on softly, shaking his head. "A legend, really...I recall it mentioned a Crusade, but those events happened seven centuries ago. We always thought it was only a story...Categorized as:
dragons fairy-tale historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure -
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsEgypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine... -
The Glass Word by Kai Meyer
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen they emerge from Hell, Merle, her friend Junipa who has mirrors for eyes, and Vermithrax the flying stone lion find themselves in Egypt. Of course the Flowing Queen is with them as well, since Merle swallowed her back in Venice. There is something very wrong in Egypt--it is freezing cold, and everything is covered in snow. Winter is here, looking for his lost love, Summer...Categorized as:
magic myths paranormal action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe animals audiobook -
The Case of the Spellbound Child by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNow in paperback, the fourteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series continues the reimagined adventures of famed detective Sherlock Holmes.While Sherlock is still officially dead, John and Mary Watson and Nan Killian and Sarah Lyon-White are taking up some of his case-load--and some work for Lord Alderscroft, the Wizard of London...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal retellings action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook -
The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe third title in Genevieve Cogman's clever and exciting The Invisible Library series, The Burning Page is an action-packed literary adventure! Librarian spy Irene has professional standards to maintain. Standards that absolutely do not include making hasty, unplanned escapes through a burning besieged building...Categorized as:
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Thieves' Quarry by D.B. Jackson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBoston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, September 28, 1768Autumn has come to New England, and with it a new threat to the city of Boston. British naval ships have sailed into Boston Harbor bearing over a thousand of His Majesty King George III’s soldiers. After a summer of rioting and political unrest, the city is to be occupied...Categorized as:
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And Less Than Kind by Mercedes Lackey, Roberta Gellis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen it became certain that Edward VI was dying, the duke of Northumberland, who had been ruling England in his name, made a plan that would let him hold onto his power. He dared not let Mary come to the throne because she was fiercely Catholic and he had espoused the Protestant cause. He did not want Elizabeth to rule because he knew her imperious nature would never defer to him... -
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn America, demons wear white hoods.In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die...Categorized as:
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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... -
Vici by Naomi Novik
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsAlso published in The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy edited by Jack Dann.“Well, Antonius,” the magistrate said, “you are without question a licentious and disreputable young man... -
On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA new novelette from Hugo Award-winning author, Nghi Vo!While learning the ropes from a crafty Jazz Age bank robber, a young stowaway discovers their authentic self, a hidden gift, and that there are no straight lines when you run the fox roads. .Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings fantasy historical magical-realism -
Hell and Earth by Elizabeth Bear
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe reigns of two Queens in two different worlds may come to an end. In the iron world, conspiracy and subterfuge within England's royal courts threaten Elizabeth's power. In the Faerie realm, Mab, bound by magic to her sister sovereign, finds herself weakened as well. Now, the fate of two worlds lies in the hands of two clever wordsmiths..Categorized as:
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A Power Renewed by Robert W. Ross
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLibrarian's Note: An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereOut of the smoldering ruins of the war in heaven Archangels Raphael and Michael cannot believe the agreement made between God and His Morning Star, Lucifer... -
Dead Man's Reach by D.B. Jackson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBoston, 1770. The city is a powder keg as tensions between would-be rebels and loyalist Tories approach a breaking point. One man is willing to light the match to ensure that he has his revenge.The presence of the British Regulars has made thieftaking a hard business to be in...Categorized as:
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