Books like 'Shanghai Sparrow'
Readers who enjoyed Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy alternate history urban fantasy action / adventure steampunk industrial-era historical-fiction fairy-tale suspense
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The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by John Joseph Adams, Stephen King
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe game is afoot! Night Shade Books is proud to present the fantastic adventures of the world's greatest detective — mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror, no genre can escape the esteemed detective's needle-sharp intellect and intuition...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era retellings steampunk suspense 21st-century action-adventure adult -
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...Categorized as:
steampunk industrial-era retellings fantasy urban-fantasy dark vampires witches-wizards -
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... -
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 29 ratings1888. Five years after they met in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Thaniel Steepleton, an unassuming translator, and Keita Mori, the watchmaker who remembers the future, are traveling to Japan. Thaniel has received an unexpected posting to the British legation in Tokyo, and Mori has business that is taking him to Yokohama... -
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Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWith the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain... -
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsWhen the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career... -
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsMatt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies... -
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA legendary ghost ship. An incredible treasure. A death-defying adventure.Forty years ago, the airship Hyperion vanished with untold riches in its hold. Now, accompanied by heiress Kate de Vries and a mysterious gypsy, Matt Cruse is determined to recover the ship and its treasures... -
Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor the US hardback, see ISBN13: 9780451489210.To save the Great Library, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, and Ash and Quill put themselves in danger in the next thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.The opening moves of a deadly game have begun... -
The Convent's Secret by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTo find the one man who can fix the magic in Matt’s watch, he and India are led to a convent where the nuns will do anything to keep their secrets private. Including murder? Matt and India must uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the mother superior and two babies given to her care many years ago. But sometimes, the truth is painful and its exposure can have deadly consequences...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book crime -
The Shadow of Water by Jacquelyn Benson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLily Albright can see the future, and it looks like hell. In an England on the brink of war, Lily is plagued by visions of the cataclysmic destruction of London. An ancient prophecy is coming to fruition, and it starts with the gruesome discovery of a corpse in the sewers.To save her city, Lily must untangle a web of conspiracy and violence... -
In Plain Sight by Dan Willis
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a magical plague is released in a Depression-era New York soup kitchen, private detective Alex Lockerby finds himself in a desperate hunt to catch a madman before he can strike again.His investigations lead Alex to a famous thief, a daring heist, and the search for a mythic book of ancient magic, but none of that brings him any closer to finding the man responsible for the massacre... -
Twig by Wildbow
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe year is 1921, and a little over a century has passed since a great mind unraveled the underpinnings of life itself. Every week, it seems, the papers announce great advances, solving the riddle of immortality, successfully reviving the dead, the cloning of living beings, or blending of two animals into one... -
The Rising by Ian Tregillis
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe second book in the Alchemy Wars trilogy by Ian Tregillis, an epic tale of liberation and war. Jax, a rogue Clakker, has wreaked havoc upon the Clockmakers' Guild by destroying the Grand Forge. Reborn in the flames, he must begin his life as a free Clakker, but liberation proves its own burden...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult ai alternate-history audiobook -
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The Magician's Diary by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPRAISE FOR C.J. ARCHER'S GLASS AND STEELE SERIES: "Part romance, part mystery, part magic; all of which a joy to read." - Dreamer J's Book Reviews "This story has everything I look for in a quality, entertaining piece of fiction. 1) A strong female lead, 2) a dark and mysterious male character (I admit, they are my weakness), 3) eloquent writing, and 4) lots of quirky humor and banter...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book crime -
Marking Time by April White
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSeventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything... a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
Hexbreaker by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWill a dark history doom their future together?New York copper Tom Halloran is a man with a past. If anyone finds out he once ran with the notorious O'Connell tunnel gang, he'll spend the rest of his life doing hard time behind bars. But Tom's secret is threatened when a horrible murder on his beat seems to have been caused by the same ancient magic that killed his gang... -
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... -
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOne dark night on the island of Great Saltee, fourteen-year-old Conor is framed for a terrible crime he didn’t commit. Thrown into prison by the dastardly Hugo Bonvilain, Conor is trapped in a seaswept dungeon and branded a traitor. He must escape and clear his name; he wants his old life back – his family, his friends . . . and his princess.Conor knows there is only one way out... -
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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... -
The Timeseer's Gambit by Kate McIntyre
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s been three months since mild-mannered Christopher Buckley began working with Olivia Faraday, the eccentric Deathsniffer. They’ve hunted killers, solved murders, and learned to work together. But their greatest challenges are yet to come…As a brutal heat wave wracks an increasingly unstable Darrington City, someone is killing young priests. Worse, they are using bound elementals to do it...Categorized as:
industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history alternate-universe book crime -
Time of Trial by Michael Pryor
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the fourth book of this utterly addictive series, magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam is heading deep into the heart of enemy territoryluckily, with his friends by his side It may look like a simple wire device, but the Beccaria Cage could be the cure for Aubrey's condition: a way to reunite his body and soul. But can Aubrey solve its mysteries while Dr... -
Word of Honour by Michael Pryor
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSinister plots, schemes within schemes, magical upheavals, and a world to save from evil. As always, Aubrey goes looking for trouble--and finds it, in spades.Magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam, along with his loyal friend George, is trying to immerse himself in his new life at university. But for Aubrey life is never straightforward... -
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... -
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:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book fae -
Chainbreaker by Tara Sim
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsClock mechanic Danny Hart knows he's being watched. But by whom, or what, remains a mystery. To make matters worse, clock towers have begun falling in India, though time hasn't Stopped yet. He'd hoped after reuniting with his father and exploring his relationship with Colton, he'd have some time to settle into his new life. Instead, he's asked to investigate the attacks... -
The Ink Master's Silence by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt should be a happy time for India and Matt, but forces beyond their control conspire to ruin their future. A distraction from their troubles comes in the form of murder. When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician Oscar Barratt asks India and Matt to investigate... -
Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWords can kill. Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny… Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit... -
A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratings#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the second of the Gunnie Rose series, in which Lizbeth is hired onto a new crew, transporting a crate into Dixie, the self-exiled southeast territory of the former United States. What the crate contains is something so powerful, that forces from across three territories want to possess it... -
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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... -
Rebirth by Craig Zerf
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWill you survive? A series of solar flares smash the world back into the Dark Ages. Chaos follows. Millions die in the post-apocalyptic aftermath.One man is changed by the radiation. Marine Sergeant Hogan. Turning him into a superhuman being. Faster, stronger and able to create magic.He has become - The Forever Man. Oorah!But even he is not ready for what happens next...Categorized as:
industrial-era retellings steampunk action-adventure aliens alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook -
The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsJohannes Cabal and his rather inexact powers of necromancy are back once more. This time, his talents are purchased by The Fear Institute as they hunt for the Phobic Animus - the embodiment of fear... -
Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLet the world burn.With an iron fist, the Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion and, in the name of the greater good, forbidding the personal ownership of books.Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned... -
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... -
The Mapmaker's Apprentice by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen an apprentice from the Mapmakers' Guild goes missing, Matt and India are employed to find him. Going undercover as a married couple, they discover that not everyone at the guild is what they seem, and the lad's unearthly maps caused jealousy, suspicion and fear... -
The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThree ordinary children are brought together by extraordinary events...Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician from Italy, who was sold by his uncle to work as a slave for an evil padrone in the U.S. But when a mysterious green violin enters his life he begins to imagine a life of freedom... -
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Mary Jekyll and the rest of the daughters of literature’s mad scientists embark on a madcap adventure across Europe to rescue another monstrous girl and stop the Alchemical Society’s nefarious plans once and for all.Mary Jekyll’s life has been peaceful since she helped Sherlock Holmes and Dr... -
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... -
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... -
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The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsCreeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums... -
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... -
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... -
Soulbound by Bec McMaster
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA dark force is rising in London...Sebastian Montcalm knows freedom for the first time in his life, but it has come at the cost of his father's soul. If he can learn to harness his uncontrollable sorcery then he might be able to save his father from a demon's grip, but every move he makes leads to failure...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk abuse action-adventure adult alpha-mc alternate-history -
A Christmas Hex by Jordan L. Hawk
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Hexworld Short Story Roland knows he will never find love. Everyone views wolf familiars like himself as dangerous beasts, unable to rein in their savage impulses. He’s resigned himself to his fate—or so he thinks, until he meets the dashing Augustus Cao. His witch. Gus is on the trail of a gang of thieves, and Roland holds an important clue... -
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...
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