Books like 'Black Heart, Ivory Bones'
Readers who enjoyed Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford, Michael Cadnum, Scott Bradfield, Charles de Lint, Leah R. Cutter, Emma Hardesty, Joyce Carol Oates, Bryn Kanar, Ellen Steiber, Severna Park, Tanith Lee, Howard Waldrop, Susanna Clarke, Delia Sherman, Esther M. Friesner, Russell Blackford, Neil Gaiman, Greg Costikyan, Jane Yolen & Debra Cash also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror dark fantasy urban fantasy retellings myths fairy-tale dark magic
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War of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWar of Gods is the highly anticipated conclusion to the critically acclaimed, award winning epic urban fantasy series, The Paternus Trilogy... -
![Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez]()
Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Broken Pact. An Ancient Enemy. A Bitter Betrayal. What does a vampire fear more than sunlight? The Cazadoras Sangrientas-Blood Hunters. Michiko Nakatomi has led the Dark Council for over a century, maintaining the uneasy truce between humanity and the supernatural. But when an ancient enemy returns the delicate balance is shattered and vampires start dying... -
![Prison of Hope by Steve McHugh]()
Prison of Hope by Steve McHugh
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsLong ago, Olympian gods imprisoned the demon Pandora in a human—Hope—creating a creature whose only purpose was chaos and death. Remorseful, the gods locked Pandora away in Tartarus, ruled by Hades.Now, centuries later, Pandora escapes...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure -
![The Romeo Catchers by Alys Arden]()
The Romeo Catchers by Alys Arden
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIs blood thicker than magic in La Nouvelle-Orléans?Adele scours Storm-ravaged New Orleans for the truth about her family’s magical past, tormented by the fate she condemned her mother to, and by the lies she’s forced to tell to cover it up. But every turn leads her back to the one person she’s determined to forget: Niccolò Medici...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic paranormal witches-wizards action-adventure audiobook book -
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![Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint]()
Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Charles de Lint, a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life... -
![The Astonishing Strande Brothers by Kathryn Ann Kingsley]()
The Astonishing Strande Brothers by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSome bonds are too strong to be broken. Even by death.“The Astonishing Strande Brothers” is a short story/extended epilogue that tells the tale of the reunion between Julian Strande and his long-lost brother Louis on a snowy holiday at the Strande Estate.It combines characters from both my Harrow Faire and Impossible Julian Strande series... -
![The Twisted Path: A Twenty Palaces Novella by Harry Connolly]()
The Twisted Path: A Twenty Palaces Novella by Harry Connolly
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRay Lilly has been summoned to the headquarters of the Twenty Palace Society to answer one question: How has he managed to survive mission after mission fighting alongside his boss, Annalise? He doesn't have the power of a full peer of the society. He's a wooden man. An assistant. A diversion. The other peers want to know what's going on, so it's off to Europe for a trip to the First Palace... -
![The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James]()
The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman, Marlon James
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn outstanding array—52 pieces in all—of selected fiction from the multiple-award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, curated by his readers around the world, and introduced with a foreword by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon JamesSpanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating collection from one of the world’s most beloved... -
![Moonlight and Vines by Charles de Lint]()
Moonlight and Vines by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsReturn to NewfordFamiliar to Charles de Lint's ever-growing audience as the setting of the novels Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, The Onion Girl, and many others, Newford is the quintessential North American city, tough and streetwise on the surface and rich with hidden magic for those who can see... -
![In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire]()
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise...Categorized as:
dark fairy-tale historical-fiction magic paranormal retellings action-adventure audiobook -
![Hot Blooded by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne]()
Hot Blooded by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen the sun goes down, four women will discover the man they desire within the beast that drives them wild in this sexy paranormal romance collection that includes an original Carpathain novella...“Dark Hunger” by New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan In a dark jungle, a beautiful activist liberates animals from a secret laboratory—and stumbles across an unexpected prisoner... -
![The Green Man's Foe by Juliet E. McKenna]()
The Green Man's Foe by Juliet E. McKenna
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen you do a good job for someone, there’s a strong chance they’ll offer you more work or recommend you elsewhere. So Daniel Mackmain isn’t particularly surprised when his boss’s architect brother asks for his help on a historic house renovation in the Cotswolds. Except Dan’s a dryad’s son, and he soon realises there’s a whole lot more going on... -
![Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore]()
Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe sixth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.The Necromancer is dead. Long live the Necromancer... -
![Bec by Darren Shan]()
Bec by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAs demonic Fomorii ravage their land, Bec and a band of warrior companions leave their devastated rath to answer a plea for help. An orphaned priestess-in-training, Bec hopes the journey will help her solve the mysteries of her birth. But fighting demons has a steep price..Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings 21st-century action-adventure -
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![The Minority Council by Kate Griffin]()
The Minority Council by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMatthew Swift, sorcerer, Midnight Mayor, is in charge. Or so he'd like to think. London, being London, is having its issues. Drug use is rampant. Teenage vandalism is driving away business. Violent crimes are on the rise. Once upon a time, Matthew Swift wouldn't have cared. Now it's his mess to clean up... -
![Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near]()
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent.‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't... -
![The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint]()
The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the city of Newford, when the stars and the vibes are right, you can touch magic. Mermaids sing in the murky harbor, desert spirits crowd the night, and dreams are more real than waking. Charles de Lint began his chronicles of the extraordinary city of Newford in "Memory & Dream" and the short-story collection "Dreams Underfoot... -
![The Haunted by Jessica Verday]()
The Haunted by Jessica Verday
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAn impossible truth. An impossible love. After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with--the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead--Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind... -
![The Neon Court by Kate Griffin]()
The Neon Court by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWar is coming to London. A daimyo of the Neon Court is dead and all fingers point towards their ancient enemy - The Tribe. And when magicians go to war, everyone loses.But Matthew Swift has his own concerns. He has been summoned abruptly, body and soul, to a burning tower and to the dead body of Oda, warrior of The Order and known associate of Swift... -
![Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew]()
Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA seductively twisted romance about loyalty, fate, the lengths we go to hide the darkest parts of ourselves . . . and the people who love those parts most of all.Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she's just inherited -- to burn it to the ground... -
![Carousel Seas by Sharon Lee]()
Carousel Seas by Sharon Lee
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSequel to National Bestseller Carousel Sun. A gripping contemporary fantasy thriller from master storyteller Sharon Lee, award-winning cocreator of the highly popular Liaden Universe® saga... -
![Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap]()
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Am I dead?”Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'... -
![Chapel of Ease by Alex Bledsoe]()
Chapel of Ease by Alex Bledsoe
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe latest installment in Alex Bledsoe's critically-acclaimed Tufa series that Kirkus Reviews calls "powerful, character-driven drama...a sheer delight." (starred review)When Matt Johanssen, a young New York actor, auditions for "Chapel of Ease," an off-Broadway musical, he is instantly charmed by Ray Parrish, the show's writer and composer... -
![Twenty Palaces by Harry Connolly]()
Twenty Palaces by Harry Connolly
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Ray Lilly was 13 years old, a handgun accident landed his best friend, Jon Burrows, in a wheelchair and turned Ray into a runaway and petty criminal. Fifteen years later, Ray returns home after a stint in prison; he’s determined to go straight, but he knows he can’t do that without making peace with his old friend... -
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![Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill]()
Queen of the Dark Things by C. Robert Cargill
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is half a year since the wizard Colby lost his best friend to an army of fairies from the Limestone Kingdom, a realm of mystery and shadows beyond our own. But in vanquishing these creatures Colby sacrificed the anonymity that protected him. Now, word of his deeds has spread, and powerful enemies from the past - including one Colby considered a friend - have resurfaced to exact their revenge... -
![Oblivion by Kelly Creagh]()
Oblivion by Kelly Creagh
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThis electrifying conclusion to the Nevermore trilogy takes one last trip to the dream world of Edgar Allan Poe to reveal the intertwined fates of Isobel and Varen.The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? —Edgar Allan PoeThe fine line between life and death blurred long ago for Isobel Lanley... -
![The Little Country by Charles de Lint]()
The Little Country by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen folk musician Janey Little finds a mysterious manuscript in an old trunk in her grandfather's cottage, she is swept into a dangerous realm both strange and familiar. But true magic lurks within the pages of The Little Country, drawing genuine danger from across the oceans into Janey's life, impelling her--armed only with her music--toward a terrifying confrontation...Categorized as:
fairy-tale historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure adult -
![Hell to Pay by Simon R. Green]()
Hell to Pay by Simon R. Green
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn the wake of the war that left the Nightside leaderless, Jeremiah Griffin-one of the last of the immortal human families-plans to fill the power vacuum. But his granddaughter has disappeared, and he wants John Taylor to use his special abilities to find her. Except someone-or something-is blocking Taylor's abilities...Categorized as:
dark magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure alternate-universe -
![Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert]()
Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales by the author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country!Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice―and still lives...Categorized as:
dark fairy-tale historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards -
![Moonheart by Charles de Lint]()
Moonheart by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen Sara and Jamie discovered the seemingly ordinary artifacts, they sensed the pull of a dim and distant place. A world of mists and forests, of ancient magics, mythical beings, ageless bards...and restless evil... -
![Last Call by Tim Powers]()
Last Call by Tim Powers
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTwenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards. But now the cards - and the supernatural powers behind them - have found him again.Crane's father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become the Fisher King, and to keep that power he is determined to kill his son...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings 20th-century action-adventure -
![Redemption Song by Craig Schaefer]()
Redemption Song by Craig Schaefer
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsDaniel Faust, Las Vegas sorcerer and career criminal, has never pulled the trigger on an innocent man. When the infernal Prince Sitri challenges him to do just that, though, he can't walk away. His lover, Caitlin, is Sitri's right hand...and if Daniel refuses the job, he'll never see her again... -
![Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore]()
Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen necromancer Eric Carter returned to Los Angeles after fifteen years on the run he knew things were bad, but he never imagined how bad they could get. Sister murdered, best friend dead, married to the patron saint of death, Santa Muerte.And things are just getting worse.His link to the Aztec death goddess is changing his powers, changing him, and he’s not sure how far it will go... -
![High Moor by Graeme Reynolds]()
High Moor by Graeme Reynolds
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhen John Simpson hears of a bizarre animal attack in his old home town of High Moor, it stirs memories of a long forgotten horror. John knows the truth. A werewolf stalks the town once more, and on the night of the next full moon, the killing will begin again. He should know. He survived a werewolf attack in 1986, during the worst year of his life... -
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![The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly]()
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 60 ratingsHigh in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld...Categorized as:
dark fairy-tale historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure -
![Equoid by Charles Stross]()
Equoid by Charles Stross
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe "Laundry" is Britain's super-secret agency devoted to protecting the realm from the supernatural horrors that menace it. Now Bob Howard, Laundry agent, must travel to the quiet English countryside to deal with an outbreak of one of the worst horrors imaginable. For, as it turns out, unicorns are real. They're also ravenous killers from beyond spacetime.. -
![Monstrous by Nicole M. Rubino]()
Monstrous by Nicole M. Rubino
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratings"I’ve never been afraid of the dark. I never needed any reassurance that there was no monster in my closet or under my bed. Perhaps that’s because a part of me always knew I was one." Monstrous claws weren't the type of gift I’d been expecting for my eighteenth birthday, along with the desire to eat my ex-boyfriend... -
![Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece]()
Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA heartwarming novel of hope, fate, and folk magic unfolds when a young woman travels to a sleepy southern town in the Appalachian Mountains to bury her best friend. Mel Smith has always known life isn’t easy. After all, she was abandoned as an infant and raised in foster care... -
![The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher]()
The Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsR.S. Belcher launches a gritty new urban fantasy series about the mysterious society of truckers known only as, The Brotherhood of The Wheel.In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon--a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land... -
![Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand]()
Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWidely praised and widely read, Elizabeth Hand is regarded as one of America's leading literary fantasists. This new collection (an expansion of the limited-release Bibliomancy, which won the World Fantasy Award in 2005) showcases a wildly inventive author at the height of her powers... -
![Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley]()
Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"Run, Star Girl." BRYONY ADAMS IS DESTINED TO BE MURDERED, but fortunately Fate has terrible marksmanship. In order to survive, she must run as far and as fast as she can. After arriving in Seattle, Bryony befriends a tortured musician, a market fish-thrower, and a starry-eyed hero who is secretly a serial killer bent on fulfilling Bryony’s dark destiny. Mercedes M... -
![Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes]()
Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsShe fell for him in a nighttime world. But the time for dreaming is past—and the here-and-now can be just as fragile their love…When Theia Alderson first encountered a mysterious, handsome boy in her dreams, she never imagined how finding Haden Black—and falling in love—could change her life. To save Haden, Theia sacrificed everything... -
![Vault of Glass by Candace Robinson]()
Vault of Glass by Candace Robinson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSome see it... Some don't...People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline's best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum... -
![Unknown Regions by Robert Holdstock]()
Unknown Regions by Robert Holdstock
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA young boy with amazing--and incredibly dangerous--psychokinetic powers is able to travel into the past and, with guidance from a shadowy spirit, return with artifacts of great value. But, unknown to him ir his family, each trip into the past brings him closer to a terrifying fate, a fate that only a psychic investigator may be able to change... -
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![Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney]()
Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn 1772, angry Rhode Island colonists set fire to a British ship, sparking the American Revolution. Taxation without representation was a motivator. So was the vengeful, man-eating mermaid who had it out for the commanding officer. That was then. This is now. Mermaids, or merrow, still hunt in Narragansett Bay, but these days they keep a lower profile...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction myths paranormal retellings action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Infernal Justice by N.P. Martin]()
Infernal Justice by N.P. Martin
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a lightless world, only darkness can drive out darkness. My name is Ethan Drake and I’m a police detective…and I got plenty darkness to give. So does my partner, who’s a demon, and frankly, a royal pain in my ass. But occult investigators are in short supply in the PD, so what are you going to do? Anyway, we just caught a bodysnatching case that has the stench of occult workings all over it... -
![Bad Little Girls Die Horrible Deaths by Harry Connolly]()
Bad Little Girls Die Horrible Deaths by Harry Connolly
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNovelette. It's the summer of 1879 in Seattle, but it's not the Seattle we know. This is a world of ghosts, cruel magic, and a tangled lineage of men and women who are born with special "gifts."Eli Sutherland has inherited one of these gifts--a sixth sense that directs him toward wealth and power (and sometimes danger). He's also a thief, killer, and all around rotten bastard...Categorized as:
dark historical-fiction paranormal adult anthologies contemporary dark-fantasy fiction -
![Indexing by Seanan McGuire]()
Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 30 ratings“Never underestimate the power of a good story.”Good advice...especially when a story can kill you.For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole... -
![Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey]()
Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsRock band Wanderlust is about to hit it big, guitarist Dave Kendall is sure of that. They're playing better venues, in front of bigger crowds-and the people showing up at the after parties are increasingly good-looking and cool. Some even radiate power, like "Master" Jeffries, the tall, saturnine man who seems to have some sort of weird control over Dave's fellow bandmates... -
![Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron by Jonathan Strahan, Diana Peterfreund]()
Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron by Jonathan Strahan, Diana Peterfreund
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBroomsticks.Black Cats.Pointy Hats.They can mean only one thing - somewhere nearby, there must be a witch. From fairy tales to fims to fiction, witches cast their spells and capture our imaginations.Now the biggest names in fantasy and young adult literature have come together to make a little magic of their own. Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, Margo Lanagan, Peter S...Categorized as:
dark fairy-tale magic paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure animals
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