Books like 'The Lairdbalor'
Readers who enjoyed The Lairdbalor by Kathleen Kaufman also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror myths literary-fiction magical-realism retellings
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Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsJorge Luis Borges has been called the greatest Spanish-language writer of our century. Now for the first time in English, all of Borges' dazzling fictions are gathered into a single volume, brilliantly translated by Andrew Hurley...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWelcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again...Categorized as:
magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure book coming-of-age contemporary dark -
Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFollowing the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted Son of a Trickster comes Trickster Drift, the second book in Eden Robinson's captivating Trickster trilogy.In an effort to keep all forms of magic at bay, Jared, 17, has quit drugs and drinking. But his troubles are not over: now he's being stalked by David, his mom's ex--a preppy, khaki-wearing psycho with a proclivity for rib-breaking...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary -
In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsCatherynne M. Valente enchanted readers with her spellbinding In the Night Garden. Now she continues to weave her storytelling magic in a new book of Orphan’s Tales—an epic of the fantastic and the exotic, the monstrous and mysterious, that will transport you far away from the everyday…...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure book contemporary -
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Hades by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen a viral video puts twelve-year-old Xanther under a spotlight of scrutiny at school, her little white cat—still slumbering, still unnamed—offers the only escape, though it comes at a price. Not even Xanther’ parents can deny the strange currents now shuddering around their eldest, touching off inexplicable happenings. Entities troubling the dreams of the twins seem to have singled out Freya... -
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe complete volume of Robertson Davies's acclaimed trilogy, featuring Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders, with a new foreword by Kelly Link Fifth Business Ramsay is a man twice born, a man who has returned from the hell of the battle-grave at Passchendaele in World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross and destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
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...Categorized as:
magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure anthologies audiobook classics contemporary -
Bestiary: The Selected Stories of Julio Cortázar by Julio Cortázar
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA collection of masterful short stories in Julio Cortazar's sophistocated, powerful and gripping style.A grieving family home becomes the site of a terrifying invasion. A frustrated love triangle, brought together by a plundered Aztec idol, spills over into brutality. A lodger’s inability to stop vomiting bunny rabbits inspires a personal confession...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics contemporary fiction -
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... -
Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOne of our most imaginative and accomplished writers, Angela Carter left behind a dazzling array of work: essays, citicism, and fiction. But it is in her short stories that her extraordinary talents—as a fabulist, feminist, social critic, and weaver of tales—are most penetratingly evident...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century adult anthologies classics -
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... -
Raven by Stacey Rourke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn infamous love, destined nevermore, For death could not claim, the enchanting Lenore. Cursed by the malevolent spirit of the Headless Horseman, Ireland Crane ventures to Manhattan in search of a way to break her soul crushing bond. Instead, she discovers the lines between fact and fiction are blurring once more. Croaking ravens. Telltale hearts... -
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... -
Dead Stare by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsConor Night, the world’s only necromancer, is starting to think that his life is finally coming together. His last job not only left him funded but also helped him fall off the radar of the world’s two most powerful wizards... -
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The Silver Dark Sea by Susan Fletcher
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the island of Parla some believe in the ancient tale of the Fishman, others believe in nothing. All carry with them the mourning and sadness for what the sea has taken away. But when a man with no name is washed up on the stones of Sye, it appears the mythical figure has returned... -
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...Categorized as:
magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult anthologies contemporary dark-fantasy -
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home. In “Who Will Greet You at Home,” a National Magazine Award finalist for The New Yorker, A woman desperate for a child weaves one out of hair, with unsettling results...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
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'...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings adult anthologies contemporary dark -
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... -
Waifs and Strays by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCharles de Lint's remarkable novels and shorter fiction are, in a very real sense, coming of age stories. Here, for the first time, is a collection of his stories about teenagers&150a collection for teen and adult readers alike... -
The Eagle's Gift by Carlos Castaneda
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCarlos Castaneda takes the reader into the very heart of sorcery, challenging both imagination and reason, shaking the very foundations of our belief in what is "natural" and "logical... -
Rehepapp ehk november by Andrus Kivirähk
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRomaan eesti rahva raskest elust mõisahärrade rõhumise all. Rängas olukorras ei jää rahval muud üle, kui krabada endale kõike mida kätte saab, olgu siis naabri sahvrist, mõisaaiast või teede ristmikul vanakurja käest. Loomulikult on mängus ka kõiksugused kratid, tondid ja kollid, kes varitsevad põõsas, silmad põlemas, et paljukannatanud külainimestele veelgi kurja teha...Categorized as:
myths magical-realism literary-fiction retellings europe east-europe estonia fantasy -
Hell's Horizon by D.B. Shan, Darren Shan
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen Al Jeery is seconded by The Cardinal from guard duties at Party Central to investigate the murder of a woman at a hotel he little suspects that the dead woman will turn out to be his girlfriend. Soon he is involved in a terrifying mystery... -
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNathan Ballingrud's Shirley Jackson Award winning debut collection is a shattering and luminous experience not to be missed by those who love to explore the darker parts of the human psyche. Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.These are love stories...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century adult angels anthologies -
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The Threads of the Heart by Carole Martinez
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey say Frasquita knows magic, that she is a healer with occult powers, that perhaps she is a sorcerer. She does indeed possess a remarkable gift, one that has been passed down to the women in her family for generations...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century adult book contemporary -
The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA luminous meditation on sons and fathers, ghosts of war, and living history that moves between modern-day Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction fiction horror war contemporary audiobook anthologies -
A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Wild and ambitious . . . [with] something ablaze at its core. It burns.” ― The New York Times Book ReviewA Tiny Upward Shove is inspired by Melissa Chadburn's Filipino heritage and its folklore, as it traces the too-short life of a young, cast-off woman transformed by death into an agent of justice―or mercy.Marina Salles’s life does not end the day she wakes up dead...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction myths retellings fiction fantasy horror contemporary -
Catastrophe: And Other Stories by Dino Buzzati
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn Catastrophe, the renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. In stories touched by the fantastical and the strange, and filled with humor, irony, and menace, Buzzati illuminates the nightmarish side of our ordinary existence...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics contemporary fiction -
Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPart visceral dream-memoir, part fictive journey through a hallucinatory Bucharest, Mircea Cărtărescu's BLINDING was one of the most widely heralded literary sensations in contemporary Romania, and a bestseller from the day of its release...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult book contemporary family fiction -
In the Penny Arcade by Steven Millhauser
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe seven stories of In the Penny Arcade blend both the real and the fantastic in a seductive mix that illuminates the full range of Steven Millhauser's gifts, from 'August Eschenburg', the story of a clockmaker's son whose extraordinary talent for creating animated figures is lost on a world whose taste for the perverse and crude supersedes that of the refined and beautiful, to 'Cathay', a...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies contemporary fiction horror -
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRen lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup. High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading—and forgetting.But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a local myth, Ren is inexorably drawn into her impossible mission...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure adult animals -
Chasing Midlife Demons by Heloise Hull
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA NEW PWF novel from the author of Making Midlife Magic, for those who like their rosé chilled and their demons hot!The last time the police knocked on my door, I lost my husband. Now they’re back, and this time, it’s about my mother.She’s fine, for now, but she’s deteriorating fast. Her mind is failing her, and her body isn’t far behind... -
The World of Tolkien by David Day
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGo on a fascinating journey through the history of Middle-earth!The Lord of the Rings is commonly regarded as a work of fantasy. Yet Tolkien himself saw his work as a body of myth with an inherent veracity at its core, not an invention, but a recovered truth. In the Middle-earth of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created not an imaginary world, but an imaginary history of our own world... -
Precious and the Boo Hag by Patricia C. McKissack, Onawumi Jean Moss
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Precious is left home alone with a stomachache, she's got nothing but a warning from Mama -- "Don't let nothing or nobody into this house" -- to keep her company. You see, "nothing or nobody" could turn out to be something awful: the Boo Hag! The Boo Hag's got a voice that rumbles like thunder and hair that shoots out like lightning. And she can disguise herself to look like anything... -
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Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn unholy predator on the prowl! The small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They're about to endure their ten-year high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil. The werewolf. The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded (2 men and 2 women)... -
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps by Peter Straub, Edgar Allan Poe
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStraub, a contemporary master of literary horror and fantasy, offers an authoritative and diverse gathering of stories calculated to unsettle and delight. Ghostly narratives of the Edwardian era, lurid classics from the pulp heyday, and modern-day masterpieces are included in these collections... -
The Ghost Road by Tony Abbott
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCould the road to the afterlife be a two-way street? Reader reviews are in, and Tony Abbott is capturing the middle-grade fantasy audience with this new series!Derek can't claim to be a normal fourteen-year-old anymore. Not after what he discovered at the Red House. His role in the war against the dead is more pivotal --- and more terrifying --- than he could have imagined... -
Girl Like a Bomb by Autumn Christian
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAutumn Christian's third novel is a dark journey of self-discovery. An existential labyrinth of love, sex, and self-actualization where the only way out is through. When high schooler Beverly Sykes finally has sex, her whole life changes. She feels an explosion inside of her that feels like her DNA is being rearranged, and she discovers a strange power within...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism adult audiobook book contemporary female-author female-mc -
Under the Cover of Darkness by Emma Luna
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dark contemporary romanceADDYI thought the suffocating loneliness of the last two year were bad, but then I was sent to Lakeridge Psychiatric Facility.On the outside it’s disguised as helpful brochures and friendly doctors who have vowed to help, but the real truth is just below the surface, lurking in the shadows, and haunting my dreams.At night he comes—taunting and abusing me...Categorized as:
retellings myths literary-fiction dark mental-illness suspense friends-to-lovers organized-crime -
Verdigris by Michele Mari
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAt the tail end of the 1960s, the thirteen-year-old Michelino spends his summers at his grandparents’ modest estate in Nasca, near Lake Maggiore, losing himself in the tales of horror, adventure, and mystery shelved in his grandfather’s library... -
Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA lushly illustrated set of dark, captivating fairy talesThe beauty of stories; you never know where they will take you. Full of dreams and nightmares, Honeycomb is an entrancing mosaic novel of original fairy tales from bestselling author Joanne M. Harris and legendary artist Charles Vess in a collaboration that’s been years in the making...Categorized as:
magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsEveryone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction . . . especially on Addington Isle...Categorized as:
magical-realism myths literary-fiction retellings north-america usa washington horror -
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsAngela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook -
Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratings'Gripping . . . You won't put it down' Sunday TelegraphA shocking collection of dark stories, ranging from chilling contemporary fairytales to disturbing supernatural fiction.Alone in a remote house in Iceland a woman is unnerved by her isolation; another can only find respite from the clinging ghost that follows her by submerging herself in an overgrown pool...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism myths retellings adult anthologies contemporary dark -
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Hades and Persephone - Keeper of Sins by Alannah Carbonneau
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor new adult and adult fantasy book lovers comes a new spicy gods romantasy packed with banter and chemistry featuring a reimagined tale of the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone. What if the myth of Hades and Persephone isn’t just myth? And what if there is more to the story? HadesThe story the world knows today is only a fraction of our truth. Mine and hers.I took her, yes... -
A Child Across the Sky by Jonathan Carroll
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLibrarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 071263441X / 9780712634410.Just as the the word "weird" has many implications and shades of meaning, so too does the latest--weird--work by this gifted and perplexing writer. As Carroll ( Bones of the Moon ; Sleeping in Flame ) himself says, "Life has a habit of turning dark corners... -
Smoking Poppy by Graham Joyce
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGraham Joyce travels to an enthralling, suspense-charged landscape in this hallucinatory novel of a father's quest to save his daughter -- without destroying himself. Dan Innes has received shattering news from the British Embassy in Bangkok: his daughter, Charlie, whom he hasn't seen or spoken to in two years, has been imprisoned in a Thai jail for drug smuggling...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism action-adventure adult book contemporary dark dark-fantasy -
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... -
The Melancholy of Mechagirl by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsScience fiction and fantasy stories about Japan by the multiple-award winning author and New York Times best seller Catherynne M. Valente. A collection of some of Catherynne Valente's most admired stories, including the Hugo Award-nominated novella "Silently and Very Fast" and the Locus Award finalist "13 Ways of Looking at Space/Time," with a brand-new long story to anchor the collection... -
The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanoid being created out of mud or clay and animated through secret prayers. Its sole purpose is to defend the Jewish people against the immediate threat of violence. It is always a rabbi who makes a golem, and always in a time of crisis...
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