Books like 'The Crane Husband'
Readers who enjoyed The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror urban fantasy dark fantasy hard-sci-fi magical-realism retellings myths dark
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Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsOver a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed... -
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... -
The Ringmaster by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAs above, so below…who was once friend is now a foe.The Faire is alive. It’s alive, it’s sentient, and it wants more from Cora Glass. Reeling from the revelations that Clown left her with, she struggles once more to find her footing. She never gets the chance.Harrow Faire wants Cora for murder. She assumed it was her death that it was after. She was wrong. It wants her to kill…to save them all... -
Lord of the Shadows by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsBook 11 of The Saga Of Darren Shan. Darren's going home. Back to where everything started. The town's changed a lot in the years that he's been away -- but then, so has Darren...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure -
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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:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure anthologies audiobook -
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...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure anthologies -
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...Categorized as:
fairy-tale low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings adult anthologies contemporary -
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:
coming-of-age dark fairy-tale low-fantasy magical-realism retellings action-adventure audiobook -
Unhinged by A.G. Howard, Nathalia Suellen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsAlyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark fairy-tale retellings action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
The Lake of Souls by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 38 ratings"If you step through after Harkat, you might never come back. Is your friend worth such an enormous risk?"Darren and Harkat face monstrous obstacles on their desperate quest to the Lake of Souls. Will they survive the savage journey? And what awaits them in the murky waters of the dead? Be careful what you fish for.. -
Demon Thief by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe second novel in this bonechilling series by Darren Shan, author of the New York Times bestselling Cirque Du Freak series is sure to give you goosebumps. Kernel Fleck has always known he's weird. He sees lights. Strange, multi-colored patches of light, swirling through the air. But it's not until a window opens into a demon world, with horrific consequences, that Kernel discovers his powers... -
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsTwin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.This is the story of what happened first…Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark fairy-tale magical-realism retellings action-adventure audiobook book -
Slawter by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsLights. Camera. Slawter!Grubbs Grady and his half-brother Bill-E are thrilled to join their uncle Dervish as onset consultants for the newest movie by cult horror producer David A Hayms. Shot in a deserted town renamed Slawter, the demon-themed movie is to be Hayms's masterpiece. But as strange incidents disrupt the set, Grubbs begins to wonder whether more than filming is afoot... -
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... -
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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.. -
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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark fairy-tale magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure book -
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsA missing God.A library with the secrets to the universe. A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 21st-century action-adventure apocalyptic -
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:
low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure adult anthologies contemporary -
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsClive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world --- and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult -
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar... -
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
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... -
Black Heart, Ivory Bones by Ellen Datlow, Brian M. Stableford
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHair bright as gold...Lips red as blood...Heart black as sin...Truth sharp as bone.. -
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...Categorized as:
dark fairy-tale low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure audiobook -
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Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsNew York Times bestselling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo-Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to a world of amoral alchemy, shadowy organizations, and impossible cities in this standalone fantasy.Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.Meet Dodger, his twin...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure alchemy audiobook book -
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... -
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 low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure anthologies -
Demon Road by Derek Landy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor-sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America... -
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
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 low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult -
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... -
Ironside by Holly Black, Kate Rudd
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIn the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest... -
Dark Ladies: Conjure Wife/Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsConjure WifeWitchcraft. Norman Saylor considered it nothing but superstition, until he learned that his own wife was a practicing sorceress. Even still, he refuses to accept the truth that every woman knows...that in the secret occult warfare that governs our lives, witchcraft is a matter of life and death...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism adult anthologies classics contemporary dark-fantasy -
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
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:
coming-of-age dark fairy-tale low-fantasy magical-realism myths retellings action-adventure -
Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAt a popular Newford online research and library Web site called the Wordwood, a mysterious crash occurs. Everyone visiting the site at the moment of the crash vanishes from where they were sitting in front of their computers. Christy Ridding's girlfriend Saskia disappears right before his eyes, along with countless others... -
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
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... -
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:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure adult book contemporary 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... -
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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark magical-realism retellings audiobook book contemporary dark-fantasy -
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses. They didn't expect actual mermaids... -
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
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
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... -
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... -
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... -
The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHave you ever loved a magical book above all others? Have you ever wished the magic were real? Welcome to The Land of Laughs. A novel about how terrifying that would be.Schoolteacher Thomas Abbey, unsure son of a film star, doesn't know who he is or what he wants--in life, in love, or in his relationship with the strange and intense Saxony Gardner...Categorized as:
dark low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books -
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 low-fantasy magical-realism retellings action-adventure animals anthologies -
Empire V: the Prince of Hamlet by Victor Pelevin
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRoman thought he'd found the perfect opportunity to rebel. He may have been wrong.He awakens strapped to a set of parallel bars in a richly appointed sitting room, and begins a conversation with a masked man which will change his life. His world has been a facade - one which the mysterious Brahma is about to tear away...
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