Hawthorne Saga Series by A.J. Hartley

Will Hawthorne is in trouble. He had been looking forward to his 18th birthday because that meant he'd finally be a professional actor, but Will has a knack for screwing things up royally. He winds up on the run from the authorities and into the arms of a party of principled adventurers who represent everything Will doesn't believe in-principle, self-sacrifice, maybe even magic-but they seem to be his best chance of staying alive and free for a few more days... moreWill Hawthorne is in trouble. He had been looking forward to his 18th birthday because that meant he'd finally be a professional actor, but Will has a knack for screwing things up royally. He winds up on the run from the authorities and into the arms of a party of principled adventurers who represent everything Will doesn't believe in-principle, self-sacrifice, maybe even magic-but they seem to be his best chance of staying alive and free for a few more days. But when his new "friends" take a job investigating a band of ruthless and mysterious horsemen who have been devastating a land far from all Will has known, he encounters an altogether different level of danger. Soon it is not clear which is more likely to get him killed, the party's nobility, the enemy's merciless efficiency, or his own special talent for fiasco. Can Will get used to this world of vanishing adversaries and magic swords? He will have to if he's going to survive it. And to wind up rich and in the good graces of the beautiful Renthrette, he's going to have to do rather more than that... "Fast paced and beautifully written" R.A. Salvatore A "clever page-turner" Publishers Weekly (Starred review) less

While on the run from Empire guards, Will Hawthorne and his band of thieves are transported to a mysterious land that none of recognize or know how to get home from. Turns out that they've landed right in the middle of a battle between goblins and humans. Their human allies are practically storybook counterparts to the rough sorts they knew in Stavis, speaking in high-flown prose, dressed to the height of fashion, and dripping with wealth and social propriety... moreWhile on the run from Empire guards, Will Hawthorne and his band of thieves are transported to a mysterious land that none of recognize or know how to get home from. Turns out that they've landed right in the middle of a battle between goblins and humans. Their human allies are practically storybook counterparts to the rough sorts they knew in Stavis, speaking in high-flown prose, dressed to the height of fashion, and dripping with wealth and social propriety. Will's companions are quite taken by these fine folks, but the Fair Folk are apalled by Will's unorthodoxy.At first Will does whatever he can to try to squirm into their good graces, but just when his efforts are feeling totally futile, he begins to wonder if these too-perfect courtiers and warriors have anything to offer beyond their glamour and their burning hatred of the goblins. But is there any recourse for Will and his friends once it turns out that the humans who are sheltering them may not be on the right side of their eternal conflict?Will Power is a funny and fleet-footed stand-alone fantasy featuring the characters readers grew to love in Act of Will in an all-new adventure about the danger of first impressions. less