Here are 100 books that Phoenix Unbound fans have personally recommended if you like
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As a writer and independent game developer, I’ve always adored “families of choice:” motley crews of strangers drawn together by circumstance and whose bonds are strengthened to an indestructible degree by the trials they face together. This passion has manifested both in my favorite stories (The Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, Mass Effect) as well as the ones I write myself! After teaching writing at Cornell University, where I also earned my MFA in Fiction, I turned my sights on my own creative projects, all of which invariably feature weird found families (a robot crew and the human misfits accompanying them; two assassins and an escaped mind-reading slave; et cetera).
I absolutely love Sharon Shinn’s writing, both her luscious, sophisticated prose and the way she writes relationships between characters. She hits the perfect balance between well-planned, interesting plots, rich fantasy worlds, and the exact right amount of romantic subplot and character development.
This book—which follows a group of magic-wielding mystics and the reluctant, militaristic King’s Riders assigned to protect them as they travel the land, investigating a rise in anti-magic sentiment—is my favorite of her books, not least because it has some of the coziest found family dynamics and campfire friendships to be found outside of classics like The Lord of the Rings!
Gillengaria seethes with unrest. In the south, hostility toward magic and its users has risen to a dangerous level, though King Baryn has ordered that such mystics are to be tolerated. It is whispered that he issued the decree because his new wife used her magic powers to ensnare him…
The King knows there are those in the noble Twelve Houses who could use this growing dissent to overthrow him. So he dispatches the mystic Senneth to assess the threat throughout the realm. Accompanying her is a motley band of magic-users and warriors including Tayse, first among the King’s Riders—who…
I’ve adored fantasy adventures for as long as I could read. A good story is a mirror of life, and sometimes life can feel hard, cold, and impersonal. Yet life can also be an adventure, and like fictional heroes, the way in which we overcome our challenges is what makes us truly human. And sometimes it’s the actions of fantastical or inhuman creatures that show us true humanity.
When a hero overcomes their challenges in a way that shows humanity, I stand up and cheer. When they do it in a way that’s creative or funny, I laugh. When an author can do both, I treasure it.
With its combination of mature, flawed characters, slow-burn romance, and just the right amount of magic and wonder in the world, Swordheart is one of my favorite fantasy romances.
It’s an odd couple: a quirky widow for whom life on the road, and certainly pursuit by all manner of bandits is unfamiliar territory, together with a grumpy warrior imprisoned in an enchanted sword. Yet the two draw closer as they overcome countless obstacles together.
Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws… and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.
To me, a good story is where things happen. I like fast-paced action, grand adventures, snarky banter, and happy endings. I especially like books that don’t take themselves too seriously. Being an author of non-stop action adventure, offbeat science fiction and fantasy books, I write easy-to-read, compelling stories with just as much conflict and danger while maintaining an overarching atmosphere of levity and hope. Suburban mom by day and author by night, I love to live vicariously through my characters. They don’t have to vacuum all day long and are almost always guaranteed to survive any fantastical or thrilling incidents, no matter how treacherous I write them.
I love when stories start right where the action is! Very effective narrative, very vivid worlds–I felt like I was actually there. I was so blown away by the research that must have gone into the settings and locations in this book. The action is fast-paced, the conflict is compelling, and the dash of forbidden love was the cherry on top. I’m a total sucker for romance spanning across parallel worlds and alternate selves. I find the concept of portals and multiverses so incredibly fascinating that this element is in most of my books too.
Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions. Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes-and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer-her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul-escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through…
I’ve been fascinated with high fantasy since the moment my grandmother first presented me with Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Then, add in a Nora Roberts book when I turned sixteen, and voila, my love for all things fantasy romance was born. I crave tension, romance, sizzle, and some epic fight-to-love scenes that make my blood run hot. When I started writing, I knew the exact genre I wanted to focus on–romance. All. Things. Romance. Fantasy, paranormal, contemporary–I enjoy writing them all but in every single one of my stories there lies a thread of fight–of sizzle–because what’s a happily ever after if you don’t have to work for it?
I binge-read the first three books in this series in a matter of days. It is seriously incredibly to watch these two characters be thrown together. Both with dark pasts of their own, seeing them fight together toward a common goal is absolutely heartwarming even as it gets frustrating at times.
Heart-pounding romance and thrilling action meet deep world-building in Blade & Rose, a sexy and addictive romantic epic fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass and Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom.
She’s bound to a monster. He’s bound to his oaths. Their bonds will break. And so will they…
An elemental mage who just wants her freedom, twenty-two-year-old Rielle is driven by one inevitability: she will destroy the impending arranged marriage to her cruel werewolf fiancé. Then she can happily spend her life independently, working as a mage on missions.
I’ve always been fascinated with the first-person voice, the way it magically pulls us into a story through the character’s/narrator’s perspective, and how when done well, can feel so natural and personal. I’ve tried to write in this perspective over the years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I hope I have done it adequately with this current novel. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert when it comes to the first-person, but I am an interested participant. I am a creative writing professor, but I am also a student of writing and always will be. The more I investigate, the more I read, the more I learn. Focusing on this topic has been no exception.
When it comes to “selling the voice” in the first-person narrative, so much depends on the language and the style by which the chosen character tells the story. How convinced is the reader of this voice that promises us everything?
Let us only pay attention to Jabari Asim and his slave narrative Yonder, to know how to do it well. From the first chapter we are thrown into William’s world, the harsh truth of living on a plantation in the American South.
Once he starts narrating in his believable and lyrical voice, we feel the danger, and the hopelessness: ”I had known death could come at any time. You could keel over in the fields. You could be crushed under a wagon wheel, kicked by a horse, or have your skull split open because a slice of ham…had gone missing.” The first-person magic takes over and we have no choice…
The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.
They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own.
In a world that would be allegorical if it weren’t saturated in harsh truths, Cato and William meet at Placid Hall, a plantation in an unspecified part of the American South. Subject to the whims of their tyrannical and eccentric captor, Cannonball…
I love being cozy more than just about anything – that’s why I keep writing books set in boarding schools in the fall! My books are best served with a cup of tea and a purring kitten to get you through the sad bits – which, as we all know, just make romantic endings even more satisfying.
Witchy goodness, the coziest town in the world, and an amazing romance – what more can you ask for?
Gwyn Jones is a witch who is perfectly content to keep working at her witchy shop in Graves Glen, and does not need to deal with Wells Penhallow, whose ancestral links to the town are the reason he’s opening a competing shop across the street from Gwyn.
Banter, snappy retorts, and a simmering tension underneath it all, especially when it turns out they have to work together to fight against forces bigger than the both of them??? What more do you need???
The follow-up to Erin Sterling's New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.
Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she's running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she's started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there's only one problem-Llewellyn "Wells" Penhallow.
Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family's connection to…
I’m a lifelong reader who cut my teeth on Narnia and Nancy Drew. Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas a later-in-life revelation, combining the fantasy and mystery elements I’d loved in childhood with a butt-kicking heroine and plenty of romance. I’m always seeking that same blend of humor and action in the paranormal romances I read, as well as the ones I write. It can be tough to find paranormal romances that aren’t deeply intense and moody, so I hope this list will help you enjoy the lighter side of paranormal.
Wolf Gone Wild is hands-down my favorite book in the author’s Stay a Spell Series. Set in New Orleans, this witch-werewolf love story delivers plenty of atmosphere and a feel-good ending. Evie is independent and powerful, and Mateo is your new Book Boyfriend. I love how this story flips the damsel-in-distress trope. Plus, Juliette Cross writes some of the hottest love scenes I’ve ever read. You’ll need a bourbon on ice to cool yourself off when reading this one.
What's the worst thing that can happen to a werewolf?
Unable to shift for three months, Mateo Cruz knows all too well. His wolf has taken up residence in his head, taunting him night and day with vividly violent and carnal thoughts. Convinced he's cursed, he needs the help of a powerful witch before he literally goes insane.
Evie Savoie has always obeyed the house rules of her coven--no werewolves. They're known for being moody and volatile. So, when a distempered, dangerous werewolf strolls in the bar and almost strangles one of her late-night customers, she's ready to bounce him…
I’ve been an incurable romantic for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was in middle school, my friends and I started writing what would now be considered novellas. We would write our stories during class and trade notebooks in the hallways between bells. That is until I was caught writing one of my opuses in pre-algebra. There was nothing like the dopamine hit of writing those first stories that would deter me! The characters in my head grew up as I did and I found myself passionate about the telling of second chances in life and in love.
This book was so much fun! I can’t remember a time I used “fun” to describe a second chance romance but Erin Sterling delivers. Vivi is left broken-hearted after Rhys leaves town only to return nine years later to wreak havoc on Vivi’s life once again. Did I mention she’s a witch? Or the minor curse she cast on Rhys when he left? As you can imagine, hijinks ensue when these two crash together again. One of my favorite parts of written chemistry is banter and wow the banter in this book is on point. When you aren’t busy rooting for Vivi and Rhys you’re enchanted by the cast of characters that surround them. Cousin Gwen is a riot! One part romantic comedy, one part second chance romance. This was a favorite read of 2021 for me.
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.
Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths...and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn't use her magic this way, but with only an "orchard hayride" scented candle on hand, she isn't worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.
That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town's ancestors, breaker of hearts,…
I've been a book doctor and acquiring editor for almost twenty years. I've read hundreds of debut novels, both published and not. I've always been amazed and impressed when an author is able to create a unique and internally consistent universe for their story. I also know—as a writer of ten fantasy and science fiction novels—that building a vivid, alternate world is a very difficult thing to do well. In the best stories the fictional world defines the characters in it, shapes them, and gives their struggle meaning. It's why we relate to their journey and make their success our own.
A Ragged Magic hooked me from the opening when Rhiannon watches while her family is falsely accused and then publicly executed. Rhiannon herself is captured and undergoes a torturous ritual against her will – one which infuses and amplifies her burgeoning magical aptitude. The magic inThe Runeboundseries is unique and fascinating. This book and its vulnerable main character drew me into her world.
Rhiannon has the Sight - the ability to glimpse the hearts and minds of others. Her visions attract the attention of the powerful kirche, which has condemned all magic outside the holy orders. Thrust into intrigue and danger, Rhiannon must learn to control her growing power, and master ...
A RAGGED MAGIC
"Lindsey S. Johnson debuts strongly with her tale of betrayal, magic and political intrigue. She breaks our hearts open in the first chapter ... with her fast-paced, often poetic prose ... " --KEN SCHOLES, award-winning author of The Psalms of Isaak
"Lindsey S. Johnson's strong, confident voice ...…
I rediscovered my love of romantic fantasies when my mother went into the hospital, and I needed a place to go to escape the horror of watching a parent’s health fail. I not only buried myself in reading fantasies filled with magical love stories, I started writing them again. Throughout my life, I’ve reached for fantasy novels whenever life got tough. As a child, I would read nearly every fantasy I could find. As an adult, my tastes have changed, and I’m looking for fantasy novels with a romantic twist. But still, it’s the heroine overcoming adversity despite the worst odds that gives me hope and comfort exactly when I need it.
This book is the start of a spicy romantic fantasy series that hooked me from the first page. It fed into my love of spooky vampires, dark mysteries, and a fun love story with snarky dialogue.
I devoured this book and the rest of the series during the pandemic lockdown. The complicated Kingdom of Solis provided the perfect escape. The high drama of this fantasy echoed the stress of the uncertainty of the stressful time I was living through. The promise that things can work out, even when everything is falling apart, proved to be the balm I so desperately needed. When things get stressful, I pull out this series for a reread.
“I hope you guys love this book as much as I do!! (Let me just say...Hawk *swoon*!!)” ~ NYT bestseller Sarah J. Maas
Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.
A Maiden…
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather…
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