Dust And Light: A Sanctuary Novel

WISHLIST:

Dust And Light: A Sanctuary Novel by Carol Berg
Book in the Lighthouse series
Genre: epic fantasy
Publication Date: August 5th 2014 by Roc Trade

About Dust And Light: A Sanctuary Novel:

National bestselling author Carol Berg returns to the world of her award-winning Flesh And Spirit and Breath And Bone with an all-new tale of magic, mystery, and corruption....

How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of unseemly involvement with ordinaries,” which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her.... After that one mistake, Lucian’s grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family. Now the Registry has contracted his art to a common coroner. His extraordinary gift for portraiture is restricted to dead ordinaries — beggars or starvelings hauled from the streets.

But sketching the truth of dead men’s souls brings unforeseen consequences. Sensations not his own. Truths he cannot possibly know and dares not believe. The coroner calls him a cheat and says he is trying to weasel out of a humiliating contract. The Registry will call him mad — and mad sorcerers are very dangerous....

Source: Info in the About Dust And Light: A Sanctuary Novel was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693786-dust-and-light on 08/11/2013.

Update(s): 16 November 2013 - Cover art of Dust And Light: A Sanctuary Novel added.

Flesh And Spirit by Carol Berg
Book 1 of the Lighthouse Duet
Genre: epic fantasy

About Flesh And Spirit:

In a land torn apart by civil war, pestilence, and shaky alliances, a man branded a traitor ends up in a place he never expected...

The rebellious son of a long line of pureblood cartographers and diviners, Valen has spent most of his life trying to escape what society - and his family - have ordained for him. His own mother has predicted that he will meet his doom in water, blood, and ice. Her divination seems fulfilled when a comrade abandons Valen in a rainy wilderness half-dead, addicted to an enchantment that converts pain to pleasure, and possessing only a stolen book of maps.

Offered sanctuary in a nearby monastery, Valen discovers that his book - rumored to lead men into the realm of angels - gains him entry into a world of secret societies, doomsayers, monks, princes, and madmen, all seeking to unlock the mystery of a coming dark age. To his dismay, Valen must face what he fled so long ago, for the key to Navronne's doom is buried in half-forgotten myth and the secrets of his own past...

Source: Info in the About Flesh And Spirit was taken from the author's website at http://www.sff.net/people/carolberg/lighthouse.html on 20/03/2011.

Breath And Bone by Carol Berg
Book 2 of the Lighthouse Duet
Genre: epic fantasy

About Breath And Bone:

Osriel the Bastard wagged his finger, choking off my response as if a noose tightened about my neck. "But you, Magnus Valentia de Cartamandua-Celestine...what does Sila Diaglou want with you?"

Not just the murderous Harrower priestess, but everyone in Navronne seems to be after Valen. There is the Bastard Prince himself, who steals dead men's eyes. And the Pureblood Registry, determined to keep every pureblood sorcerer in thrall. Even beings out of myth, the Danae guardians, whose dancing nurtures the earth and whose attention could prove the most costly of all.

As Navronne sinks deeper into civil war and perilous winter, Valen finds himself a bargaining chip in a deadly standoff. Doomed to madness by his addiction to the doulon, and bound by oaths he refuses to abandon, the young sorcerer risks body and soul to rescue one child, seek justice for another, and bring the ailing land its righteous king. Yet no one is who they seem, and Valen's search for healing grace leads him from Harrower dungeons to the very heart of the world. In the twilight of a legend, he at last discovers the hard truth of the coming dark age and the glorious, terrible price of the land's redemption...and his own.

Source: Info in the About Breath And Bone was taken from the author's website at http://www.sff.net/people/carolberg/lighthouse.html on 26/03/2011.

BETWEEN Series

WISHLIST:

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Seas by April Genevieve Tucholke
Book 1 of the Between series
Genre: urban fantasy

About Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Seas:

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back.

Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying — a debut to watch.

Source: Info in the About Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Seas was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12930909-between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea on 07/11/2013.

Between The Spark And The Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke
Book 2 of the Between series
Genre: urban fantasy

About Between The Spark And The Burn:

The conclusion to Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, this gothic thriller romance with shades of Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier is a must-read for fans of Beautiful Creatures and Anna Dressed in Blood.

Freddie once told me that the Devil created all the fear in the world. But then, the Devil once told me that it's easier to forgive someone for scaring you than for making you cry. The problem with River West Redding was that he'd done both to me.

The crooked-smiling liar River West Redding, who drove into Violet's life one summer day and shook her world to pieces, is gone. Violet and Neely, River's other brother, are left to worry — until they catch a two a.m. radio program about strange events in a distant mountain town. They take off in search of River but are always a step behind, finding instead frenzied towns, witch hunts, and a wind-whipped island with the thrum of something strange and dangerous just under the surface. It isn't long before Violet begins to wonder if Neely, the one Redding brother she thought trustworthy, has been hiding a secret of his own . . .

Between the Spark and the Burn is the heart-pounding conclusion to the �lavishly rendered, darkly romantic, and beautifully unsettling [Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea.]” — Melissa Marr

Source: Info in the About Between The Spark And The Burn was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667954-between-the-spark-and-the-burn on 07/11/2013.

Falling Kingdoms series

WISHLIST:

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Book 1 of the Falling Kingdoms series
Genre: fantasy

About Falling Kingdoms:

The gripping New York Times bestseller that is Game of Thrones for teens

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power — brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished — and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past — and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword. . .

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Source: Info in the About Falling Kingdoms was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12954620-falling-kingdoms on 02/11/2013.

Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes
Book 2 of the Falling Kingdoms series
Genre: fantasy

About Rebel Spring:

Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series

Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms — Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia — are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...

When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.

Source: Info in the About Rebel Spring was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16000044-rebel-spring on 02/11/2013.

Falling Kingdoms #3: (No Title Yet) by Morgan Rhodes
Book 3 of the Falling Kingdoms series
Genre: fantasy

About Falling Kingdoms #3: (No Title Yet):

(No info yet.)

Falling Kingdoms #4: (No Title Yet) by Morgan Rhodes
Book 4 of the Falling Kingdoms series
Genre: fantasy

About Falling Kingdoms #4: (No Title Yet):

(No info yet.)

Chronicles Of A Reluctant Necromancer Series

WISHLIST:

Ward Against Death by Melanie Card
Book 1 of the Chronicles Of A Reluctant Necromancer series
Genre: urban fantasy

About Ward Against Death:

Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job — bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon — the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying — so bringing people back from the dead it is.

But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems — including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive…

Source: Info in the About Ward Against Death was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11796405-ward-against-death on 25/07/2013.

Ward Against Darkness by Melanie Card
Book 2 of the Chronicles Of A Reluctant Necromancer series
Genre: urban fantasy
Publication Date: 27 August 2013

About Ward Against Darkness:

The last thing Ward de'Ath wants is more trouble. On the run from both the law and the criminal underworld, Ward and Celia flee Brawenal City only to stumble into the mansion of a powerful evil necromancer. And when Ward discovers the man possesses a dangerous grimoire, his duty leaves him no choice. He can't allow the necromancer to keep the grimoire. But the mansion is filled with monsters — human and undead — and Ward has no way of telling who's friend or foe. The only person he can trust is Celia who dominates more of his thoughts and feelings everyday. But there are still laws in the way of anything but friendship. She's still dead and he's still alive . . . for now.

Source: Info in the About Ward Against Darkness was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16000437-ward-against-darkness on 25/07/2013.

Ward Against Disaster by Melanie Card
Book 3 of the Chronicles Of A Reluctant Necromancer series
Genre: urban fantasy
Publication Date: 6 Jan 2026

About Ward Against Disaster:

Ward de'Ath should be dead by now. Instead, he’s chasing after a soul-eating creature — that he unleashed — and is bent on stopping her before she slaughters more innocents. Fortunately, Celia Carlyle remains by his side, a nobleman's gorgeous and deadly daughter, who is…well, dead.

Celia claims she’ll champion Ward wherever he goes, even when she thinks his quest is hopeless. He can only hope her pledge comes from her heart, and not because she’s bound to him through his magic.

When they enter Dulthyne, they stumble upon a dark power that threatens the entire town. Ward, with his unreliable necromancy, is determined to help but finds himself ensnared in the lure of white-hot magic… blood magic he struggles to resist. But if Celia’s love is a lie, it might just doom his soul to the dark arts forever.

Source: Info in the About Ward Against Disaster was taken from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23526553-ward-against-disaster.



Amendment(s):
22 Apr 2024 - cover art and synopsis for book 3 was added to this post.

AWAKENED

WISHLIST:

Awakened by Kriston Johnson

Book 1 of The Legends Of Elyndia series
Genre: fantasy
Publication Date: April 2013

About Awakened:

Can fighting for the right side be the wrong thing to do?

Draven, the tyrant ruler of Elyndia for the last one thousand years, searches for the one who can fulfill his prophecy.

The Paladins, an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their way of life at all cost, search for the one with the ability to bring their world crumbling down.

An innocent girl, tormented by demons only she can see, lives on the brink of insanity and longs for a life of peace.

When seventeen-year-old Jade Rosenberg reads from an antique book, she has no idea she just read an incantation awaking her inherited power. But when opposing — and equally terrifying — groups invade her home, she learns she is descended from an enchanted realm and a member of a powerful race thought to have been hunted to extinction.

Ripped from her world, Jade is forced to seek refuge from those who want her dead. She is given one of two options and the time has come for her to make a choice: assassinate their sworn enemy…

Or sacrifice her soul.

Source: Info in the About Awakened was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17381652-awakened?ac=1 on 12/05/2013.

The Mist-Torn Witches

WISHLIST:

The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee
Book 1 of the Mist-Torn Witches series
Genre: fantasy

About The Mist-Torn Witches:

National bestselling author Barb Hendee presents a dark, fascinating new series set in the world of the Noble Dead Saga... the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...

In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.

But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.

A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their "skills" to find the killer.

With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.

Source: Info in the About The Mist-Torn Witches was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808272-the-mist-torn-witches on 02/05/2013.

Witches In Red by Barb Hendee
Book 2 of the Mist-Torn Witches series
Publication Date: May 2014

About Witches In Red:

Céline and Amelie Fawe can see into anyone’s past and future simply by touching them. They have used their powers to secure sanctuary — and a fine apothecary’s shop — in the village around Castle Sèone. But their continued safety has a price…

Far to the north, the men of an isolated silver mining community are turning into vicious “beasts” that slaughter anyone in sight. The mines belong to the noble family of Prince Anton — ruler of Castle Sèone and Céline and Amelie’s patron — and Anton’s tyrannical father has ordered his son to solve the mystery as a test of his leadership. He has no choice but to send the witches into the perilous north, to use their abilities to discover the cause of the transformations. Given how much they owe the prince, the sisters have no choice but to accept.

Together with the over-protective Lieutenant Jaromir, Célene and Amelie enter the dark world of a far off mining camp tainted by fear, mistrust, and enslavement — and haunted by men turning into massive, mad wolves without warning. Now, the two must draw upon strength and cunning they never thought they possessed not only to solve the mystery, but to survive…

Source: Info in the About Witches In Red was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18110063-witches-in-red on 07/07/2013.