“Hmm. No. I’m telling this wrong.”
First line in The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin
Hi, guys. I’m back with part 2 of telling you about all the books I added to my TBR in the month of May. It was the month of Wyrd and Wonder so all of these books are in the fantasy genre. If you missed part 1, it’s right here.
As I clearified in the first post, I haven’t necessarily discovered these books through Wyrd and Wonder related posts. This is merely a list of all the fantasy books I added to my TBR during May. Let’s start!
The Lightning-Struck Heart by T. J. Klune
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or so he thinks.
Why it sounds awesome:
- “the hornless gay unicorn”… What? Like you need more reasons.
- Sounds deliciously weird
- T. J. Klune is an author I need to try. This is the third book of his I’m adding to my TBR. The first two being The House in the Cerulean Sea and Wolfsong.
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs’ fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion’s Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience.
As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests.
But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…
Why it sounds awesome:
- Epicness!
- Forbidden power that character wields anyway. Do I spy a chosen one trope? Because then: Yes, please!
Royal Rescue by A. Alex Logan
At age eighteen, when they become marriageable, all royal children in the Thousand Kingdoms must either go questing to rescue another royal or be hidden away to await rescue themselves. Some go the traditional route of princes rescuing princesses, but not all princes want to be rescuers…and some would rather rescue other princes.
Then there’s Prince Gerald, who has no interest in getting married at all. When he refuses to choose a role as either rescuer or rescuee, his royal parents choose for him and have him magicked away to a distant tower to await a spouse.
Gerald, however, is having none of it. He recruits his guardian dragon and a would-be rescuer and soon the trio is dashing to all corners of the united kingdoms on a quest to overturn the entire system.
Why it sounds awesome:
- It reminds me of Shrek… Sounds like it also pokes fun at the whole “rescue the princess from the tower” trope. And also gender-bending it.
- Guardian dragon!
The Goblin Emporor by Katherine Addison
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.
Why it sounds awesome:
- Well, most of the Wyrd and Wonder community seemed to love it during the readalong. I was unable to read it with them but I’m now sure I want to get to it in the future.
- Court intrigue!!
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
When August learns that his best friend, Jack, shows signs of degenerative hallucinatory disorder, he is determined to help Jack cope. Jack’s vivid and long-term visions take the form of an elaborate fantasy world layered over our own—a world ruled by the Wicker King. As Jack leads them on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy in this alternate world, even August begins to question what is real or not.
August and Jack struggle to keep afloat as they teeter between fantasy and their own emotions. In the end, each must choose his own truth.
Why it sounds awesome:
- Mental health!
- Sounds like it hurts to read (which for me is a good thing)
- Contemporary story with fantasy elements
I used to be pretty good at keeping my TBR quite small, but during Wyrd and Wonder, you guys just kept writing about amazing books I’d never heard of before. So THANK YOU! Are any of these books also on your TBR or are you lucky enough to have already read them?
First Line Reader 
The shadow of what was lost sounds so good, I really want to pick that one up ASAP!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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