Book of Days by
John Marsden suggests:
"All hail K.A Barker, for giving us something so dazzlingly differnet! And funny too!
When Tuesday wakes from sleep for the first time when she is sixteen, she opens her eyes to a world filled with wonder - and peril. Left with only a letter from the person she once was, Tuesday sets out to discover her past with the help of her charming and self-serving guide, Quintalion. Along the way she runs into a one-legged mercenary, flying cities, airships, and a blind librarian. But danger shadows her every move. The leader of the merciless daybreakers is hunting her, convinced that she killed the only woman he ever loved. Tuesday will need all her wits to survive long enough to find out who she is and her connection with the mysterious Book of Days: a book that holds untold power.
The Beast awakens by
Crafty can't remember a time before the Shole - the terrifying mist that has engulfed most of Britain, leaving those trapped in it to either die or be transformed into terrifying monsters: the aberrations. Crafty has been stuck in his family's cellar for nearly a year, his only companions his restless, whispering dead brothers, and an unusually friendly aberration he names the Bog Queen. But then Crafty's life abruptly changes. He is ordered to report to the Castle, where he will train as a gate grub - operators of magical portals that allow the mysterious guild of Gatemancers to explore within the Shole. It is a dangerous job, with a very short life expectancy... To survive, Crafty will have to use every inch of his cunning - whatever the cost.
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Deep Blue by
Daughter of Merrow, leave your sleep, The ways of childhood no more to keep. The dream will die, a nightmare rise, Sleep no more, child, open your eyes... On the morning of her betrothal, Serafina's biggest worry should be about her reunion with Prince Mahdi, her childhood crush. Instead, she is haunted by strange dreams foretelling the return of an ancient evil. Then the city is stormed by assassins. Led only by her shadowy dreams and pursued by the invading army, Serafina and her best friend, Neela, embark upon a quest to find the army's leader and prevent a war between the mer nations. They must search for four other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that will threaten their world's very existence. Deep Blue is the stunning first book in Jennifer Donnelly's new Waterfire saga.
His Dark Materials by
The story moves between parallel universes. Northern lights: Beginning in Oxford, Lyra and her animal-daemon Pantalaimion take a rescue mission to the ice kingdoms of the far North, where she begins to learn about the mysterious particles they call Dust - a substance for which a terrible war between different worlds will be fought. The subtle knife: Will is twelve years old and he's just killed a man. Now he's on his own, on the run, determined to discover the truth about his father's disappearance. Then Will steps through a window in the air into another world, and finds himself with a companion - a girl called Lyra. Like Will, she has a mission which she intends to carry out at all costs. The amber spyglass: Lyra and Will find themselves facing even greater perils. But there are old friends who come to their aid: Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear, and the scientist Dr Mary Malone. There are new allies: the Gallivespians, hand-high dragonfly-riders with poison spurs, and the mulefa, strange wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust. And there are new dangers, including a journey to the worst world of all - a journey that exerts a terrible cost on both children.
The Starless sea by
Are you lost or are you exploring? When Zachary Rawlins stumbles across a strange book hidden in his university library it leads him on a quest unlike any other. Its pages entrance him with their tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities and nameless acolytes, but they also contain something impossible -- a recollection from his own childhood. Determined to solve the puzzle of the book, Zachary follows the clues he finds on the cover -- a bee, a key and a sword. They guide him to a masquerade ball, to a dangerous secret club, and finally through a magical doorway created by the fierce and mysterious Mirabel. This door leads to a subterranean labyrinth filled with stories, hidden far beneath the surface of the earth. When the labyrinth is threatened, Zachary must race with Mirabel, and Dorian, a handsome barefoot man with shifting alliances, through its twisting tunnels and crowded ballrooms, searching for the end of his story.
Assassin's apprentice by
The novel covers the early life of Fitz, a royal bastard, (hence his name, FitzChivalry, Fitz meaning Bastard and Chivalry after his father Chivalry, literally "Bastard [of] Chivalry") living in Buckkeep Castle as he begins his training as an assassin and successfully safeguards the throne from his over-ambitious uncle Regal, almost at the cost of his life.
The Finisher by
Welcome to Wormwood: a place where curiosity is discouraged and no one has ever left. Until one girl, Vega Jane, discovers a map that suggests a mysterious world beyond the walls. A world with possibilities and creatures beyond her imagining. But she will be forced to fight for her freedom. And unravelling the truth may cost Vega her life.
Sea Hearts by
On remote Rollrock Island the sea-witch Misskaella discovers she can draw a girl from the heart of a seal, so that for a price a man might buy himself a bride, an enchanting sea-wife. But what cost will be borne by the people of Rollrock for this enchantment? A tale of desire and revenge, loyalty, heartache and human weakness, and of the unforeseen consequence of all-consuming love.
