Team Epic: Why I Love Epic Fantasy!
Erica Cameron - Island of Exiles
(The Ryogan Chronicles, #1):
Why do I love
epic fantasy? It's a blank slate. We can erase all of our preconceived notions
of society and law and even science, throwing all of that over the side of a
cliff. Epic fantasy lets us push humanity well past the breaking point with
ever more impossible landscapes and situations. It lets us see what we could be
if only we let ourselves get there. Plus, epic fantasy is, well, epic!
Book Description:
In Khya’s world,
every breath is a battle. On the isolated desert island of Shiara, dying young is
inevitable. The clan comes before self, and protecting her home means Khya is a
warrior above all else.
But when
following the clan and obeying their leaders could cost her brother his life,
Khya’s home becomes a deadly trap. The only person who can help is Tessen, her
lifelong rival and the boy who challenges her at every turn. The council she
hoped to join has betrayed her, and their secrets, hundreds of years deep,
reach around a world she’s never seen.
To save her
brother’s life and her island home, her only choice is to trust Tessen, turn
against her clan, and go on the run—a betrayal and a death sentence.
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Amber Mitchell – Garden of
Thorns:
When I read and
write, it’s because I want to escape and nothing gets you farther from your
troubles than the distant shores of entirely new worlds. Epic fantasy invites
you onto its tropical beaches, into its lush jungles and through its exotic
cityscapes, shaking out its uncharted map for you to explore. Every page brims
with fantastic characters questing, battling men and extraordinary beasts alike
with magic flowing from nimble fingertips and daring sword fights. The allure
of entirely new cultures, the epic stakes, swoon-worthy romances, and the
flowing dresses of epic fantasy will always have my heart.
Book Description:
After seven
grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave
girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance
for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her
isn't one of the emperor's men—not anymore. He's the former heir to the throne,
who is now leading a rebellion against it.
Rayce is a wanted
man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved
with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose's attempt to take
him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where
her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other
girls, she'll tell him all the Garden's secrets.
Except the one
secret she's kept for seven years that she'll to take to her grave if she must.
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L.E. Sterling - True North
(True Born, #2):
Don’t get me
wrong -- #TeamUrban is great. I love time jumpers and magicians running around
a book. They make you blink and question what you saw. But I prefer life in a
funhouse mirror. Give me a goblin market. Give me a warrior queen with immortal
blood. I want the snow queen’s glass shard to be embedded in my eye. I want to
completely escape the bounds of reality -- not be shackled by them. I don't
want to just question my perceptions -- I want to know I’m not in Kansas any longer.
Book Description:
Abandoned by her
family in Plague-ridden Dominion City, eighteen-year-old Lucy Fox has no choice
but to rely upon the kindness of the True Borns, a renegade group of
genetically enhanced humans, to save her twin sister, Margot. But Nolan Storm,
their mysterious leader, has his own agenda. When Storm backtracks on his
promise to rescue Margot, Lucy takes her fate into her own hands and sets off
for Russia with her True Born bodyguard and maybe-something-more, the lethal
yet beautiful Jared Price. In Russia, there's been whispered rumors of Plague
Cure.
While Lucy fights
her magnetic attraction to Jared, anxious that his loyalty to Storm will hurt
her chances of finding her sister, they quickly discover that not all is as it
appears…and discovering the secrets contained in the Fox sisters' blood before they
wind up dead is just the beginning.
As they say in
Dominion, sometimes it’s not you…it’s your DNA.
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Nicole Luiken - In Truth &
Ashes (Otherselves, #3):
First for the
endlessly inventive magic. Second for the fascinating new worlds to explore.
Third for the fantastic creatures that dwell there: dragons, gargoyles,
demi-gods and phoenixes are just a few of the ones I've used.
Epic fantasy
gives a writer a bigger canvas to paint. Instead of a city, a country or even
worlds. Wars. Heroes. Villains. Destinies. Everything is bigger is epic
fantasy. The stakes are higher, instead of a single group, the fate of a world
can hang in the balance.
Book Description:
The Mirror Worlds are but dull reflections of the True World, where
magic and technology blend together…
On the True World, Belinda Loring has known from childhood that she
must Bond with the son of another noble First Family. Uniting the families
ensures hers will hold onto its powerful position, and so she’s always pushed
down the tender feelings she has for her best friend—gorgeous, steadfast
Demian, who isn’t noble.
But when the ceremonial magic goes disastrously wrong, Belinda becomes
a national disgrace. Scorned as Broken, she turns to Demian for help getting
revenge on the man who ruined her: the radical Malachi.
But the seeds of Malachi’s murderous plans lie buried in Belinda’s
past, in the dark days of her kidnapping—a period of which she has no memory.
And Demian may hold the key to recovering all that she’s lost—and saving the
worlds.
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Renee Collins - Relic:
Book Description:
After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie
Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive best she can in
the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct
magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their
residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user
to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.
Working in a local saloon, Maggie befriends the spirited showgirl
Adelaide and falls for the roguish cowboy Landon. But when she proves to have a
particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to
the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who
runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren’t always clear, Álvar trains
Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in
their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for
evil before it’s too late.
Relic is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a
spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good.
Buy
Relic
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Rebekah L. Purdy - The Summer
Marked (The Winter People, #2):
Epic Fantasy is
an escape from the “real world” and takes you to other lands, places you can
only dream of, which is why I love it so much.
And there’s so much more opportunity to really explore new creatures and
characters within these worlds. I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of stepping
through a closet and finding a cool fantasy world? LOL.
I’m also a big
fan of the epic battles (think Lord of
the Rings or Throne of Glass).
Girl with a sword=Awesome.
Book Description:
Fresh off a
break-up with her boyfriend, Kadie’s glad to be home from college for
Thanksgiving. All she needs is a rebound guy, a box of chocolates, and some
girl time with her best friend, Salome. Problem is, Salome isn’t returning her
calls, and her family won’t say where she is. Feeling sorry for herself, Kadie
ends up at Club Blade, a place filled with pumping music, dangerous guys, and
promises of a good time. However, when midnight strikes, Kadie’s fun turns into
a nightmare as she’s ripped from the human world into Faerie by a vengeful
Winter Prince named Etienne. For the first time in her life, she realizes the
monsters Salome always spoke of are real, and they’ll stop at nothing to
destroy her friend.
Salome thought
the winter curse was behind her. But winter has left its mark. Not just on her,
but on the whole summer court. The Kingdom of Summer is falling apart, and
Nevin is hanging onto his throne by a thread. With war on his doorstep, he has
no choice but to send Gareth into enemy territory, which means Salome will be
left alone—vulnerable in a world she doesn’t understand. A place where beauty
is deadly and humans are pawns in the macabre games the Fae play. Both Kadie
and Salome will have to call on all their strength to survive in a world where
humans aren’t meant to be. With death and enemies all around them, it’ll be a
miracle if they can survive.
-->
Chloe Jacobs - Greta and the
Goblin King (Mylena Chronicles, #1):
Book Description:
While trying to
save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in
herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are
the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with
the eclipse.
To survive, Greta
has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at
what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin
king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will
to escape.
But Greta’s not
the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key
to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every
bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her—including Isaac. If Greta
fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will
be safe from what follows her back…
Giveaway:
The Grand Prize winner of the contest will receive the following:
- True Born (True Born Trilogy, #1) by L.E. Sterling
- Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers, #1) by Brenda Drake
- Spindle by Shonna Slayton
Have you read any of these? Are any of them already on your TBR, or maybe you'll be adding them now? Do you think you're on Team Urban or Team Epic?
