Here are 38 books that Firebird fans have personally recommended once you finish the Firebird series.
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As an author of experimental and genre-bending books, I evangelize people not only to read more books but to read books outside of their comfort zone. And while it doesnât take much work to get adult readers to consider Young Adult titles, getting them to read Middle-Grade books has been a much greater challenge, which is a shame because middle school has a lot to offer. Some of the best and most life-changing books exist within the Middle-Grade category. My own Middle-Grade books were written with readers of many age ranges in mind.Â
Thereâs nothing childish about this rip-roaring fantasy adventure. I loved it long before Brandon Sanderson became a household name. While the book is steeped in whimsy, it sidesteps the pitfalls that render most Middle-Grade books inaccessible to adults. With realistic character motivations, a (strangely plausible) explanation for how all librarians could be secretly evil, and a cohesive magic system that could stand right beside any of Sandersonâs adult offerings.
I especially loved the way the book sucks the reader in with its deftly executed frame story. There are layers upon layers of storytelling here. I loved that, and I am not embarrassed to say it.
Experience the action-packed first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's laugh-out-loud middle-grade fantasy series like never beforeânow in paperback with all new covers!
AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS.
Everything I'd known about the world was a lie.
On my thirteenth birthday, I, Alcatraz Smedry (yes, I got named after a prison, donât ask) received my inheritance: a bag of sand. And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parentsâ kitchen. Itâs not my fault, things just break around me, I swear!
I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it. Youâre probably thinking,âŚ
Iâve always chased that child-like wonderâthe intoxicating mix of passion, adventure, and discovery. Growing up, I sought books that could capture that magic, and as a writer, I now understand how rare and powerful it is to evoke those raw emotions. These books gave me that spark, inspiring me both personally and creatively. They even motivated me to create Visual Novel, a tool designed to bring stories to life and immerse readers further into their worlds. I hope this list rekindles that sense of innocent wonder and reminds you of the beauty and weight of youthful imagination.
This book filled me with pure wonder. The futuristic setting felt like a glimpse into a world weâre on the brink of creating, where technology can be both a refuge and a battlefield. I loved the way it combined a digital universe with a gritty, imperfect realityâit made me think about how much potential the future holds, both thrilling and terrifying.
The sense of exploration and possibility was so vivid that I found myself daydreaming about what could be long after I turned the last page. Itâs a story that reminds me how powerful imagination can be. The characters arenât perfect, which made them feel real, and I was hooked by the idea of ordinary kids taking on extraordinary challenges. This one made me feel like anything was possible in the future.
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG
It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket thatâŚ
Iâve 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 onâromance. All. Things. Romance. Fantasy, paranormal, contemporaryâI enjoy writing them all but in every single one of my stories there lies a thread of fightâof sizzleâbecause whatâs a happily ever after if you donât 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. Maasâs Throne of Glass and Danielle L. Jensenâs The Bridge Kingdom.
Sheâs bound to a monster. Heâs bound to his oaths. Their bonds will break. And so will theyâŚ
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 fiancĂŠ. Then she can happily spend her life independently, working as a mage on missions.
As a hardcore introvert, I often find it difficult to open up to others, especially new people. But somehow, itâs easier to do so when traveling or at least out of my normal routine. So itâs no surprise that I gravitate to stories that feature characters traveling and forming bonds of friendship and romance while on the road. Add some magic to the mix, and Iâm almost definitely hooked!
Although this book does feature some heavy themes (CW for mentions of rape), itâs a powerful story about dealing with trauma â and moving on from it, to the life one wants to live. Dravenâs characters simply breathe. They feel fleshed-out and real, with all the contradictions of real people. Although the book is part of a series, the story feels complete on its own; the worldbuilding is lush and interesting. I love books that feature travel because being on the road is a great way for characters to connect with each other, as they must rely on one another for safety and survival. Phoenix Unbound features two very different characters who come together in a way that feels real â and beautiful.
In this USA Today bestselling novel, a woman with power over fire and illusion and the enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy.
Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital--her fate to be burned alive for the entertainment of the masses. For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses.
Iâve 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 itâs 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 thatâs 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.
Itâs 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.Â
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.
As a writer and independent game developer, Iâve always adored âfamilies of choice:â 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).Â
I absolutely love Sharon Shinnâs 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 bookâwhich follows a group of magic-wielding mystics and the reluctant, militaristic Kingâs Riders assigned to protect them as they travel the land, investigating a rise in anti-magic sentimentâis 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 himâŚ
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 Kingâs RidersâwhoâŚ
Iâm an award-winning and USA Today Best-Selling author whose work includes everything from short stories in school journals to horror and epic fantasy. But Iâve long been obsessed with books that work as well for adults as they do for children. The prose must be beautiful and designed to read aloud; the plot must be on point, and the characters must be compelling. And all of this with a PG rating. A tricky ask, even when the authors havenât added Easter egg extras for adults. Itâs because of this that I believe these are some of the best fantasy books ever written. So, enjoy!
âDoors are very powerful things. Things are different on either side of themââ
I love this quote. Thereâs nothing like the threshold of a door when it comes to story magic! Itâs steeped in tradition since long before Roman times. And Diana Wynne Jones is the underrated Queen of this whimsical genre. Her words flow so beautifully, and not only that, her characters are the cutest. I fell in love with Calcifer, the little fire demon, and the headstrong Sophie.Â
Now an animated movie from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the oscar-winning director of Spirited Away
In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell...
Deciding she has nothing more to lose, Sophie makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above her town, Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls...
There Sophie meets Michael, Howl's apprentice, and CalciferâŚ
Iâve been thinking about the forces that drive humanity together and pull us apart at the same time since my late teens; back then, I started reading the classical dystopian tales. The (perceived) end of time always speaks to me, because I think itâs in those moments of existential dread that we learn who we really are. Thatâs why I like reading (and reviewing) books, and also why those topics are an undertone in my own writings. I do hope you enjoy these 5 books as much as I have.
Never beforeâor afterâhas the apocalypse been as funny and entertaining as in this novel.
What resonated deeply with me was not only the humour and the often deadpan way of delivering it, but that also killed me. I was chuckling or just laughing out loud while reading it. No, I also like the fact that despite all the funny stuff going on, there is a deep underlying warmth in the story.Â
This story shows me a mirror and tells me my shortcomings as a human being, but it does so in a nice and embracing way.
THE BOOK BEHIND THE AMAZON PRIME/BBC SERIES STARRING DAVID TENNANT, MICHAEL SHEEN, JON HAMM AND BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Ridiculously inventive and gloriously funny' Guardian
What if, for once, the predictions are right, and the Apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?
It's a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon, now find themselves in. They've been living amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.
Iâve always had a passion for wounded heroes and strong heroines. My earliest memories are reading books where the heroine saves the day. Iâve never wanted the heroine to need the hero in order to make her life complete. Even as a child, when my dad read me books at nightâone of my favorite memoriesâI preferred stories where the heroine saved the day. As an adult, Iâve loved to read stories where the hero is brave enough to show his vulnerable side, and when I decided to become a writer, those were the books I wanted to write.
I adored this book! This is what happens if all of the characters from Jane Austenâs books got together for a house party, and one of them murders Mr. Wickham, a universally despised character.
The mystery reminds me of Agatha Christieâs mysteries, and the multiple character POVâs are terrific! Plus, the relatively modern twist of empowering the young (and slightly odd) characters was fantastic to watch.
A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickhamâone of literatureâs most notorious villainsâmeets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austenâs leading literary characters.
âHad Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written.â âAlexander McCall Smith
     The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintancesâcharacters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an evenâŚ
Iâve always had a passion for wounded heroes and strong heroines. My earliest memories are reading books where the heroine saves the day. Iâve never wanted the heroine to need the hero in order to make her life complete. Even as a child, when my dad read me books at nightâone of my favorite memoriesâI preferred stories where the heroine saved the day. As an adult, Iâve loved to read stories where the hero is brave enough to show his vulnerable side, and when I decided to become a writer, those were the books I wanted to write.
I loved the dual time-line mystery. It features so many strong women who overcome their circumstancesâeven when they donât realize theyâre doing itâand the character development is superb. The New York Public Library comes alive, the mystery is twisty and not what it seems, and the characters are unique and memorable.
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and a New York Times bestseller!  âA page-turner for booklovers everywhere! . . . A story of family ties, their lost dreams, and the redemption that comes from discovering truth.ââAdriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's WifeÂ
In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.
It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of lifeâher husband is the superintendent of the NewâŚ
