Here are 41 books that The Dark Lord's Daughter fans have personally recommended once you finish the The Dark Lord's Daughter series.
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Both as a writer and reader, I adore stories of fantasy and magic. The thing is, these stories have what I call a “price of admission,” which is the time and effort it takes to learn the world of the story in order to immerse yourself in it. That's one reason I am passionate about reading series books: they welcome me back to a world I already love and understand. Speaking as a writer, multiple volumes allow me to make the world I've created richer and deeper with each new book. A new book in a beloved series feels like catching up with an old friend, whether you're reading or writing.
I love to laugh, I love fantasy, I love dragons, and this book provides hilarity and dragons in rich measure. Patricia C. Wrede has a delightful way of twisting old tropes into something fresh and new.
Even better, she is a master of creating feisty female characters...the kind that I wanted my daughter and my students to read about.
Meet Princess Cimorene-a princess who refuses to be proper. She is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart . . . and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon. And not just any dragon, but Kazul-one of the most powerful and dangerous dragons around. With a new look and new introduction from the author, this story is sure to acquire a new generation of fans. AGES: 10-13 AUTHOR: Patricia C. Wrede has written many novels, including all four books in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles as well as 'Sorcery and Cecilia', 'The…
I have always loved writing, receiving, and reading letters—slips of paper that hold one person’s thoughts in order to transfer them to another person. One of my prized possessions is a short stack of letters I wrote to my parents from summer camp when I was 10 years old. Each one relays some catastrophe—a fall from a horse, a motorcycle crash, a waterskiing incident—with the relish of a wartime correspondent. Epistolary novels, diaries, and journal entries will always fascinate me. I love their immediacy. I begin reading and am immediately captivated by words that are ostensibly written for someone else but which speak directly to me.
I love the verve and charm of this story, told through a series of letters between two young Regency women who are best friends. Though the magical elements add mystery and keep the plot moving, I especially enjoyed experiencing the narrative through their correspondence with each other.
The letters add nuance to the characters, making me imagine that I am involved in the events of their lives—even though it takes days for the post to carry the letters to their destination. A side note that makes me love the book even more is the story of how it came to be: a fan met an author, and they collaborated to create this project.
A great deal is happening in London this season. For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at Sir Hilary's induction into the Royal College of Wizards. (Since when does hot chocolate burn a hole straight through one's dress?!) Then there's Dorothea. Is it a spell that's made her the toast of the town--or could it possibly have something to do with the charm-bag under Oliver's bed? And speaking of Oliver, just how long can Cecelia and Kate make excuses for him? Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he…
I have always loved writing, receiving, and reading letters—slips of paper that hold one person’s thoughts in order to transfer them to another person. One of my prized possessions is a short stack of letters I wrote to my parents from summer camp when I was 10 years old. Each one relays some catastrophe—a fall from a horse, a motorcycle crash, a waterskiing incident—with the relish of a wartime correspondent. Epistolary novels, diaries, and journal entries will always fascinate me. I love their immediacy. I begin reading and am immediately captivated by words that are ostensibly written for someone else but which speak directly to me.
One of the things I love most about this book is the fact that it’s the author’s debut novel—when she was in her 70s. The letters that form the story are engaging, witty, and sweet. All of them have a deep underlying awareness of the passing of time. (“It must have occurred to you that what you thought would happen when you were young never did.”)
The writing is beautifully poetic, with phrases that tickle the reader’s inner ear and remind me anew of why I love falling into a good book.
I have always loved writing, receiving, and reading letters—slips of paper that hold one person’s thoughts in order to transfer them to another person. One of my prized possessions is a short stack of letters I wrote to my parents from summer camp when I was 10 years old. Each one relays some catastrophe—a fall from a horse, a motorcycle crash, a waterskiing incident—with the relish of a wartime correspondent. Epistolary novels, diaries, and journal entries will always fascinate me. I love their immediacy. I begin reading and am immediately captivated by words that are ostensibly written for someone else but which speak directly to me.
The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite books, so I was thrilled to get to spend more time with Nick Carraway (not my favorite “Gatsby” character, but still…) I love so much about this hilarious, inventive book. Would Fitzgerald approve? Possibly. Would Papa, likely not.
Regardless, I love the letters, memos, transcripts, and other ephemera that come together to make for an entirely novel reading experience.
America in 1953 seems hell-bent on squandering the flood tide of international goodwill earned in WWII. Senator Joe McCarthy is on a red-hunting rampage in Washington, and the fledgling CIA under Allen Dulles is starting to dabble in nation-building.
Into this moment of history wander Nick Carraway and Jake Barnes, refugees from Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. They begin a correspondence that leads to a close friendship, and widens to include a bizarre cast of characters. From the classic fiction of the period come Larry Darrell (The Razor's Edge), Alden Pyle (The Quiet American), Lady…
I have always loved writing, receiving, and reading letters—slips of paper that hold one person’s thoughts in order to transfer them to another person. One of my prized possessions is a short stack of letters I wrote to my parents from summer camp when I was 10 years old. Each one relays some catastrophe—a fall from a horse, a motorcycle crash, a waterskiing incident—with the relish of a wartime correspondent. Epistolary novels, diaries, and journal entries will always fascinate me. I love their immediacy. I begin reading and am immediately captivated by words that are ostensibly written for someone else but which speak directly to me.
This book has introduced me to some of the most amazing, unsung heroines in American history. Every diary entry opens a portal into the past, involving me in the preparation, packing, and travel across the continent—up close and personal.
These brave women’s matter-of-fact documentation of incredible difficulties and hardships never fails to remind me of how fortunate I am to live in the 21st century.
More than a quarter of a million Americans crossed the continental United States between 1840 and 1870, going west in one of the greatest migrations of modern times. The frontiersmen have become an integral part of our history and folklore, but the Westering experiences of American women are equally central to an accurate picture of what life was like on the frontier.
Through the diaries, letters, and reminiscences of women who participated in this migration, Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey gives us primary source material on the lives of these women, who kept campfires burning with buffalo chips and…
I have always loved writing, receiving, and reading letters—slips of paper that hold one person’s thoughts in order to transfer them to another person. One of my prized possessions is a short stack of letters I wrote to my parents from summer camp when I was 10 years old. Each one relays some catastrophe—a fall from a horse, a motorcycle crash, a waterskiing incident—with the relish of a wartime correspondent. Epistolary novels, diaries, and journal entries will always fascinate me. I love their immediacy. I begin reading and am immediately captivated by words that are ostensibly written for someone else but which speak directly to me.
This book was a revelation: a tactile, hands-on dream. I loved the physicality of holding and reading actual cards and letters between two people, got caught up in the mystery of how and why they were corresponding and thoroughly enjoyed the pervasive feeling of being involved in what appeared to be a very private conversation.
I never get tired of reading and revisiting it. Its appeal never grows old.
Don't miss The Pharos Gate , the final volume in the Griffin & Sabine story. Published simultaneously with the 25th-anniversary edition of Griffin & Sabine , the book finally shares what happened to the lovers.
Griffin: It's good to get in touch with you at last. Could I have one of your fish postcards? I think you were right-the wine glass has more impact than the cup. -Sabine
But Griffin had never met a woman named Sabine. How did she know him? How did she know his artwork? Who is she? Thus begins the strange and intriguing correspondence of Griffin…
I was a Navy Brat for most of my childhood, moving from place to place every couple of years. It was hard, but my mom somehow always created a community around us of people that I could almost call my aunts and uncles. As an adult, I’ve also found people that I love like family, and created my own little group with my own people. It’s something that I write about in every single book I pen and I’m sure it will continue because I love when people find their people. It’s my favorite.
While this book is a middle-grade fantasy, I love it so much.
Two enemy clans working together to save their world from a threat bigger than either of them is great, but when you also make it so that each representative is an outcast, well, it’s that much better. Not only do these kids work together, facing fear and prejudices head-on, but they become their own family, and it’s oh-so magical.
I again recommend the audiobook, as it’s narrated by the great David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr., Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, and Crowley on Good Omens), so it is fantastic.
The No.1 bestselling series from current Waterstones Children's Laureate and author of How To Train Your Dragon, Cressida Cowell. Enter a land of wizards, warriors, mythical creatures and powerful Magic in an exciting fantasy adventure.
Witches are creating havoc in the Wildwoods and danger lurks behind every tree trunk.
Wish is in possession of a powerful, Magic Spelling Book; Xar has a dangerous Witchstain on his hand. Together they can save the Wildwoods from the curse of the Witches but they are separated by the highest wall imaginable, and time is running out ...
I was a Navy Brat for most of my childhood, moving from place to place every couple of years. It was hard, but my mom somehow always created a community around us of people that I could almost call my aunts and uncles. As an adult, I’ve also found people that I love like family, and created my own little group with my own people. It’s something that I write about in every single book I pen and I’m sure it will continue because I love when people find their people. It’s my favorite.
This is a book that has stuck with me for over five years now.
The book is the first in the Frontier Magic Trilogy, and it’s fantastic. I loved the world-building, the twist on how magic worked and was taught. I also loved how her biological family thought she was a jinx, but her teachers and friends really believed in her and her magic.
Amanda Ronconi reads the books, too, so I highly recommend listening if you are into audiobooks.
Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent - and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild. With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternative history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both J. K. Rowling and Laura Ingalls…
I was a Navy Brat for most of my childhood, moving from place to place every couple of years. It was hard, but my mom somehow always created a community around us of people that I could almost call my aunts and uncles. As an adult, I’ve also found people that I love like family, and created my own little group with my own people. It’s something that I write about in every single book I pen and I’m sure it will continue because I love when people find their people. It’s my favorite.
This book is every fairytale and classic story turned on its head.
I absolutely love the way the author weaves apparently unrelated adventures into an epic tale by the end. It also has a very strong found family feel to it. They’re mercenaries with rules, and they will fight you if you come after one of their own.
It’s amazing, and if you like audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to it; the voice actors are amazing.
When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned. They are Jack, the seemingly unkillable leader whose ever-present grin belies a dark past;…
I grew up an avid reader of children’s and YA fantasy, which is how I discovered the subgenre of Regency fantasy. When I stumbled across Wrede and Stevermer’s work in libraries and used bookstores, I absolutely loved it. As an adult, I enjoyed exploring the Regency romances of older authors like Georgette Heyer and Marion Chesney as well as more recent Regency writers. But when I began writing romance myself, I went back to the fantasies that were my first introduction to the Regency era. My Regency novels are primarily romance, with just a pinch of magic, but I hope both romantasy fans and historical romance readers can enjoy them.
Alexis Hall is the most well-known author on this list, and this sapphic Regency fantasy will not disappoint readers who like a Byronic love interest.
I loved the way the novel is narrated by the very opinionated Robin Goodfellow (aka “Puck”), who has been kicked out of the fairy court. Robin describes how Maelys Mitchelmore’s social life becomes complicated when an unknown ill-wisher curses her.
A chance encounter introduces her to the dark, brooding, and attractive Lady Georgianna Landrake, who helps Maelys discover and defeat her adversary. But Lady Georgianna suffers from her own family curse, and magical forces nearly tear the two lovers apart.
It takes courage, wisdom, and the help of Maelys’ friends to free Lady Georgianna and allow love to triumph.
'A lovely, pitch-perfect romance, with an alternate Regency setting that is well developed and has tremendous charm... Part historical, part fantasy, all top-notch queer romance' KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)
'A fresh and delightful addition to the queer romance canon... All the interpersonal drama of Jane Austen meets all the complex treachery of Greek mythology' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)
'Whimsically wonderful, witty writing that evokes Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde... An effervescent, genre-blurring romantic confection' BOOKLIST
It is the year 1814 and Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into the highest society of Bath hindered by an irritating curse. It begins…
