19-year-old mage Lady Lyriana Batavia is third in line to the Seat of Power in Bamaria: a position of wealth and privilege, but not safety. Bamaria falls under the rule of the Lumerian Empire, survivors of a celestial war whose island sank in the Drowning. Now all Lumerians submit to the Emperor and his strict laws about magic. He decides what magic can be practiced and what powers remain forbidden. He decides who will die for possession of forbidden magic. Lyr’s own cousin was executed for wielding the wrong kind. And for years, Lyr has sworn to protect her older sisters, helping them conceal their own illicit magic. But when Lyr must participate in the ceremony that reveals her power, she uncovers something else entirely. Something that means banishment from the Empire. Faced with death in exile, and leaving her sisters behind, Lyr has no choice but to accept a deadly contract. She has seven months to train as a warrior and pass the Emperor’s brutal test of strength—all without magic. But when she’s forced to train with Lord Rhyan Hart, the man she’s secretly loved since she was a girl—a feared warrior in exile himself, forbidden to her in every way—she’s in danger of losing far more than her family, life, and country. Rebel forces, and an invading army, are destabilizing Bamaria, just as her family’s secrets threaten to reveal themselves. Surviving the training, and saving her sisters may mean sacrificing her own heart.

The Bone Shard Daughter is an unmissable debut from a major new voice in epic fantasy — a stunning tale of magic, mystery, and revolution in which the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her power and her place on the throne. "One of the best debut fantasy novels of the year." — BuzzFeed News "An amazing start to a new trilogy." — Culturess "It grabs you by the heart and the throat from the first pages and doesn't let go." — Sarah J. Maas The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands. Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic. Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people. "One of the best debut fantasy novels of the year." —BuzzFeed News "An amazing start to a new trilogy." —Culturess "It grabs you by the heart and the throat from the first pages and doesn't let go." —Sarah J. Maas "Epic fantasy at its most human and heartfelt . . . inventive, adventurous and wonderfully written." —Alix E. Harrow "Utterly absorbing. I adored it." —Emily Duncan "A thoroughly fantastic read." —Kevin Hearne "Stewart's debut is sharp and compelling. It will hook readers in and make them fiercely anticipate the rest of the series." —Booklist "Groundbreaking epic fantasy for a new age." —Tasha Suri "Begins with a spark of intrigue that ignites into a thrilling adventure." —Hafsah Faizal

An epic tale of adventure and intrigue, Daughter of the Empire is fantasy of the highest order by two of the most talented writers in the field today. Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan. Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni. While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spy-master plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir. Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival. But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy. Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all—in his own impregnable stronghold.

"This fresh, thrilling take on Anastasia establishes that O'Neil is a debut author to watch." —Buzzfeed From debut author Carolyn Tara O'Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution. Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war—the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible—not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna's offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war. Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now—regardless of her loyalties—Evgenia is too. Daughters of a Dead Empire is a harrowing historical thriller about dangerous ideals, inequality, and the price we pay for change. An imaginative retelling of the Anastasia story. A Junior Library Guild Selection

BOOK ONE IN THE BROKEN EMPIRE TRILOGY “Prince of Thorns deserves attention as the work of an iconoclast who seems determined to turn that familiar thing, Medievalesque Fantasy Trilogy, entirely on its head.”—Locus When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king... It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose. But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?

This is the story of a girl who held up the sky. It begins with a break, a flood of rain and tears. And it ends with a crown that might cost her everything she loves. This boxed set contains all three books in The Drowning Empire trilogy--over 1200 pages of magic, action, and romance! One click today and prepare to get lost in this epic fantasy retelling of the Atlantis myth!  Book One, Sky Keeper Welcome to the World Below, where the keepers command the sky, but the commander of the keepers controls the empire... For centuries, the four kingdoms of the Caspian empire have remained safe and hidden below the ocean, protected from the Surface World—and from that ocean that separates them—by a great barrier maintained by magic. Aven Talavir has spent her entire life learning to be a keeper of that barrier, channeling her powers into maintaining and healing it. But now an impossibly sinister force seeks to shatter it. To stop the looming flood of destruction, Aven picks up her knives and sets off on a quest to find an ancient power that may be able to permanently heal the makeshift sky. Reaching it will mean fighting her way through dangerous politics and deadly magic, all while finding love and friendship in unexpected places— Only to realize that the greatest treachery may not lie in the breaking sky, but in the very hearts of the people around her. Book Two, Curse Breaker In the underwater empire of Caspia, a storm is brewing. Aven Talavir's efforts to unite the four kingdoms resulted in a temporary peace, but that peace is shattered all over again when she is named the controversial heir to a dying emperor's throne. The crown on her head makes her a target. One that Kai 'West' Armana would do anything to remove. One that results in an attack, and a curse on the newly crowned empress that will require an unimaginable sacrifice to undo. And that sacrifice is only the beginning. Because the world is not healed. The sky is not safe. And things that should be dead and drowned do not always stay that way. Book Three, Storm Bringer The Sky is Changed. Once upon a time, Aven Talavir lived in a sparkling empire beneath the waves, protected from the Sea-Above by a sky made of magic. Then it all fell apart. The four kingdoms of the Caspian Empire are united no longer. Aven is an empress in name only, her kingdom overtaken by her rivals, her city flooded, and her hope fading as she sets out on a desperate journey to find allies, and to take back the power she needs to mount one final effort to save her world. That power exists. She knows that now. But the cost of wielding it may be more than she can pay. The epic story that began in Sky Keeper concludes in this thrilling final book. Waters and armies will rise, kings and queens will fall, and the Empress of Sky will see her true reign begin…Or else watch everything she loves be swept away by a storming sea.

#1 New York Times best-selling author Rick Riordan pays homage to Jules Verne in his exciting modern take on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana's parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family's she's got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana's freshman year culminates with the class's weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it'll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives. But wait, there's more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that their rival school, Land Institute, and Harding-Pencroft have been fighting a cold war for a hundred and fifty years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full broil, and the freshman are in danger of becoming fish food. In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time. Rick Riordan's trademark humor, fast-paced action, and wide cast of characters are on full display in this undersea adventure that puts a new spin on Captain Nemo and the submarine Nautilus. Complete your middle grade action-adventure collection with these titles: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Rick Riordan Presents: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi Rick Riordan Presents: City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda