The Outlaw Demon Wails

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison, 2008 Eos

    Rachel is back! It's been a couple months since her boyfriend's brutal murder and she seeks resolution when she isn't struggling to get out of bed. Rachel and Ivy share their grief and struggle to find a new normal. 

     Unfortunately, Rachel has voluntarily practiced forbidden demon magic and is experiencing the effects of working with a demon. Someone is releasing Algaliarept from his prison in the Ever After to hunt down the witch. Rachel and her family (both chosen and given) must hide from Al's revenge. In keeping her friends and family safe Rachel discovers her mother has been keeping secrets. 

     David, a friend, coworker, and Rachel's were alpha, encourages Rachel to develop her relationship with their pack and by extension her witch family. He helps her investigate who is releasing Al from his cell and endangering all of Cincinnati. 

     Trent returns and Rachel faces his criticism for dabbling in demon magic, but elven princess Ceri's friendship and support help Rachel stand strong. Ivy and Jenks are still the foundation for Rachel's continued fight even as they deal with their own loss and angst. Ivy has lost her childhood friend and Jenks is dealing with his growing awareness of his limited lifespan. 

     Not only does Rachel uncover personal secrets, but also secrets as to the history of the race of witches. The black and white nature of her relationship with Trent becomes more nuanced as Rachel works with Ceri, Quen, and Trent to solve not just the problem of the Rosewood babies, but also the elves. 

     In The Outlaw Demon Wails Rachel and her friends deal with the loss of one of their closest companions. As an adult novel, the story deals with death and ambiguous morals which create depth in the characters and their universe. 

Awakened

Awakened by Kristin and P.C. Cast, 2011 St. Martin's Press

    Zoey has returned from the Otherworld to her family and friends on Sgiach, the Island of Skye. She reaffirms her connection with her warrior Stark and Zoey discovers she can call on the ancient fey to support her elemental magic. Aphrodite, Damien, and the twins return home to Stevie Rae who is back in Tulsa with the red fledglings 

     Neferet kills Jack--Damien's boyfriend and a member of the nerd-herd--as a tribute to the Darkness. The loss of their friend draws Zoey and Stark back to their responsibilities. Kalona finds that he has a connection to Stark after breathing some of his immortality into the dying warrior. 

     Neferet uses Jack's funeral as a public display to try regaining the House of Night's trust. Zoey sees through the fake apology but in the same spectacle to order the Sons of Erebus to murder Rephaim and Stevie Rae for their association with Darkness. 

     Stevie Rae asks the nerd herd to protect Rephaim - who has only defended himself rather than actively fighting for his freedom. She asks Kalona to release Rephaim and he grants his son's freedom in a direct contradiction of his oath to Neferet. Not all of the members of the House of Night accept that Rephaim has chosen the path of Light. 

     Their goddess, Nyx, appears and forgives the Raven Mocker. She details her wish for the vampyres to move forward in life - singling out Damien and Dragon after the deaths of Jack and Anastasia. Dragon holds on to his anger and, with Neferet, drives Rephaim from the Tulsa House of Night. 

     To be with their friends Zoey creates her own House of Night in the tunnels beneath the city. Zoey is their leader and Vampyre Queen; Stevie Rae is their High Priestess; Kramisha their poet Laureate; and Aphrodite the Prophetess. The red fledglings and nerd herd are their students trying to maintain Nyx's teachings. 

     Neferet continues her quest for power by striking at those close to Zoey Redbird in her human life. Kalona experiments with the piece of his soul in Stark. Zoey and her friends struggle in the changing world and with the blows to their cause. The Vampyre High Council has cleared Neferet of wrongdoing and Zoey has lost significant supports in her system. Neferet's plan for revenge appears to be on a strong course. 

     Zoey has a more adult take on the events in her life--including a mature relationship with her warrior-protector. Older teen readers who enjoyed the first seven episodes in the House of Night series will enjoy the eighth installment of Zoey Redbird's story. 

The White Rose

The White Rose by Amy Ewing, 2015 HarperTeen

     After the Duchess of the Lake found her Surrogate Violet and her niece's Companion Ash together the two managed to escape, with a little help from the scion of the house and the Electress's Lady-in-Waiting. The Royalty have shut down the Jewel to find Ash and Violet as they try to escape the Duchess of the Lake.
     Violet managed to survive several months as the Duchess of the Lake's surrogate, even fell in love with the young man serving the House as Companion. When the Electress's Lady-in-Waiting Lucien gives her a chance to escape Violet uses the opportunity to get her best friend and lover out too.
     Though Lucien is  furious at two additional escapees Violet refuses to join Lucien's rebellion without Ash and Raven. Their escape through the rings of the city exposes Violet to Ash's past, both as a Companion and his family's home. With a little help from their friends in the Black Key Society including Garnet of the House of the Lake, the trio reaches the Farm and their protected destination.
     In the Farm Violet, Ash, and Raven find a new home at a farmhouse named the White Rose. The woman caring for the house is Sil, a former surrogate who managed to survive the birth of twins and escape to the Farm. In surviving Sil discovered the Auguaries which the surrogates were trained so extensively to use were perversions of an ability to connect with and use the four elements. She plans to teach Violet to control the elements and bring about the end of the Royalty.
     More practice and Raven's near-death bring a connection to all four elements which leads Violet to propose a plan - unite the surrogates against the Royalty and fight them at home in the Jewel. Lucien accepts the plan as head of the Black Key and work begins. Ash begins to chafe at his restrictions and jumps at the opportunity to become more and more involved. When the society is betrayed Violet discovers time is running out - the Auction is moved forward six months with much of the preparation left. And Violet is stunned to discover who the Duchess of the Lake has taken as her replacement.
   

Running Out of Time

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1996 Simon & Schuster

     Jessie Keyser lives in small-town Clifton, Indiana. Her family has settled in a village in the 1840s and they live the pioneering life. When a diphtheria outbreak begins to divide the citizens and there doesn't seem to be anything to help. Jessie's mother reveals they aren't really in 1840 Indiana.
     Mrs. Keyser reveals that Clifton is a settlement that recreates life in mid-nineteenth century America, they live in a tourist attraction. Now the children are ill and the owners refuse to provide adequate modern medical care - to preserve authenticity they claim.
     Jessie's mother, along with several other parents, fear for their families. Mrs. Keyser asks Jessie to leave Clifton and enter the modern world to find a cure. Jessie braves 1996 Indiana in search of Isaac Neeley. Along the way she almost loses the food and money her mother supplied, she is nearly captured by Clifton's armed guards, but Jessie escapes and finds Dr. Neeley.
     Neeley brings the overwhelmed teen to his apartment where he drugs her to kill her. Jessie manages to escape Neeley through a window and holds a press conference to get help from the general public. In the middle of the conference Jessie faints and it is discovered she too has diphtheria.
     Jessie is confused by the fantastic technology she encounters in the modern world, but she doesn't allow her amazement to distract her from her ultimate goal. With more and more of the true purposes behind Clifton Village coming to light the danger Jessie and the other families face becomes more apparent. Will she find help or will the children of Clifton run out of time?
     Older elementary readers and fans of both historical fiction and time travel will enjoy Margaret Peterson Haddix's Running Out of Time.

Hunter

Hunter by Mercedes Lackey, 2015 Hyperion Books

     Joyeaux Charmand has been hunting monsters since her hounds broke through the barrier between realms to protect her from the mythical creatures who seek humans as sustenance. The monsters feed off Manna - a lifeforce humans produce in abundance. The hounds team with hunters to protect humans who haven't been gifted with either hounds or magic.
     Since the death of her parents Joy has lived high in the American Rockies at a monastery where the Masters train Hunters and normal citizens alike to defend themselves. Above the snowline the monsters cannot last long and even the Fair Folk tend to avoid the snow-encased stronghold.
     When the Prefect - Joyeaux's uncle and the man in charge of the nation's hunters - requests the mountain civilisations send a hunter. The Prefect is aware that Apex City does not know how many hunters are holed up on the mountain and his request for Joy's presence is a subtle reminder of how precarious the monastery is. Joy goes to the capital and joins the Apex Hunters.
     Her journey is not without incident: when drakken follow their train and manage to break through the protective cage with the help of a Folk mage in a lavender costume. In Apex City Joy discovers the Hunters are more like celebrities than real hunters. They distract the cits from how many monsters are breaking through the barriers with rankings and cinematics. More and more dangerous creatures are getting through the barriers protecting Apex - so dangerous Joy can't help thinking someone inside the city is helping them.
     When Joy's friend and mentor is murdered by a vampire Joy and her uncle team up to discover who is behind the infiltration. Another batch of monsters calls out most of the hunters including Joy's greatest rival Ace and his younger brother. The battle ends with the death of Ace's younger brother and Ace blames Joy even attacking her in public. The politics of Apec City nearly cost Joy her life as she seeks to protect the cits and help the Prefect find his enemies.
     Though it may be too late to stop the human monsters ruling over Apex City Joyeaux finds she still wants to protect the cits--the people kept in ignorance. Teens and young adults will be able to relate to Lackey's take on government control of the populace and information. Readers who enjoyed Michelle Krys's Wicked and Liz Braswell's A Whole New World will find a similar attitude toward the global mythology featured throughout the story.

The Star-Touched Queen

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, 2016 St. Martin's Griffin

     Princes Mayavati was born under a dangerous sign - in Bharata your horoscope can determine your entire life. Maya is the well-educated daughter of the Raja, but her horoscope dictates that she be wedded to Death leading her superstitious family to blame her for any bad fortune or il luck. Maya takes the opportunity to immerse herself in her studies and becomes the most educated of the royal children - even climbing the rafters above her father's councilroom to learn statecraft.
    When the Raja risks alienating his people through the marriage of his death-touched daughter he indicates a special surprise for the potential bridegrooms - Maya will meet the princes then commit suicide neg
ating the laws of hospitality and initiating warfare at Bharata's capital.
    The Raja isn't the only man trying to subvert old customs: the suitors bring their own armies to the wedding and in Trojan Style they bring the war to Maya's home. With her father's command ringing in her ears the princess is captivated by the handsome, hooded man who whisks her away with the promise of a kingdom where she will rule as his equal.
    Maya is infatuated at the chance to be important; she follows her new husband away from the massacre of her home through the mythical Night Bazaar. The festival of mystery and magic is a sort of in-between where Day and Night, good and evil, mundane and magical coexist in balance and anything is for sale. All the stories Maya had ever studied were real at the Night Bazaar, but the mystery of her husband begins when the creatures respond to him deferentially.
     At their new home, Akaran, Maya becomes more and more intrigued by Amar - while he shares her room, Maya's new husband doesn't insist or even suggest they take advantage of their married state and the feelings growing between them. He disappears before she wakes and returns after she falls asleep. The palace occupies Maya's attention: a voice calls to her and compels the new queen to find it. When she discovers a familiar nymph claiming to be an old friend the mystery of her husband and why he brought Maya back to his home drives Maya to stretch beyond the limits set before her.
    Maya begins to doubt her place and eventually the nymph casts her out from Akaran and her throne beside the man she has come to love. To find her way home Mayavati must complete a quest to review and sever the ties holding her to her mortal magic-less life and find Amar and her throne in Akaran.
    The seventeen-year-old princess is captivated with the magic and possibilities before her. The horoscope which dictated her growing-up no longer has control over her life and she has united with a man who claims to want her as his equal in a world where women are not considered full persons. When it all comes crashing down Maya struggles to rediscover her confidence and fight for what she wants.
     Aimed at young adult readers The Star Touched Queen tells the epic journey of a young woman with a destiny who changes the world to make a doomsday prophecy into a future filled with love and growth. The story is heavily influenced by Indo-Asian mythology and politics. Maya's story will be followed by her younger sister's in A Crown of Wishes in 2017.