The Fantasy Review’s List of 8 Popular New Dark Fantasy Books to Check Out.
White Horse Black Nights (The Godkissed Bride, #1) by Evie Marceau
From the blurb:
Locked away for ten years, Sabine Darrow’s only friends are animals she communicates with using magic. Now, sold as a bride to a villainous high lord, her greatest fear is trading one prison for another. But a potential escape lies in the form of her gruff yet achingly handsome guard, whose loyalty she is determined to break.…
The Lover: A Short Story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
From the blurb:
Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange.…
To Kill a Shadow by Katherine Quinn
From the blurb:
Jude Maddox knows nothing of love or even light. He knows only his grim duty as the Hand of Death, to lead the Knights of the Eternal Star into a land filled with nightmares and certain demise. It’s only when he sees her―a young woman with wild, amber eyes who’s as fierce, defiant, and swift as the shadow beasts themselves―that he feels the warmth of life in his blood…
Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco
From the blurb:
Sinner. Villain. Wicked.
The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other…
Virtuous. Darling. Liar.…
Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2) by Rachel Gillig
From the blurb:
Gripped by a tyrant king and in the thrall of dark magic, the kingdom is in peril. Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last—and most important—one remains to be found: the Twin Alders. If they’re going to find the card before Solstice and set free the kingdom, they will need to journey through the dangerous mist-cloaked forest. The only one who can lead them through is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head: the Nightmare.…
Dark Heir (Dark Rise, #2) by C.S. Pacat
From the blurb:
A new threat from the past is rising, and only a handful of heroes remain to fight. Pursued by dark forces, Will and his allies must leave the safety of the Hall and travel to the heart of the ancient world, making new and dangerous alliances and revealing the shocking secrets of the past.
But Will is carrying a dark secret of his own—his true identity. Drawn to the beautiful and deadly James St. Clair, Will is pulled ever deeper into the web of the past and finds himself tempted by the darkness within. As the ancient world threatens to return, can Will and his friends fight their fate? Or will the truths they learn tear their world apart?
The Toymaker’s Son by Ariana Nash
From the blurb:
Patience, little puppet. The night is long, and we have just begun.
After the suspicious death of Jacapo, the well-loved toymaker, criminal investigator Valentine Anzio returns to his hometown of Minerva to help solve the suspected murder. He’d hoped never to go back. Perhaps things have changed and the nightmares won’t plague him. Perhaps Devere, the toymaker’s son, won’t remember what Valentine did all those years ago, and perhaps Valentine will keep the pieces of his fractured mind intact…
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
From the blurb:
I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen….
Opal is a lot of things―orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier―but above all, she’s determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago.…
