Fantasy

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An imaginative extension of everyday life, the story asks: What if two people who loved each other deeply, married, and faced a life in which one person remained constant while the other slipped fluidly in and out of time? A modern love story with a twist that invites us to linger over questions of how life and love change over time.

Also available in: print | audiobook

A time-traveler is stranded in medieval Europe during the Black Death.

Also available in: print | audiobook

Young businesswoman Elyse Samford's life takes a turn when she inherits Samford Candy, a multi-billion dollar corporation, from her retired father. A trademark infringement lawsuit against a rival company brings Elyse to Higgins Attorneys and Sons, where Rob Carelli, a young, too-nice-for-his-own-good lawyer, is bullied by his boss, firm founder Carter Higgins, and his two arrogant sons. Despite his workplace woes, Rob becomes instantly smitten with Elyse.

A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler...but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.

Escape to a world of sorcery long ago, or a modern world with just a dash of added magic. Categories below include; Sword and Sorcery, Deadly Courts, Fantasy Rebels, Urban Fantasy, History with a Magical Twist, and Fairy Tale Retellings. 

Sword and Sorcery

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

"A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end.  You live several lives while reading it."--William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

Alice and the assassin by R. J. Koreto

In 1902 New York, Alice Roosevelt, the bright, passionate, and wildly unconventional daughter of newly sworn-in President Theodore Roosevelt, is placed under the supervision of Secret Service Agent Joseph St. Clair, ex-cowboy and veteran of the Rough Riders. St. Clair quickly learns that half his job is helping Alice roll cigarettes and escorting her to bookies, but matters grow even more difficult when Alice takes it upon herself to investigate a recent political killing--the assassinationof former president William McKinley. Concerned for her father's safety, Alice seeks explanations for the many unanswered questions about the avowed anarchist responsible for McKinley's death. In her quest, Alice drags St. Clair from grim Bowery bars to the elegant parlors of New York's ruling class, from the haunts of the Chinese secret societies to the magnificent new University Club, all while embarking on a tentative romance with a family friend, the son of a prominent local household. And while Alice, forced to challenge those who would stop at nothing in their greed for money and power, considers her uncertain future, St. Clair must come to terms with his own past in Alice and the Assassin , the first in R. J. Koreto's riveting new historical mystery series.

All the secret places by Anna Carlisle

Gin Sullivan is back in her small hometown of Trumbull, Pennsylvania on an extended leave from her job at the Chicago medical examiner's office and rekindling an old flame with her high school sweetheart, Jake. Gin is readjusting to life at home when Jake receives harrowing news early one morning. The new housing development his construction firm is building has caught fire and underneath one of the burnt homes is a dead body. When the body is identified as a man who may very well be the violent offender who terrified Gin's childhood town years ago, the pool of suspects broadens and it becomes a greater challenge to pinpoint his killer. Gin is determined to unearth old demons, hers included, but soon finds some people will kill to keep them buried. Small town secrets cast daunting shadows in All the Secret Places , Anna Carlisle's riveting second Gin Sullivan mystery.

Enjoy Game of Thrones?   Political intrigue?   Collusion?  Politicking? Fantasy? or Historical Fiction? Try these.

The black prism by Brent Weeks

THE BLACK PRISM begins an action-packed tale of magic and adventure . . . Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

Fool's assassin by Robin Hobb

"FitzChivalry--royal bastard and former king's assassin--has left his life of court intrigue at Buckkeep far behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married and leading the quiet life of a country squire with his beloved Molly. The only fly in the ointment is the disappearance of his beloved childhood friend, the Fool, with whom he once shared so much. But for a former royal assassin, a quiet life is hard to maintain when old allegiances keep trying to pull him back, and new enemies come calling.."--.

Death features in everyone's life, in one way or another. There are many books that discuss small-d death. But occasionally Death himself (sometimes herself) takes center stage. One lovely picture book that features Death as a character can be found on MeL: Death, Duck, and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch. More books in which the reader meets Death can be found below.

Jack Death by M. L. Windsor

Jack and Nadine, two ordinary kids with pretty unusual parents, live in a place inhabited by magical creatures with a big problem after a villain destroys the Magical Creature Reserve, releasing some ghastly creatures into their midst.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger's new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales.

There's nothing like a good witchy tale to get in the mood for Halloween. The best witches have a practical head on their shoulders and a good sense of humor, and make for interesting and exciting stories. Here are a few favorites.

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
Also available in: e-audiobook

When little, twelve-year-old Molly arrives at Castle Hangnail to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the minions who dwell there have no choice but to give her the job and at first it seems she will be able to keep the castle open, but Molly has quite a few secrets that could cause trouble. Molly is sweet and spunky, but will she be able to overcome her faults?

Traces the story of dancer-turned-magician Adelaide Herrmann, placing her achievements against a backdrop of period conventions about women in the arts and her determination to continue her work after the death of her husband. This is a true story of a woman determined to make it in a magician's world.

Do you love the Medieval and Renaissance time periods? If so, you can now buy discounted Michigan Renaissance Festival tickets with the help of your library card. Michigan Adventure Pass (MAP) holders can purchase Adult tickets for $16.50 ($22.95 value) and children's tickets for $8.50 ($13.95 value). 

1.) Go to michrenfest.com

2.) Click on Tickets

3.) Click on Purchase Corporate Discount Tickets

4.) Enter Access Code: TLN17

​The Festival runs until October 1 and is located in Holly, MI (about a one hour drive north of Canton).

Learn more about Michigan Activity passes on our Community page. 

A patron recently requested reading suggestions, naming several adult authors as favorites and Enid Blyton, a popular 20th. century children's author.  We've listed some contemporary children's authors and a few adult books which may also appeal to fans of Enid Blyton.

When Daniel's injury caused him to separate from the Whole, he lost his memory. When he got better and regained his memory, he did not want to give up his life on earth.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Miniature people who live in an old country house by borrowing things from the humans are forced to emigrate from their home under the clock.

Are you a teen that is just not that into YA books? Who says you have to read in the teen section? Luckily, libraries allow you to read whatever you like! Check out some of these "new adult" or NA novels that will appeal to older teens, 20 year olds and just about anyone else who wants something a bit more gritty with a teen narrator. 

Things We Have In Common by Tasha Kavanagh

Fifteen-year-old Yasmin is a major misfit: overweight, depressed, and shunned by her classmates. With her father dead and her mother remarried, Yasmin is uncomfortable in her own skin and feels like a visitor in her own home. One day she happens upon a man creepily watching popular girl Alice, the same classmate whom Yasmin has a crush on. She decides to befriend this stranger in the hopes of keeping him from harming Alice, with Yasmin becoming Alice's hero and friend as a result. But upon her initial meeting with awkward loner Samuel, Yasmin immediately recognizes a kindred spirit. This leads to her pursuing a friendship with him, to the point of forgetting her unspoken role as Alice's protector. Then Alice goes missing. 

A Good Country by Laleh Khadivi

Alireza Courdee, a fourteen-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. He loses his virginity, takes up surfing, and sneaks away to all-night raves. For the first time, Reza feels like an American teen. Life is smooth; even lying to his strict parents comes easily.

But then he changes again, falling out with the bad boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war.

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