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Reading lists

The best fantasy book series to escape into new worlds

The Burning Kingdoms (The Smoke Thieves Book 3)

The final book in the acclaimed Smoke Thieves trilogy by bestselling author Sally Green. 
 
As war spreads like wildfire, the Smoke Thieves face their greatest challenges yet. 
 
With her father tightening his grip on the Northern Plateau, Catherine sends her loyal bodyguard Ambrose into the dragon's den on a desperate mission to disrupt the supply of smoke. In Calidor, Edyon and March face a future divided while, trapped in the demon world, Tash wrestles with the price of her past. 
 
But as the battle for the human kingdoms reaches its climax, the demon realm reveals a final, terrible secret. One with the power to change the course of the war - and history - forever . . .

Sally Green lives in Cheshire, England. She has had various jobs from her first paper-round to a career as an accountant, but in 2010 she started writing a novel and that changed her life. She still runs most days despite several attempts to give it up. Follow her on Twitter @Sa11eGreen.

As war spreads like wildfire, the Smoke Thieves face their greatest challenges yet. 
 
With her father tightening his grip on the Northern Plateau, Catherine sends her loyal bodyguard Ambrose into the dragon's den on a desperate mission to disrupt the supply of smoke. In Calidor, Edyon and March face a future divided while, trapped in the demon world, Tash wrestles with the price of her past. 
 
But as the battle for the human kingdoms reaches its climax, the demon realm reveals a final, terrible secret. One with the power to change the course of the war - and history - forever . . .

The Demon World (The Smoke Thieves Book 2)

The second book in The Smoke Thieves series from Sally Green - perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Game of Thrones. 
 
 
Scattered by the tides of war, Princess Catherine leads a ragtag band of survivors into the barren wasteland of the Northern Plateau. 
 
With enemies snapping at their heels, they are driven into the strange and deadly tunnels of the demon world. But while Tash dares to go deeper, Catherine must return to the surface to confront a nation in turmoil - and her growing love for Ambrose. On the run from the law, Edyon and March grow closer even as their secrets threaten to tear them apart. 
 
Under attack from all sides, truth becomes the first casualty. But as their deceptions multiply, will the Smoke Thieves' lies save them or bring disaster?

After narrowly escaping the fall of Rossarb, Princess Catherine leads a rag-tag group of survivors into the barren wasteland of the Northern Plateau. 
 
With the Brigantine army snapping at their heels, Edyon and Ambrose become separated from the group, while demon hunter Tash leads Catherine and March to an unlikely refuge - the hidden tunnels of the demon world itself. They soon find that the tunnels hold their own dangers and, while Tash travels deeper, hoping to learn more about their mysterious inhabitants, Catherine and March must return to the surface to resume the war. 
 
But the world above is in turmoil. King Aloysius's army has captured the Pitorian prince, Tzsayn, and is poised to overrun the whole country. To have any hope of challenging her father's tyranny, Catherine needs to form her own army, but when danger lurks at every turn, how can she tell an ally from an enemy? What Tash discovers in the demon tunnels could change everything, but if the message doesn't reach Catherine in time, the war might already be lost . . .

The Smoke Thieves

**The first book in the new fantasy series from the author of Half Bad** 
 
This is the perfect story for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor. 
 
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A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. 
 
Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. 
Five nations destined for conflict. 
 
In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father, while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner's block. 
 
In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. 
 
And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell. 
 
As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our five heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. 
 
Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize? 
 
****** 
 
If you couldn't get enough of The Children of Blood and Bone or The Red Queen, then you need to dive into the world of Brigant.

Catherine is a fully fleshed heroine whose storyline advocates self-empowerment and independent thought

As the Half Bad trilogy proved, Green is adept at writing a propulsive narrative

This has elevated Sally Green's work to the next level... this series is going to be awesome

Sally Green has fully captured me with this new series

A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict. 
 
In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father, while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner's block. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell. 
 
As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our five heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?

Half Lost

Meet Nathan Byrn. 
 
He's half White Witch, half Black Witch 
His mother was a healer, his father is a killer 
He's been kept in a cage since he was fourteen. 
 
If White Witches are good 
And Black Witches are evil... 
What happens if you are both?

The third and final instalment in the breathtaking Half Bad series by Sally Green. 
 
Nathan Byrn is running again. The Alliance of Free Witches has been all but destroyed. Scattered and demoralized, constantly pursued by the Council's Hunters, only a bold new strategy can save the rebels from total defeat. They need the missing half of Gabriel's amulet - an ancient artifact with the power to render its bearer invincible in battle. 
 
But the amulet's guardian - the reclusive and awesomely powerful witch Ledger - has her own agenda. To win her trust, Nathan must travel to America and persuade her to give him the amulet. Combined with his own Gifts, the amulet might just be enough turn the tide for the Alliance and end the bloody civil war between Blood and Fairborn witches once and for all...

A book about witches with no owls and not a pair of round spectacles in sight. The new Hunger Games,I suspect... Brilliant and utterly compelling - I loved it.

Kate Atkinson, author of Life after Life and Behind the Scenes of the Museum

Teens rejoice: the inheritor to Stephenie Meyer's crown has arrived.

Edgy, arresting and brilliantly written, Half Bad grips you from the first page and doesn't let go.

A brilliant debut that is both deeply unique and unsettling, one that  chilled me to the bone and broke my heart even as I sped through its  pages. This will haunt you.

Take our word for it, this book is going to be huge.

Brilliantly paced with more than a few nasty surprises, Half Bad is a wickedly addictive read that will capture the imagination of any fan of YA fiction.

Not since the Harry Potter books - yes, I said it! - have I felt so fully immersed in an author's creation... I couldn't be more stoked over Half Bad, and this launch novel of a trilogy truly deserves all the hype surrounding it - and much more...

Nathan Byrn is running again. The Alliance of Free Witches has been all but destroyed. Scattered and demoralized, constantly pursued by the Council's Hunters, only a bold new strategy can save the rebels from total defeat. They need the missing half of Gabriel's amulet - an ancient artefact with the power to render its bearer invincible in battle. 
 
But the amulet's guardian - the reclusive and awesomely powerful witch Ledger - has her own agenda. To win her trust, Nathan must travel to America and persuade her to give him the amulet. Combined with his own Gifts, the amulet might just be enough to turn the tide for the Alliance and end the bloody civil war between Black and White witches once and for all...

A Half Bad Story

Half Truths

A new short story from Sally Green, set in the world of Half Bad. 
 
Gabriel Boutin is back in Europe, stuck in the body of a fain. 
 
He's looking for Mercury, the powerful and volatile Black Witch who might be his only hope of regaining his true form. 
 
But Mercury's help won't come cheap, and as Gabriel is put to punishing work to earn her trust, he begins to realise that life as a fain could be a way to escape the violence of his past. 
 
Torn between two paths, can Gabriel find the true Witch within, before he's trapped as a fain forever?

Gabriel Boutin is back in Europe, stuck in the body of a fain. 
 
He's looking for Mercury, the powerful and volatile Black Witch who might be his only hope of regaining his true form. 
 
But Mercury's help won't come cheap, and as Gabriel is put to punishing work to earn her trust, he begins to realise that life as a fain could be a way to escape the violence of his past. 
 
Torn between two paths, can Gabriel find the true Witch within, before he's trapped as a fain forever?

Half Wild

The stunning sequel to Sally Green's breathtaking debut novel - HALF BAD. 
 
After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Blood witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift - a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him. 
 
Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of Fairborn Witches and is expanding his war against Blood witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Blood and Fairborn witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Blood witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Blood witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift - a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him. 
 
Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of Fairborn Witches and is expanding his war against Blood witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Blood and Fairborn witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Blood witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

Sally Green

Now a major Netflix series

Meet Nathan Byrn. 
 
He's half Fairborn Witch, half Blood Witch. 
His mother was a healer, his father is a killer. 
He's been kept in a cage since he was fourteen. 
 
But if Fairborn Witches are good, and Blood Witches are evil... 
What happens if you are both?

Sally Green

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself

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