mythology Archives - The Open Book

The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1)

February 16, 2024 Kym 0

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads […]

Bound in Strength (The Mejuarian Series #2)

June 4, 2021 Kym 3

For god-like creatures named Mejuarian living on planet Ercutis, their world was near perfect. Mejuarian, a cross between an animal and godly beings, have a splendorous village where everyone gets along. They live in a hierarchical society, and everyone loves their king and queen. A near utopian life that allows all Mejuarian to rise to their most extraordinary levels of consciousness. That is until they discover using systems much like our own, an asteroid is on course to decimate their village and erase their long history. Short notice, they plan to move all inhabitants, along with those bound to them by their magical powers, to the other side of their planet and reside in the lands of their longtime ally and trade partners, the Dragonors.Very upsetting to many Mejuarian mothers and fathers having mewlings is that their ancient tradition of birthing nests on an ancestral altar would be away from their homes. However, all seems to go as planned, and they depart with all twelve ships successfully. One ship dedicated to moving the birth alter intact with nests placed on it trails the fleet. Unfortunately, the Mejuar scientist’s slight miscalculation allowed for the meteor’s early arrival. A shockwave forces the underpowered, overloaded ship carrying the nests to crash land. Before its descent, a piece of the broken altar is dragged into space, and two of its occupantsOn earth, a family torn with grief after the loss or their mother tries to enjoy a day of convalescing by a local lake. Hubert, the local veterinarian with his two children Ren a teen, and Brooklyn, his baby sister, are exploring after a picnic lunch. Ren discovers the charred nests and is curious as to what they are. Hubert also becomes interested in the unusual possible chrysalids. The inquisitive vet takes the nests back to his facility and uses the extent of written and photo journals available to him in 1960. He is unable to identify them and ponders, what are they?
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads […]

The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising #1)

October 19, 2020 Kym 3

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads […]

The Four: Destruction of Honor (Mejuarian series #1)

March 11, 2020 Kym 0

The Ercutians, an ancient race of spell casters that abandoned Earth long ago, have abandoned the ways of their elders. Their powerful magic they once used for good has been replaced with destructive spells and incantations, and their once thriving, wonderous lands have turned against them. The destruction of the Ercutian race is imminent.

To heal their lands, and prolong their heritage, a sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, and wizardess combine their mystical powers to become the Great One, known to all as Thire-los. But not all is well within the Great One, for conflicting personalities brood within the single entity, and what was once Great threatens to become tainted, throwing all of Ercutia back into chaos once again.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads. […]

Esemtu Vol. 1

February 21, 2020 Kym 0

Three university students get tangled up in a mystery murder. However, they realize that they’ll have to open their minds to the supernatural to solve this case. Soon, they find themselves dragged into a magic world of fantastic creatures, gods, demons and immortals, that will change their lives forever.
Join them in their thrilling adventure to uncover the ancient secrets!
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads. […]

Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1)

November 21, 2019 Kym 0

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret– she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men, no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt. But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgement, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process. Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway. With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous… forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads […]

Reawakened (Reawakened #1)

July 25, 2019 Kym 0

When seventeen-year-old Liliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification. And she really can’t imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind. But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world.
Excerpt taken from book website. […]