A friend from work asked me for some recommendations to read over the christmas holiday period, this came my way after she had finished reading Quicksilver by Callie Hart and she knew that I read similar books and I have quite the extensive book collection (currently 460 physcial books – not including the ones I am no doubt getting for Christmas, and funnily enough 460 ebooks on kindle. Yes, I have a problem. No, I do not want to fix it lol!)

So, as I perused my collection, I thought about some books that would complement her reading of Quicksilver, and some that she might enjoy as something a bit different. Naturally, I put a list together on a pretty canva slide:

Slideshow created using canva displaying book recommendations including the title of the book or series, the author and an image of the book covers.

She was so appreciative that I decided I would share them with all of you. So, let’s begin!

The books that I had suggested (as seen in the slideshow above) were:

• The Gold Plated Prisoner series by Raven Kennedy
• The Ever Seas series by L.J. Andrews
• The Wicked Games series by Kaylie Smith
• The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor
• Assistant to the Villain series by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
• The Dangerous Damsels series by India Holton
• House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
• Darkly by Marisha Pessl
• The Crucible series by Abigail Owen

I have read most of these, what I haven’t read are mainly the end of some of the series listed, but what I have read so far I have really enjoyed!

The Gold Plated Prisoner Series by Raven Kennedy

This series is inspired by the Greek legend of King Midas, who was bestowed with the power of golden touch, granting him the ability to turn everything he touched into gold. Literally, everything. This gift quite quickly turned into a curse, and this seems to be quite emphasised in the series, from what I have read of it so far. The story follows Auren, the woman who was “gold-touched” by King Midas as his most coveted mistress. She is put on display and kept in a golden cage that spans through the golden palace, convinced that this is for her own safety. It is very obvious from the beginning that Midas is not the loving partner Auren views him as, and you find out later in the first book that there is much more to Auren and Midas then initially presented, especially that Midas’ golden power is not his own.

Auren is forced to endure more captivity and threats, even taken prisoner by Midas’ enemies only to be traded back to her gilded cage. The story so far follows Auren’s development into a stronger woman with more strength and power then she had first possessed, finding out the truth of the world she lives in and the world she fled as a child, and the challenges she faces when determining her future.

The series includes:

• Gild
• Glint
• Gleam
• Glow
• Gold
• Goldfinch

I admittedly stopped reading the series when I realised that there were still two books left to be published and I didn’t really want to play the ‘waiting in anguish’ game, now that the series appears to be complete I’m going to be working on finishing it!

The Ever Seas Series by L.J. Andrews

I came across this series on instagram after my readings of SJM’s huge series, and I absolutely fell in love with it! It is an ongoing series, and based on L.J. Andrews previous series, The Broken Kingdoms, which appears to be a prequel to The Ever Seas, it will not be completed for a while!

This series is set in a fantasy world where there are two halves the world, one is where the earth based fae reside and the other is where the sea based fae are. For many years, these halves were locked away from each other after a horrible war, that is until the seal is accidentally broken by an earth fae princess, Livia. This is felt by the Ever King, Erik, who was once a prisoner of war to the earth fae, until he was released back to his world before it was sealed off. He returns to the earth fae with one goal in mind, kidnap the princess, gain his revenge against her parents and their people. But these things are never that simple.

Livia has a stubborn streak that becomes achingly evident to Erik, and while they speak to each other like complete enemies, their

Wicked Games Series by Kaylie Smith

I just finished the currently published books, with more on the way I’m sure! The first book “Phantasma” follows Ophelia Grimm, a necromancer who has just inherited her mother’s power after her mother’s unexpected and shocking death. Her sister, Genevieve, disappears and enters a devil’s competition called “Phantasma” in an attempt to solve the inherited debt they received from their mother. Ophelia goes in after her sister and discovers all the hidden truths about her mother, her birth father and her family’s purpose for living. The second book is “Enchantra” and it follows Genevieve, who somehow manages to get herself caught in another devil’s competition while trying to find someone from her mother’s past.

Both books have a hunger games style competition, with more of a paranormal twist to it. Not much in terms of a slow burn, but a lot of spice so you tend to blush at that sort of thing, maybe don’t read this series!

The series includes the following titles so far:

• Phantasma
• Enchantra

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

I read this while I was in university, those long train rides provided plenty of reading time! Anyways, the story follows a young woman named Karou who is an art student in Prague. She goes about her days attending classes, dodging her ex-boyfriend and completing errands for her family. Her family being a group of humanoid creatures called chimaera, who live in a workshop that is nestled between the human world that Karou lives in and another world that Karou is forbidden to ever enter. Brimstone, the owner of the workshop and essentially the one who raised Karou as his daughter, provides a very special service and the only thing that Karou knows about it is that it requires teeth, human and animal but never baby teeth, which is what she collects from the human world for Brimstone.

On one of these errands, Karou is attacked by another creature, a seraph, who has a rather strong interest in her that goes beyond his orders to kill her. Karou begins investigating the war between the chimaera and the seraph, finding out the truth about what Brimstone uses the teeth for, especially the single purchase of baby teeth before Karou was around, the other world that Brimstone keeps from her and the truth of who Karou really is. Of course, this story would not be complete without a romance, heartbreak and more romance.

The titles are:

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone
• Days of Blood and Starlight
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters

There are also a few novellas to go with this series, but I don’t think that they are absolutely necessary for the main trilogy, that being said I haven’t actually read them.

Assistant to the Villain Series by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

This was an amazing rom-com! It was such a traditional girl likes boy but thinks it’s inappropriate to like him, while boy like girl but refuses to accept it and chooses to ignore it. Not to mention how full of giggles it was!

First, some context. Set in a magical based medieval style world, Evie gets a job as the assistant to the local villain after an encounter with him in the forest. He is a brute who likes to set monsters upon his apprentices and does not hesitate to kills people, while Evie is a splash of sunshine who keeps his life organised, his evil plans successful and keeps his apprentices alive and unharmed in the workplace. She also has an awful habit of getting in the middle of dangerous situations which forces her boss to step in and save her, often ditching his villain persona.

We find out later that Evie and the Villain were meant to find each other, but that’s a part of the story that I won’t give away!

The published books so far include:

• Assistant to the Villain
• Apprentice to the Villain
• Accomplice to the Villain

The Dangerous Damsels Series by India Holton

This is another fun loving rom-com series that is filled with magic, in a more victorian era style world complete with thieves, pirates, witches and spies! Admittedly, I’ve only read the first two books in the series but I absolutely loved them both! The first book follows a lady scoundrel who’s skills lie in thievery and managing the flying house for her aunt, however her day-to-day plans are thwarted by a pirate who was sent to abduct her! They work together to find out why someone wants her, in the midst of this investigation is the slow burn romance that permeates their entire dialogue, however there is no spice but the slow burn and giggles make up for it!

The second book follows a witch who encounters another pirate from the first book, the pair embark on another mystery that results in a much faster developed romance, battles with other pirates and witches, and just as many giggles as the first!

This series includes the following titles:

• The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
• The League of Gentlewoman Witches
• The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

This is the first book by Krystal Sutherland that I had read, and out of all of them, “House of Hollow” is still my favourite! It is a dark urban fantasy mystery that follows three sisters: Iris, Grey and Vivi. The mystery starts when the three girls mysteriously disappeared together at a young age, only to reappear just as mysteriously. After their reappearance, their memories of life beforehand had vanished and they began to experience physical changes, such as their hair turning white, eyes turning black and an alluring air about them that makes people absolutely obsessed with them.

The girls have learned to live with it, that is until their father’s sudden death some years earlier and the eldest sister, Grey, disappearing. Iris and Vivi work together to find their sister, and solve the mystery of their disappearance from their childhood. There is old school magic, gothic horror and a fantastic mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat!

It is a stand alone and I strongly recommend it for anyone who loves a good gothic mystery horror.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl

This book gave me some “House of Hollow” vibes in terms of the gothic mystery that was going on. “Darkly” follows a teen girl who style and personality was definitely born in the wrong century, she is obsessed with the Darkly games and its creator, Louisiana Veda, which leads her to apply for a once in a lifetime competition held by the managing team of the Darkly games. Dia wins a spot and is sent to the island when Louisiana created her dark games along with a group of other competitors, they are tasked with the challenge of finding the missing Darkly Game that vanished before Louisiana stopped creating games, eventually leading to her natural death.

The teens soon discover that the game still exists, and someone has been playing it with the local town teens. This mystery very quickly opens questions about Louisiana’s creations, her mind, her fears and eventually her grief. Dia then realises that their group was not selected at random, they chosen for a reason and that reason may just lead to their destruction.

An amazingly well paced book with a great mystery, another fantastic stand alone book!

The Crucible by Abigail Owens

This series by Abigail Owen had me hooked from the mention of Greek Gods, being an Ancient History major, that completely hooked my interest. The first book “Games Gods Play” sets the scene in a modern day city where the Greek Gods still interact with humans, holding games with their selected champions to determine who will be the King of Gods for the next few years before the next crucible. Hades has never participated until now, choosing an unlikely champion in the form of Lyra Keres, an orphan in the thieves guild who was cursed by Zeus to be utterly unloved. Hades chose her for a reason, but Lyra still hasn’t worked it out yet.

Another Hunger Games style competition where there is death around every corner, but there is also an underlying mystery that Lyra is trying to untangle while trying to avoid the sexual tension between her and the god of death. Such a greatly paced story, and the action was fantastic! Not to mention the slow burn that culminates in a pretty spicy scene for those of you who love that kind of thing!

Fair warning, it does end on a cliffhanger which leads into the second book, the third has been announced but not released yet so prepare yourself for that!

Titles in this series:

• Games Gods Play
• The Things Gods Break

Happy Reading!