#earl tully

[goodqueenaly]

Hi I loved your thoughts on Myranda Royce and was wondering what your thoughts were on Bronze Yohn? He seems an honourable sort but almost a bit to Ned Starkish for his own good. Do you think him and Sansa will end up saving each other by bringing down Littlefinger?

I think Bronze Yohn Royce is in many ways about as typical a Westerosi aristocrat, and specifically a blue-blooded Valeman, as we’re likely to find throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Even before we meet Lord Royce on page, we hear of him through social-political reputation: he is the head of Ser Waymar’s “ancient house with too many heirs”, the great lord whom Lord Commander Mormont was too afraid of insulting to refuse the under-experienced Ser Waymar command of his fatal ranging, the high-ranking guest of Winterfell welcomed at table with Lady Catelyn and in the yard and at hunt with Lord Eddard. His place among the top tier of Westerosi aristocracy has been long assured: Royce attended both the tourney of Harrenhal and the tourney at Lannisport, tilting at both, and defeated at least Thoros of Myr at the melee held to celebrate Joffrey’s twelfth birthday. Nor does Lord Yohn appear less than impressive when he comes into the story himself: Sansa counts him among the “heroes of a hundred songs” who pass by her at the Hand’s tourney, and almost reverently describes his namesake runic armor to Jeyne Poole. Indeed, Catelyn indirectly acknowledges Bronze Yohn’s stature in Westerosi, and particularly Vale, aristocracy by describing Nestor Royce as “Bronze Yohn’s cousin, from a lesser branch of House Royce”; even another aristocrat in his own right should, in Catelyn’s mind, be defined by his relation to the much greater Lord Royce.

Unfortunately for Bronze Yohn, being so typically aristocratic has at times influenced his decision-making, occasionally leading to unwinnable situations where traditional blue-blood lines of thought and operation simply do not work. If Royce was not alone in rejecting Tyrion as a bridegroom for one of his female relations, his refusal reflects the widespread ableism found among Westeros’ elite. Along with the majority of the other great (male) aristocrats of the Vale (at least according to Kevan Lannister), Lord Royce sought to court the widowed Lysa in order to exercise power as a sort of jure uxoris regent; unwilling, perhaps, to engage in a sort of Ainslie Bond-like approach to forcing Lysa into an aristocratically appropriate marriage (much less actually trying to imitate the historical Earl of Bothwell), and convinced that the Vale could only be ruled by an Arryn or one of the highest birth who was himself (specifically himself) closest to an Arryn, Bronze Yohn was perhaps, like his countrymen, stuck with simply trying to woo Lysa into marrying him in order to effect the changes he wanted. Even more problematically for Bronze Yohn (and his allies), in their approach toward Petyr Baelish the Lords Declarant were simply outmatched, caught by the very aristocratic forms they were trying to enforce. Certain that only a blue-blooded Valeman would do to raise Jon Arryn’s son, disdainful of the relatively lower born second husband of Lysa Tully controlling the Arryn heir, Bronze Yohn was, like his allies, limited to making bald but impotent threats against a man with sufficient personal and royal resources (themselves largely one and the same, of course, as the late great Steven Attewell explained) not to be intimidated by such posturing. In turn, Bronze Yohn seems to have poured at least some of his energies into cultivating the would-be Arryn heir, Harry Hardyng, staging (in every sense of the word) a melee at Runestone and knighting the victorious Harry thereafter; it is perhaps not unlikely, if no better for it, that Bronze Yohn, intractably opposed to Littlefinger, encouraged young Harry to look down on Littlefinger - a snobbishness that for Harry has extended, at least initially, to open rudeness toward “Alayne Stone”.

However, Bronze Yohn’s ironclad (or should it be bronzeclad?) belief in his aristocratic position does not preclude him from a willingness to act in the name of honor, and to lead his family accordingly. While he might have been pursuing Lysa as a suitor, Bronze Yohn was nevertheless not shy about “stirring up all sorts of trouble”, in Lysa’s opinion, by demanding that “[Lysa] call [her] banners and go to war” on the side of Robb Stark - a recognition by Lord Royce, I think, not just of the historical kinship between Stark and Royce (and the threat to him personally, as one of those identified in Cersei’s initial demand for homage) but also of the generally dishonorable conduct of the Lannister-Baratheon regime. Too, though Yohn Royce obviously did not know about the secret agreement between Lyn Corbray and Littlefinger (nor, by extension, the pretended dramatics Lyn acted out during the Lords Declarant meeting), Bronze Yohn responded with honorably appropriate fury - denouncing the man he believed was his ally to defend the hallowed tradition of guest right (even where the beneficiary of that tradition, in this scenario, was the much-loathed Petyr Baelish). Likewise, I think due credit should be given to Bronze Yohn for raising at least two of his sons (certainly those two most familiar to us as readers) with a sense of duty and bravery even in the face of unwindable odds: though both Waymar and Robar demonstrated some of the haughty self-assurance typical of young Westerosi aristocrats of their rank (albeit perhaps not totally for Waymar), both also proved willing to die in the name of honor - Waymar distinguishing himself as a man of the Night’s Watch in doing battle against the Others, Robar allowing Catelyn and Brienne time to flee while he himself fought the grief-stricken Loras Tyrell following Renly’s murder.

Ultimately, I do believe that Bronze Yohn will be an ally to Sansa, both because of that aristocratic standing as well as his personal sense of honor. Sansa already considered revealing herself to Bronze Yohn when the latter came with the Lords Declarant to the Eyrie, and while she decided against doing so in the moment, she had no way of knowing that her reasoning was wrong: Royce did want to fight for Robb, and with Sansa the last remaining legitimate Stark (or so Sansa and Bronze Yohn believe for now, anyway), I think there is a very good chance that Royce will want to fight for her once Littlefinger’s plan to reveal her kicks into gear. Moreover, if Sansa, learning of Littlefinger’s crimes against her family and her friend Jeyne, calls upon northern and Vale lords to cast him down, I firmly believe Royce will be first in line, ready and more than willing to cast down the man Sansa knows was responsible for Jon Arryn’s death (among much else).

[jedimaesteryoda]

Red Wedding II

Take into account that after the Black Dinner that inspired the Red Wedding, one of the architects behind the Black Dinner was James Douglas III, uncle to the two boys killed, leaving him their title and seat as Earl of Douglas. Twelve years, later, history repeated itself when James’s son William was murdered at a dinner in Sterling Castle. There is likely going to be another Red Wedding in The Winds of Winter.

Whose POV is it going to be through?

Jaime, or if not him, then Brienne.

Who is getting married?

Ser Daven snorted. "I'll wed and bed my stoat, never fear. I know what happened to Robb Stark. From what Edwyn tells me, though, I'd best pick one who hasn't flowered yet, or I'm like to find that Black Walder has been there first

-AFFC, Jaime V

Daven Lannister to his Frey bride. In a fit of irony, he cites Robb Stark breaking his agreement to marry a Frey leading to his demise, yet it is his honoring the agreement and his wedding to a Frey that results in his demise.

Where is it going to be?

Riverrun. Its proximity and equidistance to the Westerlands and the Twins makes it the perfect location. It is the castle Daven besieged, the former capital of the Riverlands and the sight of the final Lannister-Frey victory over House Tully when they took their overlords’ castle signifying their de facto rule over the riverlands. It also helps that the Blackfish left it stocked with plenty of food meant to last a two year siege. 

Who is going to be there?

A number of other Freys are likely going to be there including Emmon and Genna’s family since they are the Lords of Riverrun.

Lord Walder Frey is going to be there. This wedding is a big deal, celebrating the alliance between Houses Lannister and Frey, and as shown with his defilement of Robb and Cat’s bodies, he is a petty men who likes to humiliate his enemies. Having his kin’s wedding at his former overlords’ castle is something he cannot pass up. 

It also draws one other person. 

Lord Emmon rubbed his mouth. His hand came away red and slimy from the sourleaf. "To be sure. Riverrun is mine, and no man shall ever take it from me."

-AFFC, Jaime VII

Lady Stoneheart could not stand the idea of her two most hated enemies celebrating in her family’s ancestral seat. She has her agent Tom O’Sevens in the castle who would likely tell her of the wedding and that Lord Walder is attending. Lord Walder being there means she will definitely come.  

She also won’t be the only Tully visiting. 

"After the trouble Ser Brynden took to leave us, I doubt that he'll come skulking back." Unless it is at the head of a band of outlaws. He did not doubt that the Blackfish meant to continue the fight.

-AFFC, Jaime VII

The Brotherhood would likely find Brynden and he would of course aid his niece in taking back their family seat. Edmure might be there as well, rescued by the Brotherhood.

How will it go down?

Walder and a few men and Freys from the Twins will come down to celebrate Daven’s wedding in a celebration of the Lannister-Frey alliance as the Lannisters control the Iron Throne and the Freys are de facto liege lords of the riverlands. Tom O’Sevens acting as an agent will coordinate with the Brotherhood to get them into the castle during the celebration.

The smallfolk of Riverrun will likely aid the Brotherhood given they served the Tullys their whole lives and remember Edmure for sheltering them in his castle during the Battle of the Fords while their new lord Emmon doesn’t inspire much confidence in even his own family, and he made them all stand out in the rain for three hours talking about what he expected of them. That’s not even mentioning that they all know he got Riverrun as a reward for the reviled Red Wedding, and his wife Genna is a Lannister, sister and aunt to the same people who attacked them. The smallfolk will likely hold no love for any of the occupants, wedding guests or garrison.

The Brotherhood will also have Jaime and Brienne, with the former in a position similar to the one Roslin was in the first Red Wedding in that he is forced to play a role in the massacre. Like with Brienne who was forced to lure Jaime to them, they will likely force Jaime to serve as a Trojan horse with the Brotherhood using Brienne as a hostage to ensure Jaime will follow through on his part. He will arrive with a supposedly captured Blackfish (and possibly Edmure) as a wedding gift and with the Brotherhood in tow disguised as his men to lure Riverrun into letting them in. Most of them will likely mingle with the Riverrun garrison who will be feasting separate from the main party while a few accompany Jaime to the great hall. 

The players in the gallery had finally gotten both king and queen down to their name-day suits. With scarcely a moment's respite, they began to play a very different sort of song. No one sang the words, but Catelyn knew "The Rains of Castamere" when she heard it. Edwyn was hurrying toward a door. She hurried faster, driven by the music. Six quick strides and she caught him. And who are you, the proud lord said, that I must bow so low? She grabbed Edwyn by the arm to turn him and went cold all over when she felt the iron rings beneath his silken sleeve.

-ASOS, Catelyn VII

Like the first Red Wedding, the attack will be signaled by a song. In this case, Tom O’ Sevens will play “Wolf in the Night,” the song commemorating Robb’s victory at Oxcross to signal the attack.

The Brotherhood without Banners and any of Riverrun’s smallfolk will kill off the garrison. Lady Stoneheart then reveals herself at the wedding. Lord Walder’s reaction would be noted now that he is no longer protected behind the walls of the Twins and finds himself surrounded by foes in an enemy castle completely exposed. The same man who quivered at a ten year-old Tywin speaking against Emmon’s match to Genna would undoubtedly be terrified at an undead Lady Catelyn having come for revenge. 

"on my honor as a Stark, I will trade your boy's life for Robb's. A son for a son." Her hand shook so badly she was ringing Jinglebell's head.

Boom, the drum sounded, boom doom boom doom. The old man's lips went in and out. The knife trembled in Catelyn's hand, slippery with sweat. "A son for a son, heh," he repeated. "But that's a grandson . . . and he never was much use."

-ASOS, Catelyn VII

Walder will likely make a similar offer of “a son for a son” in a way that shows the contrast between the two characters. While Catelyn offered to spare his kin to save her son’s life, he would be offering his sons’ lives to spare his own, ie “I’m sorry, I know you’re mad about your son’s death. So, how about this? Just to make us even you can kill one of mine. Take Emmon. If you want you can take more.”

Of course, it would work just as well as Cat’s did. Stoneheart won’t be swayed anymore than he was, and he like Cat was, is without any bargaining room. Lord Walder would likely get the most gruesome fate.

Catelyn would gladly have spitted the querulous old man and roasted him over a fire, but she had only till evenfall to open the bridge. Calmly, she said, "All the more reason that we must reach Riverrun, and soon. Where can we go to talk, my lord?”

-AGOT, Catelyn IX

Addam Marbrand's scouts had found them, hanging black-faced beneath a crabapple tree. The corpses had been stripped naked, and each man had a crabapple shoved between his teeth. None bore any wounds; plainly, they had yielded. Strongboar had grown furious at that, vowing bloody vengeance on the heads of any men who would truss up warriors to die like suckling pigs.

-AFFC, Jaime V

Walder will be put on a spit and roasted like a suckling pig over a fire. Such a thing would not be easy for Jaime to watch given it would be reliving his traumatic experience of seeing Aerys burn people alive.

The rest of the Freys and Lannisters captured who aren’t cut down will likely be hanged. Genna might survive, but she would see her children and possibly grandchildren hanged. She would be a mother who lost her family, exactly Cat’s situation at the end of the Red Wedding. 

Brynden and Edmure would likely be disillusioned seeing what became of her, realizing this isn’t the Catelyn they knew and loved.

Jaime would escape Riverrun and the Brotherhood eventually, and like last time he would escape with Brienne. But as for House Frey, Walder was the glue holding them all together, and with him gone it’s going to be a civil war in the Twins over who becomes the Lord of the Crossing with Edwyn being next in line but his brother Black Walder will be looking to take that title and Lame Lothar will be working behind the scenes. 

[reginarubie]

I'm imagining in the background Edmure Tully Earl of Riverrun has been rumored to be offering a large reward for reliable information for the safe return of his sister Lady Catlyn Marchioness of Winterfell's two missing daughters to his care.

And Alayne Stone, painter extraordinaire looks a bit too much like Cat even with the dye to just go unnoticed.

[guinevere-of-smiths]

John Somerset + Names

One thing I really like about MC's relationship with John (regardless of whether it is romantic or platonic) are the moments when the ways he addresses her seem deliberate. While he does call her by her first name before the garden party (and calls her Miss Hayes afterwards), him deliberately using her first name there after she helped him out with Earl Tully and he opened up a bit felt like a turning point in their relationship after they were so unsure what to make of each other in chapters 1 - 3, especially considering his formal (and appropriate) address of her in chapter 1. And him calling her 'my future Lady Ashbourne' (because they finally have a future together) and 'my love' (love me some terms of endearment) is just heartwarming.

...Altough I'm still of the opinion that him becoming the heir makes NO sense either from a 'that is not how inheriting titles works' or from a character/thematic perspective and I'll continue to joyfully ignore it in my own canon, but that is a rant for another day. Him being happy that she's really his partner in life now is still cute.

I just love how he goes from curious yet formal to slowly opening up and becoming fond of her to completely and utterly in love, and how it shows in those small, throwaway moments.

[kinda-iconic]

This was actually adorable 🤭😂

[crazy-loca-blog]

Reblogging because I just realized The Unexpected Heiress is available for everyone...

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!**

Personal thoughts on… The Unexpected Heiress… who killed Amelia Hayes?

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week.

Finally!! It’s been a while since the last time a book other than Open Heart gave me all those “I need to write about this” vibes I usually talk about. I didn’t think this book would surprise me.

The Unexpected Heiress is a VIP release that should be about to finish (my bet is that there are only two or three chapters left). If you haven’t had the chance to read it, and you don’t mind about spoilers, let me give you a little context: Amelia Hayes is an American girl who’s engaged to Francis Somerset, a British aristocrat, in an arranged marriage. One day, Amelia suddenly dies from natural causes. That’s when our MC (her default name is Lillian Hayes) must take Amelia’s place and marry Francis, even though they don’t want to marry each other. After a while, both Francis and the MC discover that Amelia was murdered, so they decide to fake an engagement to find out who killed her.

I’ll be super honest: the book is slow, it really seems like nothing happens and that the clues only lead you to dead ends, but once you’ve collected enough clues (there are many throughout the book!) and you can start guessing who killed Amelia, things become quite interesting. By now I have three main suspects (of course I may be wrong), so I’ll go discarding the possible murderers while explaining why I don’t think they killed her (or why I think they did). These are all the characters in the book:

Keep reading

[beingallelite]

x

[jackoshadows]

Because I see this fundamental misunderstanding so often on the Arya Stark tag...

In the world of ASoIaF, Lady is not defined as someone wearing dresses, singing songs or wanting romance, marriage and children. Considering how wives are often treated and that marital rape is a thing, I doubt many of the Ladies of Westeros are that desirous of marriage and children. Even Sansa realizes that all this marriage for love/romance is a whole lot of bs and that other houses/characters are after her for her claim.

GRRM has the titles rather simple and in some instances it’s not very clear, but this is what I understand it to be. Please do correct me on this, if I am wrong.

Lady is a title for noble/high born women/girls in Westeros, just like Lord is a title for  noble/high born men. Apart from Dorne of course, where we get prince/princesses. We don’t have Dukes or Dauphins or Earls or Viscounts. It’s Lord Stark and Lord Manderly despite Ned being from a Great House.

The highborn girls, irrespective of age, are addressed as Lady. So it’s Lady Sansa Stark and Lady Arya Stark even when Catelyn was still alive. Highborn boys before taking over from their fathers seem to be addressed as Master. Waymar Royce is referred to as a Lordling once - this could be derogatory.

In the books, Catelyn chastises Edmure being called ‘Lord’ when Hoster Tully is still alive and Theon Greyjoy says that he can be Lord only after his father dies.

In the books, Roose Bolton is Warden of the North, Lord of the Dreadfort and Ramsay Bolton is Lord of Winterfell, - marrying Arya Stark to legitimize this claim/title - Lord of Hornwood and Castellan of the Dreadfort. 

Jon Snow refers to Shireen Baratheon as ‘Princess’ because he considers Stannis Baratheon to be the One True King of the 7 Kingdoms.

As per the Worldbook asoiaf app, Arya is labelled princess and Bran and Rickon are princes now that the North (Apart from the Boltons and supporting houses) have declared they no longer hold fealty to the Iron Throne. Sansa did not get this title probably because of her marriage to Tyrion Lannister and Robb Stark’s decree.

That’s why Jon Snow is mocked as ‘Lord Snow’ - because he’s low born.

“That is a longsword, not an old man’s cane,” Ser Alliser said sharply. “Are your legs hurting, Lord Snow?”

Jon hated that name, a mockery that Ser Alliser had hung on him the first day he came to practice

--------------------------------------------------

“And the grumkins and the snarks,” Tyrion said. “Let us not forget them, Lord Snow, or else what’s that big thing for?”

“Don’t call me Lord Snow.”

The dwarf lifted an eyebrow. “Would you rather be called the Imp? Let them see that their words can cut you, and you’ll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name, take it, make it your own. Then they can’t hurt you with it anymore.

And my personal favorite:

“Lord Snow, he likes to call himself.” Ser Alliser was a spare, slim man, compact and sinewy, and just now his flinty eyes were dark with amusement.

“You’re the one who named me Lord Snow,” said Jon.

Lord/Lady is not about the characteristics/personality of a character. There is no right or wrong way to be a Lady. There’s no rule that says that Ladies should wear dresses and play the harp and be good at sewing. No single character owns the word ‘Lady’. 

This holds true for Northern Ladies as well. Catelyn Stark was a good Lady of Winterfell, not because she sang and played the harp or fought with a sword, but because she was a very capable, strong and intelligent leader whom Ned trusted enough to take over when he left for the south as Hand of the King.

Again, this is Maege Mormont, Lady of Bear Island in the North:

Maege is a short, stout, grey-haired woman, and a fierce warrior. She dresses in patched ringmail, and her favored weapon is a spiked mace.[3][4] She is dedicated to the old gods, and loyal to House Stark. According to her brother, Jeor, she is stubborn, short-tempered, and willful.

Remind us of anyone in house Stark? 

Maybe an older Arya will even grow up to like dresses once she is confident enough in her appearance to know that she looks good in them. But a lot of her dislike for dresses also stems from it not being an easy or practical attire to do activities she likes - running around chasing cats or being able to fight.

What Jon Snow admires in Lady Alys Karstark is her bravery in getting all the way to the wall and agreeing to a marriage with the Magnar of the Thenns -  he compares the Lady to Arya Stark and calls her ‘Winter’s Lady’.

Arya is brought up to believe that there is only one type of Lady and that she does not fit there because she’s not like Sansa. Hence her dislike specifically for things she is told she’s not good at and therefore not being as good as Sansa according to Septa Mordane, her mother, her sister and her sister’s friends. She does not want to be a Lady as defined by the Septa.

Arya loves flowers, likes purple and green and playing with babies, is good at managing a household, can clean and cook and even sewed her own clothes, is kind and compassionate, cares for people, sees the good in everyone even in the lowest of the low often shunned by Westerosi society.

The patriarchal, male dominated Westerosi society does not like women wielding swords or fighting. The text demands that we critique this considering we have characters like Arya and Brienne calling out the double standards and wanting to not be put into boxes based on their genders.

With characters like Daenerys Targaryen and Arya Stark most assuredly having active, leading roles in the next two books, I think the status quo will change or begin to change by the end of the books.

The current, new generation of main characters think differently to the status quo - Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Bran Stark, Tyrion Lannister - are all characters who straight off admire proactive female leaders, war commanders, fighters and in the case of Jon Snow puts them in positions of power. Some of our central protagonists - Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen - as leaders are involved in reform and changing how things are usually done. Other protagonists - Arya, Brienne - have shown a desire and a need for things to change. Bran and Tyrion admire characters like Meera Reed/Arya stark and Daenerys Targaryen respectively.

One of the things Jon Snow wants to do is integrate the Freefolk into the North and eventually Westeros. Considering the women of the Freefolk, why wouldn’t there be a gradual and eventual change in how Westeros sees the role of women in society?

Note, because I just know some folks are going to make strawman arguments about why this is Sansa hate because she’s a ‘girly girl’ or a character who likes singing, dancing and all that. This post is not saying that Sansa is the wrong kind of Lady or that those qualities are wrong or that Sansa is not a Lady because she likes singing or dancing or that Sansa does not want to be a Lady because she will have to marry and it will make her unhappy or that Sansa cannot be a Lady because she loves to sing and dance or that Sansa is the wrong kind of woman to be a lady etc - things that are often written about Arya on the character tag.

My post is saying that maybe in the Westeros that our heroes/heroines leave behind in this coming of age tale, all types of Ladies can co-exist in positions of power - a Lady Arya Stark, a Lady Sansa Stark, a Lady Daenerys Targaryen, a Lady Meera Reed, a Lady Arianne Martell, a Lady Margaery Tyrell and so on and so forth. GRRM has given us a variety of female characters and we all have our individual faves and who we would like to succeed at the end.

PS: No need to love all the female characters the same - they are all very different, flawed, complex characters and to each their own. Proclaiming loudly and repeatedly that one like all these very different female characters the same because they are female does not make one a feminist. Quite the opposite.

tl;dr - Essentially, according to the world and characters GRRM has written, Arya Stark, as Ned and Catelyn’s trueborn daughter, is Lady Arya Stark - that’s a honorific applied to all highborn girls. She has qualities that fit a Lady of house Stark and there is every chance that by the end of the book, the current patriarchal Westerosi status quo will begin to change to normalize girls like Arya, Asha, Daenerys, Brienne etc. as leaders or otherwise

GRRM has always said that it’s a coming of age tale for our protagonists and I think that changing societal status quo norms are part of that.

Edited: Edited to change and provide the right links/description of Maege Mormont as kindly pointed out by @patate-i-et-patate-a

[themealdealabritishsensation]

The mightiest kings have had their minions: Great Alexander loved Hephaestion; The conquering Hercules for Hylas wept; And for Patroclus stern Achilles drooped. 

And not kings only, but the wisest men: The Roman Tully loved Octavius, Grave Socrates, wild Alcibiades. Then let his grace, whose youth is flexible And promiseth as much as we can wish, Freely enjoy that vain light-headed Earl, For riper years will wean him from such toys.

- Christopher Marlowe

[trans-and-baby-names]

Masculine Names

Aaron  Abdul Abe  Abel Abraham  Abram Ace Achilles  Adair Adam Adonis Adrian Adriel  Ahmed Ajax Ajay Aiden Alan Albert Alejandro Alex Alexander Alfonso Alfred Alistair Alister Allen  Alonzo Amadeo Amadeus Amani Amari Ambrose Amir Anders  Anderson Andre Andreas Andrew Andy Angel Angelo Angus Ansel  Anson Anthony Antonio Apollo Aries Archer Archie Aristotle Arlo  Arnaldo Arnold Arsenio Arthur Arturo Arwin Asa Asher Aslan Atlas  Atticus Aubrey August Augustin Augustine Augustus Aurelio Aurelius Austin Axel  Aziz

Balthazar  Bane Barnabas  Barnaby Barney Baron  Barrett Basil Bastian  Bear Beau Beck Ben Benjamin  Benji Bentley Bernard Bertram Bertrand  Blake Blaze Blue Bobby Bodhi Booker Boris  Boston Bowie Boyd Brad Bradford Bradley Bram  Bramwell Bran Brandon Brandt Braxton Braylen Brayden Brendon  Brent Brett Brian Briar Brick Bridge Bridger Brock Brody Brogan  Bronx Brook Brooks Bruce Bruno Brutus Bryce Bryson Buck Bud Buddha  Buddy Buck Burt Burton Buster Buzz Byron 

Cade  Caden Cain  Cairo Caius Calder  Caleb Callum Calvin Cam  Cameron Camillo Campbell Carl  Carlisle Carlito Carlo Carlos Carlton  Carmine Carson Carter Casper Caspian Cassian  Cassias Cato Cecil Cedar Cedric Cesar Chad Chadwick  Chance Charles Charlton Chase Chauncey Chester Chidi Chip  Christoff Christoph Christopher Christian Chuck Cian Cillian  Clarence Clark Claud Clay Clayton Cliff Clifford Clint Clinton  Clyde Coby Cody Colby Cole Collin Colt Colton Conan Connor Conrad  Constantine Cooper Copper Corbin Cornelius Cory Cosmo Cosmos Costas Craig Crispin Cruz Curt Curtis Cyrus

Dale  Dallas  Dalton Damien  Damon Dan Dane Daniel  Dante Darius Darrel Darren  Dash Dashiell Davey David Dawson  Dax Daxton Deacon Dean DeAndre Declan  Demetrius Denali Dennis Denny Denzel Derek  Derrick Des Desmond Dewey Dex Dexter Diego Diesel  Dion Dirk Dixon Dmitri Dominic Donatello Donovan Dorian  Doug Douglas Draco Drew Duke Duncan Dustin Dusty Dwayne Dwight  Dylan Dyson 

Earl  Easton  Edgar Edmund  Eduardo Edward Edwin  Egon Eli Elijah Elias  Elliott Ellis Elroy Elton  Emanuel Emeric Emerson Emery  Emil Emiliano Emmett Emrys Enrique  Enzo Eric Ernest Ernesto Ernie Esteban  Ethan Eugene Eustace Euvan Evan Evander Everett  Ezekiel Ezra 

Fabian  Fabio Falcon  Faustus Felix Ferdinand  Fergus Ferguson Fernando Fidel  Fido Finbar Findlay Finn Finnley  Fionn Fisher Fitz Fletcher Flint Florence  Florian Ford Forrest Fort Foster Fowler Fox  Francesco Francis Francisco Franco Frank Frankie  Franklin Fred Freddy Fredrick Frederico

Gabe  Gabriel  Gael Gage  Gale Galen Garfield Garrett Gaston Gatsby  Gavin Geoffrey Geordie George  Gerald Gerard Gideon Gil Gilbert  Gilberto Giovanni Glenn Gordon Gordy  Grady Graham Grant Gray Grayson Gregg  Gregory Grey Griffin Griffith Grover Gunner  Gunther Gus Gustavo Guy 

Hades  Hal Hamilton  Hank Hans Harley Harrison  Harry Hawk Hayden Hayes Heath Hector  Henrik Hendrix Henry Herb Herbert Herbie  Hercules Hermes Hershel Hiram Holden Howard  Howie Hudson Hugo Humphrey Hunter Hux Huxley 

Ian Igor Iker Irvin Isaac Isaiah Ivan 

Jace  Jack Jackson  Jacob Jaques Jaden  Jake Jalen Jamal James  Jameson Jared Jason Jax  Jay Jed Jedidiah Jefferson  Jeffrey Jeremiah Jeremy Jerome  Jerry Jesus Jethro Jett Jim Jimmy  Joe Joel Johan Johannes John Johnny Jonah  Jonas Jonathan Jones Jordan Jose Joseph Joshua  Josiah Juan Juanito Judah Judas Judd Jude Jules Julian  Julien Julio Julius Junior Jupiter Jurgen Justice Justin Justus 

Kaden  Kai Kaiser  Kale Kaleb Kane  Keane Keanu Keaton  Keegan Keenan Keith  Kellen Kenan Kendrick  Kenneth Kenzo Keoni Kevin Khalid  Kian Kieran Kiernan Kingsley Kingston Killian  Kip Kwan Kyle

Lachlan  Lake Lamar  Lance Lancelot  Landon Lane Larkin  Larry Lars Laurence Laurent  Lawrence Lawson Lazlo Legend Leif  Leith Leland Leo Leon Leonardo Leopold  Leroy Levi Liam Lincoln Linden Logan Loki  London Lonnie Lonny Lorcan Lorenzo Lou Louie  Louis Luc Luca Lucas Lucian Lucky Luke Lupe Luther

Maddox  Maksim Malachi  Malachy Malakai Malcolm  Malik Manfred Manny Marcel Marcello  Marcellus Marcio Marcius Marco Marcos  Marcus Marian Marino Mario Marius Mark  Marlin Marlon Marmaduke Marques Mars Marshall  Martin Marty Marvel Marvin Massimo Mason Matt Matteo  Matthew Maurice Maverick Max Maximilian Maximus Maxwell  Melvin Mercury Meredith Merritt Micah Michael Miguel Miles  Milo Mitchell Moe Monte Montgomery Murdoch Murphy Murray Murtagh  Murtaugh Myles

Nathan  Nathaniel  Ned Nelson  Nemo Neo Neon  Neptune Neville  Newt Newton Nick  Nicky Nicola Nicolai  Nicholas Niko Noah Noel Nolan  Norm Norman Novak 

Obadiah  Octavio Octavius  Odin Olaf Oleg Oliver  Olivier Omar Orion Orlando  Orville Osborn Oscar Oso Osvaldo  Oswald Ottis Otto Owen Oz Ozzy

Pablo  Palmer Panther  Parker Pascal Patrick Paul  Paxton Pedro Penn Percival Percy Perseus  Peter Peyton Phil Philip Phineas Phoenix Pier  Pierce Pierre Pilot Pluto Porter Poseidon Preston  Prince Prosper

Qadir  Quincy Quinn  Quinton 

Raiden  Ralph Ramone  Ramses Randall Randolph  Randy Raphael Ravi Ray Raymond Red  Reece Reggie Reginald Regis Reid Remington  Reuben Rex Reynald Reynaldo Reynard Rhett Rhys  Ricardo Richard Richie Richmond Rick Ricky Rico Ridge  Riley Rio Riordan River Robert Roberto Robbie Rocco Rocky  Rodney Rodrigo Roger Ricky Riley Rod Rodrick Roger Roland  Roman Romeo Ross Rowan Rudy Rufus Russell Ryder Ryker Rylan Ryland 

Salem  Salvador  Salvator Sam  Samir Sampson Samson  Samuel Sander Sandford Sanjay  Santiago Saul Sawyer Scott Sean Sebastian  Septimus Serge Sergio Seth Seus Seymour Shane  Shawn Shayne Sheldon Shepherd Sherlock Sherman Shin Sidney  Sigmund Silas Silver Silvester Simon Sinclair Sinjin Sirius  Slade Slate Sol Solomon Sonny Sparrow Spartacus Spencer Spike  Soren Stan Stanford Stanley Steele Stephen Steven Stevie Stone Sven Summit  Sullivan Sully Sylvester

Tad  Tag Talon  Tanner Tate  Ted Teddy Teo Teodor  Teodoro Terence Terrell  Terry Tex Thad Thaddeus Thane  Thatcher Theo Theoden Theodore Thomas  Thor Thorn Tiberius Tiger Tito Titus Timothy  Titus Tobias Toby Tommy Tony Topher Trace Travis  Trent Trenton Trev Trevor Trey Tristan Troy Truman Tucker  Tudor Tullio Tullius Tully Tycho Tyler Tyrell Tyrese Tyrone  Tyson

Uberto  Ulric Ulrich  Ulysses Uriah Urban Urijah  Uriel

Van  Vance  Vaugn Victor  Vince Vincenco Vincent  Vinny Virgil Vlad Vladimir 

Wade  Walden  Waldo Walker  Wallace Wally Walt  Walter Warner Warren  Watson Waylon Wayne Wendall  Wesley Westley Weston Wilbert  Wilbur Wilder Wiley Wilfred Will William  Winston Wolf Wolfe Wolfgang Woodrow Wyatt 

Xander  Xavier Xavion  Xenon

Yael  Yahir York Yosef  Yousef Yusef

Zac  Zach Zachariah  Zacharias Zachary Zack  Zander Zane Zayden Zeke  Zeus Ziggy Zion Zoltan

[cindavis]

#Outlander‘s Steamy Season 3 Photos Remind Us Just How Hot Claire and Jamie Are Together  #OutlanderS3

[korgbelmont]

Now Added: Nesbitt Tully / Earl Tully

Nesbitt Tully / Earl Tully has now been added to the Transparents folder

[alj4890]

Choices September Challenge

Day 29 Polite

(Hugh Crawford x MC*Elizabeth Hayes) in a Choices The Unexpected Heiress drabble.

A/N This is one book I wish had been released in its entirety like the other VIP books. I need more moments between the MC and Hugh.

@choicesseptemberchallenge20​​​ @xjustin-ethansgirliex​​​ @lovealexhunt​​​ @krsnlove​

Masterlist

Comfort and Cherish

Somerset Garden Party...

Elizabeth could practically feel her temper spike as she listened to the pompous earl. For being a member of polite society, he certainly felt no compunction in sharing his unwanted opinions.

"Though it is a pity your sister departed this earth, she had become a bit high handed in her views." Lord Tully chortled with a few of the guests who stood nearby.

Lady Huntsbury softly spoke up. "I think if she had lived, Miss Amelia's passionate nature would have turned to the family she would have created with Francis."

"Quite right." He agreed. "Politics and the running of the world is a man's duty." Lord Tully snorted in irritation. "Miss Amelia's thoughts tended to be, not that I expect you ladies to understand, anti-imperialist."

"I know what that term means." Elizabeth snapped. "And Amelia never formed political opinions without thoroughly gathering information from both sides of an argument!"

Lord Tully's face darkened. "You are becoming emotional, Miss Hayes." He said, his voice held a tinge of warning. "This is why women have no place in the running of the world. Your delicate sensibilities cannot form a rational argument nor easily take part in a debate."

"Oh!" Elizabeth's teacup rattled in its saucer. "Why you insuf--"

"Pardon me everyone." Hugh swooped in, gently placing a hand on her arm. "Lady Ashbourne sent me to fetch Miss Hayes."

Elizabeth bit back the insults she was ready to hurl and stiffly bowed her head in farewell.

Once they were out of earshot, she searched the grounds. "Where is Lady Ashbourne?"

"Haven't a clue to her whereabouts." Hugh admitted. "I only used her name to save you from a conversation that was about to become the latest bit of gossip."

She placed her tea cup on a nearby table. "I know I should thank you, but nothing would give me more pleasure than setting that old man in his place."

"Baroness Pritchard was there eagerly taking in every word you exchanged." He reminded her. "I know that if nothing else, you would not wish to give the Somerset family anything to be embarrassed over."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Must you be the voice of reason right now?"

His lips curved in a smile. "I think you could use a moment away from these polite guests."

"Can we?" Elizabeth turned pleading eyes to him. "I would give anything to escape the pitying glances and the dowager's disapproval whenever I engage in conversation."

He held his arm out. "I know just the place."

The walk toward a nearby meadow helped her let go of the anger she held towards people like Lord Tully.

"Amelia put her heart in everything she did." Elizabeth explained as she found a place to sit.

"Sounds like it is an inherited trait." He sat down next to her.

Her smile flashed briefly at the compliment.

Memories of her older sister came to mind. She remembered the times Amelia encouraged her to never doubt herself. The help she had given Elizabeth every step of her way through the awkward phases of childhood. Amelia had been her confidante, the only one to listen without criticism to her thoughts.

There were times when it physically hurt to realize that she would never feel that accepting security her sister had provided.

"You approved of Amelia." She mumbled.

"I did." Hugh turned toward her. "I was proud to call her a friend." His gaze became distant as he thought back. "She had the ability to inspire one to stand firmly against injustice that, I think, many of us tend to ignore through our complacency."

"She did, indeed."

Silence fell between them once more as they enjoyed the peacefulness of the meadow.

"Hugh, I miss her so much." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "When Amelia left for England, I felt like a piece of me had gone with her." Her eyes filled with the tears she had been forced to only shed in private. "And now knowing I will never regain that piece, I..."

She struggled to speak. How could she go on with the knowledge that she would never see Amelia again?

Hugh pulled her into his arms. Unable to stand to see her heartache, he pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head.

She snuggled against his chest when his arms tightened around her.

"I am sorry, Elizabeth." He said softly. "The loss we felt when she died is nothing compared to yours."

She closed her eyes, settling into this type of comfort she had never experienced before. She could feel in his gentle embrace a sense of being cherished, as if she herself was a treasure rather than the wealth she would bring to a marriage.

The tenseness of the afternoon dissipated within his arms, leaving her with a deep sense of peace. It was a type of tranquility that she wanted to never end. The thought of a lifetime with Hugh was her heart's fervent wish.

Hugh was of like mind as he held her. Everything about her drew him to Elizabeth. Being the one she readily accepted comfort one was a position he hoped to have for the rest of his life. The ease in which she relaxed when he wrapped his arms around her continued to fan the flames of hope he had for them. Though he knew he shouldn't plan a future just yet, he couldn't stop his heart from yearning for what could be.

[thefirstcourtesan]

Who do you think killed Amelia?

So I am terrible at this. I can usually guess plot threads in most things but mystery is not my genre and I almost never put it together. However if I have to guess I do think that Earl Tully is involved in some way.

[aegor-bamfsteel]

As Daeron, how u would have dealt with Daemon ?

You opened up a floodgate, anon.

The chances to neutralize Daemon (as opposed to other rebels/groups of rebels like Aegor, Fireball, Gormon Peake, Eustace Osgrey, the best knights of the realm, the marcher lords including House Yronwood, believers in Da3ron Falseborn theory, those who supported Daena as Queen, basically everyone else) as a threat to Da3ron’s rule are so numerous they’ve been a source of snark between me and @godihatethisfreakingcat​ for years now. The amount of missed opportunities Da3ron II had to make a friend/ally out of Daemon for me undermine textual claims of his kindness and intelligence. I’m going to try to prove in a 2000-word meta of counterfactual history that Da3ron never attempted to treat Daemon and Rohanne like part of his family or with the respect they deserved, but like inconvenient cast-offs he wanted out of his sight, but still not in a place where they’d gain any high position.

Starting scenario: The year is 184 AC and I am Da3ron Targaryen. Aegon IV has died, but I, loathing my slowly rotting father, refused to come to the capital until 2 weeks after his death, which meant I could not contest his decree legitimizing his natural children. One of those children is the son of Princess Daena, newly legitimized like the rest, but still a Waters and landless. My father promised the Archon of Tyrosh a dowry for the hand of Rohanne, probably a relative of his. What do I do?

Pay the dowry, but wed Rohanne to one of my sons instead. Breaking a betrothal is serious, but keeping the betrothal and switching the groom (after the other died or was disinherited) isn’t unheard of: Rhaelle Targaryen wed Ormund Baratheon when her brother Duncan was to marry his sister, Catelyn Tully wed Eddard Stark when she was betrothed to his brother Brandon, Sansa Stark married Tyrion Lannister (though Lancel was a possible spouse) after she was betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon. Aegon may have wanted Daemon to wed Rohanne, but if Fire and Blood is any indication, a close female relative of the Archon is a match worthy of the heir to the Iron Throne—Rogar Baratheon wanted Jaehaerys I to wed the Archon’s daughter, and the Archon sent his sister to the 134 Maiden’s Day Ball in hopes of her marrying Aegon III. A landless natural son is far below Rohanne in terms of status, and the dowry the Archon was asking for probably reflected that. Perhaps Baelor was too important to wed to anyone but a Stormlander, but Aerys or even Rhaegel certainly would have been a better match for her on paper than Daemon. We don’t know how old Rohanne was (although I’m certain she was a few years older than Daemon), and Aerys was born between 172-76 and Rhaegel between 173-77, but bride-groom age gaps have certainly been larger, especially in this series. If my sons are already betrothed or this betrothal is too disruptive for my policy, I might be desperate enough to consider betrothing Rohanne to Brynden (Aegor gets no royal match as he’s a traitor’s son. I may be nice!Da3ron, but I’m still Da3ron), who I implausibly trust not to rebel. Super desperate would be trying to broker another betrothal between Shiera (or Mya or Gwenys, if they didn’t die in infancy) and the Archon/his ally, as was sort of floated around when Baela Targaryen might have been betrothed to Tyroshi admiral Racallio Ryndoon. If I can’t or won’t renegotiate the betrothal, I can:

Pay the dowry or part of the dowry in order to keep peace with the Archon, but have the High Septon annul the betrothal: I’m sure Rohanne as a Tyroshi didn’t keep the Seven, so the High Septon would be inclined to protest the marriage anyway. I would still need to pay a bit of that dowry or risk the wrath of Tyrosh, since in real life border wars have started due to dowries from stalled betrothals (Richard the Lionheart raided the county of Vexin though it was the dowry of his betrothed, Alys of France, because his parents refused to let them wed. He never got the Vexin, as Alys married Count William of Ponthieu). However, the Tyroshi-Targaryen alliance was originally thought up for Aegon IV’s future war with Dorne, and giving it up would signify to the Dornish that neither I nor my relatives had any intention of making war on them. So a bit of money (of which I have plenty of, see the “Rohanne and Daemon stay in the Crownlands” section) spent on the Archon’s goodwill seems like a wise investment. 

With Daemon unmarried and now with no standing betrothal, the best place for him is the Kingsguard. He’s the youngest knight of the realm and the wielder of Blackfyre, so he’s definitely skilled enough to join. We know he takes his knightly oaths very seriously, and the Kingsguard oath to protect the king is about as serious as it gets (Olyver Bracken and Raymun Mallery betrayed Maegor I by rebelling in favor of Jaehaerys I, but Jaehaerys still sent them to the Wall for violating their oath). Better yet, the Kingsguard is a celibate organization, so Daemon will not be able to pass on his claim or the Targaryen’s ancestral sword to his children.

If appointing Daemon to the Kingsguard doesn’t fit in with my policy, then I might send him to Sunspear, possibly with a betrothal to Roxana Sand (Born 162, so of marrying age with Daemon) who is Maron’s uncle Rhodry’s illegitimate daughter according to the MUSH RPG (which becomes more canon with each supplementary tie-in GRRM publishes). It took two years of negotiations for the Maron/Daenerys match to take place, and having Daemon there possibly betrothed could be used to gauge the popularity of a Targaryen/Martell match on Dornish soil. Prince Rhodry was an infamous separatist who killed King Da3ron I at the peace conference, so wedding his natural daughter to Daemon also helps quiet the ‘Keep Dorne Independent’ movement that is still ongoing, of which the Yronwoods were some of the biggest supporters. Amidst Da3ron’s strongest allies and wed to them by blood, Daemon would doubtlessly be loyal.

If I think Roxana is too old, I use the Daemon/Daenerys relationship and make him her sworn shield, then send him south to prepare for her marriage: Not an especially good idea as he’s still unbetrothed, and it might cause the Martells to raise some eyebrows, but it gives those two a chance to be around each other and be happy (not being so was likely the source of the semi-canon clashes Daemon and Da3ron had), and no doubt Daemon would be a faithful protector. The illegitimate children of nobles have guarded Targaryen royalty before, with Jonquil Darke being Queen Alysanne’s sworn shield. The same idea of the Martells keeping Daemon loyal still applies, although I’d watch out for any Yronwoods asking about his betrothal status. 

If the Daemon/Rohanne marriage must go on: 

While Daemon is still young and newly-married, I’d send him and his wife on a diplomatic mission to Tyrosh (it worked for getting Aegon IV out of the way) where he can hone his politicking skills away from any rebels, or fight for the Archon in the Disputed Lands. If he makes friends with the Tyroshi and seems to have integrated into their culture as Orryn Baratheon did, he can stay there with his family. 

If he expresses vocal discontent after 4-5 years—considering Da3ron in the OTL named Brynden to the Small Council when he was around 20–I’m calling him back to Westeros and giving him some court position depending on how well he performed his duties. If he didn’t do so well, he can take Quentyn Ball’s old job as master-of-arms where I can watch him at all times. If he rose to the occasion (given Daemon’s penchant for making friends I’m sure he would be a fine diplomat), he gets either a position on the Small Council—perhaps Master of Ships as he’s been in the naval power Tyrosh for some years?—he becomes leader of the City Watch—he was raised in an urban environment, his mother had connections with the smallfolk, he’s an amazing fighter and decent leader, if Prince Daemon is any indication it’s a position for somewhat wayward family members—or he substitutes as a Warden if the Stark, Arryn, or Lannister heirs are too young to lead armies (not Tyrell given the Reach’s general support for Daemon in the OTL, although Leo Longthorn was obviously of age so there’s no need for a substitute Warden), which is a prestigious but largely ceremonial position in Da3ron’s time of uneasy peace. If I’m super-desperate to give him something to do that won’t cause much trouble, I’ll revive the position of Warden of the King’s Mint, since I know from OTL that he minted his own gold coinage and so displays some interest. I’m sure that his Aunt Elaena would be delighted to work with him as she’s de-facto Master of Coin.

If for some reason I don’t want Daemon at court but don’t want him in Tyrosh, it’s going to cost me dearly to give him and Rohanne suitable lodgings in the Crownlands: but I must be improbably loaded despite my father’s wastefulness if I’m building Summerhall and completing the Sept of Baelor, so I can pay! None of that “give Daemon and Rohanne a piece of paper saying they can build a Keep in the Crownlands” that we see in canon; Rohanne is a bride worthy of a legitimate Targaryen prince and some lazy document with no funds or castle attached to it is just insulting her family. Either give them an abandoned and renovated Keep (there could be some after the Dance/Da3ron’s War), or construct a new one like with Summerhall. Illegitimate sons of kings in England and France were either Dukes or Earls, so that Keep is going to be a lordly seat (people call Brynden “Lord Rivers”, they can do it for Daemon even if it’s just a ceremonial title). 

But at least one Daemon’s children are getting sent to court once they’re old enough, as cupbearers or pages or eventually squires for boys. I’d consider betrothing Calla to Matarys for more permanent loyalty since he’s not expected to inherit and they’re roughly the same age, which would certainly appease Rohanne’s family some.

If I want to keep the Blackfyre family like they are in canon—in the ephemeral keep they built themselves in the Crownlands, with no royal positions or betrothals—and not change any of the other character motivations like Aegor Rivers’ or Quentyn Ball’s (since it’s not stipulated in the question), it’s going to be difficult to prevent a war with Daemon at the helm. We know so little about the circumstances of Daemon’s crowning and arrest on potentially trumped-up charges that it’s hard to tell who started what. But if I had to do anything, it’s:

Stop trusting Bl00draven so much. Start questioning his motivations and methods. How does he know Daemon crowned himself? From whom? Did he torture that person? I seem to know that torture isn’t reliable since I ended the office of Lord Confessor! What does he have to gain from Daemon being arrested? What does Daemon have to gain from being crowned? What do I think will happen to his family if he is arrested successfully (there’s a chance Bl00draven will have them killed and then torture the confessions out of a fall guy)? If I think Bl00draven is a danger to Daemon’s family, doesn’t that give Daemon the “rebel or have my children die” non-choice if I order his arrest? What the hell is going on? I don’t want rumors; I need proof!

For much needed proof, I’d use Princess Elaena’s connection with both of us to find out what’s happening. Daemon would never hurt a lady, especially not close kin. Have her meet him or a nonviolent representative (Rohanne?) and see if he’s crowned himself. Have an escort (all traveling great ladies seem to have them) wait for her in a location a few hours away with orders to sound the alarm if she doesn’t return by the next day. If he hasn’t crowned himself, she’ll report back to Daeron that the rumors were false, and make it look like a friendly family visit. If he was thinking about it, she could talk him off the ledge as his aunt. If he did crown himself, she can report back and have Da3ron call the banners. If he crowned himself and somehow Elaena was prevented from delivering her report (Daemon wouldn’t hurt her since kidnapping a woman is the height of dishonor, but it’s clear some of his supporters had fewer scruples), take that as the act of war and have her escort call the banners. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than letting civil war break out on the say-so of the Shadiest Man in History.

But there is one difference between me and Da3ron that makes all of these alternate scenarios impossible in canon: I actually like Daemon Blackfyre. I like his mother, the courageous Princess who gave up her chance to be queen to raise him in her home. I like how hard he worked to be the best knight ever when he was just a young boy. I like how, despite marrying an older foreign woman at age 14, he enjoyed one of the happiest and most fertile marriages in Westerosi history. I like how he gathered a great coalition of men and women who had every reason to hate each other behind him, including the neglected and traumatized Aegor Rivers (I even like his potential friendship with Brynden Rivers). I like how he demanded his opponent get medical attention after dueling him for over an hour. I like how his last act was running into a field of arrows trying to save his oldest son. I like Daemon Blackfyre and his family. I want him and Rohanne to grow old together, to have their sons and daughters mature into strong men and women without the fear of death hanging over their heads, to have a chance at happiness in the home Daemon knew or even where Rohanne lived. Da3ron II had so many opportunities to give Daemon and Rohanne long, peaceful lives...and he wasted them all on incoherent policies, irrational grudges, and hypocritical distrust. For that, he will always have my disappointment.

[aion-rsa]

Top New YA Books in January 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The YA genre is still booming, providing romance, adventure, and more for teens and adults alike. Here are some of the YA books from January 2021 we’re most looking forward to…

Top New Young Adult Books January 2021

You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord

Type: Novel Publisher: Wednesday Books Release date: Jan. 12

Den of Geek says: Theres something quintessentially charming about summer camp stories, where kids trade their day-to-day for the wilderness. But this protagonist can’t escape everything at camp, and she’ll need the help of her sister to figure out the story of more than one family.

Publisher’s Summary: When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones. 

Buy You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: A twist on Greek mythology from an accomplished author promises creative world-building and fantasy adventure. Publisher’s summary: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. 

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Buy Lore by Alexandra Bracken.

Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: This month’s high fantasy installment is the finale in a popular series, and one that makes us want to see how the characters arrived and where they go from here. Ghost ships! Mind control!  Publisher’s Summary: Isoka has done the impossible―she’s captured the ghost ship Soliton.

With her crew of mage-bloods, including the love of her life Princess Meroe, Isoka returns to the empire that sent her on her deadly mission. She’s ready to hand over the ghost ship as ransom for her sister Tori’s life, but arrives to find her home city under siege. And Tori at the helm of a rebellion.

Neither Isoka’s mastery of combat magic, nor Tori’s proficiency with mind control, could have prepared them for the feelings their reunion surfaces. But they’re soon drawn back into the rebels’ fight to free the city that almost killed them.

Buy Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler.

Top New Young Adult Books December 2020

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Type: Novel Publisher: Delacorte Press Release date: Dec. 1

Den of Geek says: A tale of family and suspense, this novel about uncovering a bloody secret looks like it’s full of atmosphere and a tinge of horror.

Publisher’s summary: Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

Buy The Cousins by Karen M. McManus.

A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton

Type: Short story collection Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Release date: Dec. 8 Den of Geek says: Some of the SF/F genre’s best authors (not to mention YA’s best authors) come together in a collection of fantasy from the We Need Diverse Books initiative. Publisher’s summary: From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), V. E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Jenni Balch, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, V. E. Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone

Buy A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton.

This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano

Type: Novel Publisher: Philomel Books Release date: Dec. 15 Den of Geek says: It wouldn’t be a geek rec list without this grab bag of high school coming-of-age and Quidditch. Whether you’re a current or recovering Harry Potter fan or looking for a unique setting, this might have something for you.

Publisher’s summary: 17-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window. 

Determined to do something with her time, Ellen (with the help of BFF Melissa) convinces her parents to let her join the local muggle Quidditch team. An all-gender, full-contact game, Quidditch isn’t quite what Ellen expects. There’s no flying, no magic, just a bunch of scrappy players holding PVC pipe between their legs and throwing dodgeballs. Suddenly Ellen is thrown into the very different world of sports: her life is all practices, training, and running with a group of Harry Potter fans. 

Even as Melissa pulls away to pursue new relationships and their other BFF Xiumiao seems more interested in moving on from high school (and from Ellen), Ellen is steadily finding a place among her teammates. Maybe Quidditch is where she belongs. 

But with her home life and friend troubles quickly spinning out of control–Ellen must fight for the future that she wants, now she’s playing for keeps. 

Buy This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano.

Top New Young Adult Books November 2020

The Way Back by Gavriel Savit

Type: Novel  Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Release date: Nov. 17

Den of Geek says: A shimmering historical fantasy brings its heroes on a journey through worlds of demons and the dead based on Jewish folklore. 

Publisher’s summary: For the Jews of Eastern Europe, demons are everywhere: dancing on the rooftops in the darkness of midnight, congregating in the trees, harrowing the dead, even reaching out to try and steal away the living. 

But the demons have a land of their own: a Far Country peopled with the souls of the transient dead, governed by demonic dukes, barons, and earls. When the Angel of Death comes strolling through the little shtetl of Tupik one night, two young people will be sent spinning off on a journey through the Far Country. There they will make pacts with ancient demons, declare war on Death himself, and maybe– just maybe–find a way to make it back alive. 

Drawing inspiration from the Jewish folk tradition, The Way Back is a dark adventure sure to captivate readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust.

Buy The Way Back by Gavriel Savit.

Rebel Sisters

Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: Nov. 17

Den of Geek says: Onyebuchi returns to his anime-inspired anti-war series with Afrofuturism in space. 

Publisher’s summary: It’s been five years since the Biafran War ended. Ify is now nineteen and living where she’s always dreamed–the Space Colonies. She is a respected, high-ranking medical officer and has dedicated her life to helping refugees like herself rebuild in the Colonies.

Back in the still devastated Nigeria, Uzo, a young synth, is helping an aid worker, Xifeng, recover images and details of the war held in the technology of destroyed androids. Uzo, Xifeng, and the rest of their team are working to preserve memories of the many lives lost, despite the government’s best efforts to eradicate any signs that the war ever happened.

Though they are working toward common goals of helping those who suffered, Ify and Uzo are worlds apart. But when a mysterious virus breaks out among the children in the Space Colonies, their paths collide. Ify makes it her mission to figure out what’s causing the deadly disease. And doing so means going back to the homeland she thought she’d left behind forever.

Buy Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi.

How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff 

Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: Nov. 10

Den of Geek says: This small stakes high school drama nevertheless feels timely for a world in which it seems like another disaster strikes every day. 

Publisher’s summary: If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do?

This is the question that haunts Amina as she watches new and horrible stories of discord and crisis flash across the news every day.

But when she starts at prestigious Gardner Academy, Amina finds a group of like-minded peers to join forces with—fast friends who dedicate their year to learning survival skills from each other, before it’s too late. 

Still, as their prepper knowledge multiplies, so do their regular high school problems, from relationship drama to family issues to friend blow-ups. Juggling the two parts of their lives forces Amina to ask another vital question: Is it worth living in the hypothetical future if it’s at the expense of your actual present?

Buy How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff.

Top New Young Adult Books October 2020

Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner 

Type: Novel Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: Oct. 6

Den of Geek says: The latest book in this acclaimed, long-running series known for intricate plotting and twists follows the continuing political machinations of Eugenides, the titular thief, in fantasy world-building based loosely on Greek mythology. 

Publisher’s summary: This beloved and award-winning series began with the acclaimed novel The Thief. It and four more stand-alone volumes bring to life a world of epics, myths, and legends, and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Now more powerful and cunning than ever before, Eugenides must navigate a perilous future in this sweeping conclusion. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and Sarah J. Maas.

Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. As the treacherous Baron Erondites schemes anew and a prophecy appears to foretell the death of the king, the ruthless Mede empire prepares to strike.

The New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. Features a cast list of the characters in the Queen’s Thief novels, as well as two maps—a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map exclusive to this edition.

Buy Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner on Amazon.

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker (Seanan McGuire) 

Type: Novel Publisher: Tordotcom Release date: Oct. 6

Den of Geek says: An experimental companion to McGuire’s intricate novel Middlegame, Over the Woodward Wall first came to life as a middle grade story that serves as a pop culture touchstone for the characters in that adult novel. It’s also a story by a master in its own right, although how well it holds up outside the companion novel is yet to be determined.

Publisher’s summary: Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework – without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.

Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.

They live on the same street.

They live in different worlds.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under – an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.

Buy Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker on Amazon.

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz

Type: Novel  Publisher: Page Street Kids Release date: Oct. 6 

Den of Geek says: This sounds like a sports anime with dragons in book form. A compelling mystery as a tour of a fantastical racing league promises action and ambitious characters. 

Publisher’s summary: Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner―the only player without a dragon steed―is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.

But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire―a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form―the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.

Buy Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books September 2020

Night Shine by Tessa Gratton 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books  Release date: Sept. 8

Den of Geek says: We’re all about crossovers between fantasy and YA here, and this looks like a good stepping stone for a kid who is just about ready to start reading high fantasy. The prose style is slow and deliberate as the author tells a tale of romance, kidnapping, and friendship.

Publisher’s summary: In the vast palace of the empress lives an orphan girl called Nothing. She slips within the shadows of the Court, unseen except by the Great Demon of the palace and her true friend, Prince Kirin, heir to the throne. When Kirin is kidnapped, only Nothing and the prince’s bodyguard suspect that Kirin may have been taken by the Sorceress Who Eats Girls, a powerful woman who has plagued the land for decades. The sorceress has never bothered with boys before, but Nothing has uncovered many secrets in her sixteen years in the palace, including a few about the prince.

As the empress’s army searches fruitlessly, Nothing and the bodyguard set out on a rescue mission, through demon-filled rain forests and past crossroads guarded by spirits. Their journey takes them to the gates of the Fifth Mountain, where the sorceress wields her power. There, Nothing will discover that all magic is a bargain, and she may be more powerful than she ever imagined. But the price the Sorceress demands for Kirin may very well cost Nothing her heart.

Buy Night Shine by Tessa Gratton on Amazon. 

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Type: Novel in Verse Publisher: Balzer + Bray  Release date: Sept. 1

Den of Geek says: Authors like Tochi Onyebuchi have taken hold of the moment to write political novels about incarceration in the last few years. This mix of poetry and prose adds to that genre with real world experience from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam. Publisher’s summary: The story that I thought 

was my life 

didn’t start on the day 

I was born  

Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white.  

The story that I think 

will be my life  

starts today 

Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?  

With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

Buy Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam on Amazon.

Gold Wings Rising (The Skybound Saga) by Alex London 

Type: Novel Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux  Release date: Sept. 1

Den of Geek says: It’s always nice to see a fantasy series that moves away from the staple creatures, even if I love dragons, and this series replaces them with ghostly birds that give it a horror movie flavor. 

Publisher’s summary: The war on the ground has ended, but the war with the sky has just begun. After the Siege of the Six Villages, the ghost eagles have trapped Uztaris on both sides of the conflict. The villagers and Kartami alike hide in caves, huddled in terror as they await nightly attacks. Kylee aims to plunge her arrows into each and every ghost eagle; in her mind, killing the birds is the only way to unshackle the city’s chains. But Brysen has other plans.

While the humans fly familiar circles around each other, the ghost eagles create schemes far greater and more terrible than either Kylee or Brysen could have imagined. Now, the tug-of-war between love and power begins to fray, threatening bonds of siblinghood and humanity alike.

Buy Gold Wings Rising by Alex London on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books August 2020

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon 

Type: Novel Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release date: Aug. 18

Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be an incisive and hard-hitting book that speaks to the way American Latinx students experience racism and navigate high school social life. It has gained high praise from authors including Celeste Ng. 

Publisher’s Summary: Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.

There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.

So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.

But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.

Buy Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From By Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.

Lobizona by Romina Garber 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Wednesday Books (Macmillan)  Release date: Aug. 4 

Den of Geek says: Described as a Hogwarts-style fantasy world with werewolves, this fantasy doesn’t flinch from the real world effects of ICE and deportation. 

Publisher’s summary: Some people ARE illegal. 

Lobizonas do NOT exist.

Both of these statements are false.

Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. 

Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered. 

Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past―a mysterious “Z” emblem―which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong. 

As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.

Buy Lobizona by Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Levine Querido Release date: Aug. 25 

Den of Geek says: Charming illustrations and a ghost story deeply tied to a family’s history promise a richly textured tale from this Lipan Apache author. 

Publisher’s summary: Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Darcie Little Badger is an extraordinary debut talent in the world of speculative fiction. We have paired her with her artistic match, illustrator Rovina Cai. This is a book singular in feeling and beauty.

Buy Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger on Amazon.

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

Type: Novel Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire  Release date: Aug. 4

Den of Geek says: Described as atmospheric and salt-soaked, this F/F romance might be a good introduction to readers who want to switch from post-apocalyptic YA to dark fantasy. 

Publisher’s summary: A gripping, dark LGBT YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island.

Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. 

Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice. 

Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.

When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.

Buy The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books In July 2020

Feathertide by Beth Cartwright 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Del Rey  Release date: July 30 

Den of Geek says: This has won a lot of praise for its prose. While some fairy tale adaptations can come off as empty, not actually adding anything to the context of the tradition they’re supposedly writing in, this one’s specificity seems like it might set it apart and add detail to the central metaphor about a young girl’s search for her family. 

Publisher’s summary: Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.

The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.

And Mara will never forget what she learns there.

Buy Feathertide by Beth Cartwright on Amazon.

Running by Natalia Sylvester 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Clarion Books Release date: July 14 

Den of Geek says: A political novel of a different type. This fantasy of being part of a presidential campaign seems like it has a lot to say about family and change. 

Publisher’s summary: In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.

But how do you find your voice when everyone’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father—publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it? 

Buy Running by Natalia Sylvester on Amazon.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Dutton  Release date: July 7 

Den of Geek says: YouTube sensation Hank Green’s science fiction debut, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, kicked off this series about alien robots. The sequel shows the aftermath, and continues to engage with the author’s internet in internet culture and science. 

Publisher’s summary: The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories. 

Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation…one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive. 

In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.

Buy A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green on Amazon.

Top New YA Books June 2020 

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: June 2 

Den of Geek says: After reading The Deep, I’m on board with the idea of black mermaids meeting YA fantasy world-building. The friendship at the center of this novel sounds cute and sweet. 

Publisher’s summary: In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. 

Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.

Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

Buy A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow on Amazon Read our interview with Bethany C. Morrow

Hood by Jenny Elder Moke 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Disney-Hyperion  Release date: June 9

Den of Geek says: An adventure in which a young girl joins Robin Hood’s adventures, this one reminds me of fanfic in the best way. A re-examination of legendary characters with the pacing of contemporary YA could be cinematic fun. 

Publisher’s summary: You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call.

Isabelle of Kirklees has only ever known a quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent, where she lives with her mother, Marien. But after she is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, Isabelle becomes the target of the Wolf, King John’s ruthless right hand. Desperate to keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the one person who can help: Isabelle’s father, Robin Hood. 

As Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf’s clutches and find the father she’s never known, she is thrust into a world of thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she joins forces with Robin and his Merry Men in a final battle against the Wolf, will Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear?

In Hood, author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before. This novel is a must-read for historical-fiction fans, adventure lovers, and reluctant readers alike!

Buy Hood by Jenny Elder Moke on Amazon

Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross 

Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: June 23

Den of Geek says: A sisterly bond provides the heart at the center of this story of magic and war. The Ancient Greece-inspired world and the promise of magic and battles look good, but the emphasis on characterization and familial love raise this one above the rest. 

Publisher’s summary: After eight years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon unexpectedly appears a day early, Eva knows something is wrong. Halcyon has charged with a heinous crime, and though her life is spared, she is sentenced to 15 years. 

Suspicious of the charges, brought forth by Halcyon’s army commander, as well as the details of the crime, Eva volunteers to take part of her sister’s sentence. If there’s a way to absolve Halcyon, she’ll find it. But as the sisters begin their sentences, they quickly learn that there are fates worse than death.

Buy Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross on Amazon 

Top New YA in May 2020 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Scholastic Press  Release date: May 19 

Den of Geek says: It’s arguable whether a new Hunger Games book from the point of view of the man who will become the despotic President Snow is really what readers wanted, but it’s here. Inevitably this one will spark a lot of conversation after the runaway success of the original series. 

Publisher’s summary: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Buy The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess  

Type: Novel  Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Release date: May 12 

Den of Geek says: This YA fantasy distinguishes itself primarily by a varied cast of five characters, making it a good introduction to epic fantasy plus the “fun group of friends” appeal of a superhero squad. Also, there are dragons and a frightening fantasy job interview, two of my favorite things. 

Publisher’s summary: When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year these five outcasts will answer the call. . . .

THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.

THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.

THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.

THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.

THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.

Buy House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 

Type: Novel 

Publisher: Quill Tree Books 

Release date: May 5 

Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be both a tearjerker and a sweet story of sisterly love. The tragic death of their father brings Camino and Yahaira Rios into each other’s lives in a new way. 

Publisher’s summary: Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other. 

Buy Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.

Top New YA in April 2020

Little Universes by Heather Demetrios

Type: Novel  Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.  Release date: April 7 

Den of Geek says: It’s not often that YA books focus on family, and the sisterly relationship at the heart of Little Universes looks well-crafted and heart-wrenching. When tragedy strikes, each sister will need to find a way to move on. 

Publisher’s summary: One wave: that’s all it takes for the rest of Mae and Hannah Winters’ lives to change.

When a tsunami strikes the island their parents are vacationing on in Malaysia, it soon becomes clear that their parents are never coming home. Forced to move to Boston from their sunny California home for the rest of their senior year, each girl struggles with secrets their parents’ death has brought to light and with their uncertainty about the future. Instead of getting closer, it feels like the wave has torn them apart.

Little Universes explores the powerful bond of sisters, the kinds of love that never die, and the journey we all must make through the baffling cruelty and unexpected beauty of human life in an incomprehensible universe.

Buy Little Universes by Heather Demetrios on Amazon.

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

Type: Novel  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Release date: April 7 

Den of Geek says: YA romance, and digital age romance in particular, can easily come off as cheesy or derivative. But this ‘love triangle between two people’ looks like a twist on relationships and online identity, plus the coziness of a crush story. 

Publisher’s summary: There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels. 

Buy What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter on Amazon.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost 

Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: April 14 

Den of Geek says: It’s an interesting time for historical fantasy, and this looks a bit like a YA cousin of Upright Women Wanted, with more robots and monsters. Check out the crunchy mechanical horses on that cover. 

Publisher’s summary: In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.

When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game. 

Buy Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost on Amazon.

Top New YA Books in March 2020 

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Type: Novel Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Release date: March 3, 2020 Den of Geek says: To put a twist on historical fantasy, author Marie Lu focuses just to the side of a world-changing life. Nannerl Mozart was a real person, and has appeared in fiction before with the aim of bringing some recognition to the famous musician’s talented but forgotten sister. The fairy tale element sounds like it will provide strong atmosphere in this musical novel. Publisher’s Summary: Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish–to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age–her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true–but his help may cost her everything.

In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

Buy The Kingdom of Back on Amazon.

The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson

Type: Illustrated memoir  Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: March 3 Den of Geek says: Stevenson’s cute illustrations and enthusiastic storytelling have delighted me in her adaptation She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, so a look into her life and career sounds like an interesting look into the business of art, the animation industry, and living as a creative person. Publisher’s Summary: From Noelle Stevenson, the New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of Nimona, comes a captivating, honest illustrated memoir that finds her turning an important corner in her creative journey—and inviting readers along for the ride.

In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world. Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at her art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for her debut graphic novel, Nimona, Noelle captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all her own.

Buy The Fire Never Goes Out on Amazon.

A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell

Type: Anthology Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers Release Date: March 10

Den of Geek says: A grab-bag of some of the best writers of color in the YA space today,this anthology faces challenges head-on to tell stories of Black women and gender-non-conforming people. It looks like a good mix of realistic and fantastical stories, set past, future, and present.

Publisher’s summary: Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.

Buy A Phoenix First Must Burn on Amazon.

Top New YA Books in March 2020 

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Type: Novel (Second in series) Publisher: Balzer + Bray Release date: 2/4/20

Den of Geek says: Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation was a buzzy historical zombie novel with a keen awareness of racial dynamics in Civil War-era America. The sequel looks to be just as intense as the first. 

Publisher’s summary: The sequel to the New York Times bestselling epic Dread Nation is an unforgettable journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Buy Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland on Amazon.

Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye 

Type: Poetry Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: 2/11/2020

Den of Geek says: This unique book of poetry seems perfectly suited to today’s environmental and humanitarian issues. What happens to the things we throw away? What happens to the people who aren’t wanted? The metaphor is rich.

Publisher’s summary: Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages.

“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.”―Kirkus (starred review)

“How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already? Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?”―Naomi Shihab Nye

National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. “I couldn’t save the world, but I could pick up trash,” she says in her introduction to this stunning volume.

With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult.

Buy Cast Away: Poems for Our Time on Amazon.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang 

Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: 2/25/20

Den of Geek says: Robot dragons? What more to say? The fantastical war story setting and high-energy cast of characters looks like it’ll make this one a good read for fans of Pacific Rim.

Publisher’s summary: Things just got weird for Prudence Wu. 

One minute, she’s cashing in on a routine smuggling deal. The next, she’s escaping enforcers on the wings of what very much appears to be a sentient cybernetic dragon. 

Pru is used to life throwing her some unpleasant surprises–she goes to prep school, after all, and selling banned media across the border in a country with a ruthless corporate government obviously has its risks. But a cybernetic dragon? That’s new. 

She tries to forget about the fact that the only reason she’s not in jail is because some sort of robot saved her, and that she’s going to have to get a new side job now that enforcers are on to her. So she’s not exactly thrilled when Rebelwing shows up again. 

Even worse, it’s become increasingly clear that the rogue machine has imprinted on her permanently, which means she’d better figure out this whole piloting-a-dragon thing–fast. Because Rebelwing just happens to be the ridiculously expensive weapon her government needs in a brewing war with its neighbor, and Pru’s the only one who can fly it. 

Set in a wonderfully inventive near-future Washington, D.C., this hilarious, defiant debut sparkles with wit and wisdom, deftly exploring media consumption, personal freedoms, and the weight of one life as Pru, rather reluctantly, takes to the skies.

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