December is a month for big dreams and wishes to come true! We at THP have been floored with these two new releases that have kicked off such a magical month with all the right fantasy vibes.
To start, Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana follows one girl’s vengeful path from her war-torn clan into an enemy military school. Rachel Van Dyken’s Fallen Gods tells of Odin’s daughter on a mission to take back Mjölnir. She faces betrayals, threats, and her former flame, who also happens to hold the key to finding the mythic hammer.
With fantasies starring two strong female protagonists who take back their power, you’re sure to find your new favorite read before the year is over. Here’s why you should read Dawn of the Firebird and Fallen Gods!
Book Overview: Dawn Of The Firebird
Content warnings: death, parent deaths, murder, suicide, graphic violence, gore, torture, mentions of rape, child abuse, decapitation, bodies/corpses, warfare, poisoning, vomiting, serious injury, weapons (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: Khamilla Zahr-zad’s life has been built on a foundation of violence and vengeance. Every home she’s known has been destroyed by war. As the daughter of an emperor’s clan, she spent her childhood training to maintain his throne. But when her clansmen are assassinated by another rival empire, plans change. With her heavenly magic of nur, Khamilla is a weapon even enemies would wield—especially those in the magical, scholarly city of Za’skar. Hiding her identity, Khamilla joins the enemy’s army school full of jinn, magic and martial arts, risking it all to topple her adversaries, avenge her clan and reclaim their throne.
To survive, she studies under cutthroat mystic monks and battles in a series of contests to outmaneuver her fellow soldiers. She must win at all costs, even if it means embracing the darkness lurking inside her. But the more she excels, the more she is faced with history that contradicts her father’s teachings. With a war brewing among the kingdoms and a new twisted magic overtaking the land, Khamilla is torn between two impossible choices: vengeance or salvation.
Our Review
What a way to start off the month! Sarah Mughal Rana’s fantasy novel, Dawn of the Firebird, is the first book of an adult fantasy trilogy. This series starter draws from Abrahamic traditions and builds a world where magic becomes a weapon. It tells the story of Khamilla Zahr-zad’s journey from a nameless apprentice in her mother’s nomadic clan to a ruthless soldier for her enemy’s army.
Caught between two warring empires, Khamilla must hide her true identity if she wants to avenge her parents and her people. She studies new techniques and rises in rank, even finding a new family within her school. But all of that means nothing when it comes time to fight alongside her enemy, rather than against it. And Khamilla uncovers a secret about herself that changes everything she thought she knew about the darkness of her powers.
Dawn of the Firebird is an intricately woven story about a girl witnessing the destruction of everything and everyone she loves. She has no choice but to live in violence and revenge. Anything can happen in the second book, and we can’t wait to continue on this journey with Khamilla Zahr-zad.
Release date: December 2
Order Dawn of the Firebird here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH MUGHAL RANA:
INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE
Book Overview: Fallen Gods
Content warnings: death, murder, attempted murder, graphic violence, gore, domestic abuse, warfare, weapons, guns (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: The gods aren’t dead—they’re only sleeping, locked in mortal bodies, scattered across the world, waiting for the right spark to wake them. And Odin, the most ruthless of them all, is my father.
He raised me to obey. To bleed. To be his blade when the time came. Now he’s sending me to Endir University, a place filled with ancient bloodlines and deadly secrets, to steal back Mjölnir, the hammer that once belonged to my dead brother. If I fail, everyone I love dies.
But Aric Erikson wasn’t part of the plan. He’s the enemy’s heir. Distant. Dangerous. And somehow…familiar. He doesn’t know what he is yet—or what he carries—but I do. And the more I’m ordered to unravel him, the harder it becomes to remember where the lies end and I begin.
Because there’s no clean line between survival and surrender anymore. No comfort in the stories I’ve told myself to make any of this feel justified.
Only a mission I never chose—and a man I was never meant to care about—standing between me and the end of the world.
If I’m the spark, he’s the fuse. And the gods? They’re about to wake up angry.
Our Review
Keeping up the trend of strong female protagonists in fantasy fiction, we have Fallen Gods by Rachel Van Dyken! A modern reimagining of ancient Norse mythology, this book follows Rey, the daughter of Odin who has been raised to do his bidding. His next task takes Rey to Endir University, where she’ll need to locate Mjölnir and bring it back to him.
Enter Aric Erikson, the University president’s grandson, Rey’s mortal enemy, and also her former flame. As fate would have it, Aric is the only one who can lead her to Mjölnir. They reluctantly team up, each with their own motives for finding the legendary hammer. But between the shadows lurking behind trees and spirits floating underneath the water, Rey and Aric’s search becomes so much bigger than they imagined.
With Rey’s divine blood and Aric’s true identity reawakening, this duo unlocks a dark and violent past. The last few chapters come with shocking betrayals and surprise reveals that we somehow couldn’t see coming. They set up the sequel to the Fallen Gods series perfectly, and we’re eager to find out what’s in store for our star-crossed couple.
Release date: December 2
Order Fallen Gods here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RACHEL VAN DYKEN:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE
What do you think of these December fantasy novels? Are you excited to read Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana and Fallen Gods by Rachel Van Dyken? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
