YA URBAN FANTASY - THE BOOK OF WANDS (Tarot, #1) by Lauren Louise Hazel

 

The Book of Wands
The Tarot, #1
by Lauren Louise Hazel
Genre: YA Academy, Urban Fantasy

The cards await, ready to unveil their secrets. Are you prepared to witness their magic?

Olivia Pembroke is in her final year of The School of Wands, where she will vie against her friends and rivals for qualification in The Final Judgment. Designed to be the ultimate test of Intelligence, Strength, Creativity and Courage, The Final Judgment is set by a mysterious figure called Rasmus, who is wrapped in secrets.

Olivia has no doubt she is going to win and claim victory and pride for her family. That is, until her grandmother dies, and leaves her with her old Tarot Deck, which she claimed could see Past, Present and Future…

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PROLOGUE  

Olivia’s head was bowed, and her neck straining in its awkward position. She had plaited her hair neatly, in a half-crown at the top of her head, at her mother’s insistence. Olivia was already regretting the decision. The weather was drizzling, the mist cool on her flushed skin, but she had no protection from its light drops. 

Nor did she have any shield from the flurry of mourners. 

Her mother was standing at the front, clad in a black suit and skirt and black boots. Her face, starting to line with age, was stone cold and remote. Her father was standing at her side, and like Olivia, he was looking at the floor. He looked hunched and strangely small. 

The casket, black and shiny, was lowered slowly into the ground. 

The priest was speaking, but his words were wrong. He was talking about Olivia’s grandmother like someone who had never met her before; he called her a bright and radiant light, kind and gentle and generous. She had not been any of those things, but Olivia had loved her anyway. She had been strong and resilient and a force of nature. She had advocated for Olivia when nobody else had – attending every school event when her parents could not. Her grandmother had stayed at the Pembroke Estate with her while her parents were travelling for work, assisting with schoolwork and answering Olivia’s many questions. She was always supportive and never judging. She always made time for her.

But now she was gone…

And Olivia had never felt so alone. The distance between her and parents was like a chasm, so far and almost unbreachable. Olivia blamed them for their part in her grandmother’s death – for all that they had done to her – and it was a thought, a feeling, that she could not shake. If they had not sent her away, maybe she’d alive... maybe she would still be with Olivia. She did not know what to do now. 

How could her grandmother leave her? She didn’t understand. What had seen done wrong? Olivia wanted to cry, the conflicting emotions bubbling beneath her skin. She felt trapped, like she was suffocating under a black cloud that only she could see.

After all, her mother was always watching – as soon as the thought crossed Olivia’s mind, her mother turned towards her, reaching, as though she hadn’t done anything wrong. Olivia swallowed and backed away. 

“Don’t let this distract you, Olivia,” said her mother, her quiet voice loud in the oppressive silence. Olivia jerked slightly, unable to suppress the flinch. She did not reply.

Her mother barrelled on. “This is the most important year for you,” she continued, oblivious to Olivia’s thoughts and feelings, as always. “You could achieve anything.”

In that moment, Olivia did not care.

Her grandmother was not coming back. 

 

Lauren Louise Hazel is a Cyber Security Manager by day and writes YA fantasy by night. She has one annoying brother and younger sister. As she was growing up, the only item her dad would buy her without demanding her pocket money was books. He’s hoping the writing is successful so he can get a Ferrari!

Some of Lauren’s favourite books and influences include the classics – like Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games – and anything by Haruki Murakami and GRR Martin. 

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YA ROMANTASY - DUNE QUEEN by Amina Adamou

 Dune Queen

by Amina Adamou

Publication date: June 6th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

BLURB

When Salima Farhan turns eighteen, she thinks she’s finally old enough to escape the absurd teachings of the cult her parents joined ever since she was a kid, but Farik Masood, the founder and leader of the Crescent Compound, has other plans for her: he wants her to join a recruitment program to bring in more cult members.

Salima agrees to join the program in order to eventually escape—but she quickly regrets that decision when she finds out Masood’s ‘program’ is actually a front for something far more sinister. Knocked unconscious before she can run, she wakes up two months later only to be told that she now has the same magic as djinn, mischievous, mythical beings who are normally invisible to the human eye. And as a reward for these powers, she’s expected to use her new abilities to help Masood take over the world.

Distraught but determined, Salima must fight for her freedom and for the innocent lives Masood wants to destroy—even if it means marrying the very djinn who has sworn to protect her enemy.

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Author Info

Amina Adamou is a Nigerien living in Niamey, Niger, where several of her books are based on. As a kid, she wanted to become a manga artist, but after suffering defeat after defeat at the hands of complicated battle scenes, seemingly endless panels of scenery, and an aching hand, she threw in the towel and decided to tell stories in a different way. When not reading or writing, she likes to watch K-dramas and listen to K-pop. You can contact her at AminaAdamouAuthor@gmail.com

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YA FICTION - SHADE OF WINGS by Pam McGaffin

Shade of Wings is a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Shade of Wings
by Pam McGaffin
Genre: YA Teen Animal Fiction

For fans of Laline Paull, a speculative young adult novel about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.

Four-year-old Duncan needs to hurry up and find a mate—at least, according to his sister, Cloud. But she doesn’t know about the mistake that’s preventing him from leaving their family to start another.

Though he’s the eldest, Duncan doesn’t see himself as a father. Yet that’s what he must become when both his parents die of the mysterious illness that’s killing crows across New York City. He devotes himself to caring for his siblings, including three fledglings—but he soon discovers he can’t protect them from the “blind death.”

Meanwhile, a zoo pathologist’s worst fears are realized. It starts with dead flamingos. Then critically ill New Yorkers start showing up in hospital emergency rooms.

Some blame the crows.

 

A profound story of loved ones sticking together in the face of tragedy and hardship.” - Kirkus Reviews
 
An amazing and heartfelt read. McGaffin confirms what so many of us already know, that humans should learn from the smart ones around us, even if they're crows." - Lori Matsukawa, TV News Anchor and author of Brave Mrs. Sato
 
"Utterly original! I’m in awe of Pam McGaffin’s deft storytelling—she makes a family of crows both fascinating and deeply relatable.  I love a book that leaves me seeing the world with fresh eyes, and Pam accomplishes that in spades.” - Andrea Ezerins, author of When the Forest Dreams
 
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The human spoke to him as a mother to a nestling. She held his body so firmly he could only move his head. The warm pressure combined with her soft voice calmed him until she picked up a small tool with her other hand and pierced him with it. While he was still in the nest, Duncan had told him about bugs and bees with “stingers” that could poke through skin. Some stingers held bad stuff that made the skin swell and itch. Others drew out blood as well. That’s what this human did with her stinger. He watched the thin tube in her hand fill with a dark red liquid that reminded him of the bluish blood

running down the center of Lucas’s feathers. The human removed the stinger and the tube with his blood. He doesn’t remember what came after.

Now he sits in a box looking out on a room thrumming with humans and birds going every which way. It’s so loud and busy out there he’s thankful for his own space and the soft lining in it. He tries to prop himself up without the use of his right leg, which pokes out from his body like a stiff white twig. He can’t feel the white leg It’s like a strange and useless appendage growing from his body. The other leg is as it should be, but he needs two legs to do anything but flop around.

The humans must have done this to him. The white appendage reminds him of the straight white stick they used to tap his beak open. He’d tried to eat the fuzzy, rounded tip, but the mother human pulled it away before he could clamp down. When she finally did feed him, it was through a clear, pointed thing, like a beak but not a beak, that dropped liquid down his throat. He was disappointed not to get worms and insects, but the liquid took the edge off his hunger. He doesn’t remember falling asleep. His dreams brought him back to the river, the water carrying him ever further away from his family. He cried out but there was no sound.

“Ah, you’re finally up where I can see you.” The voice comes from a box across the corner from his. A female crow sticks her beak through the wires and then retracts it. She looks to be between Cloud and Duncan in age, but he can’t see all of her. “I’ve been waiting for someone to talk to. All the other crows have gone in that door.” She sticks her beak through the wires again, pointing toward a door at the back of the room.

“Thank your lucky stars you’re in this part, not in there with the dying birds.”

His confusion must show because she sighs. “Do you remember all the poking and prodding they did to you the day they brought you in? They were testing you to see if you were sick. You’re in this room, so you’re not. Lucky you.”

“I don’t feel lucky.” He shows her his white twig.

“Aw, you just broke your leg. You’ll heal, and then they’ll let you go. Me? I plan to take my time. I don’t want to leave here until this sickness goes away.” She pauses. “I’m called Bree. What’s your name?”

“Worm.”

She snickers. “Cute.” 

Pam McGaffin always knew she would write books when she grew up.

So, at age 51, after a long career in journalism and public-relations, she quit her day job and went to work. After seven years, countless rewrites, and a seat-of-her-pants course in modern publishing, she released her debut novel, The Leaving Year, with SparkPress Aug. 14, 2018.

Set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where she grew up, The Leaving Year, is a coming-of-age story about love and loyalty, family and friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in our search for meaning.

For her second novel, Shade of Wings, she looked to New York City to tell the story of the West Nile virus outbreak from the point-of-view of the first US victims – American crows. She hopes readers fall in love her hapless hero, Duncan, and his plucky crow family. She certainly loved giving them life.

Before tackling novels, Pam wrote short stories and articles. Her short fiction has appeared in the online literary journals, Eclectica and Amarillo Bay, and her articles have been published in many Puget Sound-area publications and websites, including The Daily Herald (in Everett, WA), Bicycle Paper, the MS Connection newsletter, and Seattle Children’s Story Project.

She has a BA degree in Communications Journalism from the University of Washington and certificates in fiction writing and advanced literary fiction from UW Extension.

When she isn’t writing or thinking about writing, she likes to read, walk the dog, swim, bike, garden, and watch birds.

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