A continuation from Part 1 of the 102 fantasy books with animal companions!
Tags: dog, cat, wolf, horse, bat, frog, toad, magical creature, invented animal, monster, demon, imaginary, bird, bear, salamander, rat, mice, crow, raven, unicorn, pegasus.
85. Rylee Adamson series by Shannon Mayer
Companion: magical creature/werewolf
“My name is Rylee and I am a Tracker.”
When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I’m the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot.
I’m on the FBI’s wanted list.
I have a werewolf for a pet, a Witch of a best friend, and have no need for anyone else in my life.
But when a salvage starts to spin out of control, help comes from a most unexpected direction. One that is dangerously dark, brooding, and doesn’t know a thing about the supernatural.
One whose kisses set me on fire.
86. The Winnowing Flame Trilogy by Jen Williams
Companion: bat (giant bat)
The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces - talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.
When eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza 'Vintage' de Grazon, offers him employment, he sees an easy way out. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, the prospect of facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind.
But not everyone is willing to let the Eboran empire collapse, and the adventurers are quickly drawn into a tangled conspiracy of magic and war. For the Jure'lia are coming, and the Ninth Rain must fall...
87. Rhiannon's Ride series by Kate Forsyth
Companion: pegasus
One-Horn's daughter is not like the others of her kind. Born of a human father, she lacks the horns so prized by her people and is scorned even by her own mother. Her only chance for escape is to capture one of the legendary flying horses and ride it to freedom.
So this strange, feral girl begins a dangerous journey of love, death, and betrayal that will earn her a new name: Rhiannon, the rider no one can catch.
Rescued and taken to the home of Lewen, a young man just beginning to understand his own magical potential, Rhiannon is fascinated by the human world and by Lewen. Together they travel through a land where the dead walk and ghosts haunt the living, a place where Rhiannon encounters dark forces that endanger all of Eileanan. But to save the land, she must convince Lewen and the other apprentice-witches to trust the word of a wild half-human girl.
88. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Companion: horse
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
89. The Ammolite Adventures by C.E. Johnson
Companion: dog
Although her training regimen was more suited to a warrior, Emily thought she was a normal teenager being raised by a typical family on Earth until one day everything that defined her past came crashing down.
Her godfather sent her on a secretive hunt for clues and each discovery unraveled more of the puzzling otherworldly mysteries of her existence. She ultimately uncovers an astounding secret beyond her imagination, she is a blue mage, and her skills will lead her to a formidable ally, an animal bondsmate. However, instead of joy, the revelation of her magical talents has serious repercussions that include bloodshed and dark danger.
As she is backed into a corner by vengeful forces intent on her destruction, Emily finds her budding gifts are the only truth that she can rely on. Thirsting for more knowledge and power, she reaches a precipice. She will have to decide whether to remain on Earth or embark on a perilous journey which involves plunging through a portal where travelers must trade in the modern world for swords and spells.
90. Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
Companion: many
All the creatures of the forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep-a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her.
91. Spellfall by Katherine Roberts
Companion: dog
When Natalie finds a strange candy wrapper floating in a parking-lot puddle, an ominous yellow-eyed man informs her it's a spell -- and a bewitching tale of kidnapping and sorcery unfolds.This mysterious encounter leads Natalie to an enchanted world called Earthaven, where spells hang from giant soul trees and magical Spell Lords can cast them. Natalie is astonished to discover that she belongs to this world -- and that now she has to save it. The sinister Lord Hawk, exiled to the human world, is planning his revenge against the Spell Lords. Only Natalie suspects he's developed a poison to kill the soul trees -- and only Natalie can stop him.
With the help of a loyal magehound, a herd of unicorns, and the spirit of her dead mother, Natalie must do battle with an evil force determined to spread its power across both worlds.
92. Calliope Reaper-Jones series by Amber Benson
Companion: dog/hellhound
For the last few years I'd been in a state of bliss--living under a self-imposed Forgetting Charm, because I so did not want to go into the family business. What I wanted was a glamorous career in New York City and the opportunity for a normal life--buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from craigslist, Web surfing for organic dim sum for my boss. And then my father's Executive Assistant, a faun named Jarvis, showed up to tell me that my dad has been kidnapped.
Good-bye Forgetting Charm. Hell, (unwanted) responsibility. Not only am I expected to step into the CEO slot on the company Board, but I have to "prove my worth" by competing against the Devil's protégé--who so hot in more ways than one. The contest involves finding three (why is it always three?) objects of power. In Hell.
One of them is this adorable puppy--who happens to be a hellhound. The others are turning out to be not much fun. All this so I can take (unwanted) charge of Death, Inc.
My name is Calliope Reaper-Jones, and I'm...Death's Daughter.
93. Unicorn series by Tanith Lee
Companion: magical creature/unicorn
Nobody knew where it had come from, or what it wanted. Not even Jaive, the sorceress, could fathom the mystery of the fabled beast. But Tanaquil, Jaive's completely unmagical daughter, understood it at once. She knew why the unicorn was there: It had come for her. It needed her.
Yet she was the girl with no talent for magic. She could only fiddle with broken bits of machinery and make them work again.
What could she do for a unicorn?
94. Aspect of Crow series by Jeri Smith-Ready
Companion: crow
For Rhia was bound to the Spirit of Crow, gifted with the foresight of Death's approach and doomed to the isolation of one feared and set apart.
There must always be one whose magic can ease the passage of the people of Asermos to the Other Side. But to be the guide her people require, to truly know the depth of her gift--her curse--Rhia must surrender herself to the wisdom of the Great Forest and drink deeply of Death itself. And though two powerful men stand ready to aid her, even to love her, the Aspect of Crow demands unthinkable sacrifices from one who walks its path.
95. Griffin Mage series by Rachel Neumeier
Companion: magical creature/griffin
Little ever happens in the quiet villages of peaceful Feierabiand. The course of Kes' life seems set: she'll grow up to be an herb-woman and healer for the village of Minas Ford, never quite fitting in but always more or less accepted. And she's content with that path -- or she thinks she is. Until the day the griffins come down from the mountains, bringing with them the fiery wind of their desert and a desperate need for a healer. But what the griffins need is a healer who is not quite human . . . or a healer who can be made into something not quite human.
96. Faeries of Dreamdark series by Laini Taylor
Companion: bird/crow
When the ancient evil of the Blackbringer rises to unmake the world, only one determined faerie stands in its way. However, Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, is not like other faeries. While her kind live in seclusion deep in the forests of Dreamdark, she's devoted her life to tracking down and recapturing devils escaped from their ancient bottles, just as her hero, the legendary Bellatrix, did 25,000 years ago.
With her faithful gang of crows, she travels the world fighting where others would choose to flee. But when a devil escapes from a bottle sealed by the ancient Djinn King himself- the creator of the world- she may be in over her head. How can a single faerie, even with the help of her friends, hope to defeat the impenetrable darkness of the Blackbringer?
97. Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher
Companion: weasel
When the witch Baba Yaga walks her house into the backyard, eleven-year-old Summer enters into a bargain for her heart’s desire. Her search will take her to the strange, surreal world of Orcus, where birds talk, women change their shape, and frogs sometimes grow on trees. But underneath the whimsy of Orcus lies a persistent darkness, and Summer finds herself hunted by the monstrous Houndbreaker, who serves the distant, mysterious Queen-in-Chains…
From the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of "Digger" and "Jackalope Wives" comes a story of adventure, betrayal, and heart's desire. T. Kingfisher, who writes for children as Ursula Vernon, weaves together a story of darkness, whimsy, hope and growing things, for all the adults still looking for a door to someplace else.
98. Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs
Companion: cat
For many years, the city of Colossae was a haven of magical study. As generations of wizards pushed the limits of their abilities, an evil entity was unleashed that could only be contained by the sacrifice of their city. From the ashes of Colossae, the Travelers emerged - roaming the world to ensure that the Stalker would remain imprisoned forever...
Seraph is a Raven mage and among the last of the Travelers. Unwelcome among those who fear magic, the wizard clans have been decimated by the very people they've sworn to protect. But Seraph is spared a similar fate by the ex-soldier Tier - and together they build a life where she is no longer burdened by her people's responsibility.
But now Tier is missing - or dead - and Seraph's reprieve from her duty is over. Using her magic to discover her husband's fate, Seraph realizes the Stalker's prison is weakening - and only she can fulfill her ancestors' oath to protect humanity from destruction...
99. The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
Companion: bird/raven
When Gerta’s friend Kay is stolen away by the mysterious Snow Queen, it’s up to Gerta to find him. Her journey will take her through a dangerous land of snow and witchcraft, accompanied only by a bandit and a talking raven. Can she win her friend’s release, or will following her heart take her to unexpected places?
A strange, sly retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s "Snow Queen," by T. Kingfisher.
100. The Gandalara Cycle by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron
Companion: cat
One moment he was Ricardo Carillo, an aging language professor from our own world. The next, he found himself in a young, strong body in the exotic desert world of Gandalara.
He was now a master swordsman telepathically linked to a giant warcat called Keeshah. And he was a man on the run, accused of murder and the theft of a precious gem with awesome, perhaps magical, powers.
With the aid of Tarani, a beautiful illusionist, he sets out on a perilous quest to recover the sacred gem he had supposedly stolen and to clear his newfound name.
101. Shades of Fury series by Kasey MacKenzie
Companion: dog/warhound
As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an Arcane race that has avenged wrongdoing since time immemorial. As Boston's chief magical investigator for the past five years, she's doing what she was born to do: solve supernatural crimes.
But Riss's investigation into a dead sister Fury leads to her being inexplicably suspended from her job. And to uncover the truth behind this cover-up, she'll have to turn to her shape-shifting Warhound ex for help.
102. Anya Kalinczyk series by Laura Bickle
Companion: salamander
Truth burns.
Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya—who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern—suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya—with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team—can stop it.
Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.
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