Time for some more great bisexual MCs! There’s only one more post coming up next week (timed to coincide with Shadow Moon’s release, YAY!), and since it will be a little different from these recommendations, I wanted to round up the showcase of indie bi books by featuring three quite different novels, if all belonging under the urban fantasy umbrella.
I enjoyed all three so, so much, and you know what the best part is? All are just the first in series!
Magic Waking by Eva Chase
Blurb:
Die, reincarnate, repeat. It’s been a long fifteen hundred years…
Reborn wizard Emma Hale has three goals in life, or rather lives: Track down the present incarnation of the legendary King Arthur, fend off the shadow creatures that hound him for as long as she can, and break the spell that binds their souls in this morbid cycle.
If only she had a better idea how she’d cast that spell in the first place. And if only Arthur’s current host wasn’t so cocky yet distractingly good-looking. Because Emma is falling even harder for the man she can’t have.
When a fae mercenary with power to rival Emma’s puts her king in his sights, Emma burns through all her tricks just to stay one step ahead. Now her only chance is to find some way to destroy the mercenary before he and his army of dark forces destroy Arthur.
No human Emma’s ever known has managed to kill a fae. But if she can’t, and quickly, this death might be their last.
Personal commentary: A King Arthur retelling like no other, I was spellbound by the bond between two souls that overcomes time, death, and, the most brilliant thing of all, genders. This comes so close to my own view on love and relationships that it made me an instant fan. But even without it, the story itself is a fast-paced delight I’m sure everyone who appreciates a good retelling with adore.
The House of Gray and Graves C.M. Stunich
Blurb:
“Welcome to the house of Gray and Graves where we never lie still and death is only the beginning …”
I am Georgette Marie French, daughter of Annette Rosemary Cummings and Anthony Starling French. I’m twenty-six years old, never married, always dating. I have no children; I don’t want any, and oh yeah, I’m undead though I’m not charming like a vampire or mysterious like a ghost, I’m just a zombie. And possibly the Queen of an entire court of human souls and madmen.
George has never been lucky in life, so when she drowns in a swimming pool and is raised as the first and only zombie to ever have its soul intact, she isn’t surprised to find out that a group of religious fanatics who have the ability to sense the undead are after her. The only thing keeping her sane are the glamours that allow her to pass as human. When the donor of the fae blood needed to sustain them is killed, George must cross the Veil into Faerie where the chances of making it back alive – or even undead – are slim.
Welcome to a place of lost souls; welcome to Faerie.
Personal commentary: Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book from a zombie’s perspective! Unique, flawed, and entertaining, George is a protagonist I wouldn’t mind hanging out with. That, coupled with the author’s own twist on the Fae, this was one of those books I kept falling in love with with every new page.
Chameleon Assassin by BR Kingsolver
Blurb:
Libby is a mutant, one of the top burglars and assassins in the world. For a price, she caters to executives’ secret desires. Eliminate your corporate rival? Deliver a priceless art masterpiece or necklace? Hack into another corporation’s network? Libby’s your girl.
Climate change met nuclear war, and humanity lost. The corporations stepped in, stripping governments of power. Civilization didn’t end, but it became less civilized. There are few rules as corporations jockey for position and control of assets and markets.
In the year 2200, the world has barely recovered the level of technology that existed before the ice melted and the subsequent wars. Corporate elites live in their walled estates and skyscraper apartments while the majority of humanity supplies their luxuries. On the bottom level, the mutants, the poor, and the criminals scramble every day just to survive.
Personal commentary: A tall(!!!) female protagonists who’s as intelligent as she’s (deliciously) straightforward and a well-crafted dystopian world equals an instant add to my list. If you’re looking for a kickass assassin who, despite being a mutant, feels incredibly down-to-earth, then you definitely won’t regret picking up a copy.
