Brandon Sanderson’s Tress of the Emerald Sea is an exciting and refreshing departure from his usual epic fantasy works. Set in the Cosmere (Sanderson’s massive interconnected universe), it tells the story of Tress, a young woman living on a secluded island surrounded by a mysterious sea filled with dangerous spores. When the love of her life, Charlie, is kidnapped, Tress sets out on a daring journey across strange and magical lands to rescue him.

Shadow and Bone follows Alina Starkov, a cartographer and orphan serving in the army of a fantasy world, who unlocks a magical ability within herself. The Grisha, the magic users of this world, have elemental abilities, but nothing like our main character, who is thrust into a game of life and death based on what she can do.