Choose Your Own Reading Adventure This Lady Knight Season

If you grew up living vicariously through Alanna of Trebond swinging Lightning on epic quests in Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness series, or her forebear Harry Crewe (who wields her forebear Lady Aerin’s Gonturan) in Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, then this is your time. Lady knights are back, and each one has a different origin story. You’ve got princesses taking up the mantle, soldiers operating as magical weapons, and literary archetypes fighting against their own fates. Not to mention jousts, cannibalism, and rom-com tropes.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s your guide to subgenre, love interests, and other companions, and the influences and hooks that make each of these stand out. Because—something this reader never thought she’d get to say back in the ‘90s—there’s no one way to tell a lady knight story.

Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell

Release Date: February 11 from HarperCollins

The Knight: Caballera Lope de la Rosa, loyal knight and sworn bodyguard to her best friend…

The Companion: …the noble lady Ofelia de Bouchilion, searching for her missing mother in the magical court of her daydreams.

The Hook: Among this YA romantasy’s influences are the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice… uh oh.

Publisher’s Description: Ofelia has lived her life dreaming of entering Le Château Enchanté—the mysterious court of the gods-blessed King Léo, where the shadow monsters that roam Ofelia’s home never trespass.

Lope has lived her life as a knight, defending Ofelia and her home from Shadows even as she dreams of escaping with Ofelia by her side.

When the Shadows venture too close, Lope and Ofelia are thrust into a journey that will lead them to the heart of the darkness haunting their home: the dazzling and deceptive Château Enchanté itself.

A mesmerizing daydream with a subtle edge of darkness, Where Shadows Bloom pits terrifying monsters, chilling secrets, capricious gods, immortal kings, and death itself against the unstoppable love between two girls.

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Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

Release Date: May 6 from Tordotcom Publishing

The Knight: A guildknight trained especially in dragon slaying, Yeva is a Mandalorian-esque warrior in that she never removes her armor. Stemming from her first dragon kill in childhood, she prefers to remain Mithrandon’s anonymous masked warrior.

The Companion: Lady Sookhee, girl-king of Quanbao, where dragons are not prey but rather woven into the culture and daily life. Cognizant of acting as a benevolent ruler rather than a tyrant, Sookhee must also grapple with a mysterious illness that forces her to sequester herself for several days each month.

The Hook: Yeva’s mission to Quanbao will force her to reveal her armor—both physical and figurative—as she uncovers secrets behind her past and the Sun Emperor’s true motivations.

Publisher’s Description: Few know the true identity of the masked guildknight of Mithrandon.

She barely remembers herself.

The masked guildknight—Yeva—was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon-slaying. Now a legendary dragon hunter, she has never truly felt at home—nor removed her armor in public—since that fateful day all those years ago.

Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper, but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders.

While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen.

As they grow closer, Yeva longs to let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, but she knows she must fulfill her purpose and slay the dragon. Ultimately, she must decide who—or what—she is willing to betray: her own heart, or the sacred duty that she has called home for so long.

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Alanna by Tamora Pierce; adapted by Vita Ayala, illustrated by Sam Beck

Release Date: May 13 from Abrams Books

The Knight: Alanna of Trebond, a scrappy girl disguising herself as a boy in order to train at the Tortallan capital city of Corus.

The Companion(s): Alanna’s posse of fellow pages are part of what makes knight training so exciting, as they come up through the ranks together: Raoul, Gary, Douglass, Alex, and of course her love interest Prince Jonathan IV of Conté—and her other love interest, George Cooper, the Rogue himself, King of the Thieves.

The Hook: This is the graphic novel adaptation of the first installment of Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet, which was originally published in 1983. It’s a great entry point for new readers as well as offering visuals for those of us who spent so long imagining the faces and places of Pierce’s imagination.

Publisher’s Description: In Song of the Lioness, Book 1: Alanna, the first of four volumes adapting #1 New York Times bestseller Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet, we meet Alanna of Trebond, a young noblewoman from the kingdom of Tortall.

Alanna isn’t like other girls from noble families—what she really wants is to become a knight and earn her shield, something women definitely aren’t allowed to do.

But Alanna will not be deterred, and she arrives in the capital disguised as a boy to begin training as a page, the first step toward becoming a knight. Despite the tough conditions and grueling work, Alanna’s skills and stubbornness win her friends amongst the nobility and the denizens of the lower city. But not everyone wishes her well…

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The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

Release Date: May 20 from Orbit Books

The Knight: The actual knight of the title is Rodrick, who crosses paths with the eponymous moth: Sybil, a Diviner who can foresee disasters. Used to noblemen journeying to her for their fortunes told, Sybil instead is tasked with her own quest: to confront a god-like Omen, who knows the answer to why her fellow oracles are disappearing.

The Companion: An affront to Sybil’s very faith system, with a tongue sharper than his sword, Rodrick barges into her cathedral and opens up her sheltered world.

The Hook: Unfortunately, Rodrick’s heretical ways are exactly what Sybil needs to learn in order to defeat the Omens. He then becomes her mentor (and more…), making her the first of our lady knights.

Publisher’s Description: Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.

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The Starving Saints by Cailtin Starling

Release Date: May 20 from Harper Voyager

The Knight: Ser Voyne is the king’s most loyal knight, who does best when she has a clear cause to serve. Watching over heretic witch Phosyne as she attempts alchemical experiments to save their castle from starvation? Frustrating. Declaring her allegiance to the mysterious Constant Lady when she suddenly appears in a deus ex machina? Too easy, until Ser Voyne realizes how sinister the salvation that the Lady is offering.

The Companion(s): The book has three point-of-view characters; in addition to the knight and the witch, there’s Treila, a servant girl nursing a grudge against Ser Voyne for executing her father years ago.

The Hook: Cannibalism! The book opens with mere weeks of rations left, and several characters have already had to resort to eating human flesh in the past. But once the Lady and her Saints appear at the gates to save them, that doesn’t necessarily remove the option…

Publisher’s Description: Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

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Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Release Date: June 3 from Storytide

The Knight: Newly-minted blacksmith Gwen yearns to pick up a sword instead of just forge one—which she gets the chance to do when she impersonates Sir Gawain in the Tournament of Dragonslayers.

The Companion: Isobelle is the lady of the castle, but also just a damsel—the tournament’s prize, whether she likes it or not. But she’s also canny, and when she learns about Gwen’s dream, she figures out how to make the tournament work in both of their favor.

The Hook: Gender-bending Arthuriana by way of A Knight’s Tale with plenty of the latter’s delightful anachronisms and some fourth-wall-breaking.

Publisher’s Description: Gwen is sick of hiding—hiding the fact that she’s taken over her father’s blacksmithing duties, hiding her attraction to girls, hiding her yearning for glory as a knight.

Meanwhile, Lady Isobelle of Avington, queen bee of the castle, has never once considered hiding who she is—until now. She’s been chosen as the grand prize in the Tournament of Dragonslayers, to be given to whichever knight can claim her hand. And for the first time in her life, she can’t talk her way out of trouble.

When Isobelle discovers Gwen’s knightly ambitions, they hatch a scheme together—Gwen will joust in the tournament, disguised as Sir Gawain. Winning means freedom for Isobelle, and glory for Gwen. Losing means… well, let’s not go there.

One thing’s for sure: Falling in love was never the plan.

But the best laid plans… are often trampled all over by dragons.

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The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino

Release Date: September 23 from Forever

The Knight: Grey Flynn is a knight who is part of the larger Scaelan army, a highly trained and chivalrous warrior but also a soldier fighting alongside her fellow soldiers. She also serves as a magical well, paired with…

The Companion: Kier, her partner mage who draws upon her magic in battle. They go way back, as childhood best friends pining for one another but never acting upon it.

The Hook: Locke is the island kingdom that the army serves; following the death of the royal family, the people fear that Locke’s magic will be swept away as well, only for a stranger to reveal as a supposed successor to the throne and the magic.

Publisher’s Description: Love. Loyalty. Sacrifice.

Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier. She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier’s to wield. They are bound together by blood and magic, but there is one truth Grey dare not reveal… not even to Kier.

When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into a dangerous mission, Grey will need to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to protect her secret.

For Grey is no ordinary magical well, and if she dies, all magic dies with her.

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The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs

Release Date: October 14 from Harper Voyager

The Knight: Clía, the eponymous princess with a penchant for pink, refuses to believe that perfect prince Domnhall wouldn’t want to be her betrothed. To win him back, she enrolls at military academy Caisleán Cósta (what, like it’s hard?) to try her hand at duelling.

The Companion: Even though it’s Domnhall that Clía is following, the one who aids her in her quest of the heart is Ronan, a warrior trainee with, you might say (or sing), a chip on his shoulder.

The Hook: Real ones will remember that this book was originally announced as Medievally Blonde, so it’s safe to say that Clía will figure out which situations require soft power over a sharp sword.

Publisher’s Description: Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.

Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?

Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz into arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are… well, cute.

He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.

But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms… and test all their hearts.

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The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

Release Date: October 21 from Orbit Books

The Knight: Vina, rather a disappointment of a knight, cannot help but stumble into trouble. A bastard child raised within a wealthy family operating within the palace, Lavinia Morgan willingly placed herself into the Eternal Queen’s service but is well aware of her gilded cage. Simran refers to her as “the knight.”

The Companion: Simran Kaur Arora, a nobody from Elsewhere making her living as a witch of the woods. Living in London, her found family includes other Elsewhere immigrants among the cunning folk and in the molly-houses. Vina cannot only refer to her as “the witch.”

The Hook: These women are incarnates, or archetypal figures from a shared saga, fated to fall in love and kill each other every lifetime. This is the first cycle for both women, who hail from Elsewhere by blood and/or immigration, and who unwittingly inherited the roles from their former selves. But if they fail to follow their story beats, their tale will be destroyed and crumble the Isle into inky ash, forever erasing it from the collective memory. What’s more, an otherworldly stranger has been killing incarnates; tracking his murderous trail is what first throws together this knight and this witch, who will find in each other a reason not to blindly go along with their bloody intertwined fates.

Publisher’s Description: In an England fuelled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes.

Simran is a witch of the woods. Vina is a knight of the Queen’s court. When the two women begin to fall for each other, how can they surrender to their desires, when to give in is to destroy each other? 

As they seek a way to break the cycle, a mysterious assassin begins targeting tales like theirs. To survive, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them.

But what tale is stronger than The Knight and the Witch?

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The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Release Date: October 28 from Tor Books

The Knight: Sir Una Everlasting, Queen Yvanne’s bloody instrument… but also the yellow-haired propaganda poster girl for the glory of Dominion… but also just a country girl whose name has been censored from history to make way for her duty and destiny.

The Companion: Owen Mallory: a historian, war veteran, and self-described coward who is enlisted by Minister of War Vivian Rolfe to write what will become a “lost text” detailing Una’s story. To do so, he must become a primary source by going back in time to depict her life—and especially her death—as it happens.

The Hook: Wracked with guilt at leading Una to her doom, Owen changes the narrative to save her life. But in the present Dominion that his historical epic shapes, he is sent back again to do it all over. Each time loop—with the lovers trading off the telling to one another, sob—increases the dramatic tension of their tragic love, as they try to escape the narrative.

Publisher’s Description: Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story—they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

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