Books like Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey

In the unforgettable Le Cirque des Rêves, two young magicians, Celia and Marco, are locked in a nocturnal duel of wonder and will—an impossible game where love and magic collide on a stage of breathtaking spectacle.

A young woman in 1714 France signs a pact for immortality, only to be erased from memory by everyone she meets. After centuries of wandering, a bookstore encounter gives her the chance to rewrite her fate.

A Jewish American teen travels to Ukraine with a tattered photograph, seeking the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust, guided by a quirky translator, a blind veteran, and an oddly named guide dog.

In eighteenth‑century Cairo, Nahri, a street‑smart con artist, discovers she is the last of a line of djinn healers and is drawn into the luxurious, politically fraught city of Daevabad, where her powers could prevent a kingdom‑wide war.

In Valdemar, Talia, a runaway chosen by the mystical Companion Rolan, joins the Heralds and must master her unique mind powers to thwart a treasonous conspiracy that threatens the Queen, the realm, and her own child heir.

Ceony Twill, a top graduate of the Tagis Praff School, must master paper magic under the enigmatic Emery Thane—learning awe‑inspiring spells while confronting a dark magician who has stolen Thane’s heart.

In a city where industrialized magic is the law of the land, a skilled thief teams up with an honest police officer to prevent an ancient evil ritual that threatens thousands of lives.

In the fractured realm of Inys, Queen Sabran the Ninth must secure her dynasty, while the hidden mage Ead watches over her and dragonrider Tané faces a fateful challenge—tension rises as ancient threats stir and eastern and western forces clash.

Teenager Able returns to the fantasy realm of Mythgarthr after being transported into the body of an adult hero, now armed with powerful gifts he has sworn not to use for the dragon king Anthor.

In Valdemar, a homeless orphan named Skif rises from a gang of teenage pickpockets to become a Herald after being chosen by a magical horse, revealing a hidden side of the kingdom's famed warriors.

A young Manhattan graduate student awakens with no memory, yet feels the city’s pulse, while residents across neighborhoods sense its magic and history, weaving an urban myth of New York’s living heart.

Lavan Firestorm, a sixteen‑year‑old gifted in fire, is thrust from his rural home to the capital of Valdemar, where he must master his dangerous power amid war with Karse and grow into the legendary herald known as Firestorm.

Thirteen‑year‑old orphan Magpie is chosen by a Valdemar Companion horse to train as a Herald in Haven, where his telepathic Gift complicates court politics and a mysterious foreign spy ring.

Alberich rises from a lowborn Karse youth to become a fast‑rising cavalry captain in the Voice‑controlled army, all while hiding a prophetic sixth sense that could attract the dangerous attention of Valdemar’s witch‑nation.

In Mercedes Lackey’s fantasy world of Valdemar, three orphaned trainees—Magpie, Lena, and Bear—navigate trials of identity, family, and mastery as they strive to become a Herald, a Bard, and a Healer.

After her family's keep is raided, Kerowyn, granddaughter of sorceress Kethry, must rally mercenary forces and wield her inherited magic to protect Valdemar and stave off a looming threat.

Aiding the Hawkbrothers as a Healing Adept, Darian faces the looming threat of another barbarian encampment while honing his mystical powers in the world of Valdemar.

In Valdemar’s first Owl Mage Trilogy novel, apprentice Darian flees a ransacked village into a mystical forest, where he befriends the enigmatic Hawkpeople and joins them in a desperate assault to save his home.

When the ancient protective barrier over Valdemar weakens, Princess Elspeth, the realm's Herald, must seek a mentor to master her nascent mage powers and defend the kingdom from Ancar of Hardorn's dark magic.

Oathbreakers is the second book in the Vows and Honor Trilogy. When Idra, leader of the crack mercenaries known as the Sunhawks, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry, warrior and mage, set out in search of their vanished leader. Sisters of sword and spell, their fates bound together by a Goddess-sworn oath, they were eternally pledged to fight the forces of evil. And evil had indeed cast its shadow over Rethwellan. Idra, so they were told, had left long ago on a search for a legendary magical sword which could reveal which of her two brothers was meant to become the new king. With the princess gone, her younger brother had been branded an outlaw and her older brother had claimed the throne. Both instinct and mage lore told Kethry and Tarma that all was not as it seemed, that both Idra and her people were in terrible jeopardy. Yet would their Goddess-given powers, aided by those of a Herald of Valdemar, proves strong enough to break the dark enchantment possessing this land?

Magpie, a 13‑year‑old orphan, escapes the grim life of gem‑mine slavery when a magical Companion horse selects him to train as a Herald in the early history of Valdemar.

A collection of new and original stories set in Valdemar, featuring the Heralds—gifted individuals bonded to telepathic Companions—who protect the realm, enriched with contributions from established Valdemar authors.

In the third book of the Owl Mage Trilogy, Darian Gruöm seeks refuge with the Hawkbrothers, falls for a young healer, and confronts a shocking revelation about his missing parents.

A collection of 17 new short stories set in Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar world, featuring its famed Heralds, Tayledras, and magical creatures.

A New England Gothic tale where teenage friends battle a returning demon witch threatening world domination.

Eric Banyon, a human elvish knight and bard, moves back to NY to finish his interrupted education at Julliard. He discovers a plot by something evil from Underhill to unlock and use human powers to dominate the World Above. Then, an evil elf lord, whose love was killed by mortal men, is determined to destroy the human race. Eric must journey to the heart of the elf lord's realm to stop him.

An exploration of Mercedes Lackey’s groundbreaking Valdemar saga, charting its origins with the 1987 debut "Arrows of the Queen" and tracing its influence on contemporary fantasy authors.

Mags and Amily, Heralds in Valdemar, balance protecting their realm with raising their children, including Justyn, who can speak to animals and dreams of becoming a Herald Spy.