Kody Boye's Books: A Complete Guide for Readers

Hello, dear reader,

If you've made it to this page, you're likely here because you're trying to determine which of my books might be to your interest, reading taste, or even the kind of story you're looking to read. In that case, I want to welcome you to my body of work, which primarily centers around young people who are fighting to save their worlds, from whatever threat that may be.

With that said, I write across a wide range of genres, and trying to determine where to start can be confusing, especially if you're just starting with my work. This is where this guide aims to aid readers who are new, who are returning, and who are interested in my work in finding their next read.

If at any point you feel that this guide could be improved, please do not hesitate to reach out via the contact form on this website. I would love to hear your thoughts on how I might improve it, or what might make the guide more accessible.

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO KODY BOYE'S BOOKS

CONTEMPORARY FANTASY FICTION

Readers who prefer their fantasy rooted in literary or contemporary settings may find their next read in my new adult novel Angel Hour, which tells the story of a young man's celestial encounter after a near-death experience, and his recovery through grief after his father's untimely passing. However, I would advise readers who experience difficulty with themes of grief to be mindful if they choose to select this book.

DYSTOPIAN FICTION

Readers who enjoy dystopian works find my young adult Beautiful Ones trilogy to be of interest. Described as "Handmaid's Tale" -lite and "Cinderella in Dystopialand" by readers and reviewers, this complete three-book trilogy follows a girl as she is lifted from poverty due to her beauty, at the cost of her free will. It centers around the idea of bodily autonomy, the agency that young women should (but do not) possess in this world, and the idea of how war can alter the trajectory of once-united countries.

FANTASY FICTION

Fantasy fiction enthusiasts may seek out works in fantastical settings that are similar in some ways, but completely different in others.

Readers who enjoy their fantasy on the darker, more horrific side may find that my young adult Plague Bloom trilogy may be to their liking. Beginning with A Deadly Bloom, the story begins as the remnants of a devout people journey to a "Promised Land" atop the backs of their guardians. It specifically centers around a girl who must find a holy weapon to slay a monster that blocks entry to these lands, and how, by taking up the mantle as a "chosen one," she seeks to change the course of her people's history, all by using the lessons she's learned along the way.

Readers who want to step into a more grown-up setting may enjoy my sweeping new adult epic, which is called The Banished Legend. This five-book, almost-million-word series tells a story of a young man named Odin Karussa, who undertakes a hero's journey that begins at his (literal) birth and beyond.

Like many fantasy stories, it takes place across a sweeping timeline, a vast number of locations, and features a dynamic cast that includes the primary character, his friends, as well as the companions who undertake a journey to travel, attempt to save, and become outsiders in a kingdom that becomes the prey of outside forces. It was written from my late teens to my very early twenties, and helped shape my love of the fantasy genre.

Readers who enjoy The Banished Legend may also find themselves questioning who Carmen, who appears in book 2 of my new adult epic, is. As such, they may enjoy my new adult series The Adventures of Carmen Delarosa, which takes place in the years prior to The Banished Legend, and centers around a dwarven heroine. It isn't required reading to start the five-book epic, but it does set up her story.

Those who are in the mood for a standalone young adult adventure may find my novel What We Left Behind intriguing. The novel tells the story of a girl who is haunted by the disappearance she and her best friends experienced in their childhoods, and the forces that eventually lure them back into the woods where she and her friends went missing as children. This time-bending, reality-distorting novel focuses on the traumas and tragedies of its main characters, as well as their fight to claw their way back to the lives they have left behind.

URBAN FANTASY FICTION

Fans of fantasy works that are set in the real world may find themselves drawn to one of my three series in my Supernatural South universe.

My Supernatural South universe, which largely takes place in the American South, begins with my young adult series The Scarlet Jane Files, which starts in the early 2000s, and tells the story of its titular character, a teenage girl who gets swept up in a supernatural conflict after her mother is violently murdered by a monster. It was inspired in part by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and takes place across the real-world cities and towns I lived in and visited throughout the fifteen years I resided in Texas. It is the first part in a broader series of works, and though it is not required to begin reading The Supernatural South, it is a good starting point to help you learn about the world, as well as how the supernatural world works in the broader scheme of the universe.

The next installment in my Supernatural South universe takes place roughly ten years after the events of The Scarlet Jane Files in the Elements of Ice trilogy. This new adult dark romance series features what I describe as "ice vampires," who feed on the body heat of humans. It centers around a young man named Jason, who is a recently expelled college student who is incredibly down on his luck. However, when he meets the handsome, charming Guy Winters in a club, he is thrust into the supernatural world after a break-in goes wrong, resulting in the intruder's death, as well as a secret that Guy has tried to keep hidden for most of his life.

The events of The Supernatural South continue ten years after The Elements of Ice in The Red Wolf Saga. It is the most recent story in that universe, and follows the story of Oaklynn Smith, whose fascination with the extinct red wolf of Texas, and her sighting of one, coincides with an old family's return to the small town she lives in. The events that follow will reshape her life in full, and like Scarlet and Jason before her, thrust her into a conflict she could have never thought possible.

The next entry on this list straddles the fantasy and dystopian genres, but in a way that solely focuses on events that occur in the real world. In my young adult The United States of Witches trilogy, witchcraft, which emerged from a great magical awakening years prior, has been outlawed in the United States, and those who use it in the Republic are burned at the stake on the lawn outside the White House. The story follows a girl named Salem Richards, who lives in the shadow of her mother's execution by burning, as well as Salem's fear that she will spontaneously develop magical powers herself.

HORROR FICTION

Fans of horror fiction will find that much of my work centers around people living through harrowing circumstances. My horror works are broken down into several categories, some of which include:

BODY HORROR

My standalone new adult horror novel The Monsters Within tells the story of a young gay man named Dean, who escapes a troubling home life through a writing scholarship. As Dean arrives in South Texas, he meets and eventually falls in love with a young man named Brad, who Dean feels is his first true shot at love. What he does not know is that Brad has a secret that has been eating at him for years, and as increasingly disturbing events become apparent, Dean will find himself enmeshed in a family's dark history, as well as the monsters that plague them.

CREATURE FEATURE (or) CRYPTID HORROR 

Creature horror that revolves around cryptozoological monsters is one of my favorite subgenres of fiction. As such, my young adult Dagana trilogy centers around a girl named Jessica Pruitt's immeasurable loss after her parents are slaughtered by a creature at sea. However, what she cannot comprehend is the lengths she will have to go to in order to avenge her family, nor the devastation that will follow once she realizes just how dangerous the creature at sea happens to be.

HAUNTING (or) POSSESSION HORROR

The idea of having your life upended by an entity that bridges the worlds is something that has always fascinated and terrified me, which is why I wrote my young adult series The Hauntings, which contains two novels at present, each of which can be read independently of one another.

The Taking of Charlie Spencer begins the tale of the Spencer family's generational curse. Taking place in the mid 70s, it follows a girl named Charlie and her brother, Jacob, as they receive a spirit board from their father as an unusual gift. However, what they do not realize is that, by communicating with the entity who is responding from the beyond, they have set into motion a curse that will follow their family for decades.

The Haunting of Alice Rommel follows a few decades later, and centers around the stories of Becky and her sister, Alice, who discover an Ouija board while sorting through objects in their attic. The emotional devastation that follows will upend the Rommel family's life, and further the curse that hangs over their family.

HISTORICAL HORROR

Horror that takes place in the distant past is another love of mine, which is why I wrote my young adult Of Dust and Blood duology. Set in the year 1845, it follows a girl named Eleanor Weaver and her best friend, Sarah Dyer, as they journey to a small community west of San Antonio. What they and their families cannot anticipate is that there is a deadly monster lurking in what will one day be called Texas Hill Country, or that its eyes will soon fall upon their small community.

ZOMBIE HORROR

Zombies have been a big draw for me since I was a teenager, so it is not surprising that they feature in two of my series.

My young adult The Southern Dead trilogy takes place in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, and chronicles the story of a girl named Crystal Wright, who is inexplicably thrust into the zombie apocalypse the day it begins in her town. It follows Crystal during the first days of the viral outbreak, and centers around her struggle for survival as she fights to find community, purpose, as well as the possibility of a cure, especially when a young man who seems to be immune to the virus is found wandering the streets outside of the safe haven she and her fellow survivors have managed to build for themselves.

If you were to ask me where my love of zombie fiction truly began, I would tell you that it began with the original incarnation of my general adult series Daylight Cycle. Though it technically begins with First Light, and chronicles a college student named Rose's escape from the United Kingdom, you can also pick up book 2, Sunrise, and follow along on Dakota's journey from there, since they both take place chronologically alongside each other. The series details the stories of several survivors who band together to survive as they make their way across the ruins of North America.

SCIENCE FICTION

Lovers of worlds that are set in the distant future with advanced technologies may find that one of my three science fiction series catches their attention.

Kingsman Online is my GameLit-lite young adult science fiction trilogy, which follows a girl named Sophia Garza, whose struggle to care for her ailing mother and her little brother in a dystopian United States has caused her to seek out a massive competitive gaming prize. However, on the day of the championship, a rolling blackout hits the slums she lives in, terminating her chance at a grand prize. It is only when a representative from the game company visits her, and offers her the chance to compete in a virtual reality gaming competition, that her life will change forever.

The Utopian Problem is another of my young adult utopian/dystopian science fiction trilogies, which centers around a girl named Ember Hillen, who lives in a city on the verge of technical collapse in the shadow of a living, benevolent god. When Ember is granted a chance to connect with the god that floats over her city, and become Utopia's holy woman, she will be thrust into a conspiracy that spans not just Utopia, but the world itself.

The When They Came series was my first foray into young adult fiction in the year 2015. Taking place six years after the alien invasion of planet Earth, it follows a girl named Ana Mia, whose decision to join her civilian militia will lead her to be bitten by an alien scout. The delusions, or visions, that follow will ultimately lead her on a course that will change her life, and the fate of the world, forever.

When They Came is a complete trilogy that contains an additional five prequel stories that follow the mainline characters throughout the early days of the invasion.

SHORT FICTION

Last but not least: those interested in reading my short stories may find that my Other Worlds collections might scratch a genre itch you are unsure of. Containing stories of all types, each story in the mainline Other Worlds collections can be read for free on my Other Worlds short fiction blog, or by downloading them for their eReaders on my Payhip store.

IN CLOSING

If you have any questions about my work, or have any ideas on how to make this guide more accessible, please do not hesitate to reach out to me here on my website. In addition, if you would like to keep the files you purchase forever, please consider purchasing directly through my personal Payhip store. Doing so not only gives you more control over your library, but also puts more money in my pocket directly in the process.

Once more, thank you for your time and interest in my work. It is greatly appreciated.

— Kody Boye