A.M. Yates
USA Today Bestselling YA Fiction Author
Urban Fantasy & Romance
Shield and the Shadow
First Edition: November 2014
Some destinies are chosen. Olli's was waiting in the shadows.
When sixteen-year-old Olli moves to sleepy Horizon Creek, she expects boredom—not a shadowy presence in the woods or a burst of magic that changes everything.
Suddenly, she’s a Shield: protector of the powerful, secretive Gates family. But her new role comes with dangerous questions—about her father’s death, the magic awakening inside her, and the Dowager who will do anything to claim a Shield of her own.
Then there’s Brend, the maddening boy who seems to know more than he says, and whose secrets may be the key to it all.
As ancient forces stir, Olli must uncover the truth about her past and find the strength to face what’s coming—before the darkness claims her.
Stoneheart and the Axe
First Edition: October 2015
All she wanted was a quick goodbye. Instead, she got a talking axe and a death prophecy.
Nicia Silverthread has spent her life avoiding Horizon Island and the magical Clan who exiled her mother. But when her grandmother falls ill, Nicia returns, only to be bound by a powerful contract and thrust into a role she never wanted.
To escape an arranged marriage and the ancient magic forcing her hand, Nicia must do the impossible: find the mythical Stoneheart flower, destroy a monstrous Terror, and survive the whispers of a sentient axe with a will of its own.
With secrets unraveling and danger rising, Nicia has one chance to break the cycle... or become part of a deadly tradition.
Sparrow and the Dagger
First Edition: September 2017
Reality is breaking. So is he.
Seventeen-year-old Aes has always lived in quiet, forgettable Horizon Banks, Nebraska, until strangers appear, the streets start to vanish, and a girl he barely knows tries to stab him with a dagger.
Turns out, Aes’s life isn’t just boring—it’s not even real.
Trapped in a hidden magical cycle, Aes is bound by a powerful spell to Trea, a girl with a dark legacy and a dangerous past they may have shared. As dreams blur into memories and their world begins to collapse, Aes must uncover the truth, confront a forgotten war, and stop a powerful sorcerer before the illusion shatters completely.
But breaking the cycle may cost him everything, including the one person he’s most connected to.
Blood on the Blade
First Edition: October 2018
He never wanted to be a hero. He just wanted to be free.
After a century trapped in a cursed illusion, Aes finally escapes—only to find himself still bound by the magic he hates, and to a girl who once tried to kill him.
The curse ties him to Trea, igniting a dangerous connection neither of them fully understands. But breaking it may cost more than his freedom—it may cost her life. So Aes sets off for Horizon Island, Maine, hoping for answers... and a way out.
Instead, he finds a town poisoned by magic, mages on the brink of death, and monsters threatening to rip through the barrier between worlds.
Aes swore he’d never play the hero. But when the only way forward is through the very magic he wants to escape, he’ll have to decide: walk away—or fight for a future neither of them believed they deserved.
The Guardian and
The Queen
First Edition: April 2020
He escaped one prison—only to find he holds the key to something far worse.
Aes thought freedom would bring peace. But with his Guardian, Trea, lost in the void and an ancient Dowager Queen demanding he open a path to another world, Aes finds himself caught in a game far older, and far deadlier, than he imagined.
Meanwhile, Olli Speare has waited two years to find someone who can open the door back to Horizon, and to Brend, the boy she lost. Aes may be the only one who can get her there. But they're not the only ones seeking the door.
The Queen has waited lifetimes to return. And this time, she won’t be stopped.
As old loyalties crumble and ancient powers rise, Aes and Olli must decide: risk everything to stop a forgotten evil… or watch the worlds burn.