The Contessa of Mostul Ûbar by L. James Rice

SPFBO9

Awaking from death was just the beginning of Poleen’s troubles. A good girl from an idyllic country village shouldn’t find herself in a dark forest dead. But when her broken neck mysteriously heals, violence erupts, and she stands over her killer’s body wondering if she was such a good girl after all. With her brother killed and her mother taken prisoner by a powerful trade guild, the source of her troubles points to a box of cigars. Exotic and rare, no doubt, but it wasn’t worth her life. What secret does it hold that the rich and powerful are willing to kill and die for? More importantly, how can she leverage its worth to rescue her mother? Rumors of war with the Pirate Kings of Boboru swirl the politics of The Monsoon Straits as her pursuit for answers entangles her in a web of smugglers, pirates, sorcerers, secret societies, and her sweet mother’s involvement with them all. She defies death time and again, but she knows her luck will run out. She needs the help and influence of a man Poleen has never met, her father, the Count of Mostul Ûbar.

Eve of Snows by L. James Rice

SPFBO8

When a young priestess named Eliles finds herself ensnared in an age-old conspiracy, she realizes that time is running out to stop a Lord Priest's dangerous obsession. In seventeen days the stars will align, and a religious cabal will summon the gods back to the realms of men. In the northern tundra priests search for a legendary artifact in the Steaming Lakes, a place tormented by the Wakened Dead. Deep in the mountains, demonic shadows take possession of priests at a holy shrine. In the south, the clans know something foul is afoot, and dispatch warriors to seek answers, but instead they find horrors pointing toward betrayal and war. Through lies, manipulation, and murder, Eliles and her friends fight to defy prophecy; the world will end or begin anew, come the Eve of Snows.