The Hunter by Hannah E. Carey

SPFBO8

Forced to flee her uncle's palace in the dead of night in order to save her own life, Duchess Rhiannon of Solis finds herself pulled into an ongoing war. She seeks safety on the shores of the island of Pern Coen, though she knows little of the strange land and its even stranger Spirits. A stroke of fate leaves her at the mercy of a band of rebels led by a notorious outlaw, a man the people of the island call the Hunter. Conor has lost his family and his home. Forced to live in exile, he dreams of the day that the people of Pern Coen win back their freedom. He has no love for the Empire of Kelnore, but when he finds an injured Kelnorian noblewoman, he can't bring himself to abandon her. Against his better judgement, Conor offers Rhiannon his protection, but the more time he spends with her, the more he finds his feelings toward her shifting. He's already had his heart shattered once, does he dare take that risk again with a woman who should be his sworn enemy? The longer Rhiannon spends with Conor and his band of outlaws, the more she finds herself torn between the life she knew and the life she has discovered on the island. Can she turn her back on all she's ever known? And can a rugged outlaw capture her heart? This Celtic inspired romantic fantasy features a slow burn, fade to black romance.

Zeroth Law (Digitesque #1) by Guerric Haché

Autonomous machines polish the bones of a civilization slowly being swallowed by wilderness. Creatures not born of Earth inhabit the remote corners of the world. Humans live with legacies they don’t understand - old ruins, strange technological artifacts, incredible powers in their blood. There are other worlds alongside this one, and death is not what it once was. Isavel is ripped from a simple life into the heat of a conflict she doesn’t understand, and saddled with powers and expectations she doesn’t know how to handle. Lost in a storm, she hopes that by following the will of her gods, she might find purpose - and ultimately, peace. Ada took her own peaceful life and threw it out the window. Outcast for heresy against the scholarly dogma of her people, she decides the world needs to change, and she thinks she’s the one to do it. To her surprise, she happens to be living at a time of more wondrous and terrible change than she can imagine. These two young women must navigate a world that is is barely holding together, each only slowly becoming aware of the other’s existence and power. Each of them will have the chance to light a fire to change the world - but first, they must become the people they will need to be.

The Floating Castle by L. N. Holmes

“5 stars, no notes.” —Millie Abecassis, author of DAUGHTERS OF THE BLUE MOON and A LEGACY OF BLOOD AND BONE “Holmes’ fantasy novel churns with warring empires and palace intrigue. The novel boasts strong worldbuilding in the rich ceremonial details of Toguan’s court and the earthy rituals of the Gildacrest witches…” —Kirkus Reviews From the author of SPACE, COLLISIONS comes THE FLOATING CASTLE, an explosive, adult dark fantasy with the vicious dragons of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE and the destructive family drama of THE WOMEN’S WAR. In a world where demons control the supply of magic and dragons are both feared and sentient, three women combine forces to oppose an evil prince and escape his floating castle. To secure her position as the emperor's favorite daughter, Princess Fu Liling sails across a monster-infested sea to marry and subdue Elias of House Zartisval, crown prince of a rival kingdom. When she meets Elias, however, he unexpectedly refuses to marry her. At risk of being cut off from the imperial family, Liling tries to force the wedding, only to discover that Elias is a murderer and she is his disposable hostage. Liling resolves to expose this betrayal to her father and plots an escape, relying on a reluctant guard and a rebel witch to aid in her flight. Elias, who'd rather see them all dead than free, gives chase. The ensuing battle may cause the Floating Castle to literally fall, and Liling must decide: surrender and die to keep the peace or dishonor her father in exchange for her own life and liberty. The repercussions of her choice will ripple across a continent. Fans of GAME OF THRONES and THE WITCHER will appreciate this epic fantasy for its morally gray women, dangerous political intrigue, and sinister magic.

Da Vinci On The Lam by B. D. Booker

SPSFC 2022 SPSFC 2024

One week. One chance. Earth is dying as a fungal ‘grit’ and dust storms smoother crop lands and destroy the oceans. The rich flee into space, leaving the poor to die off. But if gunslinger Artis Quinn delivers a priceless da Vinci artwork to an offworlder hub on the other side of the country, his family will get tickets off-world. Yet the true end of the world might arrive sooner than expected and Quinn will have to fight his way through the ruthless Onyx Group to succeed.

The Flight of the Darkstar Dragon by Benedict Patrick

SPFBO6

Impossible world. Impossible dragon. Impossible adventure. Lost with her ship and crew in an unfamiliar land, Min’s first command could be her last. Nothing here behaves the way it should: The magic that powers her skyship has been drained, rendering it immobile. The sky is an endless twilight, lit by the luminous fish that swim in it. Off starboard, there’s also the country-sized dragon that is looking particularly hungry. It will take all of Min’s training and experience to get her people safely back home, but as the truth about the Darkstar Dimension begins to be revealed, Min will have to prove to her crew - and to herself - that she is still the best person for the job. From the twisted mind that created the ‘delightfully weird’ Yarnsworld series comes a fantasy adventure like no other. Grab it now, to set sail on a journey you’ll never forget!

A Hidden Witch’s Spell For Scrying A Lost Vampire: An urban fantasy magical rescue mission by C.N. Rowan

Kidnap plus theft equals total catastrophe. Our first date ends in disaster—Silas is kidnapped by his vampire brethren, and worse, our magical masks that allow us to travel between worlds are gone too. Which means I’m officially more than a little screwed. With no way to reach the vampire homeworld, Silas is doomed—branded a traitor and marked for execution. But I’m not giving up. Walking between worlds is my family’s magical inheritance. If I can find someone to guide me through the In-between, I just might reach the vampire realm in time to save him. All I have to do is outwit an entire planet of deadly super-predators. Oh, and not get lost forever in the space between worlds. Easy, right? A Hidden Witch’s Spell For Scrying A Lost Vampire is Book Three in The Broken Hotel for Magical Misfits—a series that’s custom-made for lovers of strong heroines, quirky magical characters and found family, all woven together with heart, humour, and action-packed adventure. And that’s to say nothing of the slow-burn romance that spans the series…

The Saga of Bjorn Unfrid by John Simons

SPFBO10

The omens are not good. Ancient forces are at play… …and ancient forces are known to be assholes. Bjorn knows this because he’s not like other people. He sees the past and future, ghosts and gods. Sometimes he talks to them. But he never expected or wanted to get dragged into the business of the spirit world. He already has his own problems, like how to start a conversation with the woman he followed all the way to Texas so he could stay close to her. He’s pretty sure that wouldn’t go over as a great opening line. Unfortunately, the spirit world and the physical world are tied together and Bjorn is tangled up in all of it. It’s a lot to handle all at once in your freshman year of college, and UH is not the college experience he was expecting. But when things turn dark and the lives of his loved ones are at stake, it’s the place where he must awaken to his destiny whether he wants to or not.

Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li

Iris Galacia's tarot cards do more than entertain gamblers. With the flip of her fingers she can predict the future and uncover a person's secrets. Under the watchful eye of her mother, she is already on thin ice for pursuing a passion in the family business, but then cracks start to form, and eventually she falls through. She is given an ultimatum: earn a thousand coins or leave the business, and the family. Enter Marin Boudreau, a charming young person who can scale buildings and break off door knobs, who comes for her help to rescue a witch who's been falsely imprisoned in Excava Kingdom. And Marin is willing to pay a high sum for her talents. But saving a prisoner from royal hands isn't easy, nor is leaving home for the first time in eighteen years. Now Iris must learn to trust in herself, Marin, and this new magical world, while racing the clock before the royals decide the fate of the witch, and before any secrets catch up to her. TELL ME HOW IT ENDS features LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, cultural, and mental health representation. The main character, Iris Galacia, is a lesbian tarot reader with anxiety and autism. The second main character, Marin Boudreau, is an aromantic asexual non-binary person with ADHD.