Echo: The Curse of the Blackwood Witches by Yasmine Maher

Master forbidden magic, destroy an immortal enemy, and prevent the apocalypse—all before college finals. Echo Blackwood has no idea she’s a witch, but after supernatural beasts attack her sister’s wedding, she discovers her long-dormant magic, and she’s quickly catapulted into an impossible war. The novice witch is the only one who can stop the immortal Jivar—but her magic hides a sinister secret. The dark arts run through her veins, and using their power could cost her soul. Desperate to control her magic and uncover the truth about herself, Echo and her newfound allies must race against time to defeat Jivar before he unleashes his fury and destroys the world. Can Echo use the powers of evil to save the world? Or will fighting fire with fire only end in her ruin? Imbued with all the thrilling action and marvelous magic, Echo: The Curse Of The Blackwood Witches is a riveting and unforgettable read that will sweep you up and refuse to let you go.

The Misadventures of Myndil Plodostirr by Michelle Franklin

"Life happened to most people, but Myndil Plodostirr happened to everybody else." When the abbot of the newly made Rogha an dá Dhíogha abbey meets Myndil Plodostirr, an orphan who thinks God speaks to him, he quickly decides that a talkative young man like Myndil is best left to himself. In the hopes of ridding the abbey of Myndil's company forever, the abbot sends him out on an impossible mission: to make himself a missionary and unite all the surrounding kingdoms under the banner of one god. What begins as a jape ends in infamy as Myndil's cheerfulness and goodwill accidentally bring about the Great War of the Dark Age. Will Myndil heed the abbot's will and convert the warring kings, or will he listen to the mysterious voice that plagues him and cause chaos across the British Isles?

Children by Bjorn Larssen

SPFBO7

Gods make lousy parents. All Magni wants is peace and quiet, but when your father is the God of thunder, you don’t get to live the life you want. When Thor destroys all his son knows and loves, Magni vows to bring prosperity and end the violence… forever. But can you escape cruelty in a universe built on it, or the shadow of your father when everyone calls you by his name? Maya, her rage more powerful than she knows, wants freedom to pursue her own destiny. Neither torture nor blackmail can make her obedient or pretty enough for Freya, her foster-mother and Goddess of love. Fighting for independence and revenge, can a mere human win a game where Gods dictate the rules? 2020 Stabby Nominee –Best Self-Published/Independent Novel The book includes strong language, depictions of sexual, physical, and emotional violence. For full list of triggers, which may contain spoilers, see: https://www.bjornlarssen.com/children-tw

The Dragon That Never Was by Timothy S. Currey

Every young woman in the village receives a dragon egg when she comes of age. Young Kleia watched every single egg hatch with a heart full of longing. Raising a dragon of her own was her destiny. Her reason to live. Nothing else could give her life meaning the way a dragon could. When she eventually got a dragon egg of her own, she learned that destiny is not always what it seems. This is no ordinary tale of dragons—the kind with daring adventure, great battles, intrepid heroes, or comforting victories. This is the tale of The Dragon That Never Was.

Knight of Flames (Inheritance, 2) by AK Faulkner

SFFOasis

Some men are forged in fire. Others are consumed by it. Quentin d’Arcy survived a showdown with a god. Now, he must face something far more terrifying—his feelings. Falling in love was never part of his plan, and the secret he’s kept from Laurence may burn them both. Kane Wilson is building a better world, leaving a trail of bodies as he goes. To him, no price is too high to create a future where psychics are out, proud, with no need to fear those who hate them. Through fate or fortune, Quentin is the psychic community’s last defense against Kane’s murderous plans and monstrous power. Where others have no choice but to obey Kane’s every word, only Quentin can shrug off Kane's compulsion. Quentin alone can walk into the fire, but not even Laurence's prophetic gifts can say whether he will emerge unburned.

Blood Reunion by JCM Berne

People are dying, their corpses left savaged and drained of blood. The obvious culprit: vampires. But vampires shouldn’t be able to sneak around Wistful undetected or shadowstep freely inside her body. Soon the station herself becomes oddly uncooperative, leaving Rohan and Wei Li bewildered and all her inhabitants in danger. Finding and defeating the killer will require a deep dive into the ancient history of Wistful and of the il’Drach people. Into the connections between the Ursans, the wormholes, and the races that preceded them. Into the dark past of a tormented space station that yearns only for death. Rohan will be forced to fight, and maybe even to kill. He’ll have to face those who bear grudges from his past, the Empire he once served, and his own reluctance to again become the warrior he sometimes needs to be.

The Push by T. C. Parker

A 20 year old crime. A 40 year old mystery. And a deadly threat in the here and now. El Gardener thinks she’s finished with the con - that she can walk away from the life of crime she’s lived since childhood. But when a murderous attacker emerges out of nowhere and the people closest to her are threatened, she’s left with no choice but to take on one final, very dangerous job - and get her whole crew back together to defend her family. With the terrible legacy of the last job they worked together still haunting them, they’ll travel halfway across the world to trap their mark, from the moors of North Yorkshire to the San Francisco Peninsula - confronting long-buried secrets, an unspeakable crime and an old enemy intent on taking his revenge on the women who’ve wronged him. For El and her team, the clock is ticking - and the sins of the past are about to come calling.

Sordidez by E.G. Condé

Vero has always felt at odds with his community. As a trans man in near-future Puerto Rico, he struggles to gain acceptance for his identity and his vision of an inclusive society. After a hurricane decimates the island and Puerto Rico is abandoned by the United States, Vero leaves his home to petition the centralized government for aid and seek the truth about new colonists arriving on the island. But in the Yucatan, Vero finds a landscape ravaged by an ecological disaster of humanity’s own making—the Hydrophage, a climate technology warped into a weapon of war and released onto the land by the dictator Caudillo. Amidst the destruction, Vero finds both desperation and hope for regrowth as he documents the lives of the survivors. Details about the colonists’ intentions emerge when Vero meets the Loba Roja, an anti-Caudillo revolutionary who imagines the renewed power of the Maya. Intrigued by her vision of the future and her unapologetic violence, Vero is faced with life-changing questions: can an Indigenous resurgence protect his beloved island? And what must he sacrifice to support it?

The Oracle Stone by Talli L. Morgan

SOME LEGENDS NEVER DIE. Jekku Aj’ere can see everything from the start of time to the end, and it’s an agonizing curse. His only chance to bargain for freedom is to find the Oracle Stone, a magic artifact that was split into four pieces and hidden centuries ago. Lilya Noor wants to forget her past and be immortal, so she agrees to a blood oath that will grant her eternal life if she delivers the Oracle Stone to her Master of Magic. Failure is not an option, but what if the stone offers a better deal than simple immortality? Vaeltaja Ievisin has one chance for redemption: the Second Savior. Presenting the Savior and the lost Oracle Stone to his gods will end his banishment, but the Savior isn’t at all what Taja expected, and neither is the stone. And how much is forgiveness worth, anyway, when the gods are never satisfied? There are higher powers at play, and Jekku, Lilya, and Taja must pull themselves together or risk losing their magic and their lives to the vengeful spirits trapped in the stone. But it’s hard to prevent a magical catastrophe when you can’t trust anyone, including yourself, and certainly not the gods.

The Sword in the Street by C.M. Caplan

SPFBO7

Trial by battle is a holy rite on Hillside. Hired blades bleed their foes in savage duels, settling everything from petty grievances to the corporate laws that keep their citizens in line. Embroiled in these cutthroat political games is John Chronicle, an impoverished swordsman with no better prospects, seeking the duel that will free him from the Dregs. Meanwhile, John’s boyfriend Edwin, an autistic university student, befriends a fellow scholar who claims to study the arcane art of thaumaturgy. When she offers to teach Edwin this subtle magic, he hopes that he can use it to bolster John’s skill with a blade. But thaumaturgy is a dangerous magic, and the forces that drive it have other plans. The couple soon find themselves entangled in the web of intrigue surrounding the swordsmen and their sponsors, and they’re forced to question how bloody they’re willing to get to escape poverty — and they don’t come away with the same answer.

The First Herald by Carol T. Luna

SPSFC 2024

What price would you pay to protect your country? When his city burned around him, Zacharias Eld swore on his life it would never happen again. Sworn in as the First Herald, there is no camera he cannot access, no idle chatter he cannot hear. No secrets he cannot unearth. But a break-in at a lab reveals the hole in the network he spent seven years to build. Worse, the evidence is contaminated, the suspects missing, and the innocent refuse to speak. Zach soon finds himself in a world he thought he had purged years ago, festering in the shadows he once scoured. As the layers of the conspiracy peel back, so too, does the safety of Zach those around him. Either Zach finds the culprit or he will witness the fall of the city he’d spent his life to protect.

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne

SPFBO8 SPSFC 2022 SPSFC 2023

A superhero space opera for grownups. For fans of Invincible and Marvel Cinematic Universe films who like a little hard science fiction in their superheroes.
If Thor and Harry Dresden combined in a transporter accident.

Kinship and Kindness by Kara Jorgensen

Bennett Reynard needs one thing: to speak to the Rougarou about starting a union for shifters in New York City before the delegation arrives. When his dirigible finally lands in Louisiana, he finds the Rougarou is gone and in his stead is his handsome son, Theo, who seems to care for everyone but himself. Hoping he can still petition the Rougarou, Bennett stays only to find he is growing dangerously close to Theo Bisclavret.Theo Bisclavret thought he had finally come to terms with never being able to take his father’s place as the Rougarou, but with his father stuck in England and a delegation of werewolves arriving in town, Theo’s quiet life is thrown into chaos as he and his sister take over his duties. Assuming his father’s place has salted old wounds, but when a stranger arrives offering to help, Theo knows he can’t say no, even if Mr. Reynard makes him long for things he had sworn off years ago.As rivals arrive to challenge Theo for power and destroy the life Bennett has built, they know they must face their greatest fears or risk losing all they have fought for. With secrets threatening to topple their worlds, can Theo and Bennett let down their walls before it’s too late?

Hotel Fen by Meri Benson, Marie Sinadjan

The Shining meets Norse mythology in this tale of star-crossed romances, ancient prophecies, and revenge. Are you ready for the vacation of a lifetime? Victor has always had a passion for Norse history and mythology, but after hitting a dead end with his book on valkyries, not even that passion is enough to move him forward. Just when he's ready to abandon the project, he receives an email: he's won a free trip to Hotel Fen, a remote vintage resort in the Scandinavian Mountains. Silje has always felt that her life was fairly unremarkable. She cares deeply about people and that has led her to find her purpose at a nursing home in Oslo. When a resident dies and leaves her an all-expense paid vacation package to Hotel Fen, however, she takes the opportunity to experience something different. It all starts innocently enough, with a little meet-cute in the hotel elevator that takes forever to arrive on their floor. But the longer Victor and Silje remain together, the more dangerous the hotel becomes, and the more they question where reality ends and the impossible begins.

Through Dry Places by D.H. Gutierrez

An old Spanish mission lies beneath the surface of a serene Texas lake, its secrets hidden for decades. The receding waters of a drought expose its ruins and it becomes the source of inspiration for Matthew, an urban explorer struggling to maintain his once-popular video channel. Determined to make it his next big video, Matthew sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding San Lazaro. But as he delves deeper into the decrepit halls and forgotten rooms, he finds himself face-to-face with his own fears.

Hopesgrave Easily by Francis O’Dowd

Welcome to Fernlaith Hill. Where every window is black, water glows in the dark, and brothers tumble from the sky. Old ladies keep monsters in sheds, amateur surgeons practise in sculleries, and warhorses ride the skies. Soon those warhorses will blow you up, the surgeons will slice you open, and the monsters will tear you apart. But it’s your big brother you’ll really need to watch out for ... He’ll scare the ears off you. Featuring an exclusive foreword by acclaimed bus driver Baldomero Izquierdo, and over 60 stunning illustrations, this dark urban fairy tale is a must for anyone who’s ever been beleaguered, bejumbled, or fed to a monster. Can be read as a standalone novel or as part of the series.

Defiant by Michael R. Miller

The great powers are stirring, and Holt and Ash are ready to return to the fight. A summons from the Life Elder sets them on a perilous mission, leading to steaming jungles and blistering islands where ancient secrets will challenge everything they know of magic and dragons. Talia, the Red Queen, is beset on all sides by pirate raiders and marauding mercenaries. Empress Skadi has abandoned her, battling uprisings in her own lands. As the noose tightens on Feorlen, Talia faces a difficult choice: let her people suffer or turn her powers against moral foes? Osric Agravain has found hope with his newly bonded black dragon, but some wounds run deeper than flesh and bone. Along the Fallow Frontier, he seeks the inner peace that has long eluded him. And within the sanctum at Falcaer, Paragon Adaskar is struggling to unite the fracturing riders. If he fails, ruinous chaos will break across the world. For when Elders and Paragons quarrel, kingdoms fall.

Daughters of Tith by J. Patricia Anderson

SPFBO9

The kandar are the children of the trees. Powerful. Immutable. Nine hundred eternal beings who need no sleep nor sustenance, created at the beginning of time to guard the nine human Earths. That was never meant to change. The youngest of five sisters, Tchardin is about to be acknowledged as queen of the kandar. She must lead them in their Creator-given Purpose–to guide and inspire the humans–but her people have been exiled to their homeworld for generations. None of them have seen the Earths. Not one of them has met a human. Tchardin can think of no way to end their exile until a strange longing calls her from beyond the shore of their island. Most of her sisters tell her to ignore it, to take her place as queen and focus on the kandar. One suggests she answer it, as it might be the key to finally returning her people to their Purpose.

EXODUS 20:3 by Freydís Moon

Religious eroticism and queer emancipation meet in a claustrophobic monster-romance about divinity, sexuality, and freedom. When Diego López is guilted by his mother into taking a low-key construction job in New Mexico, he doesn’t expect to be the only helping hand at Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. But the church is abandoned, decrepit, and off the beaten path, and the only other person for miles is its handsome caretaker, Ariel Azevedo. Together, Diego and Ariel refurbish the old church, sharing stories of their heritage, experiences, and desires. But as the long days turn into longer nights, Diego begins to see past Ariel’s human mirage and finds himself falling into lust—and maybe something else—with one of God’s first creations.

The Feast of the Innocents by Colin Harker

In the spirit of Mary Shelley and Thomas Ligotti, a new novel that unites the charismatic, scheming villains and chilling atmosphere of classic Gothic horror with visceral, supernatural terrors and historical intrigue... Winter 1665. Cyrus flees England to escape the human monster who murdered his father, but the horrors of Laughlin Priory are as inescapable. Pursued by a mysterious killer from France — haunted by a one-eyed chimney sweeper with sinister motives and an insatiable curiosity — in the Priory, Cyrus learns some secrets are worse than death.