Lipstick Covered Magnet by Amber Herbert

She’s running from her past. He’s hoping to become her present. Skylar has avoided the past for three years. She can’t be plagued by guilt and regret if she never has time to process what happened. When a song triggers the memories she’s tried so hard to bury, she knows she can’t run anymore. Despite her ex being gone, he’s hiding in the quiet and stillness. There’s no escape. Connor has always been passionate. If he’s into you, he will follow you to the ends of the earth. Sure, his fixation once ended in a restraining order, but that was just one girl. When he meets Skylar, he feels that same itch. Despite her attempts to brush him off, he increases his efforts—even if that means tracking her movements and stalking her online. He knows he’ll win her over if he’s persistent. As Skylar does her best to heal, Connor sinks further into obsession. Lipstick Covered Magnet is a genre-bending debut that weaves the intricacies of healing with delusion and suspense. For fans of You and I May Destroy You *Content warning: contains sexual assault, mentions of suicide, and stalking.

Scribbles and Scrawls: A Short Story Collection by Bethany Votaw

Bethany Votaw gives you sixteen short stories featuring the darkness and the monsters surrounding us. Experience the uncomfortable realities lurking beneath the surface. Meet a devil at a coffee shop, discover what the Night Man is really after, and stumble upon strange creatures and events lurking just beneath the surface. If you like supernatural horror, psychological thrills, and mind-bending twists, then you’ll love this debut short story collection by Bethany Votaw. Unlock Scribbles and Scrawls and begin the journey into madness.

Blanky by Kealan Patrick Burke

In the wake of his infant daughter's tragic death, Steve Brannigan is struggling to keep himself together. Estranged from his wife, who refuses to be inside the house where the unthinkable happened, and unable to work, he seeks solace in an endless parade of old sitcoms and a bottle of bourbon. Until one night he hears a sound from his daughter's old room, a room now stripped bare of anything that identified it as hers...except for her security blanket, affectionately known as Blanky. Blanky, old and frayed, with its antiquated patchwork of badly sewn rabbits with black button eyes, who appear to be staring at the viewer... Blanky, purchased from a strange old man at an antique stall selling "BABY CLOSE" at a discount. The presence of Blanky in his dead daughter's room heralds nothing short of an unspeakable nightmare that threatens to take away what little light remains in Steve's shattered world. Because his daughter loved Blanky so much, he buried her with it. A new novella from the Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of SOUR CANDY and KIN.

3 by T.P. Theyson

Valerie Perittos is a best selling author with three problems. Her writers block has lasted for years with nothing able to inspire her and after her neighbor turns up dead, making the police question if she is responsible, she starts to see the number 3 everywhere she looks. As she watches her life descend into a thriller of its own, her unhealthy sleep patterns and past head trauma leave her wondering if the strange things she is experiencing are really happening or if she is hallucinating through her days and nights that have become a blur in her mind. Until the murderer is found, she cannot trust anyone, not even herself. T.P. Theyson delivers a mind bending, fast paced story full of twists and turns. With some obvious and other hidden numerical structures tucked into the text, your mind will reach to its limits to not investigate every line on it's own, making you feel closer to the main character than you thought possible while you read her inner thoughts and feel her fear rising.

The Glowing: 2 by Tom Rimer

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout... Six months have passed since the Bokai swarmed the Earth. Kamryn Coe, Quinn Flowers, and their friends are just trying to make it through. When Lucy has a dream that an old friend might still be alive, Kam runs head long into danger on a rescue mission. ...down came the rain and washed the spider out... With the group divided and dangers lurking around every corner, do they have any hope of surviving? Will Kam discover her truth? Or will she meet a sticky end? BEWARE THE SPIDER

When the Devil by Emma E. Murray

In When the Devil, Libby finds salvation in a new sapphic partner, homebrewed poison, and facing a God she no longer believes in.

Bring Her Home by R.N. Barbosa

Forbidden love… If Susana’s sister knew she was dating, she’d sequester her ass to the tallest tower so fast her head would spin. Her boyfriend is everything Cassandra hates, an Outcast and a biker, and it’s only a matter of time before their clandestine rendezvous blows up in her face. A missing sister… Fighting professionally might be Cassandra Dayan's livelihood, but it's her sister that's her life. When she comes home to a wrecked house and a missing sister, her desperate search upsets the brutally maintained balance of the North Californian coast. At any cost… Going against the Order is a death sentence, but doing nothing is not an option. Cassandra will find her sister even if it means endangering the lives of everyone who crosses her path or joins her cause. She doesn’t care who gets hurt or what promises get broken. All that matters is bringing her sister home.

The Glowing by Tom Rimer

Nice guys often finish last, but sometimes last is all that's left. Majestic Mount Greylock always cloaked the small berkshire town of Adams in its shadow...until now. Until the skies illuminated. Until the Glowing began. When Kamryn Coe, her disheveled teacher, and a group of geeks that'd put a comic convention to shame witness the destruction of their hometown, they must combat a land teeming with drooling alien hordes, while Kam faces the truth of her own birth and its connection to the catastrophe unfolding around her. Time travel, extraterrestrials, humanity's end. TIME TO SAVE THE WORLD.

One Road In by Hannah R. Palmer

'Some say, at night, you can see glowing eyes of fire between the trees, watching. Waiting...' Sadie’s younger brother Ben went missing 5 years ago. No one knows where he went. No one knows who, or what, took him. So explain the look of guilt on Sadie’s face when her mother called with the best news possible: Ben has come home. What does Sadie know about his disappearance? And what has her brother brought home with him? There’s something on the small island off the coast of Rose Bay, and its glowing amber eyes are making its presence known. Sadie needs to reconcile what happened all those years ago with where she finds herself now, before it has the chance to tear her family, and her hometown, apart again.

The Wolf in Me: Survive by Alex Smith

The 23rd century is nearing its end. Having been treated as subhuman (and worse) for over 300 years, the Wolves - a race of wolf-human hybrids - have reached their breaking point. With a clear threat of war rising daily, the US Military devises a plan to destroy the beasts they helped create. However, utilizing their intelligence and raw bestial instincts, the Wolves hatch a plan of their own: plunge the entire world into a war to end all wars! In the aftermath of a deadly airship crash, Percy - a six-year-old human boy - finds himself behind enemy lines; in the claws of the creatures he's been taught to fear his entire life. Xander - a twenty-eight-year-old elite black ops Wolf, finds himself with a very difficult choice to make; kill the innocent child he has found, or be ostracized by his own kind and protect the boy? What is a small, frail, boy to do when surrounded by beasts fighting to end his very existence? Survive!

The Headsman by Christina Mîrzoi

Take a glimpse into the world of a headsman, a gloomy village in which each dweller has a secret: an evil witch, a shrewd florist, a naive young man, a foreign merchant, a dreadful husband, a mischievous maid, and a lustful duke. These stories are intertwined, weaving a dark narrative of love, trickery, brutality, and loss. Under the bleak aesthetic, raw human emotions unravel themselves in a gripping story about moral decay. In a world that belongs to the wicked, how far can one walk this path while keeping a clean conscience? The Headsman is a collection of short stories that focus on interconnected characters, sometimes looking at the same event from a different perspective. As a genre, it falls somewhere under dark fiction territory.

The Fall by Ryan Cahill

The Order have watched over the continent of Epheria for thousands of years. But there are those who believe The Order has had its day. That it is corrupt, indulgent, and deceitful – that it is ready to fall. The City of Ilnaen is on fire. Dragons fill the skies. Traitors fill the streets. The Fall is a prequel novella that takes place four hundred years before the events in Of Blood and Fire – book one in The Bound and The Broken series

The Worthy by Anna K Moss

Blood is thicker than water. Tell that to Prince Barsten, betrayed and abandoned on foreign soil. His sister is intent on claiming the throne and he’s intent on stealing it back. One of them might succeed, if it weren’t for a sacred creature infecting people with its emotions. Rage, fear, paranoia, despair. As their country collapses, the royal siblings must stay true to themselves or find out just how thick their blood really is. Moss’s compelling debut novel dives into a desperate kingdom, full of intrigue, treachery and sapphic-longing. Fast-paced and awash with sinful characters and fetid settings, The Worthy is a must-read for all lovers of dark fantasy. Content warning: This novel contains scenes of violence, assault and occasional dialogue of a homophobic and racist nature. The opinions of the awful characters herein are not the authors own.

We’re All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden

SFINCS

When Anna is invited to a secluded retreat full of selfish, greedy humans, of course she doesn’t say no. Not only did she manipulate the CEO of the world’s largest oil corporation, Peter Beyer, into organising the four-day getaway in the first place, but no self-respecting vampire would ever turn down such easy prey. Her weekend gets even better when she meets Saira, one of Peter Beyer’s employees, and they begin a whirlwind affair. Blood and beautiful women are Anna’s idea of a great time. She should have known it was too good to be true. Hunters are dangerous, deadly, and dedicated to eradicating vampires. When a group of them turn up at the retreat, Anna must use her centuries of experience to escape their ever-closing net. Will she get out unscathed, or will they finally catch up to her? Will she give into her intense and unexpected feelings for Saira, or will she leave her to burn as she destroys all evidence she was ever there? A fresh twist on urban fantasy, with an added splash of sapphic romance.

The Hunt of the Pumpkin King by Rowena Andrews

Legend speaks of the Pumpkin King, a tale steeped in superstition and fear. But all legends carry a grain of truth, and autumn is coming. CW: Mild body horror, decapitation.

Ordinary World by Jack T Canis

'Life often boils down to simple questions with complex answers. Olivia Buchanan's question was simple, if twofold: 'Was sixteen year old Olivia Buchanan truly the culmination of a secret 30 year genome project, by a clandestine research organisation, to create the ultimate human in order to save humanity from itself? Or: Has she merely inherited her mother's delusional schizophrenia, spiralling her into a nightmarish hell created by a diseased and fractured mind?' Simple.

Anachrony by Susana Imaginário

Arianh had one wish. Yewlow made it real. And Time turned it into a regret. Anachrony takes you on a journey to the bleak future of Aegea and the darkest places of the mind. Can fate be avoided, or is the future just someone else's past?

She Is Coming by Midori Anzai

Salt merchant Seijiro doesn't know how he ended up alone and far from the Japanese Salt Road... ...nor why a yuki-onna is hunting him. As Seijiro braves freezing temperatures, he must piece together what has happened to him if he is to escape the yuki-onna's clutches. But the truth might just be colder than the air he breathes.

Disseverment by Z.C. Krol

When Tyler receives a mysterious letter in the mail from a man claiming to be his stepfather, he is suddenly plunged back into the nightmares of his past, and has to make an important decision that will change him forever. Disseverment is a psychological horror story not for the squeamish. Z.C. Krol lives in Ohio with his wife and dogs, and is working on another project. When he's not writing, he's probably watching a bad horror movie or reading something creepy. You can email him at zckrol.writing@gmail.com and he'll absolutely respond to you. You can also find him on this new website called Facebook. Bonus points if you send him horror memes.

It Haunts the Mind and Other Stories by Nick Roberts

Nick Roberts delves into the darkest corners of the soul, where horror meets raw emotion. Dive into the chilling depths of the human psyche with Nick Roberts, the acclaimed author behind bestsellers like The Exorcist’s House and Anathema. Presenting a collection of fifteen tales, It Haunts the Mind masterfully weaves horror with raw emotion, leaving an indelible mark on the reader's soul. From the malevolent presence in “Sally Under the Bed” and the eponymous “It Haunts the Mind” to the raw brutality of “The Noose” and “The Bitter End,” Roberts showcases his unparalleled ability to terrify. Yet, it’s not just supernatural dread that lurks in these pages. Stories like “Thanks for Sharing” and “The Weeping Wind” delve into the very real horrors of addiction and grief, while “The Paperboy” and “Voodoo Bay” introduce monsters that defy reality. John Durgin, author of The Cursed Among Us and Inside The Devil’s Nest, praises the collection, stating, “Come for the horror, stay for the heartbreaking emotion that bleeds into every page... It Haunts The Mind is that damn good.” James Aquilone, a Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor and writer, warns of the collection's potency: “Nick Roberts has an uncanny ability to scare the bejesus out of readers... Highly recommended if you don’t want to sleep in the dark again.” Perfect for aficionados of horror short stories, suspenseful tales, and narratives that explore the human condition, It Haunts the Mind is a testament to the power of storytelling, blending supernatural terror with the very real demons that haunt our lives. Whether you're drawn to tales of possession, substance abuse, or coming-of-age horror, this collection promises to both terrify and move you in equal measure. Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Marshbank by Josh Hanson

When a child goes missing, the spirit of the marsh takes on a corporeal form and teams up with the village witch to find the source of the evil haunting the nearby village. A dark fantasy of love, story, and the deep powers of place.

With a Blighted Touch by J. Todd Kingrea

In Scarburn County, Tennessee there is a small mountain community called Black Rock, known for its unusual and prevalent blight that affects all vegetation . . . When an unexpected death forces Christopher "Kit" McNeil to return to his small hometown in the Tennessee mountains after eighteen years, he must confront his past and a secret he's kept since he was twelve. A talented guitarist with a history of bad choices and even worse luck, Kit soon reunites with an old friend and learns about recent disappearances and mysterious deaths in the area. They begin to wonder if it's connected to what they witnessed in the woods when they were kids and if a creepy local family is involved. Stranger still, almost half of their high school graduating class has died. When more shredded bodies begin appearing, Kit becomes a suspect. But what he discovers is even more frightening-evil has set its sights on him and his friends and it won't stop until it gets what it needs. Can Kit and his friends band together in time to stop this ancient evil? Or will a new reign of terror that the Cherokee once called Uyaga be unleashed to roam the earth once more?

Phantom by Helen Power

Would you sell your hand for a million dollars? Regan "Roz" Osbourne is broke. Her ex-boyfriend won't take no for an answer, and no one is taking her artwork seriously. So when a mysterious stranger offers her a million dollars and safety from her unstable ex in exchange for her left hand, she can't afford to refuse. ​ Immediately following the amputation, she's racked with insufferable phantom limb pain. Desperate for relief, she enrolls in an experimental drug trial. But this drug has a peculiar side effect—she develops a psychic connection to her missing limb. She soon discovers that Chicago's long-dormant Phantom Strangler is now wearing her hand and is using it . . . to kill.

Stag by Lane Oliver

Franklin is like any family man. Struggling to get by, he works as a mechanic in a small town to support his wife, Sharlene, and son, Jason. But as we get to know him more closely, and find out more about his past, we discover that there is more to him than meets the eye, and first impressions can be misleading. As his marriage with his wife takes a turn, and his behaviour becomes stranger and stranger, shocking events begin to happen across town, calling in to question just how Franklin will be able to cope, and what lengths he's willing to go to turn his luck around. Stag is a gripping novella that tackles trust and loss, making the reader question their own judgements at times, and overall proves to be a thrilling tale that will stay with you long after the book has been closed.

Helpless: A Short Story Collection by Tiffany Christina Lewis

WriteHive Book Club

A Short Story Collection Women are powerful and can be rational thinkers under pressure. They can also be devious and vengeful. A woman is not just a ball of emotion. Women can fight, they can protect, and they can win. These eight stories of women kicking ass, standing tall, and refusing to be victims are Tiffany’s opposition to the tropes of true crime. With stories from five genres including Paranormal, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance, and Crime Fiction, you are sure to find a story you love. Content warnings: https://tiffanychristinalewis.com/2021/02/25/helpless-warnings/

Son of Thunder by James Jakins

Berun Toirnach is a prince, a priest, and a mage. With the power of Lightning he fights to protect what is important to him. When Berun’s friends and family are put in danger the young prince must rely on his power and his allies, old and new, to save them. With him is his father's most trusted bodyguard, a disgraced assassin known for his skill and ruthless precision. A young God Mage and her companions, linked together with powerful magic. And a coward with a power he's afraid to use. All of them will be needed to save those threatened. But time is against them and their enemies have secrets of their own.

The Swordsman's Lament (The Royal Champion Book 1) by G.M. White

SPFBO6

When a prince is murdered, a legendary swordsman stands accused. The King wants blood . . . and loyalty counts for nothing. Belasko thought he was beyond intrigues and machinations. But when the grief-stricken King demands vengeance, Belasko discovers he is expendable. His options are clear... find the real killer or satisfy the royal bloodlust. With the forces of the palace mobilised against him he is thrust into the city’s bleak underbelly and must fight to discover the truth. With betrayal around every corner he must form unlikely alliances. Can the veteran warrior survive long enough to protect his friends and prove his innocence? Join Belasko on a fast-paced fantasy adventure as he hunts the real killer, from courtly intrigue to the depths of the city’s criminal underworld, and learns the true meaning of The Swordsman’s Lament.

Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar

SPFBO7 Indie Recs Indie SPFBO Finalist

Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong? Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared? Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

Three Meant To Be by M N Bennet

Telepathic high school teacher Dorian prepares teen witches for professional casting because going in unprepared is what killed one of his partners. But new state mandates on magical proficiency make it nearly impossible, and Dorian worries he can’t give his students the education they really need. Seeking a distraction from work, Dorian kisses his still-living on-again off-again clairvoyant boyfriend, Milo. Instead of a distraction, Dorian glimpses Milo’s vague vision involving the murder of Caleb—one of Dorian’s new students. Already devastated by the loss of his partner, Dorian refuses to stand aside and let Caleb die. He searches for clues by delving into Caleb’s mind. Rooting through Caleb’s memories alongside teaching classes leads Dorian to two more students: Caleb’s ex-best friend turned rival and the prodigy with connections to dangerous warlocks. However, each step further into his students’ minds forces Dorian to confront his deteriorating relationship with Milo. After discovering a link involving illegal casting, Dorian resolves to work with Milo to prevent the impending vision. To succeed, Dorian will have to explore the potential of a future with Milo and find closure on their third partner, whose loss looms between them. But meddling with fate to save Caleb inadvertently draws the warlocks near, putting all his students in danger. Dorian will have to risk his life and gamble his second chance with Milo to keep his students alive.

Broken Wings and Buried Secrets: A Short Story Collection by Bethany Votaw

This short story collection offers a glimpse into some of the mind's darkest and strangest corners. It features the lies we tell ourselves, the truths we pretend to face, the pain we inflict on our family, and the shadows we try to outrun. It explored the complex family dynamics and secrets. The collection includes 25 stories, including micro-fiction, flash fiction, and short stories

From the Ashes by B. S. H. Garcia

SFINCS

The civil war ends now. Igtheos and his rebels have fought tirelessly against a would-be dictator and his army for almost two years. The city they’ve holed up in has become a prison, soon to be a tomb if they cannot arrange a means of escape. When the enemy leader offers an armistice that’s too good to be true, Igtheos reluctantly accepts, thinking it will buy him enough time to smuggle those loyal to him out of the city. But he quickly learns the cost of choosing hope over caution as he finds himself caught in his enemy’s sinister plan, fighting a final unexpected battle. Failure means death, or worse, the loss of his loved ones. And he only has one night to determine everyone’s fate. From the Ashes is a prequel novelette that takes place over two thousand years prior to the events in Of Thieves and Shadows—volume one in the epic fantasy series, The Heart of Quinaria.

A Canticle of War by Steven Raaymakers

When the world is threatened with total destruction, can warchildren unite to save it? A grim story of trauma and power with a Sanderson-esque magic system. In this epic conclusion, all bets are off as Raziel and his rag-tag crew must finally come together against the rising dark power. If death doesn’t find them first. The city of Archehan lies in ruins, banshees circle the crumbling towers. Famine and violence spread across the fallen kingdom. An empire marches its armies to war. Ancient magics are stirring, woken by Raziel’s choices. With the fate of the world in their hands, will Raziel and his companions find the way forward through the darkness, or will they be the architects of their own doom? The ‘Aria of Steel Trilogy’ is a heavy-metal power ballad of clashing blades, blood-soaked betrayal, and sweet revenge. Join the fight today!

Keeper of the Fallen by Alyssa Lauseng

"The spirits have placed a very important task in your hands." A massacre. An escape. Sonika could have been a warrior and a leader if she hadn't been ripped from her homeland as a child. As the last of the Okami, she will never stop fighting for her right to live. Stalking the shadows is the only world Kulako knows. Heart filled with hatred, death by his blade is inevitable, but who he is beneath that darkness longs for something else. When a twist of fate forces their lives to collide, their choices may be enough to hold back the merciless coils of the Giahatio. But not even the will of the Gods can stop the will of the Emperor.

Roots and Steel by Casey White

SPFBO9

Where monsters go, hunters follow. Hunters of the guild wait all year for the Festival of Knives, when they put their skills to the test and claim new ranks with every fiend they slay. Trapped helping the family business instead of pursuing his own career, Trellin has never been allowed to participate. But when he risks expulsion to sneak out and claim a kill beyond his rank, his hunt is spotted by a senior guildmember. Rather than turn him in, she offers him a chance for freedom: Join her, and sail to the distant isle of Deldynne to compete in the bloody race for the rank of Guildmaster. If they can kill the monster that calls Deldynne home before the other teams do, he'll soar to new heights as apprentice to the leader of the Hunter’s Guild. But not everyone wants his new mentor to be Guildmaster - and if they fail, neither will leave that island alive.

Mistletoe & Mishigas by M.A. Wardell

Beauty and the Bear: Can these opposites fake their way into something real? Sheldon Soleskin should be having a horrible day. Even though he’s been unexpectedly transferred to a new school right before the holidays, has only one day to set up his new classroom, and just discovered his twin sister's been hiding an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s Christmas Eve wedding, he’s still ready to take on the world with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. Theo Berenson just wants to be left alone to his custodial duties. But when the chipper new first-grade teacher needs help moving furniture the Sunday after Thanksgiving, he's forced to do something he detests. Help. To make matters worse, Theo's overbearing parents are coming for Hanukah in a few weeks, and he's told them he has a boyfriend. Except he doesn't. Because who would want to date an oaf like Theo? Working together, these opposites discover they might be able to help each other out. Agreeing to be each other’s dates, they become friends as they practice for their upcoming events. But when all the rehearsing starts feeling a little too real, and both men's pasts come roaring back to haunt them, will they be able to pull off the ultimate holiday masquerade?

Legacy (Scion Book 1) by Jay Reace

Years after fleeing their homeland, Xolani and Raine have finally been able to find peace. However, that peace is shattered when receiving a royal command to return and answer for what they've done for so long age. Do they take their children and flee or do anwser the call and fight?

The Legend of Black Jack by A. R. Witham

SFFOasis SPFBO9

Thrilling fantasy adventure debut from Emmy-winner A. R. Witham. Jack Swift can tell you every element on the periodic table, recite Treasure Island verbatim, and would remember in perfect detail every word you’d ever say to him. He has been alone for a long time, so he has buried himself in books, using them to plan his escape. But no textbook could ever prepare him for the land of Keymark. At 3:33 a.m. on his fourteenth birthday, Jack is kidnapped by a hideous monster to another sphere of existence. Now there are two moons in the sky, and he is surrounded by grotesque creatures and magical warriors training for battle. They want the impossible: Jack must use his abilities to save a life or be trapped in this bizarre world with no chance of rescue. Jack doesn’t have secret magic, a great destiny, or any experience. So why do they all expect him to become a legend?

Cthulhu Armageddon by C.T. Phipps

“Under an alien sky where gods of eldritch matter rule, the only truth is revenge.” CTHULHU ARMAGEDDON is the story of a world 100 years past the rise of the Old Ones which has been reduced to a giant monster-filled desert and pockets of human survivors (along with Deep Ones, ghouls, and other “talking” monsters). John Henry Booth is a ranger of one of the largest remaining city-states when he’s exiled for his group’s massacre and suspicion he’s “tainted.” Escaping with a doctor who killed her husband, John travels across the Earth’s blasted alien ruins to seek the life of the man who killed his friends. It’s the one thing he has left.

The Wild Court by E. G. Radcliff

SFFOasis

What perils await on the other side of the veil? In the seventh year of Áed's reign, night descends on the autumn festival. But a time of revelry turns into one of fiery destruction—as fae pour across the veil and the Gut becomes a battlefield in an otherworldly war. Determined to protect his kingdom and the people he loves, Áed finds himself catapulted into a realm as unfamiliar as it is dangerous, where magic is king and wild courts vie for supremacy. While the faerie Queen's missing consort holds the key to life and death, tenuous alliances raise questions about Áed’s connection to the mysterious Bone Court. His survival hinges on cunning as much as illusion. On a mission like no other, only one thing is certain: no one will survive unscathed.

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair

SFFOasis SPSFC

Michael Duckett is fed up with his life. His job is a drag, and his roommate and best friend of fifteen years, Stephanie Dyer, is only making him more anxious with her lazy irresponsibility. Things continue to escalate when they face the threat of imminent eviction from their palatial 5th floor walk-up and find that someone has been plastering ads all over the city for their Detective Agency. The only problem is: He and Stephanie don’t have one of those. Despite their baffling levels of incompetence, Stephanie eagerly pursues this crazy scheme and drags Michael, kicking and screaming, into the fray only to find that they are way out of their depth. They stumble upon a web of missing people that are curiously linked to a sexually audacious theoretical physicist and his experiments with the fabric of space-time. And unless Michael and Stephanie can put their personal issues aside and fix the multi-verse, the concept of existence itself may, ironically, no longer exist.

Snow Merry Red by Nadya Frank

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This book pulled me out of a month-long reading slump!" Facebook reviewer How do you survive the holidays when someone from your family is trying to kill you? Holidays have always been hard on Viola: the scrutiny of her family members, their comments about her parenting, her drinking, her failing career… She expects all this as she arrives to yet another Christmas dinner. What she doesn’t expect is to find herself locked in a basement of the family’s country house in Moscow exurbs without memories of how she ended up here. Clearly, someone from her family attempted to get rid of her. But who? After freeing herself, Viola is committed to find the answer. As the family members arrive into the house for the New Year’s night—Russia’s most important winter holiday—Viola knows she can’t trust anyone. She recruits a con artist Zoya Volkova to help her. Together, they untangle the web of the family’s darkest secrets, malicious lies and heartbreaking betrayals. But as the year changes and Viola’s memory returns, she and Zoya aren’t looking for the truth anymore. Now, they need to survive. This dark page-turner with unpredictable twists is perfect for fans of Laura Lippman, Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Gardner. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Engaging and fast paced” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I never saw the twist coming!" Advance reader

Errant by Montrez

16 year old Savannah becomes New York's most wanted while struggling to reclaim her life after the devastating loss of her father. As things continue going downhill Savannah witnesses an impossible phenomenon that triggers the emergence of a wild and powerful gift. While being hunted she finds refuge in a group of ragtag misfits. A Supernatural war is coming and Savannah will need to adapt to her new world or die trying.

Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

SOME BALLADS ARE INKED IN BLOOD. Bled dry by violent confrontations with the Magadhan Empire, the Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion. Krishna and Satyabhama have put their plans in motion within and beyond the Republic's blood-soaked borders to protect it from annihilation. But they will soon discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever. They are however not alone in this game. Mati, Pirate-Princess of Kalinga, has decided to mend her ways to be a good wife. But old habits die hard, especially when one habitually uses murder to settle old scores. Brooding but beautiful Karna hopes to bury his brutal past but finds that destiny is a miser when it comes to giving second chances. The crippled hero-turned-torturer Shakuni limps through the path of daggers that is politics only to find his foes multiply, leaving little time for vengeance. Their lives are about to become very difficult for a cast of sinister queens, naive kings, pious assassins and ravenous priests are converging where the Son of Darkness is prophesied to rise, even as forgotten Gods prepare to play their hand

The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards

As Rune Saint John grapples with the challenges of assuming the Sun Throne, a powerful barrier appears around New Atlantis’ famed rejuvenation center. But who could have created such formidable magic . . . what do they want from the immortality clinic . . . and what remains of the dozens trapped inside? Though Rune and his lifelong bodyguard Brand are tasked with investigating the mysterious barrier, Rune is also busy settling into his new life at court. Claiming his father’s throne has irrevocably thrown him into the precarious world of political deception, and he must secure relationships with newfound allies in time to keep his growing found family safe. His relationship with his lover, Addam Saint Nicholas, raises additional political complications they must navigate. But he and Brand soon discover that the power behind the barrier holds a much more insidious, far-reaching threat to his family, to his people, and to the world. Now, the rulers of New Atlantis must confront an enemy both new and ancient as the flow of time itself is drawn into the conflict. And as Rune finds himself inexorably drawn back to the fall of his father’s court and his own torture at the hands of masked conspirators, the secrets that he has long guarded will be dragged into the light—changing the Sun Throne, and New Atlantis, forever. The climax of the first trilogy in the nine-book Tarot Sequence, The Hourglass Throne delivers epic urban fantasy that blends humor, fast-paced action, and political intrigue.

The Soul's Aspect by Mark Holloway

SPFBO8

A healer forced to become a killer for an empire that would grind his country to dust. Kehlem, the sickly son of a widowed physician, has devoted his life to learning his father’s craft. Wanting to finally step out of his father’s shadow, he embarks on a project of his own, seeking out the help of Themia, the town's newly arrived Alchemist and a rare wielder of magic. But Themia has secrets of her own, secrets carried from the heart of the empire itself, secrets that would steal Kehlem away from his home and into the empire’s Academy for magic users. The Isale Academy beckons, but can Kehlem survive the academy and its brutal regime? And if so, what would he have to become?

Gold, Lock and Key by E J Doble

From grimdark author E J Doble, comes a fairytale with a dark twist... "All it needs, is a bit of tenacity... and three little bears." Goldie, an outlaw and contract hunter of the Baron's State, accepts a new assignment from her employer to find an old cabin in the woods, home to three 'shapeshifters' who can morph into bears. Considered to be little more than a myth, Goldie assumes at first that the shapeshifters are an exaggeration - but with the sizeable bounty her employer is offering, she soon realises there may be more truth in it than she realised. And that isn't the only thing on her mind: she discovers her main rival - a manipulative and incredibly cunning trapper named Southey - has also taken on the contract, and will be contending for the same bounty she so fervently desires. Having waited many long years to have her revenge and outsmart Southey for past mistakes, Goldie sees the new contract as a perfect opportunity to do so. All she has to do is play her cards just right. And kill three bears...

The Crew by Sadir S. Samir

SPFBO9

Kings of the Wyld meets Deadpool in this action-packed fantasy adventure set in an Arab-inspired landscape. Varcade fled to the deserts of Harrah to escape his past as an Educator, a member of an order of zealot warrior-monks that aims to shape the world according to their sacred Teachings by force. Varcade makes his living as a reckless sword-for-hire, caring only about himself, until his self-centered lifestyle is turned on its head when he is contracted to recruit a misfit team of unruly assassins and take out the mighty Bone Lord of Akrab. But the Bone Lord is aware of the plot and sends her band of Dusters to stop them; individuals who have gained bizarre and lethal magical powers by snorting the pulverised bones of dead gods. Hunted by Educators and Dusters in a city-state where an escalating conflict between the human and demon population threatens to boil over in a civil war, will Varcade and his ragtag crew save Akrab from the cruel Bone Lord, or will they make things even worse?

Tracker by Bethany Votaw

A young detective desperate to fix his mistake. A recluse pulled from the woods. A murderer on the run. Detective Adam Reis has everything to prove and mistakes to fix. He enlists the help of local search and rescue and an unlikely tracker to help him find a murderer who fled into the winter Montana wilderness. An old recluse, Clay, comes out of the forest when asked to be a tracker. Clay has his own secrets to hide but reluctantly agrees to help the young detective. Will these two unlikely men work together to track a dangerous man through the fierce terrain and snow? Or will their own secrets be their downfall?

The Seventh Cadence by Jim Wilbourne

SPFBO8

An action-packed epic fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, and Michael J. Sullivan After a supernatural and unforeseen calamity shatters the tentative alliance of the five realms, the Deseran Dominion has returned to take back their homeland and restore their oppressive regime. As the Dominion readies their troops for invasion, the fate of the entire world rests in the hands of a fugitive scientist, a powerful pacifist, and an unseasoned prince with little to guide them but their own ideals. With the freedom of a kingdom at risk, each must find their place in a world torn asunder. The Seventh Cadence is a sweeping high fantasy epic of war, found family, and reckoning with fate.

Jenni’s Boy by Lewis J. Lewin

Jenni’s Boy follows Luke as he grows up, struggling to tell the woman that he has loved since high school how he truly feels. As he fails to communicate with her, other problems take ahold of him in life, and she drifts away, but she is ever present in his mind. His old friends fade away, and even his family members start to go their own paths. He realizes just how important communication is in relationships.