Empire of Ash and Blood by Matthew Thompson

Matias De Laurentiis, Ablaze champion 2019, learns his loved ones perished at the hands of the Cult of Ra, a renegade faction out to eradicate bloodmans. But before seeking those responsible, he must escape the Ablaze Haven—the first to do so. Meanwhile, Luna Adjani’s entrapment of human dominance pushes her tolerance to new limits. With inner strength, aided by her faith, she embarks on her purpose. But to see it, first she must survive the tournament of Ablaze—claimed the greatest show on earth. Their lives are destined for change in the Pretorius Empire of 2043, Egypt. They are not alone; a Bloodman Rights inspector breaks protocol to aid the insurgent uprising; and an empress consort, after over twenty years in her role, debates whether to risk abandoning the emperor and his empire.

Stud Like Her by Fiona Zedde

Chance has been in love only once, but it wasn’t with the girlfriend she stayed with for far too long. The same girlfriend who dropped Chance when she became too inconvenient. Or maybe just boring. To bury her disappointment, Chance tries to return to the woman she loved back when she was too afraid to be herself. A stud attracted to other studs. Instead of her old love, though, Chance finds Garett: a new and persistent admirer with the kind of swagger that leaves Chance weak in the knees. Garett is hot and very popular with her half a million followers on social media. She’s also a lot younger than Chance is used to. Not to mention there’s something familiar about her, something dangerous, that Chance can’t quite put her finger on.

Empress and Soldier by Marian L Thorpe

A boy of the night-time streets. A girl of libraries and learning. Druisius, the son of a merchant, is sixteen when his father’s cruel order drives him from home and into the danger and intrigue of the military. Eudekia, a scholar’s daughter, educated and dutiful, is not meant to be a prince’s bride. In an empire at war, and in a city beset by famine and unrest, she must prove herself worthy of its throne. A decade after a first, brief meeting, their lives intersect again. When a delegation arrives from the lost West, Druisius is assigned to guard them. In the span of a few weeks, a young captain will capture the hearts of both Empress and soldier in very different ways, offering a future neither could have foreseen. A stand-alone novel that can also serve as a second entry point into the Empire series. No previous knowledge of my fictional world is needed.

Amethyst Dragon by Eileen Mueller

When Lars is chosen to be the harpist for Master Mage Giddi’s wedding at Dragon’s Hold, he’s honored to play for the mages, dragon riders and the mighty dragons who rule the realm. He vows one day he’ll also be a dragon rider and sore through the skies to protect Dragons’ Realm – and Lydia, the girl he loves. Then strange new monsters attack Spanglewood Settlement, and Lars must fight the village council to ensure their people are defended. Frustrated when the leaders won’t listen, Lars takes matters into his own hands. But when he imprints with an amethyst dragon deep in Great Spanglewood Forest, Lars never suspects his actions could cost him the woman he loves. And as he’s drawn deeper into danger, he’s faced with choices that will shred his heart.

The 13th Zodiac by L. Krauch

SPFBO8

The 13th Zodiac is a High Fantasy, slow-burn romance with a hint of Anime. Originally, L. Krauch wrote it as a comic book in High school. Now, 20 years, and three kids later, she sat down and wrote a novel. So, grab some tea, slice up an apple, and enjoy this mulit-PoV journey 20 years in the making. Running from his past finally catches up to Jase Raion, an ex-member of the Ashen Guard and the Crown Prince of Chall. After settling on the island of Aria, he receives an unexpected contract: The lost princess of Aria was discovered living in the port town of Brighton, on the outskirts of the island Kingdom. A trip to the markets in Brighton ends abruptly as Liya Fairaway stumbles into Jase. She vanishes in the busy marketplace when Jase realizes who she is, the lost princess of Aria and the bearer of the 13th Zodiac: Eternity. And his target. Something ancient pulls them together, a bond that neither can deny. Reluctantly at first, Jase joins Liya and the other Zodiac to end the threat of Soren Raion, the King of Chall. Time is not on their side, and Fate has other plans. Content warning Dear readers, the content within this novel will include detailed descriptions of violence (including guns, axes, and even some by hand), death, and mental illness (there is a character who has an unhealthy infatuation with another), as well as attempted sexual assault, use of alcohol, and foul language which might be harmful to some readers.

The Case Files of Sheridan Bell: The Vanishing Beast by Em Rowene

A strange woman comes to Detective Bell with an even stranger problem: she’s about to be arrested for murder and needs Detective Bell to clear her name. When the police confuse a simple protection charm for something more sinister and arrest the wrong person, Bell must untangle cons, confront powerful sidhe families, and find the mysterious beast that roams the streets of his city.

Summoning and Sacrifice by Nathan Hartle

SPFBO9

A hunted woman. A missing god. The adventure of a lifetime. All that Shada desires is peace and freedom. What she has is fear and hunger. She’s a servant on the run from her cruel master, who is determined to lock her away. Then comes a chance at a new life. Alone in the vast, cruel city of Ronia, she meets the Lady. This enigmatic spirit makes her an offer: Shada can accept her dismal lot… or undertake a quest to find Ronia’s vanished god. For the gods disappeared without a trace in the long-ago age of legend, leaving the worlds of humans to chaos and war. Without its god, Ronia’s once-mighty empire is crumbling toward an abyss. To save their people, Shada and her ragtag companions will journey to the ends of the universe. But first, they must escape Ronia alive. Many in this city of blades, poison, and shadow mean to stop them at all costs. If they fail, slavery or death await them... and their world will fall into darkness. Summoning and Sacrifice is the opening book of the Liturgy of Worlds epic fantasy series.

Two Thousand Years (The Empire Saga) by M. Dalto

Two thousand years ago, the Prophecy of Fire and Light foretold the coming of the Queen Empress who would lead the Empire into a time of peace and tranquility. But instead of the coming of a prosperous world, a forbidden love for the Empress waged a war that ravaged the land, creating a chasm between the factions, raising the death toll of innocent lives until the final, bloody battle. Centuries later, Alexandra, a twenty-two-year-old barista living in Boston, is taken to an unfamiliar realm of mystery and magic where her life is threatened by Reylor, its banished Lord Steward. She crosses paths with Treyan, the arrogant and seductive Crown Prince of the Empire, and together they discover how their lives, and their love, are so intricately intertwined by a Prophecy set in motion so many years ago. Alex, now the predestined Queen Empress Alexstrayna, whose arrival was foretold by the Annals of the Empire, controls the fate of her new home as war rages between the Crown Prince and Lord Steward. Either choice could tear her world apart as she attempts to keep the Empire’s torrid history from repeating itself. In a realm where betrayal and revenge will be as crucial to her survival as love and honor, Alex must discover whether it is her choice - or her fate - that determines how she survives the Empire’s rising conflicts.

The Conjuring of Zoth Averex by K.R.R. Lockhaven

SPFBO7

Kept hidden by the United States government for decades, the Site is a place where magic is real. But that doesn't mean that everything happening there is sparkly. Soul-sucking policies and layers of stifling bureaucracy threaten to take all the fun out of magic. Harris, a newbie Conjurer, starts his first day of work at the Site bursting with excitement: he's been brought on for an extremely big project happening the very next day. In a triumph over its habitual inefficiency, the Site manages to carry out its plan and conjure an actual dragon to be used by the military. The dragon (Zoth-Avarex, the self-proclaimed greatest dragon in the multiverse) immediately eats the person next to him, snatches a "princess" from the ranks of the Conjuring Department, and flies away to the Space Needle. There he manipulates the media, outwits the Site's bumbling management, demands sixty-three billion dollars' worth of treasure (because Smaug was said to have had sixty-two billion in his hoard), threatens to destroy the city--and installs a couple of food trucks. While this book skewers the same fantasy genre it gleefully inhabits, it also pokes fun at corporate culture, today's obsession with wealth and celebrity, and our denial that life is anything more than meets the eye. Hapless Harris, believing in magic all along, learns to apply what he's picked up between the pages of fantasy literature.

Merry Fuckin’ Christmas: And Other Yuletide Shit by Kevin J. Kennedy

Kevin J. Kennedy has brought the horror world three bestselling Christmas horror anthologies. Now, for the first time ever he collects his own tales of Christmas madness between these pages. You will find a mix of extreme, comedy, gross and bizarro Christmas horror, and there is even a few drabbles thrown in. WARNING: This book isn't for everyone. If you are easily offended, it's not going to be for you. “As gritty as Irvine Welsh and as horrific as anything King has put out. Christmas has never been so dark. This is a collection horror fans do not want to miss.” Lee Mountford, Author of The Demonic. "Kennedy is one of the modern greats of seasonal horror. Sit by the fireplace, pour yourself a drink and get this read." Lex H. Jones, author of The Old One and The Sea. “Superb! Stylistic! Downright terrifying! Kennedy does not pull any punches.” Christopher Motz, author of Pine Lakes, and Tenants. "Freaky, disturbing, unpleasant... These stories could ruin your Christmas!" Mark Cassell, author of The Shadow Fabric. “Everything Kennedy touches turns to gold. And for good reason. A gruesome, rock 'n' roll, festive feast.” Kyle M. Scott, author of The Club.

Meraki: A Syren Story by Naomi Kelly

Her song is a gift bestowed by the gods; so why does it feel like a curse? Seventeen-year-old Wren thinks she has just swum away from the greatest threat in the sea. That's until she finds herself being hauled upon a warlord's boat. With her life at the mercy of a young, temperamental King, Wren must decide who is her ultimate enemy. Can Fate be altered? What do gods have planned? Syrens are bound to tell the truth, but that doesn’t mean their lives cannot be riddled with lies.

Not Like Before by Lily Seabrooke, Jacqueline Ramsden

Lola never wanted to be on camera alongside an A-list star—but maybe Mackenzie is everything she needs. History professor Lola Barnes never cared about celebrities, and filming alongside superstar actress Mackenzie Vale isn’t exactly on her bucket list. But there aren’t a lot of experts on Mackenzie’s hometown on the remote Celadon Isles, so when the studio filming a deep dive of Mackenzie’s backstory comes knocking, no isn’t really an option. This exposé is the last thing Mackenzie wants to do. She’s had a good run as an actress without the ravenous press finding out she’s trans, but keeping it that way when the media is digging around in her childhood and with her gossipy family isn’t going to be easy. But it might be her last shot at her dream casting—and her agent doesn’t take no for an answer, anyway. And it isn’t any easier when Mackenzie is immediately head-over-heels for the gorgeous professor they tapped to film with her. And it isn’t any easier when going back to the isles means confronting all the things Lola ran away from there over twenty years ago—and that the only thing comforting her is a bond with the last person she’d ever expect to fall for. As a tight filming schedule, a nosy agent and a relentless director force Lola and Mackenzie to face the ghosts of their pasts, will they crumble in the face of everything they ran from once? Or can they find strength in one another and be more than they were before? Not Like Before is a 90,000-word grumpy/sunshine celebrity romance with a trans woman lead set on a fictional island where everyone is at least a little gossipy, and is the second collaborative novel between Lily Seabrooke and Jacqueline Ramsden. Features a celebrity actress made of pure sunshine and a historian who’s secretly soft under the surface, a meddling ex, Mackenzie’s meddling family, Lola’s meddling friend who loves Mackenzie more than she loves life, and Mackenzie’s agent, who is, unsurprisingly, meddling. Content warnings for on-page sex, a toxic ex, parental abandonment, gambling addiction, implicit threats of outing, a panic attack, falling off a boat, Hope being a fangirl, Taron being smug, and of course, the granny bra incident.

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.

Dio in the Dark by Rizwan Asad

WriteHive Book Club

"Be young tonight, if you must. For tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow you will grow old, and the night will no longer be your lover." The powers of the pantheon have faded. The gods live amongst the mortals, grasping for what little of their divinity remains. When Zeus - King of the Gods - goes missing in modern-day Toronto, it is up to his estranged son, Dio, to find him. And with rumors of The Darkness coming, Dio will have to race to find his father, and uncover the truth before it's too late!