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.

The Beast of Loughby Island by Matt Doyle

A young man named Tom Daniels is kidnapped by a local family and is dropped on Loughby Island in an attempt to 'clean up their streets'. When the family that dropped Tom off is slaughtered by a werewolf-like creature, he soon finds himself banding together with a small group of the island's residents in a fight for their lives against an otherworldly monster.

Lani: The Girl Without Fear by Dan Cole

WriteHive Book Club

In a world controlled by fear, Lani is unique: a teenage girl who feels no fear, and often gets herself into dangerous situations because of it. Lani feels stifled by her overprotective and terrified parents, and after learning about family in a distant city, Lani plans to leave. Her faithful Minotaur bodyguard, Brutus, helps her escape the Great City of Ghal. In the Wilds, Lani learns much about love, herself, and her world. Mostly through a young woman named Kas who shows her what it's like to live in the wilds and to feel something for another person. Death follows Lani though. Leaving Ghal wasn't only to find family, but out of necessity after Lani hurt another student at her school. Fear Mongers, or Mongers for short, sent by her parents dog her steps and leave a trail of death searching for her. Lani must learn that although her lack of fear is quite the power in this world, it can be a burden. Especially to those important to her. Marauding robots, dangerous monsters, animal and human amalgamations known as Primals, and learning about her world makes Lani's journey across the Flatlands a dangerous adventure. Lani also meets a mysterious warrior known as the Wanderer, who teachers her and her freinds about the past, and about herself. After suffering great loss, and learning great truths, Lani's plans have to change, and death creeps ever closer.

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!

Rootwork by Tracy Cross

Set in a small parish in Louisiana in 1889, Rootwork follows sisters, Betty, Ann and Pee Wee. When school lets out for the summer, the girls head off to stay with their hoodoo-practicing aunt, Theodora, an empowered woman equally feared and revered by the local townspeople. They learn how to make “hot foot powder” and the secrets of a good “black cat bone”. Need to get back at an enemy? A little goofer dust will help that. The girls delight in their new hoodoo adventure, until a tragic event strikes, involving the malicious town sheriff, transforming not only their lives but also the sisters themselves. A story of love, folk magic, redemption and independence, Rootwork explores the strength of family and the darker side of the heart.

The Binding of Bloom Mountain by Siggy Chambers

Indie Recs Indie

“One fool in search of money wins a cursed mountain and a lifetime of nightmares...” When Celeste Foster loses her job with the US Forestry Service, she finds solace in drinking herself stupid every night. But when she sees an ad that says “ADVENTURERS WANTED” and “compensation upon completion”, she pulls herself together to head for the town of Milton. In the mountains of Northwest Virginia, she enters a portal to an alternate Shenandoah Valley. Here monsters and gods live alongside humans, and every family has magic in their blood. But a curse festers on the slopes of Bloom Mountain. A decade has passed with no one to bind the magic, and soon the curse will destroy Milton. Armed with a recording, a bag of ritual items, and fresh scones from the cute barista that housed her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The Binding tests her endurance, sanity, and ability to adapt to this new world. If she can survive the horrors on the mountain, there might be more than just money waiting for her at the end.

The Backwards Knight by Matthew Siadak

When the magic that can shape the world is tainted, can hope survive? Centuries have passed since The Paladin outlawed magic in the sequestered lands stolen from the elves, but eldritch forces rarely remain sealed forever. This ancient magic seeks hosts, marking mortal flesh to herald devastation. An old knight clings to the hope that he can discover why magic has returned corrupted. A frightened farm boy marked by magic must escape the knights hunting him. An elf bound in service to The Paladin stalks mages to bring them to justice. Destruction binds them, but can it also save them?

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.

Vermilion Flames by Adam Fernandez

SPSFC 2024

In the shadow of a ruined Earth, the Republic and its church claim to offer safety and security while burning ideas and people alike. No moon or planet is free of flames and bloodshed, even as the rebel organization, the Vermilion Coalition, seeks to dismantle the Republic’s oppressive regime. On a terraformed Mercury, Kaya al Vardan hopes to find the truth behind her mother’s murder; a difficult task when everyone insists it was a tragic accident. When Kaya’s adventurous spirit leads her into the forbidden Great Desert, she’s sent to the Republic’s capital on Mars to study under the watchful eye of the all-powerful church she despises. There she unravels mysteries about her mother’s life and faces a choice: fall in line or risk everything to take up her mother’s mantle. Silas Beckett, High Commander of the Pandora Fleet and hero of the Republic, can feel his time running out. Fighting terrorists has been his life’s mission, but his nemesis Hex—leader of the Vermilion Coalition—still eludes him. As his failures mount and his allies abandon him, he has few chances left to bring Hex to justice. Can Silas secure peace for his family and for the entire solar system? Vermilion Flames is the first book in the Midnight War series, an action-filled epic set long after the destruction of Earth.

A Hidden's Witch's Spell for Freeing a Captive Olympian by C.N. Rowan

Save the house, or save my best friend? There’s no way to do both. Our hunt for the magical amulet my mum left me has finally borne fruit. But the trail leads somewhere completely off-world—Olympus. Home to the so-called gods of legend… who, as it turns out, aren’t all that friendly to regular mortals. But that’s not even the worst of it. Tisha—my brilliant, reckless, fiercely loyal best friend—was poisoned saving my life. And the location of the only cure? Yep, it's Olympus too. So now I’m heading into enemy territory to face immortal beings who’ve never learned to share. The clock is ticking, and the stakes are brutal. If I choose the amulet, I might never heal the Portal. If I choose the antidote, I might lose Tisha forever. There’s no winning move… and if I get this wrong, I’m not the only one who’ll pay the price. A Hidden Witch’s Spell for Freeing A Captive Olympian is Book Two in A 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…

Body Jacker Jaz (Earth Scout, #1) by Matthew Thompson

Cyan-Amber is a deserter from Spectra, a planet on the brink of destruction. As an alien scout on Earth in 1995, she inhabits the body of Jasmine Price—a unique, artsy, crafty musician living in Camden, London. While reporting back to her home planet’s intelligence agency, Cyan Intel, she uncovers the strange, wonderful, and wicked aspects of what it means to be human. Charlie Cooper, a mid-twenties rockstar wannabe, is stuck selling records instead of making them. Trapped by a dead-end job with an irritable boss, his only escape lies in Camden Town’s annual Battle of the Bands. But with his rebellious, gaming-obsessed sister, and a bandmate that’s oddly interested in intergalactic wars, Charlie’s fight for the stage is anything but ordinary. As Earth faces a looming alien threat, both Cyan-Amber and Charlie are about to discover just how intertwined their fates truly are. The battle for Camden—and maybe the world—is about to begin.

Long Grows the Dark by Catherine Labadie

Before Glenna, court sorceress in the service of Princess Jael, struggles to hide her feelings for her best friend’s betrothed. Yet even as the realm approaches its golden age, an unforeseen enemy rises to corrupt the princess and take the land for himself. Fate may lead them down a path too painful to contemplate, but are Glenna’s choices enough to dispel the inevitable darkness set to veil their future? Now Gwendoline Hallewell, a Starford University student in a world where magic is commonplace, has always been unusual. When her casting book summons a man from the past to interfere with her dangerous new present, she has no choice but to trust him. As she and her friends Colt and Everleigh reconcile what happened before with what must happen in the present. Gwendoline must decide what it means to make her own choices, suffer her own consequences, and if free will is really within her grasp.

The Last Forest by Alexander Way-B

From the furthest dunes and the edges of night - Comes a tale of determination, bravery and compassion! Derwin isn’t strong, cool, or even popular. And she definitely doesn’t believe in herself. Until fate transports her to a broken and desolate dystopian world. A world where technology is the rift that divides humanity. To survive she must find a bravery and strength she didn’t know she had. She must win the hearts and minds of strangers. And, finally she must vanquish an age-old hatred rooted in the land. If she fails, the last forest and all of humanity will fall to dust, forgotten forever.

Assured Destruction by Michael F. Stewart

You can learn a lot about someone looking through their hard drive... Sixteen-year-old Jan Rose knows that nothing is ever truly deleted. At least, not from the hard drives she scours to create the online identities she calls the Shadownet. Hobby? Art form? Sad, pathetic plea to garner friendship, even virtually? Sure, Jan is guilty on all counts. Maybe she’s even addicted to it. It’s an exploration. Everyone has something to hide. The Shadownet’s hard drives are Jan’s secrets. They're stolen from her family’s computer recycling business Assured Destruction. If the police found out, Jan’s family would lose its livelihood. When the real people behind Shadownet’s hard drives endure vicious cyber attacks, Jan realizes she is responsible. She doesn’t know who is targeting these people or why but as her life collapses Jan must use all her tech savvy to bring the perpetrators to justice before she becomes the next victim.

Explorers of Rinth by John Simons

SPSFC 2023

Aristotle wakes with no memory after being left for dead in a place that carries the seeds of a distant and dying Earth, but he is not alone. The survival of the human species rests on his shoulders and a small group of discarded humans. Meanwhile, Iseulte and her friends flee the spark of civil war that engulfs their home. They escape into long-forgotten tunnels where they find that things Humanity dabbled in and abandoned have taken on their own lives and destinies. Although separated by unimaginable distance, the future of these two groups was bound together in the distant past by the strangest secret of all.