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Missy the Werecat by P. G. Allison Missy the Werecat: Book I When puberty brings on her first Shift, Missy goes into the mountains for two years until finally learning to Change back. She can Change from fully human in one instant to a mountain lion in the next. Everyone assumes her two year disappearance was because sheâd been kidnapped by a sexual predator that she managed to kill. She keeps her werecat nature a secret. There is no pack, no pride of other werecats and no alpha. Sheâs a girl with fantastic abilities growing up and learning to do great things in todayâs world, amongst humans. She only has her instincts to guide her and those drive her to train herself to extremes. She must control those instincts; dampening the wild predator is often necessary. Her raging hormones and enhanced senses require very strong controls; she explores what happens when those controls are relaxed. |
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The Demon You Know by Mel Harlan One horrible decision. Two enemies. No good options. Meet Jacqueline "Jack" Anderson, a fiercely independent P.I. whoâs made more mistakes than she can count. Her most recent? Making a deal with her enemy Roman to save the only family she cares about. Romanâs got a few secrets of his own and an empire heâs trying to protect. Heâll use his bargain with Jack - for control over her body, mind, and will - to make her his Hand and solidify his claim on Houston. In searching for answers, Jack isnât sure if she should trust the demon she knows or try to escape the grave she dug herself. A rival challenges Roman's domain, but only one can rule Houston. As Jack searches for answers, she must decide where she belongs to protect her city. |
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The Fantastically Underwhelming Epic by Kian N. Ardalan George is a legendary hero...wait, no. George is an incredibly powerful sorcerer...also no? Okay, fine. George is an unremarkable human bard who made a promise a long time ago. A promise that set him on a path to find the remains of Simantiar, the greatest wizard who ever lived. Though all that was left were bones, Simantiar was still very much alive and quite...underwhelming. This is their story: The Fantastically Underwhelming Epic of a dead wizard and an average bard. |
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The Devil Wears Tartan by Katia Rose Some couples are a match made in heaven. Moira and Kenzie are convinced the only place theyâre a match is in hell. Raised as the shining prodigies of warring highland dance schools, the two grew up with blaring bagpipes as the backing track for a feud that took them all the way to the world championships. Moira could never keep Kenzieâs icy glares from getting under her skin, and Kenzie could never hold back an eye-roll as she watched the crowds fawn over her rivalâs happy-go-lucky charm. Starting college has forced both women to hang up their kilts, but when their local highland dance association announces a scholarship for a life-changing amount of money, they find themselves back onstage for one last season. The stakes are higher than ever, but between shooting daggers at each otherâs backs and insults at each otherâs faces, their eyes start lingering, their hearts start pounding, and the sparks begin to build into a fire neither of them can control. Hell could freeze before either woman would admit their attraction, but that wonât stop them from using it to play dirtyâand getting caught in the crossfire of their feelings along the way. After all, sometimes the devil wears tartan. The Devil Wears Tartan is a New Adult, F/F dramedy from Katia Rose featuring more bagpipes than anyone asked for and two fiercely competitive heroines caught in a sizzling shift from enemies to lovers |
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Elements of Chemistry Attraction by Penny Reid He is everything she doesnât want, so why does she want him so badly? From the New York Times Bestselling Author Penny Reid One week. Private beach. Invisible girl. Jerk-faced bully. Whatâs the worst that could happen? Kaitlyn Parker has no problem being the invisible girl, which is why she finds herself hiding in various cabinets and closets all over her college campus. Despite her best efforts, she canât escape the notice of Martin Sandekeâbad boy, jerkface bully, and the universeâs hottest, wealthiest, and most unobtainable bachelorâwho also happens to be Kaitlynâs chemistry lab partner. Kaitlyn might be the only girl who isnât interested in exploiting his stunning rowerâs build, chiseled features, and family's billionaire fortune. Kaitlyn wants Martin for his brain, specifically to tabulate findings of trace elements in surface water. When Kaitlyn saves Martin from a nefarious plot, Martin uses the opportunity to push Kaitlyn out of her comfort zone: spring break, one week, house parties, bathing suits, and suntan lotion. Can she overcome her aversion to being noticed? Will he be able grow beyond his self-centered nature? Or, despite their obvious chemistry, will Martin be the one to drive Kaitlyn into the science cabinet of obscurity for good? Where to read more of the Hypothesis Series Book 1 ATTRACTION (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 2 HEAT (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 3 CAPTURE (no cliffhanger) Book 4 MOTION (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 5 SPACE (ends in a cliffhanger!) Book 6 TIME (no cliffhanger) |
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A Shimmering World: Book One of The Shimmering Saga by AC Lowry Decades ago, the elvish Maqqelli people were nearly wiped from the face of the planet. Those that were left were brutally oppressed -- their culture, their land, their very lives, all ground into dust beneath the boot of the monarchy. Now, one of those very oppressors, Prince Herlen, is trying to make things right. Alongside Em, his newly-promoted Maqqelli guardian, and his soon-to-be-retired bodyguard Bourabon Van Verot, he sets out on a dangerous, and mysterious quest -- finally putting to motion a decades-long plan to reverse the harm he's done. |
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The Coffee Shop Girl by Maya Asher Hartford City was where dreams were made realities. Or where you meet the love of your life whoâll eventually rip your heart to shreds. Coffee shop part-owner, Bailey Johnson, and CEO, James Worthington, knew all too well about heartbreaks and cheating conniving exes. But, âcaffeine conquers allâ, or whatever the quote said. *The Coffee Shop Girl is a semi-clean romantic comedy perfect for readers who enjoy short laugh-out-loud love stories with a guaranteed HEA! |
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Yokai Calling: The Complete Series Omnibus by Erynn Lehtonen A haunted empire. A wicked sorcerer on the rise. Three teenagers stand between a generation of peace and the creatures of myth seeking retribution for a dark past⌠In the shadow of the fallen Warlock Empire, twins Hidekazu and Masanori thrive on tales of their ancestorsâ wyvern-slaying, of the wars preceding Seiryuuâs first era of peace in over a thousand years. But as the Dragon Goddessâ influence wanes, her greatest enemies return. The sorcerer who kidnaps women for a sinister purpose is only the first of many to arrive. The warrior arts previously forbidden to Hidekazu and Masanori wonât be enough to stop the wyverns, dragons, and mythical spirits rising in search of retribution. Nor will working with the future empress, their adopted sister, who steers Seiryuu's future from within the palaceâand from the head of the battlefield. Their enemies seek justice not only for the crimes of the Goddess and the Warlock Empire, but also for the sins of Hidekazu and Masanoriâs very own clan. Secrets run in their blood. Facing the tide of war means overcoming the Warlock Empireâs grim history⌠and the darkness within themselves. Jump into the world of Yumihari, a land filled with spirits, dragons, monsters, and stunning characters wielding elemental magic to save their homeland. If you love epic fight scenes, mystery and political intrigue, mythology, monsters, and mayhem, all with a touch of progression fantasy, you will love the 1500+ pages of adventure in the Yokai Calling series. |
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Veles by P. J. Marie I was the land. I was the air. I was the sea. I was all of it â everywhere â and as I inhaled then let the tormented sorrow screech from my lungs, the world buckled and broke beneath my feet. I was burning alive⌠And the world would burn with me. A century after the Great Destruction that devastated civilization, Mizuki Altherr lives within a small village struggling to survive beneath the shadow of a great mountain. The Elders teach that it is home to Veles, god of the earth, who keeps them safe â but demands penance for humanityâs past indiscretions. Itâs a Gifting year⌠The previous sacrifice tore Mizukiâs family apart and forever changed her world. Now she must face the terrible tradition again as her closest friend, Aiden, and his family are chosen to provide the next offering. In a desperate bid to end the cycle of violence and defy the Eldersâ iron rule, Mizuki and Aiden set forth on a daring journey into the Wild â where together they discover a secret that shatters their understanding of the village and reveals the truth behind the horrors that left the world in ruin. |
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the Earthen Pioneer: Part 1 by N.R.B. Marcum What would you do, if Earth fell to invasion? For Omid, the question never seemed to come up. He was always too busy fighting, thieving, and causing mayhem to think on it; until the aliens that had taken Earth looked to take him too. Cast adrift and on the run, Omid finds himself swept far from the planet. There, in the world of aliens, he meets with an unexpected hope, and is soon the center of a mounting plan to free Earth of its captors, once and for all. But the world of the aliens, the world of Mooi, is not so simple as it seems, and while he enters into it with the intent of helping Earth, he soon finds that few things he sees and learns are as they appear. To get back to Earth, and to find a way to help his people, he will have to navigate a world intent on sucking him into its depths and entombing him there. |
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Dio in the Dark by Rizwan Asad "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! |
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They Mostly Come Out At Night by Benedict Patrick Semi finalist in Mark Lawrenceâs SPFBO (2017) Are you scared of the dark? The villagers of the forest seal themselves in their cellars at night, whispering folktales to each other about the monsters that prey on them in the dark. Only the Magpie King, their shadowy, unseen protector, can keep them safe. However, when an outcast called Lonan begins to dream of the Magpie Kingâs defeat at the hands of inhuman invaders, this young man must do what he can to protect his village. He is the only person who can keep his loved ones from being stolen away after dark, and to do so he will have to convince them to trust him again. They Mostly Come Out At Night is the first novel from Benedict Patrickâs Yarnsworld series. Straddling the line between fantasy and folklore, this book is perfect for fans of the darker Brothers Grimm stories. |
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The Oracle Stone by Talli L. Morgan SOME LEGENDS NEVER DIE. Jekku Ajâere can see everything from the start of time to the end, and itâs 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 isnât 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 itâs hard to prevent a magical catastrophe when you canât trust anyone, including yourself, and certainly not the gods. |
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Twin Time by Olga Werby and Christopher Werby Alex and Sasha are twin sisters, physically identical down to their freckles. But the resemblance is only skin deepâSasha is profoundly autistic, while Alex is not. Sasha canât communicate and acts bizarrely, and the family revolves around her and her intense needs. Yet the aged, wealthy, and mysterious Aunt Nana seems to have a particular interest in both girls. Offering a helping hand, she encourages the family to move to San Francisco to be near her. And when the young twins discover a tunnel in Nanaâs tool shed, it leads them on a journey across the world and back 100 years in time. The tunnel is a pathway to the Firebird Estate, the home of their ancestors, located in rural Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Even more remarkable, through the effect that twisting time has on cognition, Sasha is not autistic when sheâs at the Firebird Estate. Now, growing up in two strikingly different times and places, the twins must face their separate destinies among the ravages of the incipient Russian Revolution. Can they save their families on both sides of the tunnel? Can they simultaneously stay true to their own hearts, to each other, and to the people they left behind? Each sister must face her own personal challengeâbut only together can they discover their own future within their familyâs past. |
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Lizard Girl & Ghost by Olga Werby A child lies dying. To save her, to preserve some of her identity, memories need to be retrieved from her avatarâLizard Girl. Judeâs dad is using a cyber reality game to recover some of his sick girlâs memories in an attempt to restore brain function. The avatarâs personality patterns help patch the holes in Judeâs brain ravaged by the disease. But what becomes of a virtual mind left to roam in cyberspace after its host falls sick? The Far Cinct is a cyber city forbidden to school kids and average citizens. The Far Cinct is where rogue entities go to hide and to innovate and to die. Itâs where illegal cyber enhancements and compulsions are sold to those who have the money and the connections to find them. But thatâs cyberspace for youânothing is ever what it appears to be on the surface. As Judeâs consciousness starts to slip, her cyber awareness gains independence. What is a girlâs avatar without her human? Can consciousness and identity be tied up in a digital world without the wet works of a human body? Jump into the world of weird and surreal, and as you journey to look for memories of a sick girl, you might accidentally discover a virtual soul of her avatar. Cyberpunk meets Sleeping Beauty meets cats⌠werecats |
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Coding Peter by Olga Werby and Christopher Werby Knowing that the world is a simulation doesnât diminish the will to live. Even when the body is made from ones and zeros, the soul doesnât feel any less real. In Coding Peter, the sequel to Suddenly, Paris, we learn more about the aliens who have altered the lives of the Vorov family. The URTs are a small band of scientistsâthe only survivors of a world simulation that no longer existsâwho seek only to settle down quietly and unobtrusively in a new home. But contact with humans has led to accidents, misunderstandings, and deaths. A hundred years later, only a few of the alien refugees survive. Now Julie Orlovâs brother, ten-year-old Peter, is asked to take on the soul of a dying alienâfor the good of his family, his alien ancestors, and the Earth itself. In doing so he will become moreâbut also, maybe lessâthan himself. Itâs a lot to ask of a young boy, especially when the exact consequences to Peter are unknown, even by the aliens themselves. What Peter decides will change the fate of two civilizationsâand maybe more⌠|
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Suddenly, Paris by Olga Werby and Christopher Werby Julie Vorov thought her job was to do well in high school and stay out of trouble. She also thought her biggest problem was betraying her best friend by hooking-up with a traitorous boyfriend. But in a world where being human is just a matter of programming, everything changes. Suddenly, Julie finds herself allied with a scrappy group of alien scientists whose own world has already been destroyed. Together, they mount a clandestine effort to stop the Earth from also being eradicated. And Julie discovers that sheâs the pivotal instabilityâthe tipping pointâin the plans of another group of aliens bent on invasion. As Julie battles to save everything she cares about, she uncovers secrets about her own origins that shatter the core of her beliefs. And she falls so deeply in love that the most extreme obstacles posed by loyalty, age, gender, species, and parents will have to be overcome. Your heart always recognizes the one you love. |
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Becoming Animals by Olga Werby Humans have always wanted to know what goes on inside the minds of other animals. But what if humans could become animals? Tobyâs father leads a team of neuroscientists directly connecting the brains of humans with those of animals. And Toby is a prodigy at throwing her mind into the animal subjects in his labâsheâs the best there is. But Toby suffers from cystic fibrosis and sheâs not likely to live into adulthood. Could a radical plan to embed her consciousness into an animal allow Toby to survive? And what does it mean to live without a human body? Can Toby and her father solve the problem of fully merging two beings before she takes her last breath? Will the government succeed in stopping their efforts before they are done? Itâs a race against death and into the minds of animals. |
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A Fire That Whispers (Voice that Thunders #3) by Cully Mack War has begun, and the destined Voice of Thunder foretold to save the world is nowhere in sight. Mirah is an elemental wielder whose extraordinary magic has proved too powerful for the Immortal Watchers to ignore. Captured, they demand she destroys their portals. If she yields, it will trap her friends in the immortal realm forever. As shocking discoveries unfold, it forces Mirah further under her enemiesâ control. Flames once thought dead arise and test the bonds of love and sacrifice. But not everyone once trusted is pure; not everyone once despised is vile⌠and Mirah must unravel the lies. One truth she knows: The Shadow Beast lurks beyond the portals. The Immortals dread its arrival, but is the Beast more of a danger to them or to herself? A Fire That Whispers is the third novel in the Voice that Thunders epic fantasy series wherein hope hides in the darkest of places and honour-bound promises seal your fate. |
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Fear and Fury by Jamie Jackson Meet Megaera, Meg for short. Sheâs like Deadpool, except for funner. For a girl with the power of fear the recruitment attempts from both sides are never-ending. A self-described not-a-hero, villain-leaning humanoid, Meg just wants to live her life, work her dead-end job and have everyone else (especially the heroes) leave her alone. But when a bigger fish who can turn superpowers back on their users enters the picture and threatens the person Meg loves the most (herself), she must turn to the last group of people she would admit she needs help from. Forced to team up with the heroes she despises (but wonât murder, because letâs face it, orange is not the new black), Meg will have to face the choices from her past that she wonât get therapy for. Self-centered, snarky, sarcastic and a little bit dramatic, sheâs going to have to save the world, even if that wasnât her intention. And try not to get shot in the process. Because that shit hurts. |
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The Trials of the Core by Michael E. Thies Destiny calls to them all. Only one can seize it⌠Prince Hydro Paen longs to escape his disdainful mother. So when the Guardian of the Core announces a contest to become his apprentice, the young man leaps at the invitation to participate. Determined to prove himself and uphold the family legacy, he swears not to fail. Orphaned at a young age, Eirek Mourse doesnât believe heâll amount to much, so when an invitation to participate in the Trials arrives, he doesn't know what to do. Under the encouragement and advice of his uncle, he enters. But without any skills in combat, he has no idea how he will survive. Zain Berrese is a haunted man. Convinced heâs responsible for the death of his girlfriend, he longs to make amends by becoming the next Guardian. Hoping to outdo his adopted brother, who is also accepted, he makes a decision that accidentally kills his sibling just before the Trials begin, crushing his spirit. With trials increasingly complex and dangerous, each contestant must face his or her own fears as well as their crafty opponents. And with lives on the line, one of them will make an extraordinary choice⌠Will one of these would-be heroes find the inner strength and wisdom to emerge a champion before they all perish? The Trials of the Core is the first book in the gripping Guardian of the Core adventure fantasy series. If you like ensemble casts, imaginative worlds, and unpredictable twists, then youâll love Michael E. Thiesâs thrilling tale. |
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The Mist Keeper's Apprentice by E.S. Barrison Storytelling was outlawed. Magic had all but vanished. That all changed when the woman in black came to town. Branded with the black stamp at a young age, Brent thought he would end up a vagrant like his father. His craft was telling stories, but the Order had long forbidden any weaving of tales. When Brent sees the woman in black, she leads him into a menagerie of tunnels beneath the earth where his life falls into the nauseating, but beautiful, mist of the dead. He finds friendship in Rho, a young woman who hides her face with a tree branch while roots and vines bow to her every whim. Together, they embark on a journey to explore the world, escape the watchful eyes of the Order, and discover the woman in black's secrets. For thousands of years, the mist and the tunnels were under the sole guardianship of the Council of Mist Keepers. But as new monsters enter the mist, and magic is forced out of the shadows, the Council searches for young blood to join their ranks and Brent's next in line. Content Warning: This book approaches issues of sexism, prejudice, and mental illness, and includes mentions of death, violence/sexual assault, adult language, alcohol use, and psychological abuse/trauma. |
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The ALL - GOD OF NOTHING by Shane Scott What if God and the Devil had a daughter? Who would she be? Rated MA and 18+ due to sexual situations, including LGBTQ+, vulgar language, some violence, smoking, drugs, and also mentions rape. The ALL series chronicles four generations of the most powerful Immortal family in Godâs creation. The Promethean saga spans uncountable years and dozens of worlds. Mortals, Gods, Devils, Dragons, Titans, Demons, Werewolves, Vampires, and Angels clash in a never-ending battle of love and hate. The first book in the ALL, God of Nothing, starts the epic adventure. Murdered at seventeen by the Titan, Silver, God of Death, Aja Ashe wakes with her Dragon. Thrust into a bizarre world where her enemies are friends, and friends are enemies, she learns the truth about her parents and herself. Her mother is God, and her father is the Devil. She was the first thing born, not created. Enraged that Aja survived, Silver, God of Death, forces her to make choices to protect those she loves. Will Aja save the ALL or destroy it? If she survives, will she hate herself for what sheâs done? |
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SPFBO7 SPFBO Finalist SPFBO Winner âAll magic is beautiful...and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.â She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy. She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people. His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war. Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion. They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheelâbut first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm⌠Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning. |
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Spirit of Shadow by D. A. Holley Lance is a servant in the Palace at Shadovane. All his life, he has been lead to believe his role in the palace is voluntary, that his parents left him there hoping he would have a better life than they could provide. When he discovers he has been lied to, that the nature of his life is not what he has long assumed, he seeks upheaval, revenge, and escape, but he can't get what he wants alone. He enlists the help of his closest friends, and together, they take on the all powerful Shadow Queen, incarnate of a goddess called the Mother of Night, and mount a revolution she will not soon forget. |
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A Change of Blood by G. P. Gabriel A man hearing the voice of his dead wife. A boy struggling to understand emotions he cannot feel. A journey into a land of bloodthirsty creatures was never a simple matter to begin with. Their mission: deliver an arcane explosive into the heart of the corruption. Kynnar is a Guild Drengir mercenary roaming the Corrupted Lands, a place of maddening sickness that took the life of his beloved. When his guild leader contacts him after years of silence, it's to send him on a mission with an assembled crew. Sounds like just another job. At least until he finds out he'll work alongside mages with powers responsible for the infection in the first place. Eight, a human experiment of torture, fails to assassinate his target. If he wants to stay aliveâwhich he decides would be a preferrable outcomeâhe has to accept an offer from the very man he tried to kill. The offer gets him into the Guild of the Arcane, but nowhere did it mention he'd be an apprentice to a battlemage about to embark on a certain mission. Sort of makes the whole 'not dying' part redundant. A Change of Blood is a high fantasy novel set in a world of water and deadly storms. Elements of madness include, but are not limited to; hallucinations, weapons hidden inside human flesh, a thief with his crossbow for a lover, and an unhealthy amount of feeling sorry for oneself. |
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Winds of Strife by U. G. Gutman âThey burned me and mine. I'm not done until I burn them and theirs in return.â Witch-hunts have plagued the kingdom of Olyanath for decades. Thousands were slain due to the kingâs paranoia of women who practice Senspiritic magic. No more. Nye and his companions have seen enough of murder and misogyny. Fifteen years have passed since he joined the witch-hunters, and now, at long last, an opportunity to destroy them from the inside reveals itself. An opportunity to overthrow the king and end his reign of cruelty. But fifteen years of pretense have taken a toll. The strive for vengeance has steered Nye toward a path of violence and villainy. His hands are stained by the blood of countless innocents, his heart is scorched by grief, and his sanity hangs by a thread. Even if he can kill the king and see this revolution through, it may not suffice to purge the voices from his head. |
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Kings and Daemons by Marcus Lee âWhat the gods give with one hand, they take away with the other, for if you are gifted, you shall also be cursed.â ----- In the Ember Kingdom, a dying land riven by famine and disease, Daleth the evil Witch-King plots his conquest of the neighbouring Freestates. Gifted with eternal youth, his vampiric power is responsible for the decay that afflicts his realm, and now other kingdoms must fall to quench his never-ending thirst for life. However, on the cusp of the invasion, Maya, a peasant huntress, is arrested, Dalethâs soldiers kill an old farmerâs wife, and a young outcast is reluctantly enlisted into the Witch-Kingâs army. Three seemingly innocuous events that nonetheless have the potential to alter the destiny of generations to come. For Maya is gifted with the ability to heal and can influence the hearts and minds of men if she but finds the strength to do so. The young recruit carries a gift of reading thoughts and has no love for the king he serves. As for the vengeful farmer ⌠heâs an ancient warrior gifted in reaping souls who now seeks to fulfil a long-forgotten oath against unbeatable odds. The world will soon be soaked by the blood of war, but with these three individualsâ lives inescapably entwined, the faint light of hope begins to shine. Alliances will have to be forged, enemies convinced to become friends, and a flicker of love given a chance to become a flame for there to be a chance to fight the encroaching darkness of the Witch-King's evil. ----- The Gifted and the Cursed. A dark fantasy trilogy set in a dystopian land, with heroes that are at times more demonic than the evil they face. The bloody battles, quests for revenge and fights for survival are artfully balanced with a light romance, tales of redemption, and the breath-taking beauty of Mayaâs gift. |
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Flesh Eater by Travis M. Riddle Branded as a Flesh Eater, Coal is on the run from Palace Stingers: soldiers tasked with tracking down those who have consumed flesh and locking them away in specialized prisons. After a year of avoiding capture and struggling to scrape by working odd jobs for a local crime lord, Coal is growing desperate. He learns of someone in the city's underbelly who can erase his record, but her services don't come cheap. Seeing no other option, he enters a spiderback race with a grand prize valuable enough to pay for his fresh start. But he's not the only one after the prize, and Coal is about to find out exactly how far he's willing to go to win. |
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Faye in the City: With Her Dog Puffy by KE Wills After graduating college, Faye moves to Washington, D.C. with her dog Puffy and best friend Lucy. The three of them navigate sharing a tiny studio apartment and adapting to living in the city. But very quickly, Faye realizes something isnât as it seems. As her quirky talents become strong abilities of the mind, she stumbles across a magical compass and dives into the comfort of her Persian culture. Faye must learn to accept who she is and what she can do. Join along with Faye and Puffy as their adventures in the Capitol test the strength of friendships, love, and sense of self. |
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The Child of Chaos by Glen Dahlgren Nothing can break the stranglehold the gods of Order have on the world . . . except a roll of the dice. An irresistible longing drags young Galen to an ancient vault where, long ago, the gods of Order locked Chaos away. Chaos promises power to the one destined to liberate it, but Galen's dreams warn of dark consequences. He isn't the only one racing to the vault, however. Horace, the bully who lives to torment Galen, is determined to unleash Chaos--and he might know how to do it. Galen's imagination always got him into trouble, but now it may be the only thing that can prevent Horace from unraveling the world. |
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The Sword in the Street by C.M. Caplan 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, Johnâs 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 Johnâs 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 theyâre forced to question how bloody theyâre willing to get to escape poverty â and they donât come away with the same answer. |
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Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron Making a living is hard. In a lawless city where gods are real, dragons are traffic hazards, and buildings move around on their own, it can feel downright impossible. Good thing freelance mage Opal Yong-ae has never let little things like impossibility stop her. Sheâs found a way to put her overpriced magical art history degree to use as a Cleaner: a contract municipal employee who empties out abandoned apartments and resells the unusual treasures she finds inside for a profit. Itâs not a pretty job, or a safe one--thereâs a reason she wears bite-proof gloves--but when youâre neck-deep in debt to a very magical, very nasty individual, you canât be picky about where the money comes from. But even Opalâs low standards are put to the test when the only thing of value in her latest apartment is the body of the previous tenant. Dealing with the dead isnât technically part of her job, but this mage died hiding a secret that could be worth a lot of money, and Opalâs the only one who knows. With debts she canât pay due at the end of the week, this could be the big break sheâs been waiting for, but in a city of runaway magic where getting in over your head generally means losing it, the cost of chasing this opportunity might be more than Opal can survive. AUTHORâS NOTE: This is the first in a new series set in the same universe as my Heartstrikers books, but you donât need to have read those stories to enjoy this one. MINIMUM WAGE MAGIC was written to stand by itself, so if you havenât read the others, donât worry! I wrote this book with you in mind. Thank you so much for reading! |
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From Chaos Comes Order by Jimi Rodriguez Surviving in a school of magic and murder is not easy! Jacob Titus is a forgotten boy from Eslor Island. With an absent father and a mother who battles Alzheimer's disease, Jacob has long learned to care for himself. When he is discovered by a magical talent hunter, Jacob makes the difficult choice to leave his home and enter the Valcrest School for the Promised. As his school years go by, Jacob has to spend as much time trying to stay alive as he does finding a cure for his mother. As violence and blood lust at the school escalate, Jacob must learn to figure out who he can trust. All he wanted was to save his mother. Now he must save himself. |
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Each Little Universe by Chris Durston If Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett had written an earnestly nerdy story in a setting running on the ridiculous logic of Scott Pilgrim, it might have come out something like this. For two oddball inventors, taking care of an unexpected new arrival - a girl from the stars - is hard enough. Dealing with the things that want her back may turn out to be harder. A story about love in all its forms (but not a love story), Each Little Universe wonders with wit and insight about what it means to be human in a vast, peculiar cosmos. A celebration of all that is wonderful and strange about people, each member of its cast of twenty-first century weirdos is both larger than life and peculiarly familiar. Fans of Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, American Gods), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds), and Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Killing Commendatore) will love this story, set in a world very much like our own but a little more strange, and the unusual take it offers on life, the human experience, and cats. |
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This Never Happened by R. Tim Morris Cepik Small doesn't belong here. Around Coney Island, he's known as "Epic" but his life could not be less so. And no matter how hard he tries, he can't shake the feeling that he was born in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The cocktail of drugs he takes daily doesn't help and the face-blindness from which he suffers only adds to his feeling of isolation. In his dreams, Epic lives in the countryside with the girl he loves. In his dreams, Epic is the cherished son of proud and ever-present parents. In his dreams, Epic is everything he was meant to be. But nobody ever lives their dreams, do they? Just as he begins seeing a new and unorthodox therapist, Epic also meets the bold and blithe Abigail Ayr. And when a novel found on the subway begins to strangely mirror events in his own life, the mysteries of Epic Small's dreams quickly and uncontrollably begin to unravel. |
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Damned Souls and a Sangria (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 8) by Annette Marie Once upon a time, I was your average spunky redhead with the lamest employment history ever, a shaky relationship with my only family member, and no idea what I was doing with my life. Now, I'm a pseudo mythic with the best bartending job in the world, the most amazing (and hot) best friends I never knew I needed, and a guild of misfit magic-users who've become my extended family. And I'm about to lose it all. In my desperation to save Ezra, I stumbled into a web of ruthless deception--and seriously pissed off a sleeping hydra. Now its every murderous head is turned toward me and my guild, and I don't know how to stop it. I'm not sure I can. I'm not sure anyone can. But if I don't, we're all doomed--Ezra, Aaron, Kai, and my beloved guild. |
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Lost Talismans and a Tequila (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 7) by Annette Marie You know that squirmy sensation in your gut when you have no idea what you're doing and you're about to screw everything up? Yeah, that feeling. I thought I was a good judge of character, but recent events proved me very wrong. Now, in a brilliant demonstration of my newfound caution, I'm putting all my faith in a demonâa demon who's tried to kill me before. The squirmy feeling is making sense, right? Unfortunately, I don't have any other options. Ezra's time is almost up, which means I need answers and I need them fast. So it's time to toughen up, pack my gear, and find me one of the most illegal, reviled, and scarce mythics out there: a demon-mage summoner. And all I have to do is follow a demon's instructions on where to look. How could that go wrong? |
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Druid Vices and a Vodka (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 6) by Annette Marie I've said it before, but sometimes I'm a bad person. I cheated on my twelfth grade math final, I've run countless yellow lights, and I gossip about how hot my kickass best friends are. (Good thing my job as a guild bartender doesn't require moral perfection.) But there's bad, and then there's bad. And I'm not sure which applies to a certain dark druid/wanted criminal/reluctant friend of mine. His transgressions include black-magic dealings, kidnapping, and murder, and he's about to add "revenge-fueled killing spree" to his resumeâif I don't stop him. Should I stop him? He and his nemesis are gearing up to tear each other apart, rogues and vultures are converging with their sights on the spoils, and the guilds that would normally stomp them into the ground are under attack. We're on the verge of an all-out criminal turf war, and my time to decide is almost up. Who's the real bad guy ... and do I dare stand in his way? |
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The Alchemist and an Amaretto (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 5) by Annette Marie As a guild bartender, I can handle pretty much anything--mages, sorcerers, witches, the occasional demon. But show me anything family-related and I'd rather run for the hills. It doesn't even have to be my family. So I have no idea why I thought spending the holidays with Aaron's mom and pop was a good idea. Meeting his famous parents is already terrifying enough, but I've got a bigger problem. Students of his family's renowned mage academy are being attacked on the grounds--and somehow no one has seen a single assailant? Unexplained tracks litter the nearby woods, rumors of forbidden alchemy are circulating the campus...and Ezra has been acting strangely since we arrived. Something deadly is brewing in the shadow of Sinclair Academy, and the longer we take to uncover it, the more dangerous it becomes. But no matter the risk, we'll protect the students. And Aaron's parents too, I suppose. If we have to. |
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Demon Magic and a Martini (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 4) by Annette Marie When I first landed a bartending job at the local guild, I didn't know a thing about magic. These days, I'm practically an expert on the different magical classes, but there's one nobody ever talks about: Demonica. Turns out they have a good reason for that. My guild is strictly hellion-free, but some people will risk life and soul to control the biggest bullies on the mythic playground. And now a demon has been loosed in the city. My three best friends are determined to slay it, but even badass combat mages are critically out-magicked. And that's not all. The monster they're tracking--it's not hiding. It's not fleeing. It's not leaving a trail of corpses everywhere it goes. The demon is hunting too. And in a city full of mythics, it's searching for deadlier prey. If we can't unravel the demon's sinister motivations, more innocent people will die, but finding the answers means digging into dark secrets...and learning truths I never wanted to know. -- Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn't a reverse harem. It's 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy. |
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Two Witches and a Whiskey (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 3) by Annette Marie Three months ago, I landed a job as a bartender. But not at a bar--at a guild. Yeah, the magic kind. I'm not a badass mage like my three smokin' hot best friends. I'm not a sorcerer or an alchemist, or even a wussy witch. I'm just a human, slinging drinks like a pro and keeping my non-magical nose out of mythic business. Seriously, I know my limits. So why am I currently standing in a black-magic ritual circle across from a fae lord? Somewhere behind me, my three mage friends are battling for their lives. Somewhere near my feet is the rogue witch I just knocked out with a stolen spell. And I have about five seconds to convince this very angry sea god not to shmoosh me like a bug. I'm pretty sure this wasn't in the job description. -- Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn't a reverse harem. It's 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy. |
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Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 2) by Annette Marie When I found myself facing down the scariest black-magic felon in the city, practically daring him to abduct me, I had to wonder exactly how I ended up here. It all started when I accidentally landed a job as a bartender--but not at a bar. At a guild, populated by mages, sorcerers, alchemists, witches, and psychics. Good thing this lame-o human is adaptable, right? Then my favorite guild members--three sexy, powerful, and intermittently charming mages--asked for my help. Did they want access to my encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails? Oh no. They wanted to wrap me up in a pretty ribbon and plunk me in the crosshairs of a murderous rogue to lure him out of hiding. So that's what we did. And that's why I'm here. About to be kidnapped. Oh, and our grand plan for safely capturing said murderous rogue? Yeah, that completely fell apart about two minutes ago. Why did I agree to this again? -- Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn't a reverse harem. It's 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy. |
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Three Mages and a Margarita (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 1) by Annette Marie Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig. It went downhill the moment they asked for a trial shift instead of an interviewâto see if I'd mesh with their "special" clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete jerks, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right? I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they ... offered me the job? It turns out this place isn't a bar. It's a guild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I'm exactly the kind of takes-no-shit bartender this guild needs, or there's a good reason no one else wants to work here. So what's a broke girl to do? Take the job, of courseâwith a pay raise. -- Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn't a reverse harem. It's 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy. Tori has no problem getting herself into trouble in every book in the Guild Codex series, but each one is a complete adventure. |