stories in and

Immunity Bond: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel about Genetically Engineered Humans (Modified Humans Book 2)

Immunity Bond: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel about Genetically Engineered Humans (Modified Humans Book 2) by L.m Spillsbury

Early 22nd century. The world has been decimated by pandemics and war. Technocracy and powerful corporations have come to dominate human society. Jian, a rare genetically engineered human, was created for his specialized immune system, which produces X-cells to save normal humans from disease. His owners control him through complex psychological conditioning that addicts him, against his will, to two other Modifieds. Sought after by competing gen-tech companies as well as agents desperate to fight novel hybrid diseases, all he wants is to escape the constant surveillance and meddling that define his life — a goal that’s more difficult now that he’s entangled with lovers he didn’t want. Struggling to remain rational in the face of their irresistible attraction, he finds himself in an impossible situation when unknown forces strike at the heart of his Triad. As choices dwindle and new danger arises from the most unexpected direction, will he be able to save his partners as well as himself? Or will one of his Three have to be sacrificed? Imagining a future extrapolated from current trends in clandestine psychological manipulation, fear of disease, rise of technocracy, and erosion of personal freedoms, this novel explores the price of having no personal freedom or autonomy. Couched in an unconventional love story, Immunity Bond affirms the indomitable humanity at the core of each one of us. Be warned: Immunity Bond deals with a menage relationship and explicit sexuality. If this will offend you, please move on to reading material that's more in line with your tastes.


The Soft Landing Collection: Sapphic Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories

The Soft Landing Collection: Sapphic Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories by Jacquelynn Lyon

Visit worlds with mermaids trapped in zoos, floating continents that block out the sun, curses that sprout flowers from your skin, astronauts on dying spaceships, and forests haunted by hungry bog witches. Five short stories that revolve around the love between women and the fantastical world they inhabit. Sagas of a mermaid fascinated by the enclosure next to hers. A genius young woman trying to reach a stranger in the sky. A bog hag threatening to eat a princess that can’t seem to stay away from her. Astronauts conversing as one hurtles into Jupiter’s atmosphere on a doomed voyage. A woman cursed to grow flowers from her skin when kissed and the knight that promises to save her. Inspired by fairy tales, folklore, classic science fiction, an


Nyx and Jaz (The Infinity Project; Infinity: Prime Book 1)

Nyx and Jaz (The Infinity Project; Infinity: Prime Book 1) by Saje Williams

Nikki Sanchez is desperate. Her father has been framed and is scheduled for execution by a rogue government. She can hear agents banging on her door, eager to tie up loose ends. Utterly out of options, she's pulled back into a memory of an urban legend from her childhood. In the bathroom mirror she speaks the words. "Lady of Blades." As the third repetition tumbles from her lips, she hears the agents burst through the door. She steps out to meet them, certain she's about to die. Fate has other ideas. As does the Lady of Blades.


Defending Jessica

Defending Jessica by Benna Bos

From the author of the Lesfic Bard Award winning novel “Investigating Helen” comes another stand-alone installation in the Murder by the Bay Mystery Series
 Few people accused of murder are as unlikable as Veronica Turner’s client, Jessica French. So to give the haughty heiress the best defense possible Veronica needs help from her favorite true crime podcast. But when she meets the newest sound tech for “Murder by the Bay”, she is instantly enthralled. She wants nothing more than to get close to the stunning, shy woman. Focused on her new job, Kaia Kent pays little attention to the pushy attorney defending their latest podcast subject. But Veronica just keeps coming around, and every time she does, Kaia finds herself slipping a little further away from dislike and toward serious attraction. With an innocent woman to defend, a murderer on the loose, and opposites that are smashed together in a whirlwind of fear, intrigue, and passion, defending Jessica will prove to be anything but easy.


Investigating Helen

Investigating Helen by Benna Bos

Dr. Helen Nims is hauled into the police station when her new girlfriend is found murdered. Terrified and confused, she finds comfort from a stranger. But when that stranger turns out to be a crime reporter, Helen has to decide if she can be trusted or if confiding in the stunning podcaster will pull Helen deeper into suspicion. Agnes Coates loves reporting on true crime. But it hits a little close to home when her first crush from high school is found dead in a bathtub. A gorgeous surgeon is tangled up in the police dragnet as they search for the killer, and Agnes must navigate her own feelings as she digs into the mystery and seeks out the truth. With so much to lose, Agnes and Helen will walk the line between kisses and crime.


Twixt

Twixt by Sarah Diemer

You wake upon the cold ground. As you struggle to rise, as your breath exhales like a ghost, you know only two things: You can’t remember who you are. And you’re being hunted. No one sleeps in Abeo City. The lost souls gather indoors at night as Snatchers tear through the sky on black-feathered wings, stalking them. But inside the rotting walls of the Safe Houses comes a quieter, creeping danger. The people of Abeo City have forgotten their pasts, and they can trade locks of their hair to sinister women known only as the Sixers for an addictive drug. Nox will give you back a single memory–for a price. Like the other lost souls, Lottie wakens in this harsh landscape and runs in terror from the Snatchers. But she soon comes to realize that she is not at all like the people of Abeo City. When she takes Nox, her memories remain a mystery, and the monsters who fill the sky at night refuse to snatch her. Trying to understand who she is, and how she ended up in such a hopeless place, Lottie bands together with other outcasts, including a brave and lovely girl named Charlie. In the darkness, and despite the threat of a monstrous end, love begins to grow. But as Lottie and Charlie plot their escape from Abeo City, Lottie’s dark secrets begin to surface, along with the disturbing truth about Twixt: a truth that could cost her everything. TWIXT is a stunning, page-turning adventure, part YA paranormal romance, part thrilling horror, from award-winning YA author Sarah Diemer.


Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration

Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration by Sarah Diemer

We're all afraid of monsters. They coil in our subconscious, slither along the edges of thought. Still we creep to the crackling fire to whisper their stories. Love Devours is a collection of new fables for queer women, extracted from the bones of the dark: ominous fairy tales, sinister myths, dystopias rife with nightmares. But in the midst of monsters, love still struggles to find the light. A witch traps a beast of the sea; a corpse is reanimated out of love; a muse drains her supplicant; a priestess worships in a church of wolves. Six monster stories lurk within these pages. Six heroines, sometimes monsters themselves, unearth romance, rebuild worlds, shatter spells. Their courage unveils the secret faces of humankind's greatest compulsions: fear and love. Come into the dark and be devoured. Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration is S.E. Diemer's first anthology, a collection of queer dark fantasy and science fiction


Traitor's Revenge (Tales From Undersea Book 1)

Traitor's Revenge (Tales From Undersea Book 1) by Jessica Wood

Secrets always rise to the surface. Pirate Captain Alethea Hera found comfort with her life in the Undersea world of submarines, sunken cities, and sea monsters - a destination for all those, such as herself, who wish to run away from their past. But now, the discovery of an enchanted gemstone and a legendary treasure drives her past to haunt her. Alethea's love-sick daughter Marina has her eye on an attractive Viking shieldmaiden, but raised in piracy, even she can't ignore the allure of a treasure hunt. Unfortunately, this hunt will not only drive her apart from her love, but from her mother and her life in the Undersea world. Will Alethea dare to face her past in order to keep her pirate crew safe? Can Marina make the right choice for her future, and whether her mother has a place in it? Embark on the first thrilling Undersea novel and set sail for a rollicking steampunk pirate adventure! Want a female Jack Sparrow? She's here!


Return of the Dragonriders (DragonBirth, DragonWing, DragonSword)

Return of the Dragonriders (DragonBirth, DragonWing, DragonSword) by Raina Nightingale

The dragons are extinct. None have been seen in a lifetime, and it is all to the good of the world that the soul-devouring demons are no more. In a small village in the foothills, a devout girl named Silmavalien and her agnostic fiance, Noren, find two mysterious objects. When an albino dragon hatches in her room and Silmavalien's soul is bonded to the dragon's in a song of fire, her world is changed forever. Everything she has been taught is a lie, and everyone she knows is to be feared. Before she can marry Noren, she flees into the wilderness, where the challenge of winter in the mountains almost proves her and Minth's end. Noren fears for Silmavalien's disappearance. When his object hatches the dragon Elninya, just outside the gates of the Oracle's city, Noren finds his answers, but questions why Silmavalien would not trust him. He half-heartedly tries to find her, while struggling to hide his identity and his growing dragon in kingdoms where to be discovered is to be burned alive. But his fear could turn him into the monster he fears. No matter how far they run, neither Silmavalien nor Noren can escape the Nightmare that seeks to devour their souls and slay their dragons. But if they accept it, the Gift of the Volcano, born in fire and darkness, will be enough to win their battle. Includes an exclusive short story and over 40 illustrations.


The Warrior Midwife

The Warrior Midwife by E.P Bali

"The fae are no joke, girl. Be wise. Be smart. Be cunning if you can
" PRINCESS. MIDWIFE. WARRIOR Her father made a binding agreement with the fae king to protect his kingdom. Now Crown Princess Saraya must pay the price: marry the crown fae prince, go into the monster's lair and give up her protection of the vulnerable women of her home, Quartz City. But fate would not have her sent into the fae kingdom, instead, forces far greater than she could have imagined plot the destruction of humanity. The Order of Temari, an ancient guild of warrior midwives, sworn to protect women in childbirth from the demons who would take their baby's magical abilities are all but dead. But with Saraya's coming of age, the Order has a chance at rebirth. Instead of going to sit as a human caged and betrothed in the fae kingdom, Saraya disguises herself as a fae warrior and sneaks away into the Mountain Academy, where fae males learn to become full blooded warriors
 She's the Man meets Sarah J. Maas in this romantic fantasy adventure


The Witch Queen's mate

The Witch Queen's mate by Jennifer Karter

There couldn’t have been a worse time for Barra to be chosen by her gods as the next queen of the Neamairtese. She and a group of her people are being marched to the distant Empire of Victricus to be slaves. Headstrong and independent, Barra never saw herself as a leader, and her chances of saving her people dwindle when her heart’s mate turns out to be a Svekard, the ancient sworn enemy of the Neamairtese. Without her mate, Barra cannot complete her connection to divine magic and free her people. Silvi, a Svekard veterinarian, was simply trying to survive the march south when she was kissed by the Neamairtese witch, Barra. Now, Silvi has inhuman speed and strength to protect the witch, even at the cost of hurting her own people, an incredible dishonor. Can Barra and Silvi’s love overcome their ingrained hatred and prejudice to bring their people together and save them all not just from slavery, but destruction?


Zena the Lesbian Space Pop Star

Zena the Lesbian Space Pop Star by Summer Rena

A brilliant scientist, skilled fighter, adored pop star, and incredibly modest about it all, Zena Starr is the most beloved woman in the galaxy. And only a few people want to kill her for it. One of them? A bloodthirsty aristocrat from Zena's past. The other? The mutant assassin she hired to bring back Zena's head. There’s nothing Zena hates more than losing, and the assassin’s trap awaiting her at an empty lunar amusement park risks the loss of everything Zena’s ever given a damn about: her stardom, her reputation, and her eccentric crew of misfits that have become Zena’s family. To protect what she loves, Zena must survive a life or death battle with the most dangerous assassin to ever cross the stars, facing off with murderous singing robots, rogue petting zoo monstrosities, and off-the-rails hyperspeed trains along the way.


Kershin the Fire mage

Kershin the Fire mage by Stephen J Wolf

How do you control a power you hate? Kershin's attempts at a normal life have always been fruitless, but now he's sure he'll be cursed forever. After shunning his fire magic for years, he's now forced to either tame it himself or be tamed by a persistent mage hunter. The harder he tries, the worse the situation gets, and as he's hunted across the land, he leaves destruction in his wake. Hessia has been scarred by a fire mage before, but she's determined to never be helpless again. On her mission to tame the destructive fire mage, she faces trials that shake her to her core. Trials that test her mettle, threaten her beliefs, and decimate the villages she's trying to protect. Will she fall prey to her own hunt? The fire takes. The fire consumes. The fire kills. These two know that very well. As they clash, they discover that the threats they face may be greater than either of them imagined.


The Endless Forest

The Endless Forest by Ever Hobbes

Freyja's village is on the brink - pushed to the edge of the world by the trees. They grow so fast that if left untended for a week would be sprouting in every nook and cranny of her town. But worse than that is what lives within the cursed growth. Freyja is a nahvel - a knight protector tasked with defending her people from the horrible creatures that spill forth from the woods. She inherits a great treasure, and great burden - her sword, shield, and suit of armour. All of them are relics of the old magic, now long forgotten. So when something attacks from the shadows, being the only one with the means to do so, she is duty-bound to hunt it down. However, she soon finds out the forest holds much more than monsters. It harbours secrets that could change her perception of the world as she knows it. She is poised to discover them all, and more, when she enters... The Endless Forest.


Children of Artifice

Children of Artifice by Dania Ware

An ancient city, sealed in a vast crater. A history of metallurgical magic, and of Builders that could craft the living, breathing stone. Caphen Talmar is the high-born son of an elite family, descended from the Builders themselves, his artistic career ruined when his ex-lover broke his fingers. One night, gambling down at the wharfside – somewhere he shouldn’t have been in the first place – he meets Aden. An uncomplicated, rough-edged dockworker, Aden is everything Caph needs to forget the pressures of his father’s constant criticism. But this isn’t just another one-night stand. Aden is trying to find his sister, and he needs Caph’s help. Soon, they find themselves tangled in a deadly game of trust, lies and political rebellion. And, as Caph begins to understand the real depth of the horrors they’ve uncovered, he learns that Aden is not what he seems. And Aden knows more about the coming destruction than Caph could ever have guessed. ‘A skilful alchemy of raw emotion, renegade sensuality and emboldened fantasy. Ware tears out her readers’ hearts and dips them in molten gold.’ – Kim Lakin-Smith Excerpts of a Review by Tej Turner Children of Artifice is one of those novels where, from the very beginning, it is hard to know what to expect (and I mean that in a good way!). The author has described it as an ‘urban fairy tale’, which is very fitting. It does have that feel of old and new. It is quite gritty at times, and yet full of beautiful moments. I am particularly pleased with this novel’s diverse voices. Both same-sex and heteronormative romances take place during the story but none are presented as bring particularly shocking and the characters are never given labels, and yet it still examines issues of identity, prejudice, and sexual fluidity which are relatable to a modern day reader. It is refreshing to read a novel written in such a way. Children of Artifice has a fantastic story, one I would recommend to readers of any genre and age. It conjures beautiful imagery and puts you in a state of living dream, taking you on an emotional journey which stays with you. I am looking forward to the sequel.


Shackin' Up: Shackin’ Up: Short Stories of Queer Romance and Forced Proximity

Shackin' Up: Shackin’ Up: Short Stories of Queer Romance and Forced Proximity by Augusta Connor

Get cozy with Space Fruit Press’s collection of stories, where queer couples find themselves getting unexpectedly close. Whether it’s a vacation rental, cabin in the woods, or a run-down motel, any port in a storm can get awfully hot when it’s the right pair trapped inside. There may only be one bed, but there’s plenty between these covers to keep you warm.


Chronicles of My Alien Invasion Life

Chronicles of My Alien Invasion Life by Jes McCutchen

SPSFC 2022

Chuck and her friends lost a good one last summer, but none of them are convinced that Ghost is truly gone. Once she recovers from her accident, she's ready to find the truth behind where he went. With the help of her friends, Bailey, Corrin, and Pacey, Chuck will do what she can to track down Ghost, even if it means she maybe kinda gets abducted. It's complicated. Will Chuck be able to reunite her crew, and, more importantly, will she do it without embarrassing herself? Probably not, but she's gotta try.


Returning to You

Returning to You by Gwen Tolios

Monica’s relationship with her father is falling apart, made more obvious when her return to Madison after years aboard results in him throwing her out of the house. Lisa Carson, her BFF and old college roommate, takes her in. Turns out Lisa has her own issues with her parents – they’re pushing her to date despite her lack of desire. So when Monica joins a Carson family dinner, she lies and says it’s starting a relationship with Lisa that brought her back to America. Lisa goes along with the ruse – it gets her parents off her back and it’s only until Monica repairs her relationship with her father and moves out. What Monica failed to take into account however is that crush she had on Lisa in college? Yeah, that didn’t go away.


Everybody's Missing (Somebody) (Stake Sauce Arc 2)

Everybody's Missing (Somebody) (Stake Sauce Arc 2) by RoAnna Sylver

Kraken Collective

Arc 2, In Which: Our friends, some old and some new, must awaken a powerful, centuries-old magical force - before an old enemy gets there first... Life for Jude is finally getting back to normal - or as normal as it gets when your new boyfriend has fangs, your old maybe-boyfriend isn't dead after all (and has even bigger fangs), and everyone's scrambling to adjust their lives accordingly. There's enough to worry about without evil, ancient vampires closing in, preparing dark rituals, and threatening to undo everything Jude, Pixie, and their loved ones have built together. But as they've all seen, normal doesn't tend to last for long. And it's hard to shake the feeling that something's missing. But then, it seems like everybody's missing somebody.


The Lifeline Signal (Chameleon Moon Book 2)

The Lifeline Signal (Chameleon Moon Book 2) by RoAnna Sylver

Parole is still burning. And now the day everyone has been waiting for is finally here: it’s collapsed. A lucky few managed to escape with their lives. But while their city burned, the world outside suffered its own devastating disaster. The Tartarus Zone is a deadly wasteland a thousand miles wide, filled with toxic storms, ghostly horrors, and just as many Eyes in the Sky as ever. Somehow, this new nightmare is connected to Parole. And it’s spreading. Now Parole’s only hope lies in the hands of three teenagers reunited by their long-lost friend Gabriel - in their dreams. Growing up outside Parole, Shiloh Cole always had to keep xir energetic powers a secret, except from xir parents, Parole’s strategist-hero Garrett, and Tartarus expert Maureen. When Parole collapsed, all contact was lost. Now, connected by Gabriel and their colliding pasts, xie joins collapse survivor Annie and the enigmatic, charismatic Chance on a desperate cross-country race, carrying a disc of xir mother’s vital plans, whose encrypted contents may be Parole’s salvation. First they’ll board the FireRunner, a ship full of familiar faces that now sails through Tartarus’ poison storms. Together, they’ll survive Tartarus’ hazards, send a lifeline to lost Parole - and uncover the mystery connecting every one of them. The world outside Parole isn't the one they remember, and it didn’t want them back. But they'll save it just the same. It's what heroes do.


The Blood We Spill

The Blood We Spill by Jo Havens

What would make the most ruthless ice-queen assassin in the Kingdom hesitate? Bound to the Kingdom for life, Cie serves a cruel King, her knives pledged to his word, her life at his mercy. She is also one of the Kingdom’s most privileged slaves – one of the Praetoria: five of the best, sworn to protect the Prince and, one day, to rule at his side. It’s not a bad life – luxurious parties in any of the eighteen worlds, beautiful women falling over themselves to land in her bed, her orders to be obeyed by over forty-eight billion citizens. But when a routine job goes spectacularly wrong, Cie discovers there is a witness to her failure – a witness to a political assassination the King would never want revealed. It’s Cie’s intense misfortune that the witness is a beauty – a woman with sweet, warm skin that Cie longs to sink into, with deep, brown eyes that hold promises that Cie has only ever dreamt of, a woman whose embrace offers a gentleness and a kindness Cie craves above all else. Jemma thought she’d been in love before, but when she falls for the King’s assassin, she falls hard. Cie burns her up – the assassin plays fast and loves harder, and Jemma’s head is whirling even as her body is thrilled. Jemma watches as a growing terrorist threat pushes the King to madness and Cie’s orders become more and more violent. The woman she thinks she loves is steeped in red. Is it even possible for a girl from the suburbs to love a person so drenched in blood?


Stake Sauce (Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really)

Stake Sauce (Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really) by RoAnna Sylver

Kraken Collective

Jude used to leap out of helicopters to rescue/protect people from terrifying infernos. Now, by day, he protects the local mall from rowdy teenagers who ride their skateboards inside. By night, he protects the the parking lot, and the rest of Portland, from undead, bloodsucking creatures of the darkness. Or would if he could find them. Pixie refuses to bite anyone. Assault/murder/draining fluids isn’t punk, even if being a vampire really kind of is. He’s very hungry by now, and the much bigger, meaner, deadlier vamps kick him around on the nightly. Jude would love to find and fight some actual undead bullies. And Pixie could use some help staying
 ‘alive.’ Time to make a deal. Of course, life still sucks when you’re a vampire who refuses to suck blood. Fortunately, there’s a really interesting new barbecue restaurant in the mall, with an intriguing new recipe. (They say the secret ingredient is
 love. No, really.)


Chameleon Moon

Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver

The city of Parole is burning. Like Venice slips into the sea, Parole crumbles into fire. The entire population inside has been quarantined and left to die - directly over the open flame. Eye in the Sky, a deadly and merciless police force ensures no one escapes. Ever. All that's keeping Parole alive is faith in the midst of horrors and death, trust in the face of desperation... and their fantastic, terrifying, and beautiful superhuman abilities. Regan, silent, scaly stealth expert, is haunted by ten years of anxiety, trauma and terror, and he's finally reached his limit. Evelyn is a fearless force on stage and sonic-superheroic revolutionary on the streets. Now they have a choice - and a chance to not only escape from Parole, but unravel the mystery deep in its burning heart. And most of all, discover the truth about their own entwining pasts. Parole's a rough place to live. But they're not dead yet. If they can survive the imminent cataclysmic disaster, they might just stay that way...


Shades: the dragon and the fire

Shades: the dragon and the fire by Atlas Theseus Schmidt

The year is 2635. A techno-biological virus has transformed the human race and gifted some with superhuman abilities. Artemis Rhyex has lived in this virus-stricken dystopia for sixteen years, beaten and starved, surviving virtually on the bottom of society. As luck and choices take her higher through the echelons, she begins to notice that the divide between the privileged Overseers, the commoner Purities, and the super-human terrorist Shades, is far deeper than she has been led to believe. When Artemis’s status takes a sudden plunge, and she transforms from a Purity into the one thing she fears most, she is forced to confront the world’s growing injustice while adapting to her new powers and learning to survive in a world that now wants her dead. She joins forces with the insane Shade “Pyro” on a vendetta to destroy the Overseers’ fascist regime, and ultimately challenge society’s fundamental ideas of what it means to be a person.


Epilogues for Lost Gods

Epilogues for Lost Gods by Cat Rector

Sigyn: We survived Ragnarok and tried to usher in a new era. Now the realms consist of two minuscule factions encamped in the remnants of Asgard and Vanaheim. But the gods are greedy. Anyone not under Asgard's control must fall. When they come, they're going to win. The realms are empty. There's no one left to help us. No one except the dead in Helheim. _________ Loki: When I died, I took everyone with me. Almost everyone. I've waited for Sigyn every day, but she never comes. Never dies. Everyone down here knows what I did. Who I am. And I must live-exist-with the weight of that guilt, those scars. She's going to come back someday, and I'm going to be alright. Be better. I'd do anything for her. I'd do anything to be with her. If only she'd ask. _________ Epilogues for Lost Gods is a story about grief and healing, and is the final chapter of The Goddess of Nothing At All


The Dreamer and the Marked

The Dreamer and the Marked by Airic Fenn

In the wake of her Mam's death, Krystal Monarain has turned to escapism, throwing herself into the fantastic stories she was told as a child and the strange, recurring dreams she has at night. But she never quite believed her Mam's tales that her birth mother wasn't human-That is until Draqa, a stranger from one of her dreams, appears in her life and tells her she's part fae. So she does the unthinkable and risks following him into Arai, the realm where the fae have lived unbothered for hundreds of years. For Draqa, however, Krystal's arrival in his world could mean his execution, and he must do everything he can to get her off his hands before they're caught. Meanwhile, unrest is growing between the fae and those they deem a threat to the safety of their realm, and when someone from Draqa's past comes to him seeking aid, he and Krystal may have no choice but to get involved.


City of Deceit

City of Deceit by Claudie Arseneault

Kraken Collective

City of Deceit is the third installment in the City of Spires trilogy. As such, please be advised that its blurb contains spoilers for the first two books. The Myrian Enclave is in disarray after a Dathirii strike team interrupts Avenazar’s dangerous ritual, but Diel Dathirii is in no position to take advantage of it while his home is lost to Allastam’s soldiers. Despite the Myrian trade war’s brutal turn, its key battles still happen in the shadows. Resistance inside the Dathirii Tower organizes itself around the family’s new steward, Yultes, even though he is as uncertain of his allegiances as everyone else. Outside, Branwen reaches to every spymaster resource she has to strengthen their position and undermine the Myrian-Allastam alliance. When Master Avenazar recovers from his grievous injury and sets his mind to revenge, the unsteady alliances forged within and without the Dathirii Tower will decide the city’s future.


City of Betrayal

City of Betrayal by Claudie Arseneault

Kraken Collective

The whole city is searching for Hasryan. Lord Allastam wants to take bloody, ruthless revenge for the murder of his wife. Inspector Sora Sharpe wants to bring him to justice for his crimes against the city. Yet no one knows where to find him except Lord Arathiel Brasten, who vanished 130 years ago only to magically return. While the city’s eyes are turned to these two, no one is willing to help Lord Diel Dathirii free Isandor from the influence of the Myrian Enclave and their vengeful leader, Avenazar. High Priest Varden Daramond could help Diel, except Varden has been imprisoned. Lord Dathirii’s only hope of rescuing Varden is Arathiel. An alliance with him, however, would invoke the wrath of the Golden Table
 and Lord Allastam himself. With enemies gathering around him, Diel is left without allies in Isandor’s upper spheres and must place his fate in Lower City residents. But little does he know, the city he’s trying to save might well save him in return.


City of Strife

City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault

Kraken Collective

Isandor, City of Spires. A hundred and thirty years have passed since Arathiel last set foot in his home city. Isandor hasn’t changed—bickering merchant families still vie for power through eccentric shows of wealth—but he has. His family is long dead, a magical trap has dulled his senses, and he returns seeking a sense of belonging now long lost. Arathiel hides in the Lower City, piecing together a new life among in a shelter dedicated to the homeless and the poor, befriending an uncommon trio: the Shelter’s rageful owner, Larryn, his dark elven friend Hasryan, and Cal the cheese-loving halfling. When Hasryan is accused of Isandor’s most infamous assassination of the last decade, what little peace Arathiel has managed to find for himself is shattered. Hasryan is innocent
 he thinks. In order to save him, Arathiel may have to shatter the shreds of home he’d managed to build for himself. Arathiel could appeal to the Dathirii—a noble elven family who knew him before he disappeared—but he would have to stop hiding, and they have battles of their own to fight. The idealistic Lord Dathirii is waging a battle of honour and justice against the cruel Myrian Empire, objecting to their slavery, their magics, and inhumane treatment of their apprentices. One he could win, if only he could convince Isandor’s rulers to stop courting Myrian’s favours for profit. In the ripples that follow Diel’s opposition, friendships shatter and alliances crumble. Arathiel, the Dathirii, and everyone in Isandor fights to preserve their homes, even if the struggle changes them irrevocably.


The Hereafter Bytes

The Hereafter Bytes by Vincent Scott

Come for the cyberspace, stay for the laughs. Come for the laughs, stay for the cyberspace. Romeo is a digital copy of his dead bio self—a ghost—in a spindly robot body. When Romeo’s friend Abigail—a dominatrix with a gift for uncovering secrets—tells Romeo she’s at risk because of dangerous info from a client, Romeo agrees to help her investigate. Pursued by digital Golden Retrievers and a real-world assassin, Romeo slips in and out of cyberspace in a madcap race for survival. Can he unmask the criminal who threatens the integrity of cyberspace and the real-world economy before it’s too late?


Survivors

Survivors by Amy Marsden

It’s Jennifer’s 24th birthday and she planned to spend it having fun with her friends. Instead, she ends up running for her life through the dark streets of London. Her world is torn apart by a new disease, the likes of which have never been seen before. The government’s decision to conceal its deadly nature exacerbates the panic, and in all the confusion Jennifer is bitten by an infected person. That’s it, right? Her life over. Wrong. Immune to the virus’s ravaging effects, Jennifer finds herself with a small group of survivors. Together they must fight to stay alive long enough for a cure to be found. Humanity won’t be beaten so easily. But madness looms large, and safety seems forever out of reach.


What The Stars Didn't Show Us

What The Stars Didn't Show Us by Margherita Scialla

Life isn't easy when you have a brother who's always considered better than you. Hyunsuk's situation is even worse since he shares the same face as his so-called perfect twin. His life starts to change, however, when a new student arrives at his school and she sees something in him no one else had ever bothered to look for. Hialeah, already too familiar with the feeling of being alone, is set on befriending him, but can Hyunsuk finally come out of his twin’s shadow and open up to someone, when his brother makes it clear he doesn’t want him to find happiness?


Song of Phoenix and Ink

Song of Phoenix and Ink by Margherita Scialla

[new adult fantasy novel with polyamory themes.] All Nadzia Kaminski wanted was to finish writing her novel. When she finally finished the manuscript for Crimson Mayhem, she did what any writer would: gave it to her best friend to read. Her friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she had expected and, upset by her criticism, Nadzia left her at the cafĂ© where they had met. Waking up the next morning, Nadzia was no longer in her bedroom, finding herself in a world of her creation, surrounded by dangerous magic and vaguely familiar settings. With a country at war and no clear way home, time is running out and Nadzia has to find a way to gain the trust of the very people she created and figure out her confusing feelings for two of her own characters. She soon realizes stories aren’t perfect when there is no one left to write them.


Ashthorne

Ashthorne by April Yates

In the aftermath of WWI, Adelaide Frost is on the run from a family who do not understand her. Hoping to do some good, she signs up to become a nurse at Ashthorne, a manor house newly designated as a convalescence home for injured soldiers. She quickly falls in love with the owner’s daughter, Evelyn, who hides a warm heart beneath a chilly exterior. But Evelyn has her suspicions about what’s really happening at the hospital, and as Adelaide helps her investigate, it soon becomes apparent that there are more inhabitants residing at Ashthorne than first thought. A romantic Gothic treat perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and The Haunting of Bly Manor


The Ghosts of Tantor

The Ghosts of Tantor by Adam Gaffen

They think they're ready for this mission. They're wrong. The Terran Federation is finally at peace and ready to begin serious exploration. The TFS Pike is the newest ship in the Fleet, purpose-built for deep space missions. Four kilometers long, with a crew of four thousand, she’s well-equipped for the years ahead. If only her crew was as prepared. Ensign Nicole Crozier, the former Premier of the Luna Free State, has left politics behind to pursue a career in the Fleet. But her stint as the Artemis Minister of War has landed her in Tactical instead of Science, her passion, and she’s not happy about it. Still, she’s been promised a chance to switch tracks, so for now she’ll deal. Everything changes when Nicole discovers a rogue planet, and she’s given command of the landing party. She’s irritated her superior but that’s the least of her problems when an ancient alien artifact emerges from the ice. As Nicole and her team explore the interior, the planet and her team vanish. The crew of the Pike must use all the tricks and tools available to get their missing people back. When they finally do, Nicole brings aboard a discovery which could change the course of history. Or end it. If you're a fan of Star Trek: Voyager, Battlestar Galactica 2003, Interstellar, or 2001: A Space Odyssey, then this is for you.


Paint

Paint by Colin Brooks

How do you navigate your life when you can finally make your own decisions? As Tucker Peterson moves away from home for the first time to attend college in Orlando, this is a question he must ask himself. He still hasn't told his family he's gay, he has no idea what he wants to do with his life, and now that he can do whatever he wants, he hasn't the slightest clue what should come next. Tucker, with the help of his new assertive friend Kiara, must learn to balance his newfound freedom with school and a job, and if he meets a cute boy on the way, then that's just an added bonus. Paint is a story of self-discovery, of queerness outside the family-friendly safety net of a high school drama, and of drag queens when you need them the most. If you grew up enjoying coming of age stories like Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and John Green's Looking For Alaska, then you will enjoy the similar themes expressed through a more adult and queer lens in Paint.


Brightling

Brightling by C.E. Page

The hunt for a cure led them right into the heart of the Between, but what price will they have to pay to secure it? Caught in a deadly trap made of their own memories, Nea and Garret must find their way out before it’s too late. But as they delve deeper into dangerous intrigues that cross realms, they are confronted with knowledge that changes everything. Can they overcome this new threat? Or will they lose themselves in the unfathomable wilds of the Between? Back in their home realm, Margot is desperate for a distraction from Nea and Garret’s prolonged absence. With mounting rumours of restless dead and a tangled web of secrets left behind by Nea, she goes on a quest for an explanation that will lead her all the way to the City of Stars. There awaits a revelation that could plunge the known realms into chaos. As they all close in on the answers they seek, will they persevere or be swept away by powers beyond any of their control?


Path Of War

Path Of War by David Green

The Banished have made their move, now Haltveldt answers back. Reeling from the events at Solitude, Calene Alpenwood embarks on a journey to find meaning in all that she's seen, and discover the answers she so desperately seeks. Finding herself more alone than ever, Calene is trapped between doing what's right, and doing what needs to be done. Meanwhile, Kade Besem continues his search for his son, Arlo, and the strange warrior-monk Tilo. His hunt takes him deep into Banished territory and into the jaws of danger. Revelations are revealed, ancient secrets are uncovered and those who stand in the Empire's way can't hope to win when Haltveldt walks the Path of War.


In Solitude's Shadow

In Solitude's Shadow by David Green

Named #1 Book of 2021 - Magic Book Corner Review The tides of fate are shifting. The Banished have returned, and they have set their eyes on the walls of Solitude. Zanna Alpenwood, a powerful mage, and two hundred aged and forgotten Sparkers are all that stand between the Banished and the nation of Haltveldt. With time running out and the world at stake, Zanna is forced to reach out to her estranged daughter, Calene, and set her on an impossible quest. Calene quickly learns that enemies make unlikely allies as she teams up with both friend and foe on her journey to save her mother and Haltveldt. Forging their way over land and sea, uncovering dark plots and secret societies, Calene is forced to decide between her masters and her own conscience. Will they arrive in time to save the fortress of Solitude from destruction? Only one thing is certain; Ruin is assured if Solitude falls.


Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly by Jessie Thomas

A necromancer and a vampire walk into a cemetery
and if you’re wondering how this joke ends, that makes two of us. I’m Seraphina Mason, Buffalo’s only resident necromancer. While other people are on normal sleep schedules doing regular human things, I spend my nights conjuring spirits, resurrecting the dead, and sometimes a bit of poltergeist removal, if you need it. But I’m not even the most dangerous nocturnal creature lurking around the cemeteries. That’s where vampire Nathaniel Caligari waltzes in—all devastating eternal beauty and brooding charm, ready to ruin my life. He’d rather have a wooden stake shoved through his chest than ask for my help, yet here we are. Turns out the bloodsucker has something of a heart after all because he’s desperate, fearing his missing son is dead. Neither of us are excited about this, but I could really use the paycheck. So, we’re just going to have to set aside our petty insults and work together before this city buries his kid. If we don’t kill each other first.


Fyskar: Book 1 of Legend of the Bai

Fyskar: Book 1 of Legend of the Bai by Chapel Orahamm

1692 The Isle of Skye Eoin has returned as a plague doctor after ten years of banishment for revenge and a birthright. Fearchar and Seonaid have allowed the man to set up shop in their croft at the request of an old friend. The Plague Doctor is keeping secrets, though, and killing an entire clan is only the beginning. The void is waiting.


As You Wish (Shatterproof Bond #1)

As You Wish (Shatterproof Bond #1) by Isobel Starling

1 wedding, 2 best men, one hell of a love story! Declan Ramsay was set to be the best man at his brother's wedding in Scotland, sharing the best man duties with the bride's gay kid brother Sam. Sam was abroad finishing his studies so the best men communicated by email for more than a year and wouldn't meet for the first time until a few days before the wedding But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to see he isn't a kid at all, but a striking, athletic blond man with gorgeous green eyes and a wicked sense of humor. Declan is alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself. But is Sam Aiken all he appears to be? Also available in paperback and as an award-winning audiobook, narrated by Gary Furlong.


 'Love Is A Stranger'

'Love Is A Stranger' by John Wiltshire

Ex-SAS soldier Ben Rider falls in love with his enigmatic married boss Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen, but Nikolas is living a lie. A lie so profound that when the shadows are lifted, Ben realises he's in love with a very dangerous stranger. Ben has to choose between Nikolas and safety, but sometimes danger comes in a very seductive package.


Paper Forests

Paper Forests by Tegan Anderson

“While your children and grandchildren are away, I like to think that they’re visiting a fantastic place, somewhere where they aren’t restrained by an illness or held back by their own emotions, a place where there is nothing but health and happiness to greet them.” Once upon a time, Oliver wakes up in a Forest full of magic and monsters, not quite dead, but not quite alive either. He wakes with three other people whose lives have been cut short, each more tragically than the last. Together, they embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the Forest, where they will have to face the ghosts of their pasts and their long-hidden secrets. Secrets that will force Oliver to choose between finding a new life in the trees and finding a way home. Welcome to the Paper Forest.


Wanted (All That Glitters #1)

Wanted (All That Glitters #1) by Shalaena Medford

Tsingsei "Song" Gould has always led a privileged life, never wanting for anything. When Song is told she must choose a suitor, she flees with a street urchin who claims to know the location of a legendary lost treasure. Armed with a map, a stolen skyship, and no real plan, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Now, away from the comforts of her home, she must learn to exist in a dangerous world of magic and pirates. Wanted is the republication of two novellas, now combined into one novel! ï»żContent Warning: Contains graphic depictions of violence and situations which some may find triggering.


The Stars Will Guide Us Back

The Stars Will Guide Us Back by Rue Sparks

The special ability of a jellyfish may be one man's only hope to save his husband. In a world where the gods have returned, their only folly was not expecting humanity to fight back. When trauma disconnects someone's soul from their body, one person has the ability to reunite them. A family gift of reading the spirits in flames has taken everything from her, but can it give her everything she needs? In The Stars Will Guide Us Back, thirteen short stories encapsulating the elements of speculative fiction and magical realism travel the themes of mental health, loss, mortality, self-confidence, and finding hope through difficult circumstances. Explore the immersive worlds within, along with a range of peculiar, distinct, and queer characters. Sometimes confidence comes from knowing we have no other choice, and the ones who rescue us come from the strangest places. Dark and light collide in this collection that highlights the liminal spaces of the human experience. --- Content Warnings: Apocalypse/End of the World Scenario Brief Mentions of Toxic Masculinity Depression & Anxiety Cosmic Events Domestic Violence (Off-screen/Implied) Gaslighting Grief & Loss Homophobia (Verbal) Mentions of Unsupportive Parenting Terminal Illness


The Fable of Wren

The Fable of Wren by Rue Sparks

“There are wonders and terrors out there you can't yet imagine, and people out there you don't yet know are family." I don’t mix well with people; I prefer the birds. I spend my time trying to find the Trickster—a finch treasured by the locals. My smart mouth, brash behavior, and being non-binary in this secluded southern town keep me on the periphery of Spastoke’s society. Fine by me. All I need are the birds and my uncle Jeremy. Until he dies, and I can’t do anything to stop it. I want to withdraw from the town into the comfort of birdwatching and forget everything. Instead, Adrian Turney, my uncle’s friend and mentor, is found dead in the woods. My only hope of unravelling the truth is Jethro; a chatty newcomer that appears earnest, but can I trust him? When my uncle appears to me in my dreams, I quickly learn what started as a search for answers is so much more: a journey into the town’s shady past to uncover a danger in the woods lost to time. Along the way, I might discover I’m not alone as I thought. ---- Content Warnings: Chronic Illness Death Grief & Loss PTSD & Anxiety Attacks Terminal Illness


The Wall

The Wall by Sarah Jane Singer

Julia has lived her whole life inside the Wall, the shining fortress her father built. But she dreams of knowing the world, and one day, the world calls to her. She runs away from home with a false name, a magical gift from her ailing mother, and her lion companion. But leaving triggers a curse, and no matter how hard she tries to outrun it, it catches up with her—as curses often do. Now, with only the help of a mysterious archer she meets along her journey, Julia must confront dark magic, uncover the secrets of her mother’s past and her own abilities, and discover who she is outside of the Wall, if she is ever to survive the curse and build a life of her own. Fans of Naomi Novik and Laura E. Weymouth will love Sarah Jane Singer’s lyrical, adventurous debut novel.


Post Mortem

Post Mortem by Phelan Reed

Luck has never really been on Chance's side. Fresh off a five year stint in prison, he's ready to start over, but all his plans come to a halt when he's murdered. Not one to let a little thing like death stop him, Chance sets out to track down his last worldly possession: the coin that brought him back to life. With his murderer trying to put him back in the grave, the last thing Chance needs is to find a reason to stay alive... Avery has been a mortician for close to a decade, and though he's had his fair share of strange experiences, he's never had a person wake up on him. When one does, his otherwise mundane life suddenly gets a lot more interesting. Post Mortem is an ownvoice gay thriller romance with trans MCs, low heat romance, and a HEA! Content Warning: Death; Emetophobia; Mild to moderate gore/violence and body horror (autopsy scars, mouth trauma); Past Drug Addiction; Drug Usage; References to Homophobia and Transphobia; Suicide; and Referenced Self Harm.


Nightfall

Nightfall by M.A. Vice

A bitter war with Raazenia has seized Sylva. Beaten-down revolutionaries fight for survival in the dark world. As the Order searches for a way forward in the face of rampant uncertainty, Mianna is forced to confront dark secrets about the Order she has served all her life that will shake the foundation of everything she has ever known. As Z'xolkuloth's iron grip increases on the dark world of Hatheg Kla, the last scraps of revolt may at last find the leader they have long searched for...


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