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Rubbles of Magrath by Natalie Kelda Three months have passed since the Great Quake shook Magrath. Three months since Balfour lost Skye. The city lies in ruin and survival is only possible by scavenging. Every day they root through buildings filled with those killed in the earthquake that was meant to mark the end of the tarilla war. The war that still rages on. Balfour's biggest fear is to find Skye. Rotten and crushed under the rubble. But he knows where she In the starless vaults at the centre of town. Struggling to accept his loss, Balfour strays to the courtyard where he once spent a night beside Skye. But there he discovers an old enemy and that hope yet remains. Can he risk the people who have become his family for someone he has already lost and mourned? Rubbles of Magrath is the second book in a trilogy that can be read on its own or in connection with the first 3 books in the Inner Universe Series. |
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Dawn's Cozy Horror Corner by Dawn Chen "Dawnâs Cozy Horror Corner: a queer Chinese diaspora horror short stories anthologyâ is a horror anthology which contains five stories featuring supernatural elements and young Chinese diaspora protagonists whose identities clash with the environment around them. In âBottle of Shameâ, a girl who can pull out people's shame must grapple with the gruesome consequences of the truth she reveals. In âThe Girl with No Faceâ, a girl slowly loses her facial features one at a time until she become a faceless horror who take vengeance upon her tormentor. In âMy Future Self Once Saidâ, a girl is paid a visit from her future-self as a warning. In "Judge of the Underworld Household", the protagonist disagrees with the method her ancestor god who rules over the Chinese Underworld and the way he views crimes and punishment. In "Meet Your Demonsâ, a girl is offered to be possessed by a demon and gladly accepts. |
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Inarora's Excursion by Seraph Abell Inarora Beservera, daughter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of End'oria, never felt concerned by her father's position. After all, politicians' families were only targeted in the Corporate States of Naa'ran, right? She's in for a rude awakening when Naa'ran Supremacists attack her and send her over 50 years into the past! Inarora finds her great-grandpas, who send a letter to the Council of Sorcerers to ask for help. While they wait for a response, Inarora learns more about herself, including scary powers she never knew she possessed. Meanwhile, Kaedanâs mounting frustration with the lack of help from the present day Intelligence Ward leads him to take matters into his own hands when another child goes missingâInaroraâs best friend. Can Kaedan find Inarora and her friend before more children go missing? Or will they remain forever lost due to the Intelligence Wardâs negligence? |
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Gospel of the Cuckoo by Sirius Dallasâ entire life changed when the Church of New Lazarus opened its doors. The small town of Wicker, Alabama has been taken over by a glamorous, fast-talking reverend with a charismatic smile as bright as his Rolex watch. This new reverend, who calls himself Blue, has declared himself a âmodern day Lazarusâ and has set the whole town on fire with religious fervor. Yet, Dallas doesnât trust him. There is something sinister about the new church and its cult-like following. And when Dallas, who has spent five years caring for his ailing grandfather, is suddenly thrust into the world behind the pulpit; he finds that his expectations of salvation may lie in more infernal hands. |
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Secrets Don't Stay Buried by J. D. Mills How far would you go to keep a secret? Lennon Larkin wants a run-of-the-mill college experience, but thatâs not what sheâs in for. Set to start her freshman year at a local university for deaf and hard of hearing students, Lennonâs chances at normal are yanked out from under her after a prank on her nemesis goes wrong. As the skeleton in her closet is picked apart bone by bone, someone inches closer to a long-buried secret: the private photos of her that were shared without her consent. When her roommate is killed in the crossfire, Lennon and her friends hatch a plan to unmask the killer's identityâbut could someone close to her be behind the plot against her? Maybe itâs the boy sheâs held a grudge against since her sophomore year of high school, or one of her new allies. Worst of all, it might be the girl across the hall that Lennonâs falling for. |
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ROTGUT by H.S. Wolfe All I want to do is play drums in Cluster Headache, but I canât even get that right. Between my on-again off-again shituationship with one of my band mates, the drinking problem-I-donât-really-have and losing my job along with my will to live... Iâve kind of botched up my life. As if things werenât crummy enough Iâm being followed by strange creatures that no one else seems to notice. Right before a big show too, that canât be a good sign. I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about it. |
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Love at the Rock Show by Katta Kis A burnt-out former pop star A sweet, broke psychic⌠who hates him The festival tour that changes everything Broke pansexual psychic Judit is scraping by. Sheâs got chronic pain and survives (barely) on Tarot reading gigs. When her rent skyrockets, she jumps at the chance to work a merch booth on a festival tour. Itâs the perfect escape until Judit spends a lovely evening with her friendâs ex-flame (itâs complicated)âand he ends up touring with the festival. Ex-boy band idol Patrick didnât want to play the Endfest tour with the guy who stole the love of his life. He was about to quit the label they started together when a last-minute emergency forces him to join the tour. Worse, the mystery woman who turned his anxiety attack into a magical night is there tooâand she knew exactly who he was all along. Judit and Patrick are forced to share a bus while navigating the drama of a mismanaged festival, other peopleâs exes, and drunk drag queens. The more time they spend in adjoining bunks, the less they find to hate about each other. But can this summer fling last, or will what happens on tour stay on tour? |
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A Sharper, More Lasting Pain by Alex Harvey-Rivas After their girlfriendâs best friend is wounded in a monster attack, Simone Allard stumbles across a plot much deeper than they anticipated. As they work to find a cure to their own forming illness and find out the truth, one question remains: how was Nadia involved in this? Nadia DuPont doesnât know how much time she has or even what is ailing her, but it all gets more complex after meeting Simone on a field trip. As they both work to find a cure to her ailment, all Nadia is certain of is she's on the path to ruin. |
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The Stars Want Blood by Morgan Lawson When a summer's wind whips through the spring gardens, when air meets earth, a fate that has long since been written amongst the stars will unfurl itself⌠There was only so long that anybody could handle living while disregarding every single piece of advice from their psychiatrist, and Hazel Culhane was reaching their breaking point. Hoping to recharge themself enough to handle the challenge of getting better, they tuck themself into a hidden cabin for a week. It wasnât a bad idea, but they couldnât have predicted that something would be waiting for them in those woods, something significantly more frightening than their own crumbling sanity⌠All of the Constellites â the celestial gods borne from the stars of the zodiac constellations â knew what fate had planned for them. It was the same in each generation of them. And as the Virgo god, Ezra Thompson should have been no exception. He doesnât know why his Gemini counterpart came along so late, or why their newfound divinity doesnât fit them, but it doesnât take him very long to figure out that the quirky and unstable Hazel â the Constellite of Geminorum â is still his fate. Fate has given them love, but with it, destruction. Will they be able to rewrite fate and save themselves? Or will they get pulled into the event horizon that fate has waiting for them? ... and it will demand blood. |
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1973 â At 53 years old, Bill, hadnât expected to run into Bobby when he signed up for that medical convention in Houston. Fair to say they didnât exactly part on good terms last time. Twenty years later, is Bill ready to finally admit his feelings, his sexuality, and to gather his courage to conquer his old lover and friend once more? A second chance romance with flashbacks to young love, addressing the struggles of coming out in an unwelcoming environment and building the life you really want. |
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John, 41, settles in Leicester after his divorce, with hopes of becoming the best version of himself as he builds a new life. He makes friends, starts doing yoga, and joins an RPG campaign. Only one day, he realises he might just have fallen in love with his best friend. Oops. In this slow paced tale of falling in love over time, follow these characters on their journey to self discovery and acceptance, and found family. This is a story about love in all its forms: friendship, romantic, the family we are born with, and the one we end up choosing. |
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Pillow Forts and Hurricanes by Margherita Scialla Emma has an unbreakable bond with her roommates and lifelong best friends, yet struggles to create a romantic connection that comes even close to their friendship. Thatâs why Emma accepts her stoic boyfriend keeping her at a distance. All of her fantasies about romance and relationships, however, come tumbling down when she witnesses said boyfriend cheating on her. Following her recent breakup and her evolving bond with her best friend, Noah, Emma begins to question everything she ever knew about relationships, romantic and platonic. When Emma suggests the possibility of a queerplatonic relationship to Noah, the two must navigate their feelings, unveiling secrets theyâve kept from each other⌠but as confusing it can be, at least theyâre doing it together. |
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Earth Hagiography by Sfarda L. GĂźl Written during a time of turmoil and heavy-heartedness, EARTH HAGIOGRAPHY collates prose poetry and lyric essays in a poignant, frank discourse of grief, police state upbringing, loss of heritage to colonialism, political ideology, earth veneration, queerness, and psychological wounds, seeking to weave and unfold the bloodied yarn of remembrance and histories forgotten or unknown. |
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Muireann spent six months planning to kill the dragon that killed her family. Now the dragon is dead, and she's realized that it was actually the lesser threat guarding a devastating weapon that, if it falls into almost anyone's hands, will bring war and destruction to her world. It can't be left where it is. It can't be hidden. It can't be trusted in the hands of anyone in power or who seeks power. Muireann's only option becomes a reluctant quest with the elf she rescued from the dragon, a would-be knight, a selkie, and an elven mage to find out as much as she can about the weapon and seek a way to understand the magic that created it. Pursued by a dragon-worshipping cult bent on revenge and a hidden enemy that will do anything to remake the world, the five friends must try to find answers before all is lost. Muireann thought that killing a dragon was going to be impossible. Saving the world is going to be much harder. |
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Always There For You by Halli Starling A new town, a new start, and finally opening the wine store of her dreams. Amelia has picked the small town of Breakwater to be her new home, and her new beginning. Even as her chronic pain sometimes gets in her way, she won't let anything keep her wine store and tasting room from opening. And now that her best friend Hadley is with her, everything is perfect. What Amelia won't speak aloud is how much she adores and cares for Hadley -- how much she truly loves the woman she's known since they were kids inspecting bugs and reading together in one of their backyards. Hadley thinks the town of Breakwater is the perfect spot for Amelia and her new lease on life. And she's thinking about settling down herself, after years of traveling around the world and taking on odd jobs and having flings with beautiful women. But she always, always comes back to Amelia and now is her chance to tell her best friend exactly how much she cares. It's hard to be brave, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart. But together, they can weather the storm and find what they've always been searching for. |
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V by Aura Marquez Being an autistic Chicana in L.A. isnât easyâŚespecially when youâre a vampire. Vâs undying love for humans doesnât allow her to fit in, and nobody understands her but Mya, her best friend, soul mate, and fellow vampire. V's inherited an ancestral gift that intensifies once she becomes a vampire and creates a psychic connection to those she feeds on, an ability she desperately wants to learn to control. Living with Mya allows her to have the lavish lifestyle sheâs always wanted, but V still canât seem to find peace. As she works to discover who she is as a vamp, all she has to do is not fall in love with a human. She cannot fall in love. No big deal, she just needs to not fall in love. âŚand then, she meets MadĂs |
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Waking up dead has its perks. An outcast, Raeden, had always lived on the fringes of society. So when she mysteriously vanished, her absence went unnoticed, much like her life. Little did anyone realize that her absence was the result of her death. But death has its own sticky consequences. It not only takes away a person's life but also clings to their memories and emotions. As Raeden's soul departed, it left her with a choice: recover her memories and find closure or remain a restless spirit forever. For most, the decision would be a no-brainer. But Raeden? Well, she's never been one to shy away from a challenge. With two reapers assigned to her case, she's catapulted back into the mortal world. Now, Raeden must navigate the intricacies of the living while grappling with her own mischievous ambitions. After all, who says a dead girl can't have some fun along the way? But this isn't your typical murder investigation. Raeden's journey unveils a treacherous web of secrets lurking in unexpected places, and a convoluted tapestry of dark humor. In the midst of her quest, she finds solace and companionship with the reapers, Booker and Sonja. These otherworldly beings, who are already entangled in a romantic relationship, become unexpected allies in Raeden's twisted fate. As they unravel the wacky circumstances of her demise, Rae's journey is laced with her own unique challenges. Panic disorder, Autism, and ADHD dance their way into the mix, adding an extra layer of complexity to her already adventurous life. Through wild encounters, perilous situations, and unexpected twists, Raeden's vibrant spirit shines as she navigates the realms of the paranormal. So buckle up and prepare for a tale that blends dark fantasy, paranormal romance, and a dash of dark humor. Join Raeden as she embarks on a journey that will make you laugh, gasp, and fall in love with her resilient spirit. Discover the extraordinary in the ordinary and embrace the enchanting chaos that accompanies life, death, and everything in between. Indiana Jones meets The Librarians. |
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Courage Is the Price by S.L. Dove Cooper Seventeen-year-old Rue doesnât need anyone other than Ghost, her not-so-imaginary best friend. Theyâve been inseparable for as long as Rue can remember and she shares everything with Ghost. The day before Rue returns home from school for the long holiday, Ghost disappears. Ever-fretful Rue tries to tell herself itâs fine, but she knows something is horribly, terribly wrong. Sheâll have to overcome her anxiety find her courage and push her boundaries further than she ever thought possible in order to save her best friend, and perhaps make some new ones as Rue finds herself drawn into the fringes of a secret battle for human survival. Soft science fiction meets fantasy in this exciting novella-length adventure of daring and friendship. |
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How To Sell Your Blood and Fall In Love by D.N. Bryn No romantic story has ever lived up to Dr. Clementine Hugheâs reality but at least he has his steamy two-million-word fanfic and a prestigious research position at Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceuticals, where their benefits are superb and their experimentation on vampires highly unethical. When a mysterious accident turns Clementine into a vampire, discovery would demote him to lab rat and his growing thirst for his coworkerâs veins forces him to the streets to hunt. Justin Yu is usually the one attacking villains in alleys, not the other way around. After the tragedy he brought upon his local vampiric community in his youth, heâs struggled tirelessly to keep their vampires safe. So when a panicking Clementine botches a bite attempt, Justin takes pityâand advantageâand offers the vampire a trade: his blood in exchange for an exorbitant fee. In desperation, Clementine accepts. Justinâs blood is bland and unappealing, but the more Clementine learns to appreciate the manâs sharp humor and persistent compassion, the more he acquires a taste for Justin. Justin is determined not to let Clementineâs good looks and thoughtful intellect distract him as hunters from Vitalis-Barron close in on Justinâs neighborhood, and it turns out someone there knows Clementineâs vampiric secret⌠|
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An assassin makes a terrible ambassador. Rhianâs greatest skills arenât based around negotiation but delivering the final word. However, the Dark God Arawn saw something else in her. Or he was desperate. Either way, he assigns his favourite pwca, a Welsh black-dog shapeshifter, as the newest ambassador for Ontarioâitâs a thankless job. She needs to preserve the myth that the supernatural is only an illusion. Otherkin are terrible at hiding, and itâs Rhianâs duty to tidy up after them. In between that and keeping the veil in place, she has to investigate her predecessorâs murder, which doesnât lean into Rhianâs lethal prowess. That means working with her estranged partner, Kai, who was first on the scene. The only man Rhian ever needed, and the one man she canât forgive. That complicates everything. Acting on the desires sheâs repressed for three hundred years will violate her vow of loyalty to Arawn. If she neglects her duty, the veil could fall. War breaking out between humanity and the supernatural would doom the world. And if she breaks her vow of loyalty... well, Arawn is known as the Dark God for a reason |
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Love in the Middle by Barbara Lieberman Love stories are for the young, he's decided, and Sam Mayer is most certainly not young. He's building a new life for himself, after cancer and divorce chewed up and spit out his old one. It's called 'middle age' for a reason and that's because it is not the time to start something new... or is it? |
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Veil Us in Gold by Shepard DiStasio Find a weapon lost to myth, and Drake can save the world. Find a creature lost to war, and they can save themself. Drake ElĂ˝nus was never supposed to be in TÄrÄmen. They were never supposed to be working for TÄrÄmenâs royal family. They were never supposed to do the things theyâve done. But Drake hasnât stood a chance since the day their home was burned to the ground, the boy they loved was executed in front of them, and wayward magic cast them into a life of lonely immortality far from anything theyâd ever known. All they have is revenge. But when the culmination of their efforts backfires into a death sentence, their only hope is to make a deal with the very queen they tried to ruin. The world around Drake is unraveling. Whispers of ancient monsters bubble beneath the surface. Fights escalate on the borders of a country that has not been its own in fifty years. Treaties are no longer worth any more than the blood they were written in. And a mysterious general they all call the âWhite Roseâ is apparently the face of it all. With the gilded gold of society finally peeling, Drake might have a chance to escapeâbut only if they confront who they were truly supposed to be. The first book of the Sins of the Divine series and DiStasio's debut, Veil Us in Gold explores what it means to be good, the secrets people will do anything to keep hidden, and the monsters that prowl not only in shadows, but inside hearts as well. |
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Shades and Silver by Dax Murray The birthright of every ĂstfrĂĂ°ur is to know each metal in the earth, command it, and bend it to their desires. To hear metal singing, some of it waiting just beneath the surface, so much of it deeper in the earth. If they wanted, they knew they could pluck that metal from the earth, melt it with a thought, and shape it as they pleased with a breath of air and their will. Each ĂstfrĂĂ°ur must choose which metal they would wear upon their heads, denoting the path they would walk. They craft beautiful horns to wear on their brow, forged with the metal they wish to identify with. But Britt does not know if they can choose the path they want; if they can overcome a past that has stolen their identity. The day has come for them to choose, and they have no idea if they have any right even to try to. And Astrid has never felt the pull of the metal at all. Wearing a forged circlet and horn, they try to navigate a world that they feel has rejected them, all the while fearing someone will learn their secret. The Veil of the ĂstfrĂĂ°ur has kept them hidden from the world and safe from intruders. Yet Britt and Astrid feel they are imposters in their own homes. Shades and Silver is a duology of novellas about identity, doubt, and acceptance. |
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These Gossamer Strings by Allegra Pescatore A Silence is Broken. The River Beckons. The Forgotten Wait. With eighteen days until her tribunal and Water Rite, Elenor must find a way to save her doena and keep her throne. The threat of war looms larger and only an alliance through marriage has the potential to save it. But who to trust when all her closest allies have secrets of their own? The past is creeping up on them, a web of maneuvers and lies spreading back to before the fall of the Empire. Gabriel can feel it constricting around them, drawing him ever closer to a future he never wanted. Confronting the truth of his heritage may be the only way to save Lirin, but at what cost? Perhaps one the desert has already paid. Shaken after the death of the Red, the Mondaer must choose their path forward. Protect the new Gatekeeper and Incarnate as they have always done, or embrace a future without reliance on Gifts? Fedrik and Fayâs safety depends on the answer, and itâs not looking good. Would they be better off trusting Daemon, or is North right that he intends to use them as a weapon? These Gossamer Strings is the final installment of the first arc of the Last Gift Series. Threads torn asunder are weaving back together and the Gatekeeper is coming for his Incarnate. |
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From the Dark We Came by J. Emery Belar has made lying into an art form. His neighbors know him as a mild mannered music teacher, but to his fellow monster hunters heâs a senior agent with one of the best track records in the organization. Werewolves, malignant spirits, and other odditiesâyou name it, he can track it. And kill it if necessary. But when a vampire shows up in Belarâs parlor, his two worlds crash into each other. The vampire is named Cassian, and if he had any sense of decency he would be dead since Belar has already tried to kill him. Twice. Luckily, Cassian isnât interested in holding a grudge. He wants to hire the hunter. Someone in vampire society wants Cassian dead and theyâve been using Belar to do their dirty work. Finding the culprit will save them both. Their search for answers takes them through a nighttime world of ancient vampires, demon tailors, and monsters of pure shadow. But Belar hasnât been the only one lying, and enemies and allies are harder to tell apart in the dark. From the Dark We Came is a 50,000 word paranormal novel with a demisexual protagonist |
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Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby As one of the only remaining autistics in the universe, Xandri Corelel has faced a lot of hardship, and she's earned her place as the head of Xeno-Liaisons aboard the first contact ship Carpathia. But her skill at negotiating with alien species is about to be put to the ultimate test. The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won't risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can't bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire. Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she's beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own. |
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Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li Iris Galacia's tarot cards do more than entertain gamblers. With the flip of her fingers she can predict the future and uncover a person's secrets. Under the watchful eye of her mother, she is already on thin ice for pursuing a passion in the family business, but then cracks start to form, and eventually she falls through. She is given an ultimatum: earn a thousand coins or leave the business, and the family. Enter Marin Boudreau, a charming young person who can scale buildings and break off door knobs, who comes for her help to rescue a witch who's been falsely imprisoned in Excava Kingdom. And Marin is willing to pay a high sum for her talents. But saving a prisoner from royal hands isn't easy, nor is leaving home for the first time in eighteen years. Now Iris must learn to trust in herself, Marin, and this new magical world, while racing the clock before the royals decide the fate of the witch, and before any secrets catch up to her. TELL ME HOW IT ENDS features LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, cultural, and mental health representation. The main character, Iris Galacia, is a lesbian tarot reader with anxiety and autism. The second main character, Marin Boudreau, is an aromantic asexual non-binary person with ADHD. |
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JUNKER SEVEN by Olive J. Kelley A romantic, queer sci-fi epic about changing the galaxy, one girl at a time. Castor Quasar is a junkerâ a bounty hunter making a living off of collecting and selling valuable scrap. They live a quiet life, bouncing from job to job and not worrying about the brewing galactic rebellion. Except, when they get a job offer for an irresistible amount of money, they find themself embroiled much deeper than expected. Their task? To smuggle transgender activist Juno Marcus across the galaxy under the watchful eye of the Intergalactic Police Force and a propaganda-informed galaxy. Itâs too dangerous to accept, but too valuable to refuse, and it doesn't help that Juno herself is charming and beautiful. Agreeing drags Cas into a whirlwind race against those who want Juno dead to make it across the galaxy to safety, risking it all for a cause they canâtâ or wonâtâ believe in. |
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The Necessity of Rain by Sarah Chorn It begins with a butterfly in chains. Since the dawn of time, life has been comfortable and predictable. The gods have wrested pockets of Creation from Chaos, formed civilizations, and built entire realities. Now, the nature of Creation is changing and the Divine are losing their divinity. Rosemary, daughter of the God of Creation, can no longer deny this when a strange delegation from Dawnland braves the paths through Chaos and survives. Come to negotiate trade and protection agreements with the Divine of Meadowsweet, it is the butterfly woman who so captivates Rosemary. The weight of her sorrow, the heaviness of her secrets. For the soul is a battleground. Clouds are massing along the horizon, and Rosemary... She must survive the storm. |
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Nyle doesnât want to be there. But something is very wrong in the District of Portland, and the cold call of death forces his arrival. If he canât lay the dead fast enough, his long life, begun in Anglo-Saxon England, will end. Portlandâs electronic walls do more than keep the mutants out. The government is using them to block Nyle and his kind, the ravens, who roam the world, freeing the dead from their bodies where they remain trapped till a ravenâs arrival. Cait, a Portlander working as a beautician, has her own troubles, dodging the GM (genetic modification) police and struggling with rent. But the dead are invading her dreams. Nyle tells Cait that sheâs not genetically modified. Sheâs a necromancer. In the District of Portland, the dead are being trapped indefinitely and used as energy sources. Nyle and Cait must stop the technology from spreading before the abuse of the dead becomes a worldwide menace and they themselves end up on a laboratory table or trapped in a machine. Grave Cold is a biopunk novel about the value of life and the power of taking a stand in a grim near-future world of exploitation and authoritarianism. |
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The Kings of Nowhere by C.G. Drews Avery Lou has given up stealing houses â now heâs meant to build them. Forced to stay with the De Lainey family until Samâs return from juvie, Avery feels like heâs drowning. He hates that Sam chose the De Laineys instead of running away with him. And he hates working in their construction company while Vin, the thief who hurt Sam, still walks free. Avery wants revenge. Swapping the sharp-edged world of burglary and car theft for the homey chaos of big family life is a wild adjustment, and Averyâs determined to sabotage his time with the De Laineys and get locked up with Sam instead. Avery just has to stay immune to Jeremyâs charming shenanigans. EasyâŚsort of. But Averyâs war against Vin has brought trouble to the De Lainey door and he canât survive this fight alone. |
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The Sword of Mercy and Wrath by N.C. Koussis In a cathedral at the south of the Istryan Empire, young men and women are trained to be killers. The Order of the Golden Swordâs inquisitors are feared for their brutality masked as piety. Masters of blade, poison, and crossbow, their quarry is the god-cursed werewolf, whom they hunt with impunity to herald the return of their god. Betrayed by her monstrous father, Selene loses her left arm and nearly her life when sheâs saved by a traveling inquisitor. Scarred and broken, she swears vengeance on the cursed beasts and joins the Order. It takes all her will to overcome her limits, only for her violent past to drag her back into blood. With the fabric of the empire at stake, Selene must master her hatred, hone it to a sharp point, then let it loose on her enemies. |
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Girls of Might and Magic: An Anthology By Diverse Books With Magic by Various Find your might. Discover your magic. A disabled teen tracks down an elusive sea beast. A young, Indian detective finds a magical artifact. A Black teen who can see the dead solves a murder mystery. An Ethiopian girl discovers magical secrets when she is kidnapped by her teacher. A teen survivor of a deadly plague realizes she and her robot companion are not alone. Across realms, worlds, and dimensions we bring you sixteen fantasy and/or science fiction tales that explore the tribulations of growing up. In Girls of Might and Magic, we aim to put characters of color, characters with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ characters front and center in stories about strength and resilience. Full of diverse characters and #ownvoices authors, the protagonists in these coming-of-age YA adventures will not only discover powerful magic but discover themselves along the way. Don't miss this magical collection of stories about witches, fae, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, jinn, and more! The collection includes: Heartburn by E. M. Lacey Wind and Silk by Alice Ivinya Faith by Sudha Kuruganti Grace and Ghosts by K. R. S. McEntire The Outside by C. C. Solomon Daughter of Soil and Gold by Meghan Rhine Check Yourself by Kat Zaccard A Meeting in the Woods by Nicole Givens Kurtz Pretty Young Things by LaLa Leo Funnel Cake by Amanda Ross Outcast by D. L. Howard Serenity Dawn by C. I. Raiyne The Cursed Gift by Courtney Dean Chasing Waves by Kendra Merritt Sight by Tamika Brown Memories of Magic by Ashley Ford |
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Sometimes life doesnât turn out how you thought, but you can still find your place. Alicia is a single mother to her eight-year-old son, Kenny. Being a single mother is hard enough, but her sonâs principal seems convinced that she is unfit because she is on the autism spectrum. The school keeps accusing her son of the weirdest things, such as making the school garden grow and disappearing in the middle of class. Uncertain if the school is being delusional or if more is going on, Alicia decides to track down her sonâs father. Except that she only saw him one night, a night she has tried hard to forget. Now Alicia has a man following her and claiming that her son is the heir to the elvish throne. All Alicia wants to do is keep her son safe, but to do that, she has to give up everything she has ever known and go to a place that follows its own set of rules. In-Between is full of magic, motherly love, and found family. It has a positive own-voice autism rep, Aromantic/Asexual rep, and a M/M romance. |
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Defending Jessica by Benna Bos From the author of the Lesfic Bard Award winning novel âInvestigating Helenâ comes another stand-alone installation in the Murder by the Bay Mystery Series⌠Few people accused of murder are as unlikable as Veronica Turnerâs 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 âMurder by the Bayâ, 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. |
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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: itâs 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 itâs spreading. Now Paroleâs 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, Paroleâs 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 motherâs vital plans, whose encrypted contents may be Paroleâs salvation. First theyâll board the FireRunner, a ship full of familiar faces that now sails through Tartarusâ poison storms. Together, theyâll survive Tartarusâ 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 didnât want them back. But they'll save it just the same. It's what heroes do. |
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Stake Sauce (Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really) by RoAnna Sylver 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 isnât punk, even if being a vampire really kind of is. Heâs 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⌠âalive.â Time to make a deal. Of course, life still sucks when youâre a vampire who refuses to suck blood. Fortunately, thereâs a really interesting new barbecue restaurant in the mall, with an intriguing new recipe. (They say the secret ingredient is⌠love. No, really.) |
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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... |
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When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair by Ryan Rae Harbuck Her story has (not) defined her. From where she sat, her perspective of the world was both quite ordinary and rivetingly extraordinaryâfrom a paralyzing car accident in her teens to traveling overseas on a journey of self-reflection to becoming a mom. Throughout everything she experienced, she fervently believed in following her given path. She wanted to trust its trajectory. She wanted to be sure. Her story is not about a chair. Her story is about her strengths and how they rose out of her instinctive vulnerabilities. Her story is about her struggles and how they became her victories. Her story is about being willing to hold it all, for herself and the whole of her world. Everyone has a chair. That thing you are bound to or unwillingly defines you. An element that makes you different from the rest. One that you have little choice in the matter. Whatâs YOUR chair? |
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Whispers of Stone by Allegra Pescatore A God is Dead. A Queen is Missing. Secrets are Unraveling. On trial for the murder of the King, Elenor and Gabriel must become allies if they want to survive. His magic is spiraling out of control, awakening a mystery hidden in the very walls of the palace. She has one month to pass her Water Rite and find a way out of the marriage her parents set up. But things are about to get much more complicated. Between sadistic family members intent on taking Elenorâs throne, Tirit Mindel breathing down Gabrielâs neck, and a Golden Dragon appearing in the sky above the Mondaer Desert with an ominous warning, more than the Kingdom of Lirin is at stake. If that werenât bad enough, time is ticking down for Fedrik and Fay as well. With the desert turning against them and Daemon as a questionable new ally, figuring out how to control Fedrikâs Gift has become a matter of life and death. Picking up in the fallout of Where Shadows Lie, In Silence Abiding is the long-awaited and non-stop second installment of The Last Gift. Dive back into the world of Dracona and hold onto your hats. Things are about to get⌠salty. |
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NACL: Eye of the Storm by Allegra Pescatore & E. Sands Lani should never have trusted any plan that started with the words, "So, I have an idea, but first you need a drink." When a crazy Precog handed Lani the coordinates to a stretch of ocean just off the Salt Spire, she should have thrown them overboard. Going there would be a horrible idea. Lani, though, was a pro at making bad decisions. A not-so-chance encounter with escaped salt slave Adavera launches them on a path to forsake all that they know and dare to take on the cruel Corporation that controls every grain of salt on their planet. With the help of old friends, new friends, and people they are pretty sure might be enemies, Adavera and Lani travel outside the protective reef that keeps the worst of the Storms off the Islands and venture into a world of piracy, astonishing powers, and unexpected love. The odds might be against them, but with a little planning and a lot of brass, this team of misfits intends to do the impossible. They have very little in common, except for two things: They all want to blow the Crystal Corporation into oblivion... And are willing to sacrifice anything to see it done. NACL: Eye of the Storm is a high-octane, non-stop, foul mouthed and steamy roller-coaster of a novel. Grab your favorite bottle of rum and revolutionary spirit, and jump into the ride of a lifetime. |
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Where Shadows Lie by Allegra Pescatore The Chosen One Is Dead. Magic Is Going Haywire. Time Is Running Out. When the King of Lirin murders Elenor's brother during a failed coup attempt, she must choose between turning a blind eye to her people's suffering or joining the rebellion and helping bring down the tyrant king. There's only one problem--the king is her father. Helped along the way by a grouchy old doctor, a boisterous group of nobles, and a well-meaning assassin, Elenor is forced to dance between duty and defiance as she tries to save her kingdom. Meanwhile, from the rainy streets of Lirin to the scorching dunes of the Mondaer Desert, the ripples of her actions have inadvertently broken a chain of events five centuries in the making. Ancient forces move in the shadows, calling in debts and striking deals. A monster with a thousand faces fingers his knife, ready to kill, and a pair of fugitives run for their lives. Where Shadows Lie is a non-stop, epic fantasy ride featuring an lgbtq+ and disabled protagonist and filled with court intrigue, sizzling romance, adorable baby dragons, and the battle between oppression and freedom. Dive in and get swept away! |