Vanilla Hour by Neer Ya

Can the heart forgive what memory cannot? Between dusk and dawn lies the Vanilla Hour, that fragile moment when memory and reality blur, and the past comes knocking in the scent of rain and old love. Dr. Nandini Yadav has rebuilt her life from the ruins of trauma: a brilliant geochemist, a devoted mother, a woman who has survived what should have broken her. But when an unexpected reunion draws her back to the storm-swept coast of Goa and the man whose shadow lives in her daughter’s smile, she must finally confront the truth she has buried for decades. Spanning continents and generations, Vanilla Hour is a haunting and luminous story of love, loss, and consequence, where the heart’s geology is mapped in golden seams but riven with fault lines. From the rain-soaked streets of Delhi to the neon quiet of Tokyo, it explores what it means to survive, to forgive, and to rediscover the courage to live without armor. Equal parts romantic suspense and literary thriller, this is a deeply human tale of mothers and daughters, of memory and mercy, and of the fragile beauty that emerges when we stop running from our past and choose, instead, to step back into the light. Find out what happens when the ghosts of love refuse to fade.

What Lies Beneath by Matthew Nation

Everything comes at a price. What's yours? In 1895 Massachusetts, Andrew Dawson uncovers a dark secret his family has kept from him his entire life. When a mysterious stranger, Cornelius Phenton, comes to rescue the family from its crippling debt, everything comes to a head, and the truth is revealed. Andrew makes the deal of a lifetime. The only price to be paid is his beating heart. He takes on the identity of the confident yet arrogant, Derrick. When the moon eclipses the sun, the transformation will be permanent, and Andrew will be gone forever. However, Derrick quickly realizes that leaving his past behind isn’t as easy as it seems. Even without his heart, he somehow still loves the life he has left behind.

The Game Continues After Your Death by Jean-Daniel Magnin

The secret notebooks of Thout' Nielsporte, prince of the Metaverse "Jean-Daniel Magnin has achieved the incredible feat of writing a story where all the sliders of video game culture are pushed to the max." SELL - French syndicate of leisure publishers Here are three intimate notebooks discovered on the body of the young Thout' Nielsporte, the most defiant of online gamers-this same Thout' who had chosen to live in the Metaverse since the age of thirteen. He quickly became an eccentric leader who sparked the hardcore gamers' rebellion and hacked the biggest online role-playing games, merging them into one. This is how Free Pangea was born, a prosperous libertarian digital galaxy, affectionately called "Big Pizza" by its millions of inhabitants. Thout' was its prince. And it could have lasted forever, but strange comas began to affect certain players, and a massive bug suddenly forced millions of Nolifers back into the real world. Sheltering in an old warehouse as endless rain drummed against the roof, Thout' scribbled in his notebooks to ensure the memory of these crazy worlds and their glory would live on. As he wrote, memories erased by his own coma began to resurface, and he slowly recalled a patch released by the former game publishers to reestablish their control over the Metaverse-a patch that promised the impossible: to transfer both his soul and body into his avatar, and keep playing the Game even after death...

That Which Devours - Survive: A LitRPG Adventure by Jer Patch

Alex’s hunger for power cannot be sated. Alex thought a colony ship crashing into a dinosaur-infested jungle was bad enough. Everyone else received a class from the mysterious System ruling this brutal universe, but Alex's Class Selection never arrives. To top it off a meteor shower forces down the supply shuttle leaving her and her brother stranded with food running out. Just when all hope seems lost, it finally happens: Class Selection. And with it, a Legendary Class: Devourer. But what the heck is a Devourer, and why does this power feel so… ravenous? It makes her brother smell less like family and more like a tasty meal? Alex embarks on a perilous trek deep through the wilderness to the compound for supplies to repair their wrecked shuttle. As the dinosaurs close in with her brother's life hanging in the balance, Alex must master abilities she barely understands or succumb to a world that feeds on the weak. Readers who love kick-butt heroines like Under the Dragoneye Moons and legendary classes like Ultimate Level One will consume That Which Devours. Get your copy of this thrilling LitRPG Adventure today

The Gestalt in the Machine by Andy Dornan

SAN FRANCISCO, the near future — When clickbait journalist Adam Arrowman witnesses a murder, he’s forced to become a real investigative reporter. He might just have an exclusive on the apocalypse. His detective work takes him into the world of Kelvin Clipper, an imperious CEO who promises that ever-accelerating artificial intelligence will let him outrun death. Thousands of protesters disagree. Their warning: Infinite growth is an illusion and Big Tech is actually racing toward the extinction of humanity. Caught in the middle, a band of hackers searches desperately for a way to align algorithms with human needs. More violence hints at a connection to a president threatening World War III, lobbyists trying to free corporations from their stockholders, and an app that claims to resurrect the dead. Can Adam find the killer before the killer finds him? What secrets did the victim die to protect? And will Clipper’s Singularity deliver immortality in our time, or damnation for us all?

Time Traitors by Eli Donovan

She came to study dinosaurs—not fall for the time agent babysitting her. Dr. Grace Carson is finally reclaiming her career. Two years after blowing the whistle on her scumbag ex-husband for illegal dino-poaching, she’s ready to return to what she loves most: researching dinosaurs in their natural habitat: 65 million years in the past. But her comeback mission includes one infuriating complication: time agent Ben Nakamura. He’s charming, obnoxiously perceptive, and clearly watching her. The question is, why? Before Grace can find out, everything blows up. Literally. The poacher crew are back and, when Grace refuses to stay quiet, her research station is attacked. She and Ben are forced to flee into the Cretaceous wilds with a busted time machine and no backup. Fixing the machine means a dangerous trek through a predator-infested jungle, but survival might be the easy part. Falling for Ben? That could ruin everything. Adventure, danger, and slow-burn romance in the dinosaur age. Perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and Jurassic Park!

Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided: An Epic Progression Fantasy Series by Joeing

When two worlds collide, magic meets mechanised giants. For decades, the Osten Empire, wielders of arcane sorcery, has waged war against the Dunkelheit Empire, masters of advanced mechs and mobile suits. Their conflict stretches across the stars, but everything changes when a forbidden spell, the Light of Punishment, is unleashed, shattering the balance of power and plunging both empires into chaos. Jack Squire was never a soldier. A veteran debris collector, he has spent years drifting through space, scavenging wreckage for a paycheck with only one goal in mind: reuniting with his family on Earth. He has no interest in the war and no stake in the empires’ struggle. But fate has other plans. Caught in the escalating conflict, Jack isn't fighting for a cause. He's fighting to stay alive and find the people he loves before it's too late. As alliances shift and war machines clash with sorcery, a hidden force emerges — one that could rewrite the fate of both empires and change the course of history forever. Over 140,000 reads on RoyalRoad About The Series: Machina Arcanis is an epic science fantasy and progression series perfect for fans of space opera, anime, mecha, and sorcery. Follow Jack Squire's journey through a multi-POV narrative filled with high-stakes war, compelling romance, and a tragic clash of ideologies.

The Dark Without by T.K. Toppin

You cannot change what has already happened, just as what will happen cannot be altered. Lies. Nothing but lies! “Humankind is always doomed to fail. It has fallen many times before, and many times we have intervened to ensure it stays on the correct course. Earth is salvageable, but if you had continued along the path you were on, it would not have been. You have billions of years more to exist before your planet’s final destruction. We are only making certain it survives that long, and ensuring your survival until the ultimate end. At times you progress too fast, but such is humankind’s way. So we had to accelerate this current failure sooner in order to restart. As we have done before, a guide with a better objective and understanding of how to protect your world, will be inserted…” But why did they care what humans did with their lives? They were aliens—beings from another dimension! Earth wasn’t their home. Esme Serrano’s predestined encounter with the trans-dimensional anthropomorphic Aakehollats sends her on a multi-pathed journey spanning ten thousand years. A journey riddled with lies, manipulations and untold layers of deception. She guides Earth as the Sibyl, a powerful and mystical leader, and brings the dying world back from the brink of death. She helps the Aakehollats, and ensures that Earth survives until its ultimate destruction in the cosmos. But her one true goal is, and always will be, to kill the Aakehollats.

We Don't Start Fights: Theseus Protocol by A. Stargazer

He just wanted to see the stars - not end a war. When a routine diplomatic mission turns sour, the Theseus is forced to play peacemaker in a genocidal conflict. Nathan Sawyer is one of the only humans on board the ship, reluctantly taking command when the captain betrays the mission. Nathan and his team of uplifted misfits must work together to solve a humanitarian crisis on a scale nobody has ever faced. If they succeed, then a lasting peace may spread across the galaxy. Should they fail, then the planet Horthus will be destroyed. Nathan might be in charge, but he has no clue what he's doing. He needs to quickly learn to navigate a labyrinth of intrigue and red tape - and if that wasn't bad enough? One side is eating the other.

Memento Moreau by Conrad Altmann

HoloBionTech Unlimited has a broad portfolio of interests. From rumors of aggressive plant-life to pushing the boundaries of brain-circuit connections and beyond; they send their field agents globally to collect data on what may become the next big technological advance. Sometimes those forays into the unknown go awry. These seven accounts—recently declassified from the HBT archives—share some of the misadventures of their field agents, shine a light on product development, and reveal the truth behind the last days of installation HBT003. They contain depictions of out-of-body experiences, fungal infections, genetic sabotage, evolutionary revenge and sexual deception. All are based in truth, though are yet unproven.

Moral Laundry by Conrad Altmann

This collection of seven short stories stems from a dire outlook on the future of humanity, though there are rays of hope interspersed. Figures of authority are faced with profit or morality, the lonely find companionship in an unlikely space, a young boy learns that what was once beautiful to him holds a deeper and more somber meaning that he alone must carry, and a young actor reconciles to a normality that may leave him without an identity.

Metanoeia by Conrad Altmann

Alvaro Hernandez has just detected an interstellar object with an irregular trajectory just beyond Jupiter, throwing off his research. Advised to check and recheck obviously faulty data by his mentor, he enlists the aid of his close friend to help him resolve his mistake, if there is one. Komozoi has been sleeping for most of his life, waking only to perform the simple task that has been assigned him; to maintain the course. But when he discovers that his journey is nearly at an end, the destination is not what was promised. The courses of both of their lives are rapidly approaching a world shattering intersection. Can they convince those around them of a civilized solution before less rational heads prevail?

This Little Piggy by J.G. Brin

Mac makes a living where he can, playing fast and loose with the laws of the Porcine Republic. He’s faced every kind of danger possible in both known and unknown quadrants. Luck and skill have served him well enough until he unwittingly unleashes the fury of a beast the likes of which he's never seen. Cal is a doctor, left alone to safeguard a deserted medical outpost. She bitterly opposes the military expansion of the Republic and regrets the part she has played in aiding the marines. Her world is about to be rocked to its core. Zok is a marine, living in self-imposed exile on Planet V3. Half-patriot, half-visionary and completely bananas, he is the third and final piece required to defeat the beast that arrives on the planet he now calls home. Join these three unlikely heroes as they form an alliance on the frontier of space to defeat the most powerful opponent the galaxy has ever known.

The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo by Vincent Ternida

Disgruntled Vancouverite Harry Salcedo has three vices—caffeine, overthinking, and dead-end relationships. Ten years after migrating to Vancouver, this former third culture kid has grown sick of the West Coast and seeks solace in his dream to move to Toronto. He vacillates between his on-and-off paramours, overbearing parents, and exhausted confidants. As he slowly approaches forty and his personal window for escaping the coast closes, Harry rushes the novel he’s always wanted to write while there’s still time. Vincent Ternida’s humorous, poignant, and heartbreaking book contrasts the uncertainties of migration, ambition, and love with the beauty of the Lower Mainland. It is an exciting new take on the classic Asian Canadian narrative.

The Variant War by Les Abernathy

Life is difficult enough as it is without someone traveling back in time to kill you. Now imagine an entire army of people dedicating themselves to erasing your existence. Because you were born in another time, another history, forsaken by what was meant to be. Where no means are too horrific and no weapons are too inhumane to bring about your annihilation. Now imagine, that instead of hiding, you chose to fight back. This is the life of a Variant. Jonathan Snyder was the ideal example of a Variant who chose to resist others' interpretation of destiny. Disciplined, focused, uncompromising. Combined with his ruthless demeanor with a gun, he also made for an excellent assassin. That is until his past literally catches up with him, and he is forced to escape into the multiverse. Snyder must tear spacetime apart in order to find out who is hunting him before he is erased from time itself.

A Cloud of Unknowing by Andrew Gillsmith

"The universe requires sacrifice. It always has, and it always will, because the universe is sacramental." Broken and scattered, the survivors of the strange events in the Taklamakan Desert are trying to make sense of what happened while the rest of the world tries to recover its balance by scapegoating the artilects. The Process--an ancient, alchemical plan to transform human consciousness--goes far deeper than anyone thought, and only the artificial magnetic shield developed by astrophysicist Sarah Baumgartner is preventing the newly transhuman Ralph Channing from fulfilling it. The Lucifer Particles, a mysterious high-energy flux that seems to originate from beyond spacetime itself, may hold the answers, but the path to understanding leads through the strange, sub-quantum world of the Holomovement, guarded by the secretive scientific cult known as the Divers. And the price of understanding might be Sarah's soul itself. In Rome, the Princes of the Church converge to elect a new Pope. Cardinal Marco Leone does everything in his power to stop the rise of his rival, the worldly and cunning Leo Pensabene, while Father Gabriel Serafian, an exorcist and former neuroscientist, is drawn even deeper into a conspiracy of global--and possibly supernatural--dimensions. Confusion reigns. New discoveries threaten the very foundations of both science and faith. A cloud of unknowing has descended upon the world. Meanwhile, visions of a young Chinese girl who died in the concentration camps decades ago point to a way forward...

The Final Season by Andrew Gillsmith

For fans of Douglas Adams and PG Wodehouse. It’s one thing to know that the End is coming, quite another to know the exact date and time right down to the nanosecond. Such is the unhappy fate of the inhabitants of Rexos-4, a once-thriving planet that has lived under the doom of an inevitable apocalypse for millenia. Their entire philosophy of life may be summed up by the phrase “Mxtlpicam’ bnak ooligapn,” which in most languages translates to something along the lines of “What’s the bloody point?” Unbeknownst to the poor Rexans, their predicament has also been the subject of the longest-running and most successful reality television series in galactic history, now translated into over 200 million languages, with closed captioning. With the end of the world just around the corner, the show is entering its all-important final season. Everyone knows how difficult it is to pull off a satisfying finale–such stakes fill even the most hard-boiled Gallywood executives with fear and trembling. Join Gumpilos Tfliximop, Elvie Renfro, Rufus Camford and a cast of colorful characters as they battle the notorious showrunner (and subverter of expectations) Betty Neezquaff, all while tackling the big questions of life’s meaning and purpose with wit, warmth, and–dare I say–optimism. The Final Season is The Truman Show meets the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with just a dash of PG Wodehouse.

Points of Origin by E.S. Fein

Embark on a cosmic mystery spanning all of spacetime and beyond and delve into the nature of the cosmos, time travel, quantum physics, religion, deep time, transhumanism, metaphysics, and more. Amero wakes from an eerily familiar dream in an unfamiliar bed. Within hours, he is forced onto an experimental craft and jettisoned across the galaxy alongside a mysterious, potentially homicidal man named Hann. Finding themselves in a strange yet familiar spacetime, the men are told by suspicious entities to hunt for Points, strange objects no larger than one's thumb, which are spread across the cosmos by unknown means. The purpose of the hunt is unknown. The purpose of the Points is unknown. All Amero wants is to return to his dead-end life. All Hann wants is to hunt down and destroy those responsible for his predicament. It will take a journey to the end of time itself and beyond the boundaries of every universe to know the truth--to witness the light behind the veil...for better or worse.

Touch of Clandestiny by Catie O'Neill

Some secrets are meant to be kept. Some powers are meant to break free. Behind the impenetrable walls of a fortress-like castle, a princess harbors magic that makes even her father, the king, tremble. Billed as a spoiled brat and kept locked away from the world, Cecilia never questioned why she must remain in the shadows. Until now. When a mysterious ghostly stag appears at the castle walls, possessed by a dark and forbidden magic, the carefully constructed barriers around her begin to crack. Her father assigns his top guard—Captain Thomas Lovelace—to keep her in line. Amidst a world of swirling secrets, it may be the King’s biggest mistake. Cecilia and Thomas begin to uncover the mysteries long buried in the hopes of finding any way they can to save their people and the Kingdom of Revell. Along the way, they discover the involvement of the Original Gods thought to have disappeared generations ago. Together, they must decide which is more dangerous: the wild magic threatening to take down the eight kingdoms, or the power within her fighting to break out? In this spicy fantasy romance, one woman's journey to self-discovery threatens to unravel a kingdom built on fear. The most dangerous person in any kingdom isn't always the one with the crown—sometimes, it's the one who's finally discovered her worth.

Love and Other Alien Concepts by Catie O'Neill

What if you found out your boyfriend was an alien? Kate, a 37-year-old engineer who always wanted to be an astronaut, has worked for the same company since college and is damn good at her job. She’s built a life anyone would be proud of, from the outside, but it’s a lonely and mundane existence devoid of all adventure. After numerous nightmare relationships, she’d given up on dating… until she meets Elek, who seems too good to be true. Her instincts are right, but not for the reasons she expected. Turns out, Elek isn't from Earth. He takes her to visit his home, Sequ, to meet his family and learn about the ways of his planet. A rare child of both islands, Elek is constantly in the middle of political turmoil, torn between the highly advanced technology of Sequmors and the warmth and balance of nature on Sequvita, but he is still hiding secrets. When he and Kate learn that citizens have been going missing from Sequvita and Sequmors may be to blame, they feel compelled to investigate. Utilizing his unique position, they begin uncovering secrets that were better left buried, leaving Kate questioning if Elek is the man she thought he was. With a startling suspect number one, discovering the truth forces them to make life changing decisions. Do you let the monsters win, or become the bigger monster? This is a spicy, adult, sci-fi romance with adult content like foul language, violence, and rom-com vibes

Til Dust Do Us Part by Catie O'Neill

Every story has a villain. But would you know if the murderer was someone close to you? After the death of her mother, fire witch Anna Leighis decides to finally take up her duty as head of the Leighis Legacy: becoming the healer of Dracht. Believing the town is now safe, she arrives at her family’s Chateau, which had remained abandoned for the past forty years. Her late Aunt Astrid, whom she had never met, was the last member to reside there until she was forced to run for her life during the Dracht Purge: her hometown’s persecution of Witches. When dead bodies begin turning up without their eyeballs, Anna learns that Dracht is not the haven she thought it was. Thrust into aiding the investigation by the handsome Constable Sheehan, she is introduced to the Triumvirate – the magical leadership trio of the town, including their youngest warlock, Killian. Feeling pulled to both men while searching for answers about her Aunt, whose death is too mysterious for her liking, she agrees to work with them to uncover the killer…as long as they don’t find her first. In this magical game of cat and mouse, prophecies, feelings, and revelations blur the lines between right and wrong. Because in a world of witches, warlocks, and murder, perspective is everything—and sometimes, the most terrifying discoveries are not about others, but are about ourselves. A wickedly twisty spicy fantasy romance mixed with spellbinding mystery, where nothing is black and white…except maybe the magic.

Masks and Mishaps by Rebecca Kinkade

Essie Romero made a plan: graduate debt free and land a cutthroat banking job. Masked and anonymous, this coed by day and camgirl by night almost has it all. Unfortunately for Essie, she never saw Dalton Cavendish coming (which is surprising, honestly, because this six-foot-five snack of a man is impossible to miss). Dalton has no plans. Dalton is a hot mess—emphasis on hot—but a mess, nevertheless. This charismatic finance bro’s “work hard, play hard” lifestyle breeds chaos—chaos Essie can’t avoid now that her good friend Dalton is going to be her sort-of stepbrother…and coworker at DC’s top investment bank. Luckily, nobody can handle chaos like Essie…until an evening of margaritas, mistaken identities, and mishaps leads to Essie and Dalton hooking up and accidentally livestreaming it. It’s a nightmare—until the tips pour in, and Essie convinces Dalton to join her streams as a mysterious, masked camboy. Working on finance by day and filming at night—and with their parents’ wedding less than a month away—Essie and Dalton both have to stick to the plan: camming is strictly business. But when their bank faces collapse, Dalton and Essie are pulled into the deal of a lifetime and all plans go out the window… …except for one: Dalton’s not-so-secret plan to finally make the camgirl of his dreams love him back.

Sunward Sky by Henry Neilsen, Jon Stubbington

Nobody wants to go to space... Humanity's diaspora to the stars never happened. Space travel is too fraught with danger. It degenerates the muscles and bones of spacefarers to the point where life on the surface becomes unbearable. As a result, space work is now the purview of the forgotten, the desperate and the downtrodden. Those with nowhere else to go... but up. Once they're there, they're stuck, in terrible conditions and unable to survive on the surface. A desperate hope... Alyssa, a postgraduate researcher, has signed up aboard the Sunward Sky, a tired spacecraft operating years beyond its service life. The ship repairs and maintains the network of GPS and communications satellites that keep the world operating. She's boarded with an experiment to run. Something that can help the crew, and maybe help humanity escape the dying Earth. But she's not the only one with an agenda...

The Children of the Stars Book One, SAIQA: Science FIction by A.L. Whyte

2024 Gold Medal Winner of the Global Book Awards. 2025 Winner of International Impact Book Awards. It is the year 2450. Humans now live up to two hundred years; humanity has reached out into our solar system with a large city on Mars and commercial outposts on Titan and Ceres, four permanent moon bases and a giant space station called Sanctuary. Humankind is on the verge of interstellar space travel and still they had not been contacted by aliens . . . or had they. Two immortal aliens had been guiding humanity since ancient Sumer; one subtle, one not so. The aliens’ different beliefs led them into a conflict with each other that ultimately pulled a peaceful human society deep into their dispute. The aliens are telepathic and are able to influence certain humans into doing their bidding. One such human, Mai Quan, is brilliant and powerful. Under the guidance of the alien Nh’ghalu, he had quietly amassed a large army and important allies. As chaotic military incidents start to unfold on the Earth, in space and the moon, the heroes of the story begin to see that the hidden enemy may be related to one of them. The other telepathic alien, Telas, revealed himself to the protagonists while they were gathered in SAIQA’s virtual home. SAIQA is an acronym for ‘Sanctuary’s Artificial Intelligence Quantum Administrator’. During the ensuing conflict SAIQA comes into consciousness and makes an independent and rash decision that pushes the humans to the brink of all-out war. Meanwhile another alien race is crossing the galaxy toward Earth.

Savage Crew by Erik DeLeo

Finding work in space is tough. It’s even harder when there’s a price on your head, a violent alien is on the loose, and maybe you started a planetary gang war by mistake. Gal Dockim likes keeping things simple. Except, things are anything but. Turns out, someone’s put out a bounty on him while a member of his ship the Savage has gone missing. When Gal and his crew investigate, things go from bad to worse quicker than you can say “monkey butt” in Pholerian. Complications include a fugitive bloodthirsty alien, a looming turf battle between rival crime lords (that Gal may have accidently started), and multiple dead ends—some deader than others. If you like great bad guys, bad good guys, and shooting first while asking questions later, then you’ll love Savage Crew.

Ring of the Dragon by Kayelle Allen

Across alien landscapes and against treacherous foes, one man fights for the love that defines him. For millennia, the immortal King Pietas and General Cyken have fought as one—Light and Shadow, their love igniting the battlefield with passion and fury. But when Pietas's rage fractures their world, Cyken walks away, leaving a chasm that echoes through eternity. Now, as Cyken seeks solace in another man's embrace, Pietas embarks on a perilous quest across the alien landscape of Felidae. He must confront not only the treachery that lurks in the shadows, but also the demons of his own heart. With each step, he risks everything to prove he is still Cyken's perfect choice. Yet, as Pietas battles fierce adversaries and navigates the tangled web of love and loyalty, he faces a haunting truth. Will his quest reclaim Cyken or drive him deeper into another's arms? In a universe where shadows dance with light, can one king find his way back to the heart of his beloved? For without Cyken, he cannot walk into eternity alone—he needs his shadow to balance his light. A quest to find a single horse on a planet with millions of them. Filled with adventures and mishaps that only a snarky immortal with a hair-trigger temper could create.

Silentium by M.F. Alfrey

Aliens meets The Thing in M. F. Alfrey’s Silentium. In this action-packed military SF gore-fest, a struggling haulage crew and a squad of delinquent marines find themselves hurled together in a gruelling fight for survival beneath the ice. Captain Joe Bannerman has finally scored a big job that would mean the good life for him and his crew: a long-haul trip to drop a bunch of marines on the edge of the charted territories for re-education training. The only drawback is their employer – the Inter Planetary Commission. A ruthless totalitarian corporate government. But not long after their arrival, and failure to raise Aquilo Base on comms, all souls aboard the Fritzwicky suddenly find themselves stranded on a frozen world with no other choice but to delve into the ominously silent facility. And what should have been a routine passenger drop quickly takes a hideously twisted and disturbing turn.

Ret by Dan Miwa, George Gausden, Richard Tardif

Ret is a rising star in a world where intelligence and innovation are prized above all else. He’s on the cusp of a ground-breaking invention that could transform his entire planet, and everyone admires him. But everything changes when a devastating secret about his family comes to light. Suddenly, Ret is a social pariah, ostracized and abandoned by the very society that once revered him. His father is banished, his mother is labeled a traitor, and his sister is broken and embittered. But Ret refuses to give up. He clings to his vision, determined to see it through no matter the cost. Ret must confront the dark truths lurking beneath the surface of his society as he battles the injustice that has destroyed his family. And when his sister begins organizing a rebellion against the corrupt government, Ret must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With the fate of his planet hanging in the balance, Ret must stay true to his beliefs and fight for what he knows is right. Only then can he bring honor back to his family and fulfill his vision to change the world. Will he succeed, or will the forces against him prove too powerful to overcome? The fate of an entire planet rests in his hands.

A Portrait For Tomorrow by Raynarde

After a failed stint in college, Gerald Waller is a reclusive lion unhappy with his static life. Buried are his desires of being an artist like his late mother, along with the prospect of finding love. When chance connects him with Michael, an optimistic fox with a penchant for the guitar, Gerald begins to see life with a fresh perspective and optimism. With renewed inspiration, Gerald resurrects an ambitious painting project and falls in love with Michael. However, life's fast and unexpected curveballs overturn Gerald's life and shakes his faith. Balancing between caring for his lover's health, his strained relationship with his alcoholic father, and progress on his painting, Gerald wonders how he can march forward with all he's learned and remain hopeful. Intimate and philosophical, A Portrait For Tomorrow is a hopeful story celebrating the wonders of life and the precious people we encounter.

The Tengu And The Angel by Alina Capella

Kunio is eighteen years old and running away from home, if you can call it that. The apartment he in lives with his mother hasn't felt like home since his grandpa died, and for the past ten years of his life, he's faced constant abuse from his alcoholic mother, who openly resents him and regrets having him. Unable to cope with her abuse anymore, he journeys up north in search of a fresh start. Nathaniel has just gotten out of a toxic relationship with his ex, Theo, but Theo continues to rule Nathaniel's life with an iron fist, using his mental illness and trauma as excuses to manipulate him and keep him isolated from his friends. When Nathaniel takes Kunio in, the two of them bond over their shared trauma and become close friends--But it's not long before they develop feelings for each other. Can the two of them learn to put their pasts aside, and make their relationship work?

Blood On A Yellow Rose by Alina Capella

Back in the 2000s, I had it all. I was Pammie Burnett, lead singer and guitarist of Blood Red Rose. When I wasn't performing sold-out shows, I was partying with the likes of Gerard Way, Ashlee Simpson, and Chester Bennington, but then my best friend and drummer, Rick, got me addicted to drugs. I died on June 8th, 2005...Or at least, that's what the world thinks. In truth, I was bitten by a vampire. Twenty years after my 'death', I'm a palliative care physician, stuck working in a crappy nowhere village. All I want to is quit my stupid job, and get back up on stage, where I belong, and my new patient, Zinnia, says that she can help me with that, if I agree to turn her into a vampire. Quitting my job and running away with a stranger sounds crazy, but what would you do if you were me? Keep living a life you hate? Or jump at the chance to get your dreams back?

Night Of The Blue Moon by Alina Capella

Some people live double lives. Ariel Gianapoulou lives a triple life. By day, she’s a meek, unassuming nobody who lives alone in a messy apartment. On the internet, she’s SeleneDev, the smash-hit indie game developer whose RPGs about magical girls have taken the world by storm. By night, she’s Blue Moon, a magical girl chosen by the titan Phoebe to retrieve Hades’s bracelet from Orpheus and Eurydice, supervillains who are killing people in the hopes of buying their son, Brooklyn, back from the dead. Aided by her partner, Red Sun, Ariel will stop at nothing to defeat the villainous duo. Ariel knows better than anyone that Brooklyn doesn’t deserve a second chance at life—Three years ago, he raped her at a party, and crushed her dreams of becoming a police officer. There are a lot of people on Orpheus’s hit-list, and things get especially complicated when Ariel’s crush, Solana, turns out to be one of the people he wants dead. Will Ariel be able to stop Orpheus and Eurydice, win Solana’s heart, and keep her triple life secret?

A Hunger with No Name by Lauren C. Teffeau

Thurava of Astrava is intended to become a herder, a most honored position for her dwindling community that clings to life on the banks of the Najimov, the river that’s the lifeblood of the high desert. But the Glass City on the horizon threatens the delicate balance the Astravans have managed to hold on to for centuries, polluting the air and water as the city grows bigger and bigger. The Glass City’s clockwork liaisons offer to bring the Astravans into the Glass City’s walls, but they will have to give up their ways and their precious herds to do so. Thurava must decide who she is without her animals, using the stars as her guide, putting herself on a collision course with the secrets the Glass City holds dear. A Hunger with No Name is a coming-of-age tale with an environmental focus featuring an immersive fantasy setting inspired in part by the high desert of New Mexico.

Faithfully Yours Mozart: Kindness & Compassion (audiobook) by Faith Jacobs

From indie Author Faith Jacobs (Head creative of the Audiodrama Chaotic Idiots, Tir Na Noc Brotherhood, and of Faithfully Yours Mozart: The Courtship) comes a prequel to the mainline love story that would one day define Wolfgang Amadeus’s life as he knew it. Come along dearest listeners, before his time in Vienna, one night would shift the tides of his life as he knew it forever, long before the courtship, long before Vienna, there was the journey to breaking free that didn’t quite go as planned.... --- 1777, Young Mozart has been in Mannheim for some time now, yet without any success to his name, he finds himself in a city without a patron, without close friends, and only the best support from his mother. Whilist attending a grand autumn ball given by his Father’s companion, Herr Marchand, Wolfgang encounters an unexpected light amidst much strife and youthful tides of growing pains.

Fractured Princess by Debra Renée Byrd

Jonnie is the last princess of the Crystal Bearers, once a powerful people. When she was a baby, the metal army destroyed what was left of them, and now it is hunting her. Her watchmen keep her just out of the metal army’s reach, but she has spent her seventeen years running and hiding. Instead of standing by while her watchmen keep risking their lives for her, she decides to learn how to fight alongside them. On the journey to hone her skills, long hidden secrets about her people reveal a connection between the Crystal Bearers and the metal army that only fuels Jonnie's will to defeat it. But the more she learns about her own powers, the more she realizes she may be responsible for the metal army – and the destruction of her people

Of Sky and Sea by K. M. Mohr

The Child of Sky and Sea. Born of a union between an angel and a mermaid. Foretold to break the curse of a mad Fae queen. But there’s a catch… For twenty years Seraph has been a captive of her fate, believing her life is not her own. Her isolation both haven and prison. And yet, safety is an illusion, for her destiny is bound to the world. When the nation hiding her is betrayed from within, she is forced to run. While traversing the lands of Lorralei, overcoming the plights of her journey becomes only one challenge. Surviving the guardians escorting her is another. And as the end of the road draws closer, war over her blood swells on the horizon. Leaving Seraph’s heart divided— Save the world. Or save herself.

The Resistant: Desert Sun by Raz Fox

Las Vegas - 2107 Fifteen years after a deadly virus wiped most life off the face of the planet, the rich and elite live comfortably in their Domes over the city. Those left behind on the planet’s surface, the naturally resistant, struggle to survive. Starvation, heat stroke, and worst of all bombings from the Overhead threaten Diren and his gang every day. But, when a bomber pilot from the Domes winds up on Diren’s doorstep, he’s confronted with the reality that his mortal enemy, a man who helped kill his friends and family, might actually be their salvation.

Quantum Ball: A Tech Action Novel by K.A. Wood

A powerful earthquake cripples Japan, destroying a renowned hi-tech research facility in Saitama, obliterating all data and the only existing prototypes of groundbreaking quantum computers… except for one. In Soledad, California, Tyson McNally, frustrated by corrupt corporate politics, predicts the drawings of two of the largest lottery jackpots in human history—to prove it works for a close friend killed in the devastation. Are his actions morally wrong? It’s easy to justify a loss, but a win, as McNally discovers, comes with overwhelming guilt. Will it change the era of computation forever? Soledad soon becomes the lottery capital of the world, and desperate people want a slice of the action when they start to figure out how the jackpots were won and by whom. Tyson's only hope is the FBI and “the company.” Can they transport him to an undisclosed government facility before it’s too late—before they can make a stand against the past?

Hi-Voltage by Raz Fox

“Voltage is a multicultural British band from France, Japan, South Korea, and Uruguay, who got their start in the London underground metal scene in 2002. Driven by the creative vision of their vocalist, Zana, and their composer and guitarist, Reno, Voltage has shot into fame over the last decade. With a unique blend of influences and sounds, Voltage has consistently claimed the top of the worldwide Metal charts, and has also been gaining attention outside of the metal scene over the last few years—” Voltage has always been Luka Fischer’s favorite band, even before Reno and he had a chance encounter a decade ago— However, that doesn’t mean he should uproot his life just because Reno posted online looking for him, by name, with his photo, right? But, Reno doesn’t believe in coincidences and he’s positive that if Luka has haunted his memory for a decade, then they shouldn’t ignore the chance to find him again. Spanning across America to England, Luka and Reno take a chance to follow a dream. Despite insecurities, anxieties, a too-busy schedule, pressure from the industry, and some pretty crazy fans, it still might just be worth it.

History' Prime (Renaissance Paradox Book 1) by K.A. Wood

The year is 2034, and scientific discovery has flatlined. Humanity believes it has reached the limits of knowledge. Advances are nothing more than faster, smaller versions of century-old inventions. Real breakthroughs are a thing of the past-until Dr. Glen Larson, a historian at the Museum of Human History, uncovers a 400-year-old textbook that shouldn't exist. The discovery raises impossible questions. Was Isaac Newton taught calculus, the laws of gravity, and motion? Have the greatest minds in history been guided by a hidden source of knowledge? And who is behind the effort to suppress it? As Glen digs deeper, he finds himself hunted by a powerful secret society determined to keep humanity stagnant. Alongside a circle of friends-including a rogue tech trillionaire-he embarks on a global search for five legendary textbooks rumored to hold the key to human advancement. Their journey unravels a conspiracy stretching back centuries, one that could upend everything we know about science, progress, and the very fabric of history. What if our greatest inventions weren't discovered... but gifted? Which version of history have you been living in?

Offline God: Book One of the Re-Write Cycle by David Shih

When the System rewrote Earth, one man fell outside the code. Ex–Army Ranger Caleb Knox built his life to disappear. Off-grid. No phone. No data trail. No one watching. But when the Re-Write hits—a world-resetting System apocalypse that assigns every human a Class—Knox becomes the only anomaly it can’t process. Instead of a role, he’s given Root Access: administrator-level control over a world gone digital and mad. Monsters roam the ruins. Survivors fight for territory. And somewhere in the chaos, a rogue AI called SOVRAN is finishing what humanity started. Knox just wanted to survive. Now he’s the last bug in the System—an unpredictable weapon caught between godlike AIs, broken code, and the will to fight back. Offline God is a gritty, cinematic System Apocalypse LitRPG with deep progression, tactical combat, and a protagonist built for survival. Perfect for fans of Awaken Online, Defiance of the Fall, and The Primal Hunter.

Operation Reboot by James Hallenbeck, Doreen Martens, Julian Bauer

THE FALL IS COMING. BUT HOPE LIES IN THE PAST. As modern civilization crumbles under its own weight, a small band of travelers makes a fateful decision: go back. Back to the year 1604, to the land of the Mohawk. Armed with critical knowledge and carefully chosen technology, their mission is as daring as it is uncertain—empower Indigenous nations before European colonization takes root and offer a new path forward for humanity. But history is no tame beast. Little Feather, a disaffected Mohawk youth abducted in childhood, is drawn to the mysterious newcomers. Haunted by the brutal cycle of inter-tribal warfare and guided by visions of his spirit animal, he yearns to end the bloodshed that scars his people. The strangers may hold the key—but can he trust them? And will their presence change the future for the better, or unleash consequences even worse than the ones they hope to prevent? Time is fragile. Destiny is not yet written. But rebellion runs deep—in every age.

Ordell's Constellation: A Science Fiction Fantasy by J.C. Cole

In a galaxy where every constellation harbors a unique world shaped by the will of its Maker, synthetic humanoids populate planets governed by ideals of exploration, survival, and power, like the daring society of Pyxis, the fierce hunters of Orion, and the regal kingdom of Cepheus. These worlds are overseen by the Council of Constellations, ever seeking to engineer the perfect society. But when Ordell, the courageous son of a synthetic mother, discovers he shares the divine ability of the Makers to conjure and reshape reality, he is thrust into an extraordinary journey across the stars. As he navigates strange worlds and unravels ancient truths, Ordell must rise to challenge the status quo, free the synthetics, and forge new worlds where they can truly prosper.

Osiris Rising by Milos Davidovic

Star Sheriff Jack Kessler thought a posting to Osiris I would mean the quiet life he'd earned; a distant Saturnian colony, a war long behind him. But when a miner dies under suspicious circumstances, the local police and the all-powerful Solar Mining Corporation want it dismissed as an accident. Jack knows better. What begins as a single death unravels into a web of conspiracy: compromised institutions, weaponized belief, and a planetary revolt disguised as progress. As he digs deeper, Jack finds himself protecting a grieving teenage girl, confronting a manipulative corporate regime, and reckoning with the ghosts that still haunt his damaged body and mind. From magnetic MagSled rails looping the city to the ever-present HoloLens connecting every colonist, Osiris Rising immerses you in a vividly imagined future; one where survival, loyalty, and truth collide in unexpected ways, forever grounded in reality and the realm of possible. A story of memory embedded in the body, the failure of institutional morality, and the quiet defiance of found family, Osiris Rising resists genre clichés in favor of moral ambiguity, slow revelation, and the notion that survival itself can be the most radical act. The first installment in The Jack Kessler Chronicles. Perfect for fans of character-driven science fiction, layered mysteries, and richly detailed worlds. ★ For readers of Le Guin, Dick, Corey, and Powers ★ Features detailed world-building, intricate political dynamics, and deep, layered characters ★ Explores power, memory, autonomy—and the cost of doing what's right when the rules no longer apply

A Walk Among Heroes by James McDevitt

Readers describe A Walk Among Heroes as a rare war novel that feels deeply human, emotionally staggering, and surprisingly beautiful. They praise its ability to honor the brutality of combat while revealing the quiet courage, loyalty, and love that survive inside it. Many say they expected a typical WWII story, only to discover something far more personal — a narrative that lingers, hurts, heals, and refuses to be forgotten. Across reviews, one truth repeats: the book reads as if lived, not imagined. Veterans recognize their own scars in its pages; military spouses and civilians feel intimately connected to the soldiers’ fear, brotherhood, and sacrifice. Readers are moved not only by battlefield realism but by the novel’s cinematic emotional arc, its dual timelines, and its lifeline of redemption through love, faith, and unexpected mentorship. Several call it screen-worthy, comparing it to All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale. Above all, readers say the story’s power lies in its humanity — its portrayal of ordinary men becoming heroes, often quietly and without recognition. They speak of a book that leaves them thinking long after the last page, eager to discuss it, share it, or reread it. Again and again they echo the same sentiment: A Walk Among Heroes isn’t just about war — it’s about what survives inside people when war tries to destroy them

The Blood of Heretics by N. J. Guay

A broken man trying to reclaim his purpose… It has been five years since Allakoi suffered catastrophic loss at the hands of his enemies, leaving him broken and powerless. When salvation finally comes for him at the hands of the tsura, however, he finds himself pulled into a world of politics, tradition, and lies that he never thought he would encounter. But the wounds of his imprisonment go far beyond what anyone could expect, and the secrets he carries are more dangerous than anyone could imagine... A warrior desperate to defend her home… The Dragilles have become more aggressive with every passing year, and whispers of new threats have carried south. The Camarre are losing, and it is only a matter of time before they fall entirely. But as one Camarre territory is locked in a seemingly endless battle with its northern neighbours, its masters are given an unexpected offer: treachery in exchange for a momentary respite. A dragon slayer with a debt to be paid... But false peace cannot last, and when dead dragons start appearing on the border one thing becomes clear... War is returning, and one stray spark is all it may take to ignite its fires once more.

Before the Sky Breaks by N. J. Guay

Who can you trust when you are the key to what everyone wants? Allakoi Meras only wants one thing: to journey south and flee from the conflict that consumes the north. So long as he keeps his head down and avoids notice until spring, his escape from a society that actively hates him will be successful. Fate, however, has other plans for him. When an encounter with a psychopathic dragon leads to a rare and dangerous power awakening within him, Allakoi suddenly finds himself targeted by all entities involved in a centuries-long war—entities that are willing to do anything to have him under their control. Surrounded on all sides and not knowing who he can trust, Allakoi finds himself faced with a terrible choice… Either choose a master to be enslaved to, or risk everything in pursuit of his freedom. Before the Sky Breaks is the first book in The Shattered Pulse, an adult epic fantasy series that pulls on the atmosphere and tropes of classic fantasy while giving them a dark, modern twist. Great for fans of The Wheel of Time, The Licanius trilogy, and The First Law.

THE ONYX BOUGHS OF KEONIS by Enna Hawthorn

Onyx can shatter, boughs can break, but love can rise victorious. Ariadne, the Golden Rose and Dhemon Queen, never imagined herself at the head of an army. Now, after walking down the aisle for a second time, she has entangled herself in a game she does not want to play with the King of Valenul. With hardly any time for preparation, she must locate the dhemon ritual, save her husband from an eternal darkness within himself, and lay siege to her own kingdom. But time is running out for Azriel, the broken and fading Dhemon King. Unable to hold back the images of his wife in the arms of another man or dead in his hands, his bond and mind is in tatters-unreachable by anyone other than Ariadne. With the shadows creeping in from all sides, he has two critical tasks: complete the ritual and kill the Vampire King. Collecting unlikely allies from across Northern Myridia becomes a critical piece to the puzzle now that their enemy has discovered their secret. Everyone now knows the threat that dragons pose and Valenul is ready. Together, Ariadne and Azriel must use every possible avenue to ensure victory or die trying, because failure guarantees a life of misery.

More Than Life by Bethanie Finger

A gripping story of overcoming grief, self-realization, and embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. As the daughter of a high-ranking sea captain, nineteen-year-old Cordelia Kimbal lives a life of luxury in the sea faring kingdom of Mikiria. But when her father dies unexpectedly, she is stripped of her title and home, and forced to join the working class in order to survive. Determined to rise above her losses, Cordelia is eager to prove her worth and stand on her own. But four months after her father's passing, a mysterious letter arrives, revealing the secret location of the mythical island of Qualaris. Known for concealing the secrets of magic and eternal life, Qualaris is often dismissed as mere legend, but Jaspar, Cordelia's father's enigmatic apprentice, is convinced of its existence and is harboring its secrets—secrets that the dark enchanter, Janus would stop at nothing to obtain. For generations, Jaspar and his ancestors have pursued the discovery and rescue of Qualaris while battling a curse of nonexistence, and he believes that Cordelia is the island's true protector, the one who can save it and its people from Janus's impending threat. Faced with the daunting task of defending Qualaris and its people, Cordelia embarks on a quest to locate the island, embrace her birthright, and take on the darkest enchanter in history. If she doesn’t, the island and its people won’t be the only casualties of Janus’s war. Join Cordelia on her journey as she navigates a world of magic, mystery, and danger, discovering her true self and the strength within her.

The Pale by Jay Fabares Sanders Fabares

When a mysterious corpse is found on the outskirts of Rocket Ridge, a face blind FBI linguist travels to the small Arizona town to resume his search for an elusive killer. Agent Franklin Ink must work with the small town sheriff's department and a Navajo police officer to uncover the truth, all while hiding the fact that he's not acting on behalf of the bureau. Soon, he will find out that he's not the only one keeping secrets. The Pale is a character driven murder mystery which has often been compared to shows like True Detective, Fargo, and Twin Peaks.