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Voice of the Banished by Shelly Campbell Betrayed, broken, and banished, Akrist is left to wander the wilderness in search of his lost love, Yara. But heâs not alone. Against all odds, he has bonded with Nardiri, one of the worldâs last dragons. In a cruel, unforgiving world, Akrist must navigate what it means to be marked as both a Speakerâa leader chosen by Nasheira herselfâand an outcast. Haunted by the sacrifices of first-born sons, he fears the world cannot be changed, even with a dragonâs help. If he does nothing, the cycle of sacrifice will begin again when the moons touch. |
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And by the Sea She Came to Me by Naomi Piper By the sea, she found her. And by the sea, she'll come to her. Anna is a mopey college student who struggles to find things she genuinely enjoys outside of tentacle hentai. She expects a calm, quiet Thanksgiving break with her dad in their island lighthouse. Echo is a tentacle mermaid living in her big sister's shadow. She plans to hunt Anna's dad to bring home for her family to finally score some Good Kid points. Until she spots Anna through a window, taking a moonlight bath. Now Echo has a lot of feelings and interesting new sensations to figure out. Is a week of the best and weirdest sex of Anna's life enough to pull her from her rut? What happens to her tentacle mermaid girlfriend when she has to travel hundreds of miles away to go back to college? Is she bothered by Echo killing people in front of her, or is it kinda hot? Will Echo finally make her family proud? Is she a foot girl? (Yes.) How will she cope with Anna leaving her? Are ten limbs enough to satisfy a woman? Featuring fated mates, tentacles, DP, TP (etc...), foot stuff, innocent monster virgin, sexually repressed but very eager virgin, affectionate dynamics. Content warnings: adult situations (the whole book is an adult situation) brief allusion to SA murder |
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The Woeling Lass by Dave Dobson An assassin hunts Inspector Gueran Declais through the streets of Frosthelm, and she is not acting alone. Just as he learns that his family may have been attacked and slain, Gueran is struck down as well. Despite the odds, he lives. Barely. Whisked away from the city for his safety, he struggles to recover from his injuries, learn his family's fate, and uncover the identity of those who want him dead. Far from Frosthelm, he becomes caught up in investigating another bloody attack, one that may or may not have been perpetrated by vengeful spirit of a woman wronged long ago, and one that threatens to expose him to his enemies. The locals are certain, though: the killer had to be the Woeling Lass, her hands cold as the grave and her feet aflame. Back in Frosthelm, Urret Milton is an apprentice in some difficulty at the Guild. She receives a mysterious note for Gueran, a man everyone thinks is dead. Rapidly embroiled in the effort to unravel the reason for the killings and bring the assassins to justice, Urret struggles to shed her troubles and show that she has what it takes to be an inspector. But all this leads her into far more peril than she bargained for, for which she can't possibly be ready. Her position at the Guild, the security of the city, and her life itself are all at stake. This tale from the Inquisitors' Guild of Frosthelm is a fresh mystery full of swordplay, deceit, ancient magic, scheming nobles, and a healthy dose of humor. Combining the clues and hidden mysteries of detective stories with all the grand adventure of epic fantasy, The Woeling Lass is a wondrous journey through betrayal, murder, ancient legend, loss, courage, and redemption. And, it has really silly chapter titles. |
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The Legend of Black Jack by A. R. Witham Thrilling fantasy adventure debut from Emmy-winner A. R. Witham. Jack Swift can tell you every element on the periodic table, recite Treasure Island verbatim, and would remember in perfect detail every word youâd ever say to him. He has been alone for a long time, so he has buried himself in books, using them to plan his escape. But no textbook could ever prepare him for the land of Keymark. At 3:33 a.m. on his fourteenth birthday, Jack is kidnapped by a hideous monster to another sphere of existence. Now there are two moons in the sky, and he is surrounded by grotesque creatures and magical warriors training for battle. They want the impossible: Jack must use his abilities to save a life or be trapped in this bizarre world with no chance of rescue. Jack doesnât have secret magic, a great destiny, or any experience. So why do they all expect him to become a legend? |
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The Skin (Black Hind's Wake Book 1) by J.E. Hannaford You cannot fix this world alone, Selkie.â âI know. But, when we die, all that is left are shadows of our lives preserved in the memories of those who remain. I plan on leaving an exceptionally long shadow, filled with ripples of moonlight for those I helped, and darker than the worst of nightmares for those who wronged us.â How far would you go to save your skin? Iâm a selkie, trapped above the waves until I can recover my skin. Humans used to call us seal-wives many years ago â before they broke the planet. I thought that less humans, after the warming, would mean less danger. My kind believed our world was finally recovering. We were wrong. Up here, the magic is fading and Old Ones like me are being traded as trophies for rich and powerful humans to display in collections. Without the Old Ones, the magic fades, without magic, the planet dies. Humankind has gone too far and someone has to put a stop to it. I just wasnât expecting it to be me. Far to the south on his enormous pleasure ship, Barge, Lord Sal hunts for missing Old Ones â with a grand plan to leave his own mark on the world. But, Icidro and Prince Ulises are searching for them too, and this is a world where money talks louder than morals. |
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Untitled Spy Story: A Novel by Aaron C Cross Sometimes you're in the right place at the right time. Sometimes someone ends up getting shot and you're on the run with your brother, the girl you want to sleep with, the girl your brother wants to sleep with, and the guy that slept with your girlfriend. Sometimes that ends up with a whole lot of mescal being consumed and hallucinating dance sequences. Sometimes that ends up with the Secretary of State wanting you dead. For Will Texas, sometime is now. |
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Spells of Summer (Inheritance, 8) by AK Faulkner Learning magic doesnât come cheap, and the bill is long overdue. Rufus needs his studentâs help to solve his parents' murder, and after a year of tuition, Laurence has run out of excuses to put off witnessing the gruesome secrets buried in the past. But his vision only raises more questions. The mystery isnât how they died, but how Rufus survived. The only clue is a teddy bear nobody remembers, and it holds magic powerful enough to hospitalize Freddy, entangle a god, and hide a murderer. Maybe some secrets are better left buried. |
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Broken Sky (Skies of Cyrna Book 1) by Morgan K Bell Dorian Valmont is the sorriest excuse for an aeronaut the crew of skyship Phoenix has ever seen. Forced to flee his home to protect his magical inheritance from the machinations of his ambitious stepfather, awkward misfit Dorian finds himself poorly suited to the rigors of life in the sky. But when an exiled dragon finds him, injured and desperate for help, Dorian learns itâs not enough merely to run away. Dorian must learn to fight back. Caught between forces that seek to use or destroy him, Dorian must train and adapt if he wants to survive. But if he can, he might just hold the key to restoring the worldâs faltering magic â or destroying it once and for all. |
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Sigils of Spring (Inheritance, 7) by AK Faulkner We all fall down. When Quentin is accosted by YouTube ghost-hunters with a crackpot theory about his mother, he writes it off as nonsense â until they kidnap him right off the street in broad daylight. Not even his psychokinesis can save him, but Laurence will. He must. Except Laurence can't find Quentin. His powers have never failed him like this before. There's only one hope left: a stranger called Angela is willing to teach him more magic than he currently knows. Normally he'd write her off as bad news, but Quentin is running out of time, and Laurence is all out of options. He has less than 48 hours to save Quentin's life, and no price is too high. The clock is ticking. |
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Rites of Winter (Inheritance, 6) by AK Faulkner Let the Wild Hunt begin! Tortured. Broken. Laurence and Quentin need time to heal. A layover in New York offers just that, but then Quentin vanishes in the worst blizzard the city has ever seen, and all Laurenceâs Hunter gifts arenât enough to track him down. Two gods have warred for centuries. One is trapped in Manhattan, and needs Laurenceâs aid if heâs to continue his vendetta. The other is confined to Annwn, the Land of the Dead. He needs Quentinâs help if heâs to win once and for all. Unlike gods theyâve encountered before, these ones arenât frail. Not even close. But there really can be only one, and Laurence must fight to save Quentin before they both get trampled into dust. He canât do it alone. |
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Page of Tricks (Inheritance, 5) by AK Faulkner Thereâs nowhere left to run. Quentin dâArcy has escaped his fatherâs clutches for six years, but the life he has built in San Diego is about to come crashing down. The skeletons in his closet wonât stay hidden. The Duke of Oxfordâs pawns are all in place. One move triggers a catastrophic chain of events: Freddy kidnaps Laurence, and Quentin is thrust into a race against time to save both his loverâs sanity and his own. Every family has secrets, but the dâArcy line is built on them. Nothing will ever be the same again. |
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Reeve of Veils (Inheritance, 4) by AK Faulkner Truth is a matter of perspective. Frederick dâArcy is determined to unearth the truth behind his motherâs untimely death, but the only witness is a man whose mind Frederick cannot read: his twin brother, Quentin. And Quentin is up to his neck in trouble half a world away. That troubleâs name is Kane Wilson. As Wilson works to out psychics and kill anyone who gets in his way, Frederick enters into a deadly game of cat and mouse. He must outwit, outthink, and outmanipulate Wilson without revealing the extent of his own powers, or the vengeance he seeks could be snatched from his grasp. This isnât the Knight of Flames you remember. |
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Lord of Ravens (Inheritance, 3) by AK Faulkner Hunter and prey. Which is which? Laurence Riley believed that he was nothing. He couldnât have been further from the truth. Descended from Herne the Hunter, his own need to seek prey has long gone unfulfilled. Now itâs out of control. Something ancient is coming to take Quentin home: a creature of nightmare who feasts on the flesh of children. But Laurence has seen the real monster. The one who is pulling all their strings from afar. Only Herne can prepare Laurence to face an evil which far outmatches him. Their enemy wields the most powerful weapon of all, and will destroy everyone Laurence loves unless he can master the same power. He must learn magic. |
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Knight of Flames (Inheritance, 2) by AK Faulkner Some men are forged in fire. Others are consumed by it. Quentin dâArcy survived a showdown with a god. Now, he must face something far more terrifyingâhis feelings. Falling in love was never part of his plan, and the secret heâs kept from Laurence may burn them both. Kane Wilson is building a better world, leaving a trail of bodies as he goes. To him, no price is too high to create a future where psychics are out, proud, with no need to fear those who hate them. Through fate or fortune, Quentin is the psychic communityâs last defense against Kaneâs murderous plans and monstrous power. Where others have no choice but to obey Kaneâs every word, only Quentin can shrug off Kane's compulsion. Quentin alone can walk into the fire, but not even Laurence's prophetic gifts can say whether he will emerge unburned. |
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Water Against Chaos by R A Klepsis Cordela sets out as a young woman for a life of adventure with a staff, a shield, and a dream. Along the way she acquires friends, magical abilities, and treasure. By facing and conquering various monsters she hones her skills, but her enemies also become more powerful and numerous. Soon she finds herself facing a vast conspiracy of chaos, led by a shadowy black wizard. She must lead the forces of law in a great battle to restore order and balance. Will she have the fortitude to take down the black wizard? Or will she find that he serves even greater forces? Cordela's quest will take her to places far beyond the little village of her youth. If this sounds like a typical setup for a fantasy tabletop role playing campaign, that is because it is. This novelization of an actual play TTRPG follows one simple rule. If it happened at the table, it goes in the book! Discover this fantasy world and its inhabitants along with the characters and the players who played them. Experience as the relationships, friendly, rivalrous, and antagonistic, develop just as they did at the table. Share the fun, excitement, wonder, and suspense that the players did while collaboratively creating this adventure. |
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Jack of Thorns (Inheritance, 1) by AK Faulkner Youâd think seeing the future would make life easy, but Laurence Riley knows better. No matter how hard he tries to master the chaos, everything slips out of control. His violent ex-boyfriend, his supernatural talents, his drug addictionâseeing whatâs coming doesnât help with any of them. He needs help and he knows it. Help that only a god can provide. The answer to his prayers is Jack, who offers aid with reining in his powers and mastering his life. In exchange, all Jack asks is regular offerings of sexual energy from Laurence's conquests. A month ago, that would have been just fine with Laurence. If not for Quentin, it still would be. Devastatingly handsome, incredibly desirable, and so far out of Laurenceâs league itâs not even funny, Quentin is the flame to Laurenceâs moth. Laurence doesnât want anyone else, he canât think of anyone else, and neither Quentinâs frustratingly chaste behavior nor his uncontrollable telekinesis are enough to put him off. Not even if his focus on Quentin means breaking his bargain with Jack and facing the consequences of disappointing a god. Laurence doesnât need to see the future to know thatâs a bad idea, but he has no clue how dangerous Jack really is⌠|
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No Rest for Wicked Thieves by Jonathan Pembroke For Kayla Tanglebrush--the fabled thief known as the Nightcat--life just doesn't get any easier. After botching a high-profile job and seeing other opportunities dry up, Kayla is forced to take on the most dangerous task of her career: infiltrate the remote fortress known as the Ice God's Retreat and steal the Rime Diamond from under the nose of the Lord of Frost and his worshipers. Except ... she has no idea how she's going to do it. With few options, Kayla is forced to accept the help of a naive but powerful priestess and a dashing rogue. Kayla's past and present collide as she and her companions rush towards a perilous confrontation. And all the while, greater forces stir and awaken. Pieces are moved on the cosmic chess board as the Gods watch ... and wait ... |
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Ruben's Cube Alaska: Bullet Point 2: Judgment Day: This Time It's Real by Aaron C Cross Sometimes you just wake up and your entire life changes. You know, it's standard, really. Contacted by a shadowy government agency who thinks you're someone else. Hooking up with the local pastor's daughter and feeling guilty about it. Becoming roomies with a Russian who is possibly immortal. Getting swept up in international intrigue that threatens to end your life at any time and also you may be that person that people thought you were but you also may not be. It's complicated. Also, you or someone else that is also a hero and not you specifically find out that your entire life is part of some grander story over which you have no control and, in fact, are something more like a certainty, which doesn't really make sense even in context. Also, maybe you're the author and get tons of shade thrown your way by your own characters. That can happen too. |
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Robocopter Ski Patrol by Aaron C Cross The year is...some year. Let's say the present. Yellow cake uranium sits, waiting to be sold, in a foreign country. The leader hides himself away, fearing assassination - as he should, because that's how the country works. It's kind of a stupid country.And well he should worry, for skulking his way around Europe is an ambitious Baron just looking for the right opportunity to seize the throne and all the powers and chances that come with it. If only his pets would stop exploding...Across the ocean, Adam Bitchenstein attempts to win over Miss Girl from Ipanema for the nth time. However, a phone call from out of the blue will change everything in their lives forever. It's always a phone call, right?Join Adam, Miss Girl from Ipanema, and a cast of idiots and perverts as they seek to stop the balance of world power from changing before it's too late.Also, there's a Robocopter. Not sure if you picked that up but...it's kind of important. |
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Nectar and Ambrosia (An Amaranthine Inheritance Novel Book 1) by E. M. Hamill Callie, a Classics major, flees home to protect her family from a monster straight out of mythology. Visions lead her to Nectar and Ambrosia: the weirdest pub on Earth, where inter-dimensional travelers with attention seeking issues get drunk in between the A-list celebrity lives they create. They can't pretend to be gods anymoreânot since a treaty with the current Supreme Deity promising they won't intervene in human affairs. The Doorkeeper of this threshold, Florian, rides herd on the rowdy Amaranthine and offers her shelter and a job. Callie likes the lonely, mysterious bartender more than she should. For Florian, her presence is a ray of light in the gray monotony of his sentence behind the bar, but he keeps a cautious distanceâthe truth of how he became Doorkeeper could change Callie's perception of him forever. When angels show up for a war council over Zeus's irrational mutters about a comeback, Callie has uncontrolled visions of an apocalypse. Ex-gods realize sheâs the first Oracle Priestess in generations. All Callie wanted was keep her parents safe, and now it seems she must sacrifice her future to keep the rest of humanity safe, too. Ambrosia could be the key to harnessing her visionsâ or it could cost her life. War is coming. The threshold between worlds has never been more fragile. Callie must discover who is pulling Zeus's strings and avert the final battleâbefore the immortal vying to become the next Supreme Deity kills her first. |
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Third-gender operative DalĂ Tamareia thought their life as an ambassador ended when they joined a galactic intelligence agency. When theyâre yanked out of the field and tapped to negotiate the surrender of deadly bio-engineered warriors who crashed into hostile territory, DalĂ is thrust headfirst back into the tumultuous world of galactic diplomacy. DalĂ has faced Shontavians before, but not like these. The stranded mercenaries are highly intelligent and have an agenda of their own. DalĂ canât afford to be distracted from the negotiations by their own demons or the presence of a charming diplomat with a mysterious past. As a brewing civil war threatens to derail the entire mission, DalĂ must use all their skills to bring this dangerous situation to a peaceful endâbut the Shontavians may not be the biggest monsters at the table. Someone is determined to see DalĂ and their team dead before they discover the brutal truth hidden in the wreckage. |
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DalĂ by E.M. Hamill DalĂ Tamareia has everythingâa young family and a promising career as an Ambassador in the Sol Fed Diplomatic Corps. DalĂâs path as a peacemaker seems clear, but when their loved ones are killed in a terrorist attack, grief sends the genderfluid changeling into a spiral of self-destruction. Fragile Sol Fed balances on the brink of war with a plundering alien race. Their skills with galactic relations are desperately needed to broker a protective alliance, but in mourning, DalĂ no longer cares, seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle, in the arms of a faceless lover, or at the end of a knife. The New Puritan Movement is rising to power within the government, preaching strict genetic counseling and galactic isolation to ensure survival of the endangered human race. Third gender citizens like DalĂ donât fit the mold of this perfect plan, and the NPM will stop at nothing to make their vision become reality. When DalĂ stumbles into a plot threatening changelings like them, a shadow organization called the Penumbra recruits them for a rescue mission full of danger, sex, and intrigue, giving DalĂ purpose again. Risky liaisons with a sexy, charismatic pirate lord could be DalĂâs undoingâand the only way to prevent another deadly act of domestic terrorism. |
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In a Hotel Room in Chillicothe by Joshua Shuh The Voice wakes Jon. His chair makes a circle with six others and each chair subdues a stranger. The Voiceâs tone is light, but his actions are ruthless. Within moments, the instructions are delivered. Every ninety minutes Jon and his unwilling neighbors will vote on the next person to leave the game. The only way to leave is by death. Well, thatâs not the only way. For one âluckyâ participant thereâs a reward at the end of this contest. One of these seven seemingly perfect strangers is going to meet the man that made it all possible, the man that makes everything possible. |
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Paladin Unbound by Jeffrey Speight Indies Today 2021 Best Fantasy Award Winner The last of a dying breed, a holy warrior must rise up against a growing darkness in Evelium. The most unlikely of heroes, a lowly itinerant mercenary, Umhra the Peacebreaker is shunned by society for his mongrel half-Orc blood. Desperate to find work for himself and his band of fighters, Umhra agrees to help solve a rash of mysterious disappearances, but uncovers a larger, more insidious plot to overthrow the natural order of Evelium in the process. As Umhra journeys into the depths of Telsidor's Keep to search for the missing people, he confronts an ancient evil and, after suffering a great loss, turns to the god he disavowed for help. Compelled to save the kingdom he loves, can he defeat the enemy while protecting his true identity, or must he risk everything? |
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Narmer and the God Beast by JD Weber âHad I anything in my heart but hate for my brother and pity for myself . . . I may have suspected I was about to meet a god.â Broken and bleeding into the cool Nile waters â shattered by his brotherâs cruelty â young Narmer pays the crocodile no heed as it enters the stream. Let it come. But the hunter swims on, and only then does Narmer know its aim, the defenseless god-beast drinking and playing up-river. Dinosaurs will again roam the desert sands, uniting the disparate Two Lands into one great Egypt, if Narmer can drive off the crocodile, if he can endure his brotherâs malice. If he can save this sacred creature and be saved by it . . . |
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We all have bad days. Ever have one so bad that it changes your entire life? A day so bad that talking cats, magical inquisitors, and werewolves now seem normal? For Thomas Khatt that day was today. From one moment jobless to the next being awakened into a brand new form. Now he has a murder to help solve, a girlfriend to help with family problems and a boss that is just a bit more than your normal hothead. What would you do in his paws? |
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Midnight Triage by Daniel Potter I saved Secret, but it turns out my troubles are only beginning. Every moment is a struggle between the human and the beast. Wolf-me cares nothing for schedules, social niceties, or the importance of hiding. Territory is to be taken and protected. Pack is to be expanded. But I donât want to give up being a paramedic to howl in the woods. I have to find a middle ground. Too bad magic isnât going to give me the chance. No matter how monstrous I am, something far worse is coming. A rot is spreading up from the Underworld and bringing a terrifying new sickness into the city. I have to find a way to cut it out before the entire city becomes a mushroom ridden graveyard. Midnight Triage is the sequel to the bestselling and inclusive contemporary fantasy thriller, Emergency Shift. |
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A Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla SFFOasis SPFBO8 SPFBO Finalist How far would you go to resurrect someone you love? Would you change who you are to show you belong? The world of Avarin is tearing itself apart. The Domain worships life, its rulers lead eternal lives and death is a shame that must not be mourned. For the clans to the south, however, death is all that keeps the Earth alive. But old enemies are rising. A madness spreads throughout the Domain, and Lynn, a rogue griffin rider in hiding, might be the only one who knows how to fight it, while Adrian, a Domain prince seeking to bring his dead loved ones to worthiness, leads the Domain armies against the madmen. The clans suffer a madness of their own. As the land itself begins to wither away, Nasha, a cursed hunter and lifelong outcast, desperately fights for belonging in the Ronar, while her clan seeks to heal the land. Old beliefs will be challenged as the people of Avarin fight to save it⌠before death comes for them all. A sweeping epic fantasy saga where religion and politics are one, magic brings terror into the hearts of men, and a looming blight threatens to tear everything down |
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Hag of the Hills (The Bronze Sword Cycles Duology Book 1) by J.T.T. Ryder âNothing is unconquerable; even our gods can die.â Brennus is destined from birth to become a warrior, despite his farmerâs life. But when the Hillmen kill his family and annihilate his clan, he now has the opportunity to avenge those who he loved. Brennus must survive endless hordes of invading Hillmen and magic-wielding sidhe, aided by only a band of shifty mercenaries, and an ancient bronze sword. Failure means his family and clan go unavenged. Victory will bring glory to Brennus and his ancestors. Hag of the Hills is a heroic fantasy novel set in 200 B.C. on the Isle of Skye, steeped in Celtic mythology and culture. |
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Alice's Adventures under Water by Lenny de Rooy If you enjoyed Lewis Carrollâs books âAliceâs Adventures in Wonderlandâ and âThrough the Looking-Glass and what Alice found thereâ, this is the book for you! Finally, there is a third story in the âAliceâ series â written in Carrollâs familiar style, but packed with a great number of completely new puns, poems, and satire! This time, Alice explores an under-water world, in which she meets new characters who again make her wonder about their strange logic and behaviour. The story can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who have never read Carrollâs tales. However, the more familiar you are with them, the more references you will recognise in this exceptionally clever story⌠|
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The You I See by Danny Freeman What happens when two gay boys meet at a fundamentalist church and talk about tits? Brandonâs family are long-time members. In fact, his dad is the preacher. Alexâs skeptical parents reluctantly attend after repeated invitations from a colleague of Alexâs father. Alex and Brandon feel an immediate and undeniable attraction to one another, though both of them are confused about their own and each otherâs feelings. They soon develop an affectionate, endearing friendship, mostly by balancing out their opposite personalities and quoting their favorite lines from The Princess Bride until they nearly wet themselves. Brandon is loud, impulsive, irreverent, and foul-mouthed. Alex is quiet, thoughtful, shy, and considerably more precocious than Brandon. With the support of Alexâs unconventional and affirming parents, Alex and Brandon navigate the challenges of being gay teenagers in Houston in the early 1990s. They face obstacles, setbacks, misunderstandings, and outright homophobia but remain resolutely committed to their unique friendship and budding romance. From beginning to end, The You I See by Danny Freeman is an infectiously funny, relentlessly hopeful, and ultimately life-affirming celebration of friendship and young love in one of its many-hued variations. Danny Freeman be donating 75% of proceeds to The Trevor Project to support the emotional and psychological well-being of LGBTQ+ youth! #ownvoices |
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Stolen Moments of Joy by Hamour Baika Baltimore, 2014. Abdul aches with shame. Used to bearing the brunt of peopleâs judgment, the Afghan immigrant canât reconcile his love for his charming boyfriend with the bruises the man leaves on his face. So when a handsome activistâs flirtatious exchange offers solace, he goes against his beliefs and enters into a secret tryst. Drowning in guilt over the brief affair, Abdul struggles to reset his personal compass even as a racially motivated shooting twists his adopted city into a minefield. But his firm conviction that the troubles heâs facing are fair payment for the sins of his past keeps drawing him back to his beauâs punishing fists. |
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If Amazon could talk, what would it say about you? Wish List follows woman's life told through things she bought online, as told by the shopping algorithm that sold them to her. ARgurl16 first logs onto Hermes as a teenager and the platform continues to watch over her throughout her life as she transitions from broke college student to single woman looking for love, and eventually into motherhood. Hermes is data-hungry and obsessive, as it struggles to understand its own identity alongside the wants of its millions of users so that it can suggest buying the very best earplugs and coffee mugs. This concise novella is The Death of Ivan Ilyich for the reader with a guilty pleasure for Buzzfeed listicles. Readers haunted by Guy Debordâs Society of the Spectacle or Niccolò Machiavelli will enjoy this slice of life. |
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Iep JÄltok by Kathy JetĂąil-Kijiner As the seas rise, the fight intensifies to save the Pacific Oceanâs Marshall Islands from being devoured by the waters around them. At the same time, activists are raising their poetic voices against decades of colonialism, environmental destruction, and social injustice. Marshallese poet and activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijinerâs writing highlights the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing, and the impending threats of climate change. Bearing witness at the front lines of various activist movements inspires her work and has propelled her poetry onto international stages, where she has performed in front of audiences ranging from elementary school students to more than a hundred world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit. The poet connects us to Marshallese daily life and tradition, likening her poetry to a basket and its essential materials. Her cultural roots and her family provides the thick fiber, the structure of the basket. Her diasporic upbringing is the material which wraps around the fiber, an essential layer to the structure of her experiences. And her passion for justice and change, the passion which brings her to the front lines of activist movementsâis the stitching that binds these two experiences together. Iep JÄltok will make history as the first published book of poetry written by a Marshallese author, and it ushers in an important new voice for justice. |
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The Church of Wrestling by Emily Thomas Mani Eleven-year-old Jenny Arsenault is an undefeated wrestler, thanks in part to the guiding principle her father has taught herâStrike First. But sheâs eager to try another principle. At the 1992 Canada East Championship, she defies Strike First and loses the gold. Itâs not the only loss that day. Her mother also dies, launching her father into an intercontinental search for the answer to an impossible question: How do you strike first at death? A bold, inventive novella with unforgettable characters, The Church of Wrestling shows grief and obsession are full-contact sports, and family tiesâeven when seemingly brokenâbind more tightly than a half nelson. |
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Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias Enforcer and drug dealer Fernando has seen better days. On his way home from work, some heavily tattoed gangsters throw him in the back of a car and take him to an abandoned house, where they saw off his friendâs head and feed the kidâs fingers to ... something. Their message is clear: this is their territory now. But Fernando isnât put down that easily. Using the assisance of a Santerian priestess, an insane Puerto Rican pop sensation, a very human dog, and a Russian hitman, heâll build the courage (and firepower) heâll teed to fight a gangbanger whoâs a bit more than human. |
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Sixteen stories from the Bowels of Hell. You canât chear death, but death can still cheat you. Gods are real. Monters too. Like sheepoids, creepoids, and landlords. Take the ghost bus to a showing of a haunted film; it really is to die for. Keep your distance from the uncanny residents of a picturesque wasteland. If you forget your wallet at some sketchy jobsite in the middle of nowhere, just leave it. Some things are better lost. Stepped in the history of Time, Earth, and B-Movies, Eric Williams creates worlds where nothing is what it seems, and be you graverobber, podcaster, or small-town veterinarian, there are no magic charms to protect you. A collection where Weird is the norm, where the unreal is all too real, Toadstones is a reminder that we donât know everything, actually. |
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Pretty Damned Things by Holly Wade Matter Fortune is an itinerant musician without a past who braids memories into her hair. Maud is a sheltered small-town girl and an unwitting heir to the notorious McBride family magic. The two young women meet when Fortune is commissioned to bring Maud to a rich man whose grandson she cursed. United by their love of music and their hunger for the road, Fortune and Maud form a friendship ... one that is threatened not only by Fortuneâs mission but by their mutual desire for a man called Lightning. |
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Merchants of Knowledge and Magic by Erika McCorkle On one of the many planes of the Pentagonal Dominion, priestess Calinthe trades in information, collecting valuable secrets for her demonic employer. Calinthe has a secret of her own: she's intersex, making her a target for the matriarchal slavers of the Ophidian Plane whose territory she must cross in her search for hidden knowledge. But thanks to her friend Zakuro's illusions, Calinthe presents as a womanâa comfortable, if furtive, existence in a world determined to bring her to heel. But when, instead of a mere secret, the priestess uncovers an incalculably powerful artifact, Calinthe finds herself in a high-stakes negotiation with the same matriarchs who sought to enslave her. On the table: Calinthe's discovery, a charm powerful enough to transform a mortal into a god⌠against a secret so deadly it could quell all life on every plane of the dominion. If Calinthe plays her cards perfectly, she and Zakuro could escape Ophidia wealthier than either of them ever dreamed possible. But if she plays them wrong⌠âŚshe'll learn slavery in her pursuers' hands is a fate far worse than death. |
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Mary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke A young woman born in the wrong reality. A destiny that will lead her into the past. And a love so enduring it reaches across time - and existence itself - to bring her home. A gripping tale of best friends and romance, sorcery and survival, at the dawn of the Roaring 20s. Courtney is a lonely undergrad at secluded Braddock College in 2004, working a drowsy summer job in the Archives. Assigned to a new project, she becomes haunted by a college yearbook from the 1920s - filled with familiar faces and memories of times she never experienced. A chance encounter with a mysterious girl named Sadie - dressed in long-outdated clothes - alters her reality. But if you were never meant to be born, that reality can expel you like an infection - or kill you outright. While Courtney struggles against forces she cannot comprehend, a psychopathic stalker smells blood and closes in for the kill. Sadie, now in 1921, races against the clock to save her friend, joined by some remarkable allies - an American combat sorceress and veteran of World War I, an enigmatic professor who specializes in piercing the veil between realities, and two young women who insist theyâre Courtneyâs oldest friends - one of them even claiming to be her truest love. Time is running out for Courtney, and a terrifying wilderness - haunted by the dead from centuries past - may hold the key to her salvation. But none who enter have ever returned... Cassandra Yorke's groundbreaking debut brings Magical Realism home to the Midwest in an explosive new style, blending Midwestern Gothic and historical fiction with a warm lesbian love story to create a riveting, deeply immersive epic you won't be able to put down. It's the world of Boardwalk Empire and Gatsby, with an urgent, immersive narrative about what it means to belong, what it means to be hated, what it means to be loved, and ultimately what it means to come home. |
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A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay What makes an Ice Queen? Neve Blackthorne, head of one of the most successful Studios in Hollywood, is the one to rule them all. Powerful, beautiful, and aloof, sheâs ruthless, yet irresistible. Above all, she has an unquenchable survival instinct. Surely a fleeting entanglement with one Audrey Avens, a bright, young, rising star in her company, wonât bring down the Wicked Queen of Tinseltown. Or will it? Neveâs public persona has no chink in the untouchable armor, but when the lights go out and the cameras stop rolling, what becomes of an Ice Queen whose heart is ruled by love and fear? |
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Darcy Pennington hates her life. She is an insufferably average teenager with no true friends, crushing social anxiety, and an indescribable sense of not fitting in anywhere. When her parents force her to attend Cedar Cove Family Camp the summer before her eighth-grade year, Darcy once again finds herself on the outside of an established social circle. But the camp holds secrets, and when Darcy begins to have strange experiences, she comes to believe sheâs either losing her mind or on the brink of a discovery that could give her life purpose. An unwitting tumble through a magical gateway lands her in a new world called Alitheia, and Darcy must convince five other teenagers at the camp to not only befriend her but follow her on a journey beyond their world and their wildest dreams to save Alitheia from an ancient, shadowy foe. |
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Empire of Dragons by Rachel L. Schade Fans of lush world-building, morally grey characters, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance will devour this epic YA series. Save the empire...or let it burn. Revenge failed her... Three years ago, Loâlaeni Nolanhou did the unthinkable, slaying the empress of the cruel Alrenian Empire and freeing her people, the Forwyn slaves. But the price of revenge wasnât freedom, only guilt. Vowing to never kill again, Lo dedicated her life to the god Elhani, serving as a nun within the Circle of Serenity to fight against the injustices still wrought against her people in the torn capital of Alrenor. Then Caesiem, a handsome and mysterious Teramese boy aligned with an underground Forwyn vigilante group, flips her world upside down. The unrest growing within Alrenor is worse than Lo realized. Corruption is everywhere...and the Forwyn vigilantes want an empress slayer. Revenge fuels her... For years, Empress Jaliana, Daughter of Karye, has been a captive in her own palace. A prisoner to her motherâs killers. A powerless pawn, alone and unable to take back her throne, her dragons, or her kingdom. Until one night a never-before-seen gift manifests itself within Jalie. Itâs terrifying. Brutal. Everything she has ever needed. But the Forwyn wonât give in easily. They task Kovi, a young soldier, to watch over her, and he challenges everything sheâs ever believed about her enemies... One empire. An age-old hatred. Two girls who will risk anythingâeven their soulsâfor their people. |
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Dust by Kara Swanson The truth about Neverland is far more dangerous than a fairy tale. Claire Kenton believes the world is too dark for magic to be realâsince her twin brother was stolen away as a child. Now Claire's desperate search points to London... and a boy who shouldn't exist. Peter Pan is having a beastly time getting back to Neverland. Grounded in London and hunted by his own Lost Boys, Peter searches for the last hope of restoring his crumbling island: a lass with magic in her veins. The girl who fears her own destiny is on a collision course with the boy who never wanted to grow up. The truth behind this fairy tale is about to unravel everything Claire thought she knew about Peter Panâand herself. |
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The Arrow and the Crown by Emma C. Fox Ever since Anna can remember, she's avoided the ancient GrĂźnwald Forest, where her parents disappeared years ago. Everyone in the kingdom of Weissburg knows the tales of vengeful spirits that lurk among the trees, and of a Beast that has taken the lives of peasants, knights, and the kingâs own son. But when the Beast emerges after seven silent years to wreak havoc on the kingdom, Anna braves all her fears to confront him. She soon discovers that there's more to the Beast than she realized...and more to herself than she ever imagined. |
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Songflight by Michelle M. Bruhn AlĂsa was born to lead her clan of dragon slayers, but her vocal stammer has robbed her of confidence and respect. If she can't lead slayers, how on A'dem is she supposed to lead dragons? As the only child of a dragon slayer chief, AlĂsa's purpose should have been simple: lead the clan in ridding humankind of the dragon scourge. But while gaining respect from hardened warriors is difficult enough with a vocal stammer, when they learn her empathic powers connect uncontrollably to the dragon enemy, it becomes impossible. Confidence shattered, AlĂsa resigns herself to silent service under her father's apprentice. But when her growing connection reveals one dragon's capacity for good, she realizes the war isn't as black and white as the slayers teach. Now AlĂsa faces an impossible choice: stay with her family in comfortable but condemning silence, or follow the dragon claiming to know her true purpose. |
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Marionette Jackson has Borderline Personality Disorder. She just doesnât know it yet. Marionette clings to her secret in order to survive the unforgiving world of loss, drugs and manipulation. Between handsome stalkers and her unbelievably perfect twin sister, sheâll do whatever it takes to be strong. Drawn to her dark teacher with ties to her past and desperate to escape the cruelty of her mother, can Marionette find stable ground to create a meaningful life for herself in? Can she discover who she is meant to be underneath all the parts she plays for everyone else? Will she ever get out of herself alive? In the first book of its kind, Aella Rayâs debut series is exactly what the world of mental health needs. Be A Good Girl, and itâs companion book, Yes Daddy, illustrate the mind behind this misunderstood disorder and provide a trailblazing perspective that could change the world of mental health as we know it. |
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Heretic (Hellmage Chronicles #1) by Jennifer deBie The Hellmages, outcasts who feed on the deaths of friends, enemies, and each other, are shaking the earth, killing powerful mages, causing the kind of destruction the Magesâ Council was created to stop. Siraj, a Lightkeeper who wields sunlight as a weapon and carries purification in his hands, is the only one who can meet with a Hellmage, find out who is upsetting the balance, and walk away unscathed, but thereâs a problem. The Hellmage he meets doesnât know the earthshaker and magekiller either, but now sheâs curious and if thereâs anything worse than a curious Hellmage, itâs one who doesnât fear being burned to death by a Lightkeeperâs touch. |
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Light Beyond the Glass by K. J. Harrowick JĂ den's on the run from Enforcers with only one shot to flee to the stars with the man she loves. But between the surface of the moon and starship HĂ lon is a predator on the hunt.... one she can't seem to escape. |
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In Georgian London, Elizabeth spends her precious free time painting watercolour flowers at the kitchen table. Art is not only an escape from the monotony of chores but a way to find a suitable husband who can give her security and a stable future. That was all she ever wanted until she met John, a talented painter with connections and patrons, who offered to take her on as a student and model for his new works. Being given the freedom to paint what she likes, Elizabeth is quickly seduced by Johnâs world: art, beautiful women, wealthy patrons, and the opportunity to earn her own money by becoming Londonâs premiere erotic portrait artist. But her newfound freedom comes at a cost and when her business is picked up in Londonâs scandal papers, thereâs no way to go back to the stable life she once craved. This novel-in-verse is a scandalous and seductive love story of a young woman thrust into the indulgent world of art, sex, and money. |