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A Recipe for Disaster by Chris Durston "With the cleverness and humor of a Douglas Adams novel, A Recipe For Disaster will make you fall in love with its colorful characters and cozy yet adventurous premise. You’ll almost certainly be asking for seconds!" - Astrid Knight, author of the Mages of Velmyra Saga "A perfect story for fans of Discworld" - JamReads In the desert city of Achten Tan, built within the bones of a long-dead leviathan, there's one truth everyone knows above all others: North Ribs Ribs is the best dang ribs restaurant in town. Rebellious teenager Old Crawman never wanted to inherit the North Ribs Ribs empire, but when he discovers an unsettling secret about their new competition, he has to do something. Unfortunately for him, that something gets him tangled up with an evil wizard of ancient legends... who is not at all as he expected. With Achten Tan's powers-that-be keeping a close eye on Old Crawman, he'll need all the help he can get if he wants to have his ribs and eat them too. |
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A Promise Broken by S.L. Dove Cooper It’s a rainy day when four-year-old Eiryn has to say goodbye to her mother. Scared, confused and unwilling to do so, Eiryn tries to summon water to stop the funeral from happening and her life falls apart. Her uncle is always sad and busy; she keeps hearing her mother’s voice asking her to follow; her best friend keeps getting into fights; and some of her classmates hate her for existing. Arèn never wanted children, but he’s desperate to protect his niece from his people’s extreme caution regarding magic and other races. Kerisaoina children aren’t capable of using it and his niece is no exception. Despite being only half-kerisaoina, Eiryn is already starting to show that she’ll be one of her generation’s most talented magic-singers and those who don’t approve of her existence are trying to take advantage of a young girl’s grief. Eiryn is determined to make her uncle happy, but it’s hard to make other people happy when you have to struggle through the day yourself. She’ll find a way, though. She’s promised. And even if her mother won’t keep her word Eiryn will keep hers. She’ll make everything right again. You’ll see. |
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The Tale That Twines by Cedar McCloud All we have is now. Forty years before THE THREAD THAT BINDS, Juniper Starstitch returns to Caspora City young and hopeful. Chosen to be Head Librarian Opaline Sweetfrond's last apprentice, June arrives at the Eternal Library looking to discover the magical manuscript art of Illumination—and to recover the memories lost to the trauma of the massive earthquake that killed one of eir parents a decade earlier. June quickly discovers that these memories can be recovered through the ancient art of reading etheric Threads, the spiritual ties that link the world together. But remembering can be painful, and living in the past means missing out on the present. Even to the point that June’s beloved apprenticeship is threatened by eir inability to let go. It will take the help of friends both old and new for June to untangle the knotted threads of time, including the mysterious and stern Aeronwy Greengrove, who June may or may not be falling in love with, one song at a time. |
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Sea Foam and Silence by Dove Cooper She warned of the pain. She did. But no warning can prepare you. Nothing can. Long, long ago, a little mermaid became intrigued by the way tall-crabs don’t act at all like the prey she’s more comfortable chasing. Her quest to understand will take her places she had never dreamed possible—onto land and beyond the endless cold. But quests always come with a price and hers is no exception. If she cannot find love within a year, she’ll become sea foam. With only a month left and no closer to understanding ‘love’ at all, what is Maris to do? Tall-crabs—humans—are confusing and contradictory and love comes in so many forms, how can she ever know which one is right to win her life amidst friends and family on land? Fantastical worldbuilding meets verse novels in this queerplatonic retelling of The Little Mermaid, the first story in a series of queer fairytale retellings. |
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The Thread That Binds by Cedar McCloud The books are restless. At the Eternal Library, books are more than the paper, ink, and thread they're made from--they're full of spirits. Only a handful of people will ever be invited to the Bindery to learn the craft of Illumination: the magical creation of intricate illustrated manuscripts, bound with a secret that will make them last forever. Tabby is a dreamwalker, a witch who escapes into the stories of sleep to avoid a birth family that's never loved em enough. Amane is a cartomancer, a medium who speaks for the Unseen, but doesn’t know how to speak her own needs. Rhiannon is a psychic, an archivist who can See into the past, but only has eyes on the future. Their stories intertwine as they discover the secrets of Illumination, the Library's archives, and those of their mentors--the three of whom are competing to be the next Head Librarian, the Speaker for all the books. How do you know who's truly worth being part of your family? Sometimes we must forge connections in order to heal; other times, those bonds must be broken. |
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A Path of Blades by R.E.Sanders Ingvar Darelle is a fighting knight, tasked with defending his country whenever he is called to battle. Violence and war provides no glory for Ingvar, who only wants to be at home on his rural estate. His dreams of a quiet life are shattered as he becomes a pawn in the ambitious schemes of others. How will his friendships and family cope with the forces that try to tear them apart? Which path will he choose? |
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The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Dove Cooper All Marian wants is for society to accept that she's just not interested in... whatever society thinks she ought to be interested in. A princess with a reputation for insults and snide remarks, she's afraid to show anyone who she would be if people would let her. In a fit of temper at her refusal to marry, her father creates her worst nightmare: she is to be wed to the first beggar who arrives at the gates. Edel was visiting purely for diplomatic reasons, aiming to ensure her daughter inherits a strong and peaceful kingdom. She sees something in Marian that is achingly familiar and when Edel hears the king's proclamation, only one thing is on her mind: to protect Marian from the fate that had befallen Edel herself. Their lives threaded together by magic, Edel and Marian will have to find their way in the world in this queerplatonic, sapphic verse novel retelling of King Thrushbeard. |
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Deny Me, The Nightshade Boy by Mary VanAlstine A cozy queer romance against the backdrop of wild and dangerous Fae magic. For fans of A Marvellous Light, Holly Black, and TJ Klune. Lilydale, and its dangerous resident faeries, looms over the city of Saint Paul as a constant reminder to Micah Stillwater that he's only half-human. He's been doing well denying his Fae side until he meets Andrew Vidasche and accidentally charms him into a kiss. Andrew suspects that Micah is more than he appears since he already knows the dangers of Lilydale. If Micah wants to protect his human life and his romance with Andrew, then he must stop denying his own Fae nature and harness the magic in his blood. |
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Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li Iris Galacia's tarot cards do more than entertain gamblers. With the flip of her fingers she can predict the future and uncover a person's secrets. Under the watchful eye of her mother, she is already on thin ice for pursuing a passion in the family business, but then cracks start to form, and eventually she falls through. She is given an ultimatum: earn a thousand coins or leave the business, and the family. Enter Marin Boudreau, a charming young person who can scale buildings and break off door knobs, who comes for her help to rescue a witch who's been falsely imprisoned in Excava Kingdom. And Marin is willing to pay a high sum for her talents. But saving a prisoner from royal hands isn't easy, nor is leaving home for the first time in eighteen years. Now Iris must learn to trust in herself, Marin, and this new magical world, while racing the clock before the royals decide the fate of the witch, and before any secrets catch up to her. TELL ME HOW IT ENDS features LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, cultural, and mental health representation. The main character, Iris Galacia, is a lesbian tarot reader with anxiety and autism. The second main character, Marin Boudreau, is an aromantic asexual non-binary person with ADHD. |
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The Sunset Sovereign: A Dragon's Memoir by Laura Huie When a dragon finds an assassin sneaking into his lair, he tells her of his life's work and his soon to be final chapter. For the past thousand years, the dragon Vakandi has watched the people of Vakfored grow from a wandering band of refugees to a glorious city of art and magic. Under his protection, the city has survived monsters, floods, and wars all without building an army, dam, or even a wall. But time changes everything and now the citizens of his beloved city want him dead. Vakandi spends his last day telling his assassin why he loves them, and why it's his time to die. |
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Of Knights and Books and Falling In Love by Rita A. Rubin Jayce has little memory of life before entering servitude to the Dark Lord, and no hope of ever escaping. Until he meets Alexius, the knight with a heart of gold. He offers Jayce, his enemy, a chance to break free of the Dark Lord's clutches, and Jayce is not about to let such an opportunity pass. When the war comes to an end, Jayce finds himself finally free, with Alexius's help, and surrounded by a new world of opportunity. And the prospect of a new love. The more time Jayce spends with Alexius, the more he finds himself falling for this knight in shining armour. |
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A Necromancer Called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe A grandmotherly necromancer seeking resolution for her past with the help of her loyal entourage: an undead cat and a spectral knight. A girl on the run from the Eternal Empire for the mysterious power she possesses. When a chance encounter pulls them together, Gam Gam will do what it takes to protect Mina from the rogue sergeant hounding her–including raising the dead. As long as they're dressed for the occasion. |
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Stronghold Fair Haven by the Sea is a beacon in a sometimes harsh world, open to all and deliberately, stubbornly kind. It also holds the honour and responsibility of hosting an atelier, a workshop for the rare and highly-prized magical engineers known as Mancers. Hazel lives a comfortable, contented life in Stronghold Haven as a member of the team of elite bodyguards protecting the resident Mancer. But when another Mancer comes knocking on Haven's door to plead for refuge from the stronghold zhey've just escaped from, zhey bring a growing threat of invasion in zheir wake. Ash is disruptive to Hazel's peaceful routine in more ways than just that: to his own astonishment, he's hopelessly attracted to the prickly, secretive Mancer. This might be the start of something precious...or the end of everything he holds dear. |
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Lord of Thundertown by O F Cieri In the movies, Thundertown was depicted like a real town, with boundaries, Folk-run businesses, and a government. In real life, Thundertown was a block here or there, three businesses on the same side of the street, an unconnected sewer main, or a single abandoned building. When an epidemic of missing person cases is on the rise, the police refuse to act. Instead, Alex Delatorre goes to Thundertown for answers and finds clues leading to a new Lord trying to unite the population. No one has seen the Lord, and the closer Alex gets to him, the farther Alex gets from his path home. |
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Merchants of Light and Bone by Erika McCorkle Sorrow in paradise. A parent’s worst nightmare. When grief drives one to revenge. Living in a tropical paradise with his spouses and kids, Amiere is a merchant of light, a sculptor who carves glowing crystals into spectacular and powerful, demon-killing works of art. When the ground opens up near his idyllic village to reveal a massive supply of crystals, the whole nation of Aloutia celebrates. The merchants are guaranteed money for decades and officials predict Aloutia will be safe from demonkind for generations. But Amiere isn’t rejoicing—when the ground split apart, his seven-year-old daughter fell to her death. Amiere’s grief turns to rage when an old enemy returns to the village with a young daughter displaying signs of starvation and abuse. Having witnessed his own daughter’s death, Amiere cannot bear the thought of watching another child die, especially when he can prevent it. Unable to ask police for help due to the village’s reputation of hostility toward authority figures, Amiere takes matters into his own hands, even at the risk of being exiled and separated from his family forever. |
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Of books and Paper Dragons by Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea (Free on our newsletter) How to run a successful bookshop: Change careers at thirty-eight, suffer from anxiety, make friends with the local artists, and don’t get eaten by the draconic overlord. In the Lightless Sea, the Black Sands Desert that can only be traversed beneath the stars, scavenging the wrecks of ancient starships is the most prestigious and exciting profession available. And for Voa, who has spent the last twenty years amassing knowledge for the hoard of a great and terrible dragon ruling over their city, it is now a thing of the past. Scavenging has lost its luster, and a new life, the calm and comfortable existence of a bookseller, calls to them. But a lifetime of delving into the bowels of metal behemoths has left Voa ill-prepared for the social anxiety and laws found in a dragon’s city. Jet, a local artist in a similar position of changing careers, takes pity on Voa. What begins as an act of kindness quickly becomes a personal battle as she and Voa grow closer. Voa has the resources, and Jet has the people skills. All they need now is to convince Keeper Yirrin, Lord of the Archives, to support their budding passion project But the somewhat enigmatic and introverted dragon may just have their own designs for the little bookshop, and for the orc running it… Of Books and Paper Dragons is a cozy, low-stakes fantasy about ordinary people leading ordinary lives, selling books, doing their taxes, and battling social anxiety in the quiet safety of their book collections. |
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DragonWing by Raina Nightingale An ancient war to which the fates of nations are nothing is waged around them. Whether they ignore it or not, their souls are at stake, and their choices will shape their fate. After nearly starving underground, Silmavalien has found a safe place for herself and her dragons to grow in peace. The weather is temperate, and the dragons are finally able to hunt for themselves. But the nightmare is coming for her, and the battle against fear is not one she’s sure she even wants to win. Far away, Noren’s dragon has hatched, and he finally knows why Silmavalien left him, but he can’t understand why she did not trust him. Still, he tries to find her and struggles to hide Elninya, his growing dragon, from those who would kill her. But his fear could turn him into the monster he fears, and his real enemy isn’t the humans who would burn him alive if they knew about Elninya. |
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DragonBirth by Raina Nightingale In a world where dragons are considered demons and Dragonriders are hunted and killed as witches . . . Silmavalien is a devout young woman from a small mountain village. Her engaged, Noren, is teaching her the bow and her life goals are limited to marrying him – as soon as he completes his Manhood Hunt – and having a family. But then she meets a dragon hatchling and discovers a love she could never have dreamed, but one that rips her entire world apart. The gods she has worshiped, everything she has ever been taught or believed, is a monstrous lie, and she's not sure what to believe now. Can she dare to trust Noren with her new secret, even if he is the only person she's ever heard voice doubts about whether the stories are true? If she, or the hatchling Minth, are discovered, both will be burned alive. How can she survive and care for Minth in a wild hostile world – one that is even stranger than she thought? |