stories in and

KNIGHT: The Shintori Chronicles Book III

KNIGHT: The Shintori Chronicles Book III by Elle Samhain

Avery isn’t sure she should even still be alive after Morgana’s Legion left two Reapers dead
 and one Saved. She and her friends have located the fifth and final Knight of Od placed in the realm of the living by the Beldam - the Knight of Spirit. The oddball Princess Yumi has waited with bated breath and uncertain heart for the Berserker Witch. Can she be trusted to resist the demon she harbors? The ragtag band of Reapers must confront the monsters of their own pasts before they can ever hope to save the future.


HEMLOCK: The Shintori Chronicles Book II

HEMLOCK: The Shintori Chronicles Book II by Elle Samhain

Rumors of the Berserker Witch’s murders have traveled fast and far. Avery Porter and her friends barely escaped with their lives when two Knights of Od revealed themselves in battle. With the High Priestess of Centralia murdered by the Knight of Earth, Avery has no choice but to put her faith in the demon of the Crossroads. As the demon Balthazar and the Goddess of the Witches lead them to the ritual to put the Knights down for good, the final Knight has caught word of their search. Armed with their name, Avery must get to the last Knight before their beacon signaling the end of the world is ignited.


Render to Silver

Render to Silver by Catherine Labadie

The Founts of Silver are holy women blessed by the favor of their God...or they are cursed vessels meant to be shattered. Given no other choice, Fount Marzanna clawed her way up their ranks until she was able to begin planning her escape with one of her fellow Founts from Aebbenary, the prosperous island ruled by Silver's decadent church. Instead, the accidental working of a Miracle sets her apart and attracts the notice of the High Priest. He intends to use her to spark a revival in the city, and eventually the world, which has begun to turn away from a religion that rewards greed and ambition as piety. He's not forthcoming with how, and while tensions in the city rise, while two rival houses contemplate war, Marzanna realizes the role she resents with all her heart won't let her walk away without untold sacrifice.


AEGIS: The Shintori Chronicles Book I

AEGIS: The Shintori Chronicles Book I by Elle Samhain

Avery Porter is a Reaper in the walled-off city of Ardua, tasked with the duty of sending souls to the afterlife. Her day-to-day life comes to a sudden halt when she is kidnapped by another Reaper and his exorcist companion, taking her far beyond the walls. At first their claims of a demonic force lurking in selected Reapers seem outlandish, until Avery sees them for herself. The Knights of Od were created by the goddess of the underworld to swallow the land of the living; fueled by the elements and the unrest among the Shintori gods. Their last chance lies with the Knight of Spirit, the last to be unleashed onto the world. Can they reach it before the Beldam’s Legion does?


ΔᜱÎčÎżÏ‚

ΔᜱÎčÎżÏ‚ by Andromeda Ruins

A queer and anti-establishment retelling of the fall of Icarus. The Elysians are here to protect us. They uphold order, they keep citizens safe
 unless you are their kid. When you are the child of an Elysian you get to see what they are truly like. You get to see their fears, their anger, their hatred. You get to be subjected to their wants and whims. Most importantly, you get to be trained by the ‘best of the best’ to become an Elysian yourself. At least that’s what we were told. We weren’t told what that training would cost us. What it would do to our bodies and our minds. How it would make us into what the Elysians really are, mindless abominations. These monsters are in every corner of our society. They are heralded as Gods among men, but not for long. I am doing everything in my power to show who they really are behind their masks. Soon, everyone will see these nasty creatures for what they are
 ΔάÎčÎżÏ‚ is a tragedy following Icarus as he takes a look behind the curtain of the Elysian Program and sees the disgusting framework that he was disillusioned to. Now the only thing on his mind is bringing down the program and the entire ATLAS corporation. Will he be able to when the world seems set against him?


Cynosura 99

Cynosura 99 by Sam Weiss

Atra Hart has spent the last seven years locked away in Vanishing Plains Psychiatric Hospital. In that time, her shadow has transformed into its own entity and is growing stronger by the day, threatening to devour her mind. She calls that shadow Dread, and only her missing father knows what it is. When a fire breaks out at the asylum, Atra makes her way to freedom just in time to see an electric-purple rift sunder the sky. Like Dread, the rift is only visible to her. Atra’s already loose grip on reality unravels when she learns the rift is a gateway to the world of the dead. And the Queen, an ancient evil lurking on its fringes, wants Dread for her own. Even worse, Atra can’t tell if any of this is really happening. She might have escaped one asylum, but the closer she gets to unearthing answers about Dread, why her father knows it’s there, and its role in the Queen’s plans, the more she risks getting trapped inside her own mind forever. Maybe some truths are meant to stay buried.


Rosemary & Iron

Rosemary & Iron by Dorian Valentine

When a ritual to restore Mana goes wrong and sends him into the distant past, CĂ©lestin Edevane seeks the help of a strange man inhabiting an even stranger estate in order to prevent the calamity that destroyed Mana. Faced with a fascinating world unlike his own, filled with vampires, fae, witches and old gods and an unexpected love affair...will he even want to return to his time?


Angel Falling

Angel Falling by A.D. Landor

In this dark fantasy set in a world of Machiavellian Angels and honour code demons, one outcast Angel and a vampire spirit of war must work together to prevent an atrocity causing a spiral into a deadly war between the races. Azshael is a disgraced Angel lost in remorse and shunned for falling in love with the enemy. Unexpectedly tasked with investigating the death of a vampire elite on Angelic soil, it quickly becomes personal when he discovers her murder bears similarities to that of his dead vampire lover. Seeking answers, he joins forces with the 'Serrate' Lytta, an ancient vampire war spirit and sacred warrior bound in flesh, and the potent pair unearth a conspiracy which could destroy the long-standing truce and reignite the war between the races. As a day of reckoning looms, Azshael will need all his wits to survive. But surviving is the one thing he’s always been good at. He’s not the ‘dead angel walking’ his enemies think he is.


Forevermore

Forevermore by S. Jean

Up-and-coming necromancer, Nezael, has lived a quiet, solitary life with his lord, the Great Sorcerer Carrow deep in the woods of thorns and brambles to hide from those seeking to hurt them. For a time, Nezael was content, but now that he is ever closer to becoming a necromancer in his own right, he finds he wants more than this life. In that desire for more, he finds Yorick, a handsome woodsman from the nearby town



A Peddler Of Chains

A Peddler Of Chains by Allegra Pescatore

Asherah of Vine died five times in bloody service to her Queen, but now her Queen is dead. The cycle of reincarnation has ended, and Ash is ready to set her trusty bow aside and live out the rest her days in peace. All she wants is to live a quiet existence on the Rim, but her past, it seems, is intent on catching up with her. She's tried to outrun him, but he's not a man to be trifled with. Willow of Herb has been hunting the butcher Asherah for over two hundred years. She slaughtered his parents and his people, and he intends to bring her to justice. It is because of her that he was turned into a weapon of war, and it is her face that haunts his darkest nightmares. When he finally catches her scent nothing can stop him, but what happens when he captures his greatest enemy and finds out that not everything is what it seems? As they travel through the icy Lands of Nadir chased by a rival band of bounty hunters, Willow and Asherah must face their pasts and learn to work together if they wish to survive. Trust between enemies isn't easy to build, but as they fight Feral Fae, face down snowstorms, and run from Retribution, Will and Ash find that maybe they're stronger as allies than as enemies.


A Contract in Sol Forne

A Contract in Sol Forne by Élan MarchĂ© , Christopher Warman

A standalone fantasy adventure featuring djinns, dangerous wishes, political factions, and militias. A djinn. A boy. A terrible contract. "I wouldn't have asked for that if I knew I could ask for anything." Vaelin is an ancient djinn on a quest to seek the artifact to which she is enslaved. Her centuries-long journey lands her in the southern port city-state of Sol Forne, where she is certain the artifact is held. There, she meets Dorovan, a disaffected youth from a dissolved noble house. Though their initial connection is cursory, their bond becomes one that may endanger the entire Cycle of Nature.


Lord And King

Lord And King by P.L. Stuart

Finally Lord and King of Eastrealm, Othrun aims to restore the glory of his drowned homeland, Atalantyx. But dangerous warlords are determined to stop Othrun from rising to further power. Furthermore, Eastrealm’s ruler must confront internal forces that could tear his new kingdom apart. Embattled Othrun is also devastated by personal tragedy. His belief in his Single God, and his ambiguous guiding spirit, has never been more tenuous. To fight his enemies, Othrun needs more than faith, or his formidable knights. He needs a mage on his side. Is the conniving Queen Lysi, with her divided loyalties, and her own designs for Othrun, the ally he needs? Or, are there other mages who can help the beleaguered young king, who he can trust? And, Lysi is not the only formidable queen Othrun must contend with. An inexorable power, tied to ancient founders of Eltnish civilization, is coming. A legendary ruler, the likes of whom has not been seen for centuries, plans to reclaim what's owed to her. She is named, Undala. Fear for Othrun, and anyone else who dares stand in her way. Othrun is clever, bold, resourceful. Yet, kingship comes with many challenges, including facing the cunning, powerful, vengeful enemies surrounding him, marking him for death. Will Othrun’s reign end on the battlefield, in blood, before it's barely begun?


The Last of the Atalanteans

The Last of the Atalanteans by P.L. Stuart

A painted mage. An unfaithful queen. A stolen throne. Three lords in disguise. Escaping Atalantyx’s destruction, Prince Othrun has forged alliances with Eltnish kings: former enemy Hert and King Wely, who has promised Othrun a kingdom of his own. When Wely’s realm was stolen by Wely’s wife, a powerful mage, and Wely’s brother, a feared warlord, Othrun hatched a daring plan to restore the rightful king. The bold scheme involved Othrun entering Lynchun in disguise, risking his life and the life of those with him, to topple the usurpers. But for Othrun’s plot to succeed, he must entrust his Atalanteans into the uncertain hands of Hert—on the cusp of confronting his own political challenges to kingship, while tasked with protecting Othrun’s followers—even as Wely, a captive where he should be king, gambles both crown and the head upon which it sat on Othrun’s survival. Othrun’s abilities, faith, and trust in his mysterious guardian spirit are soon to be tested. The mage Lysi continues to entangle herself in Othrun’s affairs, tempting him, challenging his beliefs, and threatening to bring his plans to ruin. But Othrun, Lord of the Last of the Atalanteans, does not intend to fail. He will be a king. Or die trying. Othrun will go to battle, and he will triumph against the odds. If not, all will be burned to ashes, consumed in the fires of his ambition. And so, the ancient war banner of Atalantean kings will fly. One last time. A kingdom has fallen. A legend will rise.


The Lady of the Lair

The Lady of the Lair by Ladz

Chipped Cup

A story about a traveler going to evict a spider shifter lady and her children from their manor, and it goes about as well as you'd expect in a horror/dark fantasy.


Ice Upon a Pier

Ice Upon a Pier by Ladz

Chipped Cup

My warped sense of morality embarrasses me. Ruta Pawlak is one of the most successful contract killers Pier-Upon-Pier City has ever seen. Convicted of five murders that landed her multiple life sentences, her kill count allegedly sits between fifteen and two hundred people. Some were just for practice, others for revenge, and others she executed for money to keep her potentially world-record setting reading collection going. For the first time, a biographer sits down with the legendary killer to hear her story in her own words. Get the details on her relationship with her depraved bosses and her eclectic arsenal of murder weapons from ice magic to poison to even the sun itself. From her impoverished upbringing to her introduction to the Syndicates to her bizarre affair with fellow killer Frieda Masters to Ruta’s eventual downfall, this account goes beyond headlines and court proceedings, weaving a story of love, family, survival, and murder. This novella is perfect for fans of true crime, fantasy, noir, The Last Podcast on the Left, and the interview portions of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire series. Humans killing other humans wasn’t natural. Human killing monsters, however, might be.


Marked for the Pyre

Marked for the Pyre by M.T. Fontaine

To overthrow the Stewards’ hold on the kingdoms, Kaianne and Andreiyes strike a tenuous alliance between their people – the Marked and the Carved. Yet uniting the two factions is proving a greater challenge than either of them anticipated. The Carved blame the Marked for centuries of genocide. The Marked are conditioned by the belief that all Carved are heartless and savage. If they cannot put aside their differences, the rebellion is doomed. As more Stewards close in and with the king nearly on his deathbed, their window of opportunity is closing. Meanwhile, Master Rau knows the royal couple is plotting. Torn between his allegiance to his Steward brethren and to his daughter, he struggles with how to proceed. When rumors surface that an old adversary has come out of exile for the benefit of the royals – the very same person who prophesied the Stewards’ end – Rau must decide between what he knows is right and what is best for the person he cares for most. Plans are made. Objectives are drawn. But their futures depend on more than their choices.


The Forbidden Realms

The Forbidden Realms by H.C. Newell

Nerana is a sorceress. An exile. The Child of Skye. ï»ż ï»żAnd she isn’t alone. ï»ż ï»żAfter a vicious attack against the Order of Saro, Nerana finds herself lost in the wastelands of Aragoth. Forbidden of humans or evae, the desert is a land teeming with fire and vengeance, and Nerana’s only hope for survival lies in the trust of another. ï»ż ï»żAĂ©lla, a powerful evaesh sorceress, travels the desert on a pilgrimage of sacrifice and strength. Determined to enter the Realm of Elements and see her quest complete, she must survive the hardened warriors of the desert, the vaxros, who banished her kind from their land centuries ago. ï»ż ï»żBut the vaxros aren’t the only threat, and the weight of such imbalance could shift the fate of the world.


Shadows of Nyn'Dira

Shadows of Nyn'Dira by H.C. Newell

Deep within the forests of Nyn’Dira, darkness rises, and Neer finds herself hunted at every turn. Fleeing from relentless enemies and vicious creatures of darkness, she embarks on a treacherous journey through the dangerous woodlands in search of strength and salvation. As the humans push further into the forbidden lands, the Nasir and his men close in, finding strength in the blood of the innocent. With the balance beginning to shift, Neer is caught in a war she was never meant to be in, and is forced to make a decision that could change the tides of fate, or cause it all to collapse and burn.


From the Dark We Came

From the Dark We Came by J. Emery

Kraken Collective

Belar has made lying into an art form. His neighbors know him as a mild mannered music teacher, but to his fellow monster hunters he’s a senior agent with one of the best track records in the organization. Werewolves, malignant spirits, and other oddities—you name it, he can track it. And kill it if necessary. But when a vampire shows up in Belar’s parlor, his two worlds crash into each other. The vampire is named Cassian, and if he had any sense of decency he would be dead since Belar has already tried to kill him. Twice. Luckily, Cassian isn’t interested in holding a grudge. He wants to hire the hunter. Someone in vampire society wants Cassian dead and they’ve been using Belar to do their dirty work. Finding the culprit will save them both. Their search for answers takes them through a nighttime world of ancient vampires, demon tailors, and monsters of pure shadow. But Belar hasn’t been the only one lying, and enemies and allies are harder to tell apart in the dark. From the Dark We Came is a 50,000 word paranormal novel with a demisexual protagonist


The Children of the Black Moon

The Children of the Black Moon by Joseph John Lee

Torrential did the storms become. Torrential shall be the days to come. Exiled in disgrace and defeat after a vicious coup, Tez seeks an alliance with the militant Lake Tribe. Retaking the Stone Tribe is the key to a unified north in the face of the Invaders’ impending offensive
if she can only stop her allies from warring amongst themselves. After finally successfully breaching the dense forest barrier dividing north and south, Aritz a Mata wants more. Seeing opportunity and resources in those untouched lands, he is eager to show the Tribes the full might of his forces
and the fear he wields as the Sword of the Savior. Stripped of everything she held dear, Sen is given the opportunity to start anew among a group of fellow Eclipseborn. But quickly are her loyalties tested as she must choose between those who provided her a home and Tribe yet rejected her all the same, and her newfound kin who would see fit to destroy the Tribes entirely
something they have sought for almost four centuries. The flames of war approach, and they seek to reduce all memory of the Tribes to nothing more than ash.


A War to End All

A War to End All by Michael R Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder

A war, then. A war of our own. A war for perfection and cleanliness and order. A war to end suffering. A war to end filth and disease. A war to end immorality and injustice. A war to end blasphemy. The last war this world would ever see. A war to end all.


Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn

Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn by Cal Black

SFINCS

Legends say a dead god is buried under the stone city of Ishcairn, protecting its inhabitants by dashing enemy fleets into the jagged coast of Craeburn. Adjunct professor Corrie Ecksley doesn’t believe any of that, but she knows from her work excavating nearby burial sites that the ancient Craeburn people believed it enough to name the city after their dead god, Ish. When the ripples of a great war finally reach Craeburn’s shores, a terrifying new weapon is unleashed on the city that not even Ish can deter. A bomb that tears souls from bodies, driving anyone who witnessed the blast insane. But it is not the living that Corrie fears. Displaced spirits are hungry for a body, and care not if it already plays host to a soul. No bullets can stop them, no walls are thick enough to keep them out. No help is coming. No one left but Corrie to stop the carnage, if she even can.


Sea of Souls

Sea of Souls by N. C. Scrimgeour

Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within
 Free-spirited Isla Blackwood has never accepted the shackles of her family’s nobility. Instead, she sails the open waters, searching for belonging on the waves. But when tragedy calls Isla home, she realises she can no longer escape the duty she’s been running from. Selkie raiders have been terrorising the island’s coasts, and when they strike at Blackwood Estate, Isla is forced to flee with her hot-headed brother and brooding swordmaster. To avenge her family and reclaim her home, Isla will have to set aside old grudges and join forces with an exiled selkie searching for a lost pelt. The heirloom might be the key to stopping the bloody conflict—but only if they can steal it from the island’s most notorious selkie hunter, the Grand Admiral himself. Caught between a promise to the brother she once left behind and an unlikely friendship with the selkie who should have been her enemy, Isla soon realises the open seas aren’t the only treacherous waters she’ll need to navigate. As enemies close in on all sides, she must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie if she wants to save what’s left of her family—and find the belonging she’s been searching for.


The Erkenblood

The Erkenblood by H. Ferry

Born to destroy, raised to love, condemned to choose. For Panthea, every breath she draws in the Southern Kingdom is an act of repression. Her faith in her goddess keeps her from sin. Her guardian, Rassus, keeps her safe. And a powerful drug keeps her deadly power in check. Yet, none can change what she is: Panthea is an Erkenblood, and her power will always be one misstep away from turning her into a mindless killer. But for now, her drugs are enough. Her guardian is enough. Her prayers are enough. Until they aren't. When the Queen's Inquisition raids her home in search of an ancient artifact, Rassus is hauled away, and Panthea finds herself thrust into the center of a bloody conflict with evil on both sides. Can she save the man who raised and protected her without becoming the monster the whole kingdom fears she is? Or will Panthea unleash her darkness... and sacrifice her soul in the process? The Erkenblood is a fast-paced, action-packed story of dark magic, familial love, and impossible choices.


The Magic Collector

The Magic Collector by Chesney Infalt

On the day of her wedding to the Crown Prince, Aveline is cursed for helping the wrong person. Not entirely a ghost, she is in between, having no control over what form she takes at any given moment. To break it, Aveline is forced to turn to the man she helped: the ostracised Magic Collector. Sebastian, known to everyone else as The Magic Collector, is shrouded in mystery. His castle disappears, sometimes for months, and then reappears without warning. Curious about him and his collection, Aveline pieces together that he, too, is cursed. As romantic feelings blossom, she is determined to free Sebastian as well—but there are dark costs that expose even darker secrets. Equipped with the horrifying truth, Aveline is left with two choices: abandon the man she loves, or everyone she is trying to return to.


She Is Coming

She Is Coming by Midori Anzai

Salt merchant Seijiro doesn't know how he ended up alone and far from the Japanese Salt Road... ...nor why a yuki-onna is hunting him. As Seijiro braves freezing temperatures, he must piece together what has happened to him if he is to escape the yuki-onna's clutches. But the truth might just be colder than the air he breathes.


Isla's Reach

Isla's Reach by Francisca Liliana

One catastrophe is all it takes. The world of Iona has forgotten the time when dragons ruled the skies and their Viden riders controlled the wind. The Evandis War, started by the long dead Cinaed the Decayed was won, but at the extermination of every dragon and their Viden riders. Evelyn, the last Viden, has been in hiding for her entire life, but no more. Once she bonds with Oretem, the last dragon, her purpose quickly turns from being the shield for those she loves, to the blade that fights to survive. A Reticent assassin haunts her steps, one who has his own demons to battle. They both seek a single person--Meric, a bounty hunter Venandi, who the assassin endeavors to destroy and the Viden hopes to save. These three lives intertwine in ways that leave them questioning everything they've ever known. The roots of Isla's Reach burrow deep to carry the world, and it won't be long until they've broken entirely.


No Safe Haven

No Safe Haven by James Lloyd Dulin

Anger will not be quenched by blood alone. The Missing, a rebel army that is little more than a rumor, may be Kaylo’s only path to exact his vengeance against the empire that claimed his home and killed his family. If it means a chance to balance the blood he owes, he will steal spirits and become the Missing’s tool, as long as they aim him in the right direction. Eighteen years later, a war is raging between factions for control of Ennea. With Tayen, Kaylo, and Nix caught in the middle of a power struggle—Kaylo will have to find a way to fulfill the promise he made to Tayen, Nix must face the consequences of her betrayal, and Tayen will have to choose between vengeance and her spirit. When blood is owed, virtues will be challenged.


The Devils' Crucible

The Devils' Crucible by Jacqueline Fellows

"Broken, shattered, empty husks driven by a whirlwind. The clans shall be riven from their heart and cast into the furnace. And this before the snows return." Three hundred years ago, the human race would have died out if not for a few who created and swore to abide by the Resolution, which bound the remnants together with a common purpose and gave them the tools to survive in a harsh land. Little by little, the clans grew and prospered despite innumerable disasters wrought by the relentless battering of talieth and vargoda. But now a new cataclysm approaches, one that will strain the very bonds the Resolution was meant to safeguard - and even salvation brings untold devastation.


Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty

Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S.M. Pearce

A precarious royal court. Two thieves with everything to lose. Caught robbing the Governor’s mansion, Blythe is given a choice: steal the crown jewel of Ostrait’s greatest enemy, or her papa and friends all die. Forced undercover as a candidate in the Fletch King’s marital competition, she must survive the cut-throat court under the watchful eye of the Governor’s pet assassin. But how much of herself will this mission cost her? Kalen got her into this mess. And now they must keep their head down in the servants’ quarters, enduring their new superior’s brutality and confronted with the terrors of their past. It’s no longer as simple as crafting bombs and letting the fire do the work—there’s nowhere left to run, and his real talent seems to lie in screwing everything up. Can a martyr learn what it means to live? Can a coward learn what it means to fight? They’re only a pair of outcasts. Failures. Will the cruelties of court tear their friendship apart? Or can they salvage a future together in a world that doesn't want them? **This queerplatonic dark fantasy novel contains themes/subject matter intended for a mature audience.


Lord of Thundertown

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.


Exile

Exile by AJ Calvin

Andrew grew up in the royal palace of Novania, the eldest son of the queen. He went on to achieve fame and glory as a renowned soldier, and was eventually named commander of the king’s army. The kingdom believed he would be named heir to the throne, but he has long known he is ineligible. The king is not his father. The truth of Andrew’s lineage is only partially known to the king; the identity of his father is a mystery that even Andrew is unaware of. He knows only that his father was a dragon-mage, and the dragons have fled to another world. Andrew is a skin-changer, but the laws of Novania forbid his very existence. If the king were to learn the truth of what he is, he would face execution. The laws are equally hostile to humans born with the Mark of the Magi and the ability to wield magic. Andrew’s younger half-brother, Alexander, bears the Mark. The pair keep one another’s secrets into adulthood
Until the king dies unexpectedly and Colin ascends the throne. When Alexander’s Mark is revealed for all to see, Andrew is faced with a choice: To watch his brother be killed, or reveal his true nature in an effort to save him from the headsman’s axe.


Everything Is Wonderful Now

Everything Is Wonderful Now by Shane Blackheart

When Dark is good and Light is evil... Ten-year-old Sera is isolated and depressed; bullied at school and at home by her father. Her mind gives her no respite, suffering from a panic disorder and a second voice in her head that forces violent, intrusive thoughts. She meets the fallen angel Byleth one night while wanting to end her life. He isn't a fan of kids and intends to leave immediately, but Sera's aura catches his eye. It's dark, and it isn't from her trauma that pulls at his heartstrings. It's also attracted a corrupt angel who wants to rid the world of another Hellspawn child. Sera has a lot on her plate, but as she ages and transitions to Sean, a disabled trans man with C-PTSD, he not only meets more spirit guides from Hell, he realizes that his biggest threat has always been the 'other' that dwells in his own head.


Merchants of Light and Bone

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.


The Crownless King

The Crownless King by David Cocco

When the dead rise again, nothing is safe. Thousands of corpses have risen and mutated into aberrant horrors, engulfing Torme's world with terror. This legion of mindless creatures threatens the entire continent, and perhaps the world, with their insatiable hunger. The war against the undying has gathered people of all walks of life together. Some desire to prove their worth or obtain glory, while others aim to use this undead madness for more sinister schemes. A vanishing tower hidden among the ruins of the dead hides away the mastermind behind this horrific reality—and Torme is hellbent on tracking it down. As he battles rotting monsters with his legendary weapon, memories of his distant past resurface. Torme’s transformation from boy to man, his days as a gallant knight, and the false crimes that he is accused of all blend together into his journey for justice. But when the truth is revealed, can this gruesome reality truly be brought back from darkness?


The Dark Secrets of Oliveto

The Dark Secrets of Oliveto by Stefano A. Giovaannoi

The sleepy little town of Oliveto is full of secrets. Magical beings coexist amongst unsuspecting humans. Casting spells and enchantments are the norm amongst certain members of the community. And someone, or something, is abducting members of its fey community... When an unexpected and mysterious death in the family calls Nico home from college, he brings along his best friend Sofia for support. Their relaxing spring break visit suddenly turns into a wild adventure as they are thrust into a hidden world of magic that Nico never knew existed...or did he? Soon they are enlisted by prominent member of the town’s fey population to help find and stop the Oliveto Abductor, before another fairy is taken. Together Nico and Sofia must piece together all the clues, as they learn about his family’s magical past, in order to solve the many secrets that Oliveto contains. Will they learn enough in time to survive? Tags: dark magic, light magic, mythical creatures, grimoire, fairy doors, fae, fey, witches, Italian culture, banshee, curses, garden gnomes, secrets, graveyards, shapeshifters, vampires, tarot cards, spell casting, prophecies, magical realism, urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, young adult, new adult, college.


Oblivion's Forge: Book One of the Aona

Oblivion's Forge: Book One of the Aona by Simon Williams

For thousands of years they have sought the world from which they were cast out. Now, at last, Aona has been found. The younger races of this world will all be swept up in a struggle for survival, as their ancient, malevolent masters, guardians of all Aona's secrets, rise to do battle with their foes, remorseless destroyers of world after world throughout the known Existence.


The Six

The Six by Kirk Holland

Experience an explosive and page-turning young adult fantasy, filled with humor, suspense, spirits, diversity, and the brutal undead. Six diverse teens from across the country, all intertwined in a mysterious web of hidden secrets and concealed identities, are forced to confront their inner demons and embrace a reality they never knew existed as they evade the undead with the aid of spirits, a blood witch, a secret clan of warriors, and a colorful tapestry of allies. For Charlie, the unusually strong son of two bestselling fantasy authors whose books may be more than fiction, it's a chance to finally step up and take control of his own destiny. In Oregon, a juggler sharpens her blades for another day at the fair. On the streets of Manhattan, a young thief seeks to make a living, unaware that a man with his own broken secret is stalking her. And on the east and west coasts, the alluring twins of a media mogul revel and wallow in the high life. A predator hunts them from the shadows, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the help of the dead. No one in the six's world is who they seem and the journey to uncover the truth will turn out to be a thrilling and unpredictable adventure. Filled with passion, adventure and danger this explosive story is for fans of Stephanie Meyer and Stephen King. It's time for The Six to step into their destiny, ready or not.


The Dolor Chronicle

The Dolor Chronicle by Casey Hanner

Graham Grey, his name is as depressing as he found himself to be. Suicidal and unfulfilled in his life, he desperately attempts to find something, anything, that would help him connect and feel he belonged in his world. He dreamed of something greater than himself, some greater meaning in life, but never could seem to find what he was looking for. His story starts at the end of his life by the hands of fate and continues to expand as he discovers everything he had been longing for and more. Who would have guessed the great disco motel in the sky would bring Graham to some peace, but for how long? His thirst for excitement is not quenched in the comfort of the heavens and he is plunged into the world of Dolor at the hands of his gods to continue to fulfill his passion to learn, but at what cost? He encounters some dark and sinister truths to living. Will Graham be able to survive this world? Will he be able to survive himself? Can he survive the harsh realities that Dolor shares with his previous life?


FALL: THE LAST PRINCIPLE (Time)

FALL: THE LAST PRINCIPLE (Time) by M.A Essan

"And what would an angel like you know about intimacy? What it feels like, what it tastes like, what becomes of you when it is done?” ~Lilith to Hel'el (Lucifer) Adam had become a threat to all things, but with the help of Lucifer, can the Principles stop man, and the devices of El'Ohim? In this Epic dark fantasy romance and Adaptation of the creation story, Adam and all mankind became the most powerful weapon in Sion's arsenal and the potentials of Man terrified the PRINCIPLES (a Primordial force that governed Existence). Mankind was El'Ohim's masterpiece, and he created billions in males and females, but only twelve had attained self-discovery, and were conscripted into the Host as KNIGHTS OF SION. The potentials of a Knight rivalled the power of a Primordial being, and Adam, being the first among all men had a potential to rival his creator. Eniola’s late Father was an avatar of the Primordial Principle of Time (an anomaly created by El'Ohim to upset the Principles), and Eniola was a young beautiful woman with mystical powers granted to her by a Relic owned by the mighty leader of the Principles. The Principles compelled Eniola to travel back in time to arrest the Primordial Principle of Time, but the Primordial Principle of Time imprisoned her in a time loop that made her to witness and partake in the undocumented events that predated to the Fall of Man.


Elementas: Yamay

Elementas: Yamay by Haley Anna Marie

In the muddy underworld under criminal control, Yamay, a young and powerful Dharkeri, is surviving the streets she was raised on. When Yamay is forced into the unknown world on the surface with dark forces swirling around her, she has no choice but to adapt and endure. While staggering through torment, waiving her mortality, she discovers the Realm of Darkness holds more secrets than she was led to believe. Can Yamay outrun destiny?


Elementas: War of the Gods

Elementas: War of the Gods by Haley Anna Marie

The Realm of Elementas is a serene land with unique races based on their natural surroundings. After five centuries of prosperity, a new Lihtari king has taken the throne, envisioning a different order. The gods made an oath never to involve themselves in mortal disputes, but when genocide threatens the Dharkeri, nothing will stop their goddess from raising arms. She believed she would face no foe greater than a mere mortal, but she was blind. What world is this, where the gods are against each other?


Keeper of the Cob: Backworlds book 1

Keeper of the Cob: Backworlds book 1 by Thurston Leigh

Vrx Gnerghal is a ghoul with a family to feed in a world where his kind and their “liberal” dietary habits are frowned upon. With the help of a powerful magical artifact, he stumbles upon a portal to Earth, where the humans are fat, slow and delicious. When a teenager smoking weed in the forest catches Vrx sneaking through the woods with a sack full of fresh meat, he and his friends decide to follow the creature through the portal to the hidden world beyond, and are quickly roped into the machinations therein. They will be stabbed, bitten, transformed, stabbed again and have to put up with a lot of walking as they are dragged through the countryside by a reluctant bounty hunter in her quest to find Gnerghal, kill him, and retrieve the artifact he stole.


Sand to Glass (Tales from the Mythusian Empire)

Sand to Glass (Tales from the Mythusian Empire) by Remy Apep

“A tight examination of the line between monster and human.” Foreword Reviews Somewhere at the edge of the Great Being’s dream lies a desert kingdom ruled by four young siblings. One burns with rage like fire. One battles monsters to make his siblings smile. One laughs with ruthless charm. One itches with desperation. All teeter on the edge of madness. In Remy Apepp’s harrowingly beautiful Sand to Glass, the Kingdom of Ordyuk finds itself faced with destruction. Endlessly attacked by accursed beings, the kingdom relies ever more heavily on the four siblings. Under such a weight, their only choice is to grow into monsters themselves—


Necromancer Arising: Book One of The Asterisian Chronicles

Necromancer Arising: Book One of The Asterisian Chronicles by Devon Salvin

"His power flooded into dead flesh, forcing it to move. The flesh remembered how to work, and as Lyre commanded, limbs obeyed. Back muscles contracted, the spine snapped straight. Lyre fed more and more power into his Risen and imparted but one order: to kill." Hated and feared for their magic, Necromancers have been hunted to extinction- or so it was believed. After ten years of isolation, Lyre Asterisian escapes an enchantment containing the ruin of his town and plunges into a plagued world on the verge of war. Lyre is forced to develop his unique powers and uses Necromancy in ingenious ways to survive. By steel, bone, and Risen flesh, Lyre defies death and, instead, strives to control it.


Galaxy of Thorns: Rise of the Empress

Galaxy of Thorns: Rise of the Empress by Bogdan Tăbușcă

SPSFC 2023

Divided between great wicked minds and cruel beings of unnatural power, the world of Artia has long been under the cycle of war and suffering. A child is born, conceived in an unholy union. A mighty empress to bring the world within her grasp, through mercy and kindness, through sword and fire. But will she be any better than the horrors that came before her? Or will she succumb to the vices of power and rule this world as its new dark master?


Worthy of the Raven: Stalked by Darkness (The Raven's Chosen One #1)

Worthy of the Raven: Stalked by Darkness (The Raven's Chosen One #1) by Y L Zamora

The Raven chose you; a Skin demon told little Lara -a secret she's kept for almost ten years. She still can't understand the ominous message when her sick, insane father viciously attacks her mother in front of her and the Raven -always by her side when calamity strikes. Lara must seek shelter with her friends, the CondĂ© brothers, who disguise her as their younger sibling and smuggle her into war to protect her, but the darkest, most dangerous magic quickly catches up to her when she meets the Skin once more. ​Nicola, the heir of CondĂ©, became head of the family when his father, the greatest Longbraid warrior, lost his leg in battle and his will to live with it. Nic, an aloof intellectual who didn't inherit the CondĂ© talents for combat, can't fill his father's shoes or his younger brother's -already General at twenty-one- and struggles in a war he doesn't believe in, training the woman his brother has always loved while coping with his own tumultuous feelings for her. ​Alessandro is a farmer boy turned reluctant Leader. His love for Lara isn't enough to prevent her brutal attacker the night before his army must go to war in a quest to steal the Magic only the ruthless Skin possess. He must keep his men alive against the most lethal predators in the Ucrian Peninsula and confront the Lords in a constant battle of political wits to keep his grip over the army while hiding Lara in plain sight as he deals with his own soul-crushing guilt.


A Sword of the Three Rivers

A Sword of the Three Rivers by Seth Hobbs

SPFBO9

Begin an epic journey in a forgotten time, where empires rise and fall, helping or destroying smaller provinces along the way. Follow the bloody and lusty adventures of young Bovir of the Woodlands, as his destiny becomes intertwined with the many colorful characters, beautiful vixens, kingdoms, politicians, priests, bankers, and terrifying warlords that he meets along the way, simply trying to return home and find his revenge for the many wrongs dealt to him. Alongside these quests, he must deal with the whims of the gods, ancient prophecies, and the corruption of the religious overlords that keep their secrets. An odyssey for a new generation of readers and fantasy fans.


Opanumbra

Opanumbra by N.R. Gravel

SPFBO9

The inlet battle has concluded. In its wake, a fleet bearing the departed travel across the Sequent Sea. What was thought to be a time of mourning converts into something worse. The Clergy leader of Vattarmere has been abducted, leaving only a trace of blood. With a staunch response, Hieronostad Castle is laid siege. After a swift victory, Coradryx and his companions discover a ransom letter indicating their troubles aren't nearing an end but have increased substantially. A journey west toward the lands of Har-mortrock must be taken while a pressing urgency beckons that they leave the realm of Verdoon. Each step toward their goal unravels a cumulative number of perils. Each peril, more drastic than the previous.


Bioshifter

Bioshifter by Natalie Maher

SPFBO9

Hannah has a routine. Wake up, take a shower, go to school, go to work, come home, and pass out. It's a perfectly normal routine for a perfectly normal girl who does not have to remember how her limbs work every morning because of haunting nightmares of being a very different creature in a very different world. But that's all she thinks they are—nightmares—until one night they're all too lucid, and her body on Earth starts to change. Slowly, Hannah's humanity starts to slip away... but surely she can continue just sticking to routine, right? It'll be fine. It has to be. A mix of urban and traditional fantasy, Bioshifter is a story in two worlds, with magic leaking in from one to the other. It's a story about love, self-acceptance, neurodivergency, and a whole lot of trauma. Strap in and enjoy!


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