This is an exciting new coming of age story with detailed world building and gritty action and fight scenes. The backstory has Norse or Scandinavian cultural and spiritual influences and overtones. His past was lost, only faded dreams and echoes of happier times remained. Sometimes he had a flash, a quick fleeting glimpse of a better place with friends, warmth and cheer below a silver sun in a twilight land. Those were rare though. Now, there is only the harsh brutal present, sweat stinging the eye and blood flowing from cracked bruised knuckles, a sword in his filthy callused hand and the hoarse shouts of the Sword Masters ringing in his ears. Exhaustion paints his partner's face like cheap mask. No doubt his own face looks just as bad. It is a never ending struggle, up before the sun, running, jumping, lifting and fighting, each day full of pain and injury. Training, always training, His country, Vesfalruk, needs warriors to defend their land and homes. And, this place makes the best warriors. There are none better with sword or ax in all the world. But there is a power and a sense of belonging in this place, this ancient Guild Hall and fortress lying in the shadow of the Eastern White Mountains. Being here comforts him in ways he does not understand and the cold winter winds are somehow less chill. His sword calls and he takes it up and trots out into the yard. Vesfalruk is a besieged place, an isolated mountainous land that has struggled against numerous foes and invaders, the Erhand. It is a land with a violent and bloody history and a kingdom without a king. There has been no king for over two-hundred years and relative peace, if it can be called that, has been the norm for most of that time. So trade flourishes, peace reigns and ancient traditions are openly questioned and sometimes mocked. Vesfalruk warriors are still renowned throughout Ellorhim and the Guild Halls continue to train them, against a rising popular opinion. Old enemies are stirring again, their armies gather, swelling and massing for another round of invasion and conquest. And, that is fine with him and it if the same for those he has grown up with in this Guild Hall. Let them come again. We will be ready. He vows this, to himself and to others.

    Aided by her grandmother who returns to the farm, Sydney must rely on her instincts to uncover the mystery.But do they have enough clues to unravel the truth about her mother’s disappearance?Praise: ★★★★★ - "Hooked me right from the start and kept me guessing throughout." ★★★★★ - "Filled with characters that you can relate to. A great mystery."

    She'd much rather be practicing her swordplay with her best friend, Edmund, or teasing her straight-laced guard, Alex. Marriage isn't exactly high on her list of priorities.But Josselyn isn't your typical princess, and this isn't your typical fairy-tale story. When a plot to overthrow the kingdom sends her fleeing for her life, Josselyn will discover just how different she truly is as the ancient, celestial magic dwelling beneath her marked skin emerges in the most startling of ways. Will she be strong enough to face the darkness there and save her kingdom? Or will she crumple under the weight of self-doubt?Celestial beasts, steamy dances, and a fierce-as-hell warrior princess all mark the exciting first installment of E.P. Stavs's The Shendri Series.

     But when she overhears that she might be a child of the Valdir, a silver-haired race of dragon riders that disappeared sixteen years ago, she chooses to leave her old life behind and venture into the unknown to discover who she is and where the dragons disappeared to. But someone has been searching for her. In a strange city, searching for answers to her past, Kalina must conquer her own fear, deal with dangers she never anticipated from a crown she never knew existed, and forge friendships with unlikely people to help her find her place in the world.   Born of Air is the first book in the Valdir Chronicles.  If you loved Eragon you will love this coming of age adventure.

    It is a time in history when they are relentlessly annihilated by predators, nature, their own people, and the next iteration of man. To make it worse, Lucy’s band hates her. She is their leader’s new mate and they don’t understand her odd actions, don’t like her strange looks, and don’t trust her past. To survive, she cobbles together an unusual alliance with an orphaned child, a beleaguered protodog who’s lost his pack, and a man who was supposed to be dead.Born in a Treacherous Time is prehistoric fiction written in the spirit of Jean Auel. Lucy is tenacious and inventive no matter the danger, unrelenting in her stubbornness to provide a future for her child, with a foresight you wouldn’t think existed in earliest man. You’ll close this book understanding why man not only survived our wild beginnings but thrived, ultimately to become who we are today.This is a spin-off of To Hunt a Sub’s Lucy (the ancient female who mentored the female protagonist)

    Her one glimmer of light in her gloomy existence is a wise beyond his years, fiver-year-old foster named Jackson, who also lives with them. Falon longs for the day her mom wakes from her coma, so she can leave, take Jackson with her and begin a new life. Whenever Ty, the smart and brave new foster shows up, Falon realizes that the three of them just might get their chance. Little do they know, a better life awaits them, just inside the hollow tree...

    Working as a private investigator, her latest case takes her and her partner to Palm Springs, where a shifter is being harassed by a local businessman. But with pack politics and rivalries, this is far more than a property deal gone bad.Far worse, for Lexi, is that her local contact is her long-time nemesis, the gay vampire detective Dick. If the case doesn’t kill her, working with him again might!Note: This book was previously released as part of the Legacy of the Shadow’s Blood.

    But at 16, abandoned by her father and with a mother struck by a devastating illness, Cam is forced to live with the reclusive grandmother she’s never met. But it’s nothing to cry about—not for the girl who never sheds a tear.Isolated off the coast of Maine, Cam is drawn to Macon, the boy from the other side of the island. But his mother—and most others in the tight-knit community—looks upon her with suspicion.When she learns about her family’s unsettling history, Cam is plunged into ancestral mystery and the magic of the sea.And what she discovers could be the key to changing everything.

    But there are shadows moving in, and ominous signs in the tea leaves. Old spirits rise up to tell their stories, and new residents arrive. Who is friend and who is foe? There may be peace in Dark Root, but peace was never meant to last.This is the spin-off series for The Daughters of Dark Root series. This series can be read alone, but contains spoilers from the previous series. Magick. Mischief. Mayhem. Maggie. Welcome to Dark Root. We've been expecting you. Books in the best-selling Daughters of Dark Root: The Witches of Dark Root  The Magick of Dark Root  The Curse of Dark Root: Part One  The Curse of Dark Root: Part Two  The Shadows of Dark Root Other Dark Root Novellas and Shorts: The Council of Dark Root: Armand A Dark Root Christmas: Merry's Gift A Dark Root Halloween: The Witching Hour A Dark Root Samhain A Dark Root Solstice: Dora's Dilemma  The Mystery of Ice Pond Road: A Dark Root Cozy (Curses and Cauldrons Anthology 2019) Magick Mistletoe: A Dark Root Cozy (Spells and Sleigh Bells Anthology, 2019) More Books by April Aasheim: Touch of Light: A Baylee Scott Paranormal Mystery Touch of Shadow: A Baylee Scott Paranormal Mystery The Good Girl's Guide to being a Demon The Universe is a Very Big Place

    Nearly a century later there are those who still report seeing the children swimming beneath the surface like elusive dolphins. After losing her husband in a violent car crash, Rachel King and her two young sons venture to Arrowhead Lake to heal. When Rachel discovers that Great Woods Timber is planning to clear-cut this beautiful wilderness she enlists the help of Lilly Bowman and her mysterious father, chief and shaman of the Wabanaki nation. But dark events have been set in motion and Arrowhead Lake is under siege by a sinister force of mercenaries. When Chief Neptune vanishes, Rachel and Lilly call on Seth Ferguson, the local deputy sheriff for help. Together they discover an astonishing truth; a shadowy cabal that will stop at nothing to obtain the secret of Arrowhead Lake, a secret that if unearthed could have far-reaching consequences. When one of Rachel’s sons vanishes in the Lake, she and Lilly embark on a harrowing journey to find him. What they discover is a mind boggling truth that will change their lives forever. *

    Qualify for the Culling. Find a woman. Win the presidency.It was a carefully cultivated plan that dictated all his life’s decisions . . . until two women upend everything.Twenty-one years after his parents won the presidency, a Culling is called. James has waited his entire life for this moment, a chance to carry on his parents’ legacy. Meanwhile, whispers in Denver of an “Heir’s Curse” make a Reed winning the presidency seem impossible. A presidential heir has never won a Culling before, but there has also never been a Culling where three heirs could qualify. James and his siblings are determined to break the so-called curse and prove them all wrong.But when forced to choose between the easy love that could secure the presidency and a difficult one, what will James do?*This is book 1 of 4 in the spinoff for The Culling series.

    But after they find a crashed spaceship in the forest with a dying giant inside, they are faced with a choice that will decide their destinies forever.In his last moments, the giant transfers his knowledge and secrets to them. A war is being fought among the stars, and they have been tasked with completing his final mission to save his people. But it’s not an easy decision whether to stay or go. Joining the war means going up against a murderous regime and its demon-like supersoldiers. But if they do nothing, not only will they be condemning a civilization of trillions, they will be risking an invasion of Earth itself.

    His Elven mother is dying of a wasting disease. His Human father, severely injured in the war, struggles to walk. A brutal Winterfall clasps his mountainous kingdom in talons of ice. The people are starving. His family, his little sisters, depend on him to see them to Dragonmas Day.They need a miracle. But who believes in miracles anymore?Long ago, the mighty Dragon Santaclaws rescued Humankind and resettled them in the magical realm of Tyanbran – but Santaclaws and his miracles are gone, and his Dragons disappeared. Now, a stubborn half-Elf must brave blizzards and treacherous trails to bring food to the kingdom, and find winterberry to ease his mother’s suffering.What he discovers on this journey will shatter all unbelief. The lightning-born treasure he places beneath his Dragonmas tree changes everything, for wishes are different when it comes to Dragons.Wishes take wing, and come true.The start of a new Dragon Rider epic for fans of Anne McCaffrey, Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon. Santa Claus - Santaclaws - is really a dragon.

    Forced to follow her parents’ wishes by attending University, the local finishing school for graceful young vampires, she soon becomes the laughingstock of her oh-so-perfect class. But when the most popular boy on campus comes to her rescue and calls her “beautiful,” Sadie becomes the target of a group of mean girls who rule the school. Plagued by a series of embarrassing failures, Sadie is kicked out of University and must face reality: she doesn’t belong with vampires. And when a mysterious elder vampire seeks her out with vague and cryptic conversation, she’s even more convinced that something is amiss.With no other acceptable choice for her future, Sadie must convince her traditional vampire parents to let her do something unheard of for vampires her age. But questions continue to plague her. Is she truly a vampire? Or is she something else?