Blood's Pride


Evie Manieri - 2012
    They forced the once-peaceful fisher folk into slavery and forged an alliance with their former trading partners, the desert-dwelling Nomas tribe, cutting off any hope of salvation.Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary, to aid their fledgling uprising—but with her own shadowy ties to the region, she is a frighteningly volatile ally. Has she really come to lead a revolution, or for a more sinister purpose all her own?Set in a fictional quasi-Medieval Mediterranean region with a strong cast of male and female characters, the series "presents a striking world with civilizations similar to those of the Vikings and the nomadic cultures of the Middle East, and with the Mediterranean sensibilities of the ancient Greeks. Her characters are passionate and memorable, lending a personal touch to a complex tale of clashing cultures and philosophies. Fans of Sharon Shinn, Elspeth Cooper, and Gail Z. Martin should enjoy Manieri's approach to culture and drama." (Library Journal, starred review)

Song of the Forever Rains


E.J. Mellow - 2021
    Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it’s discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke. Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke’s potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan’s rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan—and themselves.Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen?

Somewhere in Time


Barbara Bretton - 1992
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Spellbreaker


Charlie N. Holmberg - 2020
    But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?

The Vine Witch


Luanne G. Smith - 2019
    Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.

Union of Renegades


Tracy Falbe - 2006
    He is the first to join the powerful rys spellcaster Shan, whose race possesses magical powers and whose Queen Onja rules many human kingdoms as their Goddess. The wickedness and tyranny of Onja disgust Shan and he desires to seize the rys throne from her. The third renegade is Miranda. After escaping from her abusive slave master, she becomes a crucial player in Shan's bid for power. To weaken Onja, Shan raises rebellion among her human subjects and gathers allies to his cause. Shan demonstrates his magic in battle and convinces his followers that the fearsome rys Queen can be overthrown. For over two thousand years Onja has ruled, but now, not even fear of her ability to enslave souls will stop her ambitious enemies.

The Tithe


Elle Hill - 2014
    Joshua Barstow, raised for twenty years among her town’s holy women, is one of these seventy Tithes. She is joined by the effervescent Lynna, the scholarly Avery, and the amoral Blue, a man who has spent most of his life in total solitude. Each night, an angel swoops down to take one of their numbers. Each night, that is, except the first, when the angel touches Josh… and leaves her. What is so special about Josh? She doesn’t feel special; she feels like a woman trying to survive while finally learning the meanings of friendship, community, and love.How funny that she had to be sacrificed to find reasons to live.

Valhalla Cupcakes (The Cursed Painting #1)


Cassidy Cayman - 2016
    Now she’s got loansharks breathing down her neck for a hundred thousand dollars she doesn’t even owe, and her five hundred year old painting of a sexy Viking just came to life. Fortunately for her, he has to do whatever she says, and pretty soon, he’s stirring up more than just cupcake batter. A lighthearted, steamy standalone romance with no cliffhanger!

The Last Great Wizard of Yden


S.G. Rogers - 2010
    Instead, he got a lousy magic ring…Artistic prodigy Jon Hansen yearns to fit in, but when he stumbles onto a supernatural kidnapping, his life changes forever. Unfortunately, his search for answers uncovers a magical secret—one that makes Jon a danger to everyone around him.The Wolf Clan wizard Efysian has been draining the magic from Yden. On a quest for eternal power, he’s willing to kill to feed his addiction. To harness the ultimate source of energy, he travels to Earth. This time, however, he has a persistent witness to his crime. Can Jon survive long enough to outwit the most evil wizard the magical world has ever known? Or will Efysian add the young wizard to his gruesome collection of trophies?Alternative cover for ASIN B00P9CP7XE

Lady of Devices


Shelley Adina - 2011
    Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . . When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .

Inamorata


Megan Chance - 2014
    The twins, who have fled scandal in New York, are determined to break into Venice’s expatriate set and find a wealthy patron to support Joseph’s work. But the enigmatic Hannigans are not the only ones with a secret agenda. Joseph’s talent soon attracts the attention of the magnificent Odilé Leon, a celebrated courtesan and muse who has inspired many artists to greatness. But her inspiration is otherworldly and comes with a devastatingly steep price.As Joseph falls under the courtesan’s spell, Sophie joins forces with Nicholas Dane, the one man who knows Odilé’s dark secret, and her sworn enemy. When the seductive muse offers Joseph the path to eternal fame, the twins must decide who to believe—and just how much they are willing to sacrifice for fame.

Time's Enemy


Jennette Marie Powell - 2011
    One great wrong. One chance to make things right…Tony Solomon never wanted to be a time traveler. But when a freak accident gifts him with the ability to travel in time, he becomes an unwilling initiate in the Saturn Society, a secret society of time travelers. Determined to prevent his daughter’s murder, he violates the Society’s highest law and becomes a fugitive. But the Society refuses to tell Tony how to time-travel within his own life, so he seeks help from Charlotte, the woman whose life he saved during a prior trip to the past.When Tony arrives in 1933 looking for answers, Charlotte is both thrilled and terrified to see her childhood hero. Loyal to the Society, she is honor-bound to bring to justice those who manipulate time for their own gain. In giving him sanctuary, she faces a terrible choice-condemn the man she loves and to whom she owes her life, or deny her deepest convictions by helping him escape and risk sharing his sentence.Time’s Enemy is 120,000 words (equivalent to 350-400 pages in a mass-market paperback)

When the Black Roses Grow


Angela Christina Archer - 2015
    Nineteen hung to their death on Gallow Hills. One suffocated under bone-crushing stones. All believed to possess the power of witchcraft. In 1692 the fear of witchcraft is spreading around Salem Village. While those who are accused and sentenced face death, everyone else faces the risk of accusations placed upon them. As Emmalynn Hawthorne, the daughter of a woman hung for witchcraft, places a bouquet of flowers upon her mother’s grave, a circle of black roses sprouts out of thin air. Dark magic, the roses strike fear through her heart when Mary Pruett and the handsome newcomer, James DeKane, spy upon her as they pass along the traveling road. Emmalynn flees and her panic soon turns into terror as another vine of black roses sprouts and grows throughout the inside of her home. Is she a witch? Will she be the next accused? James DeKane has secrets of his own—ones that could prove deadly for him and anyone he holds dear. At fault for the untimely death of his parents, he must protect his hidden brother and dying sister, all while fearing that the haunting prophecy bestowed upon him at birth will come to pass. Desperate and fighting the monster deep inside of him, he’s searching for the one love who can alter his destiny.

The Rake's Challenge


Beth Elliott - 2011
    Anna Lawrence, nineteen and inspired by Lord Byron’s poems, is determined to seek a life of travel and adventure. Both decide to flee society. They meet when Giles rescues Anna from her first escapade. Anna is resolute in demonstrating her independence but, somehow, she always ends up in trouble. His own pleasures forgotten, Giles rescues her from one potential disaster after another. He knows he cannot live without her, but he meets an unexpected obstacle, for Anna has a secret that means she can never be more than a friend to the man she has come to love with all her heart... Is there any way for their love to prevail? Beth Elliott was born in Lancashire, but fell in love with books during many childhood visits to her Welsh grandparents, whose bookshelves were always well stocked. Her greatest discovery was the novels of Jane Austen, which have fascinated her ever since. Having first taught languages in various countries across the globe, Beth eventually decided to write her own novels. Her previous books The Wild Card, In All Honour and April and May were also published by Robert Hale and you can learn more about her on her website: www.bethelliott.webs.com.

Infinite Us


Eden Butler - 2017
    He’s too busy taking over the world to make time for relationships—that is, until his new neighbor Willow O’Bryant barges into his life, and now Nash can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the first time she’s interrupted his world.Then, the dreams start. And in the dreams—memories.Memories of a girl named Sookie who couldn’t count on love or friendship, never mind forever. Memories of a library and a boy called Isaac and secrets made in private that destroyed his world.The memories seem real, but who do they belong to?When Nash and Willow discover the truth, life as they know it unravels.The bridge between this life and the next is shored up by blood and bone and memory. Sometimes, that bridge leads to the place we’ve always wanted to be.