A Violet Fire


Kelsey Quick - 2019
    For centuries, councils have sought to assuage the blood shortage by enslaving and breeding humans, turning them into profitable supply units for the rich and the abled. Today, eighteen-year-old Wavorly Sterling is officially a supply unit, bound to serve her blood willingly to her master for the rest of her life. One of only few humans that was not bred in Cain, Wavorly knows freedom better than anyone, and she is determined to escape the clutches of her oppressors, even if by the hands of death. But surprises lay beyond every certainty, and within every doubt. Where Wavorly's hatred for both vampires and her enslavement once flowed free as blood, it merely trickles as she grows to admire her reserved, yet receptive master and savior, Anton Zein. Although warmed by comforts never felt before, danger still lurks in the castle, and a prophecy calls from beyond the walls of a lavender gate—concealing the horrific secrets lodged between handsome smirks and cinereous eyes. It will take everything within Wavorly to face her fears and her doubts; to harness the truth of her past despite what that means for her future. The only question is, will she? Set in a richly detailed world of fantasy, A Violet Fire is a gripping journey filled with passion, betrayal, lies, and the encouragement we all need to take a stand for our freedom—no matter the cost.

The Dead Girls Club


Damien Angelica Walters - 2019
    Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it.That belief got Becca killed.It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died.The night Heather killed her.Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.

The Forced Redundancy Film Club


Brian Finnegan - 2012
    This is a novel about unlikely friendship, coping with unexpected change, coming to terms with your past and facing new beginnings.

Ink


Damien Walters Grintalis - 2012
    When Jason Harford meets the tattoo artist he nicknames Sailor, ink is the last thing on his mind, but he's hurt and angry from a recent loss and makes an impulsive decision to go under the needle. Sailor’s work is extraordinary, though, and the griffin tattoo is a thing of beauty, leaving Jason with no cause for regret. Until he hears the flutter of wings in the night. Finds drops of blood staining his sheets. Sees a brick wall where the tattoo shop should be. The truth is as sharp as a monster's talon, and if Jason can't find a way out, everything he knows will be destroyed and everyone he cares about will pay the price.

Prophet of Doom


Derek Murphy - 2016
    That was all awful enough, but it was more than that. I remember being young and thinking, when I grow up, I'll have a nice big house. I'll get an exciting, interesting job. I'll meet the man of my dreams and we'll fall in love and stay together forever.But that all disappeared the first time I tripped 20 years into the future and found the houses burned, the handsome boys dead, and the only jobs were the ones young girls gave hairy old survivors in tents in exchange for a little food and water. Nobody asked little girls what they wanted to be when they grew up anymore. Nobody wanted to draw attention to the fact that most of them wouldn't live that long.There was no hope, no peace for anyone. At least I had it better than they did. When my trip was over, I would get to go back. Back to the normalcy of 2015. Back to iPhones and Twitter and buying so much food it went bad before you could eat it. Back to laughing over foamy cappuccinos and iced lattes at the mall, window shopping and flirting with hot guys (not that I ever did that, mind you - but I always wanted to). And I still could. That was the point. Unlike everybody else, for whom 2015 was 20 years ago - long before humanity was destroyed - it was my reality. At least, it was some of the time.But after seeing the future; after struggling to make it to the end of the day; after my first kill - none of those other things were the least bit enjoyable. All I could think when I got back to the real world, is how can I stop what's coming?Prescient is a young adult time-travel dystopia, this is Part One of the first book in the series.

A Temptation of Angels


Michelle Zink - 2012
    Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel. Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.

A Circle in the Woods


Winston Emerson - 2012
    What do you want from me? Why don't you just take it and leave me alone?"In a place where people have been disappearing for years, a little girl gets lost in the woods. Meet the man who saves her life.On a late summer morning in 1958, Phil Stapleton discovers and rescues five-year-old Brittany Duncan after she spends two days lost deep in the Kentucky woods. Two months later, when a tree branch crashes through the rickety trailer where Brittany lives, Phil takes the girl and her mother under his roof. What follows is a decade of mystery, terror, violence, and tragedy, with no escape in sight.A Circle in the Woods is a novel that lulls and charms its reader while quietly drawing a knife.

Crossing Values


Carrie Daws - 2011
    Job-hopping every few weeks, she refused to let anyone get close to her as she slowly made her way east. As winter plants itself firmly across the Rockies, she decides to take a chance on a job at a logging company with a family different from any she's ever known before. Watching the family interact creates more questions than answers for Amber. Feeling like she's entered the happily-ever-after written at the end of fairytales, she watches for cracks in the facade. Surely as the days pass, the play-acting will cease and the real family will emerge. Or could she be wrong? Could they truly be genuine? Could Faye understand the trauma from her past or Peter think of her as more than just the winter office help? Could this family really hold the key to what she's seeking?

Salem Burning


Daniel Sugar - 2018
     Kyle is a liar; he does not believe in witchcraft, he is simply trying to get rid of Lilly. But Kyle is in for a shock because, as it turns out, Lilly really is a witch. "Salem Burning" is a fast-paced, brand-new take on the Salem witch trials.

The Crystilleries of Echoland


Dew Pellucid - 2019
    They call us Sounds. They are our Echoes. And they think that they must die when we do. Is this why children are disappearing from the Sound realm? Because someone wants their Echo to die? Twelve-year-old Will Cleary tries to escape the frightening answer. But dangers sweep him into that magical, see-through land. And there, in a fortress filled with castaway children, a two-hundred-year-old riddle lies buried. The most important boy in Echoland will help Will solve it, with a handful of other teens. For the fate of Echoland, and of the Sound realm, depends on the answer. An answer hidden in an ancient book… Deep in a frozen lake of gems… Beyond a buried door… At the foot of the greatest Crystillery of all. But many men and monsters, crystal balls and spying eyes, will try to stop the brave teens. ~ 2018 Pacific Book Awards Winner ~ ~ 2018 Purple Dragonfly 2nd Place Winner ~ ~ 2018 Los Angeles Book Festival Runner-up ~ ~ 2018 Readers' Favorite 4th place (Honorable Mention) ~~ 2018 New York Book Festival Honorable Mention ~ ~ 2018 San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention ~ THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN disappear from our world. No one sees the kidnapping; or if they do, they forget. But one toddler returns after a week, riding a wolf, with a falcon circling over him.That boy is Will Cleary.Will tries to live a normal life. But his twin sister is still missing, and their parents never stop searching for her. Then just before his thirteenth birthday, Will's pets reveal a secret to him. (Though how it happens will remain a secret, until you read the book.) A hidden world lies beneath our feet, a land filled with see-through trees and lucent people. They call us Sounds, and they are our Echoes; for each one of them is a reflection of one of us. It is a sparkling, beautiful place, a winter wonderland. But there is evil there, a terrible law, the Law of Death.When a Sound dies in our world, his Echo is executed in Echoland. And there are those who reverse the order of things, to achieve their wicked ends. They hunt the Sound of the Echo they want to kill. Then the first death leads to the second as surely as lightning leads to thunder.Is that what happened to the missing children in Will's realm? Did someone want to murder their Echoes? Or are these Sounds still alive, trapped somewhere in Echoland? Will tries to escape the frightening answer. But dangers sweep him into that magical, see-through land. And there, in a fortress filled with castaway children, a two-hundred-year-old riddle lies buried. The most important boy in Echoland will help Will solve it, with a handful of other kids. For the fate of Echoland, and of the Sound realm, depends on the answer.An answer hidden in an ancient book…Deep in a frozen lake of gems…Beyond a buried door…At the foot of the greatest Crystillery of all.But many men and monsters, crystal balls and spying eyes, will try to stop the brave teens. For how see-through your skin is is all-important in Echoland. And when this ancient hate will end, the realm of the Echoes will change forever.

Diaries of an Urban Panther


Amanda Arista - 2011
    Last night I woke up naked in an alley after fighting off some werewolves. All in a day's work, I guess. I thought I was dealing pretty well with the whole werepanther thing: the training, the apocalyptic prophecies. And the hot guy following me around, protecting me at every turn, is definitely a bonus. I'm even starting to become accustomed to the bloodshed and the violence—and that's what scares me. What will tomorrow bring?--------------------------Violet Jordan thought the fairy tales her mother wove were just a way to get Violet to sleep, not a way to prepare her for the apocalypse she is the key to preventing. When she becomes a midnight snack for werepanther Spencer Haverty, his infectious bite invokes the first element of her destiny. When Violet’s budding instincts allow her to save a boy’s life, she realizes this new gig may come with perks: a slimmer figure, the attention of a handsome Guardian, and insights into her future embedded in her mother’s stories. But as push comes to claws, can Violet make the fatal strike against the men threatening her new family, her new home and her first boyfriend in ages?

Becoming Jinn


Lori Goldstein - 2015
    As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

Vestige


Deb Hanrahan - 2012
    His mother tried to prepare him for the Apocalypse, but she disappeared without telling him about the family legacy, his legacy. And as civilization slips into chaos and the line between dreams and reality blurs, Micah must uncover his mother’s secret before the souls of humanity are lost forever.The Vestige Series is a two-book Horror/Apocalyptic series.

Lying to Children


Alex ShahlaAlex Shahla - 2017
    In this collection of sometimes outrageous, sometimes sad, often heartwarming interconnected vignettes, author Alex Shahla enters the fray with a delightful confessional celebration of family life told in stories from a dad’s unique perspective. Centered around the untruths parents regularly tell their kids in an effort to protect (or silence) them—from “Daddy Loves his Job” to “There’s a Jolly Fat Man who Brings You Presents (Assembly Required)” —Lying to Children is an unforgettable familial history filled with laughter, tears, and life lessons, and brimming over with a somewhat-less-than-perfect suburban dad’s unwavering love.

The Names of Things


John Colman Wood - 2012
    But wanting to be with him, she endured the trip, only to fall desperately ill years later with a disease that leaves her husband with more questions than answers. When the anthropologist discovers a deception that shatters his grief and guilt, he begins to reevaluate his love for his wife as well as his friendship with one of the nomads he studied. He returns to Africa to make sense of what happened, traveling into the far reaches of the Chalbi Desert, where he must sift through the layers of his memories and reconcile them with what he now knows. Set in a windswept wilderness menaced by hyenas and lions, The Names of Things weaves together the stories of an anthropologist's journey into the desert, his firsthand accounts of the nomads' death rituals, and his struggle to find the names of things for which no words exist. Anthropologist John Colman Wood's debut novel is an exquisite, haunting exploration of the meaning of love and the rituals of grief.