Armed only with her wits, a mystical companion and the help of the chevalier Bastien, Alexa must use her very human mind and skills to fight the encroaching evil--and resist manipulation by the Marshalls to force her to stay in Lladrana.Now torn between her affinity for this realm and Earth, will she return home if given the chance? Or dare she risk everything for a land not her own?

    The Doranen have ruled Lur with magic since arriving as refugees centuries ago. Theirs was a desperate flight to escape the wrath of a powerful mage who started a bitter war in their homeland. To keep Lur safe, the native Olken inhabitants agreed to abandon their own magic. Magic is now forbidden to them, and any who break this law are executed. Asher left his coastal village to make his fortune. Employed in the royal stables, he soon finds himself befriended by Prince Gar and given more money and power than he'd ever dreamed possible. But the Olken have a secret; a prophecy. The Innocent Mage will save Lur from destruction and members of The Circle have dedicated themselves to preserving Olken magic until this day arrives. Unbeknownst to Asher, he has been watched closely. As the Final Days approach, his life takes a new and unexpected turn ...

    Enchantress Maura Woodbury has spent her young life trying to avoid their notice at all costs. Until her wizard guardian reveals that she has been chosen to seek and waken a legendary warrior who is destined to free their people. First she must procure an ancient map which will reveal The Waiting King’s resting place. Since Maura’s journey will lead her into dangerous territory, she is forced to accept a magic-wary outlaw as her escort. But can she trust a man like Rath Talward…or will he prove an even greater threat to her quest?Queen's Quest Trilogy:Book 1 - The Wizard's WardBook 2 - The Waiting KingBook 3 - The Destined QueenBook 4 - The Fugitive's Fate (Prequel Novella)These books contain no graphic violence or physical intimacy. They are suitable for teens as well as more mature readers.Within days of hearing that her publisher was planning to launch a new fantasy imprint, Deborah Hale called her editor and submitted a proposal. Fantasy novels by J.R. R. Tolkein, Ursula LeGuin and Lloyd Alexander had first inspired her to become a writer. Deborah was delighted to be offered a contract for two connected books and thrilled to be the first Harlequin author to write for the Luna imprint! Recently Deborah regained the publishing rights to those books and has revised the stories into a trilogy that she hopes will appeal to an even wider audience.

    One legendary general. A final quest for vengeance.Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history.Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner.

    He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority. Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign’s Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting—and killing—for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness. Trigger warning: this novel contains graphic violence, adult language, and sexual situations.

    Now he was an almost legendary sword-dancer, ready to take on any challenge--if the price was right...or the woman pretty enough.She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Now, her ritual training completed, and steeped in the special magic of her own runesword, she had come south in search of the young brother stolen five years before.But even Del could not master all the dangers of the deadly Punja alone. And meeting Del, Tiger could not turn back from the most intriguing challenge he'd ever faced--the challenge of a magical, mysterious sword-dancer of the North

    The limits of her unique talents must be tested in order to prove her worthy of the honor and grave responsibility awarded to her. But a perilous road lies ahead, fraught with pitfalls that will challenge the newest servant of the gods. An enduring friendship with a Dreamweaver—a member of an ancient outcast sect of sorcerer-healers—could destroy Auraya's future. And her destiny has set her in conflict with a powerful and mysterious, black-clad sorcerer with but a single purpose: the total annihilation of the White. And he is not alone . . .

    As the single heir to the half-blood gypsy king and his prophesied white queen, she is fiercely protected, shuttered inside an ivory castle and well-trained in the art of war. Yet neither her obligations as future queen nor the black infestation threatening her kingdom fail to hinder the mysterious pull of the antique armoire hidden in her parents’ bedchamber. And stealing the golden key for a leap through time is the only way to confront the dark lord haunting her dreams. One face. The image of one defiant, relentless woman has been stuck in Rhys McEleod’s head ever since he was old enough paint her luscious curves on the canvas. But the day she walks into his life off the street—sexier than hell and itching for a fight—he’s not convinced she’s the same women he’s envisioned since childhood. That is, not until he spots the golden key around her neck—an object he’d never fully shown in any of his paintings.Now if he could just persuade his lovely muse he’s not the enemy. Unless the elusive Faedrah Austiere learns to trust him, he’ll never have her in his bed—the one place he’s convinced she belongs.

    are you?Once upon a time, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord and Shaped the world to their will. But Satoris, the youngest among them, was deemed too generous in his gifts to the race of Men, and so began the Shapers' War, which Sundered the world. Now six of the Shapers lay to one end of a vast ocean, and Satoris to the other, reviled by even the race of Men.Satoris sits in his Darkhaven, surrounded by his allies. Chief among them is Tanaros Blacksword, immortal Commander General of his army. Once a mortal man who was betrayed by King and Wife, Tanaros fled to Darkhaven a thousand years ago, and in Satoris's service has redeemed his honor-but left his humanity behind.Now there is a new prophecy that tells of Satoris's destruction and the redemption of the world. To thwart it, Satoris sends Tanaros to capture the Lady of the Ellylon, the beautiful Cerelinde, to prevent her alliance with the last High King of Men.But Tanaros discovers that not all of his heart has been lost--his feelings for Cerelinde could doom Satoris, but save the race of Men...

    Chime is living an idyllic life with her family in the rural hamlet of Jacob's Vale. But her life is turned upside down when one of the King of Aronsdale's most trusted advisers, searching the kingdom for shape-mages, identifies her as a promising mage with powerful undeveloped ability. Chime reluctantly agrees to travel to Castle Suncroft, where she is to be trained in the art of magecraft -- and also groomed for her marriage to Prince Muller, the heir to the throne of Aronsdale! Muller is the nephew to the king, and the last thing he wants to do is get married and rule a kingdom. He's more concerned with fashion than affairs of state. When the King of Aronsdale dies and Muller continues to postpone his royal ascension, the leader of a neighboring kingdom -- along with an insane mage bent on destroying Aronsdale -- sees the transition as the perfect time to strike.Simply put, The Charmed Sphere is a novel of superlatives. If a reader were to choose only one new romantic fantasy to read, it should be Catherine Asaro's unforgettable gem. Paul Goat Allen

    Eager to prove herself, she arrives in the town of Hrappa to locate a “jackal” - a mage operating outside the Coalition’s authority - who has murdered three people.But in Hrappa, she discovers that the man assigned to be her bodyguard is Mandir, her nemesis from years ago. When she and Mandir were students, he bullied her so severely he was sentenced to a year of penance and moved to another temple.When Mandir sees that he’s been partnered with Taya, all his old torment comes rushing back. He’s had a crush on Taya since the day they began their training, but he pushed her away, ashamed of his attraction to someone so far beneath his social class. He regrets that now and intends to make an honest attempt to win her heart - if she can forgive him for his past sins. But first they must find the murderous jackal, before the jackal finds them.

    Enroute to the city, she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers. The necromancers armed with human bone knives fight "malices", immortal entities that draw out life, enslaving humans and animals. Dag saves Fawn from a malice - at a devastating cost. Their fates are now bound in a remarkable journey.

    She's on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their demise.

    In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls.A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass's care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family—and new enemies.Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona's secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself.Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

    A widower of high intelligence, he presides over an empire called Acacia, after the idyllic island from which he rules. He dotes on his four children and hides from them the dark realities of traffic in drugs and human lives on which their prosperity depends. He hopes that he might change this, but powerful forces stand in his way. And then a deadly assassin sent from a race called the Mein, exiled long ago to an ice-locked stronghold in the frozen north, strikes at Leodan in the heart of Acacia while they unleash surprise attacks across the empire. On his deathbed, Leodan puts into play a plan to allow his children to escape, each to their separate destiny. And so his children begin a quest to avenge their father's death and restore the Acacian empire — this time on the basis of universal freedom.