Just when I was about to give up all hope, the sexiest cop I'd ever seen pulled up beside me, and offered me a helping hand. Now all I have to do is let go of my painful past and take it... MATT I was at the end of a long, hard day of patrolling the streets when I spotted the curvy cutie crying on the side of the street, and found myself wanting nothing more than to pull her into my arms. I've had a lot of women, but I've never wanted any of them as much as I wanted her. Now, all I have to do is get her to surrender to my protection, and make her all mine...

     A beautiful slave girl. A missing royal daughter. A carefully wrought revenge.Iceland in the 10th century. There is nothing unusual in a wealthy farmer returning home with a slave girl, even if she is a mute. But she conceals a secret that will echo across the oceans.Based on an episode from the great Icelandic Sagas, The Tale of Melkorka will grip you with an unfolding mystery of loss, triumph, and the rough justice of revenge. Melkorka's world awaits you...

    . . Nazarian writes clean and true prose . . ."--Publishers Weekly"Set in an alternate Renaissance Europe, this series opener by Russian-born Nazarian combines the stylistic manner of a folktale with the trappings of an epic fantasy, one driven by compassion rather than heroics.... Fans of period fantasy and those who like stories that feel like fairy tales should appreciate this skillful novel by the twice Nebula Award-nominated author of Dreams of the Compass Rose and The Duke in His Castle."--Library Journal"I really enjoyed the rich, complex and highly unusual storytelling in the Cobweb Bride. Nazarian does an excellent job of painting the Renaissance world of her alternate reality and bringing in interesting twists of fantasy to the story.... Everything about this story that was fresh and new. I loved the premise it was built on and I loved the story itself. The characters are rich, multi-dimensional, and so easy to get to know and identify with. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy when it comes out and in finding out more about what happens to the characters that still have a mission to carry out and how the story eventually resolves by the end of the trilogy. I recommend this book to readers of YA, lovers of fantasy, alternate-history, and alternate-reality. It was a terrific read."--Tracy M. Riva, Midwest Book Review"Cobweb Bride is astonishing and captivating; a lush fantasy of imagery and magical realism. The visuals are illustrated by the author's lyrical and metaphoric writing. Every chapter and scene revels in this mortal coil, surrounded by an expansive collage of characters immersed in a plot as rich and decadent as a Verdi opera.... The vibrancy of Ms. Nazarian's writing is sheer kaleidoscopic visualization. The folkloric-fable twists and turns recount shavings from the mythos of Hades and Persephone without boring you with a full-blown serving of predictability. The romance is as subtle as it is grim, with glimmers of hope taking us further to our doom--perhaps.... The overall tone is introspective, hauntingly quiet with elements of horror-fantasy that are as provocative as the works of Tanith Lee and Storm Constantine."--Patrice, Romantic Historical Reviews , a 5-Star Top Pick Many are called... She alone can save the world and become Death's bride. COBWEB BRIDE is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world. What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them? In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill... Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes, frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...

    But it isn't long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you'll never forget.

    In a new world isolated by a rising, toxic sea, a single bridge connects Askala to the Outlands. Those who remain will need to pass a Proving to determine if they have the intelligence and heart to champion the future of their broken Earth. Those who succeed will become Bound, the ones chosen to breed. Those who fail, are Unbound. Free of responsibility, but robbed of their ability to bear children.Four young lives are born into this world. Magnus and Callix, two brothers determined to uphold this new order. Two brothers in love with the same girl.Amity, the one who must make the impossible choice. And Mercy, the girl who no one sees, but sees it all.As a new threat to Askala emerges, secrets will be revealed and the fight for survival will become their biggest challenge yet. Life is fragile. Love will refuse to be denied.Sacrifice will be inevitable.Lovers of Divergent, The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner will be blown away by the breathtaking new series from USA Today best-selling author Tamar Sloan and award-winning author Heidi Catherine.

    The pendant is the only connection Ella has with her mother, and she will do anything to protect it—even if it means becoming a servant in her own home. To escape her wicked stepfamily, Ella finds solace under the branches of the weeping willow beside her mother’s grave. Ella thought she could practice her magic there in secret, but when she is caught by Ashwin, the son of the richest lord in the county, Ella fears she may lose her pendant after all. Ashwin gains Ella’s trust by promising not to tell anyone about the pendant, but Ella knows they are from different worlds, and she is reluctant to open up to him too much. When Ashwin invites Ella to a masquerade ball, she sees it as a chance to escape her life, even if it is for just one night. But her pendant isn’t the only secret Ella has been keeping. If Ashwin learns who she really is, will the truth ruin her chance of happiness with him, or will it set her free? Find out in this sweet and magical re-imagining of Cinderella.

    When it’s all at risk and you’ve lost hope…don’t call them.You’ve been warned.Meet Robert Bangers & Steven Mash, Paranormal Investigators of the Arcane.When danger terrorizes the city, Bangers & Mash take it upon themselves to investigate, despite everyone advising against it.They won’t let common sense and the threat of a horrific creature capable of ripping them to shreds stop them.There’s no case they can’t make worse, but this time they may have bitten off more than they can chew.Join Bangers & Mash—the newest paranormal investigators to wreak havoc on the city as they take their cases from bad to disastrous!

    Or so she thought. As a commoner, Lora never looked beyond her small life in her village… until she nearly burned down the neighbor’s house. Sent to the capitol city all alone, Lora not only needs training as a Wielder, but also as a rare Swordwielder. Unused to the attention this brings, as well as her semi-hidden lowly status, she struggles in her new environment. But friends come along and life suddenly doesn’t seem quite so scary. Can she succeed while hiding her common heritage? Will she lose herself in the process? Or is she silly for even worrying? This is a mature young adult novel recommended for ages 15+ for sexuality and violence. The content in this book is similar to a PG-13 movie.

    Broken. Lost.Trusting and naïve, Greeta knows she’s different. All she has to do is look at herself. She’s tall and pale, but lives among people who are small and dark. Although she remembers nothing of her origin, Greeta knows she possesses the blood of Northlanders, fierce and mysterious warriors decimated years ago by gods. Betrayed and devastated by those she loves, Greeta abandons the peaceful village that once welcomed her. After enduring travels that leave her lost and alone, Greeta meets Finehurst, the man who could be her true love – until she learns his dark and disturbing secrets.Secrets that give him the power to place the entire world under his spell.Can Greeta warn the village she fled before a new danger destroys them all?

    Illustrator and writer's Carolyn Marie Castagna's first shared short story.A small icicle hanging from a roof peers inside a window at a small reading room, and learns about magical human qualities, and the importance of the one most special human feeling.

    Will it be with Breena?This is a novelette introducing a new werewolf mythology based on the concept that werewolves have fairy blood in them in order to help them shift. This is their magic.

     For ten long years young Dirk Blackthorn has followed his drunken father from one city to another, always having to cheat and steal for his next meal, and never knowing what the future might hold. A magician turned con artist, Dirk’s father Thad has taught him everything he knows. After being driven out of just about every southern city in Agora, they have come to Kell-Torey in search of a new beginning. With winter on its way, and all but a rusty coin spent on his father’s drinking, Dirk must make full use of his skills if they are to survive the harsh northern cold. As Thad descends deeper into his drunken delirium, Dirk becomes determined to make a name for himself in the city’s criminal underworld. Featuring two of Legends of Agora’s most beloved characters, Blackthorn Rising is a fast-paced coming of age tale wrought with sword and sorcery, it is a story of failure and triumph, and a testament to the unrelenting spirit of defiance and adventure within us all. FROM THE EDITOR Blackthorn Rising is a book that sticks with you. Michael Ploof’s stimulating prose and evocative cast of characters are incapable of boring you on any single page. The plot is sharp, charged with dark wit, adventure, intrigue, and emotion. Enjoy Dirk Blackthorn’s bumbling journey to manhood as he rises to become a great thief, and an even greater man. I loved every minute of editing this tale, and I know you’ll love every minute of reading it. --Holly M. Kothe, espressoeditor.com

    The laird has had enough with raids by the Macleods and Maccauleys. The remnants of the clan is trapped on the island with no possibility of further retreat, and the clan has nowhere to go but on the offensive—if they are to survive. A medieval dagger belonging to the Morrisons holds the power to transport people back in time to the sixteenth century. Time and again, the dagger has brought a woman to ease a lonely warrior’s heart. Can the dagger work its magic one more time? Books in the Searching for a Highlander series of time travel romances Book 1-The Highlander’s Stronghold Book 2-The Highlander’s Keep Book 3-The Highlander’s Home

    But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

    Follow the tale of Icarus. And that of the father who tried to save him ... but brought his life to an end.You will come to love him. Then you will watch him fall. Live the tragic story as you never imagined possible.