Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision—veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?Blake Crouch’s Summer Frost is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

    They were once a wildly popular band, topping the charts and leaving broken hearts in their wake. But for the past five years, they’ve been playing the same old hits, incapable of creating anything new. As an assistant working for the band’s record label, Tessa is given the opportunity of a lifetime. Her boss informs her that she must help the band write and record a new album—and she only has seven months to do it. If she succeeds, she’s in line for a huge promotion. If she fails, she’s fired. And so is the band.What starts out as a desire to keep her job, and perhaps learn a little about the four mysterious musicians she’s always admired, quickly turns into more than anyone could have ever expected. As Tessa spends time with each man, she quickly learns that outward appearances aren’t always what they seem. ~ Rush ~ When college football star Graham Lawson is given one last Hail Mary chance to pull up his GPA or lose his spot on the team, he turns to the sweet but shy bookworm from his hometown – the girl who saved his ass back in high school. Skyler Sutton is beyond stunned when her longtime crush asks her to come stay with him for the entire summer. She’s even more surprised when Graham’s two incredibly hot, fun-loving roommates decide to educate her with a lifetime of firsts she’ll never forget. Charlie and Tyson show Skyler friendship, compassion, and love that knows no limits. They even try to protect her from having her heart broken when they convince playboy Graham to keep his hands off of his sexy, little tutor.But can two amazing guys really replace the one man who Skyler would give anything to be with? After Graham caves and can no longer resist Sky, will she have to choose between her unconventional relationship with Charlie and Tyson? Or will Graham decide to team up with his roommates to give Sky everything she’s ever dreamed of and more?~ Bad Witch ~ Once upon a time, Harper Rhodes was just a normal, boring, college freshman. Or so she thought. That was all before she was kidnapped by a scheming vampire and thrown into the secret world of supernatural beings at the Wicked Academy. The coven masters who run the academy insist that Harper is a witch, possibly the last one in the world, and that the fate of their kind is in her hands. It all sounds ridiculous to her, but either way, they refuse to let her leave.While being wooed by warlocks and stalked by Drake, an unapologetic vampire, Harper begins to fall for Rowan, a gruff shapeshifter who is the only good thing about her new life, even though he’s completely off-limits. When the masters eventually get tired of waiting on Harper to choose a warlock mate, they decide to take matters into their own hands. Knowing that none of her admirers will be able to reach her in time, Harper will have to figure out how to finally embrace magic and wield her new powers to save herself.And if there’s one thing she’s actually learned at the Wicked Academy, it’s that sometimes being bad can feel really good. ~ Bad Omen ~ Newly turned, brooding vampire Cash doesn’t have anything in common with Zaine, his young warlock roommate at Wicked Academy. At least he didn’t until they both find themselves trying to win over the same mesmerizing woman. Men have always been drawn to Nadia, the odd girl with crimson hair and lavender-colored eyes. And finally, after thirty years, she’s about to find out why. The unrelenting magnetic pull Cash and Zaine both feel toward Nadia isn’t just a coincidence. She seems to have the same effect on every guy she ever touches. The problem is that just one night in bed with her could cost a human or warlock male their life unless she figures out how to stop draining the life force out of them. When someone comes after Nadia, it’ll take all of her lovers to keep her safe. But the people who want her are desperate for her unparalleled powers. They won't stop until she's fighting for them.

    Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.Librarian Note: Older cover of B07VH6Y4JD.

    Fancy parties, celebrities, magazine write-ups, his own little empire of stainless steel and fire – he thought all of it was forever. It only takes one awful meeting for everything he’s worked for to be yanked out from underneath him. And one fateful meeting with the owner of food truck, of all things, to realize maybe what he thought he wanted isn’t what he needs after all. Murphy Haynes chose a different route. He decided right away that high-pressure kitchens weren’t for him so he took his skills on the road. If he happens to stop in a certain well known chef’s neighborhood more often than anywhere else on his route, sue him. He’s his own boss for a reason and there’s something about Baldwin Powell that he can’t resist. They’re opposites in nearly every way – On paper it should be a disaster. But life and love in the wilds of Manhattan rarely work out the way anyone expects

    With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

    And Abraham.Bound and tied, guarded day and night, Abraham has been stolen from his village, from the arms of the man he loved. He is being sent to the fortress-city of Elysium to serve a dark and ancient order, the Priests of the Black. They have discovered the secret he kept all his life: that inside him dwells a demon which allows him to heal…and to kill.But Abraham is not alone. A young woman named Alex, similarly possessed, rides with him. And as a bond grows between them, they begin to wonder if they can turn the demons that have damned them into their salvation.INCLUDES AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF THE PRICE OF VALOR

    It is a wise and practical guide for any transgender person considering or embarking on a gender transition. It covers everything from the beginning stages of exploration and planning through the process of transformation to life after transition. This is the first book written by an experienced professional specifically for transgender clients. It will also be of interest to family, friends, allies, clergy, teachers, helping professionals and anyone who cares about the challenges faced by those who seek to change their physical appearance to match their gender identity.

    In Snafu, a young Jane shows up for her internship with a securities firm. But before she even gets her foot in the door, she’s accosted by two street toughs and is forced to draw on her new-found Beast-magic to defend herself… In Black Water, Jane encounters a dire situation involving an escaped prisoner and endangered hostages. With a helpful—and oddly sane—werewolf, Jane goes after the criminals, but can she stop them in time to bring the kidnapped women home alive? In Off the Grid, Jane goes on what looks like a simple mission for the Knoxville blood-master—finding a missing Mithran. Her search leads Jane to a young woman named Nell, a woman with a scarred past and a strange power, a woman who may hold the key to saving the missing vampire, if Jane can convince her to assist.Includes an exclusive preview of the Jane Yellowrock novel, Broken Soul, coming October 2014 from Roc!Snafu and Off the Grid are never before published.The story Black Water was previously published as an Audible Audio Edition.

    As a teen, he was teased and bullied for his skin condition which only gave him the fuel to come out on top. Roles are reversed and his presence alone will put fear in your heart. His rudeness and blatant disrespect will make you think twice about crossing him. When The Murphy’s come to Tendaji for help he doesn’t hesitate to offer his hand. It’s time to pay up and the games begin. Not being the one to play about his money, Tendaji confiscate’s the family’s business and their most prized possession, their beautiful daughter I’Kenna. I’Kenna might be young but doesn’t possess the fear everyone else seems to have for Tendaji. Her slick mouth just keeps them going back and forth like cats and dogs. Tendaji has a secret from his past that draws him to I’Kenna in a desirable way, but does I’Kenna feel the same? With the both of them going through the motions, can Tendaji take I’Kenna from hostage to Mrs. or will I’Kenna finally see the beast everyone says Tendaji is?

    She was a witch on a mission. A witch with no magic sent to find the vampire who killed her best friend and make the undead bitch pay. The only problem? She's hunting a vampire whose fanged face haunts her dreams. She can't get her out of her mind. And when she meets Ivy she falls. Hard. That was not part of the plan. Ivy wasn't your typical college girl. No, she was a vampire running a secret sorority of the undead where that undeath was a life sentence to an endless boring party. Only Ivy had problems. Like newly turned pledges who refused to follow orders. Like a dead witch killed by one of those pledges. Like the threat of witches descending on her sorority and destroying everything she's built over long decades in retaliation for one stupid pledge's mistake. The last thing she needed complicating things was a mysterious freshman girl coming along and capturing her mind like no human had in decades. A girl who was hiding a dangerous secret that could be the end of everything she's built... Fang U is a 70k lesbian vampire romance with a little bit of humor, a little bit of horror, a touch of magic, and a whole lot of fun!

    . . .Sorcerer Marla Mason, small-time guardian of the city of Felport, has a big problem. A rival is preparing a powerful spell that could end Marla's life--and, even worse, wreck her city. Marla's only chance of survival is to boost her powers with the Cornerstone, a magical artifact hidden somewhere in San Francisco. But when she arrives there, Marla finds that the quest isn't going to be quite as cut-and-dried as she expected . . . and that some of the people she needs to talk to are dead. It seems that San Francisco's top sorcerers are having troubles of their own--a mysterious assailant has the city's magical community in a panic, and the local talent is being (gruesomely) picked off one by one.With her partner-in-crime, Rondeau, Marla is soon racing against time through San Francisco's alien streets, dodging poisonous frogs, murderous hummingbirds, cannibals, and a nasty vibe from the local witchery, who suspect that Marla herself may be behind the recent murders. And if Marla doesn't figure out who is killing the city's finest in time, she'll be in danger of becoming a magical statistic herself. . . .

    But the Highvalley witches have rarely done things the way they're supposed to. On the north Pacific island of Eidolonia, hidden from the world by enchantments, Prince Larkin has lain in a magical sleep since 1799 as one side of a truce between humans and fae. That is, until Merrick Highvalley, a modern-day witch, discovers an old box of magic charms and cryptic notes hidden inside a garden statue.Experimenting with the charms, Merrick finds himself inside the bower where Larkin lies, and accidentally awakens him. Worse still, releasing Larkin from the spell also releases Ula Kana, a faery bent on eradicating humans from the island. With the truce collapsing and hostilities escalating throughout the country, Merrick and Larkin form an unlikely alliance and become even unlikelier heroes as they flee into the perilous fae realm on a quest to stop Ula Kana and restore harmony to their island.Content warnings: Magic used nonconsensually to compel others; violent attacks, including some blood and fire; death and grief; imprisonment; untrustworthy governments.

    The Sunset Lands are broken, torn apart by a war of ideology paid for with the lives of the peasants. Drought holds the east as famine ravages the farmlands. In the west, borders slam shut in the face of waves of refugees, dooming all of those trying to flee to slow starvation, or a future in forced labor camps. There is no salvation.In the city of Lord’s Reach, Seraphina, a slave with unique talents, sets in motion a series of events that will change everything. In a fight for the soul of the nation, everyone is a player. But something ominous is calling people to Lord’s Reach and the very nature of magic itself is changing. Paths will converge, the battle for the Sunset Lands has shifted, and now humanity itself is at stake. First, you must break before you can become.

    It is a place of contradictions—the bright lights mask the peeling paint; a carnie in greasy overalls slinks away from the direction of the Barker’s seductive call. It is a place of illusion—is that woman’s beard real? How can she live locked in that watery box?And while many are tricked by sleight of hand, there are hints of something truly magical going on. One must remain alert and learn quickly the unwritten rules of this dark show. To beat the carnival, one had better have either a whole lot of luck or a whole lot of guns—or maybe some magic of one’s own.Featuring stories grotesque and comical, outrageous and action-packed, Carniepunk is the first anthology to channel the energy and attitude of urban fantasy into the bizarre world of creaking machinery, twisted myths, and vivid new magic.RACHEL CAINE’s vampires aren’t child’s play, as a naïve teen discovers when her heart leads her far, far astray in “The Cold Girl.” With “Parlor Tricks,” JENNIFER ESTEP pits Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, against the Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns. SEANAN McGUIRE narrates a poignant, ethereal tale of a mysterious carnival that returns to a dangerous town after twenty years in “Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea.” KEVIN HEARNE’s Iron Druid and his wisecracking Irish wolfhound discover in “The Demon Barker of Wheat Street” that the impossibly wholesome sounding Kansas Wheat Festival is actually not a healthy place to hang out. With an eerie, unpredictable twist, ROB THURMAN reveals the fate of a psychopath stalking two young carnies in “Painted Love.”

    The story is available for free on Karen Chance's website.