Book picks similar to
The Forest Is Crying by Charles de Lint
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Mihalis (Valens Heritage Book 1)
Jan Stryvant - 2021
Or so the history books will probably say once someone gets around to writing them. All Mihalis knows is the world he has been raised into. It's not a bad world, as things ago, he has a big and loving family, but there is the ongoing 'war' that promises to be on-going for a good many years to come.Raised to the blade by his mother, and taught not only her ways as well as a good many of the ways of her people, but also the ways of his father's other wives, as well as the ways of his magic, Mihalis has had a very thorough education. Even if a fair deal of that education is in the arts of war.But all he really wants to do is to prove himself. To go out into the world and show that yes, he is his father's son, and that yes, he is his own man, to find his own way in the world.WARNING: "Mihalis" does contain many of those things that the previous series was known for: Bad jokes, poor modern culture references, obscure song references, violence, and yes, what you've all been waiting for: Sex. Now SOME PEOPLE don't seem to UNDERSTAND that these warnings are done as much as a joke as a 'Spoiler' alert, to alert the PRUDES that yes, like all MODERN science fiction and urban fantasy stories, there is Sex in the story! Heaven forefend that these quivering fragile flowers should read any modern romance! I dare say they'd die straight-away from the non-stop kinkfest that is modern romance!So SCREW THEM! YES! There is all sorts of sordid and kinky stuff that's been done while I wrote this book and most of it was done by YOU! You Dear readers! So let us NOT go into this cold dark night alone or afraid! Because we know what that dreaded noise in the shadows is! That Moaning and Groaning and the rattling of chains! That noise is US!(Have Fun).
The Assassins Guild Box Set
C.J. Archer - 2014
Archer's ASSASSINS GUILD series in a single volume at one low price. Each book in this box set is available separately, but by buying them in this bundle, you're getting a better deal! Contains THE CHARMER, THE REBEL, THE SAINT, THE SINNER. Praise for the books in THE ASSASSINS GUILD series: "as i started reading this book i thought i had made a huge mistake...as i am NOT a lover (usually) of 1598 time period! BUT...C. J. Archer not only pulled me into this book but the three books after this one. she had me "hook, line and sinker" by the end of the first chapter." ~ reviewer Ev "If you like well developed characters, colorful situations and lots of intrigue you'll love this series of books as much as I did. Buy them all, because you'll have to in the end." ~ reviewer Marcella THE CHARMER Orlando Holt has never assassinated a woman before. The lovely, feisty Lady Lynden will be his first. She's supposed to be a vicious murderess, but when Orlando begins to have doubts, he sets out to discover the identity of the person who hired him. What he learns will turn his world upside down, and propel him headlong into love with a woman who's immune to his charms. THE REBEL Cole is a mystery, even to those closest to him in the Assassins Guild. All anyone really knows for sure is that he's ruthless, grim, and cares little for his own life. So when he loses his memory during an attack and thinks himself a naive eighteen year-old again, no one can really believe the transformation. But as his memory returns, so do the nightmares and the dark reality of who he has become. When gentle-natured Lucy falls in love with the damaged stranger, she thinks him a smiling, amiable gentleman. But rumors of a murder in the nearby village have her suspecting that her patient may be hiding a terrible secret. THE SAINT Elizabeth Buckley has been in love with Edward Monk for most of her life. Unfortunately he's only ever had eyes for her older, prettier sister. Five years after he left the village to make himself worthy of a Buckley, their lives intersect. This time, she's determined to make him see her and bed her. All Edward has to do is convince the girl he loves to set aside her betrothed and wed him instead. When her betrothed becomes tangled in a web of lies and murder, it's up to Edward to untangle him. If only he could keep his mind on the task, and not get distracted by the wrong Buckley girl. THE SINNER Guilt and desire battle within Hughe's soul. When the enigmatic leader of the Assassin's Guild learns that the widow of one of his targets is at the mercy of a cruel man, he does the only thing left in his power to do. He marries her. Then the worst thing happens. He falls in love with her. With more than one person trying to kill him and a family to rescue, Hughe needs the help of all his Assassins Guild friends to stay alive and keep his wife from learning the truth. Because he knows, and dreads, what will happen when she discovers what he did.
Faerie Protective Services: An Urban Fantasy Thriller
Robert McKinney - 2020
I'm a half-orc, a bodyguard, and a fair hand with a rifle. Back in the day, I fought in two wars. One was in uniform for good ole Uncle Sam. The other was under the banner of The Erlking - Iron Lord of goblins, half-bloods, and orcs.Being a vet two times over never bothered me until one hell of a job dragged me out of the mortal world, and back to the land of Faerie. Now I've got to get my client over the US-Mexico border before the next best thing to a fairy goddess finds, enslaves, and kills us - though maybe not in that order.Think I can make it past the elves, gunmen, and magical forces of nature standing in my way?
Devil's Bargain
R.L. King - 2019
A suburban mom with two young children, her life revolves around her family, her job, and the comforts of home. So when her estranged, wild-child sister comes to her, begging for help and claiming a witch murdered her husband and wants to steal her baby daughter in payment for a long-ago oath, Tamara thinks she’s gone crazy. Until she turns up dead, and the baby vanishes without a trace. If Tamara’s going to get her niece back, she’ll have to expand her worldview fast. She’ll also need some expert help. But where can a normal, practical woman find help dealing with an evil witch? Fortunately for her, aid is closer than she thinks. Who better to give button-down Tamara a crash course in things that go bump in the night than Stanford occult studies professor Dr. Alastair Stone? At least he can offer some tips, even if she’s sure he can’t help her any other way. Because magic isn’t real…right? Welcome to the spooky side of the street, Tamara. Hope you survive the experience. Devil's Bargain is a short, standalone novel in the world of the Alastair Stone Chronicles urban fantasy series. Don't miss the rest of the series: Stone and a Hard Place The Forgotten The Threshold The Source Core of Stone Blood and Stone Heart of Stone Flesh and Stone The Infernal Heart The Other Side Path of Stone Necessary Sacrifices Game of Stone Steel and Stone Stone and Claw The Seventh Stone and two standalone novellas: Turn to Stone Shadows and Stone
Siren Call
Brad Magnarella
Vampires, dark fae, and exotic entertainers have set up shop, promising pleasures beyond the wildest imagination. But now male clients are turning up stiff … all over.Everson suspects a supernatural predator, even as the clues keep drawing him back to Tabitha: a mysterious call girl who is one hundred percent mortal. As he struggles to solve the case, Everson finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into her dangerously tantalizing world.Which is exactly what Tabitha seems to want...Prequel. Exclusive to newsletter subscribers.
A Vampiric Christmas Carol
Rick Gualtieri - 2012
I hope you enjoy it.
Roseland: Volume One
Eric Ugland - 2019
Without a disapproving mom to rebel against, what was the point?When she arrives back in her hometown, she finds a lot more going on than fancy food trucks and put-a-bird-on-it hipsters. Murders are being passed off as suicides. College-aged women keep going missing. And then there's the troubling spate of mobsters who keep inviting her out to eat. With a pile of cash saved from her last job and no one around to tell her not to, Ginger decides to become a private investigator, to find out exactly what's gone wrong in the City of Roses. First up: Her mother's "suicide."Included in this omnibus are the first six novellas in the series:
Home Is Where the Start Is
The Ruth Is Out There
The Body in the Pool
Amber Alert
Jane Dead
Welcome to Roseland
Praise for The Roseland Series:
"This heart-racing mystery is just dripping with snark. Ginger Mitchell is one of the best private investigators to hang up a shingle in years." "Ginger is a little bit Veronica Mars with daddy issues, fewer moral hang-ups, and a mom who is a not-so friendly ghost.""A slice of yummy cake. Quickly devoured and highly enjoyed."
Bog Roll Battles (Clovenhoof: The Isolation Chronicles #1)
Haide Goody & Iain Grant - 2020
100% of author profits from this edition of the book will go to The Trussel Trust, a charity that supports 1,200 UK food banks and provides emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, people who need help more than ever at this time.
The Waters and the Wild (Short Story)
Mercedes Lackey - 2005
But his reason for choosing this career was even less common, perhaps even unique. This story was first published in BEDLAM'S EDGE, Aug 2005.
I, Neil: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No. 8)
Mainak Dhar - 2014
That's the only name I have known for a long time. My mission is to follow and protect the yellow-haired girl called Alice. She was the one who gave us freedom, who united us, who showed that those like me, the ones you call Biters, are not monsters to be feared or animals to be hunted down. We live together now, us and the humans, in a place you know as Wonderland. The name doesn't matter. All I know is that I finally have a place I can call home. I have fought many battles and suffered many scars, and as new enemies threaten Alice and my home, I will have to fight again. But now I must fight the toughest battle I have fought yet. The battle to remember who I once was. For you see, now I remember I was someone before I became Bunny Ears.I am Neil and this is my story.
Alison Brownstone Omnibus #1
Judith Berens - 2020
And for Alison Brownstone that’s both a blessing and a curse.But it’s time for her to step out of her dad’s shadow and make a new name for herself.
On Her Own:
What’s the harm in taking a break from protecting the city for one date? Alison is about to find out…Bounty hunter license in hand and attitude in place, Alison is ready to house-train the city’s malevolent magicals.But even a Brownstone needs a little downtime!
Courting can be tricky when you’re busy taking out the neighborhood trash and facing off assassination attempts by power-armored goons.
My Name is Alison:
What’s stronger than magic itself? A Brownstone with a mission.Brownstone Security continues cleansing Seattle’s magical mobster underbelly while Alison draws strength from her trusted circle as she fights off the virus draining her powers.She uncovers the smuggling of magical pets and the harmful side effects of testing savage spells on humans and still has time to chase down her enemies.It’s dirty, dangerous work and leaves her friends the targets of vicious attacks.
The Family Business:
The Bitch is back.
Alison’s powers are restored, and her magic is sizzling
Dark Wizards gather in Seattle for a meeting. Alison isn't about to let them set up business in her town.Her friends have her back, even if one of them may be a traitor.
The Brownstone Effect:
When you want an Angel, call God. When you want someone to kick ass… Call a Brownstone.Alison and her team are looking to expand Brownstone Security. Good timing, too, as it sounds like something is brewing.An unexpected phone call sends Alison to D.C. where she meets up with an old friend.Danger follows this Brownstone, but it isn’t prepared for her counter.
The Dark Princess:
When a Power Broker is threatened, she knows who to call… a Brownstone.Alison and her team have to travel across the world to protect Abigail Wilson, CEO of Aeternum, as she negotiates for mining rights of a mysterious crystal. The simple escort mission turns deadly. They aren’t the only ones interested in the crystal’s power.
Pack
Lilith Saintcrow - 2014
Unfortunately, she’s going to find out that’s not quite enough…
The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Omnibus Three
Michael Anderle - 2019
Brownstone books 13-18
(including Vax Humana, One Epic Ring, Spontaneous Justice, Shadow of the Ring, The Horsemen Gather, War of the Four Worlds)Vax Humana:
James was raised by some good men. What would have happened if twisted cultists like the Brotherhood had found him instead of Fathers McCartney and Thomas?
It's time to find out more about the Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone.James isn't from Earth or Oriceran. Where he is from has been a question for years.Will we find out now, or will those who seek to kill what James can become win in the end?
One Epic Ring:
“But you haven’t taken brain damage. I don’t want to have to take the time to get to know you again. The first time was exhausting enough...”
Brownstone accepts a simple job and pisses off the most dangerous criminal in LA.Shay is approached by a powerful billionaire, one who knows her past.Now, Brownstone is ready to provide a beat down, but Shay is asking him for help. Does he stay in LA or fly (something he doesn't like to do) to Cambodia?
Spontaneous Justice
There is nothing to fear but the Vax Forerunner himself.
Or is that something only aliens fear?
Brownstone is at to a fever pitch to understand Shay and create something epic, so he makes a decision to ask someone hundreds of years old.The fight of his life and for his life is about to occur. Will he have a future when all is said and done?
Shadow of the Ring
James achieved something epic with his proposal. Now it is Shay’s turn. In planning the wedding, the tomb raider soon finds she sympathizes with what James had to go through. How does someone top something so special?The world’s mightiest class-six bounty hunter believes he’s conquered his amulet. The symbiont’s dark whispers no longer push him out of control, but a new enemy has decided LA should be his stomping grounds and threatens to break through James’ hard-earned discipline.
The Horsemen Gather
Barbecue is life. Everything else is just details.With his life settling into a comfortable routine and the criminals of Los Angeles finally accepting his power, James ponders a future of family and food rather than kicking bounties through walls.
Can a bounty hunter be happy as a pitmaster?
James’ idle thoughts of retirement are put on hold when a rogue group of government agents decides to go after the man they feel is the greatest threat to the country.
War of the Four Worlds
The government and the underworld have finally learned their lesson about not taking on James Brownstone, but some enemies will never learn.
Some enemies can only be destroyed.
James and Shay’s wedding is fast approaching, as is the bounty hunter’s semi-retirement. He’s ready to replace butt-kicking with barbecue, convinced he can have a life filled with something other than constant violence.
Wings and Shadows
Dominika Pindor - 2021
Unbeknownst to her, the use of magic reveals her location to the Qroes, a sadistic association intent on stealing the powers of individuals like her. With her ability far too new to control, she is caught, beaten, and thrown into a cell.She believes the metal lock has sealed her fate... until a winged boy appears outside her cell in the dead of night, whisking her away to Soratia—a world ruled by magic and roamed by griffin-human hybrids. To Lucianne, Soratia soon becomes home.When the Qroes land their hands on the Soratia’s most powerful asset, shattering the tranquility that had rested over the land, Lucianne takes it upon herself to stop them from wreaking more havoc onto her new home. But her powers are unreliable, and as more and more teens her age keep disappearing into the enemy’s clutches, Lucianne must make a decision: go after the enemy and risk death, or run away and hide, leaving thousands of lives to perish.
PERfunctory AfFECTION
Kim Harrison - 2019
Her new artistic style, born in the depression of her mother’s death, is poised to take the art world by storm, if she could just overcome the debilitating anxiety caused by the car accident that scarred her boyfriend, Austin. Encouraged by her therapist, Meg pushes outside her comfort zone to befriend Haley, a guest instructor at the university where Meg teaches. Haley is everything Meg wants to be: charismatic, confident, and perfect, but when Austin expresses his worry that Haley is changing Meg too fast and leads her to realize that Austin is trying to keep her afraid and needing him, Meg kicks him out of her life. Or at least, she tries.Kim Harrison, author of the number one bestselling Urban Fantasy Hollows series, brings to life a world terrifyingly near to our own, where what’s real and what shouldn’t exist twine together in the madness of a troubled mind desperate for a way out. But when the truth is revealed, the question remains, is it better to live a lie of perfection, or cleave to an ugly reality that will destroy you?