Recent college grad, magic user and severely unemployed. Until I got a call out of nowhere to interview for a job I hadn't applied for. It smelled fishy, but the brutal truth was I needed the work—so off I went.Two days later I'm a PUPI—me and Nick, Sharon, Nifty and Pietr. Five twentysomethings, thrown into an entirely new career in forensic magic.The first job we get is a doozy: proving that the deaths of two Talents were murder, not suicide. Worse, there are high-profile people who want us to close up shop and go away. We're sniffing out things they'd rather keep buried.Looks as if this job is gonna get interesting. The only problem is, we're making it up as we go along….

    Just another delightful day in Big Little City. As I huddle on the floor, I know I shouldn't complain. After all, the regular villain attacks keep the rent low, and the City Council even subsidizes the local college tuition. It's the only reason I can afford to get my degree.   The problem is that the heroes are better at showboating for the cameras than trying to save us hapless civilians. As if to make my point, a hero leaps through the window just above me. When the glass shower is over, I peek between my fingers and get an eyeful of glowing orange boots and a muscled body wrapped in the most highly modified suit that crypto currency can buy.   As I pick glass out of my hair, the hero bellows, "Worry not, young lady. Shine is here to save you!"    Ugh. Save your cheesy lines for a different damsel! Welcome to Big Little City, a semi-reality town where everyone who isn’t already a hero or a villain wants to become one. Well, almost everyone... Alice just needs to keep her head down, earn her college degree, and then she’ll finally be able to escape this crazy place and find a real job. Too bad a super scary villain just blew up the restaurant where she works and her paycheck along with it! Now Alice finds herself running low on funds and employment options. Her tuition bill is due, and the university doesn't take promises or tales of woe.   As luck would have it, one of the town’s most famous villains is holding henchmen auditions. The gig would earn Alice the money she needs; all she has to do is betray every instinct and play the "Fame Game" she despises.   Oh, and she’s also got to beat out the other competitors who might just kill for the limited henchmen spots.   Author J Bennett is back with a brand new, action-packed superhero series. With a keen social eye and her trademark wit, J Bennett weaves a story of a futuristic world where good and evil are both beholden to ratings. Is Alice willing to risk life, limb, and her integrity to land the role of a lifetime and the juicy paycheck it brings?   Find out why it's so much fun to root for the henchman!

    These towering barriers keep the Deadlands creatures at bay, but the monsters move higher into the peaks every year. More and more, they breach the defenses of the Lowlands while the Highlands rest easy. A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob's closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city's elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.

     When I killed my brother, the Big Guy burned a mark into my skin and set me to wandering until the end of time. That was a while ago, and I think I’ve used my forever pretty well. Bagged a few women, saved a few lives, and gotten myself into and out of more trouble than I care to remember. But something’s happening now. Evil forces are circling the wagons, and something sinister is getting ready to make a play for the big time. And, of course, it has me in its crosshairs. When I said I wasn’t my brother’s keeper, I had no idea how wrong I was. By now you've probably figured out my name. But don’t say it. Bad things happen when people say my name.

    As a pal-tee, a distant cousin to the dwarves, he, and all others of his race, absorb traits from the very first item they touch upon birth. Instead of absorbing the essence of stone, or steel, like most others in his town, Zundy accidentally absorbed those of a beetle. Those who are different, are often treated poorly, and for Zundy, this was no exception.His time in the small town is coming to an end though. The Great Journey, the time when all pal-tee youths of age set out in search of their race's most valued treasure, is upon them. Beyond his small town, Zundy will discover a world far grander and fantastic than he ever could have imagined.Travel to the Green Sea, the last know sighting of the Viridian Core will be far from easy. Before he can even lay eyes on the sprawling ocean, Zundy will first need to pass through the Giantlands, and with powerful Guardians blocking his path, the task seems impossible. Zundy was never one to give up and quit though, and to him, there is no greater thrill than facing a challenge and coming out the victor.Warning: This book contains GameLit elements, such as stats sheets, a form of leveling and experience gain.

    (Approximately 250,000 words.) Books Included:1. Crystal Magic2. Wild Magic3. Circle MagicCrystal MagicWhen tragedy forces Kristyl Barnette to move to the small town of Clearwater with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. She catches the attention of Owen Marsh, who accepts her without question and who may be able to understand her better than anyone.But Owen isn't the only one who notices her. The mysteriously alluring Fox Holloway draws Kristyl's eye whenever he's around. And Clearwater High's chief mean-girl, Crystal Jamison, has her sights set on Kristyl and will stop at nothing to prove what Kristyl really is.A witch.Magic can be as dangerous as fire, and Aunt Jodi wants Kristyl to have nothing to do with it. But when a mysterious illness threatens her aunt's life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?Wild MagicKristyl Barnette's life was finally coming together. But one spell changed everything.When people begin dying mysteriously, Kristyl must form new alliances with old friends in order to prevent more deaths--and to save the circle from destruction.Power comes at a price. Will Kristyl be able to pay it before it's too late?Circle MagicIt's only a matter of time before everything Krissa Barnette knows and loves is destroyed.Her father, absent for five years, returns to reveal the reason he left was to learn how to defeat a dangerous foe. His mysterious companion, Anya, possesses a wealth of knowledge about the fight but conceals many secrets.But Krissa has secrets, too, including the reason why she and Owen Marsh have a connection. And it's difficult to keep the truth from Fox Holloway now that the three of them are linked by a binding ritual.It's a race against time to enact the spell that will rid the world of Seth once and for all, but with threats coming from all angles, will Krissa and her friends succeed?

    The Black Heart Clan assassins have hunted him ever since. In the six years that have passed, King Braxion continues his ruthless tyranny against citizens and neighboring Kingdoms alike. He controls the dragon nobility through powerful spells of beast shamanism cast by the Hakkadians, sorcerers from the northlands.Princess Sebine, the girl the King believes is his daughter, plots to one day break free from the palace and discover the mystery behind her true father. Tempted by the lure of sorcery, she studies in secret with the Hakkadians in the palace dungeons. When a merchant from the east delivers her the Ring of Galdora as a gift from the Elven Kingdom of Drazal'tan, the course of her life will change forever.At the author's request, this book is offered without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    . .Demon patrol officer Ella Grey was pronounced dead after an accident on the job. Eighteen minutes later she woke up on a gurney bound for the morgue. But she didn’t return to the living alone. The soul of a reaper followed her back from the grave, and it’s not just along for the ride. The reaper gives her glimpses of the brother she feared was dead, but it's also trying to use her for its morbid work. The reaper could be her biggest ally in her battle for her brother, if it doesn't eat her soul first.Perfect for fans of Kim Harrison, Seanan McGuire, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and Jim Butcher!Ella Grey Series (series is complete):Stone Cold MagicDark Harvest MagicDemon Born MagicBlood Storm Magic

    With control over the elements, he can burn through bounties almost as fast as the Ministry can issue them—much to the chagrin of the Motor City’s other hunters. But after a group of vampires taints him with their blood in an effort to turn him, collecting bounties is the least of his worries. News of Sebastian’s vampire infection spreads through the city like Hellfire. Now he has a contract on his own head, and his rivals see an opportunity to take out their biggest competition. He can expend magical energy to keep the infection from blazing through him, but fending off constant attacks at the same time requires more power than even he can muster. Weakening daily and hunted wherever he goes, Sebastian scrambles to find a cure—before this fight for his life leaves him undead.

    I should be at my father's side as a royal princess. But as a half-breed, bastard child, that isn't going to happen. I've been accused of attacking the queen, my wicked stepmother, and my life is suddenly on the line. I have only two options left to me: banishment, or training to become one of the King's Elite Guards, an Ender.Option one will kill me.Option two is meant to break me, but it's the only way to survive.Did I mention I have no power like the rest of the elementals, and my connection to the earth is worth next to nothing?Could things get any worse? Of course they can. Welcome to being an Elemental.

    Yet the specter of civil war haunts the ravaged land—and a specter more fearsome still. For the demon, though defeated, was not destroyed. And now its vengeful spirit has found an unholy sanctuary.The elf-trained ranger Elbryan Wynden presses north to reclaim the savage Timberlands from retreating goblin hordes. His companion, Pony, mistress of gemstone magic, turns south to the civilized—but no less perilous—streets of Palmaris. Suddenly they find themselves caught up in a ruthless power struggle to decide the fate of all Corona—a struggle that will push their courage and love to the breaking point . . . and beyond.

    But New York City isn’t what it used to be, and I don’t mean the recent crash.Amateur casters are calling up creatures they shouldn’t be able to. And there’s been a murder at the city’s most hallowed cathedral, a message in blood on the victim’s back the NYPD wants me to interpret, like yesterday.Something tells me I’m in over my head. And that’s not just Chinatown’s newest mob boss, a scary-powerful vampire, or my possessed cat talking.No matter how much magic I hurl, worse keeps chasing bad, and I’m amassing enemies like they’re aluminum cans.Did I mention the end of the world might be nigh?Damn. Maybe I’m the amateur here.

    Work at her diner never ends, her two boys are bundles of energy, and she’s pretty sure her oldest is about to shift into something furry or feathery. Added to that, changes seem to be coming to the tiny town of Cambio Springs—big changes that not everyone in the isolated town of shapeshifters is thrilled about.Caleb Gilbert was looking for change, and the quiet desert town seemed just the ticket for a more peaceful life. He never counted on violence finding him, nor could he have predicted just how crazy his new life would become.When murder rocks their small community, Caleb and Jena will have to work together. And when the new Chief of Police isn’t put off by any of her usual defenses, Jena may be faced with the most frightening change of all: lowering the defenses around her carefully guarded heart.Shifting Dreams is the first novel in Cambio Springs, the new paranormal romance series from Elizabeth Hunter, author of the best-selling Elemental Mysteries series.

    When an oil rig drills too deep under the Gulf of Mexico it breaks the capstone separating our world from the UnderRealms - home to monsters, daemons and dark magiks. The nightmares of our long ago come flooding back into the world where they are met by automatic weapons fire, heating seeking missiles (they're hell on dragons, don'tcha know) and one drunken, dissolute son of a bitch called Dave. But this is not Dave's story. This is the story of the poor bastards who had to put up with him while he saved the world and acted like a jerk.

    Marshal will be the first to show you hers in this sweet and sexy story of celebration and connection from #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. Anita attends the wedding of her close friend but finds that even on the happiest of days there are wounds that need healing. She and the wereleopards Micah and Nathaniel are asked to talk to the bride’s thirteen-year-old brother, Tomas, who is struggling to recover from a recent gunshot wound. Depressed and demoralized, Tomas isn’t doing his physical therapy and could spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair… How can Anita, Micah, and Nathaniel convince Tomas that he can heal when he’s given up? They tell him about their own scars and how they took back their own lives after they were wounded. And Anita will realize how lucky they are to have not only survived their pasts, but to now be able to make their own formal commitment to each other— and the vampire in her life…