Hard Magic


Laura Anne Gilman - 2010
    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….

Moon Tortured


McKenzie Hunter - 2014
    Protect the pack. And yeah, protect the pack.I have my own goal: Live a simple life and hope no one ever discovers that the quiet young woman next door turns into a wolf.All my efforts go up in flames when a vampire attack draws the attention of the Midwest Pack. The next thing I know, I’m staring down Ethan, a handsome and alluring alpha, as he demands to know what I am. Not who. What. The pack was warned that I’m not just a werewolf but a weapon—one that could be used against them.A weapon? Me? I’d love to dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity, but I’ve become the supernaturals’ Most Wanted overnight. The vampires have put a bounty on my head. A necromancer attempts to kill me in a room full of people. And a mysterious witch is watching me far too closely for comfort.The only thing standing between me and certain death is the pack, but we’re definitely not on the same page. I want to lie low, go back to my typical life, and live to fight another day, while their MO is “seek, confront, and destroy.”And depending on the answers we find, the enemy they destroy … might be me.

Spider's Bite


Jennifer Estep - 2010
    I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

Sunshine


Robin McKinley - 2003
    But there hadn't been any trouble out at the lake for years, and Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts. Vampires never entered her mind.Until they found her...

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant


Drew Hayes - 2014
    Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort.One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world, a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive.” Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess.

Sandman Slim


Richard Kadrey - 2009
    Or, if you’re James Stark, you spend eleven years in Hell as a hitman before finally escaping, only to land back in the hell-on-earth that is Los Angeles.Now Stark’s back, and ready for revenge. And absolution, and maybe even love. But when his first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than you’d expect, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.Resurrection sucks. Saving the world is worse.Darkly twisted, irreverent, and completely hilarious, Sandman Slim is the breakthrough novel by an acclaimed author.

Blood Wager


Connie Suttle - 2011
    Turned by rogues who wager her life, Lissa is running from her maker who is determined to kill her, hunted by the Council who has branded her a rogue and blackmailed by werewolves, who utilize her newly-developed talents for their own gain.

The Turning


Jennifer Armintrout - 2006
    I want to make that perfectly clear. But after my life turned into a horror movie, I take fear a lot more seriously now. I finally became Dr. Carrie Ames just eight months ago. Then I was attacked in the hospital morgue by a vampire. Just my luck.So now I'm a vampire, and it turns out I have a blood tie to the monster who sired me. The tie works like an invisible leash and I'm bound to him no matter what I do. And of course he's one of the most evil vampires on earth. With my sire hell-bent on turning me into a soulless killer and his sworn enemy set to exterminate me, things couldn't get much worse--except I'm attracted to them both.Drinking blood, living as an immortal demon and being a pawn between two warring vampire factions isn't exactly how I'd imagined my future. But as my father used to say, the only way to conquer fear is to face it. So that's what I'll do. Fangs bared.

Down These Strange Streets


George R.R. MartinConn Iggulden - 2011
    1 The Bastard Stepchild - George R.R. Martin 2 Death by Dahlia - Charlaine Harris 3 The Bleeding Shadow - Joe R. Lansdale 4 Hungry Heart - Simon R. Green 5 Styx and Stones - Steven Saylor 6 Pain and Suffering - S.M. Stirling 7 It's Still the Same Old Story - Carrie Vaughn8 The Lady is a Screamer - Conn Iggulden 9 Hellbender - Laurie R. King 10 Shadow Thieves - Glen Cook 11 No Mystery, No Miracle - Melinda M. Snodgrass 12 The Difference Between a Puzzle and a Mystery - M.L.N. Hanover13 The Curious Affair of the Deodand - Lisa Tuttle 14 Lord John and the Plague of Zombies - Diana Gabaldon15 Beware the Snake - John Maddox Roberts 16 In Red, with Pearls - Patricia Briggs 17 The Adakian Eagle - Bradley Denton

The Shadow Revolution


Clay Griffith - 2015
    But they’re going to need a lot more silver.As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

Dead in the Water


Hailey Edwards - 2016
    Her peculiar talent solves cases with a touch. She isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, but every bright star casts a shadow, and her deepest scars lurk just beneath the skin. A routine consultation goes sideways when a victim’s brother gets involved in the investigation. Riding the edge of grief, the warg will go to any lengths to avenge his sister’s death. Even if it means ensuring Cam’s cooperation at the jaws of his wolf. When the killer strikes again, Cam is caught between a warg and a hard place. To save the next victim, she must embrace her past. Even if it means dragging her darkest secrets into the light of day. This series is a spinoff of the author's "Black Dog" series.

Monster


Carmen Caine - 2014
    It’s all I've lived for. Revenge against those who stacked the cards against me from the start. But I’m changing the deck now. I’m getting even. Born to a vampire, I wasn’t supposed to survive—but I did.My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I’m the first of my kind. The JobTrapping a sixteenth-century Scottish Highlander of a vampire who just might be seduction itself.The TeamA firedrake with an attitude, a werewolf with a problem, and an imp in dire need of rehab.The BossA dangerously powerful warlock as handsome as sin.My Problem:Bluffing my way into a job, my first mission into the Charmed world opens a Pandora’s box of betrayal and secrets... along with attractions of the most lethal kind.

Vicious Circle


Linda Robertson - 2009
    Everything changes when one of Seph's friends is murdered. The high priestess of the local coven offers Seph an unbelievable sum to hunt down the killer, and Seph enlists the help of her wærewolf friends--including Johnny, the hunky 6'2" leather-clad singer for the techno-metal-goth band Lycanthropia. The attraction between them is dangerous, but nothing could be as lethal as the showdown that awaits them.

This Case Is Gonna Kill Me


Phillipa Bornikova - 2012
    Law, finance, the military, and politics are under the sway of long-lived vampires, werewolves, and the elven Alfar. Humans make the best of rule by "the Spooks," and contend among themselves to affiliate with the powers-that-be, in order to avoid becoming their prey. Very loyal humans are rewarded with power over other women and men. Very lucky humans are selected to join the vampires, werewolves, and elves—or, on occasion, to live at the Seelie Court.Linnet Ellery is the offspring of an affluent Connecticut family dating back to Colonial times. Fresh out of law school, she's beginning her career in a powerful New York "white fang" law firm. She has high hopes of eventually making partner.But strange things keep happening to her. In a workplace where some humans will eventually achieve immense power and centuries of extra lifespan, office politics can be vicious beyond belief. After some initial missteps, she finds herself sidelined and assigned to unpromising cases. Then, for no reason she can see, she becomes the target of repeated, apparently random violent attacks, escaping injury each time through increasingly improbable circumstances. However, there's apparently more to Linnet Ellery than a little old-money human privilege. More than even she knows. And as she comes to understand this, she's going to shake up the system like you wouldn't believe….

Once Bitten


Trina M. Lee - 2009
    She's drawn to him in the worst of ways. Together they create something wild, dangerous and binding. An extraordinary force greater than either of them alone. But it doesn't come without a price.Now Alexa is craving human blood and shying away from sunlight. And she doesn't know how the hell she's going to explain it to Shaz, the pack mate who's always been more than just a friend.When Alexa's ex and pack Alpha is framed for murder, he comes to her for help. She'd like to see him suffer but as the body count rises long buried secrets are revealed. Secrets that force her to face the ugly truth that not everyone is who she thinks they are.Not even her.