The Book of the Most Precious Substance


Sara Gran - 2022
    A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime. And a twist so shocking, no one will come out unscathed.After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written—if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can. Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris, searching the dark corners of power where the world’s wealthiest people use black magic to fulfill their desires. Will Lily fulfill her own desires, and join them? Or will she lose it all searching for a ghost? The Book of the Most Precious Substance is an addictive erotic thriller about the lengths we’ll go to get what we need—and what we want.

Until We Collide


Charlotte Fallowfield - 2016
    Fans of Bridget Jones will love this!" TotallyBooked BlogWhat do you get when you cross a neck brace, a jellyfish, and an encounter with a gorilla? Dating disasters only a quirky and fun woman could endure. With her thirtieth birthday fast-approaching, Paige Taylor knows she must get more than her toes wet in the dating pool. After all, she's spent way too long pining over Alec Wright, who's perpetually unavailable. Now, with some encouragement from her best friend, Paige is ready to take the plunge and find Mr. Right. But when a catalogue of catastrophic dates ensue, Paige questions what she's always wondered. Is Alec Wright her Mr. Right? An Amazon UK, and international, #1 bestselling contemporary romance, humour, and romantic comedy novel.

Frozen Hearts and Death Magic


Day LeitaoDay Leitao - 2022
    But Naia has wishes of her own. They awaken when she finds a white fae almost dying in the woods. She only heard of them in stories; the dreaded race that razed cities to the ground, killed her grandparents, almost rid Aluria of humans—until they disappeared. Now, almost twenty years later, are they back? Is there another war coming?But the fae is evasive and secretive—and also alluring and fascinating, more beautiful than anyone she’s ever seen. And then it happens: Naia kisses him—and nothing will be the same again.In another kingdom, Leah, a necromancer princess, has to find a husband in less than four days, during the gathering, when royals from all over Aluria meet. Her family makes it very clear that she can pick any prince she wants—except one: Naia’s brother. And it turns out that he’s the one; the one who makes her heart beat faster.Meanwhile, war looms over the land. One of the kingdoms is amassing immense power. The White Fae might be returning. Amidst it all, Naia and her brother struggle with newfound magical powers, family secrets, and most of all, their own treacherous hearts.Frozen Hearts and Death Magic is book 1 of the Duology Of Fire and Fae, recommended for readers 16 and up.

Miss Mabel's School for Girls


Katie Cross - 2014
    Determined to break free before it kills her, she enrolls in the respected school to confront the cunning witch who cast the curse: Miss Mabel.Bianca finds herself faced with dark magic she didn’t expect, with lessons more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Will Bianca have the courage to save herself from the curse, or will Miss Mabel’s sinister plan be too powerful?Miss Mabel’s School for Girls is the first novel in The Network Series, an exciting new fantasy collection. A gripping tale about the struggle to survive, it will take you to a new place and time, one you’ll never want to leave.

The Substance of All Things


Sam Harris - 2020
    Six years later, during the sweltering summer of 1968 in rural Oklahoma, Theo meets Frank, a Native American outcast, and learns that he has the ability to heal through his disfigured hands.As he explores the extraordinary, Theo desperately attempts to remain an ordinary boy. But when word of his gift spreads, Theo is shunned by the church for doing “the devil’s work.” He is immediately swept away by his Auntie Li, and into a world which ultimately threatens his life as he saves others’.Told from Theo’s perspective some fifty years later, it is through his work as a therapist with a broken woman that he musters the courage to relive the summer that haunts him.The Substance of All Things is the gripping, heart-wrenching, and often humorous tale of mentors and mothers and fathers, love and redemption, prophets and charlatans, miracles and faith._________________From The Substance of All Things...Suddenly, I felt a twitch in the palm of my left hand. Just the slightest tingle, a prickling really, so that I couldn’t quite discern if the feeling was painful or stimulating—like when water is so hot on the skin that it might be cold, the distinction cannot be made. Then my right hand twitched, sparkling to a tickle that felt like a fortune-teller following the lines of my destiny with a fingernail. The current splayed to my fingers, tiny jolts of something—something charged, even voltaic. But there was something more—a feeling inside of me that couldn’t be located in my physical body, as if a door which had always existed but had always been locked suddenly opened, slowly, to a secret place, and whatever was within engulfed me like a color I’d never seen; a feeling almost too large for my body, and my knees buckled at its enormity, but I would not fall. I knew that something beyond myself was happening like a dream and I dared not peek for fear that it would end.

Poison My Pretty: A Cozy Witch Mystery


Amity Allen - 2017
    The show gets canceled and she returns home to figure out how to harness the magic brewing inside her. Freaked out by these recent paranormal gifts, Poppy just wants to fit in, so when she’s asked to serve as a judge for the annual Bloomin’ Belles youth beauty competition she readily agrees. But when the pageant’s snooty director drops dead and Poppy’s friend is arrested,the former TV sleuth sets out to uncover the real killer, only to find…the business of beauty can be deadly.*Recipes Included*

Hollow Heathens: Book of Blackwell


Nicole Fiorina - 2020
    Cold and hollow.They said I shouldn’t go near him.Still, there was this aching pull to Julian Blackwell that I couldn’t escape.A nostalgic pull as if we’d been here before.

The Familiars


Stacey Halls - 2019
    None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.

Days of Hope, Miles of Misery: Love and Loss on the Oregon Trail


Fred Dickey - 2020
    For five months, and two thousand miles, the wagon train lumbers toward California on the Oregon Trail and into big trouble. The emigrants endure disease, dirt, and attacks from outlaws, and invaded Indians. Bitter strife erupts between ill-matched pioneers forced together by necessity.The 1845 wagon train is part of a vast westward movement; a monument to Americana that fascinates readers 175 years later.In one of the wagons is a heart-sick physician, Hannah Blanc, whose tribulations are Jobian: the suicide of a beloved husband, unfair denial of her medical career by graybeards of the profession, and a nightmarish new "marriage of necessity to a vile man named Ed Spencer.The guide is a hard-to-figure mountain man, Nimrod Lee, who knows the trail, but is also looking a man he needs to kill. Guilt over the murder of his Crow wife beclouds his conscience. Betrayal of his word to her chief father threatens his life. The killer of his wife is still out there.A love affair between Hannah and Nimrod is inevitable, but it's complicated, because for both, painful histories and mixed-up emotions make tall walls. The heart of the story is the pool of misgivings that threatens to drown their tenuous affair.The wagon train is a village of strangers locked together with no escape.Beyond all they must endure, the pioneers keep fighting, and keep coming. Those who make it are survivors; survivors with a great story to tell.

An Imperfect Witch


Debora Geary - 2013
    Now she's a hot young realtor with a great life, an awesome guy, and enough friends to chase away the ghosts of her past.Almost.The crystal ball has spoken - life isn't done messing with her yet. And neither is the need brewing in the eyes of the man she loves.The eve of Halloween approaches. And whatever the sexy poet realtor wants to believe, moving beyond your past isn't the same as facing the future.This is the first book in my new Witch Central series, featuring my well-loved clan of modern witches and those who love them. Light contemporary fantasy with a good dose of humor, a little romance, and characters you won't want to leave.

The Witch Hunter


Virginia Boecker - 2015
    But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.

The Trouble With Witches


Kristen Painter - 2019
    The sun never shines, the gates decide who enters, magic abounds, and every resident bears some kind of curse. No one knows this as well as raven shifter Deacon Evermore, who, like everyone in his family, has a curse. While his position as Shadowvale’s peacekeeper lets him use that curse for good, he’d rather live anywhere else. He stays for his family, but doubts he can last much longer.Fledgling witch Emeranth Greer is determined to escape her past and make a fresh start in Shadowvale with the aunt she’s never met. Her aunt and the town prove to be far better than she imagined. There’s no way Em is leaving this magical place. Especially when staying means more time with the handsome Deacon.But when Em’s troubled past catches up with her and nearly destroys the romance budding between her and Deacon, her instinct is to run again. Except there’s magic in the mix now and the town won’t let her leave. Only Deacon can save her, but can a cursed man clear her name…or will her history destroy them both?

Braiding Roses


Elise Stoltenbreck - 2021
    Things nosedive from bad to terrible when she finds herself in a shouting match with Gareth, resident doctor and her boss, on her first day.Between the love of her life urging her to return to Perth and a prickly, dismissive, and rude boss practically tossing her to the curb on day one, Mandy faces the coming year with thorns bared, determined to come out with her head held high. While she hones her doctoring skills in order to prove herself to the highly capable Gareth after their less-than-ideal first encounter, she might learn a little something about herself, too.

Every 9 Minutes


Christina Vitagliano - 2021
    This honest coming of age memoir begins in the late '60s and spans 30 years, showing how others who've experienced childhood trauma can stay true to themselves and use their pain to build a promising future.

A Discovery of Witches


Deborah Harkness - 2011
    Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.