Medair


Andrea K. Höst - 2011
    Centuries too late.When friend and enemy have become the same thing, what use are the weapons Medair planned to use to protect her Empire? There is no magic, no artefact, no enchanted trinket which can undo the past.But no matter how Medair wishes to hide from the consequences of her failure, there are those who will not allow her the luxury of denying the present. Her war is already lost, but she carries weapons which could change the course of new battles.With the skirmishes of war beginning, and hunters in near pursuit, it is her conscience Medair cannot escape. Whose side should she be on? What is she really running from?From the Aurealis Awards judges' report: "You can read Silence of Medair for its strong, conflicted heroine, its playful subversion of fantasy tropes, or its deep, detailed analysis of the nature of racism. If not, just read it for the beautifully crafted prose."

Rhapsodic


Laura Thalassa - 2016
    For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want... at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken. If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

Bound by Duty


Stormy Smith - 2014
    She knows she's an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn't even know his name. Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she'll be.As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

Changeling Justice


Frank Hurt - 2019
     She does her job and keeps her true abilities secret—that is, until she discovers a dark conspiracy.They never should have underestimated her.Ember Wright hates high heels, steep staircases, and having to cook for herself. She lives mostly on instant noodles and old western novels. She sometimes chats with dead people.Newly-promoted to Associate Investigator, Ember is sent undercover on her first assignment to rural North Dakota. Mages and changelings have been living in harmony, hidden in plain sight among humans for centuries. But now a shadow is upsetting the balance.With time running out for the infected residents, she must root out the source of dark magic—or become its next victim. Ascending Mage 1: Changeling Justice is page-burning modern urban fantasy with a kick-ass heroine and magic that will grab you by the throat. WARNING: this story is written for mature audiences; it contains adult language and graphic depictions of violence.

Empress of Storms


Nicola M. Cameron - 2015
    A young queen and mage, unexpectedly married to the man she's loved since childhood. Two countries, divided by geography and united by a political marriage, are poised on the brink of a golden age. But will vicious magic and unexpected betrayal tear both the royal couple and their kingdoms apart?When King Matthias of Ypres has to fulfill a treaty and provide a royal consort for young Queen Danaë of Hellas, the only royal available for marriage is ... him. Can he risk letting a blue-haired witch queen into his heart?From political necessity, Queen Danaë finds herself marrying the man she secretly loves. Now she must win the heart of a king, prove herself as a mage, and defeat the enemies that threaten them both.

Falling Back


Mercy Celeste - 2019
    With few options in his field, he returns to the diner he’d worked at as a teenager. Waiting tables again was like rubbing salt in an open wound. Resigned to his fate, Chase puts on a smile to greet his very first customer. Divorced, children’s book author, Gavin Hayes was looking for a quiet place to write. The corner table at the diner down the street had the best afternoon light. He could grab a bite to eat and work on his manuscript in peace while he tried to salvage what was left of his life. He never expected the friendly smile of the new blue-haired waiter to spark something inside him that had grown cold. While Chase has no plans to stay. Gavin has no plans to leave. Can love at first sight, bring them together?

Christmas Lights


Amelia Andrews - 2019
    New home. New job. New town. She's moved in with her politically-active best friend from university who has promised to find Millie a date before Christmas.  When news that the local head of the council, Nightmare Nightingale, has decided that there will be no Christmas tree in the town centre that year, Millie is quick to pick up a placard and join the protests. After all, what is Christmas without a tree? But Millie soon discovers that Professor Kay Nightingale isn't quite the nightmare she is painted to be.  What will happen when Millie gets closer to Kay? How will she explain the confusing relationship to her friends? And will there be a Christmas tree in the end?

The Choice of Magic


Michael G. Manning - 2019
    It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite—a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses.But this will change, for the greatest power comes with knowledge, and the deeper teachings of wizardry have not been utterly lost. The last wizard of the old tradition still survives in solitude, nursing tired grudges and waiting for death.His passing might have gone unnoticed, but for the imposition of a youth too stubborn to accept his refusal to take an apprentice. With a new student comes new hope, and that hope has caused old powers to stir again. That the world will change is inevitable, but the shape of the future is anything but certain.

Undercover Magic


Linsey Hall - 2017
    Join the Undercover Protectorate. Or die. In a world of controlled magic, I’m an Unknown. Deadly power, little control. I’m only alive because I pay a Blood Sorcerer to keep me hidden. But when he comes to collect on the debt I can’t pay, one of his goons slams me with a deadly curse. Suddenly, I’m out of options and out of time.When I’m given a rare chance to join the elite Undercover Protectorate and train at their academy to become an investigator, I have a way to hunt the cure for the curse. They have resources I don’t. Easy, since I’m broke. Seems like a good plan, right? At least, until they tell me Cade will be joining me on my hunt for the Blood Sorcerer. He's an actual Celtic war god--and the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. The catch? I can’t let him know that I’m an Unknown, or I’m out on my ass and deader than Hades.Undercover Magic is a fast-paced urban fantasy with a kick-butt heroine, a tough hero, and magic that will knock your socks off.

Onyx and Ivory


Mindee Arnett - 2018
    It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.

The Archived


Victoria Schwab - 2013
    The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Beyond the Shadows


Angel Haze - 2019
    Determined to have his vengeance, Jarrett and his comrades guard the Black Wall, the only thing standing between Arcanthia and the seemingly endless waves of monsters hell-bent on destruction and death.Yet, when the shadowspawn launch an all-out assault, Jarrett is thrust into a battle of cataclysmic proportions. When darkness spreads and the death toll mounts, even the Shadowguard’s courage and skill may not stand against their evil.Will Jarrett survive the onslaught, or will the rising tide of darkness destroy his world?

Fallen Academy: Year One


Leia Stone - 2018
    Having black wings is not normal. 2. Selling her soul to the demons was a mistake. 3. Lincoln Grey is the biggest *** she's ever met … but not falling in love with him might prove impossible. When angels fell from the sky to war with the demons that ravaged Earth, their combined powers infected humanity. Now, the humans are assigned one of two fates, being either demon gifted or angel blessed.After wings sprout from Brielle's back at her awakening ceremony, she's sure she's an angel blessed celestial. It's not until she sees black wings that she realizes something is terribly wrong. Having sold her contract at a young age to save her father's life means she should be bound for Tainted Academy. That is, until a fallen angel unexpectedly fights for her to be accepted into Fallen Academy, the elite school for those that inhabit Angel City. She's immediately matched with her impossibly handsome celestial teacher, Lincoln Grey. Laying eyes on him, her first thought is that her time at the academy might actually be fun, but this theory quickly fades when she and Lincoln clash on day one. To further prove her admission into Fallen Academy is cursed, the entire school is thrown into chaos when an Abrus demon reveals that he knows Brielle's secret. Now, above all else, Lincoln must fight to protect her. To his surprise, the only thing more difficult than trying to save her … is trying not to fall for her.

Asylum


Jessica Lynch - 2019
     The fae are real. I just pretend they're not. Black Pine Facility for Wayward Juveniles. The asylum. It's a place where they stick troubled cases like me until we age out or they think they've fixed us.Newsflash: you can't fix what's not broken. And I may have been thrown into Black Pine when I was barely fifteen, but I'm not crazy.I'm cursed.Because the fae? They're real. Gorgeous, ethereal, mythical creatures who can't lie but are experts at twisting the truth. Just one touch, that's all it takes. Just one touch and the fae have power over you. Just one touch and your whole world can go up in flames.I was warned. He called himself the Shadow Man. With his raven hair and glowing silver eyes, he looked the part, too. He's the one who told me about the fae, who made me promise not to be tricked into giving up everything I have with the single touch of my hand. I'm... I'm not so good at keeping promises.Now I'm just about to turn twenty-one. I've kept my head down, constantly wearing my leather gloves as if that's not too little too late. At least they're finally letting me out of the asylum. I've done my time inside here, went through therapy, worked with my psychologists. I'm supposed to be released in two weeks.That's when Nine, the Shadow Man who once haunted my childhood, returns for the first time in six years with another warning—plus one hell of a surprise.There's a prophecy. The Fae Queen wants to get her hands on me because of it, and she has the power of the whole Seelie Court behind her. I'm screwed—unless I can hook up with the dark mate mentioned in the prophecy.Too bad I'd rather die than let another fae male touch me again. **For fans of Holly Black, C. N. Crawford, and the film classic, Labyrinth, Asylum is the first book in a planned trilogy featuring a wary & independent half-fae heroine, the Dark Fae who has shadowed her her entire life, and her quest to learn about who she really is and why the powerful Fae Queen wants her dead.

Retreat of the Kell


Christopher Mitchell - 2020