Book picks similar to
Before the Bond by K.M. Shea


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A Pool for Company (Housekeeper series Book 2)


Matteson Wynn - 2019
    Lives on the line. A new magic user. What could go wrong? Finn Foster just found out that magic is real, she can wield it, and now she’s the housekeeper of a magical house. Sure, to wind up here, she’s had to survive homicidal hail spells, enchanted discoing cacti, and assorted hocus pocus. But now that she’s housekeeper, Finn is ready to settle in and embrace her new magical path.But Finn hardly has a chance to get her feet wet before she gets thrown into the deep end without any floaties. Between the house’s mysterious errands, unexpected guests popping in, and the council trying to rain on her parade, Finn is barely treading water. With time running out, and magical enemies everywhere, it's time for Finn to sink or swim. A Pool for Keeping, an urban fantasy that appeals to young adult and new adult fans alike, is the second book in the Housekeeper series. This addictive adventure transports readers to an enchanted world filled with unusual magical characters and the kind of strong female protagonist you want as a best friend. Fans of hard-to-put-down mystery suspense and humorous magical action adventures will love Matteson Wynn’s Housekeeper series. Dive into the magic and grab your copy today! Follow Finn’s adventures from the beginning! Book 1: A House for Keeping *Fans of the transportive magical realism in the Harry Potter series and the relatable heroines in the Mercy Thompson and Edge series will be drawn to Matteson Wynn’s smart, humorous urban fantasy.*

Warrior Academy: A Hiro's Journey - Episode 1


G.L. Rathweg - 2017
    Now in a world forever changed, a place where magic is real, and monsters have come to life. A place where magic and science blend with pop culture

That Time I Turned My Farm Into A Dungeon


S.A. Archer - 2021
    

The Darkness: A Short Tale of Uncommon Daring & Ultimate Defiance


Justine Avery - 2015
    Now, there's a reason to be. Lux and his younger brother Lunam enjoy the full freedom of the simple life and all the childhood adventures offered by growing up in a small village in a picturesque glen. Life is tranquil, peaceful, and just about perfect—except for one formidable fact... Every day is followed by night. And, with the night, comes the DARKNESS. Slowly shrouding the valley and relentlessly seeping into every nook and cranny on its nightly rampage, the darkness returns to feast on its victims. No man, woman, child, animal—or even, insect—is safe. The darkness consumes all; the darkness's hunger is never satisfied. When the sun falls from the sky, the villagers, young and old, must take to arms, guarding their homes, loved ones, and livestock with every ray of light they can muster. Even young Lux and Lunam are well-soldiered in their responsibilities to safeguard themselves and their parents during the nightly vigil, the nightly fight to live to see another day. It's always been this way—the truths and ritual passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. No one dares question why. Nothing can change the frightening fact of the lives of the villagers or emancipate them from their singular foe—nothing, except a child's imagination and a curiosity as immutable as the darkness's own appetite. There's just one truth guiding every man, woman, and child to strive to see another day: "Darkness Comes but Once a Night."

The Lady on the Road: An Urban Legend Short Story


Nick Herntier - 2019
    After leaving her friend's house, she decides she's going to prove to her brother that "The Lady on the Road " urban legend is just that...

Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions


Michael Czyzniejewski - 2012
    O'Leary to Barack Obama. "Flexing impressive literary chops, the beer vendor/creative-writing professor captures both the tough, defensive exterior and the vulnerable, often-broken heart of his city."— Timeout Chicago"Chicago, a page at a time. Michael Czyzniejewski gets right to the point in telling the city's stories." — Chicago Tribune"...Michael Czyzniejewski’s “Chicago Stories,” forty fictional monologues riffing on the common culture of the Windy City’s shared history, projected forward into a possible future. Not quite historical fiction—more like historical jazz." — Newcity Lit"In 'Chicago Stories,' Michael Czyzniejewski summons all of Chicago — its ghosts, living and dead, its heroes and fools, sinners and saints, its people and places and all of its occasions — and in these pages they have gathered, strange and unlikely bedfellows, to sing a new song for Chicago. It will twist your arm behind your back, this song. It will break your fingers."— Billy Lombardo, author of The Man With Two Arms and The Logic of a Rose: Chicago Stories

Sparks Fly


Nicole Falls - 2017
    A simple touch sending currents of electricity flowing through a body. The feeling of coming home. Friends become lovers. Strangers become soulmates. The chemistry ignited when two people are falling in love is undeniable. Over the course of five short stories, follow these couples on journeys of passion and discover what happens when they decide to let sparks fly…

The False Sun


R. Scott Bakker - 2012
    A story set in the far antiquity of Bakker's fictional world world of Eärwa, the setting for his Prince of Nothing and Aspect Emperor series.

Bad People: Four terrifying short novels of suspense


Jeremy Bates - 2018
    After a night out with his girlfriend in one of the country's remote provinces, he wakes to find himself in a pitch-black coffin—and quickly running out of oxygen. With only his cell phone and his own wits to rely on, it's a race against time to escape the claustrophobic death trap. SIX BULLETS The end of civilization arrived in the form of a giant asteroid thirteen months ago. For Burt James, a survivalist, it was not a complete surprise. He'd spent much of his adult life prepping for such a catastrophe. Consequently, while the majority of the population scoured the post-apocalyptic landscape for water and food, regressing into primitive killers, he bunkered down in his fortified hilltop home in a small town in the middle of the Australian Outback. But now he's out of food and down to his last six bullets, and he will have to make the most difficult choice of his life. THE MAILMAN Los Angeles, 1985. Never was the motto sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll more apt than the scene on the legendary Sunset Strip with the arrival of the underground Hollywood glam bands. While Mick Freeman, a record executive with a major label, works tirelessly to sign five toxic rockers whom he believes might flip the entire music world on its head, his wife, Jade, spends her days bored and alone at home, struggling with a midlife crisis that threatens to topple their twenty-year marriage. And then she meets the new mailman. Young and handsome, he sweeps her off her feet—straight into a nightmare the likes of which she could never have imagined. RE-ROLL In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you want: husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.

Devious: A 9th Circle Prequel Short Story


Carolyn McCray - 2012
    A serial killer is targeting single women.A challenging first case for Detective Darc and his new partner Trey.Can they catch the killer before more bodies pile up?

Shifter Overdrive


Scarlett Grove - 2017
    Smoking hot, game warden, Wyatt McCloud isn’t a homicide detective, but that’s exactly what he has to be when a shifter turns up dead in the forest he patrols... Bearly Believing (Bear Wardens #2) An infuriatingly sexy man... When research scientist and ardent environmentalist Summer Madison finds a dead grizzly in the forest, she's certain a nearby copper mine is to blame. Game warden Chance Baker isn't convinced, however. Summer's sure she can make him see reason... if he'll just stop melting her circuits for two seconds! His To Bear (Bear Wardens #3) A grieving grizzly... Bear shifter Brody Oberon is stunned to find his best friend near death, the victim of foul play. Filled with rage, the last thing Brody expects is to meet his fated mate at the hospital. The curvy doctor is everything he's ever wanted... at the worst possible time! Unbearably Stranded (Mystic Harbor #1) In her quest to find the last ingredient to her summoning spell, Vivian meets Laurence, the broody grizzly bear fisherman. Laurence has no interest in helping a witch with her magic, but Vivian convinces him to take her out to a small island out at sea. Caught in a magical storm, Vivian and Laurence are shipwrecked. Coming together to survive in spite of their differences, Laurence and Vivian heat up the cold nights while stranded on the island! Her Two Alphas (Mystic Harbor #2) Curvy Lucy Zimmer is having trouble at the office. Her boss can't seem to keep his hands off. Confused and frightened, Lucy decides to take a day trip to the coast to clear her head. While hiking an unfamiliar trail, she gets lost. Just when she thinks she'll be eaten by wolves, two gorgeous men walk out from between the trees! Cat Scratch Fever (Mystic Harbor #3) After curvy magazine editor Makayla Phillips is run off an icy road, she is caught in the snow storm of the century. With a head wound and a badly sprained ankle, Makayla is lucky that mountain man Ronan Harding found her. They are from worlds so far apart, being together is impossible. Will they meet in the middle or will they lose what they want most? His Lion Blood (Mystic Harbor #4) When curvy hafling vampire, Isabella Amador, saunters into mountain lion shifter Ashton Harding's tattoo shop, he can't get enough of her sexy scent. Unfortunately, there's a taboo against fraternizing with vampires, making Isabella strictly off limits! Dragon Princes Of Endor; Complete Collection; Parts #1 To #4 (Dragon Princes Of Endor #1) After leaving everything behind, Dani Storm takes to the road in an RV. When she steps into a cave, deep in the forest, her life is changed forever. Conyac and Trav are dragon shifter princes with a problem. There are no female dragons left in their world. Without a queen, neither can become king! Bear His Love (Midnight Sun Shifters #1) In the wilds of Alaska, anything is possible. Even happily ever after. Ginger Allen has come to Alaska to scatter her father’s ashes - and follow a treasure map he drew for her on his deathbed. First, though, she has to hire an experienced backcountry guide to take her to her father’s remote property... Bear His Baby (Midnight Sun Shifters #2) Ella May is coming home to Juneau for the first time in a year and a half. With a baby in tow and running for her life, pride is not an option. When Tate’s fated mate left him a year and a half ago, he didn’t believe he’d ever recover. Maybe it had been a mistake to keep the truth from her for so long, but he’d only been trying to protect her! Warrior Witch And Raven (West Coast Witches #1) Everyone has a talent. Mine is death. I'm Olivia Fanning. It's been five years since I got my father killed. My family hates me. And Raven? I can't even think about facing him again! Spirit Moon; Complete Collection; Parts #1 To #3 (Spirit Moon #1) Jane is a recent college grad with a strange gift- she sees things in her dreams. After she wakes up from a dream of her boyfriend cheating, she realises she's in need of a change...

Black Gate Tales


Paul Draper - 2020
    A disused London Underground lift goes way beyond the bottom floor.A psychic boy discovers what terrors are buried in the fallow field.A handshake seals a midnight fate in an old farming dispute.A corpse must be buried by dawn.BLACK GATE TALES: Fourteen short stories of dread, hope, death and wonder.

The Circle That Whines: A CHRONOS Origins Short Story


Rysa Walker - 2020
    For the one canine who lives inside a CHRONOS field, they’re a major headache. Can Daphne find a way to save her pack from the Circles-That-Whine?

The Weird Fiction Megapack: 25 Stories from Weird Tales


Steve Rasnic Tem - 2014
    Included are works by many famous authors, such as H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Manly Wade Wellman, E. Hoffmann Price, Tennessee Williams, and many more—with an emphasis on great but less-well-known stories that readers may not have encountered before. "To Become a Sorcerer," by Darrell Schweitzer (included here) was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.Included are:BOY BLUE, by Steve Rasnic TemTAP DANCING, by John Gregory BetancourtTO BECOME A SORCERER, by Darrell SchweitzerTHE GOLGOTHA DANCERS, by Manly Wade WellmanTHE DEATH OF ILALOTHA, by Clark Ashton SmithTHE SALEM HORROR, by Henry KuttnerTHE DISINTERMENT, by H.P. Lovecraft and D.W. RimelTHE SEA-WITCH, by Nictzin DyalhisVINE TERROR, by Howard WandreiTHE PALE MAN, by Julius LongWEREWOLF OF THE SAHARA, by G.G. PendarvesTRAIN FOR FLUSHING, by Malcolm JamesonTHE DIARY OF PHILIP WESTERLY, by Paul ComptonMASK OF DEATH, by Paul ErnstTHE GIRL FROM SAMARCAND, by E. Hoffmann PriceTHE MONKEY SPOONS, by Mary Elizabeth CounselmanTHE VENGEANCE OF NITOCRIS, by Tennessee WilliamsTHE NINTH SKELETON, by Clark Ashton SmithBIMINI, by Bassett MorganTHE CURSE OF YIG, by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia BishopTHE HAUNTER OF THE RING, by Robert E. HowardTHE MEDICI BOOTS, by Pearl Norton SwetTHE LOST DOOR, by Dorothy QuickDOOM OF THE HOUSE OF DURYEA, by Earl Peirce, Jr.IN THE DARK, by Ronal KayserAnd don't forget to check out the other volumes in this series, covering science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, westerns, single author collections -- and much, much more! Search this ebookstore for "Wildside Megapack" to see the complete list.

Joined


Mel Todd - 2021
    But a wedding for your best friend has it's own certain brand of joy. Jo and Sable are getting married and I'm going to be their Person of Honor.Easy, right?Between defending my dissertation, dealing with wedding plans gone wild, freaking out brides, and my own miss givings, it's going to take a miracle to get us all to the altar.But sometimes just loving someone is enough. If I have to use magic to make it perfect, I will.This is a novelette set in the Twisted Luck series. It is best read between Inherited Luck and Drafted Luck. Get ready for some tears and remembering that love doesn't have a defined form.