Book picks similar to
Beyond the Beast by Amara Luciano


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Beauty and the Beast


K.M. Shea - 2013
    A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin. Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. However, he has given up all hope of shattering the curse after several painful and failed attempts to break it. As such he has only disdain for Elle, leaving her to the devices of his bossy servants. This suits Elle perfectly as she dislikes the entire royal family, Severin included. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting pair, the chateau servants are determined to break the curse and spend the majority of their time pushing Elle and Severin together. After bonding over gardens, animals, and terrifying squirrels Elle and Severin show signs of friendship, and perhaps something more… But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. If they really want the love of a lifetime Elle, a loyal liar, and Severin, an indifferent beast, will have to use every trick they know to survive.

Falling for Them Volume 3


Amy Sumida - 2017
    Making their debuts are J.L. Akins, HK Khan, Desi Lin, TB Mann, and ZL Morris. Codename: Goldilocks by Amy Sumida Find fourteen missing women and apprehend an entire werewolf pack. No problem. It's just another mission for SCCIT agent Tempest Alexander, Codename: Goldilocks. At least, that's what she thought. Then she met the Medvedev brothers and all thought went out the window. Her Reasons by J.L. Akins Joey has learned the art of being invisible. With an abusive father at home and a bully at school, her goal is to fly under the radar. So why are the new guys suddenly determined to get to know her? And why does she suddenly want to be seen? Ivory’s Familiars by Montan Ash Ivory isn’t expecting the immediate and intense attraction to not just one, but all three of her new bodyguards. Seth, Ronan, and Vaughn are deliciously distracting. But distractions are the one thing she can’t afford, for one tiny slip could expose her for what she truly is; a witch. Sanguine by HK Khan Vampires 'came out' nearly a century ago, and have convinced the world that they are model citizens. There are official 'donors', and everything seems on the up and up. But that's not necessarily the case. There's a black market trade for blood slaves, where they try to strip you of everything that makes you human...even your name. Claiming Flame by Desi Lin Life isn’t easy, especially when Sera has to change schools every year. Add to that a dorm matron with a vendetta against her and life just about sucks. The only upside are the three boys who refuse to leave her alone, despite her prickly personality. But can Sera learn to let them in? Savor Life by TB Mann A chance encounter and a medical emergency bring Aria, Chad, Doug, and Jason together for their ten days of fun in the sun. Love is in the air, but can it really work when four are involved? Or are they doomed to suffer more loss in their lives? Benji’s Decision by ZL Morris After Benji and his best friends, Shayne and Morgan, rescue Arlia at their local club, they form a friendship with her that soon develops into love. But will the three friends follow their hearts or will they decide their friendship is too important to risk over a girl?

Fated: Cinderella's Story


Kaylin Lee - 2017
    Then it all blows up in her face—literally.A violent, anonymous force has been targeting commoners in horrifying attacks. Now they’ve set their sights on Cinderella. Either that, or she’s losing her mind. It doesn’t help that she’s falling for a mage who’s way out of her league.Just as she manages to recover from the attack that left her scarred and traumatized, the city’s mysterious enemy destroys what’s left of her future. But when they go after her family, they cross the line. The whole city is in danger now.How much is Cinderella willing to risk to save the city that has always hated her?—Fated: Cinderella’s Story is a magical fairy tale retelling filled with hope, sacrifice, and sweet romance. It’s the first book in the planned Destined series, a collection of overlapping fairy tale retellings all set in the same magical world.

The Unforgiven


J.L. Clayton - 2016
     Two years limited edition eBook. Get it while you can. Step into our twisted minds for six horrifying tales. Seeing Red, by J.L.Clayton All her life, Challis has been bullied by the people around her, and now the thin string holding her sanity intact has snapped...The only thing she sees is crimson. They say revenge is best served cold, but Challis will take hers: hot, sticky and red! Come along for one horrific ride as author J.L.Clayton takes a forsaken girl and turns her into a heartless killer. Seeing Red has never looked so frightening. Twisted Insanity, by R.L. Weeks Author R. L. Weeks brings you Twisted Insanity. It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. Jacob has been locked up for ten years, waiting for his chance to take his revenge on Gale, his ex-wife. After persuading the mental health team that he has recovered, he goes on a killing stint. Gale is about to find out the extent of his twisted insanity. Truth or Dare, by K.L. Humphreys Taken to a psychotic man's playground, Becca only hopes her husband can get help to save her, before she ends up like the others.The Missing Persons Unit team know that unless they stop a madman and find missing Becca, they will be finding body parts in the forest. Author KL Humphreys will have you looking over your shoulder wondering what is really going on in the minds of those you call family. Hell House, by Becca Moree A walk through the Hell House leaves Erin questioning if visiting the Carnival of Darkness was a good idea after all. The sounds pouring from the mouths of the actors in each room were just a little too good.A little too...real. Step into a world of unthinkable torture as author Becca Moree takes one innocent college student on a Halloween outing she will never forget. Poison Pen, by R.B.Wood Upset the author at your own peril. A young down-on-his-luck author makes a demonic deal to remove a few obstacles from his writing career and stardom. White Wedding: Reckoning, by Steven Evans Jen's best friend, Jess, is an emotional train wreck. Too weak and afraid of her abusive father and now forced to marry a man she doesn't love, Jess' life is spiraling out of control. Jen desperately wants to help her friend but... What's a doll to do? Steve Evans brings a wickedly sweet twist to a tale of friendship in "White Wedding: Reckoning".

Inkblot #1


Emma Kubert - 2020
    The cat threatens to unravel the fabric of the universe, doesn’t care, and just won’t listen!

Dark Lord's Answer


Eliezer Yudkowsky - 2016
    But whether it makes any sense or not, that's the reputation the Dark Lord has: If you approach the Dark Lord for help, he'll give you an answer and your goal will be achieved. The price is that his answer might violate the rules of righteous conduct. To put it another way, he's like an ancient wisewoman who lives in a high mountain cave and speaks in riddles, except that he's a villainous lord." The country of Santal is perishing, and nobody knows why. His country's plight has driven Prince Nama over far roads to consult the famed Dark Lord for answers. On arriving there, he finds a mightily muscled sage in black armor, just as the stories say. And, chained to the Dark Lord's throne, a mysterious slave-woman with round ears. Round ears? There's nowhere in the world where people have round ears, is there? Content warnings: sexual abuse, economics.

A Slice Of Life: Every Person Has A Story


Smita Das Jain - 2021
    An enthralling read!’- Shraddha Sahi, Author of Anamika Khanna Falls in Love & The Case of the Counterfeit CurrencyEvery human wears a mask. Behind the cheerful facade lies faith, hope, trust, love, despair, confidence, insecurity, et al. Everyone has a story. A DINK couple finding Work From Home a challenge... The Couple who wasn’t one... A rigid person who deviates from a lifelong habit... Two people who remain in touch for 35 years, without talking... A daughter who has sacrificed her dreams for her mother… A fictional potpourri of extraordinary narratives of ordinary people who have more to their everyday lives beneath the surface, these stories reflect myriad hues of human behaviour.From the author of the suspense thriller ‘The Lost Identity’ comes an anthology that touches the human heart. ‘The story is so well crafted that it keeps the reader intrigued from start to end, eager to know what happens next!’ - Review for Smita’s First Book ‘The Lost Identity’

The Mirror & The Meretrix


Andrew D. Mellusco - 2006
    Joined by Blackstone & Associates' newest addition and fervently ambitious trainee, Centaur Epona Brenwen, he must uncover the plot behind Abigail Hood's incarceration before royal assassins, Rose Red and Snow White silence her for good. Meanwhile Blackstone's lawyers, Sandman, Vincent Traum and, Fire-Nymph, Fury have their own problems as a seemingly innocuous insurance case involving a magic mirror turns deadly as a murderous and thieving band of seven Dwarf-Giants are released for lack of evidence.Could these two cases be linked? And what is the real identity of Hansel, murder victim and robbery witness? All the lawyers do know is that somebody wants the magic mirror and will kill to get it. Elliot Blackstone just might be facing the last case of his talented but young life.Blackstone & Brenwen - The Mirror & The Meretrix is an exhilarating legal thriller set in a fairy tale World-Tree, where peril lies behind every precedent and adventure within every adjudication. The term ‘magic circle law firm’ has never been so appropriate.For those lovers of all things lawerish, fantastical, and all manner of craziness in-between.(NEW) - Visit the fictional law firm from 'Blackstone & Brenwen' at http://blackstoneandbrenwen.weebly.com for new content and a digital flip book of the first 9 chapters!

The Princess and the Pea: A Very Short Tale


Diane Setterfield - 2013
    This is available for free from various retailers.

Division: A Collection of Science Fiction Fairytales


Lee S. Hawke - 2015
    A schoolgirl tries to escape her demons through virtual reality. A spaceship engineer mourns the loss of her daughter. Plunge into the cybernetic woods with DIVISION in seven searing new fairytales for the digital generation, brought to life by Hawke’s trademark haunting style.“If you like sci fi or dystopian work, you will enjoy DIVISION. All the stories have characters that you can sympathize with, and situations that will ring true. Excellent job by Lee S. Hawke on this collection, and I’d love to see more.”~ Michael Nail at gimmethatbook.com

The Sea Witch


S.J. Valfroy - 2015
    From birth she manifested the magical powers of a sea witch, just like her mother, Moira. But Serena does not want to be like her mother, cruel and selfish, so she rejects her magical powers. At least until her ever growing love for the unattainable Prince Triton pushes her to her breaking point. Just when it seems he’s taken notice, that she could actually win his heart, his mother, Queen Amphitrite, makes it clear her son will never marry a palace maid, much less the daughter of a sea witch with a seedy reputation. Serena’s dreams are slipping through her fingers, and she must decide if she is willing to embrace her magical powers and take her dreams by force. Magic could solve all her problems, or so she thinks, but at what price?

Five Glass Slippers


Anne Elisabeth Stengl - 2014
    . . but on the wrong girl? What happens when Cinderella is determined to oust an imposter prince from her rightful throne? Or when she is a cendrillon miner working from a space station orbiting a cthonian planet? What happens when Cinderella, a humble housemaid, is sent with a message for a prisoner trapped in a frightening fairy circus?Here is Cinderella as you have never met her before, wearing glass slippers and off on unforgettable adventures!WHAT EYES CAN SEE ~ BROKEN GLASS ~ THE WINDY SIDE OF CARE ~ A CINDER’S TALE ~ THE MOON MASTER’S BALL

The Best American Mystery Stories 2016


Elizabeth George - 2016
    The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 is a feast of both literary crime and hard-boiled detection, featuring a seemingly innocent murderer, a drug dealer in love, a drunken prank gone terribly wrong, and plenty of other surprising twists and turns.The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 includes STEVE ALMOND, MEGAN ABBOTT, MATT BELL, LYDIA FITZPATRICK, TOM FRANKLIN, STEPHEN KING, ELMORE LEONARD, KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH and others ELIZABETH GEORGE, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of twenty British crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his unconventional partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Her crime novels have been translated into thirty languages and featured on television by the BBC.  OTTO PENZLER, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstores solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies.

Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors


Todd Keisling - 2017
    The terrors of everyday existence are laid bare in this eerie collection of short fiction from the twisted mind of Todd Keisling, author of the critically-acclaimed novels A Life Transparent and The Liminal Man.Travel between the highways of America in “The Otherland Express,” where a tribe of the forsaken and forlorn meet to exchange identities. Witness the cold vacuum of space manifest in the flesh in “The Darkness Between Dead Stars.” Step into the scrub of rural Arizona and join Karen Singleton’s struggle to save her husband from a cult of religious fanatics in “When Karen Met Her Mountain.” Visit the small town of Dalton in “The Harbinger” and join Felix Proust as he uncovers the vile secrets rooted at the heart of Dalton Dollworks. And in the critically-acclaimed novella “The Final Reconciliation,” learn the horrifying truth behind the demise of the rock band The Yellow Kings.With an introduction by Bram Stoker Award-winner Mercedes M. Yardley and illustrations by Luke Spooner, Ugly Little Things will be your atlas, guiding you along a lonely road of sorrow, loss, and regret. This is going to hurt—and you’re going to like it.

Paws, Claws, and Magic Tales


H.L. BurkeAce G. Pilkington - 2018
    Sweet friends but stubbornly independent. Fluffy little murder balls with jellybean toes and razor-sharp claws. It's easier to answer what cats aren't than what they are.In this purr-fect collection, awesome authors pounce upon the challenge of the mysterious cat like the elusive little red dot it is. Curl up with sixteen stories all featuring our furry, frisky, fabulous feline friends. Inside, you'll find adorable house cats, majestic big cats, and imperious cat-dragons. You'll meet cats who are their owners' protectors, who help them find true love, and who tackle the challenges of caring for their clumsy human companions in hilarious, heartwarming, and harrowing ways. This fifth anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy features new and returning authors, dedicated to giving you the best in cat-related fantasy fiction.