Facing the Sun


Carol Beth Anderson - 2018
    At age fourteen, her magic awakens, but her uncontrolled power nearly destroys her school, leaving her confidence as shaken as her surroundings. Tavi and her friends train to use their gifts, unaware of the threat developing in a distant city. Dissidents have banded together, and they’re killing to attain gray magic, an ominous new force that breaks the rules of ordinary magic. But to seize true power, the Grays must grow their ranks—and Tavi is a prize worth pursuing. In a fight where confidence is as crucial as strength, even extraordinary gifts aren’t sufficient. If Tavi is to prevail against the Grays, she must find a courage that goes deeper than magic itself. Here’s what early readers are saying: “Facing the Sun kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. I fell in love with the characters (especially Tavi and Tullen). It was clear to me that the author was a masterful storyteller.” -Sarah Lentz “The Sun-Blessed Trilogy was one of the most exciting, breathtaking, and heart-stopping series I’ve ever read! Readers of all ages will enjoy this wonderful series.” -Madysun Waldrop “Face it! You won’t be able to put these books down. Order them as a trilogy. You’ll want the next one at your fingertips when you finish the first one.” -Brenda Elliott “Facing the Sun introduced me to wonderfully complex characters. Anderson creates characters you want to know and a world you might even want to live in!” -Kim Decker “I thoroughly enjoyed the Sun-Blessed Trilogy. Following Tavi and her friends through their journey of growing up, getting stronger and wiser kept me on the edge of my seat. All along I was either rooting or crying for them. Made me wish I were born blessed too!” -DeDe Pollnow

The Killing Moon


V.J. Chambers - 2013
    But she does.Six months ago, werewolf tracker Dana Gray barely escaped from Cole Randall, the wolf serial killer who kept her in his basement torturing her. Toying with her. He almost killed her, but he couldn't. He let her live.Now, she finds herself obsessed with Cole. His voice haunts her, hypnotic and liquid, flowing through her, both horrifying and arousing. She can't shut him up.At her job, she struggles with a bewildering case in which rehabilitated werewolves are going astray and killing again. From his maximum security cell, Cole claims he has all the answers. But he'll only talk to Dana.Maybe Cole knows something. Maybe he doesn't. Dana doesn't know. She only knows she's grateful for the excuse to go to him. And once she hears his voice again, she'll do anything to see him, whether it helps the case or not.

Scottish Rite


Stephen Penner - 2011
    American graduate student Maggie Devereaux fulfills a life-long dream when she travels to Scotland to study abroad. Her dream turns to a nightmare, however, when a serial killer begins murdering women at the school. When Maggie discovers a lost book of Highland magic, she grows convinced the killer is following an ancient rite for summoning a demon. Maggie will have to open her mind to the possibility that the magic in the spellbook is real... because the magic may be the only thing that can save her from becoming the killer’s next victim.

Inn at Raven's Crest


Salem Marlowe - 2017
    When the opportunity arises, the two jump at the chance to make this dream a reality. They find an old Victorian home that has been vacant for many years and believe this is their chance to fix up and open the Inn at Raven’s Crest. Maggie quickly learns of the ghosts still living in the house. She befriends them; talks to them; helps them find peace, and offers a way to get to the other side. As the first guests arrives, so does an awful storm which puts out the roads, the power and the internet, thus leaving all of the guests captive at the Inn. When one person is found murdered, and then another, everyone is frightened and not sure who to trust and who the murderer is. There are many signs that point to one and then another suspect before the final chapter is revealed. Inn at Raven’s Crest by Salem Marlowe has a plot we may have read before, but the characters and the events are brand new and kept me glued to my Kindle. Each time I thought I had solved the mystery, another twist changed my mind. I couldn’t help but root for Maggie and Lee and for the future success of the Inn. Each character was well portrayed and had all the human characteristics of good and evil in them. I would love to see what happens when the next set of guests arrive at the Inn. It would be an awesome TV series with new guests arriving weekly. I highly recommend reading Inn at Raven’s Crest; mystery fans will not be disappointed. Two friends buy an abandoned Victorian house and turn it into a bed and breakfast. Before renovations are completed they discover their home has come complete with ghosts, and an old, unsolved murder. Can they solve the mystery and get the ghosts to leave? Or will they get caught up in a new set of murders, ones that are decimating their guests?

Dawn's Promise


A.W. Exley - 2018
    Her lonely days are filled by drawing fanciful landscapes and nurturing plants. When tragedy strikes, she finds herself alone and penniless with only one talent—a green thumb. Jasper, the Earl of Seton, is in need of a gardener to reclaim his derelict estate in the remote west of England. He expected a robust commoner, not a fragile young woman. With the next train a week away, Dawn has one chance to change the earl's mind and earn her place. But all is not as it seems at the ancestral manor. The estate is full of secrets, ravens cluster on the parapets, and a ghostly young woman cries out at night. This garden conceals a rotten heart, and it plans to squeeze the last beat from Dawn's...

The Dolocher


European P. Douglas - 2014
    It struck fear into the people of the city. They never knew what he looked like for sure, rumours were abound of a giant black creature that could walk on hind legs and moved silently in the darkness It was said that the beast carried the soul of Thomas Olocher the crazed murderer who had taken his own life in the towers of ‘The Black Dog’ prison and it carried on his murderous legacy looking for the girl who had put him in prison.

Thieves' Honor


Jamaila Brinkley - 2016
    But he’s always hidden in his library, too shy to emerge into society from the shadow of his larger-than-life friends and family. When he’s asked to investigate a crime, he seizes the chance to prove that he’s as cunning and brave as anybody. But he’s quickly out of his depth in London’s underground; especially when he’s confronted with the prettiest thief he’s ever seen. Em Stackpole lives an in-between life; she grew up on the streets, but preys on the Ton by using her skills at illusion to fit in among them at elegant Mayfair events. When Lord Westfield asks for her help finding a missing jewel, she strikes a bargain: she’ll help him learn to think like a criminal if he’ll teach her the magic she needs to get off the streets for good. Falling in love was never part of the deal. But as Em and Thomas navigate magic, Mayfair, and Thomas’ charmingly interfering family, she’ll discover secrets she never knew she had, and the wizard and the thief will have to decide if they can ever be more than just partners-in-crime.

Apprentice Quest (Ozel the Wizard #1)


Jim Hodgson - 2018
    An incredible wizard. One boy must do the impossible to change his life forever… Ozel wonders if he'll ever escape his angry, fat caretaker. As the orphan hopes for a better future, a mysterious wizard gives him the gift of an apprenticeship and some unbelievable magic. But when Ozel discovers he's the lone heir to a massive fortune, he'll need more than a few spells to claim it. After learning his portly caretaker plans to steal the money first, Ozel races through a forest of blacksmiths, witches, and even the undead to protect his birthright. If he survives the treacherous Tangul forest, the orphan and his wizard may just have to stop a twisted mage to go from zero to wealthy hero. Apprentice Quest is a young adult fantasy novel full of action and humor. If you like powerful wizards, twists and turns, and coming-of-age tales, then you'll love Jim Hodgson's worthy successor to the magical genre. Buy Apprentice Quest to cast an entertaining spell today!

Ringmaster


Trudi Jaye - 2014
    Just as she’s thrust into the role of Ringmaster after her father’s unexpected death, an old family friend turns up to challenge her birthright. Her rival's sexy son Jack isn’t helping either. Despite being a greenhorn and an outsider, he's intent on charming everyone, convincing them all that Rilla isn’t up to the task of leading them through these tough times. But Rilla must also contend with another threat—the ongoing sabotage that has been disturbing their delicate magical balance and threatening to destroy the Carnival. All signs are pointing to an insider, making it impossible to know who to trust. To save her beloved Carnival, Rilla must do everything she can to find the saboteur before they attack again. But if she takes her eye off the battle for Ringmaster—even for a second—she risks losing everything she's trained for her entire life.

Restless Spirits Boxset (Meade Mansion #1-3; Riley Watson #0-2)


Skylar Finn - 2019
    a mansion overlooking a bluff... an unsolved murder that has gone too far. The Haunting of Meade Mansion (1,2,3) One couple must unearth the secrets of a small-town murder before it's too late. Emily thought she was leaving her money troubles behind when she inherited an old house from her great aunt who went missing the previous year. When she and her husband Jesse arrive at the house, they discover Aunt Matilda was murdered--and the culprit is still at large. Guided by the ghosts of Matilda and the orphans she raised, Emily and Jesse must catch the criminal and save themselves before it's too late. The Haunting of Riley Watson (1,2,3) by Alexandria Clarke When Lucia Star, a fake psychic and desperate for cash, takes a job at a ski lodge in the mountains of Vermont, she ends up in the middle of a real-life haunting. Soon, the ghosts are out in full force, and Lucia is stunned to discover she’s one of only two people who can communicate with them. Can Lucia give the spirits what they want?

It Began With a Lie


Michele Pariza Wacek - 2018
    That was what Becca hoped the move from New York to Redemption, Wisconsin would be for her troubled family. A way to get her crumbling marriage back on track, and to bond with her difficult 16-year-old stepdaughter. But instead of a new beginning, Becca is thrust into a mysterious past she barely remembers, as she is now living in her aunt's house (or what the locals call "The Witch House"). But is the house really haunted? Or is there something far more sinister out to destroy them?

The Witching Hour


Anne Rice - 1990
    and The Witching Hour begins.It begins in our time with a rescue at sea.  Rowan Mayfair, a beautiful woman, a brilliant practitioner of neurosurgery—aware that she has special powers but unaware that she comes from an ancient line of witches—finds the drowned body of a man off the coast of California and brings him to life.  He is Michael Curry, who was born in New Orleans and orphaned in childhood by fire on Christmas Eve, who pulled himself up from poverty, and who now, in his brief interval of death, has acquired a sensory power that mystifies and frightens him.As these two, fiercely drawn to each other, fall in love and—in passionate alliance—set out to solve the mystery of her past and his unwelcome gift, the novel moves backward and forward in time from today's New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and a château in the France of Louis XIV.  An intricate tale of evil unfolds—an evil unleashed in seventeenth-century Scotland, where the first "witch," Suzanne of the Mayfair, conjures up the spirit she names Lasher... a creation that spells her own destruction and torments each of her descendants in turn.From the coffee plantations of Port au Prince, where the great Mayfair fortune is made and the legacy of their dark power is almost destroyed, to Civil War New Orleans, as Julien—the clan's only male to be endowed with occult powers—provides for the dynasty its foothold in America, the dark, luminous story encompasses dramas of seduction and death, episodes of tenderness and healing.  And always—through peril and escape, tension and release—there swirl around us the echoes of eternal war: innocence versus the corruption of the spirit, sanity against madness, life against death.  With a dreamlike power, the novel draws us, through circuitous, twilight paths, to the present and Rowan's increasingly inspired and risky moves in the merciless game that binds her to her heritage. And in New Orleans, on Christmas Eve, this strangest of family sagas is brought to its startling climax.

Above the Bridge


Deborah Garner - 2012
    However, it's not long before her instincts tell her there's more than a basic story to be found in the popular, northwestern Wyoming mountain area. A chance encounter with attractive cowboy Jake Norris soon has Paige chasing a legend of buried treasure, passed down through generations.From the torn edge of a water-damaged map to the mysterious glow of an antler arch, Paige will follow clues high into the mountainous terrain and deep into Jackson's history. Side-stepping a few shady characters who are also searching for the same hidden reward, she will have to decide who is trustworthy and who is not.

Shadowborn


Moira Katson - 2013
    Shadows gather: legacies of the centuries-long rivalries for power, old betrayals, the endless plots of the courtiers, and the murmur of rebellion in the southern provinces…Catwin, plucked from her life at the edge of the Kingdom, is thrust abruptly into the world of the Court when she is chosen by the Duke of Voltur to be a Shadow—spy, shield, and blade—to his niece, the Lady Miriel DeVere. The Duke’s ruthlessness is legendary, and he will stop at nothing to become the power behind the throne, using Miriel as a pawn to catch Garad’s heart.But the Duke's carefully-laid plans are only a piece of the intrigue of the court, and greater forces than Catwin can imagine are massed against her, determined to eliminate Miriel and impose a new order of their own. If Catwin and Miriel are to survive, they must learn quickly who to trust, and when to turn their skills against the very people who have trained them...

The Monstrumologist


Rick Yancey - 2009
    This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthorpe, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.A gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does man become the very thing he hunts?