An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

    In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid.Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, for Honoria discovers a past of missing children and broken promises.To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch’s next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman’s madness.How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?

    Instead, she must settle for a cellar closet and is subjected to the abuse of the Duke—Master Ramsay.Victoria's life is about to change with the chance meeting of the gorgeous and charismatic Kale. Besides the fact that she's kept under lock and key in the Ramsey estate, he is also dating the Ramsey's eldest daughter. But that doesn't stop him from perusing Victoria and trying to save her from her meager existence. Will she remain subordinate to her master or take a chance on love and the possibility of a fulfilling life outside the Ramsey estate?Reset is the companion short story to the novel Royal Replicas and exclusively available to newsletter subscribers. Witness the events leading up to Victoria's heartbreaking "reset."Download your free copy here: https://instafreebie.com/free/EGWJg

    Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

    Of what things were like for me when everything was normal. Of what every teenager’s life is like. Clothes. Parties. Boys and summer vacation. What’s so wrong with that?I liked it. I was happy.Until things changed. I changed.I didn’t know that lies and secrets were about to take over my existence. I didn’t know there was someone out there, someone meant just for me. I didn’t know that I was about to go on a journey, a journey that would lead me to the girl I am today.This is the beginning of the worst year of my life. Would I go back and change things? Erase everything that has happened to go back into these moments?Not a chance.This is a story of before.

    Ava works on the massive structure the elves use to keep them imprisoned. They say it is protection from the monsters on the other side--from an ancient force.As Ava reaches the age to enter the Blood Lottery, she knows there is a better fate awaiting.But, when she almost loses her life in a devastating accident, something awakens inside.A force--an ancient magic--she never knew existed, yet learns history and folklore have prophecized.With the help of a rogue rebel leader, an elvish royal, and a mysterious wisp from my darkest nightmares, she may save the humans from their oppressors.Or, be used as a weapon against them in an epic game. Contains what was formerly known as Waking the Dark and Tempting the Fire.

    Murder. Mayhem.A red tide is rising.As the daughter of one of the mer-king’s trusted advisors, seventeen-year-old Jade has great responsibilities. When her fiancé murders a naiad, plunging the underwater city of Thessalonike into uproar, tensions surge between the mer and the naiads. Jade learns too late that the choices she makes ripple further than she'd ever imagined. And as she fights against the tide of anger in a city that lives for scandal, she discovers danger lurking in every canal, imperiling her family and shattering the ocean's fragile peace.Can the city's divisions be mended before the upwelling of hate rips apart everything Jade loves?

    She's never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings' tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be. And she's always known this day would come—the day she faces the Scourge alone. The Sightless, like Fenn, are mysteriously protected from the Scourge, the gruesome creatures roaming the forests, reeking of festering flesh and consuming anything—and anyone—living. A Sightless Groundling must brave the Scourge and bring fresh water to the people of the forest. Today, that task becomes Fenn's. Fenn will have a Lofty Keeper, Peree, as her companion. Everyone knows the Lofties wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an arrow through the back of an unsuspecting Groundling like Fenn, but Peree seems different. A boy with warm, rough hands who smells like summer, he is surprisingly kind and thoughtful. Although Fenn knows his people are treacherous, she finds herself wanting to trust him. As their forest community teeters on the brink of war, Fenn and Peree must learn to work together to survive the Scourge and ensure their people’s survival. But when Fenn uncovers a secret that shatters her truths, she’s forced to decide who and what to protect—her people, her growing love for Peree, or the elusive dream of lasting peace in the forest.

    but where did he come from? Who was Merlin? What part did the Druids play in bringing Arthur to his round table? This is the story that came before, when Britain was just a Shadowland. On the night of Midwinter's Eve, a storyteller takes his listeners back to the Dark Ages and a tale from his youth. `I have lived more years than I can remember, probably more than the sum of all your years combined. Kings have called me friend and brigands have sworn to burn the flesh from my bones, even if they have to search all seven halls of the shadowland to find me.' Deserted by its Roman masters, Britain has been invaded by the Saxons at the invitation of Vortigern, traitorous leader of the Britons. Now, as the tribes unite to reclaim their land, one man must rise to lead them and become their only true king. Shadowland is a young adult story of historical fantasy set in the Dark Ages of Britain; however, it is gathering fans of all ages. .................. Magical and moving, I couldn't put it down - Jacqueline Rodriguez "Shadowland" is a tensely written story about the dark days before the rise of King Arthur. Flawlessly weaving history, legend and imagination - Vered E for Readers' Favorite. Gray has a real gem starting with his subject and carries it through with an excellent delivery - Tom Clementson, Kindle Book Review

    Aside from the herd of cats that follow Ronnie everywhere she goes, she can also see and communicate with the ghosts of the dead, which would be hard enough without her foster family thinking she was crazy. When a strange man that may be stalking Ronnie tells her that she is a necromancer, and part of a secret society of supernatural beings, she thinks he's as crazy as she is...but deep down, she knows he's telling the truth. When she is abducted in the middle of the night and brought before the Council, they tell her that a necromancer is trying to raise an army of the undead, and they think she's the one responsible! But the Council is about to find out how wrong they are...and it may be too late to stop the real monster. Ages 14+

    Some friendly competition. A first love. And a dangerous organization that will stop at nothing to destroy them all. 1) Edgewood2) Wanderlust 3 AbsolutionEDGEWOODWandering the dark streets at night is Russ Becker’s way of dealing with his relentless insomnia and the angst of life. But that changes forever the night he witnesses a strange astronomical event, then discovers he’s developed incredible superpowers. And he’s not alone. Three others in his town—sexy Mallory, arrogant Jameson, and mysterious Nadia—have had the same experience and acquired intriguing powers of their own. As if Mallory isn't special enough with her good looks and high IQ, now she can control peoples’ minds. Jameson thinks he’s the coolest because he moves objects with his thoughts, and shy Nadia struggles to understand her new empathic abilities. At first the four secretly relish their newfound gifts while keeping them hidden. However, things get serious when they learn they're being hunted by an organization that wants them for its own nefarious purposes. Russ has always picked his battles wisely, but when the bad guys threaten his family, they're about to find out they messed with the wrong teens. What transpires will change all of them in ways they never imagined. WANDERLUSTPrepare to be taken away by Wanderlust, the second book of the Edgewood series by bestselling author Karen McQuestion. Mallory, Russ, Jameson, and Nadia are just trying to blend in as normal teens while secretly learning to use their newfound superpowers. Everything changes when they’re invited to travel to Peru under the supervision and protection of the Praetorian Guard, an organization claiming to have their best interests at heart. Seeing the trip as a challenge, the teens agree to go and help search for David Hofstetter, a man from their hometown who’s been presumed dead for sixteen years. Meanwhile, the threat of the rival organization, the Associates, is always present. When knowing who to trust becomes more difficult, the four discover they can only count on each other. And when Nadia and Russ are thrown together in a fight for their lives, they realize their relationship might be headed for more than just friendship.ABSOLUTIONAfter surviving a danger-filled trip to Peru, Russ Becker looked forward to a laid-back summer spending time with his new love, Nadia. But plans go awry when he and his friends are invited by the Praetorian Guard to the event of the season. The mission? To protect the president and her daughter from assassination at the elegant Presidential Black Tie Bash. While Nadia struggles with her own troubles at home, Russ is torn, but determined to do his job, not easy when he doesn’t know who to trust. Battling for his life against the evil Associates, Russ confronts his worst fears and learns shocking revelations about those around him.

    For years the old man has prophesied that a great flood is coming, a flood disastrous enough to blot out the entire earth. He’s even built an enormous ark that he claims will allow his family to survive the deluge. But no one believes the ravings of a lunatic……until the rain starts. And doesn’t stop. Soon sixteen-year-old Neima finds her entire world transformed, her life and those of the people she loves in peril. Trapped on the ark with her grandfather Noah, the rest of her family, and a noisy, filthy, and hungry assortment of wild animals, will Neima find a way to survive?With lions, tigers, and bears oh my, elephants and flamingos too, along with rivalries and betrayals, a mysterious stowaway, and perhaps even an unexpected romance, FORTY DAYS is not your grandfather’s Noah’s Ark story.FORTY DAYS is approximately 45000 words, the length of a shorter novel, and is the first installment in a two-part epic story. It does contain a cliffhanger ending.Readers looking for a traditional, religiously oriented version of the Noah’s Ark story should be warned that FORTY DAYS may not appeal to them. The novel will, however, appeal to lovers of apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction, and romance, as well as anyone who’s ever dreamed of having a baby elephant as a pet.

     Drawn through an old garden gate, Charlotte discovers a hidden world where she meets Calvin, a boy to whom she is inexplicably attracted. As Charlotte is pulled deeper into this hidden world, it's up to her older brother Kevin to rescue her. No matter how hard Kevin tries, the rescue depends upon Charlotte fighting her intense feelings for Calvin while mastering a set of abilities that she has only just discovered she possesses.

    place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood...Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

    But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, she gets more than she bargained for... Violet learns she is part of an ancient vampire race, and that she must leave her life behind, leaving her mother and her best friend, to attend the Radictius Druidwitch Academy, a school for her race of vampires, the Callicantzaroi... Whilst at the school, Violet not only learns about her race, but also new things about herself, and terrifyingly, of her deadly connection to an evil race of vampires who want to see her entire species destroyed...