Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds


Jonathan Brooks - 2020
    This was the way it had always been and Clay Shuntwise was perfectly fine with that. Running deliveries for his family’s shop in the sleepy town of Renton, the young teenager barely even thought about Heroes and their role in keeping the world safe.That was, at least, until the world came crashing down on him.Reborn into the brand-new and unfamiliar form of a Dungeon Core, Clay struggles through learning more about Heroes and the dungeons they delve through to get stronger. According to the guide that was trying to help him understand his new life, however, because he was a former Hero, Clay should already know most of what he needed to succeed; all of the finer parts regarding the relationship between Heroes and dungeons, including information about probabilities and drop rates, should be common knowledge.The problem? Despite wishing that he had been that lucky in his past life, Clay had never been a Hero…but now he might be forced to become one, though not quite in the way he ever expected.This book contains Dungeon Core, LitRPG, and GameLit elements including dungeon construction and defense, monster summoning, character progression, and a game-like interface. In addition, many of the probabilities the world is based upon are similar to Gacha-type mechanics. Contains no profanity, harems, or explicit sexual content.

Obsolete Theorem


Stan C. Smith - 2020
    A fight for survival. A bond between species.It wasn't possible, but then it happened…A Neanderthal's 47,000-year-old remains are found in Spain. That's not unusual, but positioned beside the woman's skeleton is something that shouldn't be there—a robotic drone. Lincoln Woodhouse has some explaining to do.When confronted with the evidence, Lincoln cannot deny that the drone is one of his own models. After all, he routinely jumps his drones into the past to collect environmental data. The problem is, this drone shouldn't even exist in Lincoln's universe. Everyone knows sending a drone into the past creates an alternate timeline.The implications of the discovery are staggering, and Lincoln is ordered to jump back in time to investigate, even though no human has ever done so before. Upon jumping, he and his team find themselves in a world of deadly creatures and savage beings.Amidst the primeval chaos, Lincoln encounters Skyra, a woman unlike anyone he has ever known. She is a skilled hunter and vicious fighter. She is not human, but she just might hold the key to humanity's future.

The Thief


Megan Whalen Turner - 1996
    To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen’s stories and Gen’s story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.

Yesterday's Thief


Al Macy - 2016
     Although he reads only the conscious thoughts of the people he interviews, it usually gives him enough of an edge to overcome his inexperience as a PI. But mind reading is hell on relationships. Trusting comes hard when you know what people are really thinking. The case of his life lands in his lap when a beautiful woman materializes during a televised baseball game. She floats in midair, then drops to the ground, comatose. Beckman is at her bedside when she wakes up. From the moment she opens her eyes, she has him under her spell. He vows to figure out where—or when—she came from, even if it kills him. The stakes increase when she disappears without a trace. Worse, she holds the key to a worldwide energy catastrophe. If Beckman can’t find her and unlock her secrets, economies will collapse, and the world will spiral down into chaos.

The Black Elfstone


Terry Brooks - 2017
    Through forty years of New York Times bestselling Shannara novels, Terry Brooks always had an ending in mind: a series that would bring it all to a grand conclusion. Now that time is here. The Four Lands has been at peace for generations, but now a mysterious army of invaders is cutting a bloody swath across a remote region of the land. No one knows who they are, where they come from, or what they are after—and most seem content to ignore these disturbing events. The only people who sense a greater, growing threat and wish to uncover the truth are society’s outcasts: an exiled High Druid, a conflicted warrior, a teenage girl struggling to master a prodigious magic . . . and a scrappy young orphan, improbably named Shea Ohmsford.

Kingdom of Ash and Soot


C.S. Johnson - 2018
    Along with her older brother, she dreams of the day they will be free to live life on their own terms.But everything changes when their estranged grandmother comes to Prague on behalf of Queen Victoria. Throughout Bohemia, a string of murders and secret whispers hint at a larger coup. As the leader of the Order of the Crystal Daggers, an ancient order of spies and soldiers that protect kingdoms and their rulers, Lady Penelope is determined to discover the perpetrators. Now, Eleanora must make the choice between a life of intrigue and saving the lives of others.Can Eleanora find a way do the right thing and still find freedom? FROM THE BOOK:  “I want to be free.” The words came rushing out of me before I could think through their implications and consequences. “There are two things you need to know about yourself if you want to be free—what you stand for, and what you stand against.” Lady Penelope held up her hands, brandishing a pair of daggers that had been hidden in her skirts. “This world lives enslaved to its destruction, and so long as you are living, as long as you are fighting, you will be free.” I gazed at the daggers, transfixed. Each blade was clothed in a leather scabbard, but the silver and obsidian of the daggers’ hilts winked at me, as though it was calling for me. FROM THE AUTHOR:  With a fun blend of historical fiction, true love, castle intrigue, and family dysfunction, The Order of the Crystal Daggers is my latest adventure series! WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING:  5 STARS! ~ Reader's FavoriteThis story was fantastic! Definitely one of my favorite reads of this year! ~ Laura A. Grace, Unicorn Quester Book Review

A Plague of Giants


Kevin Hearne - 2017
    But now she finds herself on the front lines of an invasion of giants, intent on wiping out the entire kingdom, including Tallynd's two sons—all that she has left. The stakes have never been higher. If Tallynd fails, her boys may never become men.SCHOLAR AND SPYDervan is a historian who longs for a simple, quiet life. But he's drawn into intrigue when he's hired to record the tales of a mysterious bard who may be a spy or even an assassin for a rival kingdom. As the bard shares his fantastical stories, Dervan makes a shocking discovery: He may have a connection to the tales, one that will bring his own secrets to light. REBEL AND HEROAbhi's family have always been hunters, but Abhi wants to choose a different life for himself. Embarking on a journey of self-discovery, Abhi soon learns that his destiny is far greater than he imagined: a powerful new magic thrust upon him may hold the key to defeating the giants once and for all—if it doesn't destroy him first.Set in a magical world of terror and wonder, this novel is a deeply felt epic of courage and war, in which the fates of these characters intertwine—and where ordinary people become heroes, and their lives become legend.

Bloody Hell


Theophilus Monroe - 2020
    She's a witch. And she's heartless... literally.Mercy died twice. Once when she became a vampire. Again, when her own father had her heart cut out of her chest. But Mercy’s guide in the Craft had other ideas. The essence of her heart, now bound to her brother's soul, revived the vampire witch. But the Order of the Morning Dawn will stop at nothing to eliminate her. An organization devoted to two tasks-burning witches and vanquishing vampires-will literally go to hell and back in an effort to liberate Mercy's brother's soul and end Mercy’s vampiric life. If Mercy wants to live she must go to hell herself and capture her brother’s soul before the Order can get to him. Will Mercy survive, or will the Order finally eliminate one of the most notorious vampires in existence? Bloody Hell is the first book in Theophilus Monroe's Legacy of a Vampire Witch series. These vampires don’t sparkle. If Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles ever met the Mayfair witches you might end up with a character like Monroe's Mercy Brown. She is a ruthless, badass, snarky anti-hero straight out of your worst nightmares. But you will want to root for her nonetheless! Bloody Hell will take you from the time she was turned in the 1890s through the present day. Readers of Monroe's Voodoo Legacy will get a glimpse of her role in that series-from her own perspective-while being taken on a new action packed adventure and dark urban fantasy story that is wholly Mercy's own.

Rogue Legacy: Origins of Issalia


Jeffrey L. Kohanek - 2018
    Meet Lyra:An orphan A thief A liar A bard A warrior A princess ... A rogue When tragedy strikes, Lyra runs for her life...directly into the hands of fate. Destiny places her at the heart of a plot to overthrow the rulers of Issalia.She must help thwart this twisted scheme.Joined by a man armed with powerful magic and a soldier who wields an enchanted weapon, the trio must face the most fearsome force the world has ever known. Even if they survive this epic confrontation, the future is not secure... ... for the threats surrounding Lyra do not end there.History often forgets the details, and sometimes, history forgets the truth. Lyra's tale reveals what truly happened hundreds of years before The Runes of Issalia series takes place.Within these pages, resides her legacy.

The First Girl Child


Amy Harmon - 2019
    Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.

Warrior


Marie Brennan - 2006
    For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. But what happens when the doppelganger survives? Mirage, a bounty hunter, lives by her wits and lethal fighting skills. She always gets her mark. But her new mission will take her into the shadowy world of witches, where her strength may not be a match against powerful magic. Miryo is a witch who has just failed her initiation test. She now knows that there is someone in the world who looks like her, who is her: Mirage. To control her powers and become a full witch, Miryo has only one choice: to hunt the hunter and destroy her.

The Princess Will Save You


Sarah Henning - 2020
    In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.

Finnikin of the Rock


Melina Marchetta - 2008
    Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself.

Heartstone


Elle Katharine White - 2017
    So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.It’s a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she’s never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart.Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world.

Survive the Dungeon


S. Mays - 2019
    Now imagine you’re alone and unarmed. Awakening in stone cell, he has no memory of his past. He is weaponless, defenseless, without spells, or even necessities such as food and water. Survival under such conditions would be difficult in any situation, but it’s nearly impossible when monsters and other threats lurk around every corner. No fighter, no cleric, no ranger, or druid to assist him. A lone man against the darkness. He must delve deep into the dungeon’s hostile depths if he has any hope of escape, but no one leaves the dungeon unchanged…