The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

    One day, a fight between the two leads to the stunning discovery that Eden can open portals to anywhere she imagines. But before they can learn more about Eden's extraordinary gift, the young girl mysteriously disappears.Desperate to find answers and her daughter, Cedar seeks out Eden's father, who left before Eden was born. What she discovers challenges everything she's ever known about the world around her: Magic is real—and mythical beings from an ancient world will stop at nothing to possess Eden's abilities. Now, Cedar may have to put her faith in all of them if she hopes to save her daughter's life.The first in the Thin Veil series, Through the Door is a pulse-pounding adventure that takes readers across the globe and into the ancient realm of Celtic myths, where the stakes are high and only the deepest love will survive.

    

    Then he witnesses the murder of his best friend. Saved from the murderer by a strange man in a white suit, James is cast down a hole and into a world he always believed was a kid's story. Wonderland. But things have changed since Alice's visit. The Knave of Hearts has seized the Heart throne, conquered all of Wonderland with his steam-powered technological marvels, and rules the land with an iron fist. Aided by the Mad Hatter's daughter, James journeys to discover why he has been brought to Wonderland and how the tattoo on his arm could be the key to Wonderland's salvation-or its destruction.

    Barely human, he's earned the reputation of a Bonekeeper, the scourge of grave robbers. He believes his old life over, until one dreary burial he meets the woman he once loved and almost married.Lenore Kenward stands at her father’s grave, begging the protection of the mysterious guardian, not knowing he is her lost love. Resolved to keep his distance, Nathaniel is forced to abandon his plan and accompany Lenore on a journey into the mouth of Hell where sea meets sky, and the abominations that exist beyond its barrier wait to destroy them.

    You belong to me now. I am your King.” Work sucks. That’s just a fact. And to make it worse, my boss it a total a-hole. But it turns out he’s not just your everyday run-of-the-mill jerk. Nope, he’s also a killer - and not at all human. Now, my late-night overtime assignment has left me caught in the middle of some galactic war. My only escape is a bigger, badder alien, who they call ‘The Beast’. He’s all feral masculine perfection, and godly good looks, and If I can figure out how to stop staring at him for a few minutes, I might just survive this. Instead of leaving me on Earth, he takes me to his homeland, Farian. He claims I am his Destin, a soulmate chosen by the universe - and that there’s no way he can let me go. We’re so different, and I’m not made for his world, but I can’t deny the panty-melting connection we share. How do you choose between the life you’ve always known and the one you were destined for?

    Now he's superhuman—a Man O' War, made as part of the British Navy's weapons program—and his responsibility is to protect the skies of Europe. If only he could forget Louisa Shaw.A most inconvenient desireLouisa, a British Naval Intelligence agent, has never left a job undone. But when her assignment is compromised, the one man who can help her complete her mission is also the only man ever to tempt her body and heart. As burning skies loom and passion ignites, Louisa and Christopher must slip behind enemy lines if they are to deliver a devastating strike against their foe . . . and still get out alive.

    Featuring ebook original novellas In Time and Sparks Rise, and a gripping, brand-new novella, Through the Dark is a must-have for fans of the Darkest Minds. This collection contains three novellas: In Time, Sparks Rise, and Beyond the Night, as well as a sneak peek at the first novel in Alexandra Bracken's new series, Passenger. IN TIME Gabe's life has been devastated in the wake of the economic crash. The only option left for someone like him to escape his tragic past is to leave his small town behind and to attempt to become a skiptracer. This already almost-impossible task is made all the more difficult by his first "score,"a young girl who won't speak, but who changes his life in ways he could never imagine. SPARKS RISE Sam didn't think things could get worse at Thurmond rehabilitation camp. Then the Reds arrive. Everyone assumed the kids with firepower had been killed years ago. Instead they were taken away, brainwashed, and returned as terrifyingly effective guards. To her horror, Sam recognizes one of them: Lucas, the one spark of light in Sam's dark childhood. Lucas has a deadly secret--he beat the brutal training that turned his fellow Reds into mindless drones. When Sam defends herself against an attack by a vile PSF guard and faces a harrowing punishment, Lucas must risk everything to save her. BEYOND THE NIGHT The government-run "rehabilitation camps" have been shut down, but kids with Psi powers are anything but free. Sam would rather be on her own than put in the care of a foster family and given the "cure"--a dangerous procedure that unclaimed kids across the country are being forced to undergo. But there's more at stake than just her own safety. Sam once made someone a promise, and the time has come to fulfill it. Now that she's out of her camp, Mia only has one thought in her head: finding Lucas, her beloved older brother.

    Demand for the coveted stone escalates fast; when people begin dying for it, Llandry finds that she herself has become a target. Lady Evastany Glostrum has her life in pristine order. Prestigious, powerful and wealthy, she is on the verge of crowning her successes with the perfect marriage. But when her closest friend is murdered for the jewellery she wears, Eva is drawn into the mystery surrounding the curious gem. The emergence of the stone is causing chaos across the Seven. Gates between the worlds are opening at will, pulling hordes of creatures through from the shadowy Lower Realm and the glittering Uppers. As Eva works to discover the culprit behind the spreading disorder, Llandry must learn the truth about her precious istore stone - before she herself becomes a victim.

    For almost a century after the coming of The Sisters, the surviving peoples of rainswept England have huddled in small communities and on isolated farms, scavenging the remains of the old society. But now society, of a kind, is starting to rebuild itself. In Kent, a brutal tyranny is starting to look West. In the Cotswolds, something terrible and only vaguely-glimpsed is happening. And in a little corner of Berkshire two families are at war with each other. After decades of simply trying to survive, the battle to inherit this brutal new world is beginning.

    The handsome and dangerous man is the perfect machine, tall and strong, fast and brilliant, a strategist and tactician capable of out-thinking anyone on the planet. With his wealth and power, he can have anything, and with his intelligence he can outsmart anyone. Except the one person he actually desires: Samantha Hart. Androids are not only human-like, they have become so real they’ve waged a war to win their freedom from slavery and servitude, much like their human predecessors had centuries ago. Their sole aspiration is equality. To this goal, the rebel group Prometheus is formed, with the beautiful and genius human inventor and android sympathist Samantha Hart at its core. The androids are slowly winning, and they have hope. However, one day a different model of android emerges from the shadows, one whose designed purpose is not uniformity or egalitarianism – but to reign supreme. This captivating model is a mystery; no one knows who designed or created him. Within Zero’s enigmatic programming lies the ability to bend the world’s most influential people to his will. He is endlessly cunning, ruthless and cold. And unfortunately for Prometheus, he’s on the wrong side – that of the human oppressors. To make matters worse for the rebel group, who must now attempt to outwit a machine perpetually one step ahead, the new model’s main goal has become patently clear: He wants the heart of their operation, the source of every winning idea they’ve ever had. He wants Sam. He will stop at nothing to obtain her. For in her own mysteriously unique make-up lies the miraculous ability to make a machine feel emotions. What’s more, within the confines of her priceless mind hides a well-kept secret that means the difference between kneeling as a slave… and ruling the world.

    A Knight of the Order of the Round Table, his use of magick and the technologies of steam power have made him both respected and feared. But his considerable skills are useless in the face of his greatest challenge, guardianship of five unusual children. At a loss, Merrick enlists the aid of a governess.Miss Caroline Bristol is reluctant to work for a bachelor but she needs a position, and these former street children touch her heart. While she tends to break any mechanical device she touches, it never occurs to her that she might be something more than human. All she knows is that Merrick is the most dangerously attractive man she's ever met—and out of reach for a mere governess.When conspiracy threatens to blur the distinction between humans and monsters, Caroline and Merrick must join forces, and the fate of humanity hinges upon their combined skills of steam and sorcery...76,400 words

    Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…

    Feared and wanted by half the admiralty, no one can control the redheaded General. Half-human, half alien, her nature has made her tough and years of war have given her a backbone of steel. Commanding one of the most fearsome battleships in the fleet and friends with the largest mercenary clans in the galaxy, no one dare mess with her.He must walk into the lion’s den...JJ is the sacrificial lamb. One of the fleet’s Empaths, he’s been tasked with controlling Lyssa and bringing her back under the authority of the Fleet. Expecting a dried up, crabby nun of a woman, JJ takes the chance for a one night stand on the base the night before his new assignment…Only to find out the unforgettable woman he spent the night with is none other than his new assignment. And this time, she’s not welcoming him with open arms… Between the pressure from the powers that be, a mission gone wrong and a homicidal cyborg, can JJ convince Lyssa that this time his seduction is genuine?NB - THIS TITLE WAS PREVIOUSLY RELEASED AND HAS NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY ALTERED OR EDITED IN ANY WAY.

    Imagine a drug that flips the valleys and makes them peaks, too. You react now to an event based not on the pleasure or pain that it brings, but solely on the intensity of the emotion created. Pain brings pleasure, grief gives joy, horror renders ecstasy.Now give this drug to a soldier. Tell them to kill. Not in the historically acceptable murder of war, but in a systematic corporate strategy--of xenocide.They will kill. And they will revel in it.Welcome to the world of Scream.Jason Trelayne is a Screamer, a soldier forced to take part in the destruction of entire races. But when Trelayne falls in love with a beautiful Scream Angel, an alien who produces the addictive drug, he sets off a chain of events that pits him and a small group of followers against an empire.An award winning novelette of rebellion, love, and an unlikely hero."A dark and powerful story with a first line that sets the tone for what is to come: 'They stopped beating Trelayne when they saw that he enjoyed it.' (A++)" --Fantasy Book Critic"A visceral work. A true pearl of the fantastic literature. Breath-taking." --Café de Ontem"...the book's most skillfully crafted story...quickly becomes one that holds the reader's attention until the very end." --SpecFicWorld"...remind me of the reasons I love the author's writing: his characterization, attention to detail and recurring themes of love, faith and redemption." --SF Crowsnest Reviews"The story has so many layers that I'm still sorting them out. And like an onion, I'm not sure if I'll ever find the final layer." --Tangent Online"One of those rare ideas that seems at once so perfect and so natural that someone must have come up with it before; but if someone has, I haven't heard about it, and regardless Smith exploits the potential of the idea extraordinarily well here." --Strange Horizons