Pestilence Rising

      Lea Ryan
     Pestilence Rising

Hunter has no idea what's coming his way. Destiny is about to break down his door, drag him into the night, and plant him at the center of a war between a cult and his employer, a shady agency bent on controlling people with special abilities, people like Hunter himself.Hunter has no idea what's coming his way. Destiny is about to break down his door, drag him into the night, and plant him at the center of a war between a cult and his employer, a shady agency bent on controlling people with special abilities, people like Hunter himself. The only one who seems to be on his side is a girl claiming to be a guardian angel. To survive, he'll have to become the person he was always afraid to be. Review Snippets "A interesting and fun read filled with fun one liners and just a overall sense of finding oneself and liking oneself." https://hello-booklover.tumblr.com/ "I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was a unique take on paranormal 'entities' and that it was thrilling and suspenseful and kept me wanting to turn the pages so I would know what would happen next." https://skizzles22hu.blogspot.com/

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    The Last Falcon: Book 1 of the Cael Stone

      Colleen Ruttan
     The Last Falcon: Book 1 of the Cael Stone

**Publishers' Weekly STARRED REVIEW** After setting out to avenge the murder of her father, a young woman with a mysterious connection to dragons finds herself caught up in a deadly struggle for power and must embark upon a dangerous journey to save herself and her kingdom.Is it possible for a single falcon to save a kingdom?Erynn Taylor was fourteen the day she witnessed the random and brutal murder of her father. She should have died that day too, alone on a forest road in a kingdom that was not her own, but a reclusive golden dragon swooped down upon the scene—scattering her attackers and sparing her life, but ultimately denying her justice. Two years later, her father’s killer reappears—riding boldly into her kingdom for a visit with her king. But her elation at the nearness of justice turns to anger and then fear as she learns there is more to his visit than meets the eye—a conspiracy that threatens the entire kingdom and just might bring her the death she so narrowly avoided.Fleeing the castle where she has lived ever since her father’s murder, and soon becoming the subject of a kingdom-wide manhunt, Erynn sets out to find the man who holds the key to her past only to discover that her escape will not be so easy. That reclusive golden dragon is back—and following her. There is a fast-flowing river she needs to cross. And then there are those unresolved problems she left behind.She wants justice. She also wants to save her kingdom and her king. But does she want either badly enough to die?THE LAST FALCON is the first installment of the epic fantasy adventure series THE CAEL STONE. It was awarded a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and has been listed on the Kirkus Reviews website as a “similar book” to GAME OF THRONES. If you like fast-paced, quest-adventure stories that are also brimming with mystery and political intrigue and set in a world filled with dragons, elves, and dwarves, then you will love this series from Colleen Ruttan.Buy THE LAST FALCON and get started on your adventure with Erynn today!

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    The Mirror & the Maze

      Renee Ahdieh
     The Mirror & the Maze

The city of Rey is burning. With smoke billowing, fires blazing and his people fleeing, Khalid races back to defend his city, and protect his queen. But Khalid is too late to do either. He and his men arrive to find the city in ruins, nothing but a maze of destruction, and Shahrzad is gone. But who could have wrought such devastation? Khalid fears he may already know the answer, the price of choosing love over the people of Rey all too evident.

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    The Storyteller

      Antonia Michaelis
     The Storyteller

Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she? Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

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    Embers

      Karen Ann Hopkins
     Embers

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. Embers is an epic paranormal adventure/romance about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she learns that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember is instructed about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it's cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war that's been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She may be one of the few champions willing to make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin. Embers is the first novel in the dark and gritty YA paranormal romance series, The Wings of War. “An impending apocalypse provides a compelling backdrop for romance in this page-turning first installment of a new YA series. Hopkins expertly weaves her plotlines together in this compulsively readable teen romance story…Hopkins delivers many successful elements of young-adult romance—appealing lead characters, high-voltage chemistry, repressed sexuality—which will win her ardent followers." Kirkus Reviews “Embers is the start of an action-packed paranormal YA series. Ms. Hopkins draws the reader immediately in with her richly drawn prologue that introduces the lurking evil in a breath-taking manner. A must read for YA, paranormal, fantasy and suspense fans. Make that a delight for any reader!" Morgan Stamm, Ind'Tale Magazine

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    Keeper

      Kathi Appelt
     Keeper

Keeper is a breathtaking, magical novel from National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honoree Kathi Appelt. To ten-year-old Keeper the moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong ... and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Maggie Marie, her mermaid mother, who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where Keeper is headed - in a small boat. In the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and seagull named Captain. When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of mexico, panic sets in and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe - Oh, no ... "Maybe" is just too difficult to bear.

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    Blood Charged

      Lindsay Buroker
     Blood Charged

Sardelle Terushan, sorceress and healer, should be lying low. Magic is forbidden in Iskandia, and magic users are drowned, shot, or otherwise slain. The problem? She's fallen in love with ace fighter pilot and national hero, Colonel Ridge Zirkander, a man whom everybody notices, including the king. It's not long before Sardelle has spies dogging her steps and people trying to blow her up. Worse, her presence is jeopardizing Ridge's career. If she can't find a solution to the nation's centuries-old hatred of magic, the only way to protect Ridge—and herself—may be to leave. Ridge Zirkander isn't used to worrying about more than shooting down Cofah airships and keeping the officers in his squadron alive, but his world has gotten more complicated since giving his heart to Sardelle. It's difficult to keep people from noticing a mysterious and enigmatic woman, not to mention her chatty sentient sword. He's been passing her off as an archaeologist to his fellow pilots, but when the king calls him in to a private meeting, Ridge fears his secret has been discovered. But the king—and the rest of the country—has a greater problem. Cofah military scientists have acquired something that shouldn't exist in the world any longer: dragon blood. In addition to having countless mysterious properties, it's a powerful energy source that can be used to create devastating weapons. Ridge, Sardelle, and their allies must travel to the empire as part of a secret strike force to steal the dragon blood. If they fail, the Cofah will finally have the power to destroy all of Iskandia. The Dragon Blood series reading order: Book 1: Balanced on the Blade's Edge Book 2: Deathmaker Book 3: Blood Charged

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    Riders

      Veronica Rossi
     Riders

Riders. A new fantasy adventure from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Veronica Rossi. For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen--Conquest, Famine, and Death--are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence. They fail. Now--bound, bloodied, and drugged--Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for--not to mention all of humankind--he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger. But will anyone believe him?

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    The Glass Spare

      Lauren DeStefano
     The Glass Spare

A banished princess. A deadly curse. A kingdom at war. Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance. Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure. But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power. With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

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    Of Bees and Mist

      Erick Setiawan
     Of Bees and Mist

Of Bees and Mist is an engrossing fable that chronicles three generations of women under one family tree and places them in a mythical town where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, and prophets and clairvoyance are an everyday reality. Meridia grows up in a lonely home until she falls in love with Daniel at age sixteen. Soon, they marry, and Meridia can finally escape to live with her charming husband’s family—unaware that they harbor dark mysteries of their own. As Meridia struggles to embrace her life as a young bride, she discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as shocking truths about her new family that push her love, courage, and sanity to the brink. Erick Setiawan’s astonishing debut is a richly atmospheric and tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak that is altogether touching, truthful, and memorable.

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    Wizard of the Crow

      Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o
     Wizard of the Crow

From the exiled Kenyan novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic—a magisterial comic novel that is certain to take its place as a landmark of postcolonial African literature. In exile now for more than twenty years, Ngugl wa Thiong’o has become one of the most widely read African writers of our time, the power and scope of his work garnering him international attention and praise. His aim in Wizard of the Crow is, in his own words,nothing less than “to sum up Africa of the twentieth century in the context of two thousand years of world history.” Commencing in “our times” and set in the “Free Republic of Aburlria,” the novel dramatizes with corrosive humor and keenness of observation a battle for control of the souls of the Aburlrian people. Among the contenders: His High Mighty Excellency; the eponymous Wizard, an avatar of folklore and wisdom; the corrupt Christian Ministry; and the nefarious Global Bank. Fashioning the stories of the powerful and the ordinary into a dazzling mosaic, Wizard of the Crow reveals humanity in all its endlessly surprising complexity. Informed by richly enigmatic traditional African storytelling, Wizard of the Crow is a masterpiece, the crowning achievement in Ngugl wa Thiong’o’s career thus far.

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    The Brightonomicon

      Robert Rankin
     The Brightonomicon

Were you aware that there are, hidden in the streets of Brighton, twelve ancient constellations, like the Hangleton Hound and the Bevendean Bat? Well, there are, and on each one hangs a tale, a tale so strange that only The Lad Himself, that inveterate spinner of tales and talker of the toot, Hugo Rune, can get to the bottom of them. And he'd better do it quickly, because if he doesn't solve the dozen mysteries before the year is out, that'll be the end of the world as we know it.

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    The Sapphire Flute: Book 1 of The Wolfchild Saga

      Karen E. Hoover
     The Sapphire Flute: Book 1 of The Wolfchild Saga

In an unraveling world, three women begin their quests: Ember, to understand the magic growing within her; Kayla, to rise above the caste oppressing her family; C’Tan, for freedom from her evil master. One will discover she is the first white mage born in three millennia, another will become guardian to a keystone, the sapphire flute, and through it all the third will try to destroy them both.It has been 3,000 years since a white mage has been seen upon Rasann.In the midst of a volcanic eruption miles outside of her village, Ember discovers she can see magic and change the appearance of things at will. Against her mother's wishes, she leaves for the mage trials only to be kidnapped before arriving. In trying to escape, she discovers she has inherited her father's secret - a secret that places her in direct conflict with her father's greatest enemy.At the same time, Kayla is given guardianship of the sapphire flute and told not to play it. The evil mage C'Tan has been searching for it for decades and the sound alone is enough to call her. For the flute to be truly safe, Kayla must find its birthplace in the mountains high above Javak. The girls' paths are set on a collision course...a course that C'Tan is determined to prevent at all costs.

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    The Painted Room

      Tina Mikals
     The Painted Room

If 15-year-old May Taylor isn't careful she's going to turn into her mother: a woman with an icicle tongue, migraines and a fondness for gin and tonic. Francis Carlisle is a bumbling Victorian painter trapped for over a century in his own work. Together with May’s best friend, Sheila, they travel in a transcendent world through the paintings on the walls of an art dealer's living room. 15+On the rocky coast of Maine, railroad tycoon and painter, Francis Carlisle, disappears on a stormy night in 1887 shortly after the death of his wife. Two young women discover him over a century later trapped in his own painting. Even after the urging of her friend, hard-hearted May Taylor has no desire to help Carlisle out of his private purgatory. She only wants to get back home, back to the familiar and predictable world where she is overshadowed by her stellar brother, largely ignored by her parents, and where she can fade back into obscurity and return to her previous dull existence. In true Victorian male fashion, Carlisle insists on helping them, however, and May laments that there will be no getting rid of the bumbling man. After the girls discover a doorway into another painting, the three of them begin a journey through the painted world on the walls of an art dealer's living room. There in the artwork, they meet pirates, a deceptive goddess, and ogres from the past. When Carlisle proves that he is more useful than he appears (and perhaps just a little smarter than he looks), May decides she can use him after all, even if that means hiding the fact that he may never make it to a painting of his young and beautiful wife. Or is that really why she is keeping him around? A lighthearted read for a snowy afternoon; it is ultimately about finding home, which is to say--one's true self.

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    My Father's Gift

      Leanne Fitzpatrick
     My Father's Gift

What is the price of a soul?For Annalise it's simply a matter of getting what she wants and having the means to go about it. What she wants is revenge for the death of her father. The means to go about it... well that's where things get a little more complicated.He's ancient, all powerful, and his motivations are as murky as his morals. Still, he's the best chance she has.What is the price of a soul?For Annalise it's simply a matter of getting what she wants and having the means to go about it. What she wants is revenge for the death of her father. The means to go about it... well that's where things get a little more complicated.He's ancient, all powerful, and his motivations are as murky as his morals. Still, he was her father's weapon of choice and Annalise knew her father to be a man of honesty and integrity.The price is worth it.

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