Thorn by Anna Burke
Editor's Choice
On a cold day deep in the heart of winter, Rowan’s father returns from an ill-fated hunting trip bearing a single, white rose. The rose is followed by the Huntress, a figure out of legend. Tall, cruel, and achingly beautiful, she brings Rowan back with her to a mountain fastness populated solely by the creatures of the hunt. Rowan, who once scorned the villagers for their superstitions, now finds herself at the heart of a curse with roots as deep as the mountains, ruled by an old magic that is as insidious as the touch of the winter rose. Torn between her family loyalties, her guilty relief at escaping her betrothal to the charming but arrogant Avery Lockland, and her complicated feelings for the Huntress, Rowan must find a way to break the curse before it destroys everything she loves. There is only one problem―if she can find a way to lift the curse, she will have to return to the life she left behind. And the only thing more unbearable than endless winter is facing a lifetime of springs without the Huntress.
Editor's Choice
On a cold day deep in the heart of winter, Rowan’s father returns from an ill-fated hunting trip bearing a single, white rose. The rose is followed by the Huntress, a figure out of legend. Tall, cruel, and achingly beautiful, she brings Rowan back with her to a mountain fastness populated solely by the creatures of the hunt. Rowan, who once scorned the villagers for their superstitions, now finds herself at the heart of a curse with roots as deep as the mountains, ruled by an old magic that is as insidious as the touch of the winter rose. Torn between her family loyalties, her guilty relief at escaping her betrothal to the charming but arrogant Avery Lockland, and her complicated feelings for the Huntress, Rowan must find a way to break the curse before it destroys everything she loves. There is only one problem―if she can find a way to lift the curse, she will have to return to the life she left behind. And the only thing more unbearable than endless winter is facing a lifetime of springs without the Huntress.
Above the Storms by Rob Perrier
Five hundred years after humanity’s split, the Former government sends a ship of scientists and explorers to map the galaxy. Their top-secret mission is interrupted by calls for help from a distant colony. For pursuing the unsanctioned rescue, Fleet Officer Lucas Poole and the crew of the science vessel Stanford are branded fugitives by their own government.
With no reason given for their hunted status, they are confined to prison or forced into a desperate search across distant worlds for evidence. Their last remaining option is to rally their few allies while overcoming the growing tension among themselves. Will they find the answers to unravel the mysteries buried in humanity’s past? [See the Stars & Staffs Review of this title.]
Five hundred years after humanity’s split, the Former government sends a ship of scientists and explorers to map the galaxy. Their top-secret mission is interrupted by calls for help from a distant colony. For pursuing the unsanctioned rescue, Fleet Officer Lucas Poole and the crew of the science vessel Stanford are branded fugitives by their own government.
With no reason given for their hunted status, they are confined to prison or forced into a desperate search across distant worlds for evidence. Their last remaining option is to rally their few allies while overcoming the growing tension among themselves. Will they find the answers to unravel the mysteries buried in humanity’s past? [See the Stars & Staffs Review of this title.]
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Siljeea Magic by Judith Pratt
Most people see nothing but trees and grass in the woodlands lining superhighways. But Andrea sees small people, who call themselves the Bokaaj. She is the 13-year-old hero of Siljeea Magic, a fantasy novel that pits affluent 21st Century culture against a world of spells, wisdom, and power struggles. Erau, who is close to her age and about four feet tall (with seven toes) teaches Andrea to hunt, scramble up trees, and sense the approach of angry Bokaaj elders who wish her dead. Despite this, she must save the Bokaaj, and their shaman the Siljeea, from the bulldozers of development. But it’s hard to be a hero while going to school, caring for your younger brother, and trying not to worry your over-protective parents. Andrea is tossed into a series of adventures that wreck her grades, mess up her health, and almost tear her family apart. |
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Fortune's Fool by Angela Boord
Editors' Choice The first novel in the Eterean Empire Saga. A secret affair. A disfiguring punishment. A burning need for revenge. Kyrra d’Aliente has a bad reputation and an arm made of metal. Cast out of the safe and luxurious world of silk to which she was born, played as a pawn in a game of feuding Houses, Kyrra navigates a dangerous world of mercenaries, spies, and smugglers while disguising herself as a man. War destroyed her family and the man she loved. Vengeance is within her grasp. But is she willing to pay its price? |
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley
Editors' Choice
On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past . . . while a world goes to war with itself.
In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy.
As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress.
Stretching from desolate tundra to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins, who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin.
Editors' Choice
On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past . . . while a world goes to war with itself.
In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy.
As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress.
Stretching from desolate tundra to steamy, semi-tropical climes seething with sentient plant life, this is an epic tale of blood mages and mercenaries, emperors and priestly assassins, who must unite to save a world on the brink of ruin.
Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Editors' Choice
2029: In Japan, a historically mono-cultural nation, childbirth rates are at an all-time low and the elderly are living increasingly longer lives. This population crisis has precipitated the mass immigration of foreign medical workers from all over Asia, as well as the development of finely tuned artificial intelligence to step in where humans fall short.
In Tokyo, Angelica Navarro, a Filipina nurse who has been in Japan for the last five years, works as caretaker for Sayoko Itou, a moody, secretive woman about to turn 100 years old. The old woman has been hiding secrets for almost a century—and she’s too old to want to keep them anymore.
What she reveals is a hundred-year saga of forbidden love, hidden identities, and the horrific legacy of WWII and Japanese colonialism—a confession that will tear apart her own life and Angelica’s. Is the helper robot the worst thing that could have happened to the two women—or is it forcing the changes they both desperately needed?
Editors' Choice
2029: In Japan, a historically mono-cultural nation, childbirth rates are at an all-time low and the elderly are living increasingly longer lives. This population crisis has precipitated the mass immigration of foreign medical workers from all over Asia, as well as the development of finely tuned artificial intelligence to step in where humans fall short.
In Tokyo, Angelica Navarro, a Filipina nurse who has been in Japan for the last five years, works as caretaker for Sayoko Itou, a moody, secretive woman about to turn 100 years old. The old woman has been hiding secrets for almost a century—and she’s too old to want to keep them anymore.
What she reveals is a hundred-year saga of forbidden love, hidden identities, and the horrific legacy of WWII and Japanese colonialism—a confession that will tear apart her own life and Angelica’s. Is the helper robot the worst thing that could have happened to the two women—or is it forcing the changes they both desperately needed?
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Through Death's Door: A Short Story Collection by Natalie Rix, Lozzie Counsell, et al.
Since humankind began, the certainty of death has made us ponder on the uncertainty of the unknown—the afterlife, spirituality, reincarnation and religion—all in an effort to explore and try to explain our reason for existing, living and dying. Within this anthology, we have twenty-six diverse stories from authors exploring the concept of death in all its intricacies, possibilities and sensitivities. We invite you to take a walk Through Death’s Door where you can explore haunted places, meet with murderers, and even revisit the legend that was David Bowie himself. |
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The Thief Who Went To War by Michael McClung
Editors' Choice
Book 5 of the Amra Thetys Series (Aug 2019) - After barely surviving the attentions of the Knife That Parts the Night, Amra and Holgren are determined to end the threat posed by the remaining sentient, powerful Blades of the Eightfold Goddess. They are willing to risk everything to win their secret war, but can they succeed when their adversaries are cunning, powerful beyond measure, and utterly ruthless?
And even if they can, what will it cost them?
The Thief Who Went To War by Michael McClung
Editors' Choice
Book 5 of the Amra Thetys Series (Aug 2019) - After barely surviving the attentions of the Knife That Parts the Night, Amra and Holgren are determined to end the threat posed by the remaining sentient, powerful Blades of the Eightfold Goddess. They are willing to risk everything to win their secret war, but can they succeed when their adversaries are cunning, powerful beyond measure, and utterly ruthless?
And even if they can, what will it cost them?
Defying Destiny by Andrew Rowe
Editors' Choice
Book 3 of The War of Broken Mirrors (Sep 2019) It’s been almost a year since the Trials of Unyielding Steel.
When Lydia gets a lead on the whereabouts of Jonathan Sterling, she concludes her training with a legendary immortal sorcerer and puts a plan in motion for his capture.
Near Selyr, Taelien reunites with an old friend — Wrynn Jaden, the legendary Witch of a Thousand Shadows — and meets with Jonan to make a deal.
Jonan, of course, has other concerns. His master, the legendary Lady of Thieves herself, has given him a new assignment — one that hints at world-shaping events, if he can survive the mission. He’ll partner with Velas, but she has her own problems to deal with, including a revelation that will test where her loyalties truly lie.
The Well at the World's End by William Morris
Editors' Choice
Something of a forgotten founder of Fantasy. This is the book sighted by Tolkien and Lewis as inspirational for their love of the genre. The language and style may be different by today's standards, but worthwhile for every fan of epic fantasy.
Morris massages medieval tales into the journey of young Prince Ralph, the son of Peter, King of the Upmeads, as he explores the world, falls in love, and saves the kingdom.
The Well at the World's End by William Morris
Editors' Choice
Something of a forgotten founder of Fantasy. This is the book sighted by Tolkien and Lewis as inspirational for their love of the genre. The language and style may be different by today's standards, but worthwhile for every fan of epic fantasy.
Morris massages medieval tales into the journey of young Prince Ralph, the son of Peter, King of the Upmeads, as he explores the world, falls in love, and saves the kingdom.
