Hope appeared out of nowhere, naked and alone, a woman without a past. The only thing she knows is that she is imbued with a strange power. It's in her blood. And two men want to posses it. One is Logan, a Sanguiner demon-fighter who needs Hope's essence to survive. The other is Krag, a Synestryn lord whose desire is to enslave Hope, and drain her of the lifeforce. When Hope and Logan both fall prey to Krag, a powerful desire grows between them. But is it enough to thwart their captor's diabolical plan and his demon warriors, and survive a vampire's destiny written in blood? Views: 987
In The Land of Painted Caves, Jean M. Auel brings her ice-age epic series, Earth’s Children®, to an extraordinary conclusion. As the story opens, Ayla, Jondalar, and their infant daughter, Jonayla, are living with the Zelandonii in the Ninth Cave. Ayla has been chosen as an acolyte to a spiritual leader and begins arduous training tasks. Whatever obstacles she faces, Ayla finds inventive ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life, searching for wild edibles to make meals and experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandonii must take while honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And there are the Sacred Caves that Ayla’s mentor takes her to see. They are filled with remarkable paintings of mammoths, lions, and bears, and their mystical aura at times overwhelms Ayla. But all the time Ayala has spent in training rituals has caused Jondalar to drift away from her. The rituals themselves bring her close to death, but through them Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change her world. (from the product page at B&N.com) Views: 986
In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her. Views: 986
This rare and sought-after Middle Kingdoms novelette was published for the first time in the Tor Fantasy tribute anthology Moonsinger's Friends: In Honor of André Norton, and has been out of print for twenty-five years. It now appears here in ebook format for the first time.
Lior is the Rodmistress of a small north-coast fishing village in Darthen. Her work brings her up against the Sea on a daily basis. But one day a desperate challenge that Lior issues to the Sea itself in the face of a deadly ocean storm produces a change in the relationship that not even a Rodmistress can easily cope with.
Soon Lior must choose between the safety and security of the life she's always known and the terrifying power and possibility offered her by what was once just a force of nature, but has now become something much more personal...
Reader's advisory: This story contains mature themes and situations. Views: 986
As a Debunker, Chess Putnam is used to investigating reports of suspected hauntings and sending ghosts back to the City of Eternity beneath the surface of the earth. What she isn't used to is having suburban housewives refusing to acknowledge the presence of ghosts in their homes. There are lots of reasons why someone might harbor a spirit, and none of them are good.
At least Chess has Terrible on her side. But things are never as black and white as they seem, especially not when love is involved, and Chess finds herself making a decision she never thought she'd make. Views: 984
Life on the Scilly Isles in 1907 is bleak and full of hardship. Laura's twin brother, Billy, disappears, and then a storm devastates everything. It seems there's little hope, until the Zanzibar is wrecked on the island's rocks and everything changes . . . Views: 983
In "The Brownie of the Alabaster Mansion" Andrew Barger brings a precocious monster of antiquity back to life. At times the tale is dark, at times it is funny. This is a short story contained in his first collection entitled MAILBOXES - MANSIONS - MEMPHISTOPHELES.The Abenaki Indian Tribe is awarded 15,000 acres in a U.S. Supreme Court decision for land taken illegally by the U.S. government in 1850. Their goal: to construct the world's largest casino inOgunquit, Maine, a quaint New England seaside village of 1200 in winter and explodes into the largest gambling casino in the world. The influx of people required to run the casino and support services (65,000) are absorbed into the bordering towns.Richmond Rand an ex-Marine sniper and identical twin infuriated by highly compensated CEO bonuses, plots to "shoot to main" but not kill the golden boys of the corporate world with the help of two accomplices.In a bizzare event, Richmond wins 17 million dollars on a slot machine and plans to kill his accomplices. However, in order to accomplish hismission he switches identity with his twin Richard who has no knowledge of the scheme. The accomplices are found dead in the trio' hotel room. Did Richard the inncent brother pay for the sins of the older twin? Sensational murder trial! Views: 983
Princess Ritasia misses the adventure of getting her brother and cousins out of trouble, but when the hawk fae king arrives to court her, she becomes involved in trouble nothing like she's ever faced before.
The hawk fae king, Tiernan, must find a bride, but being a tyrant king, or so his people believe, he must find a woman who would help him to change his people's view of how he and his queen shall rule.
Princess Ritasia isn't anything like what he'd envision his queen would be like. Rough and tumble, unafraid of danger, and speaking her mind, the lady might just be the one for him.
The princess believes the king is a tyrant, at least at times. But she discovers he's not all that he seems, and she wants to learn even more.
The problem is that Ritasia stumbles across an ancient queen's magical artifact and nothing will ever be the same between her people, his, and what is dug up at the ancient fae dig site. Views: 983
Lieutenant Nixon is a bitter, frustrated naval officer serving his time as a staff weenie in the International Zone. Bored with the monotony of war, he ventures to a secret bunker below one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces with a quirky German named Hans. The Bunker below Believers’ Palace is a 3,400-word (~15-page) short story about the mystery behind Saddam’s toppled dictatorship.Lieutenant Nixon is a bitter, frustrated naval officer serving his time as a staff weenie in the International Zone. Bored with the monotony of war, he ventures to a secret bunker below one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces with a quirky German named Hans. Crawling down to the depths of the destroyed structure, he finds more than he bargained for.The Bunker below Believers’ Palace is a 3,400-word (~15-page) short story about the mystery behind Saddam’s toppled dictatorship. Views: 982
As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.
Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.
Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.
Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry. Views: 981
CONSEQUENCE HAUNTS EVERY CHOICE
Violet Eden is Grigori - part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengence of exiled angels.
Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever.
The race to find the one thing that could tilt the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed.
Enticed (now retitled ENTICE) is the second compelling book in The Violet Eden Chapters.
ENTICE will be available in the US from September, 2012! Views: 980
I always feared this day would come. A secret is meant to stay secret, after all. And now we've come to this: the fifth and final (I swear!) book in my saga of secrets.
A class trip to the local natural history museum turns dangerous, or perhaps deadly--and I don't mean in the bored-to-death way--when Cass accidentally breaks a finger off a priceless mummy. Forced to atone for this "crime" of vandalism, Cass and her friends Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji go to work for the mummy exhibit's curator, only to be blamed when tragedy strikes. To clear their names--and, they hope, to discover the Secret--the trio must travel deep into a land of majestic pyramids, dusty tombs, mysterious hieroglyphs, and the walking dead. Egypt? Or somewhere much stranger . . .
In the midst of it all, the Secret still lurks. You're out there, reading and talking about it, and now my life--and chocolate supply--is in the greatest danger yet. So please, with a cherry on top, I'm begging you: you have to stop this! Views: 979
