Adult Fiction

THE DARK FANTASY BOOKTOK BLOCKBUSTER!

In this dark, fantasy sensation, S. T. Gibson spins the gothic, seductive tale of Dracula's first bride, Constanta.

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

"A dizzying nightmare of a romance that will leave you aching, angry and ultimately hopeful." --Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

An Indie Next and LibraryReads "Hall of Fame" Pick!

Now in paperback with exclusive new content! A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske’s beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.

"Messy people and burn-it-down conflict. . . . Marske uses the full span of the trilogy to build to a beautiful, devastating conclusion."―The New York Times

"Stunning―the writing is lush, the world-building is fascinating, and the romance is searing hot. I am completely obsessed with this story of unrepentantly dangerous people falling in love with one another."―Cat Sebastian, author of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

A Best Of Pick for LitHub, Book Riot, Amazon, Powell's, and PopSugar

Secrets! Magic! Enemies to. . .something more?

Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he’s drawn reluctantly back into that world.

Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.

Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.

When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall―Jack’s ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it’s grown a personality as prickly as its owner―Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.

The Last Binding Trilogy:
A Marvellous Light
A Restless Truth
A Power Unbound

“Many a reader longing for a sense of homecoming in the realm of romantic fantasy will find it in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance.”―Jacqueline Carey

“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love―as both will learn―is quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.

The follow-up to Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, All the Hidden Paths is a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and self-worth.

With the plot against them foiled and the city of Qi-Katai in safe hands, newlywed and tentative lovers Velasin and Caethari have just begun to test the waters of their relationship. But the wider political ramifications of their marriage are still playing out across two nations, and all too soon, they’re summoned north to Tithena’s capital city, Qi-Xihan, to present themselves to its monarch.

With Caethari newly invested as his grandmother’s heir and Velasin’s old ghosts gnawing at his heels, what little peace they’ve managed to find is swiftly put to the test. Cae’s recent losses have left him racked with grief and guilt, while Vel struggles with the disconnect between instincts that have kept him safe in secrecy and what an open life requires of him now. Pursued by unknown assailants and with Qi-Xihan’s court factions jockeying for power, Vel and Cae must use all the skills at their disposal to not only survive, but thrive.

Because there’s more than one way to end an alliance, and more than one person who wants to see them fail…and they will resort to murder if needed.

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones―and forbidden magic―of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

"Draws readers into its spell before asking readers to consider who pays the true price of power―and what it means to refuse to let the powerful win." ― Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones

From the international bestselling author of Evocation comes it's hotly anticipated and spellbinding sequel, where Rhys steps into his new role as High Priest. A magical read for lovers of traditional urban fantasy.

Ever since Rhys McGowan was a boy, he's only wanted two things: power and love.

Now, as High Priest of Boston's premiere Secret Society, husband to his adoring witch wife Moira, and partner to David - his psychic rival-turned-boyfriend, Rhys is finally at peace. But when a strange ritual rocks Boston's occult community, and opens the Society up to sabotage, Rhys delves even deeper into the dark world of demon-summoning. He's used to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the strain of managing so many spirits (not to mention the stress of his loved ones exploring other people) will push him to the brink.

As heaven and hell play tug of war for Rhys' soul, he'll have to face the greatest demon of all: his own insatiable ambition.

The second book in the bestselling Summoner's Circle series sees beloved characters return for an all new dark and enthralling adventure.

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War 

“Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out.” -- Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of Brass

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

By: Micah House (Author), 2024, Paperback

You have known her as the wise and loving mother and grandmother to her family of witches, but what was Olympia Blanchard's life like BEFORE she had children?

She was an eager, and sometimes timid, child who grew into a complicated woman. Fearless, defiant, and determined to hold her own in a dangerous world, this is the Olympia before she had to set an example-before she became the role model of legend to her descendants. Her past wasn't always pretty, but it was never dull.

Follow your favorite grandmother from the beginning, before she gained her wisdom, before she became the matriarch to her illustrious and powerful family. If you think you knew her from the BLANCHARD WITCHES series, you only had half the story! 

Welcome to 1940's Daihmler, Alabama and follow the childhood and young adulthood of Olympia Blanchard, her sister Pastoria, and their dearest friend...that's right!Zelda. Experience for yourself all those adventures she used to tell her grandchildren about. 

It wasn't easy BECOMING OLYMPIA, now discover for yourself how a great witch's journey began.

Edited by Elly Blue, 2023, paperback

Published by Microcosm! Bicycles & Broomsticks: Fantastical Feminist Stories about Witches on Bikes A coven races—literally—to fight off the magic smog that threatens their city. A janitor at the last rocket launch site on a dying planet sends the rocket up with a special spell of comfort. Instead of casting the resiliency spell she asked for, a girl's grandmother teaches her to ride a bike. A midwife's bicycle is stolen, resulting in a fitting comeuppance. An urban witch falls for a bicycle mechanic and learns to reconcile her double life. Smash the petropatriarchy and enjoy these and more science fiction and fantasy stories in the pages of the supernatural 9th volume of the popular Bikes in Space series.  Featuring ten incredible stories by Hester Dade, M. Lopes da Silva, Monique Cuillerier, A. P. Howell, Ether Nepenthes, M. A. Blanchard, Kathleen Jowitt, G. J. Craddock, Gretchin Lair, and Emily Burton.

An Instant #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023
An Amazon Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2023

When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and secondhand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk―so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

“Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. This is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart, on Legends & Lattes

Now with beautiful jade sprayed edges and brand-new original art!

In the tradition of Legends & Lattes, comes a cozy fantasy steeped in sapphic romance about one of the Queen’s private guards and a powerful mage who want to open a bookshop and live happily ever after…if only the world would let them.

All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.

But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town nestled in the icy tundra near dragon country, and open the shop of their dreams.

What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.

By Nina Varela, 2020, Paperback (Crier's War, 1)

From debut author Nina Varela comes the first book in a richly imagined epic fantasy duology about an impossible love between two girls—one human, one Made—whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution.

Perfect for fans of Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Curse as well as Game of Thrones and Westworld.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

Across a world of diverse vampires from every myth, one girl must come of age as a hunter in an enduring war few even know exists.

In the shadows of a fractured world, the Death Reapers—an elite vampire hunting force—wage an eternal war against the mysterious Vampire Cabal. Leading the charge is Archbishop Lilyana Morrigan, a scarred warrior bound by duty and faith.

When whispers of the Cabal’s hidden stronghold surface, Lilyana and her execution squad are thrust into brutal battles across the globe, as they traverse hostile lands to hunt different types of vampires from a diverse array of cultures including (but not limited to) those from German, Chinese, Romanian and Malaysian descent. Each enemy is steeped in their own haunting mythologies and lore.… and each battle drags Lilyana closer to truths that were buried beneath the sands of time, truths she may not survive.

Death Reapers: The Book of Lilyana launches the Chronicles of Death Reapers, a gothic dark fantasy saga steeped in blood-soaked combat, forbidden lore, and harrowing revelations. But be warned, this is not for the faint of heart—violence, sexuality and disturbing truths await those who dare turn the page.

The book includes exclusive bonus character artwork.

Start your journey with Death Reapers: The Book of Lilyana—the first pulse-pounding volume of the vampire hunter novel series Chronicles of Death Reapers. Open the book… and join the hunt.

A time-bending mishap forces a witch to navigate a new reality and an unexpected romance. Can Mia find her way back home, all while stopping a killer?

Being a witch with ADHD has its challenges. When Mia gets distracted while performing a spell, she becomes an accidental time-traveler.

Waking up in 1992, she comes across supernatural creatures attacking a young woman, and she taps into strange, unknown powers to save her. But as Mia starts falling for the enchanting near-victim, she discovers the girl will soon die.

She might be the only person who can stop her killer, yet everyone knows messing with time can have dire consequences.

As she works on finding a way back to her timeline, Mia quickly realizes she needs to make a choice. Let history happen, or stop this dark destiny from coming to pass.

Kelli Storm's debut YA urban fantasy, Desolate, is a spellbinding novel for lovers of LGBTQ+ heroines, character-driven plots, neurodivergent representation, and bewitching twists. Join Mia on her journey of the choice between destiny and saving the ones we love.

By: Erin Branch (Author), 2024, Paperback

June lives the glamorous lifestyle of a mid-level Dungeons and Dragons influencer: broke in her parents' basement. Although June's internet-famous avatar has her life together, June is a people-pleasing mess on the inside. When she needs a D&D group for a lucrative opportunity, her celebrity group disinvites her, and she has to lean on her old friends.

But Nova, June’s former BFF, gives her the cold shoulder while flirting with her character during their game sessions. June is determined to figure out why. Turns out getting closer to Nova is awakening new, confusing feelings in June, feelings she tried to ignore years ago and can't anymore.

Di-Curious is a contemporary sapphic romance (with a hint of cozy fantasy) and an ode to queer geek culture.