Adult Fiction

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel.

The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A USA Today bestseller!
A New York Times Best Romance of 2024
An Indie Next pick
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame pick
A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family's wealth, something that Matti has been trying―and failing―to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn't plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible―and inconveniently handsome―wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti's business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti's wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti's house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca's secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

"There's nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can't do."―Sarah Rees Brennan

Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless is a dark, unflinching haunted house story that confronts both supernatural and real-world horrors through the lens of the modern-day trans experience.

“Alison is like the twisted daughter of Clive Barker and Shirley Jackson. Tell Me I’m Worthless is an intense read full of shocks and buckets of gore. It’s brilliant.” ―Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author

A Best Horror Book of the Year (Esquire, Book Riot, ) • A Most Anticipated Book of the Year (CrimeReads, Vulture, Goodreads, Paste)

“A triumph of transgressive queer horror.” ―Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends, Ila and Hannah. Since then, Alice’s life has spiraled. She lives a haunted existence, selling videos of herself for money, going to parties she hates, drinking herself to sleep.

Memories of that night torment Alice, but when Ila asks her to return to the House, to go past the KEEP OUT sign and over the sick earth where teenagers dare each other to venture, Alice knows she must go.

Together, Alice and Ila must face the horrors that happened there, must pull themselves apart from the inside out, put their differences aside, and try to rescue Hannah, whom the House has chosen to make its own.

Cutting, disruptive, and darkly funny, Tell Me I’m Worthless is a vital work of trans fiction that examines the devastating effects of trauma and how fascism makes us destroy ourselves and each other.

“Easily one of the strongest horror debuts in recent memory.” ―Booklist, STARRED review

Also by Alison Rumfitt:
Brainwyrms

Eleanor Pilcher is electric in her witty, funny, and heartfelt women’s fiction debut, following polar opposite best friends Beth and Serena. When demisexual Beth decides she’s done with being a virgin and enlists Serena’s help, her new personal journey just might be the thing to end their friendship for good.

Serena and Beth are best friends who couldn’t be more different—Beth is an avowed demisexual, who lacks confidence in her career and in her chances at a happy relationship due to her sexual orientation. Serena is a free spirit who oozes with confidence, both in her job and her sexual proclivities. And yet, since the moment they met, they knew they were platonic soulmates.

So, when Beth decides that she officially wants to take charge of her sex life and explore the things that scare her the most, Serena is more than happy to help. Speed-dating, sex therapy, tantra, a perplexed but ultimately very nice escort—it’s all on Beth’s Sexual Odyssey List.

But when Beth’s crush from her old job comes back and Serena’s favorite friend-with-benefits pushes for more than just sex, it throws their whole world into a tailspin. And suddenly, this sexual odyssey is more than a fun gag. It’ll set them down a course that’ll make them so much closer—or end their friendship for good.

For fans of Ashley Herring Blake’s Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Chencia C. Higgins' D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding comes an utterly charming and queerly irresistible romantic comedy…where all’s fair in love and bowling.
This is how love rolls…

For teacher Ava Williams, some subjects are not up for debate. Like history—specifically, the one she has with Grace Jones, bowling pro and local celeb. Who is now, for no identifiable reason, teaching at the same small-town Georgia high school as Ava. Once upon a time, they were thick as thieves, best friends, rivals who pushed each other, and total bowling nerds. Then they shared a kiss, sweet and confusing…and after that, they split and nothing was ever the same.

Ava is pretty sure she has every reason to hate Grace. Especially when the school’s soggy potato of a principal announces—finally—that the students can have the bowling team Ava has been pushing for, for years…only to hand it to Grace.

Now they’re expected to be partners and lead their new bowling team to victory in six months. And with that, their rivalry is back. Fierce, ultracompetitive…and with an undeniable attraction that pushes, pulls and crashes together. It’s history. It’s chemistry. And it’s just a matter of time before it explodes…one way or the other.

25th Anniversary: A Fable About Following Your Dream

A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho.

Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

Note: Item has rough Cut edges (Edges are cut improperly intentionally by the manufacturer)

An extraordinary novel of loyalty, strife, and empowerment from Peabody Award-winning Cameroonian filmmaker Osvalde Lewat.

In the fictional African country of Zambuena, Katmé Abbia enjoys a life of privilege and influence married to Tashun, the powerful prefect of Zambuena's capital. Yet after years spent playing the obedient, demure wife to a husband who has ceased to notice her, Katmé grows increasingly restless. Her one source of connection is Samy, a childhood friend, struggling artist, and gay man—an offense punishable by law in Zambuena. When Katmé discovers that Samy’s new exhibition, funded by herself and Tashun, boldly critiques Zambuena's inequities, her public, married life is set on a collision course with her one true friendship. Political rivals descend and threaten Samy with incarceration, forcing Katmé into an agonizing choice: abandon her friend or destroy her family.

Mixing compassion with clear-eyed fury and a keen sense of the absurd, The Aquatics confronts one of contemporary Africa’s most entrenched societal issues in a story as immersive and inevitable as a quickly rising tide.

(Penguin Classics)

Kate Chopin's groundbreaking depiction of a woman who dares to defy the expectations of society in the pursuit of her desire

When The Awakening was first published in 1899, charges of sordidness and immorality seemed to consign it into obscurity and irreparably damage its author's reputation. But a century after her death, it is widely regarded as Kate Chopin's great achievement. Through careful, subtle changes of style, Chopin shows the transformation of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother, who - with tragic consequences - refuses to be caged by married and domestic life, and claims for herself moral and erotic freedom.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

(Evander Mills, 2)

The Bell in the Fog, a dazzling historical mystery by Lev AC Rosen, asks―once you have finally found a family, how far would you go to prove yourself to them?

San Francisco, 1952. Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has started a new life for himself as a private detective―but his business hasn’t exactly taken off. It turns out that word spreads fast when you have a bad reputation, and no one in the queer community trusts him enough to ask an ex-cop for help.

When James, an old flame from the war who had mysteriously disappeared, arrives in his offices above the Ruby, Andy wants to kick him out. But the job seems to be a simple case of blackmail, and Andy’s debts are piling up. He agrees to investigate, despite everything it stirs up.

The case will take him back to the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, and then out into the gay bars of the city, where the past rises up to meet him, like the swell of the ocean under a warship. Missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos that could destroy lives are a whirlpool around him, and Andy better make sense of it all before someone pulls him under for good.

Dive into the full Evander Mills series:

Lavender House
The Bell in the Fog
Rough Pages

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels

A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of this haunting American classic: a realistic and emotional novel about a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures written by the iconic American writer Sylvia Plath.

“It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath’s voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal.” — USA Today

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that Esther’s neurosis becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar an enduring classic.

By: Katrina Carrasco (Author), 2019, Paperback

**Finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Lambda Award in Bisexual Fiction**

"Sexy, fun, serious and unputdownable." ―Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post

“Brazen, brawny, sexy . . . full of unforgettable characters and insatiable appetites. I was riveted. Painstakingly researched and pulsing with adrenaline, Carrasco’s debut will leave you thirsty for more.” ―Lyndsay Faye, author of The Gods of Gotham

A vivid, sexy barn burner of a historical crime novel, The Best Bad Things introduces readers to the fiery Alma Rosales―detective, smuggler, spy

It is 1887, and Alma Rosales is on the hunt for stolen opium. Trained in espionage by the Pinkerton Detective Agency―but dismissed for bad behavior and a penchant for going undercover as a man―Alma now works for Delphine Beaumond, the seductive mastermind of a West Coast smuggling ring.

When product goes missing at their Washington Territory outpost, Alma is tasked with tracking the thief and recovering the drugs. In disguise as the scrappy dockworker Jack Camp, this should be easy―once she muscles her way into the local organization, wins the trust of the magnetic local boss and his boys, discovers the turncoat, and keeps them all from uncovering her secrets. All this, while sending coded dispatches to the circling Pinkerton agents to keep them from closing in.

Alma’s enjoying her dangerous game of shifting identities and double crosses as she fights for a promotion and an invitation back into Delphine’s bed. But it’s getting harder and harder to keep her cover stories straight and to know whom to trust. One wrong move and she could be unmasked: as a woman, as a traitor, or as a spy.

A propulsive, sensual tour de force, The Best Bad Thingsintroduces Katrina Carrasco, a bold new voice in crime fiction.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Heavy is the conscience that must keep its secrets.

No one expected Arix Sable to claw her way to victory and become the Black Hand. Even Arix never expected the price she would have to pay for her triumph. But beating her competitors was only the first step in taking her place at the new king's side. Now, the real test has begun.

There are new challenges to face, now under the grueling spotlight of her new position. As she steps into her new role, Arix wonders if more of herself than just her appearance was stripped away to make room for the new magick that now thrums in her veins. With her Five Fingers, an inner circle to assist and guide, Arix may have found a new family, and new confidence, to build the world she sees for Rökkur.

But more than just the council watches her now. It seems that the gods are turning to look, taking an interest in the success or the failure of the new Black Hand. All eyes watch; all eyes wait for a mistake.

THE BLACK CROWN is a dark fantasy novel with a focus on the rise from her to villain, with intricate religious and magical worldbuilding.

If you love villain origin stories filled with magical items and magical creatures, political intrigue, morally gray characters, and retribution, then you'll love The Black Kingdom trilogy.

THE BLACK KINGDOM TRILOGY READING ORDER:
Book 1: The Black Hand
Book 2: The Black Crown
Book 3: The Black Kingdom

Not all heroes are saints. Not all villains are monsters.

Arix Sable is a free-spirit. She roves through the cities of Rökuur, slipping nimble-footed into ornate halls, and nimble-fingered into the pockets of those who cross her path. Her self-taught talent and luck has kept her out of the dungeons, but even Arix can’t survive on luck forever.

Caught in an alley and coerced into a deadly competition to become the king's personal sorcerer, The Black Hand, Arix realizes that her way to freedom won’t be an easy one. Fearing that she’ll be found out for her lack of magical ability, Arix fights against a gambit of skilled individuals, all clawing for the ultimate victory.

With only one path left in front of her, Arix struggles to find her footing in the competition, and must use her old skills to survive. Can she learn to find her place in this new world without becoming a pawn in a power-hungry game? And will she be able to distinguish between friend and competitor as their numbers dwindle?

THE BLACK HAND is high fantasy novel with a focus on the rise from hero to villain, with intricate religious and magical worldbuilding.

If you love villain origin stories filled with magical items and magical creatures, political intrigue, morally gray characters, and retribution, then you’ll love The Black Kingdom trilogy.

THE BLACK KINGDOM TRILOGY READING ORDER:

Book 1: The Black Hand

Book 2: The Black Crown

Book 3: The Black Kingdom

By: Micah House (Author), 2024, Paperback

The Blanchard family were left devastated by the events they faced in THE HOUSE OF DUQUESNE. The losses the family suffered have taken months to come to terms with, but now they are settling into their new normal. 

In this fifth novel of THE BLANCHARD WITCHES series...the Blanchard family may be absent a few faces, but their indomitable family love is carrying them through. Unfortunately, stretches of peace never last too long for these valiant witches.  A new (and somewhat inexperienced) enemy has plans to wipe out the entire Blanchard clan.  And as if that is not trouble enough, one surviving foe from Duquesne House is still out there, biding his time to seek his revenge.

While Demitra holds down the home front, guiding her grieving family into brighter days, Artemis travels the country on the hunt for Seth and Yasmine, once beloved Blanchards, now turned fiendish vampires. Their daughter Hera has been changed forever by their abandonment, but her stepmother Miranda will do whatever she can to give Hera the stability and love she needs. 

And the Blanchards have lived through too many inexplicable events to continue under the public radar.  A reporter from a major news network is digging into the events of The House of Duquesne, and the mysteries of the Blanchard family.  The walls between the natural and supernatural world is crumbling, and perhaps it is about time, for some of the Blanchard witches are HALF SICK of SHADOWS.

By: Micah House (Author), 2021, Paperback

Welcome back to Daihmler County, Alabama. Come sit on Blanchard House porch and visit a spell, but don't get too cozy. The Autumn leaves aren't the only things changing as more problems emerge for the Blanchard witches.

As the second novel in The Blanchard Witches series opens…Olympia's youngest daughter Nacaria (who has been cursed to the shadows for two decades) has been freed from her sentence, but she has not come home. As the family tries to figure out why, a rescue mission seems necessary. Olympia’s middle daughter, Demitra, has mourned her late husband for years. Now she has a new beau, but her sister Artemis is suspicious of him. Is he who he says he is or is he up to something? And Fable is continuing to conceal her secret pregnancy not knowing what the family will do if they discover her baby was fathered by the werewolf they recently destroyed.

While the love that fills Blanchard House may be magical, that love will be tested as secrets are revealed and a deadly enemy must be faced down. Not everyone will make it out alive as the prodigal daughters come home.

By: Micah House, 2021, Paperback

Things are not always easy for the Blanchard family of Daihmler, Alabama. Over the last few years they've experienced more than their share of tribulations, even for a family of witches. Through the many ups and downs they have always had each other, but that was threatened at the end of Book Two as one of their own suddenly disappeared from a family cookout.

In the third novel of The Blanchard Witches series, the story picks up where PRODIGAL DAUGHTERS left off. The family is shocked to have just witnessed one of their own disappear right before their eyes, but there is little time to react as more Blanchard vanish from existence. Those who remain must search the past to find their loved ones. They will encounter relatives they have only heard about through family lore while facing delicate challenges in unfamiliar worlds. And someone will make a mistake which will alter the future of the Blanchard family forever.

You don’t want to miss this one! It’s when everything changes. Join the Blanchard as they face one of the greatest foes they've come up against...time.