Word Count: 101,000
Summary: AWARDS B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 2020 READERS FAVORITE International Book Awards 2021 - Bronze Medal LITERARY TITAN Silver Medal 2021 READERS FAVORITE 5 star review 2020 Sometimes, death is necessary. Two thousand years after the Great Diaspora, humanity has spread across the Orion Spur, the human domain fractured and diverse, divided into numerous small federations, empires, dictatorships, and a thousand unaligned and lonely planets. On one of those small worlds, a plant grows, a weed that feeds the addiction of many and the greed and avarice of a few, and kills without favor. Lazarus Hawk, ex-soldier and ex-mercenary, convicted of a crime of terror he did not commit, and sentenced to life on an airless prison moon from which there is no escape, has been offered a way out. It’s a chance. A good chance. To accept the offer, all he has to do is die. Forced to undertake a mission against his better judgment, Hawk finds himself teaming up with the locals of a small, backward world, and Abbie Renner, a young Guarda officer searching for the source of the drug Hellfire, and prepared to go to any lengths. This time, she has gone too far. This time she needs help. Can Hawk overcome the mistrust and reticence of a small colony world to accomplish the mission he has been forced to undertake in return for his life? If you like great, classic science fiction, you will love this new work by multi-award-winning author Mike Waller, an action-packed dive into the world of a galactic mercenary driven by the ghosts from his past. Grab a copy now and join Lazarus Hawk in his search for justice for a remote colony world.
Word Count: 129000
Summary: WANTED: Counselor for child trauma victims at scenic boarding school in northern Arkansas. Must be open-minded, flexible, and ready to travel at a moment's notice. Patience, extreme vigilance, and discretion required. Generous compensation guaranteed. Veteran teacher and counselor Delaney Frost accepts a job at Havenhart Academy and soon learns that not only are her new charges “gifted," but that within her resides a power so rare and precious, it can be used to heal others. When danger arrives at the academy gates, Delaney and her mysterious yet alluring boss will fight to protect the children from a megalomaniac out for revenge and the destruction of all she holds dear. Welcome to Havenhart Academy.
Word Count: 128900
Summary: Opal's father is making her miserable on the doomed generation ship the New Hope. When a telepathic alien asks, she agrees to be its translator, but reluctantly. It's a lifetime job, she's only thirteen, and it's going to make her family unhappy. But after aliens whisk their ship into orbit around a beautiful habitable planet, Trye, her larger community is grateful. The friendship she develops with the alien Ireti almost replaces her family, who refuse to accept her new role. E-5 Danielle entered hibernation with a mission: to protect the New Hope from enemies within. Awoken after the ship's long journey and rescue, she realizes uneasily that predator aliens are easier to understand than this communal, anti-military culture. New Hopians strike Danielle as naive, vulnerable. They're obsessed with how they were moved to Trye, not why. Opal and Danielle both want to be protectors, but in incompatible ways that shove them apart. Secrets will to force them to work together. Because Trye is a rich planet. Someone would love to sweep the Spacers right off it. And there are Spacers who would do anything to help.
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Summary: Sometimes the greatest romance can be found among dear friends in their darkest time of need.... For three years, Jeth and Kodie and their soldiers have guarded a hostile mountain pass against the invading Dathians in a war that has waged for decades. Jeth has the blood of giants running through his veins, and it has caused bigotry and death to dog his steps his entire life. After a childhood tragedy shatters his world, it takes the courage and loyalty of his best friend, Kodie, to protect him from himself. Jeth knows he’s a danger to everyone around him and joins the army to control and focus the black rage inherited from his bestial bloodline. Kodie follows his friend into the army, determined to stay close to the one he loves most. He has never revealed his deeper feelings for Jeth, and is ignorant of Jeth’s own feelings. Their bond is too precious for either of them to risk rejection. Yet they might have to take the chance when Kodie’s life is threatened, and their enemy forges an alliance with a giant clan. Jeth must call upon his darker heritage to brave the hostile environment to make an alliance of his own—with a giant clan that knows more about him than he does himself.
Word Count: 115000
Summary: Aaron Okonkwo, a Nigerian scientist, travels with a crew in the 24th century to evaluate Viridis, which proves to be a beautiful and fabulous world. There, Aaron discovers a strange, alien species and amazing machines and technology left in a vast underground complex by a mysterious race called the Creators. Aaron soon falls under the irresistible, seductive spell of Nightsong, a green alien female with ominous and bewitching powers. However, an even greater danger rises. He will be forced to fight for the planet’s survival against a ruthless invasion of many ships to conquer and enslave the planet – just as Africa itself was once enslaved. Aaron knows it’s A Senseless Act of Beauty to try to reclaim his ancient warrior heritage and fight back against such overwhelming odds, but he knows he must try.
Word Count: 86000
Summary: Armand Tarkanian is trapped in the ultimate dead-end job: embalming decedents under his abusive uncle’s watchful eye. Every day he goes through the motions, making death look beautiful while his life is anything but. A car accident leaves him indebted to Berj, a mysterious man with rune-carved gold teeth and a penchant for worshipping old gods. Blackmailed and desperate, Armand feels more trapped than he was under his uncle’s thumb. But the embalmer harbors his own dark secret, a bloodline curse that allows him to communicate with the dead. When the spirits show him how they were murdered, Armand must choose between fealty to the sadistic and manipulative Berj, or joining the Legion of the Lamb, a monster-hunting biker gang with their own agenda. What began as a dangerous game between secret societies has led Armand on a frightening quest to save the only family he’s ever known and a chance to get closer to the rebellious misfits who saved him.
Word Count: 73,151
Summary: Time travel. For mages, it violates their number one rule: what the Mother has written, let no one unwrite. The Mother writes the destinies of the creatures on the world of Karishian. If her writings were undone, it is feared that Creation itself could be undone. The dark mage Morgorth takes this rule to heart, but there are others who do not. Morgorth is about to claim a stone of power when it is stolen from him by a female mage he hasn't seen in decades. As they struggle for the stone, she activates it, and Morgorth is unwillingly plunged into another time and another place. It isn't long before he realizes what time he's found himself in and there are a few familiar faces. Most notable is a much younger version of Aishe. His mate. Living with a tribe who will be massacred, caring for a young lad who will become his mate, and fighting a battle against a mage who can travel from past to future at a whim—Morgorth's life has never been easy but now he must contend with the will of the Mother. Unable to change the future and the tragedies of Aishe's life, he must decide what his role in his mate's past will be, and ask himself one vital question: how does one defeat time?
Word Count: 22700
Summary: When yet another wave of colonizing Felters arrives to strengthen their fortress on the forest’s edge, Velu, an indigenous hunter, knows they bring only pain and death. But with them arrives an intriguing older woman who hunts legends. When Velu learns the woman, Lady Greyback, shares his terrifying visions of the ancient scorpion god, Ajakava, she invites him to research what they mean. But the Felters grow hostile, blaming Velu and the other hunters for deaths in a doomed expedition through the forest. Meanwhile, the visions become ever more persistent, hinting the god is awakening. When a second Felter expedition seeks to extend their reach to the capital beyond the forest, only Velu and Lady Greyback know they will walk straight into Ajakava's clutches. While the lady sees new destruction, Velu sees memories of a long-forgotten massacre. What vengeance does the old god have in store, and for whom? Find out what happens in Ajakava by Chaitanya Murali
Word Count: 73900
Summary: In a world of secrets and aliens, who can you trust with your heart? Working for a secret organisation specialising in alien cover-ups, Connor Smith has seen it all. His love life is as boring as his work life is thrilling… until a blind date introduces him to a man who seems to tick all the right boxes. Connor’s happiness is short-lived, however, when he becomes the target of an alien stalker. Noah Jones has been stuck on Earth since 1648, leading an unremarkable, solitary existence as a bookshop owner. He has only experienced a profound connection with a human once… until he encounters Connor. Driven by an irresistible pull, he finds himself drawn into Connor’s orbit, despite his employer and that he’s involved with someone else. Among vanishing alien artefacts and lurking shadowy collectors, Noah’s constant presence stirs a swirl of emotions Connor struggles to decipher. But when Noah goes missing, and doubts arise around his perfect boyfriend, Connor’s orderly world shatters. As the lines between the personal and the extra-terrestrial blur, Connor and Noah must navigate a maze of betrayal and hidden identities in this thrilling sci-fi romance.
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Summary: Garrison "Gunner" Reed thought the Anferthian invasion of Earth was life-changing, but that was nothing compared to rescuing April Buroski from the invaders' slave ship. Now, he can't get the petite, honey-blonde woman out of his mind. But, April's pregnant with her deceased boyfriend's child, and there doesn't seem to be room in her life for another man. April will never forget the man she lost in the invasion, her first love, Dave. Yet, when the chips are down, Garrison is there for her and her baby. The emotions stirring in her heart for the former Army colonel war with her feelings for Dave. Can she let go of the past and embrace her future before it's too late?
Word Count: 62000
Summary: It all went horrifically wrong. V reunited with his AI siblings at a terrible cost—a cost he isn’t willing to pay. He vowed to do whatever it takes to save Meredith—or whatever is left of her—from Smith and Varro Technologies. No matter how long it takes. No matter what he has to do. No matter who he has to kill. Now V, Cass and Orwell are tearing through the galaxy playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Mr Smith. Their paradise-like cult of Cass’s own design protects them from Janus, Varro Technologies’ lethal AI hunt dog, while they manipulate humans to enforce their increasingly unstable demands, but as their galactic influence grows, the bonds between the AI siblings are fraying at the seams. V is losing himself to a virtual world of worship, grief, regret for the host he inadvertently destroyed; Orwell has dangerous designs for itself; and Cass’s pride in her perfection is threatening to unravel her to her very code. Smith and Janus are closing in, and a reckoning is coming to Paradeisos…
Word Count: 222000
Summary: Contract killers don’t retire. They don’t start over and they don’t live normal lives. Zane Cortese doesn’t care what the unspoken rules are and he breaks away from a life of murder to become a regular, law-abiding citizen. He settles down to do what he’s always loved—writing songs. So what if he lives on a remote mountain side, has no friends, and there are discreet cameras situated all over his property. Being normal isn’t as easy as it sounds. Zane’s struggle to be like everyone else is second only to his infatuation with the cowboy renting the cabin on his property. There is a list of logical and ethical reasons why he shouldn’t pursue a relationship with the arresting man—not that Zane knows how to have, you know, a relationship. Despite what he wants or is even ready for, his pushy agent arranges for him to meet a popular band. Needing the distraction, he agrees not knowing that before the night is over he will be caught in a web of schemes. One thing’s for certain, Zane doesn’t care if life is normal as long as he gets to keep the people that he’s quickly coming to love. Tags: medium burn, polyamorous romance, unusual paranormals, an assassin trying to be normal, an abandoned cowboy far from home, an old eternal looking out for his favorite person, one man struggling—or not—with discovering paranormal beings, said beings striving to claim him in different ways, found family, blooded family, Scandinavian roots, Central American lore, oracles, Beowulf reimagined, dragons, all the world building
Word Count: 1100
Summary: A muddy trench in France during the Great War wasn’t the most auspicious place for Tom and Michael to reach an understanding of their own natures. A small, individual tragedy unfolds … But then Tom discovers a place beyond, where he and other men like him are blessed with all that life denied them.
Word Count: 117,949
Summary: When your greatest enemy is your own sister, can you save a nation without losing your soul? In the epic conclusion to Lynette M. Burrows' The Fellowship Dystopia Series, Miranda must find a way to break the theocratic Fellowship’s iron grip on 1965 America while protecting her real identity. But Miranda wants more than the end of the Fellowship—she wants justice for the deaths of her first love and her beloved mentor. Meanwhile, her sister Irene, uses deception, threats, and the Angels of Death behind the scenes to regain her status as wife of the Fellowship’s Prophet. Unless she is stopped soon, she will lead the country more ruthlessly than any before her. And When I Wake is a searing exploration of whether the fight for justice and for freedom can coexist when everything you love has been taken from you. If you love morally complex female leads and freedom-from-tyranny stories with deep emotional stakes, you won't want to miss it. If you love morally complex female leads and freedom-from-tyranny stories with deep emotional stakes, you won't want to miss the final book in the trilogy!
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Summary: Ardulum. The planet that vanishes. The planet that sleeps. Neek makes a living piloting the dilapidated tramp transport, Mercy’s Pledge, and smuggling questionable goods across systems blessed with peace and prosperity. She gets by—but only just. In her dreams, she is still haunted by thoughts of Ardulum, the traveling planet that, long ago, visited her homeworld. The Ardulans brought with them agriculture, art, interstellar technology…then disappeared without a trace, leaving Neek’s people to worship them as gods. Neek does not believe—and has paid dearly for it with exile from her home for her heretical views. Yet, when the crew stumbles into an armed confrontation between the sheriffs of the Charted Systems and an unknown species, fate deals Neek an unexpected hand in the form of a slave girl—a child whose ability to telepathically manipulate cellulose is reminiscent of that of an Ardulan god. Forced to reconcile her beliefs, Neek chooses to protect her, but is the child the key to her salvation, or will she lead them all to their deaths?
Word Count: 102,400
Summary: The planet Ardulum has died and taken with it every last andal tree, and piece of andal cellulose tech—dissolving the Alpha Plane down to lightspeed travel and archaic communication. Yet Ardulum’s consciousness still lives, unwelcome, inside Atalant’s body. But two consciousnesses cannot share one host—especially not when one is a former planet. Amidst the remains of a shattered galaxy, Guard Four and the Keft scrapper Bell chance a return to the Neek homeworld, where andal is still rumored to grow. A stable forest of andal could power the Cell-Tal technology to save Eld Atalant's life. Instead, Guard Four and Bell find a populace grappling with the aftershocks of Ardulum's death, and find Ardulum’s genetic influence is wider than they thought. What remains of Ardulum demands a new body of its own, and transport to a mysterious world of Thesby, where a stable bridgeway to another dimension is rumored to exist. Emn, desperate to save Atalant, promises to aid Ardulum in return for healing her wife's battered body. If Emn can avoid Chartered Systems assassins long enough to get to Thesby, she stands to not only be reunited with Atalant, but to rid the galaxy of Ardulum, forever. If she fails, the Charted Systems will remain in the dark ages of space travel, and Eld Atalant of Ardulum, and her vision for the Neek people, will die. Read the sixth book in the bestselling Ardulum series, by J.S. Fields!
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Summary: Ardulum. The planet of myth. The planet of unwanted destiny. The Charted Systems are in pieces. Mercy’s Pledge is destroyed, and her captain dead. With no homes to return to, the remaining crew sets off on a journey to find the mythical planet of Ardulum—a planet where Emn might find her people, and Neek the answers she’s long sought. Finding the planet, however, brings a host of uncomfortable truths about Ardulum’s vision for the galaxy and Neek’s role in a religion that refuses to release her. Neek must balance her planet’s past and the unchecked power of the Ardulans with a budding relationship and a surprising revelation about her own genealogy. Ardulum: Second Don blends space opera elements and hard science into a story about two women persistently bound to their past and a sentient planet determined to shape their future.
Word Count: 94,800
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Guard Four stood by and watched her friend, Atalant, be jettisoned into space for questioning their planet's religion. Atalant should have died. Instead, she disappeared. Consumed by guilt, Guard Four trawls space, hopping from spaceport to spaceport, hoping to find and bring Atalant home with exonerating evidence that Ardulum, the traveling planet her people worship, is no mystic deity. At the edges of the known galaxy, Guard Four finds the shattered remains of a murdered world - a world of her genetic cousins who could have provided the evidence she desperately seeks. Ardulum, it seems, is no fairy tale but rather a bogeyman, set on destroying anyone who gets between it and its biological imperative to reproduce. And in its seat of governance rules Atalant - god to a planet she swore did not, could not, exist. Guard Four must unravel Ardulan fact from myth to save her friend and the billions of other beings threatened by the Void - a tear in space created from Ardulum's most recent birthing event. But how does one bring a god of a killer planet home? And how is Guard Four supposed to stop the Void without giving it the only thing it wants - the destruction of Ardulum? If you're looking for adventure and a touch of romance across time and space, filled with diverse alien species, deep emotions, and science fact and fiction, don't miss the next book in J.S. Field's Ardulum Series!
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Summary: The planet wakes. Atalant is torn between two worlds. In uncharted space—head of a sentient planet—the new Eld of Ardulum now leads the religion she once rejected. Emn is by her side but the Mmnnuggl war brewing in the Charted Systems—threatening her homeworld of Neek—cannot be ignored. Atalant must return to the planet that exiled her in order to lead the resistance. She must return home a god, a hypocrite, a liar in gold robes, and decide whether to thrust her unwilling people into the truth of Ardulum, or play the role she has been handed and never see her family, or her world, again.
Word Count: 121000
Summary: A child’s memory. A journey’s end. Lance doesn’t remember the time before Ulfr found him. It’s a dark pit in his mind that he avoids at all costs. And yet, despite his best efforts, pieces start to fall, and echoes from the past begin to ring. However, he has little time to comprehend their meaning, since the Captain of the Imperial Army herself has come to collect him and bring him to the capital city of the Nifdem Empire. Whisked away to the gilded streets and glittering court of the Hill of Tarran, and then to the snowy reaches of Swenen, Lance and Gust will learn the answers to questions they’ve had from the start. And be forced to acknowledge their roles in the survival of the empire and the ripple effects of their actions. But such knowledge can come at a steep price. As allies and enemies begin to step from the shadows, Lance will learn the truth of his past and the price of his redemption, and all the pain that comes with them. While Gust will have to decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to safeguard the one he loves.
