Books Tagged With what - topic - magic

Word Count: Click here to reveal126000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: YOUR NEXT READ IS NOW BOARDING She can speak all languages. He can smell evil intent. They're enemies. They crave each other. With international settings, a conspiracy plot, star-crossed lovers, and sharp writing, The Demon in Business Class is a stunning debut novel spanning continents and genres. Zarabeth travels the world for a shady executive, laying the groundwork for global war. Gabriel offers a second chance to the criminals that a visionary leader sees in dreams. One rainy night in Scotland, they meet... Now, it's complicated. There's also the investigator, the witch, the playboy, the gangster, the cultist, the pre-school teacher, the two angels… And, the demon. Fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Michel Faber, and David Mitchell will love this stylish hybrid-genre novel. The Demon in Business Class is an international story of fantasy, intrigue, and love, on the uneasy ground where the human meets the divine.   "If William Gibson wrote paranormal .... weaves the dark worlds of the occult and big business into an intoxicating tale." – D. J. Butler, author of Witchy Eye "Creative spark? Anthony Dobranski ignites a creative bonfire ...A masterwork of invention." – Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of Man Alive! "... a swank cocktail of international intrigue, steeped in the supernatural, mixed with literary flair .... so sleek it flies off the page...." - Zach Powers, author of First Cosmic Velocity  

Word Count: Click here to reveal114000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A Slow Burn Meet Cute! Baker. Wizard. God of Space and Time. Cupcake enthusiast. How long will it take to fan the flames and enrage this gentle phoenix? Start counting. What's a wounded and lonely little cinnamon roll to do? Stripped of his psychic powers, Calico Winghorse flees his homeworld and travels to 19th century Earth via his inter-dimensional portal. As a mixed-blood phoenix trapped in human form, he opens a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area and quietly nurses his wounds. But the unique method of his arrival draws the unwanted attention of Infinity Corporation. Representing this angelic-run company is Agustin Chavez de la Cruz, the Demon Lord of California. Even though Agustin is IC's heir, he finds himself demoted from his duties to concentrate on his new assignment: take absolute control of Calico's portal. But Calico refuses to sell at any price. He is also very busy ensuring that the good people of the city are getting their fill of baked goods. Before Agustin can formulate a more gracious avenue of acquiring the gateway, the demanding head of IC interferes, further complicating matters. So as negotiations stumble along, Calico and Agustin come to realize they both want more than a stuffy business arrangement. However, due to Calico's injuries, the portal remains vulnerable to the darker forces that want it at any cost. Agustin will have to push both his angelic heritage, as well as his own psychic powers to the very limits to heal this sweet baker, who is also the portal world's God of Space and Time. The Demon Lord of California is the first book of an LGBTQ+ paranormal-fantasy series. You won't want to miss a first love found, hidden worlds, and a recovering workaholic grasping at his second chance. All centered around the control of an otherworldly portal. So curl up with your favorite beverage, and hang out with Cal and Gus for a while. You'll be happy you did!

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Summary: As the son of a wealthy man, Enitan Javed has spent his life frivolously—drinking, fighting, and making love. But after his father dies, Enitan is unjustly accused of murdering him and is given the harshest sentence possible. Judged irredeemable, he is banished to the Downs. As even young children know, nothing lives in the Downs except demons who delight in torturing the condemned. Brutalized by the men who transport him to his fate, Enitan has nothing left but his thirst for vengeance. His plummet to the Downs nearly kills him, and Enitan finds himself battered and helpless in a frightening, mysterious land. But many surprises await him there, including a strange man named Rig. And the realization that the demons he must face aren’t at all the ones he expected.

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Summary: Raven's a thief who just swallowed a dragon. A small one, sure, but now his arms are growing scales, the local wildlife is acting up, and his snarky AI familiar is no help whatsoever. Raven's best friend Aik is a guardsman carrying a torch for the thief. A pickpocket and a guard? Never going to happen. And Aik’s ex-fiancé Silya, an initiate priestess in a magical crisis, hates Raven with the heat of a thousand suns. This unlikely team must work together to face strange beasts, alien artifacts, and a world-altering threat. If they don’t figure out what to do soon, it might just be the end of everything. Things are about to get messy.

Word Count: Click here to reveal42000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: After Mandy’s family Troll Bridge is attacked and destroyed by dragons, Mandy finds herself alone. Her parents and her two little brothers have disappeared. Suspecting the dragons, she embarks on a desperate quest to find and rescue her missing family, or avenge them. On the way, she swallows her new resentment of dragons long enough to rescue Beeble, a tiny fae dragon. With the cute dragon’s help, and help from unexpected friends within the walls of the Dragon Transport and Pacification Society itself, the pair unravel a plot bigger than the destruction of her beloved family troll bridge. The Dragon Transport and Pacification Society Offer: Are your dragons not behaving? Are they lippy and talk back, or decide to eat their riders for the extra protein? Don’t despair. Take your worthless dragons and transform them with The Dragon Transport and Pacification Society. Our work is fully warrantied.* Grab your copy of this fun, almost cosy, adventure today.

Word Count: Click here to reveal108100 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Corentin is a scholar with a secret—his magical Talent allows him to turn into a dragon, and he isn’t alone in that ability. Long ago, dragons were hunted fiercely, until they went into hiding, becoming things of legend. Corentin has traveled the world with one aim—to protect his people and keep their secret safe. Drawn to the principality of Tournai by news of someone close to discovering that secret, he hopes to avert suspicion. His attraction to the too-serious Bastien isn’t convenient for his purpose, but it isn’t something he can ignore either. Lord Bastien, Earl of Ardesia, inherited his title unexpectedly when his parents were killed in a sailing accident along with the parents of his cousin, Prince Philip. Since then, Bastien has devoted his life to the obligations of his family and estate—so much so, that it has caused tension between him and his siblings. His world is further shaken when he receives an anonymous letter informing him that the tragic boating accident may, in fact, have been murder. Bastien throws himself into investigating whether the allegations are true and finding out who killed his parents. As Corentin and Bastien become closer, the mystery of Bastien’s parents’ death draws him further into danger. Corentin feels compelled to protect Bastien, but the threat is closer than they know. Now, Corentin must decide whether preserving his secret—and potentially his people’s safety—is more important than saving the man he loves.

Word Count: Click here to reveal87000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling? Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree-hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101. All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse. Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever. Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway.

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Summary: The magic is gone…or is it? Lucian is a jaded flirt and professional bard who knows all the old songs about sorcery. When he meets Corwin, a shy mage who can still use magic despite the Drought, Lucian finds his desire growing with each passing day—not just for answers, but for Corwin himself. Sparks fly as they find themselves passionately entangled in adventure and each other. But learning the true origin of the Drought and the Key to ending it comes at a price that their bond may not survive…

Word Count: Click here to reveal90000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: They say the enemy of the enemy is your friend. But sometimes it's hard to know the true enemy--and harder still to know who your true friends are.   As a hunter, Constance Jaeger grew up believing that all vampires were evil. But now the Accords say they are citizens with rights. Constance is dubious. And her doubt grows when a vampire who scoffed at the Accords has murdered a neighborhood cop who looked out for the homeless, the sort of cop even the street kids trusted. She wants revenge.   Her strongest ally against the rogue bloodsucker is the charming, fiddle-playing Valentine McBain. He's seeking vengeance for a beloved servant and friend killed by the same vampire. The only problem? Valentine is a vampire too.   She doesn't want to trust him, but she may not have a choice. The deeper they dig into their mutual foe's machinations, the bigger the problems they uncover. Simple revenge rapidly turns into a tangled web of corruption, trafficking, and sorcery, until Constance and Valentine are the only ones who can stop the summoning of a demon powerful enough to destroy an entire city.   Assuming they can work together long enough to do it.

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Summary: Second son of an earl and cousin to the Crown Prince, Griffen has worked hard to forge a career in diplomacy for the principality of Tournai, but he never expected his diplomatic skills would be necessary for a problem so personal to him and his family. A delegation from the mysterious kingdom of Ivria has come to Tournai to make sure the secret of their people—the magical Talent allowing them to change into dragons—and therefore their kingdom itself remain safe. The delegation is concerned with Corentin, an Ivrian, and the man Griffen’s older brother is soon to marry. The Ivrians seem to want to drag Corentin back to Ivria for the offense of revealing their secret, but Griffen refuses to let it happen. His determination puts him into contact—and conflict—with Kirill, a negotiator for the king of Ivria who possesses the dragon Talent himself. The two clash and connect, getting closer and pulling away as they try to negotiate the needs of their people and an unwanted attraction between themselves. However, just as trust might be growing between them, a plot is uncovered and a member of the Ivrian delegation murdered. Griffen and Kirill must discover who is behind both for the safety of their countries and the people they love…and for a chance to be together.

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Summary: Fast-paced Action-Adventure for fans of D&D and hopeful dark fantasy. A reckless young thief lands himself in a team of misfit spies. Their mission, to stop an apocalyptic war bearing down on his home. But at what cost? Our hero, Birger, must pull off a reverse heist while confronting a magically enhanced giant and an army of greenskins. He relies on his endurance, wit, charm, and the unwavering support of his friends – both in battle and psychologically – to push through. What better place to find hope than in the darkness? This detailed high fantasy world was created through d&d and narrative tabletop war campaigns with real people.

Word Count: Click here to reveal24000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A prince without power In a land where magic is commonplace, Prince Llyskel has none. He can’t command spells, he has never been taught to fight, and as the fifth son of the King, he will never rule. Everyone believes he’s a weakling, most of all himself. Powerlessness is Llyskel’s problem—and his pleasure. In his secret fantasies, the prince dreams of nothing more than finding himself helpless at another man’s hands… particularly the hands of Captain Ariv of the Guards. Then Ariv makes Llyskel’s dream a reality, and as the powerless prince surrenders to the soldier’s desire, he finds his own true strength at last. But a web of royal politics is closing around Llyskel, threatening to tear him from his lover, and it will take all his newfound courage to escape… 24,000 words | 76 pages (pdf) contains five shaded black-and-white illustrations by Yana Goya

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Summary: Magical Realism. Shamanism. Post-apocalyptic survival. Coming of age. Found Family. All of that and more in a short adventure in future Oregon after the great Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquakes have ravaged the west. Meet Rodney, a seven year old boy who can see the spirits of the dead. Meet Justin, a mostly-absent father who still wishes the best for his son. Meet AJ, the bridge between them and commander of the militia forces sent to liberate the community of Sutherlin from their evil overlords. Rodney first sees the spirit of a recently departed soul when he is only seven. He sees two of them in only a couple weeks. And they tell him things. Things his community are having difficulty believing. So he tells them secrets. Secrets that those spirits shared with him. When he's 17, another spirit helps Rodney and his militia patrol survive an ambush. Things build from there with an expedition to a ravaged community resulting in a short war to liberate them. Spirits, haunts, and otherworldly guides work with Rodney to rescue a community. Rodney becomes The First Knight Shaman.

Word Count: Click here to reveal18600 (Click here to hide)

Summary: “Your Path is muddy, Kelnaht, but don’t think avoiding the puddles will make it easier to travel.” Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith when a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit. Kelnaht’s former lover Ianys once betrayed him, and the shunned forester Taruif is not allowed to talk to anyone but the guide, their spiritual pathfinder. When Taruif turns out to be the only witness to the crime, Kelnaht must suppress his forbidden feelings or face the ire of the elders. Ianys is terrified the tribe will blame Taruif for the crime, and despite their painful history, Kelnaht tries to keep his impulsive ex-lover from sacrificing his freedom for an impossible love. If Taruif and Ianys’ affair becomes known, Ianys will lose his daughter. Kelnaht finds himself yearning to claim both Taruif and Ianys at the coming Solstice and turns to the guide, who gives him only cryptic advice. It is up to Kelnaht to prove Taruif’s innocence and find a path free of puddles and mud for all three of them. This is the single ebook release of the first Act of A Triad in Three Acts

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Summary: The Fright Factory is here to help you as you labor in the control room, on the assembly line, or mixing the chemicals of inspiration and imagination in huge vats that give off dark and eerie vapors. Here you'll find guidance in drawing up the blueprints of your story along with a selection of tools to help you customize your design. The elements of horror include the setting, the tingle of suspense building into genuine fear, and of course the Monster. Those are the basics. From there horror can become ghost stories, tales of suspense, splatter and/or gross-out horror, and what might be called the O. Henry approach (twist endings). Cross-genre writing mixes in police procedurals, P.I. stories, and medical horror. Romance with monsters has become popular. You can also throw in the weird western, the Elder Gods, and Joe R. Lansdale - a category unto himself. Whether you're telling a weird tale in the classic tradition of Clark Ashton Smith or creating cutting edge steampunk frights, the long and venerable history of the horror story has also spawned a set of clichés you'll want to avoid. Now the whistle shrieks, signalling the beginning of a new shift. Time to set the machinery of the factory in motion as we explore the art and craft of building better horror.

Word Count: Click here to reveal96,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A guard and a thief. What could go wrong? Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven's a thief, which makes things … complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been kidnapped by a dragon. Now Aik is off on a quest of his own, to hunt down the foul beast and make them give back his … friend? Lover? Soulmate? The whole not-knowing thing just makes everything harder. Meanwhile, the world of Tharassas is falling apart, besieged by earthquakes, floods, and strange creatures no one has ever seen before. Aik's ex, Silya has gone back to Gullton to try to save her people as the Hencha Queen, and Aik's stuck in a caravan with her mother and a damnable magical gauntlet that won't let him be. He has to find Raven, before it’s too late. Things were messy before … but now they're much, much worse.

Word Count: Click here to reveal105000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Cmd. Boone knows he works for the bad guy. He knows the warlord wants to end humankind. And he knows his treachery—hiding the warlord's rival—means death. His plan: escape with the warlord's weapon. But his superiors are catching on, and the rival fleet isn't as receptive as he'd hoped. And worse: the weapon has a reckless agenda of her own. Multi-award winning space opera. Full of page-turning action, epic space battles, twists & biological magic.

Word Count: Click here to reveal93300 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Silya comes into her own, but will she be enough? Silya finally has everything she always wanted: She's the Hencha Queen, head of the Temple, and is mastering her newfound talents. So why does the world pick now to fall apart? Her once-nemesis Raven is off riding dragons, and their mutual friend (and her ex) Aik is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a new threat menaces the Heartland from the East. If she can't convince a reluctant city council to prepare for the worst, she may lose everything—and everyone—she's ever cared about. As Silya wields her abilities, dry wit, and sheer determination to save her city, she's joined by Raven and his new friends, just as a dark storm threatens to sweep them all away. Will their aid help tip the scales? And will she and Raven finally find out what happened to Aik? Forget messy. Things just got apocalyptic.

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Summary: Fabren Lacalian never foresaw consequences like this. Teaming with his master for a vengeful prank, the half-human magician forged a false prophecy to embarrass the wizards who belittled them. But after his teacher is murdered by a sinister pretender claiming to be the heir they foretold, the terrified apprentice flees for his life as the sole custodian of the truth. Riddled with guilt and hunted by assassins, Fabren finds an unlikely ally in an archivist who believes wholeheartedly in the escalating lie. And with only his meager keyhole magic to protect them from the vile usurper’s minions, the sham seer may be the author of everyone’s destruction. Can Fabren end the madness before the realm falls to its doom? The Keyhole Wizard is the thrilling first book in The Doorway to Magic high fantasy series. If you like underdog heroes, dire stakes, and unique systems of sorcery, then you’ll love Susan and John Ruff’s dive into destiny.

Word Count: Click here to reveal39000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A Beauty. A Beast. A Curse. This is not the story you know. Join author Heather Rose Jones on a new and magical journey into the heart of a familiar fairytale. Meet Alys, eldest daughter of a merchant, a merchant who foolishly plucks a rose from a briar as he flees from the home of a terrifying fay Beast and his seemingly icy sister. Now Alys must pay the price to save his life and allow the Beast, the once handsome Philippe, to pay court to her. But Alys has never fallen in love with anyone; how can she love a Beast? The fairy Peronelle, waiting in the woods to see the culmination of her curse, is sure that she will fail. Yet, if she does, Philippe’s sister Grace and her beloved Eglantine, trapped in an enchanted briar in the garden, will pay a terrible price. Unless Alys can find another way…