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fantasy – magical realism

Magical realism is a subtle form of contemporary fantasy, in which magical elements are present in the everyday world. Return to general Fantasy

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Summary: When Joan's husband dies, she is forced to move with her young son, Joey, from home to home. But at each home, an evil follows, forcing Joan and Joey to move again and again, hunted. They never know why they’re being hunted. All they can do is run away from the constant threat until, hopefully, it gives up the chase … or they find a savior who can either end it, or help them to fight it forever.

Widow - Rob Bliss
Widow
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Word Count: 115000

Summary: A group of strangers meets at Ragazzi, an Italian restaurant, for a cooking lesson that will change them all. They quickly become intertwined in each other's lives, and a bit of magic touches each of them. Meet Dave, the consultant who lost his partner; Matteo and Diego, the couple who run the restaurant; recently-widowed Carmelina; Marcos, a web designer getting too old for hook-ups; Ben, a trans author writing the Great American Novel; teenager Marissa, kicked out for being bi; and Sam and Brad, a May-September couple who would never have gotten together without a little magic of their own. Everyone in the River City has a secret, and sooner or later secrets always come out. Narrated by Michael Lysan.

The River City Chronicles audiobook - J. Scott Coatsworth, Michael Lysan
The River City Chronicles
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Word Count: 92460

Summary: Conundrum is a guilty pleasure, M/M fantasy novel that asks what you would sacrifice to save your family and closest friends. That’s the question Takoda Freeman, a young Native American witch, faces. Takoda puts his complete trust in Russell Sands, a werewolf, who says he can help save his loved ones, ignoring that fact that Russell was his father’s nemesis. Takoda risks it all to save his friend and mentor, Jared Mason, from two vengeful Puritans from the past. The ordeal left Jared with the singular longing to change his past. Jared vowed to make it so that he and his father never went to the 17th century when he was a teenager. If Jared successfully changed that event, a new reality would emerge, and Takoda would cease to exist. That sends Takoda on a frightening philosophical journey where he must ultimately decide whether saving his own life is greater than the lives of his friends and family.

The Hallowed Bloodline - Conundrum - M. Jay Williams
The Hallowed Bloodline: Conundrum
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Word Count: 36000

Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Ink Anthology
Ink
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Word Count: 23000

Summary: Alex always thought love was enough to keep him and Gio together. Why did they need wedding rings or legal certificates? But now, with Gio lost in a coma after a fire has destroyed their home, his partner’s mother banishes Alex from his side. Locked in a gray limbo inside his head, memories are all Gio has left, and the urge to let go is getting stronger. Nothing can keep Alex from Gio's side, even if he has to break the rules. In their stolen moments alone together, Alex fights to reach Gio, one memory at a time. What if Alex’s voice is the only thing that can bring Gio back?

Flames - J. Scott Coatsworth
Flames
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Word Count: 120552

Summary: Like a spout pushing its way through soil extending deep mighty roots as it grows firm and tall, Michael like those around him has become renewed in the sun. The Wheel of Creation continues to turn through tragedy and triumph with secrets and mysteries revealed, truth discarding deceit to rot away into dust. Terror still lurks in shadow, hinting at battles yet to come and while the union of souls may reign down catastrophe upon all involved, there is a newly shared optimism that this town, rebirthed and revived again after decades can meet the oncoming storm together. Bonded in battle, humbled in heart new friendships have replaced old animosities as all the residents are finding their place in creation.Despite the odds, the couple continues their path toward blending, but if the sun sets on their hopes or the union is not supported by the Mother, disaster could befall not just Michael and Kurra but the entire Grove.Book four of The Place Of Things is Blood. The blood spilled and shared through trial and combat, forged in a family or spilled through injury, death, or pain and joy. Will the Great Mother approve of a blending of souls, or will the remains and splatter of not just Michael, but all those he holds dear be splashed in chunks upon the wedding alter.As this story concludes in the middle it continues on like the cycle of the seasons. Never ceasing always evolving. Until next time, Love from the Sacred Grove.

Blood - Daniel Fisher - The Place Of Things
The Place Of Things Book Four: Blood
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Word Count: 216321

Summary: Root by Daniel Fisher, the third book in the Place of Things series is the continuing story of Michael and his new, rather unique fiancée. From the Winter’s Solstice to the Vernal Equinox we find our lovers and their friends explore new and creative ways to adapt to life-altering events. Having relocated and now a resident in the sanctuary town of Sacred Grove, Michael is finding his place among the mythical, mystical, and mostly immortal residents who’ve hidden away from the outside world. Not only is he coming out of his own isolation, but they are also finding he is dragging them out of self-imposed exile as well. Sometimes against their instincts. As his and Kurra’s love deepens, new mysteries are added to the mysteries and his and their worlds will never be the same.As the union between two souls from two drastically different worlds draws closer, new mysteries, challenges, and threats crop up for Michael, the mortal, and all the immortals that get caught in his wake. Enchantments and wards may not be enough to hold back the onslaught of supernatural forces if the wedding gets bumpy. Many may yet perish if things go awry. May the Goddess help them all.Book four, the conclusion to this tale coming soon.

Root - Daniel Fisher - The Place Of Things
The Place Of Things Book Three: Root
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Word Count: 19000

Summary: What if you could hear the words behind the words? Brad Weston’s life seems perfect. He’s GQ handsome, the chief of staff for a Republican California state senator, and enjoys the power and the promise of a bright future. And he’s in a comfortable relationship with his boyfriend of six years, Alex. Sam Fuller is Brad’s young blond blue-eyed intern, fresh out of college, running from a bad breakup, and questioning his choices and his new life in politics. To make things worse, Sam also has a thing for the boss, but Brad is already taken. While looking for a gift for his boyfriend, Brad wanders into a curiosity shop and becomes fascinated by an old wooden medallion. Brad’s not a superstitious man, but when he takes out the medallion in his office, he sees the world in a whole new light. And nothing will ever be the same.

Between the Lines - J. Scott Coatsworth
Between the Lines
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Word Count: 107884

Summary: Julian Gypsun used to be a young man on his way to becoming a contractor. Everything changed when he died and was resurrected as a wizard’s familiar. He was immortal and far better off physically than he had been as a human. Still, he was trapped with his life chained to a giant of a wizard who had no problem abusing him in every way imaginable. Julian was powerless to stop it without ending his own existence. That is until he was yanked bodily through his own portal, transported to Draoithe, and assigned to babysit the visiting dignitary, Amazon Warrior Princess Zephyra, and try to convince her that her people should ally themselves with Luke and Draoithe. That sounded easy, but it wasn’t. He liked her. He had no clue how to act on that. Best to avoid that altogether. Keeping her safe just might equal his death. (Please see her warrior princess title.) She was old and so far out of his league. Worse, she liked him and was determined to have him. He can’t even consider that. She has no idea how broken he really is.

Draoithe Midnight Magic - Ophelia Kee
Draoithe: Midnight Magic
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Word Count: 88743

Summary: Stone Is the second book in the place of things series. It picks up where the first book left off. Michael Anderson is now in a strange new world of mystery and Myth, as well with a strange new bed mate is beginning to find his way. Bone follows his journey as he finds a life outside of the mundane world, and embraces a world he could never have though possible.

Stone - Daniel Fisher - The Place of Things
The Place Of Things, Book Two: Stone
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Word Count: 90000

Summary: Jack Hansard is the man who can sell you anything. Luck in a bottle, fame in a box, dreams on a leash... anything is possible when you’re a trader on the occult Black Market. Jack is used to a life of handling dangerous goods, dodging disgruntled customers, and sometimes running away very fast. But when Ang (a two-and-a-half-foot tall coblyn right out of Welsh folklore) buys his help to find her missing kin, Jack suddenly finds the goods are riskier, the customers more treacherous, and escape is anything but guaranteed. The Jack Hansard Series is an episodic urban fantasy with a wide streak of humour and a lot of British folklore. Season One contains the first fifteen episodes in the series.

The Jack Hansard Series - Georgina Jeffrey
The Jack Hansard Series: Season One
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Word Count: 177,000

Summary:

Would you trade uncertainty for stagnation, chance for god, invention for inertia, thought for dogma?
Four years have passed since the events of Dynamicist and war is on the horizon.
Robert, Koria, Eloise and Gregory went to the New School, hoping to change the world. They thought that mathematically based dynamics, the enlightened age's answer to wizardry, would give them the power to make everything better. Their hopes were naive.
Protestors are condemning the creation of a new vaccine. The city is seeing a series of hangings; is it murder or sacrament? The cloaked man is back stalking students. The long-absent demons Skoll and Hati reappear and begin slaughtering whoever they meet. But the real question is, will Nimrheal return? If he does, who will die first?
Uncertainty is inspiring fear, and inventions are not making the world better, only more complicated. The terrified civilians don't want dynamics and reason. They want the word of Elysium and the return of the Methueyn Knights.
Koria fears the world faces an awful conundrum: that if the Knights return, Nimrheal will stay.
Will Robert, Koria, Eloise and Gregory choose to transform into angelic knights or, at the cost of such heavenly communion, instead banish Nimrheal? What price will be paid? If anew Methueyn Knight rises, will the age of invention disappear forever?

Knight in Retrograde - Lee Hunt - Dynamicist Trilogy
Knight in Retrograde
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Word Count: 157790

Summary: Michael Brian Anderson is a cynic, a mess and an agnostic, who in spirit is truly a wayward soul lost in suffering until this person finds their life turned upside down in an epic journey through Myth, Folklore and a world of the strange, the wyrd, and the gifts from creation.Transforming like a chrysalis from a broken body into a full realized and rather imposing figure.This tale I spin is an epic invocation that transcends billions of years through space/time and evolution to cast what one can blossom into when unconstrained by limitations of the mind, and a full realization of the spirit, that a broken body and heart can heal and effect the very outcome of the Great Web of Creation herself.

Bone - Daniel Fisher - The Place of Things
The Place Of Things, Book One: Bone
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: The Green Man is lost to Sherwood Forest... Yet the Horned Lord roams there still, and the legend grows. Robyn Hood has vanished, and the mystic trine of the Old Religion—Archer, Maiden & Knight—has been broken. Or has it? Rumours abound as to a hooded man wandering the Shire Wode. Marion holds both the Wode’s magical influence and the castle of Tickhill with shield, sword, and wit—not only for love of her covenant and her children, but as a weapon to bring her brother Robyn back. And Robyn’s lover, Gamelyn, plays a dangerous game with his Templar masters. They believe he has delivered the Wode’s Pagan rites to their use, all the while unaware that Gamelyn has sworn an even deeper oath: he will realise his own power and find Robyn, whatever the sacrifice. For it is Robyn’s to wield the deepest magic of all—he is the Sacrifice, and Undying King of the Wylding Wode.

Wyldingwode - J Tullos Henning - The Wode
Wyldingwode
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Reva and Ansee face fresh threats as a new evil is imported into Tenyl and threatens the city with an undead plague. Constable Inspector Reva Lunaria’s life is looking up. She’s managed to put two groups of unruly adventurers in jail and she gets word that her boyfriend, Aavril, has just arrived in port. She is looking forward to a relaxing dinner, a present, and maybe some time getting reacquainted after Aavril’s long absence. But Aavril’s ship has delivered more than a cargo of spices and exotic merchandise and a new evil begins to take root within Tenyl. Reva’s romantic evening is spoiled by news of a double murder. It should be a simple case, except that the victims have disappeared. Reva’s investigation barely gets started before Lord Constable Inspector Betulla contrives a way to get Reva suspended. With Reva temporarily off the force, the murder investigation is given to Constable Inspector Pflamtael, who is looking to find the fastest resolution to the case. Meanwhile, Seeker Ansee Carya investigates what appears to be a simple missing person case, until he discovers that the missing people – including the two murder victims – have become zombies. Now, Reva, with the aid of a halpbloed cleric, must work from outside the constabulary to figure out who is creating the undead, and how to stop the creatures before all of Tenyl becomes infected.

Joy of the Widow's Tears - Geoff Haiger & Coy Kissee - Constable Inspector Lunaria
Joy of the Widow's Tears
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Word Count: 145,000

Summary: Robert thought becoming a dynamicist would enable him to change the world, starting with saving all his friends from being slaughtered. He was wrong.

Acts of genuine creativity used to bring mortal punishment. But now, wizardry is dead and Robert, Koria and Eloise live in a world where change and invention is possible.
Robert hopes that mathematically-framed dynamics will enable him to change the new world. But he keeps having prophetic dreams where his friends are all murdered by a mysterious cloaked man, and the grain protestors are more menacing than ever. They declare dynamics is dangerous and that the changes must stop. They are right about one thing: dynamics is dangerous, especially for someone so hopeful, angry and impetuous as Robert.
Soon Robert's horrific nightmares come true and a cloaked man appears on campus, stalking and murdering students --his friends are next.
Desperate to change the future, Robert recklessly pushes the bounds of both dynamics and reason. Every crushing failure dampens Robert's hope for the future and pushes him a step closer to the powerful, nihilistic, and merciless Lonely Wizard.

Herald - Lee Hunt - Dynamicist Trilogy
Herald
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Word Count: 135408

Summary: Alexio Asmodai is the demon king of Eaglafonn, a small outpost kingdom in the Netherworld overruled by the Demon Lord Asmodeus. It is Alexio’s responsibility to protect and police the frontier borders against any threats. He is an accomplished knight, so that part came easy. Eaglafonn is a cold and isolated kingdom. Alexio needed to stay and build his castle atop the hot springs to beat an addiction to seduction sickness. After over seven centuries, he thinks his loneliness has finally come to an end when he opens a crate to find a woman sent by Asmodeus for him to keep safe. He falls for her instantly. She is a human woman, fragile, timid, and irresistible. He must follow his liege’s directive, convince her to become his queen, and see that she is cared for properly in a place that is inhospitable to her existence. This leads to a realization that his castle lacks a lot to be a first-class home for a lady. Can a tainted demon prince rise to the challenge to become a true king and win the woman who stole his heart? Dread Allies 7-14 The Shadow king of Eaglafonn has chosen his queen, but his castle lacks the feminine element. To make her more comfortable, he orders the demon princes to seek out and claim their own mates. That is easier said than done. Eaglafonn is a cold dark isolated kingdom in the Netherworld. It might be easier to claim mates from the Domhain, but not everyone could survive on the brutal dangerous frontier. The other options afforded from the Netherworld come with their own dangers. The magic is unbalanced and balancing comes with a price. Claiming their mates lead the demon princes on epic mini journeys and reveals the need for Eaglafonn to take a greater role in helping Luke aid the dream. Dread Allies is a miniseries set in the Netherworld in the dream. It is an ancillary group of stories to the Draoithe saga. While it is set in that world, it is not in the direct series lineup. The dream just got darker and colder. Welcome to Eaglafonn.

Dread Allies Shadow King - Ophelia Kee
Dread Allies: Shadow King
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Date With Death is a lighthearted romp through the cemetery of romance, where new love may rise from a shallow grave like a body washed out in the rain. Trekking across the veil to the great beyond and back, that thing that goes bump in the night, seeks the one whom to bump in the night, as mutual passion flares up from the shadows. The usually stoic Dustin Ney has a more interesting and complicated past than even his dearest friend Arman had thought imaginable. Invited by his parents to their home out west, Dustin embarks on a road trip with his companions. When worlds collide, Dustin’s true self emerges as Date With Death explores the beginning’s of new love, the dying of old one’s and the rotting shells of stagnate friendships being cast off like husks.

Date With Death - Daniel Fisher
Date With Death
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Word Count: 126000

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  

The Demon in Business Class - Anthony Dobranski
The Demon in Business Class
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Step through a portal in time - and steal a piece of history! Iria and Madge, witches extraordinaire, have summoned Joshua Norton I, self-declared Emperor of the United States, back from the nineteenth century to help them save the city of San Francisco from a demon of greed. Mammon, their infernal adversary, is running a real estate scam to end all real estate scams, and he's got his own helping hand from the city's past: Etta Place, famous in her day as the accomplice of Butch Cassidy and partner of the Sundance Kid. As Norton dodges mafia foot soldiers alongside another of San Francisco's larger-than-life figures from yesteryear on the fog-shrouded streets of Chinatown long ago, Iria and Madge find themselves face to face with Mammon and Etta in modern day - and trapped in very different timelines. It'll take all their ingenuity, bravery, and prowess to fix time itself, steal the prize, and get these three heroes back together!

All the Pomp of Earthly Majesty - Michael G. Williams - Shadow Council Archives
All the Pomp of Earthly Majesty
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