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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: What sacrifice will come to pass this night? With Trenton Woods officially missing, The Furies are under the care of their new manager, the legendary Xandria Malcom. As if that wasn’t enough pressure, the band will soon be playing at the Metallizer Festival and opening for the one and only Emperor Immortal. All of Lottie Ferro’s dreams are finally coming true, but all good things demand sacrifice. Music is fading from Lottie, one song at a time. Campers are disappearing from the festival, and The Furies fear something worse than witches is to blame. As tensions mount within the band, Lottie must find a way to make peace with what’s done or risk losing more than just her music or her sisters. This time, she might just lose herself.

A Rhythm of Death - Amir Lane - Heavy Metal Hunters
A Rhythm of Death
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Word Count: 37000

Summary: „Poetry in prose... I love a story that is huge, but also incredibly intimate, and this novella managed to encompass both of these things.“ —Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel in Game of Thrones) Minister Shea Ashcroft took pity on innocents. The result was violence and exile. Out on the border, all he's in charge of now is construction of the queen's massive defensive tower, using technology brought by refugees from another world. But one of them warns him that the plan to use her people's devices may draw attention none of them can afford. If Shea backtracks, his future will be destroyed. If he doesn't, they all may be.

Tower of Mud and Straw - Yaroslav Baruskov
Tower of Mud and Straw
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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: 67000

Summary: When Heavy Metal Meets Serious Magic, Get Ready for Some Monstrous Consequences. Lottie Ferro lives her life by order and rules, but on stage it’s nothing but chaos. While leading goth metal band The Furies on their first tour of the year, Lottie uses her band’s witchy theme to hide her magic in plain sight. As Lottie struggles to keep their manager, Trenton from sabotaging their careers, she starts to suspect she isn’t the only one who’s hiding something. Trenton discovers her secret and offers her an ultimatum: perform a ritual for him or get shut out of the industry forever. Lottie has no choice but to tell her bandmates the truth. Together, they agree to find a way to give him what he wants. When the ritual goes wrong, it opens the door to bigger dangers than any of them are prepared for. From author N.J. Ember and USAT Bestselling Author Amir Lane comes a story of music, magic, and mayhem.

A Falsetto of Fury - Amir Lane & N.J. Ember - Heavy metal Magic
A Falsetto of Fury
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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: 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: 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 - Servant Sovereign
All the Pomp of Earthly Majesty
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary:

What’s real? What’s imagined?

Viviane is schizophrenic. It’s genetic—from her mother’s side of the family. She can usually handle her hallucinations, but when one of them starts killing people, Viviane discovers that nothing in her world is as mundane as she thought it was. Especially not her fiancé who brings his own special magic to their relationship. It’s a long fall from the moon, and Reality will never be the same.

Escape with Viviane into the dark of night where romance is thwarted by the sinister machinations of family politics and the clash between two very different worlds.

Stalking the Moon - Angel Leigh McCoy - Wyrdwood
Stalking the Moon
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary:

“Is blood thicker than water?”

The answer seems obvious until a half-millennium-old blood feud ignited between twin brothers of a 16th century Scottish Reiver clan revisits violence generation to generation, pursuing their descendants from island to island and finally onto a new continent ,where the familiar proverb is ultimately pitted against this fluid tale of guilt, blood, water, and time.

Rich with magical realism, Is Blood Thicker taps millennia-old folklore to spin a modern fable of love, pain, and family wisdom consumed by a lived code:

‘Drink, Pray, Fight, Feck’ … and a fox.

Is Blood Thicker - CK Page
Is Blood Thicker
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Word Count: 70000

Summary: With a serial killer on the loose, the baffling mystery of Aiden’s past, and their tenuous budding romance, Aiden and Fouchard tread through a world of magic and myth on padded shoes, terrified to stir up something neither can control or defeat. Aiden Mercer’s life now centers around lounging on the sunny beaches of his adopted country with a beer in one hand and a coffee in the other while admiring the local male population. After a rough life as a respected detective in DC, playing it cool shouldn’t be too hard, right? With the magical community on his case and dead bodies piling up around town, the responsibility of finding their killer seems fated to fall on him and deny him of his easy living. Then there is Naël. Cantankerous merman Naël Fouchard's life is focused on bringing up and protecting his little sister. When DNA found at the scene of the murders mark him as the prime suspect, Naël seeks out the help of Aiden, whose reputation as a detective grossly belies his lazy lifestyle and apparent lack of ambition. The chemistry between the strong, stoic Naël and the easygoing Aiden is undeniable, no matter how many walls Aiden builds. If this unlikely pair can’t come to terms with their feelings for each other long enough to catch the killer, their emotional turmoil might yet allow the murderer to kill them instead.

Of Magic & Scales - Natalina Reis
Of Magic & Scales
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Word Count: 105,000

Summary: Would it kill you to create something genuinely new? In Robert's world, it used to. Supernatural vengeance for invention is now a thing of the past. Young, optimistic, quick of mind and quick to act, Robert thinks being invited to the New School is an invitation to change the world. But change is difficult when there is no history of innovation. He is initially successful in his studies, but nothing is as simple as he naively imagines. His classmates confuse and frustrate him. One is a drunk, while another two constantly stalk him. Is it for love or something more sinister? Robert's optimism is further tested by protestors who circle the campus, decrying the newly invented breed of grain. They claim it is poison and that the New School should be punished by Nimrheal, the god who formerly murdered inventors. Robert suspects foreign business influences are behind the protests, but he quickly finds that investigating their cause is dangerous. Robert's most difficult challenges are his unresolved childhood issues. His mother died while he was a child. Robert's formative helplessness and inability to remember her face projects into a powerful and blinding protectiveness towards all women. When a campus assault pushes Robert over the edge, his hopes of even staying at the New School are jeopardized. He cannot aspire to change the world if he does not even know himself. At the same time as Robert struggles on campus, a powerful, ruthless and emotionally closed man known only as the Lonely Wizard journeys across an empty wilderness to return home. As Robert and the Lonely Wizard move closer together, Robert finds that instead of entering a golden era of invention, he may instead be on the brink of a cold war and an endless, unchanging dark age.

Dynamicist - Lee Hunt - Dynamicist Trilogy
Dynamicist
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Genevieve doesn't know if her unhappiness and feelings of not fitting in are different from anyone else's on her college campus. Recovering from a break-up and struggling with depression, she takes comfort in her impulsive sketches of strange creatures to try to escape the dark cloud that looms over her. But the truth is her place in this world is a lot more complicated than she could ever imagine. With two strange men following her, vines that engulf her dorm overnight, and a cactus that overruns the campus library, she is forced to face the possibility that her origins are more mysterious than the fact that she was abandoned as a baby. Especially as a powerful urge takes hold of her to draw something new and frightening. Can it be that her reality is stranger than her imagination? The one thing she can't imagine is that her happiness and talents just might be the key to save or destroy an invisible world.

In the Drawing - Simone Snaith
In The Drawing
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: You can tell a lot about a person by looking at the people in their life — Mike LeBonte is no exception. Who is Ritter, and why is he so important to Mike? Who is the Grey Man in the Atheneum? And what is Chevalier to the Rosicrucians? Did Reverend Greene really escape? Whatever happened to Becky? Also included in this collection is the first case that Grimaulkin has with his new apprentice, Ash. Re-enter the world of Grimaulkin, where magic is real.

Grimaulkin Tales - L.A. Jacob - Grumaulkin
Grimaulkin Tales
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: The Hunt is On! When strength becomes weakness… And hope becomes doubt… As the past collides with the future…hard… Can Suzanne—Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court—stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King’s armies, and her first encounter with roller derby… but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before. Suzanne is left with only one question—what if they’re wrong? The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul…

The Redcap's Queen - Danielle Ackley-McPhail
The Redcaps' Queen
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Word Count: 31000

Summary: Daren Novak and Gunny Schuler have known each other since freshmen days at the University of Washington, where they'd started a romance Daren assumed would last. But at the start of winter break, Gunny bowed to the dictates of his lifelong religion and his overbearing father and left UW never to return. After a failed marriage, Gunny built a quiet life embracing his gay identity, and left his North Dakota home, his marriage, and his father's business for a forestry and teaching career in Oregon. Meanwhile, Daren has built up his own life around managing a unique holiday venue, the Holiday Home Hotel, and performing for the guests in drag as "Dare." A decade has passed since they last saw each other, but now winter’s harsh weather brings them face to face—helped along by a minor goddess and powerful forest spirit. Too much hurt might lie between them now to fix things, but interfering supernatural beings are determined to force them to try.

The Holiday Home Hotel - Lou Sylvre - Escape From the Holidays
The Holiday Home Hotel
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Word Count: 40000

Summary: Spells & Stardust is Scott's first anthology - eight sci fi and fantasy shorts that run the gamut from regeneration to redemption. The Bear at the Bar: A gay fish out of water tale with a pinch of magic. Tight: What happens when your lover disappears in midair? Morgan: The year when everything changed. Re-Life: What if you were reborn in a strange new future? A New Year: They met every eleven years. And each time, Hank's life changed. Repetition: What if you wanted to go back in the closet? Gargoyle: Sometimes you get what you deserve. Sometimes it happens on All Hallows Eve. Avalon: A few bright moments in the sun, stolen from outside time. Most of these stories have been previously published in various anthologies and journals. This is the first time they have all been collected in one place.

Spells & Stardust - J. Scott Coatsworth
Spells & Stardust
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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.

The River City Chronicles - J. Scott Coatsworth
The River City Chronicles
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Word Count: 85,000

Summary: All Keiron wants is a quiet life. Fat chance with a boyfriend like Bren. But if he thought Bren complicated his life, that was nothing compared to the complications that begin when he opens the door to what he thinks is a naked boy claiming to be his slave. Draven is a fairy with his sights set on the handsome human who keeps a wild place in the garden for fairies. When Draven slips through a fairy gate into the city, he sets in motion a series of events that binds him to Keiron forever, and just might be the end of him. While Draven explores Keiron’s world with wide-eyed wonder, Keiron does everything he can to keep Draven’s at bay, until the only way to save Draven and bring him home is to step into a world that should exist only in children stories.

Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden - Cheryl Headford
Fairies At The Bottom Of The Garden
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Rose Titus, author of The Vampire Next Door Trilogy, now brings together a collection of her best short stories. Here in this book you will find tales of vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, space aliens, and even a few angels. These stories answer questions such as where do we go after we die? What is the future of this planet? And what is the future of humanity? There are also stories of young runaways, old hippies, worried mothers, troubled families, love gone horribly wrong, selfish billionaires, people who find themselves suddenly homeless, old men with their recollections of days gone by, and girls gone wild! There may even be a murder or two.

Key 13 and Other Stories - Rose Titus
Key 13: And Other Stories
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