Title: Broken Beginnings Author: C. Hallman and J.L. Beck Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
The night I saved her eight years ago I knew a choice had been made.
Years later and I can’t manage to let her go.
She’s barely eighteen, virginal, and kind.
Touching her would be a sin, but letting another man have her would destroy me.
Every time I close my eyes I see her, standing there, afraid, scared out of her mind because of that one fateful night.
She doesn’t know the lengths I’ve gone to protect her.
The blood spilled, the words said.
Nothing deters my obsession… it’s wrong, immoral, to follow her, and watch her at every turn but I can’t help myself.
Her safety, her life. It’s the only thing of importance to me.
When an enemy lurking in the shadows challenges that I’ll do whatever I can to protect her, even make a deal with a devil, knowing the only way out is death.
Lucca tosses the broken plate into the sink. The sound makes me jump but doesn’t scare me as much as when I look away from the sink and find Lucca advancing toward me. I take a hesitant step back.
Instantly, I’m the prey, and he’s the hunter.
Lucca’s chest brushes against mine, and sparks of desire form low in my belly. I lick my bottom lip, wondering what it would be like to kiss him or if he would kiss me back? I’m so caught up in him, in his scent, his body, what I want him to do to me, that I lose focus for a moment. I can’t let the lust drive me alone.
Dark blue eyes pierce my own, and I break the connection taking a step back, putting a breath of space between us. It’s hard to show him my anger when he’s this close.
“I will not be your prisoner here. I will not be trapped in that bedroom. I’m an adult, but more than that, I’m a human being, not an animal you can keep in a cage.”
“I don’t care how old you are and what you think is best for you…” His voice is deep and soft, causing me to look up from his chest and directly into his eyes. His gaze has softened to a dull knife, and for once, in all the time I’ve known him, I feel like I’m seeing him, the real him, for the first time. His thumb brushes against the apple of my cheek, his touch making my skin heat. “Your age doesn’t stop me from protecting you, nor does it stop me from locking you up in that bedroom and keeping you there until you learn to listen to me.”
Born and raised in Germany, Cassandra moved to the United States when she was eighteen. She always had a love for reading, that love slowly transpired into writing. She put fingers to the keyboard and started writing about the dark side of romance.
J.L. Beck is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, she has written over fifty different romance novels. She started her journey of writing back in 2014 and hasn’t slowed down a second since then.
She’s captivated by real romance, and loves reading about strong “ALPHA” males, as well as sassy heroines that know or may not know what they want. She is best known for delivering a happily ever after but has ended things on a cliffhanger a time or two.
When she’s not typing away at her next book you can find her being a mom to her two adorable kiddos and wife to her high school sweetheart.
She’s obsessed with Starbucks, social media, and is definitely more of a dog person than cat.
A heartwarming, emotionally satisfying contemporary Australian romance with an international flavour, by Amber Jakeman
A fresh start. An instant enemy. But Stella is determined.
Sparkles fly when former office manager Stella Rhees, 30, flees a failed affair with her old boss, Damian. Determined to run her own show, she pursues her dream of creating and selling her own jewellery.
The problem? She’s opened her jaunty stall directly outside the famous Huntleys House of Jewels at the very moment handsome James Huntley the Third, 33, asks her to move so he can stage a publicity stunt. Feisty Stella won’t budge.
Despite a mutual physical attraction, Stella and James become instant enemies, their rivalry fanned by a social media war.
While Huntleys appears prosperous, it’s facing bankruptcy, and James’s mother and playboy brother are squandering the family fortune overseas.
James finds Stella and her fresh ideas irresistible, and she becomes the catalyst for him to change Huntleys’ path of self-destruction. He offers her a job, but how can she accept when she’s vowed to never fall into the old trap of falling in love with the boss?
For Stella and James to find their Happily Ever After, each must overcome personal demons, take risks and learn to trust the other. In this delightful first book of the House of Jewels series, will this dazzling couple ever work out how to put a Huntley engagement ring to its proper purpose?
What? Move? Why would she move? She’d only just finished setting up. It had taken her months to prepare, and so much time just that morning, arranging her earrings and bracelets. What on earth could he mean?
“… just for a short time, thank you,” he said.
Her hackles rose. However handsome he might be, with that sun-kissed brown hair, and that way of smiling just on one side, as if life was a bit of joke as long as he was in control, he had no right to push her around.
“Actually, Mr …”
“Huntley. James Huntley.” He tipped his head back a little, indicating his connection with the three-storey building behind him, and she turned and read the ornate sign. Huntleys House of Diamonds.
Stella sighed. She didn’t reconfigure her whole life, resigning and moving here from Perth on the other side of the country, only to fall into the trap of obeying the next handsome man. No. She’d been there and done that. For too long. She’d been totally, pathetically, at the mercy of her boss Damian’s demands.
Obeying handsome men was a bad habit she’d finally kicked, hadn’t she?
This new Stella was strong and independent, she reminded herself. Stella now worked for herself, trusted only herself and obeyed only herself. She would no longer be told what to do by men who assumed she’d comply. So, whatever this man wanted, and however attractive he might be – and he was, quite attractive, every bit as good-looking as Damian, his hair more fair, and with a bit of a wave at the front, and those eyes – intense – she knew she had every right to stand her ground. And she would.
He waited expectantly, but she was only just ready to trade. With customers gathering, she needed to sell, sell, sell – and not waste another moment. Her licence to trade wasn’t a give away. It would take her months to pay back the loan she’d taken out to pay for it.
He lifted one hand up toward the side of her stack of display trays, as if to test his strength against its weight, to simply push her stall away. She could swear she saw his healthy bicep flex beneath that high quality pale grey woollen fabric.
How dare he! The flame of defiance inside her flashed fire. No. She would not be shoved away.
“Stella Rhys, Mr Huntley,” she answered, keeping her voice low and controlled, and extending her own hand to be shaken. His was smooth, the hand of a businessman, as cool as her own. It was a fine handshake, pleasant even.
Her mother would have fun reading this palm, she thought, smiling. It was a mistake. He must have interpreted her smile as acquiescence. Nodding and smiling in return, he held her hand just a moment longer than necessary.
“Thanks, so much, Stella. These stalls… There was nothing here for months, and suddenly you appear! Today of all days. It’s so good of you to move. Just for an hour or so.” He gave her the full blue gaze again and smiled.
For a moment Stella weakened, but she remembered the advice of Fritz, ther nearest stallholder, who’d welcomed her to the mall only that morning.
“I’ve been here nearly thirty years, young lady,” Fritz had said. “Seen a thing or two in my time. Seen stalls come and seen them go. Can be tough out here on the mall. Don’t you let anyone push you around.”
Stella knew the terms of her licence. Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm. Right here. So she lifted her sunglasses and fired back a dose of her own dark eyes – bright, quick and determined.
“Actually, James,” she began, amiably enough, with a hint of steel. She gestured at the small crowd gathering to admire her unusual brooches, rings, earrings and pendants, all laid out so temptingly in the bright sunshine. Her excitement ratcheted up a notch. Behind James, two older women, sisters perhaps, were pulling out their purses. Her first customers! It was James who needed to move, so she could trade.
“Look. This is my business, James – ‘Stellar,’” she continued, polite yet firm, her voice steady. “And I’m not moving it. Not at all. I don’t mean to be unreasonable; nothing personal; but as I see it, the Huntleys property boundary begins at the edge of your doorway. The mall here is public space, and this patch is mine.”
Partial to sunsets, picnics and poetry, feel-good fiction writer Amber Jakeman was a journalist, ghost writer and editor before succumbing to her addiction to uplifting endings.
She writes from her tiny apartment on the edge of Sydney Harbour, creating wholesome historical and contemporary romance with an international flavour.
When not writing, Amber enjoys time with family and friends, sailing with her husband, travel, walking and savouring other writers’ creations.
Amber Jakeman acknowledges Australia’s first storytellers and offers respect to Aboriginal people past and present and to their descendants.
Greg Hutchins is reluctantly adulting these days. He’s settled in his job, recently bought his first house, and has a network of friends he can call family. But there’s something missing in his life, and he can’t quite put his finger on it. When he’s assigned to a case that involves investigating a biochemical company, he meets a woman who’s sweeter than any candy. Maybe she’s just the thing to make him feel complete.
She’s ready for the future
Noelle LaVigne has faced plenty of tragedy in her life, but she’s on the right path now. Between her new job and settling into a new city, she’s got no time for dating or relationships. She’s worked hard to get where she is, and no man is going to push her off track. Except the minute Hutch crosses her path she can’t seem to think about anything but the handsome security expert. He’s there to find a corporate spy, but late-night work sessions make her think they’ve both found something much more meaningful.
“I’ve spent a lot of my evening researching your boss, and she’s dangerous. I think her corporate structure is sketchy, too. I think there’s a good chance she’s under some kind of investigation, and you’re going to get dragged into it. Is there any way you could take a couple of weeks off?”
It was the conclusion he’d come to. He would feel safer if she didn’t go back into that building again.
She shook her head. “I can’t. If I leave, I leave my research behind, and I’m close. If I prove my processes can work I’ll be able to hire on anywhere, and that would be remarkable at my age.”
Well, it was the answer he’d expected. “I want you to keep your eyes open and call me the minute you feel like anything’s weird. Trust your instincts.” He let out a breath and admitted the answer he’d come to. “I’m going to let Kyle go in with you tomorrow.”
“Good, because I have it on the highest authority he was going to take that job anyway.”
It was good to know he was in charge. He closed the screen of his laptop. He should go to bed and let her have some peace. She had to be at work early in the morning. He would lay on her couch and stare at the ceiling.
He was about to stand when Noelle beat him to it. “Hey, you didn’t get your prize.”
“Prize?”
“That’s kind of what you wanted, right? I’m supposed to give you something for opening up to me.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it as a prize, though I can see where you would.” He wanted to explore this thing between them, and having her talk to him or tell him something important about herself would do that. But he wasn’t going to push her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
He was going to go slow. He was going to get to know her and ease into a friendship that could become something more. He had to be patient.
“I want to.” She crossed the space between them. “I want to give you this.”
She had another Red Vine in her hand. He’d wanted something personal from her. Something that would let him know this woman better. He got his own candy back. Story of his life. Still, he gave her what he hoped was a game smile and reached out. “Thanks.”
She pulled her hand back before he could take the candy. It wasn’t even a full one. It was the last little piece of what he’d given her.
“I want you to take it from me.” She licked her lips and put it in her mouth.
He was fully awake now, and about three thousand reasons this was a bad, bad idea went through his head.
It was too soon. She was sheltered and inexperienced. He was not. He had needs that would shock her. She’d literally said she didn’t do weird sex stuff. He did. A lot of weird sex stuff.
He should wait because she wasn’t doing this because she was in love with him. She was doing it because they had wild chemistry and she couldn’t help herself. He should be the senior partner and end this experiment of hers.
She settled on his lap. Suddenly every muscle in his body was tense and waiting to see if she was doing what he thought she was doing.
“Noelle?” She lifted her face to his, offering that last bit of sugar, and he gave up the idea of waiting.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places. Lexi believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome or foursome may seem.
Ava coming to terms with Jasper and their mate bond, but now she has bigger problems. Whatever’s hunting werewolves in her small town is still on the loose. Worse yet, her parents seem to have a vendetta against Jasper.
With Jasper’s help, Ava’s embraced her Venator heritage. Good thing she has a hot werewolf to teach her everything she needs to know about fighting. But will she be strong enough for what comes next?
“Here.” Jasper grinned and pointed to this throat, teeth gleaming in the dark. “Although I would prefer if you didn’t actually hit my throat tonight. They might not be sharp, but you could still do some damage. But in all seriousness, most of your targets are going to be bigger than you. You’re going to want to aim for the easiest spots that do the most damage.” He pointed to several spots on his body. “Throat. Armpits. Stomach.”
I nodded, taking the details in. “What about the back?”
Jasper shook his head. “Too many bones. Stay away from it. You probably won’t have much time to aim.” He dug in his bag again, coming up with two Bokken of his own. Jasper swung them around in the air expertly a few times, looking like he was born fighting with them. “Okay, you ready?” My stomach tightened, but I could do this. I knew I could. These blades felt like an extension of my arms already.
We started out slow. “Stay close to your opponent.” Jasper was speaking so easily he could’ve been at a party, not in the middle of sparring. “Your size will be your advantage. If you stay close, they won’t have the range to do as much damage.” I nodded, not enough breath left in me to respond. Soon, the talking stopped, and the pace picked up by an unspoken agreement. I found my blades easy to use, but I felt clumsy and slow compared to Jasper. It didn’t take long before Jasper had one of his swords at my neck. We were both breathing heavily, caught up in the moment. “Get out of your head Green. Don’t focus on my strength, think about your speed,” he told me, pushing me a few steps away to start again.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He was right. I wasn’t going to beat him with strength alone. My instincts were good, and I had to focus on that. I could do this. Turning off the logical part of my brain, I went on my instincts alone and dropped into a defensive stance.
Jasper mirrored my movements. “Now we’re talking.”
I focused on matching his blows with speed instead of strength. Jasper’s smile dropped, and the only sound in the dark night was the cracking of wooden blades as they met each other. I found myself beginning to outpace Jasper’s moves, and I could see him concentrating as he tried to stay on top of things. There was nothing in my current world but me, these blades, and Jasper.
Torri Heat has always loved control. Her mind was blown when she discovered she could control entire worlds through story writing. Throw some steamy romance in there, and it was pretty close to perfection. Torri loves dark heroes who ride off into the sunset on their motorcycles, fierce heroines who can fend for themselves, and a sprinkle of the paranormal to keep things interesting. When she’s not creating alternate realities you can find her managing her three ring circus of kids and animals. Check out more about Torri’s books on her website — www.torriheat.com, and sign up for her newsletter to get an exclusive look into her new series.
Falling in love with a vampire bites—and sometimes loving a human bites back.
Dorian Villeneuve is an unlucky vampire from the slums of Devil’s Row. He makes ends meet for himself and his emotional support Chihuahua by working sleazy bars and nightclubs, doing what it takes to get by. Cash Leroy is a monster hunter from East Texas with a golden voice and an unrivaled devotion to Stevie Nicks. Hunting does not leave time for friends, let alone love.
When their paths cross during a bloody run-in with the vampire mob, Cash upends Dorian’s life—and takes Dorian under his wing to teach how to hunt monsters.
The unlikely pair become partners, and soon, best friends. However, their deepening bond grows complicated when Dorian falls in love with Cash. Their friendship is too important to throw away over an interspecies attraction, especially in a career that is already nasty, brutish, and short.
And things become even more complicated when Cash finds himself returning the vampire’s affections.
When an unusually deadly case lands in the hunters’ laps, their ill-fated affair takes a backseat. A pair of man-eating weredeer are on the loose taking victims’ hearts. With the pressure on to end the killing spree, Dorian and Cash must set aside their feelings and hunt down the blood-thirsty deer.
Can Dorian and Cash’s friendship survive this monstrous romance, or will they lose their hearts in the process?
Cash Leroy could have been a singer but killing paid the bills. He stood at the karaoke machine and bathed in the pink neon spotlight, every inch of him painted in a dusky glow. Mic in hand, he commanded his favorite booth with lowered eyes, splinters of light catching in his fallen lashes as they fluttered against his stubbled cheeks. His voice hit the high notes of ‘Outside the Rain’ in a velvety dither that belied his smoky drawl and taste for Pall Mall cigarettes. In a depth of sound so full, it overshadowed the shrill karaoke track.
Here, on most nights and nearly every weekend, Cash sang Stevie Nicks songs and only Stevie Nicks songs. This was his ritual for the eight months that Dorian knew Cash, but it went well beyond their partnership. Cash was a man of singular interest, and no one else loved Stevie Nicks like he did.
The hunter cradled the mic between strong hands, his booted foot keeping time as he swayed to the music. Onstage, he seemed like a different man from the one Dorian knew the rest of the day. Singing straightened his slouched posture as his voice overtook the room. The stage broke Cash’s even temperament and replaced it with a showman’s presence as he performed for his preferred audience of one. Even the flecks of blood on the collar of his shirt disappeared into the neon. Everything else about Cash seemed to fall away whenever he opened his mouth to sing.
And Dorian, despite his best efforts, was in love with Cash.
Dorian nursed his second beer of the night on the modular pink loveseat across from the karaoke machine. He tried not to watch Cash as closely as he did. It was hard not to watch Cash in all things, both on the stage and off it. Dorian fought to keep his gaze from wandering over Cash’s strong legs in his beat-up blue jeans. The vampire fought harder to avoid staring at Cash’s neck, mouth, and sweep of his dark lashes as he sang.
Because Cash was Dorian’s best friend, roommate, and partner. He didn’t want to be in love with Cash. Loving Cash made Dorian’s life complicated and scary. It put an ache deep inside the vampire’s rib cage, choking on glass whenever the feeling threatened to claw its way out of his throat. Choking it down because they could never be together.
But sitting in a karaoke booth, watching Cash sing, Dorian loved Cash anyway.
Magen Cubed is an Eisner-nominated writer, essayist, and occasional critic, best known for her queer monster-hunting urban fantasy/paranormal romance series SOUTHERN GOTHIC. She has appeared in the critically acclaimed TWISTED ROMANCE comics anthology from Image Comics and has bylines on the award-winning Women Write About Comics. Magen lives in Florida with her girlfriend Melissa and a little dog named Cecil.
Title: The Jade Talisman Author: Alanna MacKenzie Series: The Jade Chronicles #2 Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction/Fantasy
A talisman. A song. A story about time itself, as it moves through each winding branch in the tree of life.
It is the year 2762 in the Empire of Khalendar, and AI Masters rule the civilized world, striving to crush all dissent. But they have not yet managed to quell the Jade Rebellion or its leader, Walter Saltanetska. The Jade Queen, once a prison ship commandeered by the AI Masters, is now a rebel stronghold. Walter and his companions have sailed all the way to Vei’arash, a lush island reputedly home to exiled dissidents and evil shamans. Their mission is to fulfill a pact with their Mage allies—to find animal spirits exiled to Vei’arash long ago by the AI Masters.
As the rebels plunge deeper into the jungle, physical laws are upended. The plants and animals of the rainforest are inextricably linked to divine beings. The most powerful of these beings entrusts Walter with an enchanted gemstone, the Jade Talisman, that warps the basic rules of time and space.
The Talisman allows Walter to gaze into a mesmerizing labyrinth of future possibilities. But the visions it offers up are troublingly dark, giving Walter insight into the deepest recesses of the human soul. While he needs to remain emotionally distant from them, he cannot. The people in these visions are not strangers, but Walter and his loved ones. This gift proves to be a crushing burden, and Walter desperately longs for an ordinary life. But there is no going back…
The gripping sequel to The Jade Rebellion, The Jade Talisman is a tribute to the perseverance of spirituality in a world dominated by the cold logic of artificial intelligence.
Alanna Mackenzie lives in Vancouver, Canada. She holds degrees in History, French studies, and Law from the University of British Columbia. An environmentalist at heart, she believes in using the law as a tool for social and environmental change. When she is not pursuing that passion, she can be found brainstorming the next chapter in her novels, playing Irish fiddle tunes on the violin, and hiking West Coast trails.
Running into a man once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times makes it fate… right?
Unless he is now your grumpy boss who holds the future of your fading dance career in his hands. And you hooked up with him when he was just a mysterious stranger rescuing you…
My life is a hot mess. I’m Dakota Tanner and I speak before I think, I spend before I earn, and I live totally in the moment. Which is why I’m down and out in need of a major life makeover. Cue the hot guy who has it all together and makes my toes curl in bed. Who then disappears before I wake up. When he reappears five months later as head coach of a pro football team he wants a secret romance (aka a no-one-can-ever-know bangfest) while I’m a nanny for his wild-child daughters.
I should say no. But he just might be my one true love … or my biggest mistake yet.
I hadn’t counted on someone being right at the bottom of the railing, pressed against it, holding a drink.
There was no way to stop myself. I tried, attempting to jump off the railing, but my timing was off. I was going too fast, and before I could maneuver, I just plowed into the back of him. As if he had sensed movement behind him, he turned exactly at the moment of collision. My center of gravity was off and I was falling head down.
I took an elbow to the chin.
And a martini in the face.
Vodka went into my mouth. Not bad.
Vodka went up my nose. Not great.
Vodka went in my eye. That freaking sucked. “Ow!”
I grabbed the guy around the midsection and tried to find my feet. My eyes were closed against the blinding, stinging liquid. Damn it. It was a dirty martini. Olive juice on top of vodka really was a bad combination. In my eye, anyway. I licked it off my lips.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t see shit, eyes watering viciously and still primarily closed, but I managed to right myself to a standing position. “I think so.”
Except for the fact that a giant manhand was on my face, attempting to wipe away the spilled drink. It almost made me lose my balance all over again.
I took a step back to escape the swiping.
“Dakota?”
The man knew my name. Thank God. That would be way less embarrassing than running into a total stranger. Unless it was the landlord because I owed him two hundred bucks. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to know because my eyes were still stinging and I had zero visibility. But I used my knuckle and dried my tears.
My words died when I realized who this guy was.
It was him.
Brandon.
The man who had helped me escape my surprise wedding and taken me ice-skating at Rockefeller Center.
Standing there in a navy button-up shirt over tight black jeans that showed off his muscular build. Looking big and broad and sexy as hell. His eyes were wide in recognition.
“Dakota,” he murmured again, this time without question.
His tone was so pleased, so sensual, so intimate, like we had shared something more than one hot kiss under the mistletoe, that I nearly had an orgasm listening to him.
“It’s you,” I said, because I’ve always wanted to say that. They do it in movies all the time, and never, ever, in real life is there an opportunity to say something as dramatic as “it’s you.” But this was my chance and I took it. I had been absolutely sure I would never see this man again and yet, here he was standing in front of me.
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy-five novels and novellas in the romance and mystery genres. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, martinis, and Frank Sinatra. She lives with her renovation-addicted husband (he built her a bar, so it’s all good!) and their blended family of kids and rescue dogs.
When a pair of magical skates helps me find my fated mates, the last thing I expect is to get rejected, betrayed, and framed for a crime I didn’t commit.
I moved to Silver Springs to escape my past. Fell in love with the small supernatural town. Made friends with its quirky residents. Even got my dream job.
But just when life’s finally looking up, disaster strikes. The cleaning company I work for falls under threat, and I’m framed for a crime I didn’t commit.
Then, I find my fated mates:
• A shifter hockey player who knows how to handle his stick. • A sweet journalist who shifts into a block of ice but is oh so hot. • And a mage detective who already broke my heart once.
This should be the happiest time in my life, but my mates reject me, one by one.
As the new life I built starts to crumble around me, can I work things out with my mates and catch whoever framed me? Or will I end up broken-hearted, alone, and behind bars? Because I may be the best magical maid in town, but my life is one mess no spells in the world can fix.
If you like sassy witches, wonky magic, panty-melting fated mates, and intriguing mysteries, you’ll love this steamy, laugh-out-loud paranormal romantic comedy with all the feels!
Wynter is a standalone in the Silver Springs shared universe and comes complete with a happily-ever-after.
I take a deep breath and stare at Terence like I’ve seen a ghost. Though technically, I have. Not because he’s dead, though I kind of wish he were. Okay, maybe not dead, dead. But missing a limb. Or at least a pinkie.
Either way, he’s dead to me. That and it’s what everyone else called him. Ghost. Though he is the furthest thing from pale. Dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes. He looks exactly like I remember him, and nothing like it. Older. Harsher. More unforgiving. Scratch that. Unforgivable. Because after what he did…
He pulls off his winter gear, and my brain short-circuits. First his hat, revealing hair cropped short, not long and unruly like I remember. Then gloves, with all ten fingers still intact. What? A girl can dream.
He takes off his coat next, and that dream? It starts to feel more like a nightmare. The kind that starts with Cleanly Den clients getting robbed and ends with a hotter-than-ever Terence. No, scratch that. Ghost.
The muscles underneath his sweater bulge, and I get this sudden urge to peel it off. Only out of curiosity. Morbid curiosity. Because I’m not attracted to him. Nope. Not one bit. I’ve ridden on the Ghost train once. Had a one-way ticket to Heartbreak Town. I do not need a repeat.
Then, his sleeve rides up, showing off a strong, inked forearm, and my heart nearly stops. The Terence I knew did not have tattoos. The Ghost standing in front of me has swirling flames disappearing beneath black fabric.
I take him in—okay, fine, I stare—until he finally, finally, notices me.
“Wyn?” His eyes widen as he gapes at me like he’s the one who’s seen a ghost. Yeah, I know. I’m hilarious.
I’d roll my eyes at myself if I weren’t using all that energy to levitate. That and to keep my Mood Tea from glowing red. As in red with desire, because knowing Ghost is a Hole with a Capital Ass doesn’t stop me from wanting him.
So I focus on channeling turquoise instead. Calm, serene, indifferent turquoise. Because my go-to happy pink or excited silver won’t do. Terence—Nope. Ghost. Just Ghost—doesn’t deserve either one. He gets to see how little I care. And that he no longer has the power to hurt me.
I guess my heart doesn’t get the memo because the turquoise starts to darken. It’s a momentary lapse in magic—one Ghost doesn’t notice. And if he does? He’s one of the few people who know I can manipulate Mood Teas, so he wouldn’t trust it anyway.
Which is why I do the one thing I do best. I bluff.
“Well, if it isn’t Terentius White,” I say brightly. Like I’d read his name straight out of the Academy Yearbook. Not that we had a yearbook. Kind of defeats the purpose, when it’s not even supposed to exist.
Mia Harlan lives in Canada with her husband (who’s definitely Not a Vampire) and their adorably fluffy cat. They recently welcomed a Mini Mortal (a baby girl) into the world and are happy to report she doesn’t have fangs. Mia is a librarian by day and an author by night. She’s been reading romance since she turned thirteen and published her first one in mid-2019. She writes humorous, quirky (and mostly paranormal) reverse harem romance.
Title: A Shot at Normal Author: Maris Reichardt Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Marisa Reichardt’s A Shot at Normal is a powerful and timely novel about justice, agency, family, and taking your shot, even when it seems impossible.
Dr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn’t serious. But I am. I’m going to sue my parents.
Juniper Jade’s parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines. It isn’t exactly normal, but it’s the only thing Juniper has ever known. She doesn’t agree with her parents on everything, but she knows that to be in this family, you’ve got to stick to the rules. That is, until the unthinkable happens.
Juniper contracts the measles and unknowingly passes the disease along, with tragic consequences. She is shell-shocked. Juniper knows she is responsible and feels simultaneously helpless and furious at her parents, and herself.
Now, with the help of Nico, the boy who works at the library and loves movies and may just be more than a friend, Juniper comes to a decision: she is going to get vaccinated. Her parents refuse so Juniper arms herself with a lawyer and prepares for battle. But is waging war for her autonomy worth losing her family? How much is Juniper willing to risk for a shot at normal?
I skate for at least an hour to clear my head, then arrive at the urgent care clinic at five o’clock. The sign on the door tells me they’re open for another few hours. That should be enough time. I pull the bottom of my shirt up to wipe the sweat from my forehead and go to the front desk, not exactly sure what to do. My insurance card is in my mom’s wallet. And I don’t have any money.
The door to the hallway where the nurse took my vitals a few weeks ago is over my left shoulder, but the L- shaped check- in counter has one half in the waiting room and one half in the hallway. I can see the shut doors of exam rooms inside the hallway, which means those rooms are full and I might have to wait a while.
“I need to talk to someone,” I say.
A guy looks up from his computer and pushes the clipboard on the counter toward me. “Sign-i n sheet’s right there.”
“Can I get shots here?”
“A flu shot?”
“Shots. Plural. All of them.”
He squints at me. “What do you mean? Are you traveling out of the country?”
“Nope. But I’ve never had any vaccinations, and I want all of them. How do I do that?” He looks at me like I’m kidding. “I’m serious.”
He finally pulls away from his keyboard and really looks at me. “Are you eighteen?”
“I’m sixteen.”
“Do you have a parent or guardian here with you?”
“They’ll say no. I need to take care of this by myself.” He puts his elbows up on the desk. Leans forward. “No vaccinations ever? MMR? Tetanus? Chicken pox?”
“None of them.”
He leans back in his chair, hands behind his head like a cradle. “Wow.”
I’m a freak. An anomaly to someone in the medical field.
Coming up on the right, Juniper Jade, nocturnal and not vaccinated. Don’t feed the bears. Don’t vaccinate the children.
NMarisa Reichardt is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novels UNDERWATER, AFTERSHOCKS (2020), and A SHOT AT NORMAL (2021). She has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California and dual degrees in English & American Literature and Creative Writing from UC San Diego. Before becoming a published author, Marisa worked in academic publications, tutored high school students in writing, and shucked oysters. These days, you can probably find her huddled over her laptop in a coffeehouse or swimming in the ocean.
Title: Mirror Witch Magic Author: D.H. Gibbs Genre: New Adult Urban Fantasy
Some secrets stay buried while others surface just like the dead…
Fusion City—a place where magic was power and the more a person had, the higher up the caste system they went. It was also the perfect place for Selena Decland, a mirror witch wanting to shuck the responsibility of her magic and lineage, to fly under the radar. At least it was until someone left a dead body on her nightclub’s steps, along with a note written in blood:
I know your secret.
As Selena struggled to keep her secret hidden, she is faced with threats from multiple places—a rep from the witch’s council who would like nothing better than to sell Selena’s talents to the highest bidder; a powerful demon who could make life difficult if he found out her secret; and a killer willing to do anything, including use dark magic, to get what he wants.
A Newsday T&T Choice finalist, D.H. Gibbs enjoys writing fantasy, contemporary romance, and children’s books. When not navigating the adventures of her kick-ass female leads, she’s a complete Starbucks and book addict who binge-watches TV series like Lucifer, Carnival Row, and Warrior. A Trinidadian native, she currently lives and creates new worlds in Japan.
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