In Whitelake village, three witches are forced to sacrifice their magic each year to keep the village hidden and protected from a demon that threatened its destruction two centuries ago. This year Sky has been chosen. What should be an honour feels like a death sentence to Sky. Refusing to accept her reality, she asks the Fates for guidance and embarks on a journey to reclaim what’s been taken. Her quest leads her to meet others who have had their magic sacrificed, and she learns that without magic flowing in her veins, she will slowly wither away. When she comes face to face with the demon she’s been taught to fear, she realises everything isn’t as it seems, and going with him may be the only way to get her magic back.
Of course, it was too good to be true... What kind of desperate fool believes the handsome Great Dragon in her dreams when he tells her that he loves her and wants her to share his power? Me, apparently. And now I've given him free access to my mind. I can keep him out, but only by binding myself to my girlfriend, my old crush who is apparently open to dating me as well, and the guy I almost incinerated when I first drew on the Great Dragon's powers. The bond will only keep me safe if the four of us keep it strong, but I don't see how that's going to happen... BASICS OF MAGICAL BONDS is the second book in the Ember Academy for Magical Beings New Adult slow-burn Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Academy series. If you love sarcastic, bisexual heroines; dragon-related mysteries; and magical universities, you’ll love this latest fast-paced series in L.C. Mawson’s Snowverse.
Discover the monstrous realm of Ikoria in this thrilling story, inspired by Magic: The Gathering's card set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths! Lukka is a proud captain of the Coppercoats, the elite military force that defends Drannith from the savage monsters lurking outside its city walls. For the Coppercoats, the only good monster is a dead monster. Lukka's world is forever altered when he unexpectedly forms a mystical connection with a ferocious, winged cat. But such bonds are high crimes in Drannith, punishable by death. Running for his life, Lukka flees the very home he was sworn to protect. Now an outcast monster "bonder," Lukka must survive the wilds of Ikoria while being ruthlessly hunted by his former brothers-in-arms, including the sadistic General Kudro. With help from planeswalker Vivien Reid, can Lukka learn to tame his newfound powers before he wields vengeance--and an army of nightmarish monsters--against his beloved Drannith?
“Dark Wizard is one of my top reads ever.” ~ NY Times Bestselling Author Darynda Jones “Dark Wizard will be on my keeper shelf for freaking ever.” ~ NY Times Bestselling Author Dana Marton “Jeffe nailed what it is to write a fantasy romance. Fabulous!” ~ USAT Bestselling Author of Radiance, Grace Draven "...utterly compelling...clicked Buy right at the end of the sample and just kept reading and reading because this book is so good, with such a rich world and characters. I'm so glad I picked it up...now can it be June already so I can read more?" ~Amazon reviewer *** In The Witcher meets The Selection… *** She ran from him... but couldn't escape her heart. Lord Gabriel Phel wants one thing: to rebuild the shattered fortunes of his people and restore his ruined house to its former station in the Convocation’s highest tiers of elegant society. Fortunately, through a wild chance of birth, he was born with powerful wizard magic, the first in his family in generations. If he can obtain a familiar to amplify his magic, a highborn daughter he can marry, to be mother to his children, he’ll be that much closer to saving his family. With her by his side, he can ascend to such a position of power in the Convocation that he can destroy it forever. Lady Veronica Elal, captive in her tower, has only one way out. To her bitter disappointment, she will never be a wizard. Instead, through a twist of fate, and despite her expensive Convocation Academy education, Nic is doomed to be a familiar like her mother. Forced to participate in the Betrothal Trials, she receives a wizard suitor for one night each month. Whichever man impregnates her will bond her to them forever. With no choice but to serve the one who wins her, Nic has one hope for control over her life: a wizard she can manipulate. Gabriel Phel seems like the perfect choice for Nic’s gambit—he’s desperate and untutored in wizardry—but within moments of meeting him, she feels the bonds of magic tying them together. Afraid of losing her will to the compelling wizard who touches her heart like no other, Nic does the unthinkable: she runs. Pregnant and alone, Nic eludes monstrous hunters, searching for a safe haven. But when Gabriel catches up to her, their adventure has only begun.
In the English Renaissance, poetry was imagined to inspire moral behaviour in its readers, but the efficacy of poetry was also linked to 'conjuration,' the theologically dangerous practice of invoking spirits with words. Magical Imaginations explores how major writers of the period – including Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare – negotiated this troubling link between poetry and magic in their attempts to transform readers and audiences with the power of art. Through analyses of texts ranging from sermons and theological treatises to medical tracts and legal documents, Genevieve Guenther sheds new light on magic as a cultural practice in early modern England. She demonstrates that magic was a highly pragmatic, even cynical endeavor infiltrating unexpected spheres – including Elizabethan taxation policy and Jacobean political philosophy. With this new understanding of early modern magic, and a fresh context for compelling readings of classic literary works, Magical Imaginations reveals the central importance of magic to English literary history.
A “brilliant and terrifically fun”* debut novel brings an enchanting new voice to fantasy. Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls. Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira’s life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart… *Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians
His Darkness, Her Brightness… Together They Defy the World Lord Gabriel Phel at last holds his dream in his grasp—and faces losing everything. He’s finally won the love of his wife, familiar, and mother of his child, and she offers him a heartfelt commitment he can truly believe in. Together they’re building a true house, one with a growing family of friends and allies that can help them stand against their enemies. And he’s learning to master his magic, to use it as the powerful tool and weapon it should be. But old and new enemies array themselves to take it all away. Lady Veronica, now fully of House Phel, is doing her best to embrace happiness. After all, she has her hands full managing her mercurial and powerful wizard as he navigates taking his place as the head of their house, and with learning her own extraordinary ability. But she fears whatever peace they win won’t last long. When their enemies inevitably strike—including, perhaps, her own father—they must be ready to defend all they hold precious. It doesn’t help that her idealistic husband insists on making foolishly noble decisions that put them at even greater risk, nor that she loves him all the more for it. As Nic and Gabriel struggle to put their household in order, giving ill-advised safe harbor to Nic’s runaway sister and risking their lives to save Gabriel’s sister’s sanity, their enemies draw the noose tighter on their well laid plans. When the unthinkable occurs, it’s up to both of them to trust in the nascent, unknown magic they’ve woven together.
In a world where everyone has magic coursing through them, legend says magic itself craves a mate. Legend says those with opposite magics have the greatest chance of forming the unbreakable Bond it desires. A.B. Cerise is an obsessive-compulsive pop star with the ability to turn invisible. He’s an out bisexual with absolutely no belief in Bonds. He has a love-bruised heart, thinks dating in the spotlight is a hassle at best and a nightmare at worst, and has no intention of going through it all over again. Matthew Hellman-Levoie is the NHL’s number one goalie prospect, the youngest in a hockey dynasty, and one of the rare few who can see the unseeable. He’s a straight man who wears his heart on his sleeve, has grown up searching for a Bond, and dreams of finding the love of his life. Their magic is magnetic. Their touch is electric. They’re the textbook case for Bonding. But legend never said anything about what to do when sparks fly between people opposite in more ways than magic.
Based on 28 years of research into the problem of resistance, this book offers a consistently developed hypothesis centering around the concept of the "Fantasy Bond, " an illusion of connection originally formed with the mother and later with significant others in the individual's environment.
