Donna

There’s only one rule in the world I come from. Keep our existence a secret. Period. The day my sister broke that rule one too many times, I knew there would be consequences. I expected us to be sent to one of those schools for “troubled” kids - and maybe Daizlei Academy was, in a way. But really, it was far more complicated than that. You see, I thought that world had forgotten me. Forgotten us. For years we were left alone, and one day...we weren’t. It was only when I got there that I remembered the second rule: Trust no one.

I have exactly 5 hours and 10 minutes to get from Boston to New York City or the professional opportunity of a lifetime disappears. My only travel option? The second to last seat on a discount bus. Across from the bathroom. Wearing last night’s clothes (don’t ask). All worth it if I can make it in time.

Alice Seastairs leads a quiet life working in her grandparents’ antique shop and hiding her magical secret from the human world. As one of Starfall Point’s resident witches, it’s her job to protect the Island from dark magic and unruly ghosts—including the ones that show up at her shop attached to antiques. But her orderly life is turned upside down when a gorgeous stranger buys the islands most historic—and haunted—hotel.

The fight at the cemetery was hard-won. But from the enemy's perspective, the cemetery was just a minor outpost. Blackmoon Bay is ground zero for their entire operation, and it's no longer simply the home we're desperate to reclaim. It's the spark that will eventually set the whole world on fire. If we fail, we will all die. Witches, shifters, vampires, demons, fae, and humankind. None will be left standing. Not one soul but the few who've masterminded the entire collapse.

All magic comes with a price tag. It's a lesson witches are taught from a young age, along with the ones about how we'll never survive a vampire turning, how hunters will always seek to eradicate us, and how a devil's bargain can never be broken. But together, my rebels and I have shattered every last rule, ignored every last warning. We've grown stronger because of it, and so far, we've survived everything fate has thrown our way.

The prince of Hell has been gunning for a Silversbane heir for decades - a witch whose blood can summon the spirits of the most powerful magic users ever to walk the earth. A witch like me. Thanks to a soul-shattering devil's bargain, I'm now his most prized possession. But I've got bigger fires to fight than the ones burning in Hell.

Blackmoon Bay is a city of monsters. Surviving here means never leaving home without a sharp stake. It means keeping secrets, even from friends. And unless I want the Hunters finding me again, it means my witchcraft stays on permanent lockdown. Good policy - until the night I accidentally resurrect a dead girl, rekindling my magic and drawing the Bay's most dangerous men to my doorstep. I'm Gray Desario. Witch. Survivor. Occasional bringer of chaos. And tonight? The darkness is coming.

With a new job I didn’t apply for and an extended family I didn’t know I had - midlife has become somewhat problematic. Gluing ghosts back together is easy compared to my new celestial occupation. The Grim Reaper wants to put a ring on it. Tim wants to be a father. Candy Vargo has lost her damn mind, and Jennifer thinks we’re all sparkly vampires. I’ve been given an impossible task with catastrophic consequences for failure, but it wouldn’t be my midlife without another crisis.

Never in my 40 years did I think my new normal would be gluing body parts back onto ghosts and hosting a houseful of dead squatters. Thank God for superglue and a strong stomach. Never thought I’d date the Grim Reaper and that I would be the one to blow it. I mean, how idiotic does one have to be to get dumped by a dude who lives in Hell? Going about business as usual is not usual in any way. No one is who they seem to be...and to be honest, neither am I. What I’d known to be true has turned out to be myth. The angels are frightening, and the demons are hot.

The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, best-selling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale - from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.