I was born to kill the emperor, but first, I must marry him. I trained as an assassin while my twin sister trained to be the empress. My life will be forfeit once I murder the most powerful man on the continent, but I have no choice. If I fail, the Imperium will consume our nation and anyone who rises against them. Too soon, we walk into the glittering imperial court, each step taking us closer to the dangerous man on the black throne, my sister’s future husband, the newly crowned Emperor of the Southern Imperium.

Sascha has always felt powerless, the weak baby of a cruel family. But that’s fine. He has his looks, his ample allowance, and a smattering of one-night stands to keep him busy. But when Sascha’s oldest brother offends the wrong people, Sascha finds himself in hiding with a target on his back. And when poking around in his temporary home leads to accidentally summoning the hottest demon Sascha could ever imagine, he has to ask himself: does he want to feel powerless anymore?

I don't ask for much from life; I get paid, and then I get laid. And piloting spaceships across the galaxy keeps my solo lifestyle well-funded. I don't need a relationship or any of the baggage that comes with it. I like my men like I like my coffee; to go. That is, until the most boring job in the universe goes horribly wrong and I'm snatched from my ship by a seven-foot alien. He's huge, he's purple, and he's ripped as hell. I'm sure I'm a dead man. Only it turns out he doesn't want to kill me. What he wants is far worse.

For decades, the four families who rule the Summerlands have been locked at an impasse. No one is fighting, but neither has anyone been speaking. We don't have time for that anymore. Mount Slate, the volcano that sits in the middle of the Summerlands, is threatening to erupt, and only the four family heads working together can avert disaster.

I’m a golden boy. A genius law student, the heir to the Carson empire, and the dutiful son. Or, at least, that's what it looks like from the outside. Deep inside, I have the urge to set the world on fire. I keep these impulses in check, rarely indulging in mayhem. Until one night of debauchery backfires, and I'm caught by a villain. I bury the entire ordeal with the rest of my skeletons. That is, until that night walks into my classroom in the form of my new professor. Kayden Lockwood.

Ettian's life was shattered when the merciless Umber Empire invaded his world. He's spent seven years putting himself back together under its rule, joining an Umber military academy and becoming the best pilot in his class. Even better, he's met Gal - his exasperating and infuriatingly enticing roommate who's made the academy feel like a new home.

This week hasn’t gone the best for me unless you count Casimir, the sexy ancient vampire, bringing me back from the brink of death (and tying my fate to his in the process). Not that it matters if the werewolves and vampires don’t stop their ridiculous feud, because someone is targeting them and widening the divide between our communities with each body they leave in their wake. But as the alpha’s son, I have a plan to fix everything. I’m going to convince Casimir to fake date me to show the others that we can work together. I mean… what could go wrong?

Whisper doesn’t remember his real name. All he knows is the elite assassin guild that raised him—and controls him with the threat of blood magic. Plagued by nightmares, he doesn’t get to refuse assignments, even when his new job doesn’t make sense: infiltrate Prince Julien’s court, protect him until the signal arrives, then kill him.

A lost fox. A gorgeous ghost. And an unlikely partnership to stop a murderer. Since his mother's murder, Sage McKinley doesn’t live, he exists. His weak magic has made him an outcast, shadowing his life with self-doubt. All that changes when the spirit of a gunslinger appears in his bookstore with a message that will flip Sage’s world upside down. According to the mesmerizing apparition, a powerful magic lies within Sage...if he can find a way to tap into it.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Though such minor charms don’t earn him much respect, anything more elaborate always blows up in his face, and so Leo vowed long ago never to use powerful magic again. That is, until a mishap with a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and absolutely insufferable.

Seth spends his days hunting down mystical artifacts. As a curator for the Arcanum College, that's his job. But when an arcanist murders a fellow scholar, Seth finds himself assigned instead to a dusty, thirsty, frustrating manhunt. Why him? Because, he's been told by his superiors, he's the only curator sufficiently tenacious and brutal for the job. (Seth resents that.) When the murderer vanishes at the edge of a deadly desert, Seth finds himself in need of a guide.

Fine, tomorrow is the day the world ends, but is that actually better? My name is Blaze Keyes, and I’m a seer. Since I was a kid, I’ve known that the world was going to end on my 25th birthday.

When the gods come calling, you don’t get to say no. Patrick Collins is three years into a career as a special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency when the gods come calling to collect a soul debt he owes them. An immortal has gone missing in New York City and bodies are showing up in the wake of demon-led ritual killings that Patrick recognizes all too easily from his nightmares.

Max is living the screenwriter dream. He's not even thirty, he's just won an Oscar, and he's dating the gorgeous star of his movie. But after that one magical night, everything crumbles. The movie star dumps him, and his latest screenplay is a blank document that stubbornly refuses to write itself. So Max decides to disappear into the middle of nowhere and maybe obscurity. He's just getting settled into his new life when suddenly someone is trying to kill him.

I wished I could escape my world, but I never expected to whisked away by mysterious magic. From the moment I woke up, I've been in danger, chased by villains and monsters alike. But then I met him, and this strange new world suddenly doesn't seem so bad.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Compiled by intrepid journalist Neve Pride, this archive of recordings spans the months after dragons emerged on earth, chronicling the communities that sprang up amid the destruction, the scientists, military leaders, and experts searching for a defense, and those steadfastly seeking the missing. Neve and her young daughter Bex travel among the wreckage speaking to those left behind and surviving, against all odds. Neve records everything for history, and in the hopes of locating a clue as to where the dragons came from and how one might stop them.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

I was born to kill the emperor, but first, I must marry him. I trained as an assassin while my twin sister trained to be the empress. My life will be forfeit once I murder the most powerful man on the continent, but I have no choice. If I fail, the Imperium will consume our nation and anyone who rises against them. Too soon, we walk into the glittering imperial court, each step taking us closer to the dangerous man on the black throne, my sister’s future husband, the newly crowned Emperor of the Southern Imperium.

Crown Prince Silvyr Quilen is the family disappointment. His father, High King Keryth Quilen of Athowen, wanted a son to follow in his image of an elven warlord who rules with no regard for those around him and will do anything to maintain his power. However, the king finds Silvyr's desire to spend his days in the flowers and libraries to be pathetic and useless. Despite that, Silvyr strives to receive his father's approval.

I'm your typical small-town loser stuck in a dead-end job. Single, because dating is for well-adjusted human beings, not traumatized gay boys with trust issues. All I want is to leave my past behind and finally start living. My wish comes true in the most bizarre way imaginable. One evening, a beautiful man with pointy ears and flowing dark locks appears out of nowhere. He proclaims I am to be his 'Dark Companion' based on some stupid deal I made in a dream. Oh, and apparently he's an elven prince, the Lord of Shadows, Protector of the Nightmare Realm, and Knight of Grief Ocean.

In a world where everyone wields magic, I'm the odd one out—ungifted and unsure. My lack of magic gnaws at my confidence, but amid this struggle, I find unexpected solace in Ayden, a fellow Ranger cadet. Our budding romance becomes the one bright spot in my life. Then everything changes. A shadowy threat emerges, and an ancient cult aims to resurrect a long-forgotten queen, plunging our world into chaos. Kidnappings and whispers of disaster force Ayden and me into a dangerous journey, one where trust is scarce, and betrayal lurks around every corner.

Jonathan Evergreen is a talented sophomore at a prestigious, isolated college in Vermont, who dreams of a career in book conservation. But Jonathan’s life isn’t as rosy as it may appear. Disowned by his family after they caught him with another boy, he struggles to overcome heartbreak and support himself through his studies. To make matters worse, his advisor and the only ally in the institution run by old money and family connections mysteriously vanishes, and a new enigmatic professor, Dacian Bathory, takes his place.

Adrian is about to find out. When he complains about the latest chapter of his favorite web novel online, he doesn't expect the main character to come crashing through his skylight. And yet, that’s exactly what happens. Suddenly, Adrian finds himself face-to-face with the incubus Knox, a demon who's even more captivating in person than he was on the page. Ebony horns, dark magic, eyes that make Adrian’s knees go weak—Knox has got it all.

Mael Nguyen doesn’t believe in fate, but he does believe in magic. His entire life revolves around the study of the arcane—spells and rituals, potions and illusions. As far as Mael is concerned, all he needs is a book in one hand and magic in the other. Anything outside of his bookshop, hidden away in the streets of New Orleans, isn’t worth his attention. But when a strange human stumbles into his life and hires him for a job, bringing along his blinding smile and curious magic, Mael finds that Fate is just as dangerous as Magic.

I have always known my position in life will be based not only on who I mate with but on my ability to give them an heir. I am a lucky one, though. My father has allowed me to decline my suitors, and as a prince, there is always a suitor, one sure I can give them what they want: wealth and power. Thanks, but no thanks. I want someone who loves me for me. Or, at least, someone who won't make me feel sick to my stomach just by being in the same room as them.

It's 1985, and Joe Stone is excited to be joining his old school friend, and lifelong crush, Chris, for a long weekend in London's Soho—home to a vibrant, developing gay scene, and a million miles from the small town where Joe and Chris grew up. When Chris is found brutally murdered, the police write his death off as just another rent boy fallen foul of a bad hook up. But Joe knows his friend was killed deliberately, and joins forces with former police detective, Russell Dixon—Chris's flatmate—to find out why.

At least that's what I tell myself when I witness the same hot guy commit mass murder three times in a few days. I'm either the luckiest mute boy ever or possibly the unluckiest. Who knows, maybe him kidnapping me will turn into the greatest love story ever told? Hey, it could happen! You never know how these things will turn out. I happen to believe in love and soulmates, and if nothing else, Arlington Fox doesn't treat my disability like a nuisance.

When the aliens welcome them with open arms—and tentacles—Levi is wary. No strangers are that nice. Especially not seven-foot-tall teal dudes with more "feelers" than you can shake a stick at. But Levi's suspicion fades when the smoldering alien Zat'tor takes an unusual interest in him. He never got this much attention back on his own planet, and no human man ever made his heart flutter the way Zat'tor does. Amid their budding relationship, Levi discovers the shock of his life. Can he ever return to Earth? But more importantly, does he even want to?

Witch Briar Wyngrave's time is limited. The wasting curse that killed his mother is coming for him too, consuming his magic bit by bit. At least he'll have the chance to make his name as a magical fashion designer with an elite placement in Pentawynn, the country's glittering capital, after graduation. Until, that is, a prophecy sends him to the remote island of Coill Darragh instead, in search of a predestined lover with a mysterious mask.

I don't ask for much from life; I get paid, and then I get laid. And piloting spaceships across the galaxy keeps my solo lifestyle well-funded. I don't need a relationship or any of the baggage that comes with it. I like my men like I like my coffee; to go. That is, until the most boring job in the universe goes horribly wrong and I'm snatched from my ship by a seven-foot alien. He's huge, he's purple, and he's ripped as hell. I'm sure I'm a dead man. Only it turns out he doesn't want to kill me. What he wants is far worse.

Rory is an omega prince, heir to the throne of the magical kingdom of Igella. His country's laws dictate that omegas must have a Regent to rule in their stead-and that the Regent must be an Alpha. Rory's wicked stepmother, Queen Berenda, needs to find an unscrupulous Alpha, because she has nefarious plans for her stepson.

There's an honesty in the turning of the earth, in the turning of the seasons, and I've always preferred its quiet, steadfast company over that of other people. Left alone with an inherited cottage and my beloved pup Rotho to look after, my days are largely given to tending the garden, save for periodic errands in town.