Historical

Lafitte’s Chance by Michael Roberts

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Lafitte’s Chance by Michael Roberts

Thomas Cain puts it all on the line again in this exhilarating alternative American History time travel adventure novel! Thomas has managed to rescue Aden, but his futuristic gear is still missing while the Pirate King, Jean Lafitte, is breathing down his neck.

In his efforts to track his items down, will Thomas keep his agreement to bring the pirates to Jackson’s aid and achieve America’s first victory as a new country? Or will pride bring them all to defeat?

Aden is safe for the most part, and now Thomas must retrieve his missing weapons and gear. In doing so, he’s made an enemy of the Pirate King, Jean Lafitte, and his associates, and now he must trudge through the marshes of the Mississippi to follow them, find his missing Webley and vest, and make it back in time to meet up with Jackson.

Just when Thomas thinks that he’s managed to find his missing gear, he learns that not only has Lafitte’s wastrel brother Pierre absconded with the gear, but he’s left Jean Lafitte ready to hang.

In a last ditch effort to find Pierre, Thomas must make a deal with the devil himself and bring the villainous, once-reputable now-Pirate Queen Lady Theodosia with him to locate Pierre and his weapons, and make sure the pirates don’t hang for their offenses. Will the enemy of his enemy become his friend?

Another impossible task, or so it seems. But can the Pale Rider rise to the occasion once more, save the lives of hundreds, and keep his own neck out of a noose?

Lafitte’s Chance is the fifth book in the Pale Rider series, an alternate American Historical Military retelling, and is the next book in the trilogy set that focuses on the War of 1812. If you like American historical fiction, time travel, and alternate history, then discover Lafitte’s Chance today! ** it is recommended that the books are read in order! **

Featured Book: Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian by Jeanne Roland

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15-year-old Marieke disguises herself at the all-male archers’ guild of Saint Sebastian, the place she suspects houses her father’s brutal killers. Soon she’s vowing to help the most handsome Journeyman in the place win the annual guild trials, without ever letting him find out she’s a girl – a girl who loves him. Robin Hood meets Mulan and Princess Bride in this frothy but literate romantic romp through 14th-century Belgium that’s packed with slow-burn longing, unrequited love, angst, humor, action, gorgeous boy shenanigans, a hint of mystery, and of course, plenty of longbow archery trials.

Buy Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian Here

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Featured Book: Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian by Jeanne Roland

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15-year-old Marieke disguises herself as a boy at the all-male archers’ guild of St. Sebastian, which she suspects houses her father’s killers. When the handsome Journeyman archer Tristan takes her under his wing as his squire, soon she’s determined to help him win the annual guild trials, to earn the honors robbed of her own father. Keeping her identity hidden will be hard. Living among a pack of gorgeous boys without giving herself away? That will be harder still. But the hardest thing of all will be keeping the vow she makes for herself to see Tristan become the next guardsman without ever letting him find out she’s a girl – a girl who loves him. Robin Hood meets Mulan and Princess Bride in this frothy but literate romp through medieval Belgium that’s packed with slow-burn romance, lust, longing, angst, humor, and plenty of longbow archery competitions.

Buy Journeys: the Archers of Saint Sebastian Here

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Lovecraft Country: A Novel by Matt Ruff

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Now an HBO® Series from J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer of Westworld), Misha Green (Creator of Underground) and Jordan Peele (Director of Get Out)

The critically acclaimed cult novelist makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.

Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.

At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.

A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

Buy Lovecraft Country: A Novel by Matt Ruff Here

The Little Shop of Found Things: A Novel by Paula Brackston

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New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance guaranteed to enchant in The Little Shop of Found Things, the first book in a new continuing series.

An antique shop haunted by a ghost.
A silver treasure with an injustice in its story.
An adventure to the past she’ll never forget.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. When she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It is while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century where it has its origins. She discovers there is an injustice in its history. The spirit that inhabits her new home confronts her and charges her with saving her daughter’s life, threatening to take Flora’s if she fails.

While Xanthe fights to save the girl amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.

The story continues in October 2019 with book two in the Found Things series, Secrets of the Chocolate House.

Buy The Little Shop of Found Things: A Novel by Paula Brackston Here

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in the spellbinding New York Times bestseller that captured the world’s imagination.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Buy The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Here

The Fourth Talisman Boxed Set: Nocturne, Solis, Monstrum, Nemesis and Inferno by Kat Ross

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Nocturne, a wilderness of eternal night.
Solis, a wasteland of endless day.

It’s been a thousand years since the Avas Vatras tried to burn the world to ashes. A thousand years since they were imprisoned in the arid death zone called the Kiln. But revenge is a dish best served cold—even, apparently, by the children of fire. As war brews again, a young woman named Nazafareen must learn to control her own volatile power to stop the creatures whose mad king sundered the realm into light and dark.

Buy The Fourth Talisman Boxed Set: Nocturne, Solis, Monstrum, Nemesis and Inferno by Kat Ross Here

Make Me No Grave: A Weird West Novel by Hayley Stone

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Marshal Apostle Richardson faces off against bloodthirsty outlaws, flesh witches, ruthless vigilantes, and more in this gritty, magical re-imagining of the Old West.

Almena Guillory, better known as the Grizzly Queen of the West, has done plenty to warrant the noose, but US Marshal Apostle Richardson enforces the law, he doesn’t decide it. When a posse tries to lynch Almena ahead of her trial, Apostle refuses their form of expedited justice – and receives a bullet for his trouble. Almena spares him through the use of dangerous flesh magic but escapes soon after saving him.

Weeks later, Apostle fears the outlaw queen has returned to her old ways when she’s spotted terrorizing Kansas with a new gang in tow. When cornered, however, Almena makes a convincing case for her innocence and proposes a plan to take the real bandits down. Working with a known killer opens Apostle up to all sorts of trouble, not the least being his own growing attraction toward the roguish woman. Turning Almena away from vengeance may be out of the question, but if he doesn’t try, she’ll wind up right where the law wants her: at the end of a rope.

And if Apostle isn’t careful, he’ll end up joining her.

If you like Red Dead Redemption and Lila Bowen’s Wake of Vultures, you’ll love this gun-blazing weird western.

Buy Make Me No Grave: A Weird West Novel by Hayley Stone Here

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

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Do you remember when you believed in magic?

An enchanting, magical novel set in a mysterious toyshop – perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Stephanie Garber’s Caraval by way of Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist

It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment.

The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles of their own. Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own.

But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own…

Buy The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale Here

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

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The new blockbuster original fantasy work from Nebula, Hugo and Clarke award nominated author Yoon Ha Lee!

“An arresting tale of loyalty, identity, and the power of art… Lee’s masterful storytelling is sure to wow.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint.

One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.

But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

Buy Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee Here

Darkness Reigns (The Kinsman Chronicles): Part 1 by Jill Williamson

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Part 1 of Jill Williamson’s Epic Fantasy Series The Kinsman Chronicles

The god of the soil is furious. Volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, earthquakes–everything points to his unhappiness. At least this is what the people of Armania in the Five Realms believe.

Amid the unsettling state of the world around them, the princes of Armania live their lives focused more on who will claim the throne after their sickly father, King Echad, dies. That is until Prince Wilek’s concubine turns up dead–beside her, a bloodied message that seems to have come from the mother realms.

Darkness Reigns is collected together with parts 2 and 3 in King’s Folly.

Buy Darkness Reigns (The Kinsman Chronicles): Part 1 by Jill Williamson Here

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club Book 1) by Theodora Goss

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Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this “tour de force of reclaiming the narrative, executed with impressive wit and insight” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders—and the bigger mystery of their own origins.

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

Buy The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club Book 1) by Theodora Goss Here

In The Forests Of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip

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In the tales of World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia McKillip, nothing is ever as it seems. A mirror is never just a mirror; a forest is never just a forest. Here, it is a place where a witch can hide in her house of bones and a prince can bargain with his heart…where good and evil entwine and wear each others’ faces… and where a bird with feathers of fire can quench the fiercest longing…

Buy In The Forests Of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip Here

Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip

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From the World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Bards of Bone Plain.

Something half-woke in him, and he froze on the threshold, seeing misshapen faces billow in the flames.

As a child, Rook had been taken in by the bards of Luly, and raised as one of their own. Of his past he knew nothing—except faint memoires of fire and death that he’d do anything to forget.

But nightmares, and a new threat to the island that had become his own, would not let him escape the dreadful fate of his true family. Haunted by the music of the bards, he left the only home he knew to wander the land of the power-hungry Basilisk who had destroyed his family. And perhaps, finally, to find a future in the fulfillment of his forgotten destiny…

Buy Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip Here

Fire & Blood (A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1) by George R. R. Martin

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work, the inspiration for HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon

“The thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martin’s fantasy work: familiar myths debunked, the whole trope table flipped.”—Entertainment Weekly

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire & Blood is the the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Buy Fire & Blood (A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1) by George R. R. Martin Here

Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel

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The bestselling phenomenon and inspiration for the award-winning film.

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico blends poignant romance and bittersweet wit.

This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother’s womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way.

Buy Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel Here

Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin

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Now a major motion picture A bestseller that takes readers on a journey to New York of the Belle Epoque, where Peter Lake attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home. Thus begins the love between the middle-aged Irishman and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying. “This novel…is a gifted writer’s love affair with the language” (Newsday).

Buy Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin Here

Dragonsbane (Winterlands Book 1) by Barbara Hambly

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An idealistic young prince convinces an aging warrior and a struggling witch to help him kill the dragon that is terrorizing his kingdom
As a vicious dragon stalks the Southlands, Crown Prince Gareth ventures to the forbidding North in search of the only man who can kill it. He is Lord Aversin, the Dragonsbane, whose dragon-slaying days have won him renown across the land. But when Gareth finds Lord Aversin, he discovers the mighty hero is squat and bespectacled, the ruler of a mud-village who admits that he killed the dragon not with a lance, but with ignoble poison. Still, he’ll have to do. Gareth and Aversin set off in company with Jenny Waynest, a witch with great ambitions but disappointingly puny powers—a ragtag crew destined to become legendary, or die in the attempt. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Buy Dragonsbane (Winterlands Book 1) by Barbara Hambly Here

The Pharaoh and the Librarian by Amber Polo

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The Pharaoh and the Librarian by Amber Polo

What if Cleopatra faked her death and escaped on a pirate ship? While her sister sailed for Wales with the most valuable ancient books from her Library of Alexandria? And they both landed in an imagined new world filled with crypto-creatures and historical humans?
Trekking the desert of 1st century New Mexico, Cleo from the Yucatan and Alex from Nova Scotia, they’d need bravery and help from friends and lovers to evade inner demons and determined villains across an uncharted wilderness filled with crypto–creatures and historical humans.

Featured Book: An Average Curse: A Tale of Friendship and Magic (The Chronicles of Hawthorn, Book 1) by Rue

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FREE for 5 days only!

Her world is in peril. Magick is her only hope. As of this morning, she still can’t cast a single spell.

On an island hidden from the rest of the world, Flynn Hawthorn, the ninth daughter of the ninth daughter, lives under a curse. In a land filled with magick, Flynn is forced to live her life as a Watcher—born into magick, but unable to wield it.

Her birth fulfills an ancient prophecy that’s waited nine generations to be satisfied. Flynn must reunite the separated halves of the Book of Shadow and Light to restore balance to her world.

Dark forces oppose her purpose and as the threat from the Shadow Coven of Southeil touches her shores for the first time in generations, Flynn must pretend—with the help of her best friend Hazel—that she actually has magick. Hazel would do anything for Flynn, but the game they are playing may cost them their lives…

Buy “An Average Curse” to join the adventure today!

Buy An Average Curse: A Tale of Friendship and Magic (The Chronicles of Hawthorn, Book 1) Here

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