SPELLCAST
Barbara Ashford
DAW Books

"There's a vast but little known overlap between fans of fantasy and fans of musical theater, and Barbara Ashford hits the sweet spot on both with Spellcast. It's warm, humorous, emotional, heartfelt, and full of magic. Curse you, Barbara, for making me cry! And for getting 'Some Enchanted Evening' stuck in my head all week."
                --Carrie Vaughn, New York Times Bestselling Author

Maggie Graham is having a very bad day. First, she loses her job. Then her bathroom ceiling collapses. Hoping a weekend getaway will restore her spirits, she drives to Vermont – and winds up auditioning for the Crossroads Theatre.

Director Rowan Mackenzie is even odder than the misfits who comprise the company. What kind of director casts people in the roles they need? And never leaves the grounds of the theatre? And possesses the power to transform a train wreck of a show into something . . . magical?

There's a secret at the Crossroads, and Maggie is determined to uncover it. She never imagines she'll discover secrets about her past that will change her life—and Rowan's—forever.
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JANE AND THE RAVEN KING
Stephen Chambers
Sourcebooks

"A magical, empowering gem of a book. . . . I believe this book should be celebrated."
                --New York Journal of Books

Outside the window, a squirrel in a tree popped out with a little black suitcase. At first, Jane was sure she must be mistaken, but as she watched, the squirrel opened the tiny suitcase and began arranging nuts and acorns inside . . .

The animals clearly knew something was wrong. Even her pet iguana scrawled a warning in the sand of his tank: He is coming.

Soon all the animals are fleeing the suburb where Jane lives. But they aren't the only ones acting strange. Jane's parents seem to be hypnotized by their cell phones and the TV. And her grandma starts controlling the weather and speaking in a funny language. But when Jane meets an old blind man who can drive a car and claims Jane is the only one who can save the world, well, that's when things really start to get weird . . .

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12
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GHOSTS & ECHOES: A SHADOWS INQUIRIES NOVEL
Lyn Benedict
Ace Books

Owner and lead investigator of Shadows Inquiries, Sylvie returns in her second urban fantasy mystery, this time set on her home turf in Miami's South Beach. Looking for an easy case after her last investigation turned deadly, Sylvie takes on a series of local burglaries. It seems like a perfect job for a PI who specializes in supernatural work, but soon she realizes that the case is much more complex and dangerous than she envisioned. Meanwhile, she's agreed to let a Chicago cop hang around with her because he's possessed by a ghost that's a little too familiar to Sylvie. The mix of supernatural elements and a real-world setting—Sylvie attempts to keep the magical out of sight of regular people—makes this adventure engaging and believable.
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SWORD OF FIRE AND SEA: THE CHAOS KNIGHT, BOOK 1
Erin Hoffman
Pyr Books

"Sword of Fire and Sea is fantasy adventure in the classic tradition, and Erin Hoffman is a fine storyteller. Read it and be swept away."
                --Allen Steele

"If you like hard-hitting fantasy adventure with a lot of magic, this is your series."
                --Piers Anthony

The priestess Endera has called upon Vidarian to fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. A journey perilous in the best of conditions is made more so by their pursuers: rogue telepathic magic-users called the Vkortha who will stop at nothing to recover Ariadel, who has witnessed their forbidden rites.

Together, Vidarian and Ariadel will navigate more than treacherous waters: Imperial intrigue, a world that has been slowly losing its magic for generations, secrets that the priestesshoods have kept for longer, the indifference of their elemental goddesses, gryphons—once thought mythical—now returning to the world, and their own labyrinthine family legacies. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of colliding universes, and the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them.
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FOXFIRE: TRICKSTER'S GAME #3
Barbara Campbell
DAW Books

"Think Jean Auel and Judith Tarr. . . . Barbara Campbell creates characters readers will care about and produces a storyline that grabs reader interest."
                --Midwest Book Review

The stunning final novel in Barbara Campbell's powerful debut fantasy series, a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society's Award for Adult Fantasy Literature

Years after their exile, legendary hero Darak and his wife Griane have founded their own tribe and raised four children. A rebel force, led by Darak's own daughter, seeks to recruit him to their cause. But the greatest danger comes from their youngest son, Rigat—actually sired by the Trickster God . . .


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KITTY GOES TO WAR
Carrie Vaughn
New York Times Bestselling Author
Tor Books

"I relished this book. Enough excitement, astonishment, pathos, and victory to satisfy any reader."
                --Charlaine Harris on Kitty and the Midnight Hour

"Engaging . . . funny . . . . Very entertaining."
                --The Denver Post on Kitty and the Midnight Hour

In the eighth installment of the Kitty Norville series, Kitty, the alpha werewolf of the Denver pack and host of a radio talk show that examines lives and problems of paranormal people, is summoned to an army base to help with a werewolf problem. The werewolves in question were part of a secret project that infected soldiers with lycanthropy to make them more effective in the war in Afghanistan, but when their alpha was blown to bits the squad imploded. The three remaining members, who have a murderous lack of self control, are facing extermination unless Kitty can teach them the ways of civilized werewolves, while dealing with her own problems revolving around a libel suit and possible wizard. Kitty is an empathetic character and smart as can be in this fast-moving urban fantasy.

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STEEL
Carrie Vaughn
HarperTeen

It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get homeÑone that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.
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KINGS AND ASSASSINS
Lane Robins
Del Rey Books

"Gripping . . . Robins deftly paints a unique and involving world."
                --Kirkus Reviews

"Seductive language, lush character portraitures, and a decaying rich world filled with tales of lust, murder, and betrayal: Lane Robins delivers and leaves the reader wanting more."
                --C. E. Murphy, author of The QueenÕs Bastard

This dark and gruesome sequel to 2007's Maledicte compellingly illustrates the endless variety of human venality. Janus Ixion, former starving commoner and now the earl of Last, is fervently dedicated to bringing an industrial revolution to Antyre, a decadent fantasy realm. This goal pits him against his devious former tutor, Prince Ivor of Itarus, who schemes to become Antyre's king. When old demonic gods return to Antyre and possess Janus's wife, Psyke, and the witless orphaned boy-king Adiran, the political becomes inextricably mixed with the supernatural. Numerous grisly murders counterpoint the simmering sexual tensions underlying Janus's quest for his lost love, Maledicte. Robins's tapestry of lies, deception and violence is deftly woven.
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HARD SPELL: AN OCCULT CRIMES UNIT INVESTIGATION
Justin Gustainis
Angry Robot

Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton Police Department's Occult Crimes Investigation Unit.

Like the rest of America, Scranton's got an uneasy 'live and let unlive' relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that's when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.
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ANIMYTHICAL TALES
Sarah Totton
Fantastic Books

"A pleasantly absurd comedy of manners with an ending highly satisfactory to most of the parties concerned. Recommended"
                --Lois Tilton, Internet Review of Science Fiction

". . . wildly inventive . . ."
                --Rich Horton, Fantasy: The Best of the Year

In this elegant volume, award-winning author Sarah Totton takes her readers on speculative journeys of the heart and mind that will both challenge and engage you. Within these tales, readers will learn the meaning of darkness and pain and fear. Yet they will also learn about love and happiness and laughter. Sarah Totton explores the full kaleidoscope of the human heart and peels it back, one layer at a time. She offers her readers a full palette of emotions and stories to sift through, never settling, never holding back, and never flinching. Whether she is writing about the loss of innocence through dark revelations, the point to which a human mind can be stretched before succumbing to the magic of faerie, or something as preposterous as cloud-fishing in a world with pink yaks, the stories in Animythical Tales are always told with an eye toward revealing something important about the human condition. If you have ever yearned to fall into fabulous adventures in unforgettable worlds, Animythical Tales is the collection for you.
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