Six years ago, I awoke in a cage with no knowledge of who I was or where I’d come from. Six years ago, I was spared the flesh markets and instead thrown in with a group of savages, where I learned it was fight or die. Now, eight Orders of Assassins are converging on the only home I’ve ever known. All in hopes of purchasing new blade slaves for their ranks. I’m for sale, yet all I want is a life far from death and ownership. Then I meet them, the Order of Scorpions. Their allure is a threat to the freedom I crave, but I won’t fall victim to their sting, no matter how tempting it might be.

Raised to be my father’s weapon against the Coven that took away his sister and his birthright, I would do anything to protect my younger brother from suffering the same fate. My duty forces me to the secret town of Crystal Hollow and the prestigious Hollow’s Grove University—where the best and brightest of my kind learn to practice their magic free from human judgment.

Nineteen years ago, I was plucked from the heart of a bloody massacre that spared nobody else. Small. Fragile. An enigma. Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I've drawn around the castle grounds.

My father called them messengers. He once told me they walked among us and that somewhere in this dark and godless city, there shined a faint sliver of hope. I had only to look for the signs. Well, I’ve spent my whole life investigating the inexplicable and all I've found are the unsettling vestiges of iniquity—the evidence of another world shrouded by the obscure. Purgatory to some, where depravity hides in shadows, and girls like me are little more than delicious bites of temptation. Others call it Nightshade.

I should have run the other way. Paid my tab and gone back to my room. But he was there. And he was…everything. I figured, what’s the harm in letting passion rule my decisions for one night? So what if he looks like the Devil in a suit? I’d be leaving in the morning, flying home to my pleasant but predictable life. I’d never see him again. Except I do. In the last place I expected. And now everything I’ve worked so hard for is in jeopardy.

When I'm late for a job interview and get stuck on an elevator with an annoyingly sexy, ancient-Rome-obsessed grump, the last thing I expect is for him to be the billionaire owner of the building. I also don't expect to almost kill him...accidentally, of course.

Life as I knew it ended with a bullet. It stole my brother from me and destroyed my family. From the ashes, I rose stronger and meaner, to exact the kind of revenge best served bloody and cold. I took out every single person I held responsible. Except one. He’s a phantom but his days are numbered. I won’t stop until I’m done. Then she shows up—the forbidden fruit, a light to my darkness. I should resist her because what I touch, I destroy. My feisty wildflower deserves more: more than this, more than me.

Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose―to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present. Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift―an eerily familiar gift―and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation.

My new assignment at work: Test out toys. Yup, that kind. Well, technically, it’s to test the app that controls the toys remotely. One problem? The showgirl who’s supposed to test the hardware (as in, the actual toys) joins a nunnery. Another problem? This project is important to my Russian boss, the broody, mouthwateringly sexy Vlad, a.k.a. the Impaler. There’s only one solution: Test both the software and the hardware myself...with his help.

He is a broken, wild thing, his heart’s nature exposed by his beastly form. Long ago cursed with a wretched existence, the Beast prowls the dusty hallways of his ruined château with only magical, unseen servants to keep him company - until a weary traveler disturbs his isolation. Bewitched by the man’s dreams of his beautiful daughter, the Beast devises a plan to lure her to the château. There, Isabeau courageously exchanges her father’s life for her own and agrees to remain with the Beast for a year.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

After surviving a suicide attempt, Phoenix Bridges has been given a second chance at life—one she isn't sure what to do with. When she's released from a psychiatric treatment center, she moves into her family's old shore house in New Jersey, to figure out how to start over. She expects the town to be desolate in the winter months. What she doesn't anticipate is the gorgeous, brooding cop who lives next door.

Taylor is looking for peace and quiet away from the memories of all she's lost. A small mountain town where no one knows her seems like the perfect escape. Walker loves his life—his town, his family, his brothers in blue. When Taylor's solitude is interrupted by the rugged cop, they find that the very thing they were avoiding might be just what they both need. As their iron wills clash and passion flares . . . a killer lurks.

Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. And they're changing. First, their dark hair turned white. Then, their blue eyes slowly turned black. They have insatiable appetites yet never gain weight. People find them disturbingly intoxicating, unbearably beautiful, and inexplicably dangerous.

VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD: a Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire Compendium is a comprehensive companion guide for background, history, reader-favorite information, and reference materials. Combined with original short stories and scenes from some of the world’s most beloved characters, it’s a treat for the senses.

To most, Kal Anderson is a villain. Harbinger of death, keeper of souls, frequenter of nightmares. Doctor Death. Hades incarnate. They say he stole me. Usurped my fiancé and filled the cracks in my heart with empty promises. Imprinted his crimson fingerprints on my psyche and tried to set me free. They’re not wrong, per se. Except it was my choice to stay.

My husband. My tormentor. The most notorious man in the city offers me a job. Act as his dead wife. Adrian Volkov isn’t the type of person who takes no for an answer. He commands with an iron fist and all his orders are met. When he approaches me with the offer, I have two options. Go to prison or put myself under his wrath. I choose to have a roof over my head. What’s so hard about acting, right? Wrong. The moment I step into his wife’s shoes, everything spirals out of control. My only way of survival is through Adrian. Or is it?

Triple Falls wasn’t at all what it seemed, nor were the men that swept me under their wing. But in order to keep them, I had to be in on their secrets.⁣ Secrets that cost us everything to keep.⁣ That’s the novelty of fiction versus reality. You can’t re-live your own love story, because by the time you’ve realized you’re living it, it’s over. At least that was the case for me and the men I trusted my foolish heart to.⁣ Looking back, I’m convinced I willed my story into existence, due to my illness, and all were punished.

Money is my mistress. Solving problems, my trade. Until the tables turn, and trouble finds me. Now on the run, I need a plan. But not before I’m blindsided by a pain-in-the-ass stranger. Maggie. Curves, startling blue eyes, and she hates me. I don’t trust her, and with good reason. My plan is simple: use her. Then I kiss her. Touch her. Crave her. She was my way out; now she’s my downfall.

They'll tell you I seduced them. Used my looks and body to lure them into my playground. They'll tell you I'm a sinner. A demon who held them captive with temptation and lust. They'll tell you I'm evil. A monster obsessed with the both of them. They'll tell you they made a deal with the devil. What they won't tell you...is how much they liked it.

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years. Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape.

Julia Hughes has always played it safe until she learned a very painful lesson. Now Julia's starting over with a job in the Louisiana bayou, working for the infamous de Vincent family, the massively wealthy brothers who are haunted by a dark reputation and whispers of misdeeds. Hired to care for their troubled sister, Julia can't afford any distractions, but the menacing presence in the mansion and the ever-present temptation of the handsome Lucian de Vincent isn't something anyone can ignore.

Hit me. Kick me. Hurt me. Hate me. There’s nothing that the students of Raleigh High can do to Silver Parisi anymore. Over the past year, she’s had to endure more pain and suffering than most people are asked to bear in their lifetimes. She’s a pariah, an outcast, a ghost. She’s also never been one to take shit lying down, though...despite what half the football team might say. With only 168 days left of the school year, it won’t be long until graduation, and Silver’s planning on skipping town and leaving Raleigh firmly in her rearview mirror. Until he comes along....

I'll never forget the night I caught her sneaking around my place. She thought she could steal from me and get away with it, but I have no intention of letting her get away at all. Mian Ross has a lesson to learn, and I'm going to be the one to teach it to her.

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I'm the villain of this story. I've decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you'll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn't there. Don't mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her.

I was never meant to live an ordinary life, and when I’m dropped from the sky into a haunting forest, facing the barrel of an unknown man’s gun, I believe it to be true. Ruler of Blackwater, Caz Harlow, is the man behind the gun. He’s broody, calculating, commanding and, surprisingly, I can hear every thought that runs through his mind. Because I can, he wants me out of his world and sent back to where I came from, so he makes it his mission to find a way.

Brant Talbot runs a glitzy network of high-end bars in New York City, enjoying all the benefits of the lavish lifestyle he's worked so hard to achieve. When he learns that his estranged father is dying, he must return to his family’s Kentucky horse farm - and to a past he thought he left behind. While facing long-buried truths, he collides with his father’s secretary, Isabelle Farris. Despite his undeniable attraction to the beautiful, independent young woman, he sees secrets in her eyes and believes she has designs on Graystone Hill.

I'm a loan shark. Breaking people is in my blood. The Haynes were supposed to be a straightforward job. Go in and pull the trigger twice. One bullet for Charlie, one for his sister. But when I saw Valentina, I wanted her. Only, in our world, those who owe us don't get second chances. No way in hell will my mother let her live. So I devised a plan to keep her. It's depraved. It's immoral. It's dubious. It's perfect. Just like her.

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, two vampire coalitions battle for supremacy—Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity and Darkblood rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.

Former Marine Jude Wilde's motto has always been "burn bridges and never look back," so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they're forced to fake a relationship for her safety.

My father called them messengers. He once told me they walked among us and that somewhere in this dark and godless city, there shined a faint sliver of hope. I had only to look for the signs. Well, I’ve spent my whole life investigating the inexplicable and all I've found are the unsettling vestiges of iniquity—the evidence of another world shrouded by the obscure. Purgatory to some, where depravity hides in shadows, and girls like me are little more than delicious bites of temptation. Others call it Nightshade.

At age 20, Selene Bowers desperately hopes to be accepted into Henbane Coven, an academy for young witches. Since one of the requirements for entry is to connect with her powers via a quest through the wilderness, Selene books a trip to South America. When a nefarious supernatural force tries to drag her plane from the sky, Selene's magic awakens to save her life—at a cost. Using her powers devours her memories, one by one.

I'm addicted to my stalker. He watches me at night, sneaking in through my living room window and making my blood turn to ice. I feel him all around me as chills snake down my spine. Each night he becomes bolder, getting closer and welcoming himself into my bedroom, feeding his addiction.

Agenor, Lord Protector of the Fae Isles and right hand of the Mother herself, doesn’t expect anything to still surprise him after twelve centuries of life. Finding a taunting note from an anonymous thief in his wardrobe is enough to rouse his curiosity, though. Enough to do the unthinkable—write back. Then he finds out he’s been exchanging letters with a humble human. Worse, a human challenging him to his face.

I always knew darkness crept through this city; like a shadow, it never really goes away, always watching, always waiting. People sin and people kill; it's a way of life. I just never expected to be thrown into the middle of a war I had no hope of surviving. Alexander Silver is as brutal as he is beautiful. A devil in disguise. The man destined to end me. I didn't go looking for trouble, and yet it found me, nonetheless. I could either join it or let it crush me.

After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I'd find the cure for what ravaged her and leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me. Four years later, I received an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it's rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before, those whose bones are said to make up the island's white sandy shores. And restless ghosts aren't even its most daunting peculiarity.

Sleeping with my boyfriend’s best friend, behind his girlfriend’s back, probably wasn’t my smartest idea. But Jase is mine, and it’s about time Julia knew it. Attending Lowell University was supposed to be a fresh start. A chance to end all the sneaking around and make our relationship official. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Julia is digging her claws into Jase. My boyfriend, Chad, is getting in deeper with a local gang. And my loathsome new stepbrother, Ares, has just moved in.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs. When her uncle holds the life of her deathly ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

I'd have chosen her above all else...if only I could go back. Even if it meant I never got to kiss her, to love her, to be consumed by the woman she is and the love she gave me. She deserves more than this... She deserves more than this dangerous life I lead. She was never supposed to be involved. She was mine to lust after, to have in the darkest hours of the night, to love in secret even.

The stories were all wrong—Hook was never the villain. For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken. Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked. But it’s pointless. Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.