Category Archives: Fantasy & Paranormal

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

The Massacre is supposed to bring peace to Eriana Kwai. Every year, the island sends its warriors to battle these hostile sea demons. Every year, the warriors fail to return. Desperate for survival, the island must decide on a new strategy. Now, the fate of Eriana Kwai lies in the hands of twenty battle-trained girls and their resistance to a mermaid’s allure.

Eighteen-year-old Meela has already lost her brother to the Massacre, and she has lived with a secret that’s haunted her since childhood. For any hope of survival, she must overcome the demons of her past and become a ruthless mermaid killer.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Blood & gore depiction

Alone in Space by Tillie Walden

Alone in Space by Tillie Walden

Alone In Space compiles award-winning cartoonist Tillie Walden’s short comics into a stunning and comprehensive collection of the early work which shot her to fame.

We start with Tillie’s first published comic The End of Summer, in which Lars battles illness in a secluded castle at the start of an endless winter with a giant cat to keep him company amid mounting family tensions. Also featured are I Love This Part – Tillie’s bittersweet breakout story of small-town teen romance, and A City Inside – a study of growth and adulthood through a surreal and poetic recounting of one woman’s life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Coming out themes
  • Internalised lesbomisia
  • Terminal illness
  • Graphic death of a pet cat

The Savior by JR Ward

The Savior by J.R. Ward

In the venerable history of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, only one male has ever been expelled—but Murhder’s insanity gave the Brothers no choice. Haunted by visions of a female he could not save, he nonetheless returns to Caldwell on a mission to right the wrong that ruined him. However, he is not prepared for what he must face in his quest for redemption.

Dr. Sarah Watkins, researcher at a biomedical firm, is struggling with the loss of her fellow scientist fiancé. When the FBI starts asking about his death, she questions what really happened and soon learns the terrible truth: Her firm is conducting inhumane experiments in secret and the man she thought she knew and loved was involved in the torture…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicidal ideation mentioned
  • Cancer discussed
  • Medical experimentation
  • Torture
  • Captivity
  • War themes

Cursed by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane

Cursed: A Wish is a Terrible Thing edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane

with contributions from Angela Slatter, Neil Gaiman, Alison Littlewood, James Brogden, Tim Lebbon, Charle Jane Anders, Christina Henry, Christopher Golden, Catriona Ward, Lilith Saintcrow, Margo Lanagan, Maura McHugh, Jen Williams, Jane Yolen, Christopher Fowler, M.R. Carey, Karen Joy Fowler, Adam Stemple, and Michael Marshall Smith

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet they are all lies…

You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve read this story before. That’s where you’re wrong.

In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it’s not what you think…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Self-multionation
  • Body horror
  • Death of an infant & child

Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde

Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde

Naomi McIlroy’s life in Jamaica has always been about the comforts of family and home – but secretly she yearns for something more. Surrendering to seduction under a full moon, Naomi becomes part of a vampire clan whose carnal hungers are never sated. 

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape
  • Blood depiction

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.

A holy war rages across the heavens and mankind’s fate hangs in the balance.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Deadnaming
  • Sexual assault

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

In the murky London gloom, a knife-wielding gentleman named Jack prowls the midnight streets with his faithful watchdog Snuff – gathering together the grisly ingredients they will need for an upcoming ancient and unearthly rite. For soon after the death of the moon, black magic will summon the Elder Gods back into the world. And all manner of Players, both human and undead, are preparing to participate.

Some have come to open the gates. Some have come to slam them shut. And now the dread night approaches – so let the Game begin.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Animal abuse

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

Now, no longer hailed as gods and struggling in the overheated pollution of Beijing, only the Eastern dragons survive. As drought plagues the aquatic creatures, a mysterious disease—shaolong, or “burnt lung”—afflicts the city’s human inhabitants.

Jaded college student Xiang Kaifei scours Beijing streets for abandoned dragons, distracting himself from his diagnosis. Elijah Ahmed, a biracial American medical researcher, is drawn to Beijing by the memory of his grandmother and her death by shaolong. Interest in Beijing’s dragons leads Kai and Eli into an unlikely partnership. With the resources of Kai’s dragon rescue and Eli’s immunology research, can the pair find a cure for shaolong and safety for the dragons… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Chronic & terminal illness
  • Animal cruelty

Red Tigress by Amélie Wen Zhao

Red Tigress by Amélie Wen Zhao

Ana Mikhailov is the only surviving member of the royal family of Cyrilia. She has no army, no title, and no allies, and now she must find a way to take back the throne or risk the brutal retribution of the empress. Morganya is determined to establish a new world order on the spilled blood of non-Affinites. Ana is certain that Morganya won’t stop until she kills them all.

Ana’s only chance at navigating the dangerous world of her homeland means partnering with Ramson Quicktongue again. But the cunning crime lord has schemes of his own. For Ana to find an army, they must cross the Whitewaves to the impenetrable stone forts of Bregon. Only, no one can be certain what they will find there.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Explosion
  • Battle scenes

Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao

Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao

Twelve-year-old Reyna Cheng is the up-and-coming junior amateur Dayhold gamer, competing in a VR battle royale against AI monsters and human players alike. But despite Reyna’s rising popularity and skills, no one know who she is. Gaming is still a boy’s club and to protect herself against trolls, she games as the mysterious TheRuiNar.

When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament sponsored by her favourite team, she knows she’s got what it takes to win the championship title and the $10,000 prize. But when she’s blackmailed and threatened to be doxed, having her personal identity revealed, by an anonymous troll, Reyna will have to deal with a toxic gaming community, family complications, and the increasing pressure to win as the tournament gets underway.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Threats of doxxing