Search Results for: there will come a darkness

The City of London in the 1990s is a dark, adrenaline-charged square mile deep in recession, where sex is just another commodity and keeping one’s integrity is a daily struggle.

Gavin Blake is riding high. He’s up to his neck in money, sex and sleaze, but he’s young, and handsome and he’s making a lot of money. Carta Graham wants nothing more than to forget her life as a high-flying lawyer, so she’s buried herself in a fund-raising project for the City Church of St Benet’s. When she meets Gavin, she thinks the only thing they share is a temporary sexual attraction, but she’s wrong. They are about to change each other’s lives forever.

For Gavin comes to see that in order to survive he must escape from the harrowing world he inhabits. His fight for freedom will be hard and fierce, but Carta, searching for her own freedom from the past, is with him every step of the way…

Within the pages of very rare books, some centuries old, lie the secrets of the paranormal. Abby Radwell’s unusual psychic talent has made her an expert in such volumes – and sometimes has taken her into dangerous territory. After a deadly incident in the private library of an obsessive collector, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and rumours swirl that an old alchemical text known as The Key has reappeared on the black market.

Convinced she needs an investigator who can also play bodyguard, she hires Sam Coppersmith, an expert in paranormal crystals and amber. Passion flares immediately between them, though neither entirely trusts the other. But when it comes to dealing with a killer with paranormal talents – and a blackmailer who will stop at nothing to obtain an ancient alchemical code – no one is safe.

An extremely rare Tigarian Katagaria, Wren is half snow leopard and half white tiger. Both species are extremely dangerous. Combined, they are lethal. He’s reclusive and anti-social.

Marguerite Godoeau has spent her lifetime trying to please her politician father. But has come to the recent conclusion that she wants her freedom. Missing her friend Nick Gautier who was a voice of reason in her insane life, she goes to Nick’s favorite bar, Sanctuary.

From the moment he sees her, Wren is completely captivated by Marguerite. Compelled, he follows after her and starts a most forbidden courtship. Wren knows he has no business with a human. He has too many enemies as it is. Yet he can’t seem to let go of the only thing in his life that means something to him. Through enemies, both human and other, they have to learn to stand together or be devoured.

Valerius isn’t a popular Dark-Hunter – he’s a Roman, which means that the largely Greek Hunters have a major grudge against him and his civilization for superceding them. To make things worse, he’s very conscious of his aristocratic background and breeding. So it serves him right when he runs into Tabitha Devereaux. She’s sassy, sexy, and completely unwilling to take him seriously. (Not to mention Tabitha is also the sister-in-law of Kyrian, a former Dark-Hunter and Val’s mortal enemy.)

What Tabitha does take seriously is hunting and killing vampires-and soon she and Val have to grapple with the deadliest of all Daimons – one who’s managed to come back from the dead, and one who holds a serious grudge against both of them. To win against evil, Val will have to loosen up, learn to trust, and put everything on the line to protect a man he hates and a woman who drives him nuts.

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…

The only pure-bred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate – Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

Dark. Mysterious. Sensual. Bronse Chapel is a highly specialised Commander with a ‘no fear/no fail/no fatality’ motto. His team is the best of the best – so why does someone want them all dead?

The leader of the Chosen Ones, Ravenna is a breathtakingly beautiful woman with extraordinary powers who comes to Bronse in his dreams and awakens his most primal desires – even as she warns of imminent danger. Ravenna and her tribe are being held prisoner by those who seek to abuse their gifts.

Bronse has always trusted his instincts, though his crew may be questioning his grip on reality. As they embark on a mission to save the Chosen Ones, Bronse fears – and Ravenna cautions – that they’re heading straight into a trap. Still, some force, both magnetic and erotic, is pulling Bronse to help this mysterious woman who may hold the key to both their destinies.

After a year hiding out in the Bronx, Joe Pitt is given an assignment he can’t refuse.

One Clan needs Joe to inform on another, but he’s playing them both while keeping his eye on the main prize: his girl Evie is on the Island somewhere and he’ll do anything to get her back. And in this case, ‘anything’ means coming face to face with the horrendous secret that lies beneath the Vampyre world. It’s a quest that will drive him to the heart of the two most perplexing mysteries of the Vampyre community: how were the Clans originally formed, and where do the powerful ones get all that blood?

The search for the answer takes Joe to a dark corner of Queens, puts him face to face with a mythic and savage Clan, and leaves him in possession of a vision he’ll never scrape off his retinas – as well as a bargaining chip that redefines his place in the Vampyre universe.

Home alone on the night of her twenty-fifth birthday, US Air Force sergeant Christine Canady yearns for something to cure her loneliness. After drinking too much champagne, she recites a divine invocation to revive her humdrum life. But how is she to know the spell actually works?

When her plane crashes into the ocean, CC’s life changes forever. She awakens, bewildered, to find herself in a legendary time and place ruled by magic – and in the body of the mythical mermaid Undine. But danger lurks in the water, ready to swallow CC whole. Taking pity on her, the goddess Gaea turns CC into a damsel so that she might seek shelter on land. When a dashing knight comes to CC’s rescue, instead of falling for this dream-come-true, she aches for the sea and the darkly sexy merman who’s stolen her heart…

‘UTTERLY ENTHRALLING’ Trudi Canavan

‘The most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer of her generation . . . Jemisin seems able to do just about everything’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘Jemisin is now a pillar of speculative fiction, breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold’ ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

From the multi award-winning N. K. Jemisin comes a captivating fantasy series of dreams, intrigue and forbidden magic.

Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now knows violence and oppression. And nightmares: a mysterious and deadly plague haunts the citizens of Gujaareh, dooming the infected to die screaming in their sleep. Trapped between dark dreams and cruel overlords, the people yearn to rise up – but Gujaareh has known peace for too long.

Someone must show them the way.

Hope lies with two outcasts: the first woman ever allowed to join the dream goddess’ priesthood, and an exiled prince who longs to reclaim his birthright. Together, they must resist the Kisuati occupation and uncover the source of the killing dreams . . . before Gujaareh is lost forever.

Also by N. K. Jemisin:
The Inheritance trilogy
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Broken Kingdoms
The Kingdom of Gods

The Broken Earth trilogy
The Fifth Season
The Obelisk Gate
The Stone Sky

The Great Cities trilogy
The City We Became

Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the ‘everyday’ world is full of strange and magical things – and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in.

Harry Dresden is feeling happy. No one’s tried to kill him in nearly a year, and the worst problem he’s had lately is removing stains his apprentice bungled into his carpeting. The future seems bright. Unfortunately, the past isn’t looking nearly so optimistic. An old bargain placed Harry in debt to Mab, faerie monarch of the Winter Court and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Harry still owes her two favours, and it’s time to pay up. It’s a small favour he really can’t refuse, but it will trap Harry between a nightmarish foe and a deadly ally, stretching his skills and loyalties to their limits. It figures. Everything was going too well to last.

Magic – it can get a guy killed.

‘Those who appreciate heroines with a good measure of spunk, sass and strong-arm savvy will find this a fun if fitful read.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Mesmerizing . . . the ‘other-worldly’ atmosphere conjured up by Armstrong begins to seem strangely real. Armstrong is a talented and original writer whose inventiveness and sense of the bizarre is arresting.’ – The London Free Press

Eve Levine – half-demon, black witch and devoted mother – has been dead for three years. She has a great house, an interesting love life and can’t be killed again – which comes in handy when you’ve made as many enemies as Eve. Yes, the afterlife isn’t too bad – all she needs to do is find a way to communicate with her daughter Savannah and she’ll be happy.

But fate – or more exactly, the Fates – have other plans. Eve owes them a favour, and they’ve just called it in. An evil spirit called the Nix has escaped from hell. She feeds on chaos and death, and is very good at persuading people to kill for her. The Fates want Eve to hunt her down before she does any more damage, but the Nix is a dangerous enemy – previous hunters have been sent mad in the process.

As if that’s not problem enough, it turns out that the only way to stop her is with an angel’s sword. And Eve’s no angel . . .

A brilliant novel of suspense with a supernatural twist – packaged in the stunning new Kelley Armstrong series style.

Books by Kelley Armstrong:

Women of the Otherworld series
Bitten
Stolen
Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
Haunted
Broken
No Humans Involved
Personal Demon
Living with the Dead
Frost Bitten
Walking the Witch
Spellbound
Thirteen

Nadia Stafford
Exit Strategy
Made to be Broken
Wild Justice

Rockton
City of the Lost
A Darkness Absolute
This Fallen Prey
Watcher in the Woods
Alone in the Wild

Darkest Powers
The Summoning
The Awakening
The Reckoning

Otherworld Tales
Men of the Otherworld
Tales of the Otherworld
Otherworld Nights
Otherworld Secrets
Otherworld Chills

Darkness Rising
The Gathering
The Calling
The Rising

Cainsville
Omens
Visions
Deceptions
Betrayals
Rituals

‘A writer who seems set to rule the genre’ – Waterstones Books Quarterly

‘A Blight of Mages is an intoxicating and heart-wrenching story depicting two young people torn by desire and ability’ – British Fantasy Society

Hundreds of years before the great Mage War, a land lies, unknowing, on the edge of catastrophe . . .

Barl is young, impulsive and wants to explore her raw magical potential. But Dorana’s rigid class system means that only those with the right pedigree are trained. Desperate to learn, Barl lets her eagerness lead her to rebellion and disgrace. She faces the possibility of never using her powers again – until she meets Morgan Danfey, who sits on the Mage Council itself.

Together, they realise they can create an extraordinary new magic. But the lure of this great power reveals a darkness in Morgan which will bring their land to its knees.

From the bestselling Karen Miller comes a compelling fantasy novel set in the world before The Innocent Mage – the age before the great Mage War . . .

Books by Karen Miller:

Kingmaker, Kingbreaker Series
The Innocent Mage
The Awakened Mage
A Blight of Mages

Godspeaker
Empress of Mijak
The Riven Kingdom
The Hammer of God

Fisherman’s Children
The Prodigal Mage
The Reluctant Mage

Tarnished Crown
The Falcon Throne
Prince of Glass

A failing wall, a broken shield . . . and an enemy that will exploit every weakness

Malian and Kalan are coming home, but already it may be too late. The Wall of Night, dangerously weakened by civil war among the Derai families that garrison it, is on the verge of failing. Everywhere their ancient enemy, the Darksworn, is on the move as the threads of an old pattern begin to tighten about Kalan, and Malian searches for answers in the fabled Shield of Heaven, which every account agrees was broken beyond repair.

In Grayharbor and in the Red Keep, a child and a young woman are caught in conflict’s maw, as whispers gather around Dread Pass and a Darksworn prophecy points to Malian herself being the stake the ancient enemy will drive into the heart of the Derai Alliance.

One of FantasyLiterature.com’s Best Books of 2016.
A richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties – Robin Hobb on THE HEIR OF NIGHT

Dominic of the Dragonseeker lineage – one of the most powerful lines the Carpathian people has – ingests vampire blood laced with parasites in order to infiltrate the heart of the enemy camp and learn their plans. This is a one-way mission. He plans to get in fast, relay the information to the leader of the Carpathians living in the area and go out fighting – an honourable way to end his life.

Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people, a royal pure-blood. Her people, once many, are now nearly extinct. She has long been alone fighting to save the remaining women who are able to shift from the hands of Brodrick the Terrible, her own father who slaughtered everyone she loved. Wounded, weary, she plans one last battle, hoping to stop the man who has made an alliance with the vampires, accepting she will not come out alive. They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, at the end of their time, they find each other, a complication neither sees coming.

For many men, middle age arrives too fast and without due warning. One day you are young, free and single; the next you are bald, fat and washed-up, with weird tendrils of hair growing out of your ears. None of it seems fair. With age should come dignity and respect, but instead everyone makes tired jokes about buying a motorbike.

Marcus Berkmann isn’t having it. Having marked his fiftieth birthday by hiding under the duvet for six weeks, the author of the cricket classics Rain Men and Zimmer Men is now determined to find some light in the all-consuming darkness. Musing over birth, death and all the messy stuff in between, he concludes that however dreadful you look in the mirror today, it will be much worse in ten years’ time. His brutally candid despatch from the frontline is not for the faint-hearted, which is to say anyone under thirty-five.

Tristan Wemyss, Earl of Trentham, never expected he’d need to wed within a year or forfeit his inheritance. But he is not one to bow to the matchmaking mamas of the ton. No, he will marry a lady of his own choosing. And the lady he chooses is the enchanting neighbour living with her family next door. Miss Leonora Carling has beauty, spirit and passion; unfortunately, matrimony is the last thing on her mind . . .

Once bitten, forever shy – never again will Leonora allow any man to capture her heart and break it. But Tristan is a seasoned campaigner who will not accept defeat, especially when a mysterious blackguard with dark designs on Leonora’s family home gives him the perfect excuse to come to the lady’s aid – as her protector, confidant, seducer…and husband.

He is the dark guardian of his people. So how, after centuries of a bleak, soulless existence has he, Lucian Daratrazanoff, suddenly come to crave petite, curvy, colourful policewoman Jaxon Montgomery, who foolishly makes it her life’s work to protect others from harm? Fiercely daring, Jaxx will sacrifice anything to shield others. And piercingly erotic Lucian is powerfully, perilously mesmerising – oddly gentle yet clearly a born predator. He has vowed to possess her, to guard her for all time. Yet with his every thirsty kiss, is he drawing Jaxon more deeply into danger…and his dark, mysterious desires?

For two thousand years Carpathian twins Gabriel and Lucian were vampire hunters. But then, Lucian turned vampire, forcing Gabriel to hunt him. Lucian and Gabriel battled each other for centuries until two hundred years ago, when Gabriel sacrificed his freedom, trapping Lucian and himself in the earth of a Parisian cemetery. Now, modern construction work within the cemetery has disturbed their resting place and Gabriel and his dark brother Lucian are raised from the rubble. Weakened and in desperate need of blood, Gabriel fears he will lose his own soul before he can restore his strength. Fate is on his side when Francesca, a uniquely gifted healer, comes to his aid. Gabriel instantly recognises that she is his lifemate, and must convince Francesca before it is too late: Lucian is on their trail, and will let nothing stand in the way of his eternal conflict with his brother.

Savannah Dubrinsky is a mistress of illusion, a world-famous magician capable of mesmerising millions. But there is one man she fears: Gregori, the Dark One. With a dark magic all his own, Gregori – the most powerful of Carpathian males – whispers in Savannah’s mind that he is her destiny. That she was born to save his immortal soul. And now, here in New Orleans, the hour has finally come to claim her. To make her completely his. In a ritual as old as time…and as inescapable as eternity.

There is nothing more fascinating than a darkly handsome rake, especially one as controlled and elusive as Dillon Caxton, protg of Demon Cynster. Despite his dangerous air, Dillon is now a man of sterling reputation, but it wasn’t always so. Years ago, an illicit scheme turned into a nefarious swindle, and only the help of his cousin, Felicity, and her husband, Demon, saved Dillon from ruin. Now impeccably honest, his hard-won reputation zealously guarded, he’s the Keeper of the Register of all racing horses in England, the very register Lady Priscilla Dalloway is desperate to see. She has come to Newmarket, determined to come to the rescue of her horse-mad brother who has fallen into bad company. Together, Dillon and Pris uncover a massive betting swindle. Assisted by Demon, Felicity, and Barnaby Adair, they embark on a journey riddled with danger and undeniable passion as they seek to expose the deadly perpetrators. And along the way they discover the answer to that age old question: What price love?

‘Ingenious and entertaining’ Sunday Times
‘ Byron himself would have been pleased by such an eerie, erudite addition to his myth’ Time Out

Infamous poet Lord Byron comes to life with incendiary brilliance in this spellbinding blend of gothic imagination and documented fact.

Wandering in the mountains of Greece, the supreme sensualist is drawn to the beauty of a mysterious fugitive slave; soon he is utterly entranced, and his fate is sealed. He embarks on a life of adventure even his genius could not have foreseen; chosen to enjoy powers beyond those any vampire has ever known, Byron traverses the centuries and enters a dark, intoxicating world of long-lost secrets, ancient arts and scorching excesses of evil.

But Byron’s gift is also his torment: an all-consuming thirst that withers life at the root, damning all those he loves.

With its impeccable scholarship and breathtaking storytelling, THE VAMPYRE is a wonderful combination of fact and fantasy.

Called an uneasy peace, the twenty years between the wars were a time of turmoil – Britain saw a general strike and the worst economic crisis in its history, armed rebellion in Ireland and open revolt in India, a Prime Minister’s resignation and the King’s abdication. Crisis followed crisis until Britain was engulfed in the Second World War – a catastrophe that could have been foreseen, possibly even prevented. But there were also moments of triumph: England regained the Ashes and Britain ran to glory in the ‘Chariots of Fire’ Olympic Games; the BBC was born and became the envy of the free world; there was a renaissance in poetry, sculpture of genius, and cinema lightened the darkness for millions. However it is the politicians who failed who have really come to personify the interwar years – in particular Ramsey MacDonald and Stanley Baldwin. Both prime ministers were better men than history allows. And Winston Churchill? Right or wrong, success or failure, he is the irrepressible force in what he called the ‘years for the locusts to eat’. Hattersley’s assessment of this doomed era is illuminating, entertaining and bold.

‘Palm-tingling sensation … captivating … a completely convincing imaginative performance … enthralling’ The Times

On the face of it, Ben Bradford is your standard Wall Street hot shot – Junior partner in a legal firm, 6 figure income, wife and two young kids straight out of a Gap catalogue. But along with the WASP lifestyle comes the sting – Ben hates it. He wants – has always wanted – to be a photographer.

When he discovers his wife has fallen in love with another man, the consequences of a moment of madness force him to question not just the design of his life but the price of fulfilment. Because finding yourself means nothing when you’re pretending to be someone else.

From the picket fences of yuppie New England to Montana’s untouchable splendour, The Big Picture spans states and states of mind in a thrilling novel of genuine originality.

Reviews for The Big Picture

‘The Horse Whisperer recast by Patricia Highsmith … a compulsive page-turner and a dark moral
fable’ Mail on Sunday

‘Kennedy’s skill is to send you racing down the slope of sheer story’ Esquire

In ten years of working for the Damask Circle, shapeshifter Katherine Tanner has never come across anything like this child-murdering monster. Although she doesn’t want to confront it, the Circle gives her little choice. The last thing she needs is interference from a cop who doesn’t know what he’s up against.

Ethan Morgan’s niece is missing and he’s determined to bring her back alive and catch the monster behind these kidnappings. He will use anyone to achieve his aims – even a woman who claims to be a witch.

Forced to join forces, Ethan and Kat struggle to uncover clues that will lead them to the monster’s lair. Yet time is ticking away and the monster rarely keeps victims alive for more than seven days. Four of those days have already passed. But it soon becomes clear that the greatest threat to Kat might not come from the forces of darkness, but from the man she is beginning to love.