Horror Romance Suspense

For more than 30 years, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. Now, with the 11th volume of the series, Daltow's back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. This light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows.

Investigating a noise in the attic of her historic home, Maggie Holliday encounters a handsome man in a Civil War uniform. He calls her "Isabel", seduces her in ways the shy academic had never dreamed of, then literally vanishes. With every fleeting visit, Maggie's mysterious lover, Ethan, takes her closer to the edge of ecstasy and madness. Is he really a ghost? Far from chilling her, his touch is incendiary; it all feels so real and so very, very good. And so very familiar.

Cosmo Saville adores his new husband, but his little white lies and some very black magic are about to bring their fairy tale romance to an end. Someone is killing San Francisco's spell casters, and the only person Cosmo can turn to - the man who so recently swore to love and cherish him - isn't taking his phone calls. The only magic police commissioner John Joseph Galbraith believes in is true love. Discovering he’s married to a witch - one with something alarmingly like magical powers - is nearly as bad as discovering the man he loved tricked and deceived him.

You Slay Me is a lusty romance novel with amusing supernatural undercurrents. When courier Aisling Grey is dispatched to Paris to deliver a priceless dragon statue to a rich and eccentric female collector, she finds the intended recipient the apparent victim of a demonic ritual. And that's just the beginning of Aisling's discoveries.

My ordinary life as a college sophomore becomes extraordinary when Joseph storms into my world and sweeps me off my feet. Our intense connection seems too impossible to be real, like a wonderful dream. Until it becomes a nightmare. Drugged. Kidnapped. When I wake up, I find myself trapped in the arms of the man who was supposed to be my fierce protector. My sweet first love is a criminal, the son of a powerful mafia boss. And his best friend, Marco—the terrifying, heavily muscled man who abducted me—is a brutal enforcer.

In the war-torn rubble of the human world, can a rebel elf and a lost dragon prince find love, or will a dark threat tear them and their world apart forever? A new land, a new court, a new king, but some things never change. Broken in all ways, Akiem fled his life as the amethyst prince only to land at the mercy of the beautiful but deadly diamond king, Luceran. Akiem knows dragons. He knows he’ll die today, tomorrow, whenever Luceran’s executioner brings down his axe, and maybe it’s all he deserves.

Brodie McFadden is supposed to be on vacation, getting some sunshine and deciding if he wants to join his brothers in the Krewe of Hunters, a special paranormal investigation unit of the FBI. But a diving excursion with an old navy buddy to a historic shipwreck uncovers a crime scene - and the corpse is new. Museum curator Dakota “Kody” McCoy just wants her Key West culture festival to succeed. She’s always had a deep connection to her home, including being regularly haunted by some of the resident ghosts. Then, in the middle of a performance, a beloved local musician drops dead.

Ember is a succubus, consuming in every sense. My theory is proven when I specifically ignore Ember for an entire month, yet her scent remains in my nostrils, the vision of her in my mind’s eye. Her peppery musk dances along the back of my tongue, ruining my taste for anyone else. Savannah Merricourt is labeled as my intended, and I should accept it, as I do everything, because my father’s too powerful and I’ve been locked in the basement too many times.

For the first time since moving to New Salem, Cassie Blake feels normal. She's dating her soul mate, Adam, and making new friends in town. But between the secret coven of witches she belongs to and the incredible power she holds within her, Cassie is leading a far from ordinary life. When tragedy strikes the Circle, Cassie realizes being extraordinary can be a curse. The Circle is being hunted by an unknown enemy - and anyone could be the next victim.

Santiago finally has what he wants. His baby is growing inside me. I’ve rewritten her destiny, binding her to me for good. Things are changing for us. I see beyond the monster he shows the world. See the scars he hides beneath the ink. ILove is a weakness men like me can’t afford. I’ve decided to keep her, but I’ll never forfeit my revenge.

Cristiano is my enemy. He’s also the only man with whom I’ve ever felt safe. Protected. But I have to remember that he married me with one purpose in mind. Revenge. I would be the bridge to his real enemies. I can’t let myself forget that he isn’t the hero of this story. His hands are covered in blood. I saw that with my own eyes.

Though she's the vampire queen, Betsy Taylor is much more like a princess. In MaryJanice Davidson's novels, this high-maintenance monarch is finally coming to terms with her new status.

Daemiana shifts rampantly each night in proportion to the phase of the moon. And during the day, she is on a frantic quest for a cure. Out of nowhere, a brooding and self-loathing loser, Caelin, stumbles into and narrowly survives her situation. Oblivious to what is happening and what he's getting into, a fiery passion for Daemiana and her quest ignites in Caelin. Knowing that she will only devour him, Daemiana refuses to get too attached since Caelin's days are certainly numbered if he remains with her due to her accurst fix.

Lianna Mercier has everything. She’s beautiful, well-educated, her father is rich, powerful - and she works for him. The perfect little princess, raised to be just like daddy. But it’s all a lie. A bloody, screwed up lie, and David Gethen is about to tear it all down and destroy Lianna in the process. He wants revenge, he wants to finish the plan his father started years ago - but after he takes her, after he tortures her, he begins to realize just how wrong he may have been.

Grumpy single dad seeks nanny...Her father tells me she’s mute. Except I catch her humming a lullaby. He’s a liar. Or she has everyone deceived. What possibly could a four-year-old be hiding? I really should have done a background check on him. Imagine my surprise when I discover my grumpy boss works for the mafia. I want to leave but he won’t let me. I’m his captive, forced to follow his rules and do as he demands.

They call me a playboy. Society’s pretty pet. What they don’t know is I’m so much more. My only directive was to keep her hidden, and safe. After everything she’s been through I’m the last person to offer comfort and care. I have little experience with either. Both of us have been broken by our pasts. But mine is catching up to me, and I would deal with it as I usually do: with total decimation. But that puts her in the crosshairs, and that’s unacceptable.

Sacrifices—that’s what females make to live in Serendee—an urban utopia. We give up our family, our choices, our bodies. Some people call it a cult, but they don’t understand. We give it our all, and in return, Serendee gives back by providing a safe, idyllic home. Starting with The Order. I don’t expect the perfect mate, but when I’m matched with Rex—the rebellious, handsome, and destructive heir of Serendee—I’m stunned. Until I find out why I’ve been chosen.

Charlene "Charlie" Moreau is back in St. Francisville, Louisiana, to work on a movie. One night she stumbles across the body of a Civil War reenactor, the second murdered in two days. Charlie is shocked to learn that her father - a guide on the Journey, a historic paddle wheeler that's sponsoring the reenactment - is a suspect.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island - and the secrets she left behind. Now back in London, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau's horrific legacy - though someone, or something, hasn't forgotten her. As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three claw-like slashes, Juliet fears one of her father's creations may have also made it off the island.

My name is Susannah Simon, and I am a mediator, a liason between the living and the dead. If you think this gets in the way of my attempt at a normal 16-year-old life, you'd be right. You try going to the mall while constantly being accosted by the undead.