Monster Fiction

"Sing, gypsies, sing of your lies." That old song plays in my head as the world turns around me faster than it has ever turned. Monsters and mayhem. That's become my life. Fear and apprehension. That's become the normal for those around me. Dread and distraction. That's what has interrupted my own personal romance story with my mon-star quad. Vengeance and retribution. That was the theme of the monster world long before I landed in it, and it's starting to heat up more than ever. I guess it's time to see if I can handle being in the middle, because that's where I'm about to put myself.

Mary may have inherited the brilliant mind of her late mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, but she lives a drab life above her father’s bookstore, waiting for an extraordinary idea that’ll inspire a work worthy of her parentage—and impress her rakishly handsome (and super-secret) beau, Percy Shelley. Ada Lovelace knows a thing or two about superstar parents, what with her dad being Lord Byron, the most famous poet on Earth. But her passions lie far beyond the arts—in mechanical engineering, to be exact.

After the devastating events on Prism Lake, Grady and the other survivors head south, hoping to find safety in one of the rumored "Cities of Light". But as they embark on their journey, they quickly discover the monsters aren't the only things out in the snow they must fear.

Ben has saved the dragonkin women’s island from the ancient, ghostly maldungs, so it’s time for his next adventure. But when he and his crew of women set sail again, they discover the orcs have another enemy. A dangerous, fire-breathing, ship-destroying enemy. And Ben wonders if he can tame it.

As the healer’s daughter, Malka has seen how the wood’s curse has plagued her village, but the Ozmini Church only comes to collect its tithe, not to protect heretics with false stories of monsters in the trees. So when a clergy girl wanders too close to the forest and Malka’s mother is accused of her murder, Malka strikes an impossible bargain with a zealot Ozmini priest. If she brings the monster out, he will spare her mother from execution.

In a world of warring orcs and men, Kesst of Clan Ash-Kai is a pawn. A pretty, pliant plaything bound to the cruelest orcs in the realm. Until the new healer storms in. He's huge, hostile, and hideous, with a powerful scarred body and terrifying ancient magic. It only takes one disastrous meeting before he and Kesst are bitter enemies, and Kesst vows to see the vile brute destroyed. Then a sudden deadly attack hurls his helpless body straight at the healer's feet. Kesst fully expects to be abandoned to his doom—instead, his new enemy picks him up, soothes his wounds, and carries him home.

Welcome to the Camden Inn. Famous for their beautiful snowy mountains, the world's best peppermint hot chocolate . . . and oh yeah, being haunted.

Lucy likes to tell monster stories. She's told so many that her friends and family are sick of it. Then one day, Lucy discovers a real, live monster: the librarian in charge of the summer reading program. Too bad Lucy's told so many monster tall tales.

Julien Doran arrived in sleepy Maudit Falls, North Carolina, with a heart full of hurt and a head full of questions. The key to his brother's mysterious last days might be found in this tiny town, and now Julien's amateur investigation is starting to unearth things the locals would rather keep buried. Perhaps most especially the strange, magnetic manager of a deserted retreat that's nearly as odd as its staff.

Despite our best efforts, my devoted monstrous men and I have fallen into the clutches of one of our most powerful enemies. But the demon strikes a deal with me—our safety in exchange for my cooperation in a mysterious scheme. It turns out he wants me to tap into magical powers more vile than the brutality I've faced from his kind. With my family and the men I’ve fallen for on the line, playing along may be my only chance at survival. But as we search for a way to win our freedom for good, the danger grows greater by the day. I’m running out of options.

Lenny Primrose is a puppet; a temptress sent to make my life bloody miserable. Adored by the public and used for her father’s benefit. Every man wants her, and every woman wants to be her. She’s good for my reputation. That’s the only reason I agree to the little devil’s proposal. I’m game. Willing to play pretend to get what I want. Until what I want is her. Now, there are no rules. I’ll wage a war against the world just to keep her. Even the deadliest men have their vices, and she happens to be mine.

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you. Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night. Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal.

Rowan is Tamarel's Royal Monster Hunter, and her twin brother, Rhydd, will be its king. After the events of The Gryphon's Lair, Rowan, along with her friends, her brother, and an entourage of monstrous companions, makes her way back to the Dunnian Woods to deal with the pack of dropbears the group trapped in an abandoned cabin after a vicious attack. The dropbears are just one of a number of rare monster species acting erratically in Tamarel.

So, this is rock bottom. Not only did I lose my job and my apartment, but now, an ultra-secret snow leopard shifter group wants me to marry a guy I never met and have babies to save our species. And they’re coming in three days to take me away. Cue me getting smashed alone on a Thursday night. That is until the world’s sexiest, brooding stranger walks in, all sharp angles and hard lines. He’s massive and covered in muscles, and his mesmerizing green-gray eyes has my knees turning to jelly. In a moment of brilliance—or perhaps it was the gin and tonic—I ask him to marry me.

No, I'm not hot for the criminal, just the two Gargoyles I have to work with to catch him. One of these guys broke my heart twelve years ago. The other is my partner with the Supernatural Branch of the Seattle PD. Both should be off limits but my body isn't getting the message. When the three of us go undercover at a local "den of iniquity" to catch the killer, all the lines get blurred. Now I'm on the brink of falling for not one, but two growly Gargoyles.

I’m a Nightmare, a creature that feeds on fear, and I’m capable of boundless cruelty—which is why my services come at a steep price: the life of the person who hired me. As such, the only people who hire me on are those brought to me by fate, like Mina, a woman so desperate for revenge that she’s willing to spend her own life to get it. I don’t usually care why I’m hired. Human affairs don’t matter to me. Food is food, and a job is a job. Mina’s enemies will get what they deserve—and I’ll get what’s mine. Her beating heart.

John and Brooke are on their own, hitchhiking from town to town as they hunt the last of the Withered through the midwest—but the Withered are hunting them back, and the FBI is close behind. With each new town, each new truck stop, each new highway, they get closer to a vicious killer who defies every principle of profiling and prediction John knows how to use, and meanwhile Brooke's fractured psyche teeters on the edge of oblivion, overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of dead personalities sharing her mind. S

Team Six and I have finally found our ticket into Hell. But the journey to cashing it will be anything but easy, and every decision along the way will come with a sacrifice . . . sacrifices we might not be willing to make. Darius's creepy brother, Claude, is determined to push us out of his city as soon as possible. And, oh man, are we ready to leave. But, unfortunately for us, hitching a ride to hell will have to wait.

An audio bundle of three Doctor Who stories to celebrate the 60th anniversary: this collection includes 1990s - Wannabes by Dave Rudden, 2000s - The Monster in the Cupboard by Kalynn Bayron and 2010s - The Angel of Redemption by Nikita Gill.

Malem has joined the forces of good and wages war against the vast host of Vorgon, the Balor who has come to destroy the world. Malem has four beautiful women fighting at his side, one of them a former general of Vorgon's army - a night elf tamed by his unique skill. He also has a few hill giants and other monsters ready to follow him to the gates of hell itself.