Monster Fiction

Carly Beth thinks she's found the best Halloween mask ever. With yellow-green skin and long animal fangs, the mask terrifies the entire neighborhood. Before long, it has a surprising effect on Carly Beth, too. She tries to take it off... but it won't budge! Halloween is almost over, but fright night is just beginning. Now with all-new bonus materials!

My labyrinth is dying. For my kingdom to survive, I must convince my fated mate to invoke the most ancient of magics—the carnal kind. Too bad my mate's a human who didn't know monsters existed until she saw me.

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.

When a truck ran down Tyler, he didn't think he'd wake back up...but he did. Now he's in a fantastical world filled with wonder, adventure, and battling monsters tamed by humans like one of his favorite video games.

"Perfect deadpan marks the opening of Ali Simpson’s The Monster'" writes Susan Merrell of The Southampton Review in her introduction to this issue of Recommended Reading.

I was protected by the monsters under my bed when I was a kid in the foster system. I have a feeling I could use them again. My time in the foster system wasn’t great. Maybe they were imaginary, but when things got bad, the boogeyman and an imp always came to my aid. If I needed to run, a beautiful white stag would appear at my window to let me know to get out of there. I’ve touched the stag. I know he’s real.

When I took a job at the Monster Relations Bureau, the last thing I wanted was to stand out. There's just one problem—a grumpy, unapproachable dragon shifter who can't keep his golden eyes off me. Getting involved with Ewan Blair is the definition of a bad idea. Not only is he completely off-limits as the Bureau's Director, but the way he looks at me—like he'd devour me one moment, and wishes he never met me the next—should be enough warning to stay far away. But I've always had a reckless streak.

In the Clandoms, everyone is born with wings, though not all the clans are treated equally. Ellie Meadows longed to become a Goldwing—the knights who protect the people -- but because she came from the humble Sparrow Clan, her dream faced almost insurmountable resistance. Nox Hatcher has it even worse. Nox is a Crow, a shattered clan. They can't own businesses or run organizations, all due to a mistake made hundreds of years ago. Nox has had to steal and scrape just to survive, but a single goal has kept him going, even when it felt like all the Clandoms were against him.

In a realm of orcs and powerful men, Geva Okoro is a proud, impoverished governess trapped in a dismal, dead-end post—until the day the orc breaks in. He's a huge, insolent, arrogant brute, swaggering with smooth, shameless wickedness. But unlike the orcs from the terrifying tales, he only wants one thing from Geva… her employer's gold. There's no escaping his devious clutches, and soon a furious Geva is reduced to raiding her employer's house with an orc. Compromising her career and destroying all her dreams… until the orc proposes another shocking scheme.

Cryptozoologist Richard Freeman has spent years researching and tracking down mythical monsters. In this book, he recounts riveting monster hunt stories, globetrotting adventures from the dense forests of Sumatra on the trail of a mystery ape known as the orang-pendek, to Tasmania in search of the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf. Every corner of Earth has its own monster—even the traceless Gobi Desert as he searches for the Mongolian death worm. The author provides excellent advice on how to carry out your own cryptozoological expeditions. Join the hunt for mythical animals!

Grace has a job she loves, a community she adores, and plenty of friends . . . but her lack of bedroom action has left this event planner too horny to think. When one ill-advised night at the bar leads to her giving an exhibitionistic show to an unknown presence outside her bedroom window, she thinks she's hit a new low. When her voyeur turns out to be a nebbishly charming mothman, Grace needs to decide if she can trust her body—and her heart—with this garnet-eyed stranger before he flies out of her life for good.

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.

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. For their two-year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world. But lusty paradise is shattered. Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection–from werewolves to vampires to zombies–all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety–the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so too the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories–of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

My husband killed me. Then he screwed his way through the city. The only problem? I didn’t stay dead. It seems killing me woke something deep inside, something so dark and buried so deep I never knew it was there. I don’t know what I am, I don’t really care. All I can think about is revenge, even as the monsters in the dark start to surround me. Their horns and black eyes, mouths filled with fangs claiming I am theirs.

A town of magic and danger, where what one dons becomes who they are. A desperate priestess in another world calling for a champion, only to receive an unstoppable monster.

Ignazio Vitale is not a good man. I suspect it the first time I see him, sense the air of danger that surrounds him. He has a way of commanding attention, of taking control, of knowing what I'm thinking before I even do.

Dark figures in the night. An owl's cry on the wind. Monsters watching from the edge of the wood. Some of the creatures in this book might only have a message for you, but some are the stuff of nightmares. These 32 short stories - from tales passed down for generations to accounts that could have happened yesterday - are collected from the thriving tradition of ghost stories from American Indian cultures across North America. Prepare for stories of witches and walking dolls, hungry skeletons, la llorona, and deer woman, and other supernatural beings ready to chill you to the bone.

Since being bitten and cursed to shift into a werewolf every full moon, Aleksandar has lived in exile. Until he receives a letter from Solenne, the woman he promised his heart to years ago. She’s the only thread that keeps him anchored in the chaos, the only memory that keeps him sane. Now she is in danger. He must protect her from creatures that stalk her family, but how can he protect her from himself?

Nadezhda is running away from her problems—mainly her family's supernatural murder cult that's constantly putting her loved ones in danger. Fortunately, her grandmother left her the house at the edge of a swamp life preserve so she can go off-grid for a while. It turns out the shack isn't the only thing she's inherited—the ancient kikimora who followed her family from Ukraine years ago is still dwelling in the swamp and she's looking for an offering.