Monster Fiction

Ryker Hayes is a licensed massage therapist, and a damn good one at that. It's a career he's passionate about, and all his plans for life are on track—until he winds up transported to the world of Werifesteria in the body of an infamous warlord, at least. Now all he really wants to do is forget the misdeeds of his alter ego and retire to a life of anonymity with a couple interesting women as his new partners. Together, they open the very first massage inn and spa in all the land, and take on all the responsibilities that come with it. Turns out, it's a lot of work!

Quinn: After Rowan and I escape Mercer’s hold, we have to get the pack somewhere safe, but my only option is a pride run by a controlling alpha. With everyone safely inside the walls of Winterhaven, Rowan and I attempt to search for the truth, but we’re being hunted and driven further from the answers we need. I want to do everything to protect my mate, but as I learn more about his past, I realize that I might need to protect him from more than just Mercer.

In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies, using his own repressed homicidal proclivities to even the odds. But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary, and a new mystery to solve. But this time something's different. John has tasted death, and the dark nature he used as a weapon might now be using him.

"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.

Alchemist Zoe Faust is no stranger to magical mayhem, but when her boyfriend's new tea shop is vandalized and his special tea blends stolen, she plunges into a baffling mystery to save him. The clues lead Zoe and her gargoyle sidekick Dorian to an eerie mansion high in the Portland hills, filled with creeping carnivorous plants and enigmatic topiary monsters. When they stumble across a corpse in the conservatory that appears to have been killed by sinister shrubbery, an estranged member of the family is implicated in the murder.

Washington D. C., 1925. Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during her darkest moments in a Washington D. C. jail. Now a curse that’s left her indebted to the cunning spirit world. So, when the Empress, the powerful spirit who holds her debt, offers her an opportunity to gain her freedom, a desperate Clara seizes the chance. The task: steal a magical ring from the wealthiest woman in the District.

Ava Baldwin is ready for her second year at the Accademia del Forte. Now that she knows that her fellow classmates, descendants of the so-called Greek monsters, have been lied to by the Olympians, she’s ready to help them uncover their ancestors’ true stories—if only she can stay out of the way of the new headmaster, Perseus. But laying low is easier said than done, especially when Perseus seems intent on trolling Ava, making it impossible to control her anger.

After my husband's death, my village pushes me into the forest during the monster mate hunt, where I'll be claimed as an orc's bride. I've vowed I'll never love another, but then I'm claimed by Madr, a strong, handsome orc who I suspect is hiding secrets. On his dragon-like vox, he flies with me toward his home. His warm arms keep me safe, and his teasing touch makes me reconsider every assumption I made about my past and my future. Do I dare give my heart to an orc?

This Science Fiction Collection brings together 20 iconic works from some of the genre's most influential authors. Featuring Ray Bradbury's atmospheric The Monster Maker and Rocket Summer, Isaac Asimov's thought-provoking Youth, E.M. Forster's dystopian The Machine Stops, and H.G. Wells' timeless masterpiece The Time Machine, the anthology explores a wide range of speculative themes. From futuristic worlds and artificial intelligence to time travel and human survival, this collection delves into the challenges and possibilities of the future.

The DEPP has transported Dave and his lovely women to another even more alien and dangerous version of Earth than the last. They have to begin fortifying their trans-dimensional territory if they have any hope of surviving these hostile environments. Cambrian Era monstrosities and massive tidal surges caused by an angry moon goddess are pretty nasty challenges for anybody to survive, but a flesh eating blob that wants to devour all life on Earth? That’s just not fair.

When a missing person case lands in the lap of Black Knight Investigations, Jimmy Black and his partner, Greg Knightwood, jump back into action - until their missing person rises as an uncontrollable vampire and all signs point to a supernatural coup orchestrated by an unknown vampire of immense power. With the case going sideways, more missing girls, and a new cop in town way too curious about Jimmy's perennial youth, life in Charlotte is about to get interesting again.

My body is changing, and so is the power dynamic inside the bunker. With the chimera serum racing through my veins, I can barely believe in a future for myself, much less one that includes Atlan. He's trying, though. Trying to convince me that his love is unbreakable . . . while I can barely think past my need for revenge on the people who did this to me. They have to pay, and they need to be stopped before they do more damage to what's left of the human race.

Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies. But this one is unique even by Detroit's standards: half boy, half deer, somehow fused together. As stranger and more disturbing bodies are discovered, how can the city hold on to a reality that is already tearing at its seams? If you're Detective Versado's geeky teenage daughter, Layla, you commence a dangerous flirtation with a potential predator online. If you're desperate freelance journalist Jonno, you do whatever it takes to get the exclusive on a horrific story.

It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever. Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights.

The shadow of War looms on the horizon. After the defeat of the Terror Queen, Keith has no time to rest before facing an even deadlier challenge. One that will push him to the limits of his abilities, and perhaps even beyond. Before setting off for the Frigid Seas - a frozen wasteland devoid of life and filled with powerful monsters - Keith needs to settle an old score and assure his success in the world of Raiah. New threats lurk in the shadows, as Keith tries to balance all of his responsibilities while training another iteration of the We Hunt Monsters Guild.

Can monsters be real? For years, people around the world have told stories about strange encounters with creatures that are not quite human. Learn about the huge, hairy Bigfoot, the winged Mothman, and the mysterious Nessie. Then go outside, if you dare.

The beautiful monster girls of the Archipelagos were in need. They needed a man to help build their homes. They needed a man to teach them to survive. They needed a man to defend them from the evil slaver-pirates. And most of all, they needed a man to impregnate them and rebuild their population. Fortunately for them, a man named Ben came from our world to give them everything they needed.

Leah asks Shimmer and Shine for a haunted house on Halloween—and gets a spook-tacular surprise when a real monster shows up!

Working with kids is totally my jam, and I'm damn good at what I do. Just call me Maxy Frickin' Poppins! When a new job prospect comes my way, I'm intrigued. A chance to move to Mystic Hollow (aka Monsters Hollow) to be a well-paid manny for two adorable orclings? Talk about a dream position. Sold! But when I lock eyes with the seriously sexy orc who's their guardian—and my new de facto boss—for the first time, I'm a goner. Big, muscular, and green all over–he's giving me full-on Hulk meets stern professor vibes—and I like it.

Death isn’t always the end. I was a soldier, fighting for the lives of the whole world, when I went and got myself obliterated by this magic alien monster. I figured that was it. Game over, done. But, then I woke up in a different body, in a strange world full of dust and ruins, with awesome martial arts skills I’d never had before. Not to mention a chi gift thing that seemed to work a lot like magic. And, there were these words seared into my brain like a motivational quote: You can save them. You can save all of them.