Jacquelyn Benson

For a determined lady scholar, nothing perks up a wedding quite like exploding coffins and a priceless stolen manuscript. Professional archivist and fervent suffragette Ellie Mallory loathes marriage ceremonies, but she's willing to endure this one if it means she can get her hands on a uniquely fascinating 13th century apocalypse manuscript. The only problem? The manuscript she finds is a fake, and the real one will be swapped out by thieves before the wedding bells start to chime. Ellie has only one hour to figure out where the exchange is to take place within the vast Gothic maze of historic Christchurch Priory. With the help of her fashionable, knife-wielding bestie, Constance Tyrrell, she must navigate deadly belfries, a morose groom, and a crypt full of potentially explosive coffins—all while wearing a nightmarishly pink borrowed dress. But Ellie's quest to save the apocalypse leads her to stumble into another historical mystery—one that might uncover the fate of an even more precious treasure. Can she find the prize, stop the thieves, and save the wedding in time? Pick up The Stolen Apocalypse, the adventure-packed and delightful introduction to Jacquelyn Benson's swashbuckling Raiders of the Arcana series, and find out! The Stolen Apocalypse special prequel novella also contains a preview of the first chapters of Empire of Shadows, Book 1 of the Raiders of the Arcana series.

Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities. One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions. When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she’s holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There’s just one teensy complication. A ruthless villain wants it, and Ellie is all that stands in his way. To race him to the ruins—and avoid being violently disposed of—she needs the help of maverick surveyor Adam Bates, a snake-wrangling rogue who can’t seem to keep his dratted shirt on. But there’s more than Ellie’s scholarly reputation (and life) on the line. Her enemies aren’t just looters. They’re after an arcane secret rumored to lie in the heart of the ruins, a mythical artifact with a power that could shake the world. Between stealing trousers, plummeting over waterfalls, and trying not to fall in love with her machete-wielding partner, will Ellie be able to stop the oracle of a lost empire from falling into the wrong hands? Empire of Shadows is the first book in Jacquelyn Benson’s smart, swashbuckling Raiders of the Arcana series. Read it now and dive into a rip-roaring historical fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy.