In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness… In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate. After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness. Mulan meets The Song of Achilles; an accomplished, poetic debut of war and destiny, sweeping across an epic alternate China.

New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher returns to the cozy fantasy world of Swordheart in this deliciously charming sequel. Four hundred years ago, three warriors were trapped inside enchanted swords, cursed to be immortal servants of whoever wielded the blade. One of them is the Dervish, a restless, fiery soul who hates his captivity and hates his wielders even more, but has never found a way to escape the sword’s magic. Then one day, a disillusioned scholar named Learned Edmund is tasked with delivering the sword to a distant city, and, in the greatest of peril, draws the blade. The Dervish finds himself bound to a sweet, brilliant, and above all kind young man. And while he may be able to protect Edmund from bandits, cultists, dragons, and strange inhuman diplomats, he may find it much harder to protect his own heart.

Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0571225381 here. In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper.

To Ride a Faery Steed is a fun little romp in the Monsters of Faery universe. Set in the Court of Bones, we get to meet Avalon Hartley, a fresh bondservant from the mortal world being sold at a semi-legal auction–and her soulmate, Ruven Kezorwyn, a shapeshifting spy known as the Harrower of Dreams. Ruven is only too glad to claim his soulmate, but Avalon is traumatized from her near death, and Ruven wants to ensure that she can live a good life in Faery…even if that means denying them both what they want and using himself as a reward for facing her fears.

Stolen from the mortal world by the fae, the last thing I expect is a crown.Enslaved at a mine and with no hope of escape, my life is a grim exercise in survival until the magic of the Court chooses an unexpected Me.But becoming queen is more than revels and gowns. It puts me in the crosshairs of every vicious member of the fae nobility—and in the bedroom of a gorgeous, winged fae with the power to rewrite the landscape and slaughter armies.His every emotion thrums through my Pain. Joy. Pleasure.The Court's chosen king is too dangerous for casual touch, a man burdened by strange magic and rejected by his own goddess. The link between us binds us, heart and soul.He courts me with gems and flowers. His eyes follow me and his desire heats my blood.Yet he refuses to take the throne. With the Court on the verge of falling apart, threatened by a vengeful goddess and scheming nobles, he holds back, certain that he'll do more harm than good.But if he truly wants me, he's going to have to claim me as the man I know he can my king."Crowned by the Fae King" is a complete romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. This slow burn fated mates romance follows on the heels of "Caught in the Basilisk's Gaze" and features many of the same characters; it is best read after that book but can be read as a standalone.

Stolen from the mortal world by the fae, the last thing I expect is a crown.Enslaved at a mine and with no hope of escape, my life is a grim exercise in survival until the magic of the Court chooses an unexpected Me.But becoming queen is more than revels and gowns. It puts me in the crosshairs of every vicious member of the fae nobility—and in the bedroom of a gorgeous, winged fae with the power to rewrite the landscape and slaughter armies.His every emotion thrums through my Pain. Joy. Pleasure.The Court's chosen king is too dangerous for casual touch, a man burdened by strange magic and rejected by his own goddess. The link between us binds us, heart and soul.He courts me with gems and flowers. His eyes follow me and his desire heats my blood.Yet he refuses to take the throne. With the Court on the verge of falling apart, threatened by a vengeful goddess and scheming nobles, he holds back, certain that he'll do more harm than good.But if he truly wants me, he's going to have to claim me as the man I know he can my king."Crowned by the Fae King" is a complete romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. This slow burn fated mates romance follows on the heels of "Caught in the Basilisk's Gaze" and features many of the same characters; it is best read after that book but can be read as a standalone.

My answer to being kidnapped by a fae prince? A knife to his throat.Falling into another world and getting captured by an arrogant, shadow-wielding fae prince wasn't on my to-do list. Neither was being told I’m his soulmate, or discovering that behind the glamor of a beautiful, violet-haired prince stood a seven-foot-tall winged beast.Stabbing him seemed like the best option.But the Prince of Shadows needs to be betrothed to avoid being sold to a goddess by his father, and he's desperate enough to make a access to the glittering world of the fae nobility in return for pretending to be his devoted mate.He's a liar. A traitor. A man designed to be a weapon of the gods—and a passionate, complicated male whose pretenses of affection feel all too real. If I surrender to his darkness, I know there's no coming back.Every day draws us closer to the celestial alignment that will turn my prince into a force of destruction unlike anything Faery has ever seen. In the game of gods and monsters, all the pieces are on the board, and I’m the unexpected player. Only one question Will my soulmate’s shadows be there to catch me when I fall?Or am I only a pawn in his game?"Captive to the Prince of Shadows" is a complete romance with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. As the series finale, it is best read after the other books; a preface with a summary of the major players and events of the prior books is included as a refresher or for first-time readers. This steamy fated mates romance features a morally gray shadow daddy and an academic determined to get her way.For a full list of content warnings, please see mallorydunlin.com/catalog.

To walk the path of a morazir, I will exist in three states of being: Untouched. Untaken. Unconquered. Airik, a battle-scarred warrior serving the cruel intergalactic empire of the Veynari, craves silence from the nightmares tormenting his mind. But while on post to decommission a failed experiment of a planet, a rogue human spacecraft crashes, and a reckless decision leaves him stranded—entangled with a woman he never should have saved. Nora wakes light-years from Earth, broken in body and spirit, at the mercy of an alien soldier who refuses to let her die. Devastatingly beautiful, terrifyingly competent, and bound by a warrior’s oath that permits touch only to destroy, he’s the reluctant guardian angel she neither wants nor believes she deserves. Trapped together, they’re forced to navigate a brutal landscape, vicious beasts, and the deadly remnants of an abandoned world. Duty demands Airik’s cold indifference. Yet Nora sparks something deliciously alive—and entirely forbidden—within him. What begins as necessity ignites a primal hunger: scorching, consuming, and impossible to resist. But even if they survive, the Veynari—ever present and ruthless—won’t allow its warriors weakness like love. For Airik and Nora to be together, they must risk everything. The Wildborn is a steamy, high-stakes sci-fi romance featuring forced proximity with an emotionally repressed alien protector who falls hard. Perfect for fans of Zoey Draven’s immersive world-building, the dark emotional complexities of Victoria Aveline’s Ruling Sikthand, and the lyrical storytelling of Grace Draven. Note from the author: This novel contains emotionally intense themes, including grief and trauma. A full list of content considerations is available on the author’s website.

He's the man I swore to betray, and everything I could ever dream of having. When the fae save your life, they own it—and you. But when an attack by the deadly half-manticore, half-fae Raven Prince reveals that my Court's greatest enemy is my soulmate, I'm offered a new Spy on my soulmate, and I'll be free at the end of the war. I thought I'd be imprisoned by a horrifying monster, not captivated by a deadly prince. The Raven Prince is possessive and impassioned, with a wildness that intoxicates me. Even though he knows I'm his enemy, he can't stay away from me—and his every touch lights a fire in me I can't bear to resist. The only way out of my sworn word is death, and we can never have a future if I die in his arms. But how can I ever betray the prince who wants to make me his mate? In the Claws of the Raven Prince is a complete story with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. This steamy enemies-to-lovers romance explores the boundary between love and obsession and features a possessive male lead as much beast as he is man. For a full list of content warnings, please see mallorydunlin.com/catalog.

I meant to slay the dragon—not save him.All my life, I've known what it means to be a human in Faery, and I've always fought back. But when my father attacks a half-dragon duke - and fails - I make the only bargain I can think my life for my his.I expect to be treated like a slave, but my new master keeps me in luxury. There's no escape from the beautiful, deadly fae duke—and I'm determined to use my position to help the other mortals in Faery.But the more I learn about him, the more I want to know. He's fascinating. Passionate. Every time he touches me, I want to beg him to never stop. There's far more to the Flame of Faery than I ever expected.His secrets bind him like thorned vines. His enemies lurk in the shadows. They know how to deal with a dragon... but they don't know how to deal with me.If I save him, my debt is paid. But I'm starting to fear that I'll never want to leave..."Claimed by the Flame of Faery" is a complete novel inspired by Beauty and the Beast. This enemies-to-lovers romance plays with the power dynamics between its spitfire couple and has a guaranteed happily-ever-after. For a full list of content warnings, please see mallorydunlin.com/catalog.

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

The survivor of a brutal academy must exhume her own past in the first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of the Library Trilogy and the Broken Empire series.Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters. The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge. The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws. Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep. That was a mistake.

To walk the path of a morazir, I will exist in three states of being: Untouched. Untaken. Unconquered. Airik, a battle-scarred warrior serving the cruel intergalactic empire of the Veynari, craves silence from the nightmares tormenting his mind. But while on post to decommission a failed experiment of a planet, a rogue human spacecraft crashes, and a reckless decision leaves him stranded—entangled with a woman he never should have saved. Nora wakes light-years from Earth, broken in body and spirit, at the mercy of an alien soldier who refuses to let her die. Devastatingly beautiful, terrifyingly competent, and bound by a warrior’s oath that permits touch only to destroy, he’s the reluctant guardian angel she neither wants nor believes she deserves. Trapped together, they’re forced to navigate a brutal landscape, vicious beasts, and the deadly remnants of an abandoned world. Duty demands Airik’s cold indifference. Yet Nora sparks something deliciously alive—and entirely forbidden—within him. What begins as necessity ignites a primal hunger: scorching, consuming, and impossible to resist. But even if they survive, the Veynari—ever present and ruthless—won’t allow its warriors weakness like love. For Airik and Nora to be together, they must risk everything. The Wildborn is a steamy, high-stakes sci-fi romance featuring forced proximity with an emotionally repressed alien protector who falls hard. Perfect for fans of Zoey Draven’s immersive world-building, the dark emotional complexities of Victoria Aveline’s Ruling Sikthand, and the lyrical storytelling of Grace Draven. Note from the author: This novel contains emotionally intense themes, including grief and trauma. A full list of content considerations is available on the author’s website.

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series. Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back. Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate. Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.