The second book in the Emerald Lake series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Elsie Silver.

A bewitching spy. A ruthless king. A love that could ignite a war. Amaia has worked hard to make her family proud. As the star apprentice to the pyroki master in Dothik, she’s weeks away from inheriting her mentor’s coveted post. But when her desperate brother begs her to take his place in the Heartstone Accords, a diplomatic exchange with their rival nation, she agrees to the unthinkable. Her mission? Cross the sea to Grym, secure work at the dragon hatchery, and spy for the throne. But Grym is nothing like she imagined—and neither is its formidable king. Merciless and calculated, Alaryk Arn’dyne is as feared as the ancient dragon he commands. Gifted with powerful heartstone magic that can twist minds, he’s impossible to deceive…and a dark temptation Amaia needs to avoid at all costs. After a deadly curse strikes Alaryk’s dragon, Amaia knows she can save him, forcing a reluctant alliance with the very person she’s sworn to betray. As their forbidden attraction grows, however, she discovers a male scarred by a painful past, whose wicked needs make her burn. But when an unexpected crime threatens to ignite a war, Amaia must choose: her home, her heart…or the ruthless king who could destroy both.

Traded for peace. Sacrificed to a monster. Maia Fremont just wanted a chance. When the opportunity to create floral arrangements for the royal wedding is offered to her, who is she to say no? But the crown is never honest, and soon enough she finds herself thrust into an unwanted union with a fearsome troll. Ripped from her beloved garden and the only life she’s ever known, she’s offered as a bride to a creature she’s only heard whispers of—rumors of brutality, darkness, and insatiable hunger. Ragnar, a powerful troll healer, is disgusted by the human king’s deception. His duty to his people forces him to accept this lie of a marriage. His bride is a fragile human instead of the strong half elven mate he expected. Her meager magic is an insult, but honor and allegiance bind him to her. No matter how much he hates it. Married to a beast who sees her as nothing more than a tool to strengthen his bloodline, Maia must fight for her life in the treacherous world of the trolls. But in their kingdom Deep within the mountain, she must balance her growing attraction for her gruff, surprisingly poetic husband against the lurking dangers in this strange new world—especially when the growing darkness threatens to tear them apart.

A bewitching spy. A ruthless king. A love that could ignite a war. Amaia has worked hard to make her family proud. As the star apprentice to the pyroki master in Dothik, she’s weeks away from inheriting her mentor’s coveted post. But when her desperate brother begs her to take his place in the Heartstone Accords, a diplomatic exchange with their rival nation, she agrees to the unthinkable. Her mission? Cross the sea to Grym, secure work at the dragon hatchery, and spy for the throne. But Grym is nothing like she imagined—and neither is its formidable king. Merciless and calculated, Alaryk Arn’dyne is as feared as the ancient dragon he commands. Gifted with powerful heartstone magic that can twist minds, he’s impossible to deceive…and a dark temptation Amaia needs to avoid at all costs. After a deadly curse strikes Alaryk’s dragon, Amaia knows she can save him, forcing a reluctant alliance with the very person she’s sworn to betray. As their forbidden attraction grows, however, she discovers a male scarred by a painful past, whose wicked needs make her burn. But when an unexpected crime threatens to ignite a war, Amaia must choose: her home, her heart…or the ruthless king who could destroy both.

The final book of the Horde Kings of Dakkar series is here… High in the icy northlands of Dakkar, I’ve lived a sheltered, predictable, and safe life. My days are spent caring for an ancient temple and staying out of the priestesses’ way. My nights are spent pouring over the great stories of warrior kings and the queens that stole their hearts. But I have a secret. I’m a hybrid female. Half-Dakkari, half-human, the first of my kind. The priestesses have risked everything to keep me hidden from the dangerous hordes that roam the wild lands and the greedy king that sits on the throne in Dothik. I am the secret they could never let free. Then a horde king—with molten eyes and the body of a battle god—shows up at the temple’s gates, demanding entry. He’s the one I see in my dreams, all ruthless, merciless strength and a tempting smirk to match. Only, he’s not the gentle male I always imagined. He’s cunning, sensual, cruel…and he thinks that everything has a price. Even me. With a growing danger in the east and a precarious throne in the west, he steals me away from the sacred temple with daring plans all his own. He thinks I’m a naive temple girl, who will bend easily to his demands. Instead, I fight him at every turn, showing him claws of my own. Instead of fear, lust begins to rise between us—hot, addicting, and forbidden. His teasing touch makes me tremble. His stolen kisses make me weak. But the horde king of Rath Serok is as mysterious as he is devilish. And he has his own secret…one that will forever change the future of Dakkar.

Avery Alarch has always been the worst witch at Caerwyn University. Now she’s got twenty-four hours to conjure a familiar or get kicked out for good—a fate that means losing her magic forever and being stuck on a dreary island with nothing but regrets. Desperate times call for desperate spells. So when Avery stumbles on a forbidden grimoire, she decides to risk it all. One little summoning later, she’s expecting a cute magical cat. Instead? She gets Felix, a six-foot-six cat shifter with a bad attitude and a knack for trouble. He’s her mortal enemy, magically bound to her by an illegal spell, and very much not purring. He wants her dead. She wants him gone. Neither of them gets a choice. The only way out? Solve a string of enchanted riddles before their magical link destroys them both. Of course, that’s easier said than done when Felix keeps tying Avery up in shadows, and their bickering is starting to feel a little less hostile and a lot more heated. As they unravel puzzles and secrets, Avery and Felix find themselves at the heart of a conspiracy that could upend the supernatural world. And despite every rule and reason, sparks are flying in all the wrong (or right?) ways. Get ready for claws, curses, and cat-astrophic chemistry in A Game of Cat and Witch, the first laugh-out-loud installment in the Monstrous Shifters series. Perfect for fans of My Funny Demon Valentine and Assistant to the Villain, Ruby Rune’s debut is a magical, banter-filled paranormal rom-com you won’t want to miss.

They call him the Duke of Ruin. To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door. Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even. Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart. When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes. Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens? And a two-legged dog. And a foul-mouthed parrot. And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . . Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him. Not if he ruins her first.

Avery Alarch has always been the worst witch at Caerwyn University. Now she’s got twenty-four hours to conjure a familiar or get kicked out for good—a fate that means losing her magic forever and being stuck on a dreary island with nothing but regrets. Desperate times call for desperate spells. So when Avery stumbles on a forbidden grimoire, she decides to risk it all. One little summoning later, she’s expecting a cute magical cat. Instead? She gets Felix, a six-foot-six cat shifter with a bad attitude and a knack for trouble. He’s her mortal enemy, magically bound to her by an illegal spell, and very much not purring. He wants her dead. She wants him gone. Neither of them gets a choice. The only way out? Solve a string of enchanted riddles before their magical link destroys them both. Of course, that’s easier said than done when Felix keeps tying Avery up in shadows, and their bickering is starting to feel a little less hostile and a lot more heated. As they unravel puzzles and secrets, Avery and Felix find themselves at the heart of a conspiracy that could upend the supernatural world. And despite every rule and reason, sparks are flying in all the wrong (or right?) ways. Get ready for claws, curses, and cat-astrophic chemistry in A Game of Cat and Witch, the first laugh-out-loud installment in the Monstrous Shifters series. Perfect for fans of My Funny Demon Valentine and Assistant to the Villain, Ruby Rune’s debut is a magical, banter-filled paranormal rom-com you won’t want to miss.

They call him the Duke of Ruin. To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door. Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even. Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart. When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes. Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens? And a two-legged dog. And a foul-mouthed parrot. And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . . Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him. Not if he ruins her first.

He’s been a bad, bad rake—and it takes a governess to teach him a lesson The accidental governess. After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud: duke’s heir in the streets and devil in the sheets. The ladies of London have tried—and failed—to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart... without risking her own. The infamous rake. Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to give her an education—in pleasure. That should prove he can’t be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase’s heart are crumbling... and he’s in danger of falling, hard.

Lila Jennings thought she was done with the Mayfair murder case after using it to ace her grad school thesis. But when another murder shakes the infamous family a year later, she can’t resist diving back in. To uncover the truth, she’ll need help from Theo Grayson—the brooding professor and former defense attorney who’d probably rather eat glass than revisit the case that ruined his legal career. Theo knows the case inside out—better than anyone—and with the eerie similarities between the two murders, there’s no one better to dig into this with Lila than him. Lila is brilliant, determined, and unafraid to challenge Theo’s maddeningly skeptical attitude. Theo, on the other hand, would prefer to keep his head down and his past buried. But when the Mayfairs—who have a connection to Lila’s past—invite her to stay at their secluded estate, Lila hatches a plan: pose as a couple to get inside and investigate without raising suspicion. The Mayfair family might seem eccentric and charming, but their sprawling estate hides darker secrets than Lila anticipated. What she really doesn’t expect is for the fake dating part to feel a little too real. Between late-night brainstorming, stolen glances, and close calls, Lila starts to realize there’s more at stake than just cracking the case. Perfect for fans of Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building, The Evidence of Us is a twisty, witty romcom full of murder, mystery, and just the right amount of awkward flirting.

Lila Jennings thought she was done with the Mayfair murder case after using it to ace her grad school thesis. But when another murder shakes the infamous family a year later, she can’t resist diving back in. To uncover the truth, she’ll need help from Theo Grayson—the brooding professor and former defense attorney who’d probably rather eat glass than revisit the case that ruined his legal career. Theo knows the case inside out—better than anyone—and with the eerie similarities between the two murders, there’s no one better to dig into this with Lila than him. Lila is brilliant, determined, and unafraid to challenge Theo’s maddeningly skeptical attitude. Theo, on the other hand, would prefer to keep his head down and his past buried. But when the Mayfairs—who have a connection to Lila’s past—invite her to stay at their secluded estate, Lila hatches a plan: pose as a couple to get inside and investigate without raising suspicion. The Mayfair family might seem eccentric and charming, but their sprawling estate hides darker secrets than Lila anticipated. What she really doesn’t expect is for the fake dating part to feel a little too real. Between late-night brainstorming, stolen glances, and close calls, Lila starts to realize there’s more at stake than just cracking the case. Perfect for fans of Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building, The Evidence of Us is a twisty, witty romcom full of murder, mystery, and just the right amount of awkward flirting.