Mrs Death tells her intoxicating story in this life-affirming fire-starter of a novel. Mrs Death has had enough. She is exhausted from spending eternity doing her job and now she seeks someone to unburden her conscience to. Wolf Willeford, a troubled young writer, is well acquainted with death, but until now hadn’t met Death in person – a black, working-class woman who shape-shifts and does her work unseen. Enthralled by her stories, Wolf becomes Mrs Death’s scribe, and begins to write her memoirs. Using their desk as a vessel and conduit, Wolf travels across time and place with Mrs Death to witness deaths of past and present and discuss what the future holds for humanity. As the two reflect on the losses they have experienced – or, in the case of Mrs Death, facilitated – their friendship grows into a surprising affirmation of hope, resilience and love. All the while, despite her world-weariness, Death must continue to hold humans’ fates in her hands, appearing in our lives when we least expect her . . .

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.

Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut author John Wiswell Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love. Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way. Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she’s about to confess, Homily reveals why she’s in the area: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere? Eating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk. And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.

To live on in this turbulent world, to take revenge for her family, to seek justice for her entire village of a hundred and eighteen people who had their lives cut short, Lin Wanyue took the name of her younger twin brother Lin Feixing to enlist in the military, vowing to kill every single Hun under the sky. The Empress has passed into heaven, leaving the sixteen year old Eldest Princess and eight year old Crown Prince to depend on each other for survival. The other Seigniors who were older than the Crown Prince look upon the royal seat with ravenous eyes, the position of these two siblings are in a precarious situation.

It is year twenty-five of the Yuantai Era of the Great Zhou Empire. The renowned Marquis of Jingning, commander of the Beiyan Cavalry, Fu Shen is injured on the battlefield at the northern border. Returning with a broken leg to the capital, Fu Shen learns that the emperor has conferred a marriage for him—with another man. To make matters worse, Fu Shen’s spouse is his political nemesis: the famed Imperial Investigator of the Feilong Guard, Yan Xiaohan. In spite of the political differences that stand between them in court, Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan gradually start to accept each other’s presence in their shared home. Yet as they learn to navigate their new life together, it is the calm before the storm. The mystery behind the attack at the northern border begins to unfold, unveiling dangers that threaten the peace of Great Zhou.

160 pages of origin story goodness, centered in coastal town of Stilben in Exandria. Both the standard edition includes the complete collection of Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins #1–#6, as well as bonus content including annotated cover process pieces, preliminary character sketches, and character descriptions and stats. The standard edition features cover art by Stjepan Šejić with a spot gloss treatment. With over 160 pages of magical storytelling and bonus content, Vox Machina Origins brings together Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins #1–#6 in a single volume, following six would-be heroes as they uncover a plot to destroy the small coastal town of Stilben. The comic series is written by Matthew Colville (Evolve, Priest, Thief) with interior art by Olivia Samson, a member of the Critical Role fan community, and coloring and lettering by Chris Northrop. Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins #1–#6 Annotated cover process pieces, preliminary character sketches, and character descriptions and stats Cover art by Stjepan Šejić with spot gloss treatment. Published by Dark Horse Books, a division of Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together. Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic. That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic. Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together. Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

SHADOWS OF FORMER GLORY Gu Mang is determined to turn over a new leaf and prove to Mo Xi that he’s not the ruthless man he once was. Yet as his old memories return, the shadow of the traitorous General Gu seems to haunt him, raising questions to which he has no answers—both about his defection from Chonghua and his past entanglements with Mo Xi. As Mo Xi and Gu Mang struggle toward a fragile truce, the pair are summoned for an emergency rescue mission to an island inhabited by demons. But this island is full of buried secrets…including one that may unravel everything Mo Xi and Gu Mang thought they knew about the past.