The spine-tingling bestseller that has taken Japan by storm—an eerie fresh take on horror for fans of Hidden Pictures and Junji Ito, in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches. An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . . A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning. A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message. A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality. Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu—an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.

A slightly creepy Christmas comedy by the acclaimed creator of Saint Young Men and Arakawa Under the Bridge that inspired a live-action film! You better watch this tale about Santa’s workshop for kids on the naughty list is coming to town. Hino Miharu spends Christmas the same way every year, working alone at a dead-end part-time job at a convenience store. He’d do just about anything to land a full-time gig, but when he runs into a shadowy Santa Claus dressed all in black, he has no idea he’s encountered the real deal. Well, almost. While the normal Santa Claus who dresses in red and white oversees Christmas for all the good boys and girls, his dark counterpart is in charge of handling the bad children—and Miharu just wound up on the naughty list. Gobbled up by a slavering, talking sack, he’s spirited away to the Arctic, where he finds himself the newest employee of a massive Christmas operation. Yeah, the pay and benefits are great, and his coworkers sure are cute, but is this the dream job he’s been hoping for, or the beginning of a Christmas nightmare?!

In the ghostly town of Coldhaven, Seraphine Ashcroft is marked by her crimson eyes, a harbinger of dark magic that isolates her from humanity. Straddling the mundane and the mystic realms, she uncovers sinister secrets about her true nature that threaten to unravel everything she knows.Guided by enigmatic allies and pursued by ancient enemies, Seraphine ventures through the treacherous Weeping Forest and into the shadowy depths of the Shadow Market. Here, legendary creatures—mischievous Pookas, sinister hags, and the ominous Grim Wanderer—reveal a world of dark enchantments and hidden power.As she delves deeper, Seraphine discovers a dark destiny intertwined with her lineage. The Grim Wanderer, an ethereal figure cloaked in shadows, pushes her towards a fate shrouded in mystery and danger. This is not a tale of heroes, but the genesis of a villain, forged from heartbreak and betrayal.In a web of deceit and ancient prophecies, Seraphine's path is one of transformation and darkness. Will she succumb to the shadows that seek to consume her, or will she rise as a force of vengeance, altering the balance between realms forever?The Crimson Snow is a dark, gripping fantasy of magic, resilience, and the birth of a new power in a world where heroes are myths and villains are made. Embrace the mystery and uncover the secrets beneath the snow.

A cozy, high spice romantasy with cottagecore vibes. Sometimes sleepy village life can be too quiet. Sometimes a quaint circle of friends can be too small. Ana doesn’t want the thrill of an adventure, she just wants one man in the village who hasn’t known her since she was a baby, understands what to do if he gets her clothes off, and who her mother can’t scare away… at least not until after. Newly arrived in Petalfall, Edric doesn’t want to continue the hermit habits of his predecessor. As the Forest Guardian, he could live here for the next century or more, and fitting in is important to him. He’s always thought the easiest way to do that would be by finding a partner to ease the way… and once he sees Ana, there’s no other choice. Viggo isn’t dirty, but he is a secret for the moment. People tend to be apprehensive about Vampires—a truth he knows to his cost—and small towns come with small minds. When Edric tells him the plan, he’s open to the idea. When he finds her collecting moon berries at midnight, he’s smitten. She might be looking for a single night. They want more.

A dangerous story is bubbling and almost all the Narrators are scared to tell it. Cracks in the World of Stories are spreading, and the ominous Shadow High is gaining power. Only one young, brave Narrator, Brooke Page, is ready to tell this tale. As the first cracks show, Frankie and Draculaura are accidentally transported to Ever After High, where they meet Raven Queen and Apple White. After the girls recover from the shock of learning that fairytales and monsters are real, they discover that the Evil Queen has escaped her mirror prison in search of the ultimate power, hidden in Shadow High. Frankie, Raven, Draculaura, Apple, and Brooke must stop the Evil Queen and save the World of Stories from the evil that lurks in Shadow High! ©2017 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

She might be deadly, but she is not their weapon. This “sweeping romantasy” (Sable Sorensen, New York Times bestselling author of Dire Bound) is brimming with romance, deadly stakes, and unforgettable magic. “Not to be missed!” (Gretchen Powell Fox, author of Smoke and Scar) Survivor. Rebel. Weapon. Leina has spent a lifetime submitting, starving amid wheat fields reserved for the king, standing by while his men crush her loved ones. When soldiers come for her brother, her divine fury erupts in a bloody massacre. She expects to be executed for her crimes—her people have met bloody ends for far, far less. Instead, Ryot, a gods-blessed warrior born to privilege, delivers her to a military fortress renowned for its brutality. There, a gift from a goddess drags Leina into a realm of war, where her survival depends on her ability to ride a winged horse. As Ryot pushes her to master the power she never asked for, a battle rages within her heart. Each lesson, every touch, binds them tighter—but love is a dangerous weakness in a world designed for war. Soon, Leina must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the family she has found…and the one she left behind. Because while her divine gift could save the kingdom, it could also shatter its very foundation. With immersive lush writing, an unflinching heroine, and an inventive fantasy world, Kissed by the Gods is the gripping fantasy debut you won’t want to miss.

I haven't looked myself in the eye since the night I watched my sisters die wearing my face. Ophelia Sorrell hasn't looked in a mirror in seven years. Not the bathroom glass, not a darkened window, not even the eyes of a stranger because somewhere behind every reflective surface, two dead girls are waiting to look back. She keeps her world small. Her father's toy shop. The floor beneath her feet. Anything that can't show her a face she buried a long time ago. Then a man finds her in the dark. He doesn't know her name before he knows her secret. He watches her sleep before she ever speaks to him. He finds the hospital records, the police files, the photograph of three identical girls and instead of walking away, he starts building something for her. Rhys Castellan owns the kind of carnival that isn't built for children. Glass, glamour, and things that shouldn't be beautiful but are. And once he understands exactly what Ophelia is afraid of, he decides quietly, patiently, obsessively that he's going to be the one to teach her how to see herself again. Whether she survives the lesson is another matter. Cracked Doll is a dark, obsessive romance featuring a morally gray hero, a heroine trapped between two kinds of haunting, and a love story that asks: what's more dangerous the thing you're afraid to see, or the man who won't stop looking?

It is unwise for death to form an obsession with the living. I know this, and yet, there is something about Lenore that steals my sanity and sews the seeds of madness into my shadowy skull. She’s beautiful, perfect, and filled with secrets. My little raven. Who could have known that one bite from a poison apple would rob me of my mortal princess? The magic surrounding the tainted fruit plunges Lenore into a sleep like death, sealing her soul in the land in-between, denying her entry to my kingdom of the dead. No human prince will be able to save her from the land of unending darkness. If my raven is to find a way back to life, or the sweet finality of a true death, she’ll need otherworldly help. Only monsters survive in the in-between. Lucky for my little raven, I am the worst kind of monster. I will ferry her soul to its rightful place in the underworld, and anyone who tries to stop me will find out what happens when you provoke the Prince of Death. I will find my lost Lenore and make her mine forevermore.This is a dark Monster Romance Fairytale Reimagining.Check my website for a full list of content warnings!

"You were kind to a man who has known little kindness in his life, and now his affection is your burden to bear." -Atticus BlackwellA standalone paranormal romance, The Academy of the Dead is a perfect witchy read with plenty of gothic and heartbreaking confessions of unrequited love.Full Blurb: Some couples share everything...even their demons.In a world where the modern meets the magical, Maddox Abernathy is the sole necromancer in a family of green witches. After attending a special college for necromancers run by the Commission of Magic Management, she returns home to recover from burning out after her finals. When her academic rival, Atticus Blackwell, finds her five years later and offers her a chance to return to academia and uncover a lost page of the book of the dead, Maddox knows she can’t refuse. Even if she can’t stand him. Even if Atticus wants to put their brutal past behind them and become, of all things, friends. But some things are meant to stay in the past, to stay buried. And this book may be one of those things…The Academy of the Dead is a gothic romance with forced proximity, duels that turn spicy, and mutual obsession.Perfect for fans of Jane Eyre, The Phantom of the Opera, and Lisa Frankenstein.This is the second book in a series of standalone fantasy and paranormal romances, Haunted Creatures, Haunted Places.Each book features new characters and a new plot, but their stories exist in the same world and around the same time.

Ally is a Ukrainian bride who married a wealthy Californian, Carl Morris. Everything is strange in her new home: the shadowy redwoods; the peculiar neighbors; and the mystery surrounding the death of Carl's first wife. But Ally is determined to leave her own tragic past behind and to be a good wife and a good American. Escaping darkness is not so easy. Ally discovers that her house is on the border of Nightwood, where fairy tales become nightmares and nightmares are real. When Carl is abducted, Ally follows him into the land where the Red, Black, and White Horsemen drag the sun in their wake. There, Little Mother takes her prisoner, and Ally is forced to labor in a filthy farmyard filled with deformed human livestock. But the ghoulish Little Mother is not the most terrifying creature in Nightwood. The Ogre, squatting in the Castle with no Windows, is poised to invade our world. He has Carl; and he wants Ally. To save her husband and the world, she'll have to brave the horrors of Nightwood and face the truth of her past.

The smallest spark can bind two hearts . . . or start a revolution. In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, country bumpkin Small Sade needs a job—preferably as a maid, with employers who don’t mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful god known only as the Crocodile, who is rumored to devour pretty girls. Small Sade entrances the Crocodile with her secret: she is a Curse Eater, gifted with the ability to alter people’s fates by cleaning their houses. The handsome god warns that their fates are bound, but Small Sade evades him, launching herself into a new career as the Curse Eater of a swanky inn. She is determined to impress the wealthy inhabitants and earn her place in Oluwan City . . . assuming her secret-filled past—and the revolutionary ambitions of the Crocodile God—don’t catch up with her. But maybe there is more to Small Sade. And maybe everyone in Oluwan City deserves more, too, from the maids all the way to the Anointed Ones. Fans of the Raybearer series, Howl's Moving Castle, and Beauty and the Beast will enjoy The Maid and the Crocodile–no prior knowledge of the Raybearer series necessary.

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.