"The ancestor have only ever demanded one  Never forget...there is power in your blood." Brianna Bryant only three months before graduating from the Secret College of Magical Negroes (SCMN), and that means she is nearly out of time before her life is claimed by the same secret society that has made her their chosen one. But before the elders can enact their plan and perform the final ritual that will make her into a weapon forged for vengeance, she has her own plans.  Her Three Goals: 1. Discover the magical escape route she believes is connected to campus 2. Dip out on the blood worshipping death cult before graduation 3. And absolutely don't fall for the boy hired to keep her in line DARK STAR is perfect for fans of The Secret World of Maggie Grey, Blood At the Root, and Sinners.

Greek myths held Oceanus to be a massive river surrounding the land. A Titan, son of sky and earth, he was depicted as a handsome, muscular man whose torso ended in a scaled tale. As the Olympians emerged, Oceanus retreated, his domain restricted to strange and dangerous shores, the realm of sailors' misfortunes and worries.So, too, are the eleven tales within the pages of The Touch of the fantastical, at times eerie, with sightings of mermen, water spirits, and sea beasts (even the fabled "living island," the aspidochelone) as well as a smattering of pirates. What makes these stories memorable is that they define the masculinity of the sea, the taste of brine on another man's lips.Become mates with such award-winning authors as Joel Lane and Jeff Mann -- seasoned storytellers 'Nathan Burgoine, Chaz Brenchley, and Alex Jeffers -- and a wide array of Brandon Cracraft, Jonathan Harper, John Howard, Vincent Kovar, Matthew A. Merendo, Damon Shaw -- under the helm of editor Steve Berman.

Anger is an energy. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented with a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. A Tor.com Original

Cuckoo is a searing new novel from Manhunt author Gretchen Felker-Martin, where a motley crew of kidnapped kids try to stay true to themselves while serving time in a conversion camp from hell. In the late 90s, five queer kids, whose parents want them “fixed,” find themselves thrown together at a secretive "tough love" camp deep in the scorching Utah desert. Tormented and worked to the point of collapse by hardline religious zealots intent on straightening them out, they slowly become aware that something in the mountains north of the camp is speaking to them in their dreams, and that the children who return home to their families have...changed.

A group of friends fight to choose their own fates in this trope-savvy, self-referential young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games , about a demonic force that acts according to horror movie rules in the spirit of the Scream movies. Devon is always being left behind by her genius twin sister, Drew. At this point, it’s a fact of life. But Devon has one last plan before Drew leaves for college a whole year early—The Best Summer Ever. After committing to the bit a little too much, the twins and their chaotic circle of friends learn why you don’t ever mess with a Ouija board if you want to actually survive the Best Summer Ever, and soon find themselves being hunted down by…a demon? But while there’s no mistaking the creeping, venomous figure is not from around here, their method doesn’t feel very demonic at all. In fact, it’s downright human—going after them in typical slasher movie kill order. And that means Devon, the blonde, is up first and her decade-long crush, Yaya, is the Final Girl who must kill or be killed to end the cycle. Devon has never liked playing by anyone else’s rules though, not even a demon’s, and the longer this goes on, the more she feels Drew and Yaya slipping away from her even as she tries to help them all survive. Can they use their horror movie knowledge to flip the script and become the hunters instead of the hunted? Or will their best summer ever be their last?

BOYS IN SKIRTS features two steamy tales with gay transmasc characters who enjoy femme clothes. In DELINQUENT, Alex crosses paths with the school bad boy and discovers he wasn't as unmemorable in high school as he thought. In SATIN & LEATHER, Liam shares an intimate roleplay fantasy with his husband. (Please review the author notes and tags located in the front matter before engaging with this work!)

Set sail for adventure and love in the next spicy fantasy romance from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash hit Neon Gods . As a bloodline vampire, Lizzie has never had a problem taking what she wants, and right now what she wants are the family heirlooms that were stolen from her and a portal home. Too bad even that short list is impossible to accomplish on her own—and her allies have bigger things to worry about. When they rescue a selkie from captivity, it’s the perfect solution to her problem. Lizzie needs a guide through Threshold and the selkie needs someone to help her get her skin back.  Maeve didn’t choose to give up her skin—it was stolen from her. Now she’s in an uneasy partnership with a dangerous woman who seems more apt to kill than to share a kind word. It’s terrifying…and a bit alluring. Even though she knows it will end in heartbreak, Maeve can’t help being drawn to Lizzie and her all-too-pleasurable vampire bite.  Unfortunately, the danger to Maeve’s heart is the least of her worries. The ship Lizzie’s chasing belongs to the Cŵn Annwn, and they don’t take kindly to people who steal from them. Not even Lizzie’s viciousness or Maeve’s selkie strength will be enough to save them if the Cŵn Annwn seek retribution…

A group of friends fight to choose their own fates in this trope-savvy, self-referential young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games , about a demonic force that acts according to horror movie rules in the spirit of the Scream movies. Devon is always being left behind by her genius twin sister, Drew. At this point, it’s a fact of life. But Devon has one last plan before Drew leaves for college a whole year early—The Best Summer Ever. After committing to the bit a little too much, the twins and their chaotic circle of friends learn why you don’t ever mess with a Ouija board if you want to actually survive the Best Summer Ever, and soon find themselves being hunted down by…a demon? But while there’s no mistaking the creeping, venomous figure is not from around here, their method doesn’t feel very demonic at all. In fact, it’s downright human—going after them in typical slasher movie kill order. And that means Devon, the blonde, is up first and her decade-long crush, Yaya, is the Final Girl who must kill or be killed to end the cycle. Devon has never liked playing by anyone else’s rules though, not even a demon’s, and the longer this goes on, the more she feels Drew and Yaya slipping away from her even as she tries to help them all survive. Can they use their horror movie knowledge to flip the script and become the hunters instead of the hunted? Or will their best summer ever be their last?

The Night the Sea Kept Me is a high-angst, high-heat MM monster romance featuring a fiercely possessive, silent protector and the rebellious royal who becomes his entire world.The light of the upper reef is a beautiful, suffocating lie. The dark of the trench is a terrifying truth. Vaelis is a Prince of the bright shallows. He is fiercely proud, dangerously curious, and completely bound by the treacherous politics of the sunlit royal court. Kael is a scarred, silent monster of the deep. He is an apex predator stripped of his voice and exiled entirely to the crushing, freezing dark of the Gray Wastes. When a brutal betrayal casts the beautiful royal directly into the abyss, Vaelis fully expects to be devoured by a nightmare. Instead, he is violently rescued by one. But surviving the deadly fall is only the very beginning. With a massive war threatening to tear their underwater world apart, a broken prince and a touch-starved shark must forge an impossible, undeniable bond to survive the dark. He was supposed to be a sacrifice. He became a signal instead.

Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife. When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, already drenched to the bone in the freezing cold and barely able to speak a word of English. Although Jean is the only midwife in the village and for miles around, she’s at a loss as to who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to grow. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence? Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?

Glaubst du das Seemannsgarn, das sich die Männer in den Tavernen am Hafen zusammenspinnen? Herzen wurden gestohlen, aye! Manche wurden aus Brustkörben gerissen, während Sirenengesang erklang. Ein Herz wurde von einer Hexe gestohlen und es zersprang in viele magische Splitter. Andere wurden, mitsamt den Schiffen, auf denen sie segelten, von riesenhaften Tentakeln in die Tiefe der See gezogen. Doch ein Herz, so heißt es, wurde freiwillig an eine Kapitänin verschenkt. Es war das einzige Geschenk, das jemals von einer Sirene gemacht wurde.