MONDSICHEL🌙| Top Ten Thursday №65

An atmospheric, feminist retelling of the early life of famed villainess Morgan le Fay, set against the colourful chivalric backdrop of Arthurian legend.

When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it's not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything – her reputation, her loved ones and her life.

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.

Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.

For readers of The Wolf Den and Kaikeyi comes the thrilling tale of the forgotten daughter of a legendary Egyptian pharaoh and the path she must take to escape her own dangerous fate. There are many paths to power. They all come with a price. Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget. But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise. Peace, it seems, never lasts for women who wield power in the open. Especially when they cross a vengeful man. When Neferura overhears Thutmose's plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. The discovery of a mysterious tattooed wisewoman and her shadowy network of spies offers an uneasy alliance. But the wisewoman wields more power than Neferura knew possible -- power with the potential to rival her own. Neferura must decide where her loyalties lie and how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves before everything crumbles at the hands of a tyrant.

Der Preis für die Stadt Avastone war Blut. Blut, das auf ewig durch den Fluss Mandalay fließt, um den Frieden zwischen Menschen und Wycca zu wahren. Als Raevan Tennyson gegen seinen Willen König wird, ist er gezwungen, das Ausmaß seiner Kräfte zu verbergen. Denn jahrhundertelange Kriege haben die Furcht der Menschen vor den Wycca genährt. Und Raevan ist der tödlichste unter ihnen. Doch die Menschen in den Straßen Avastones schmieden eine Waffe, die den König vernichten soll. Um den Thron und sein Leben zu retten, sucht Raevan nach der legendären Blutkrone. Die Spur führt ihn in die berüchtigte Sternengasse, die wegen des Schwarzmarkts für Magie kaum jemand zu betreten wagt. Doch nicht nur die Dunkelheit lockt Raevan. Obwohl er verheiratet ist, verliert er sein Herz an die Menschenfrau Azalea. Er weiß, jede Berührung kann tödlich enden. Denn auf Ehebruch mit dem König steht die Todesstrafe.

Mexican history and Mesoamerican mythology meet in this thrilling historical fantasy with magic, intrigue, treachery, romance, and adventure.

The empire of Montezuma II has long fallen, a city raised on the bones of Tenochtitlan. None dare whisper the names of their gods- or speak of the magic that once graced the land, of the witches who hunted as jaguars, the warriors who soared as eagles.

Until a new name emerges- a curse on the lips of the Spanish, a hero in the hearts of the people. A masked vigilante, a sorceress with a blade.

Pantera

But that is not her only name. To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin is a glittering jewel of court, promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would sooner be caught dead than wield a sword…even against a dauntless thief with a cutting smile.

No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are one and the same. Leonora has fooled them all, and, with magic of her ancestors running through her veins, she is nearly invincible- until an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens, and she is forced to decide: surrender the mask or her life. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her.

In Legacy, Colorado, I buried my father alongside his elite Hotshot team.
Ten years later, I’ve followed in his footsteps—fighting fires in the mountains of Alaska with my brother.
Amid the flames, nothing ignites me like Avery Claire.
She’s stubborn, strong, sexy as hell, and my best friend.
She also has no idea that I’m in love with her.
But Colorado is calling me home, needing every Legacy-born firefighter to successfully rebuild our fathers’ team.
One night will change everything between us,
But she’s tied to Alaska and my future is in Colorado.
Now I’m torn between what my honor demands,
And what my heart can’t live without.

Die Monate, in denen Grace eine steinerne Gargoyle war, bergen mehr Geheimnisse, als sie sich je hätte ausmalen können. Was soll man schon erwarten, wenn man plötzlich mit ausgerechnet der Person eingesperrt ist, die man sich auf gar keinen Fall gewünscht hätte? Sie wird die Hilfe ihres Feindes benötigen, wenn sie das Schattenreich überleben und all seine Bewohner retten will. Wenn sie ihren nervig unwiderstehlichen Mitgefangenen nicht zuerst umbringt … oder küsst.

A forbidden obsession
Unyielding family allegiance
Three deadly challenges

THE HUMAN.
When a trip into the forest to collect a rare mushroom goes horribly wrong, I find myself falling through a fairy portal and straight into the arms of the Unseelie Fae prince. The dangerously unhinged and handsome Unseelie Fae prince.
What could be more horrible than that? He thinks I'm an assassin sent by the humans to kill him, not a biologist.
Determined to kill me first, and rid himself of the human he has unwillingly grown obsessed with, yet also needing to entertain his people, the villain challenges me to three deadly trials.
If I survive, I gain my freedom. But if not...
THE FAE.
I've never felt anything but hate and loathing until my eyes found hers--the vile human assassin's. She is a parasite that has mercilessly latched onto my mind and won't let me free.
My hand itches to be ungloved and feel her smooth skin, even though I would never. The Unseelie Fae royals would rather burn than touch a repulsive human.
I fear that if I do not destroy the girl soon, she may be the only thing that's capable of truly destroying me.

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune-tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea.

It's up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer's horrifying finale?

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. Separated from Audric and Ludivine, she embraces the role of Blood Queen and her place by Corien’s side, determined to become the monster the world believes her to be.
In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter.

But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.

The incredible conclusion to the trilogy that started with the instant New York Times bestsellers Furyborn and Kingsbane!

In this epic finale to the Empirium Trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand, two queens, separated by a thousand years must face their ultimate destinies.