A matchmaking witch, an ancient sea creature, and the sex contract they make. Welcome to the Love Bathhouse where desire and acceptance are in the water. The Witch Celibacy is a bad look for a matchmaker. Especially a matchmaker who works at the kind of paranormal bathhouse that would have grandmothers clutching their pearls. A worse look is a matchmaker experiencing a crisis of confidence. I am that matchmaker. We need raw magic, desperately. And now a mysterious man walks into my office, offering me the exact solution I need. The problem is that he wants to be matched... with me. Matching doesn't work for me; I found that out the hard way. The Kraken I saw her and the creature inside me wanted. She doesn't want a relationship. She says that the most we can have are the three nights she promised me, but the dark part of myself isn't going to let the woman who snared its attention go. I found her. I hunted her. She's mine. **Stalked by the Kraken is a monster romance that features tentacles. This book is a standalone and takes place in the same world as, and prior to the events of, Three of Hearts with some character crossover. Content Warning: Book includes breeding behavior and mentions infertility.

Whispers of the Deep, Echoes of Harmony. Beneath the waves, a peaceful coexistence shatters, drawing the students of the Institute into a desperate struggle to forge alliances with the enigmatic mermaids. Will they unravel the mystery of the Krakens' wrath in time to save both their worlds? "The Quest for the Kraken's Ink" plunges readers into the heart of a deep-sea mystery, where the calm waters of Eldavon's coast are troubled by unforeseen threats. As Penelope, Herja, Kaia, and their classmates embark on their fourth year at the Institute, their studies are disrupted by a violent upheaval from the ocean's depths. The arrival of mermaids on their shores signals the start of an unexpected alliance, challenging the students to navigate the turbulent waters of diplomatic relations. With the mermaids seeking refuge from a sudden, aggressive assault by Kraken, the students must balance the urgency of their quest for kraken ink—a crucial ingredient for their magical studies—with the pressing need to broker peace beneath the waves. Amidst this chaos, they confront their own prejudices, forge new bonds, and unearth secrets that lie hidden in the marine abyss. Can they restore harmony to the underwater realm and secure the future of their magical education, or will they be swallowed by the conflicts that divide land and sea? The Quest for the Kraken’s Ink is the fourth book in the Defenders of the Realm series.

Type: Apocalyptic Science Fiction novella of about 19,700 words The third story in Kitten & Kraken series one. Start this heart and horror novella series by reading the short story for free, 'Kitten & Kraken Series One: #1 The Saurian Woman And The Terribly Horrifying Project Meet'. About the series: This tale took place before the events of Shades of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness. The world in which this story took place was governed by corporations, and mile-thick Dry Clouds encompassed half the Earth, blanketing that portion of the planet in endless night. Kraken, a monstrous experiment, meets Kitten, an innocent-looking girl. Kraken has an insatiable appetite for hunting. Kraken has been bored because it has been so long since she hunted and now she comes across this all so helpless tiny child. Once upon a time... or that was how the story should have started, but was this tale only a story? Maybe this tale was the beginning of something new, horrible, and wondrous. The Kraken Project, a monstrous experiment living within the Sanctum, meets a tiny experiment called the Pandora Project. Kraken calls her Kitten, but Kitten isn't as innocent as she looks. Behind the face of a child hides a fiend even more monstrous than Kraken.

Experience the incredible adventure and heart-stopping romance of the Iron Seas in this thrilling steampunk tale from New York Times bestselling author Meljean Brook. The Kraken King, Part VI The Kraken King and the Crumbling Walls Reunited, Ariq and Zenobia must journey over the red wall and make a desperate appeal to the one woman with enough power to halt the marauders’ plans—the Empress of Nippon. But even the Kraken King cannot demand the attentions of an empress. Masked and quarantined, Ariq and Zenobia are forced to bide their time. Despite the fact that they are as physically close as two people can be, Zenobia is trying to keep the man she can’t help but love at a distance, terrified she’ll be hurt again. And all the while, the mysteries of the Living City grow around them… Includes a bonus excerpt of Meljean Brook’s Riveted. More to come…Don’t miss The Kraken King, Part VII Praise for the novels of the Iron Seas: “A stunning blend of steampunk setting and poignant romance.”—Ilona Andrews, New York Times bestselling author “Every glimpse of this alternate history leaves me fascinated and hungry for more.”—All Things Urban Fantasy “Meljean Brook has brilliantly defined the new genre of steampunk romance.”—Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author Meljean Brook lives in Oregon with her family. She is the author of the Guardian paranormal romance and Iron Seas steampunk series.

Fifteen top voices in speculative fiction explore the intersection of fear and love in a haunting, at times hilarious, darkly imaginative volume. Predatory kraken that sing with — and for — their kin; band members and betrayed friends who happen to be demonic; harpies as likely to attract as repel. Welcome to a world where humans live side by side with monsters, from vampires both nostalgic and bumbling to an eight-legged alien who makes tea. Here you’ll find mercurial forms that burrow into warm fat, spectral boy toys, a Maori force of nature, a landform that claims lives, and an architect of hell on earth. Through these and a few monsters that defy categorization, some of today’s top young-adult authors explore ambition and sacrifice, loneliness and rage, love requited and avenged, and the boundless potential for connection, even across extreme borders. With monstrous stories by M. T. Anderson Paolo Bacigalupi Nathan Ballingrud Holly Black Sarah Rees Brennan Cassandra Clare Nalo Hopkinson Dylan Horrocks Nik Houser Alice Sola Kim Kathleen Jennings Joshua Lewis Kelly Link Patrick Ness G. Carl Purcell

"The King of High Adventure," Starlog. "Immediately convincing, classically brooding," Steve Tompkins, TheCimmerian.com To the world at large, he is a mercenary and assassin, a brutal killer with a deadly blade. In reality Kormak is a Guardian, one of an ancient order sworn to protect humanity from the servants of the gathering darkness. Kormak is a sword and sorcery hero in the tradition of Conan, Solomon Kane and Druss the Legend, a driven man with a mission to hunt down the ancient demons who slaughtered his family. His fast-paced, action-packed adventures take him from one end of his richly detailed fantasy world to the other. OCEAN OF FEAR The survivors of a burned out village set Kormak and a crew of bounty hunters on the trail of the pirate known only as the Kraken. The hunt leads from the haunted ruins of a cursed city to the buccaneer stronghold of Port Blood and reaches a bloody conclusion far beneath the waves of the ocean. For the Kraken is a sorcerer with a deadly secret and he plans to waken the most powerful demon of the ancient world.

Experience the incredible adventure and heart-stopping romance of the Iron Seas in this thrilling steampunk tale from New York Times bestselling author Meljean Brook. A former smuggler and thief, Ariq—better known as the Kraken King—doesn’t know what to make of the clever, mysterious woman he rescues from an airship besieged by marauders. Unsure if she’s a spy or a pawn in someone else’s game, Ariq isn’t about to let her out of his sight until he finds out… After escaping her fourth kidnapping attempt in a year, Zenobia Fox has learned to vigilantly guard her identity. While her brother Archimedes is notorious for his exploits, Zenobia has had no adventures to call her own—besides the stories she writes. But when she jumps at the chance to escape to the wilds of Australia and acquire research for her next story, Zenobia quickly discovers that the voyage will be far more adventurous than any fiction she could put to paper…

Type: Apocalyptic Science Fiction novella of about 18,400 words The fifth story in Kitten & Kraken series one. Start this heart and horror novella series by reading the short story for free, 'Kitten & Kraken Series One: #1 The Saurian Woman And The Terribly Horrifying Project Meet'. About the series: This tale took place before the events of Shades of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness. The world in which this story took place was governed by corporations, and mile-thick Dry Clouds encompassed half the Earth, blanketing that portion of the planet in endless night. Kraken, a monstrous experiment, meets Kitten, an innocent-looking girl. Kraken has an insatiable appetite for hunting. Kraken has been bored because it has been so long since she hunted and now she comes across this all so helpless tiny child. Once upon a time... or that was how the story should have started, but was this tale only a story? Maybe this tale was the beginning of something new, horrible, and wondrous. The Kraken Project, a monstrous experiment living within the Sanctum, meets a tiny experiment called the Pandora Project. Kraken calls her Kitten, but Kitten isn't as innocent as she looks. Behind the face of a child hides a fiend even more monstrous than Kraken.

Chaos's evil shadow sweeps over Krynn During the hottest summer in memory, minotaurs fight against the Knights of Takhisis, into whose hands their god Sargonnas has delivered them. In the midst of the conflict, the armies of Chaos plunge into the heart of Ansalon. Now the minotaur warrior Aryx must unite his people and their enemy, the knights, against the monstrous servants of Chaos. If he succeeds, the two sides may forge a bond that will change Krynn for all time. If he fails, then they will all perish. Richard Knaak, author of the New York Times best-selling The Legend of Huma, tells this thrilling tale of the minotaurs of Krynn in the time of the Chaos War.

FEATURING KELLY LINK * HOLLY BLACK * KEN LIU * USMAN T. MALIK * LAUREN BEUKES * PAOLO BACIGALUPI * JOE ABERCROMBIE * GENEVIEVE VALENTINE * NICOLA GRIFFITH * CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN * GREG EGAN * K. J. PARKER * RACHEL SWIRSKY * ALICE SOLA KIM * GARTH NIX * KARL SCHROEDER * ELLEN KLAGES * KAI ASHANTE WILSON * MICHAEL SWANWICK * ELEANOR ARNASON * JAMES PATRICK KELLY * IAN MCDONALD * AMAL EL-MOHTAR * TIM MAUGHAN * ELIZABETH BEAR * THEODORA GOSS * PETER WATTS Science fiction and fantasy has never been more diverse or vibrant, and 2014 has provided a bountiful crop of extraordinary stories. These stories are about the future, worlds beyond our own, the realms of our imaginations and dreams but, more importantly, they are the stories of ourselves. Featuring best-selling writers and emerging talents, here are some of the most exciting genre writers working today. Multi-award winning editor Jonathan Strahan once again brings you the best stories from the past year. Within you will find twenty-eight amazing tales from authors across the globe, displaying why science fiction and fantasy are genres increasingly relevant to our turbulent world.