Monster Fiction

Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby, the Lost Jewels of Anniera, are hiding from Gnag the Nameless in the Green Hollows, one of the few places in the land of Aerwiar not overrun by the Fangs of Dang. But there's a big problem. Janner's little brother - heir to the throne of Anniera - has grown a tail. And gray fur. Not to mention two pointed ears and long, dangerous fangs. To the suspicious folk of the Green Hollows, he looks like a monster. But Janner knows better. His brother isn't as scary as he looks. He's perfectly harmless. Isn't he?

I make a living out of screwing over the jerks who capture and torment supernatural beasties. But when I free a bunch of particularly powerful monsters from their cages, I'm not counting on them following me home like lost puppies - stunningly hot lost puppies, but still. These manly monsters are determined to repay me for my help, and they won't get out of my apartment, until they're satisfied we're even. There's something to be said for allies so devoted they'll tear off heads and shred souls on your behalf. I'm all for joining forces.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting - he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

"Fated love means nothing when we can avoid extinction. One tiny sacrifice will appease the shadows. It's a shame, really. You've always been my pretty little monster." Those were the last words I heard from my Alpha, my fated mate, before his Beta tossed me off the cliff into a land of no return: Demon Valley, the place where no human or wolf shifter survives. Legends claim there's an escape from the shadowy, demon-infested haven, but no one has ever returned to confirm the truth. Except me.

As a monster, Shrubley is forbidden from joining the adventurers guild. In a world where essence artists rank up in power and most monsters are feral beasts, Shrubley is among the weakest of creatures and is treated as an outcast. With curiosity essence bound to his spirit, Shrubley might be weak, but he's intelligent and determined. Against all the odds, he discovers a loophole from the Druid that gave him life—but there's a deadly catch. For a chance of ever being accepted as a true adventurer, he must challenge an otherworldly realm threatening to consume everything.

As the daughter of Dracula, you would think I’d be born the perfect monster. You couldn’t be more wrong. As far as monsters go, I’m a screw up—if I’m not tripping over my own feet, I’m accidentally murdering someone (it’s a real issue, guys). Left with no choice, Dad decides to send me to Prodigium—otherwise known as Monster Academy—to train me on how to be a better monster. When bodies turn up on campus, I’m the prime suspect (not that I can blame them).

The sweeping romance of Passenger meets the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song in this stunning contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, where the line between monster and hero is razor thin.

New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets—both the Allied and Axis special operations during WWII included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju? This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history.

When it comes to stealing from mafia men, there are three rules. Don't get caught. Don't be seen. And most of all—don't fall in love with them. After being hired to steal a painting, I find myself ensnared. Damon, Minos, and Aaecus are monsters, and they only want one thing: Me. Seven days of sin in exchange for freedom from the Three Fates Mafia. If only it were that easy. The strings of fate have bound the four of us together, and not even gods or monsters can keep us apart.

All that stands between rowdy long-haul trucker Jill MacLeod (aka Junkmouth) and her family back in Boston is two thousand miles of asphalt. Well, that and the monstrous game the System has had her playing ever since it descended on Earth. The reward: mana. Jill's goal: kill, score, drive—and stay alive. Behind the wheel of a turreted forty-ton semi named Bertha, Jill hammers east from Montana through a gauntlet of every kind of chomping, hissing, rabid creature imaginable. Barreling forward in her magical soulbound big rig and chalking up a bumper crop of roadkill, Jill isn't alone for long.

In a world of warring orcs and men, Kesst of Clan Ash-Kai is a pawn. A pretty, pliant plaything bound to the cruelest orcs in the realm. Until the new healer storms in. He's huge, hostile, and hideous, with a powerful scarred body and terrifying ancient magic. It only takes one disastrous meeting before he and Kesst are bitter enemies, and Kesst vows to see the vile brute destroyed. Then a sudden deadly attack hurls his helpless body straight at the healer's feet. Kesst fully expects to be abandoned to his doom—instead, his new enemy picks him up, soothes his wounds, and carries him home.

When I answered an ad for a caretaker at Saint Mark’s Sanctuary, I thought I’d be dusting chandeliers and polishing floors. I didn’t expect to be tricked into a curse, going into debt to a monster, and being forced to take a self-paced “let’s learn magic” course so I can fix a 2,000-year-old problem. And that monster? Not your ordinary, everyday beast. He has hooves, and horns, and fur on his legs. But you know where he doesn’t have fur? Yeah. There. Which is fine. Except he doesn’t wear pants.

Rome Armanelli is supposed to be a monster—an enforcer for the strongest family in the Italian Mafia. Yet, when I saw him take a man’s life, he did it to save mine. Since then, Rome doesn't want me anywhere near him. Sparks may fly when we're in the same room, but his famiglia is all he cares about. He tells me to leave, but he, of all people, should know—the Mafia doesn't let anyone go. Blood, ties, and partnerships sink their claws in. And when we find out exactly why his family kept me around, there's no turning back.

Jack Miller has spent his entire nine years in the same house on the same street in the same town with the same best friend. One day, while delivering papers on his same ordinary paper route, Jack finds himself amidst a very unordinary world. A world where strange and silly monsters become his friends. This is the complete series of adventures that Jack and his best friend, Annabelle, will have in the secret world that Jack discovers that fateful day.

When marine private Oliver Chadwick Gardenier is killed in the marine barrack bombing in Beirut, somebody who might be Saint Peter gives him a choice: Go to heaven, which, while nice, might be a little boring, or return to earth. The Boss has a mission for him, and he's to look for a sign. He's a marine: He'll choose the mission. Unfortunately, the sign he's to look for is "57". Which, given the food services contract in Bethesda Hospital, creates some difficulty. Eventually it appears that God's will is for Chad to join a group called Monster Hunters International.

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business.

After a devastating car crash wipes out her family, Laura struggles to get her life together. Grieving, she becomes forgetful. She doesn't remember how money got into her purse, or buying that pint of milk....Adam is the perfect boyfriend. He cooks meals. He does the housework. He looks after Laura's every need. He knows everything about her. But Laura has never met Adam. And she knows nothing about him. What turned him into a monster who stalks his victims? How did he become warped from a sensitive boy who adored the fairy tales his gran read to him?

After my ex announces his wedding to someone other than me, I'm eager to leave town. A new life and a new job are just what I need to restore my mojo. On the way to my destination, I overnight at a hotel where edible unmentionables and a tattooed orc construction worker rock my world. I sneak out the next morning, figuring I'll never see him again. Until I walk into my new job. That hot orc construction worker? He's my boss.

On a hot summer night in Montauk, the bodies of two local bar patrons are discovered in the dunes, torn to shreds, their identities unrecognizable.... In another part of town, a woman's backyard is invaded by four terrifying creatures that defy any kind of description. What's clear is that they're hostile - and they're ravenous....

Ordinary twenty-something Kurusu Kimihito thought living with a bunch of monster girls was complicated enough, but there's a new directive sent down from the government: get a job!