Speculative Fiction Books

In 2073, the world fractured into isolated enclaves after the collapse of centralized governments. When Makayla Odin returns from grueling years of captivity in the southern battlegrounds disguised as a male to survive, she's matured and ready to reclaim her position as leader of the Aurora enclave. But unexpected complications arise when she must share her bedroll with the injured Talon de LaTerre, Raptare's commander, whose brutal devotion to her people is matched by her fierce beauty.

Months later, Talon arrives in Aurora to negotiate a defense alliance. Instead, she discovers that the "fledgling" who caught her attention is Aurora’s new co-commander. Talon doesn't do relationships but can't shake her memories of the woman she knew as Mak. Especially when both Consulting Councils insist Makayla remain at Raptare to conduct extended negotiations with Talon.

In a world where survival depends on strategic alliances, Makayla and Talon must navigate not only complex politics but also the dangerous territory of their hearts.

In 2763, humanity teeters on the brink of extinction after centuries of war with the alien Sh’keth. Val Koroleva, special forces operative, sacrifices her universe to leap across space and time to avert the disastrous war before it begins.

Eight centuries earlier, the world has yet to tumble into chaos. Bush pilot Nicole Baker, blissfully unaware of the alien threat lurking near her home, lives in peaceful solitude flying her airplane between far-flung corners of remote Alaska until a charming, mysterious stranger turns her world upside down.

Val won’t set her mission aside, but neither woman can ignore their unlikely connection. Can Val risk the future? Will love find a foothold despite a world on the brink of war?

Beth Wild was born as a Subterranean and after almost dying in a fire set by raiders from the skyscrapers, she joins the resistance movement. Now fleeing the Celestial authorities with her team of freedom fighters, Beth is strapped into a SkyBird escape vessel and hurtles to the ground. There, she finds the dissident leader’s SkyBird has also crashed, and LaSierra Delmonte is injured and concussed. 

LaSierra is confused. With Beth’s assistance, she struggles to find her bearings and, against her better judgment, grows fond of Beth. But resuming her duties means breaking both their hearts. 

Beth loathes the role LaSierra must play. It’s impossible for her to reconcile her ideals and values with the sacrifices LaSierra is asking for. Thrown headlong into the battle for freedom for dissidents and Subterraneans alike, LaSierra may have to risk everything by acknowledging that there are less lethal ways to accomplish what must be done—and if so, will Beth ever understand that there are times when leaders must make the hard decisions for the greater good? Will they be able to bring peace long enough for them to dare to love?

“I’m a Willow Bark and you’re an Elm Stem, but we’re not enemies. We never have been. Our covens are just…different.”

Tina Marks once believed that being a witch would make life easy. But when one mixes mundane police work with a dash of witch politics and a pinch of forbidden love, the cauldron is sure to boil over sooner or later.

When her Willow Bark coven mentor goes missing, Tina struggles to keep the search as separate as possible from her work with the Angbec Police Force. Then a regular beat patrol exposes a witch of the opposing Elm Stem coven in damning, suspicious circumstances.

Tina is faced with a choice that could change the course of not only her entire future, but also those of her girlfriend Nikolette and two entire covens of young, vulnerable witches. But choose she must, and soon, because the world has no time for indecision, and the maiden’s innocence is inevitably destined to fade.

In the year 2597, Earth’s colony world of Mariposa is shared with an alien race, the Tipruii. When war breaks out between the human colony and the aliens, Fiona learns that her future will be the price of peace. To save her people, she will be the tribute in a treaty marriage to the Tipruii princess, Simaala, and spend the rest of her days on the other side of the wall between their races.

As peace hangs in the balance, Simaala and Fiona navigate the confusion of new cultures and new desires to find a love that will transcend their differences. But not everyone wants peace, and Fiona is in more danger than she knows, putting all their plans and the fate of the human race in jeopardy.

The boy on the gurney is dying. Held at gunpoint by a subterranean terrorist, Dr. Rayne Garcia fights to save his life. One false move will put everyone in danger. She’s seriously regretting volunteering at the third-floor free clinic when she usually works in one of the Eastern Coastal City skyscrapers.

Kaelyn Dark doesn’t like the label terrorist when all she wanted was to protect her people against the military units sent by the corrupt Celestial authorities. Kaelyn has brought the child, critically injured during a Celestial raid, into an enemy clinic. Attempting to save his life is reckless and desperate, but she’s unable to foresee how intertwined her and Rayne’s fates will become.

Meeting Kaelyn fuels Rayne’s suspicions about the propaganda fed to her and other Celestials. Once she takes a stand for what is right, she can never return to her opulent way of life—but can she survive the harsh conditions? A daring plan to migrate the subterranean population to live above ground—in peace, is underway. Kaelyn’s fought her entire life for this, and she can’t allow herself to fall for Rayne. If she loses focus and something goes wrong, it could mean the end for all of them.

Months have passed since General Turner’s attack on Rapid City, and Dani’s group of resistance fighters are still grieving the loss of one of their own. Through tragedy and inner turmoil, Dani and Kate have finally found themselves on the same side of the war and fighting for control of the wasteland.

When the rumor of a traitor among Dani’s inner circle is revealed and information about the past threatens to completely derail Kate, it makes staying hidden from the general and Simon all but impossible.

With the help of an unexpected ally within the National Armed Forces, and a final showdown imminent, Dani and Kate must push past their grief and rely on each other more than ever if they have any chance of a future together.

Amara Rodriguez lives in a world divided.

When the Asenescence corporation discovers a cure for aging, the world splits in two. Old Bloods, who’ve taken the Remedy, live out their long lives in luxury within the corporate enclave of Hydra, while New Bloods live out their fleeting lives in poverty outside its borders.

Amara, a New Blood artist, doesn’t think much about politics. Not until her mother joins the ranks of New Blood women disappearing with alarming frequency. To find her mother, Amara must join the resistance movement as a spy.

The stakes rise even higher when she falls in love with stunning but sheltered Old Blood Stella, who happens to be her espionage target’s daughter. Even worse? Amara’s already in love. With her childhood best friend, Rake, a charming rogue from the streets she used to call home. 

Can Amara unravel the mysteries of the enclave, as well as her own heart?

Content advisory: Brief racism and body shaming by a non POV character

Princess Roseli has always known her duty as heir apparent to the Delphian throne was to marry, not for love, but to form political alliances. That doesn’t stop her from wishing she could marry her three lovers, General Tate, Senator Veritas, and Lady Swann. When her mother, the empress, informs her that she is to marry Princess Lucia, a Calliopean admiral, to secure a military treaty between their planets, her greatest concern is how this will change the delicate balance she has established with her lovers.
 
With a rapidly deteriorating political situation and war looming on the horizon, Princess Roseli has little choice but to learn to get along with her stubborn fiancée, especially if they are all to survive the escalating assassination attempts against them.

After leaving Earth’s orbit behind, the spaceship Velocity and its crew hurtle through the galaxy toward their alien ancestor’s homeworld, Dwynna Major. 

Trouble arises when Chief Engineer Claire Gordon’s neural interface device malfunctions, and she secretly struggles to retain the knowledge desperately needed to keep the Velocity running. Adding to her fear of failing, Claire’s falling in love with the only crew member that’s untouchable—Captain Holly Crowe.

Holly’s only priority is to keep the crew safe as they face the unknowns of interstellar space. Maintaining the strict rules and regulations of her captaincy is the only way she can lead, even if it distances her from the rest of the crew. When Claire’s failing interface puts them all in danger, however, Holly’s rigid approach to command is called into question.

Will Holly and Claire continue their mission to Dwynna Major even if it puts their lives and their hearts at risk?

When Holly Crowe, an outsider in Dennamore, learns of the extraordinary discovery of alien artifacts, she stuns the inner circle of the space mission set out to unlock their mysteries by claiming she is meant to be their captain.

Claire Gordon lives for fixing cars in her father’s workshop, hiking the Adirondacks, and reading science fiction, but it's not enough. Desperate to find meaning in her life, Claire stumbles upon the secret space mission and may have finally found her purpose.

As Holly and Claire work toward an uncertain future, only one thing is for certain--they will have to risk their lives and their hearts to discover the truth.

Easton Gray is sent from the future to prevent the end of the human race after nanotechnology spreads rapidly, leading to danger and disaster. As an operative for the Ministry of Discourse, Easton’s only goal is to eradicate the technology.

Dr. Tess Nolan is alone, except for the company of her rescue dog, Lou. It’s not until a stranger shows up in town and her life is turned upside down that she realizes the love she’s been missing. Easton is everything Tess didn’t know she wanted, but her warning bells are sounding. There’s something too convenient about Easton’s arrival.

Caught between her need to follow orders and her growing feelings for the beautiful doctor, Easton begins to question everything she knows, leading her on an investigation that will change not just her life, but the future as well. When forced to target Tess, can Easton do what’s needed to save humanity? Or will finally finding the one person who feels like home prove impossible to ignore?

What do you do when the whole world breaks?

Like when you make it through a plague with the woman you’ve loved for way more than half your septuagenarian life—only to watch her die, leaving you alone. And then, just weeks later, the world around you descends into relentless dark and cold.

Besieged, desolate Hester is too numb to know what to do. And even though she’s lucky to have the means to endure for quite a while, she’s tempted—really tempted—to just give it up. What, after all, is she enduring for?

But giving up will have to wait when she stumbles upon people who introduce her to the first rule of survival: Don’t try to go it alone if you don’t have to.

1885, East London

Abigail and Gideon are under siege. Noxious fogs have been bringing their clinic waves of indigent patients with inexplicable symptoms, telling wild tales of a demonic presence in the fog. If that’s not enough, someone wants the clinic for themselves, and they’re using the force of law to get it.

On the other side of town, heiress Meg Eisenstadt and her brother Nat live a life of well-intentioned aimless luxury. She dabbles in social justice causes and he pursues alchemy. And in a secret lab in the depths of Whitechapel, disgraced physician Jin Wylie attempts to rebuild his shattered life by performing dubious research for a shadowy cabal.

They live in separate worlds on different trajectories until the mysterious fiend in the fog brings them together.

Abigail and Meg discover a shared passion for social justice, and for one another. But where does that leave her plans with Gideon? And what of the future of the clinic? Gideon has his own monster. Can he keep it in check without Abigail’s constant presence? Does Dr. Wylie’s research hold the solution to Gideon’s problems, or is it the cause of them? And could Nat’s own dabblings be the key to defeating the vicious killer in the fog?

What is it about the sleepy town of Dennamore that causes an irresistible pull on those who’ve moved away?

LA cop Darian Tennen follows her all-consuming yearning back to Dennamore. Set on renovating her grandmother’s home, Darian needs the original blueprints and meets beautiful and aloof librarian Samantha Pike at the town hall.

A history buff with a keen interest in genealogy, Samantha has long researched mysterious discrepancies in Dennamore’s archives and census records, and together they begin to unravel centuries-old secrets that could affect not just their lives, but the world as they know it. Stumbling upon clues that don’t add up and supernatural accounts that can’t possibly be accurate, they’re forced to face their true identities and an ancient pact that must never be broken. 

What they uncover will change them forever, but the love they find along the way just might be the key to saving themselves.

Danielle Clark is done with the Resistance. After years of leading a relentless charge against the National Armed Forces, she has nothing left to give. Her brother Lucas in tow, Dani leaves the frontlines for the solitude of the wastelands, content to start a new life as a scavenger. Dani thought she’d finally found peace until the general’s daughter, Katelyn Turner, shows up on her doorstep and brings the fight right back to her.

Now Dani has to decide what to do about Kate, ranking member of the NAF, a once-sworn enemy…and a woman she can’t keep out of her head. The growing spark of attraction forces Dani into an impossible choice between her newfound life and Kate’s fate. She must act quickly or risk losing everything.

Jamis is still healing from her last adventure when she’s pulled into another dangerous mystery.  

There’s an inherited house in the middle of the Arizona desert and a strange spirit visiting the new owners at nighttime, repeating, “She knows.” There’s a living person creating mayhem. There’s a demon whispering in Jamis’s ear. Behind it all is a woman Jamis only glimpses in shadows. 

Somehow, it’s all connected to Jerome, Arizona, where Jamis witnessed a terrifying vision years before. Jamis is about to learn her path wasn’t arbitrary and the truth of her origins as a ghost hunter. But will she and her new relationship withstand the answers she finds?

Hannah Olsen just wanted to be an accountant. She met the girl of her dreams and was more than ready to settle in for an ordinary life. Then she found out she was the reincarnation of Thor. Suddenly, she’s thrown into a world of magic and intrigue, unexpected attraction, and a mystery she’s got to unravel. All she can count on are her friends and her partner, and perhaps her new crush. With their help, she just might be able to find her way in this new life, and maybe stop an evil plot along the way.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Norse mythology intrudes on a bubbly romance in this light adventure from McCluer. Hannah Olsen, an athletic, heavy drinking recent graduate of Portland State University, meets bombshell bartender Emily Johnson on a night out, and the pair soon start dating...Soon thereafter, two burly, armor-clad men accost Hannah and Emily, claiming the women are reincarnations of husband and wife Norse gods, Thor and Sif....Readers will come for the gender bending mythology and stay for the light romance."