Books
NEW RELEASE
Kristen Simmons's masterful breakout horror novel that's "Jumanji but Japanese-inspired" (Kendare Blake) about estranged friends playing a deadly game in a nightmarish folkloric underworld.
“Intense.” —Kendare Blake “Unforgettable.” —Margaret Rogerson “Bone-chilling.” —Lauren Shippen “Twisted.” —Lish McBride “Won't let me sleep!” —Chelsea Mueller
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Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived.
Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors—Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax—have reunited for one strange and terrible reason: they’ve been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead.
Together they return to the place where their friendship ended with one goal: find Ian and bring him home. So they restart the deadly game they never finished—an innocent card-matching challenge called Meido. A game without instructions.
As soon as they begin, they're dragged out of their reality and into an eerie hellscape of Japanese underworlds, more horrifying than even the darkest folktales that Owen's grandmother told him. There, they meet Shinigami, an old wise woman who explains the rules:
They have one night to complete seven challenges or they'll all be stuck in this world forever.
Once inseparable, the survivors now can’t stand each other, but the challenges demand they work together, think quickly, and make sacrifices—blood, clothes, secrets, memories, and worse.
And once again, not everyone will make it out alive.
VALE HALL series
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Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists.
When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is her chance to start over, away from her mom’s loser boyfriend and her rundown neighborhood. But she soon learns that Vale chooses students not so much for their scholastic talent as for their extracurricular activities, such as her time spent conning rich North Shore kids out of their extravagant allowances.
At first, Brynn jumps at the chance to help the school in its mission to rid the city of corrupt officials―because what could be better than giving entitled jerks what they deserve? But that’s before she meets her mark―a senator’s son―and before she discovers the school’s headmaster has secrets he’ll stop at nothing to protect. As the lines between right and wrong blur, Brynn begins to realize she’s in way over head.
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The stakes are higher. The cons are riskier. And nothing is what you think it is.
Brynn Hilder is living a life she never dreamed possible: She lives in a mansion, getting a top-rate education at Vale Hall. She has friends and an almost-boyfriend. Anything she wants, she can have.
The only catch? To stay in this life, she has to help the director of Vale Hall take down the bad guys of Sikawa City by collecting secrets and running cons.
Getting everything she wants and fighting evil doesn’t seem like such a bad deal. The thing is, she’s not so convinced anymore that Dr. Odin is really going after bad people after all. And the friends and almost-boyfriend that have made her life so different are all liars and con artists―so can she trust that any of it is real?
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Brynn Hilder has conned a lot of people. From the spoiled rich kids of Sikawa City to her mom's loser ex-boyfriend, from a motorcycle gang to a senator's son. If there was money to be gained, or a secret to uncover, she figured out how to get it done. And thanks to Vale Hall and its director, Dr. David Odin, she's found a family of hustlers just like her.
Together, Brynn and her friends have overcome doubt, deceit, and betrayal to unearth the truth--a truth even a group of professional scammers couldn't have predicted.
And now they must tackle the biggest con artist of them all: the man who brought them all together.
ARTICLE 5 series
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The Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police-instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior-instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings...the only boy Ember has ever loved.
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Kristen Simmons' fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series continues in Breaking Point.
After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.
Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance―an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper's true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….
Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.
Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can't even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and "laying low" is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.
With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?
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Kristen Simmons' fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series continues in Three.
Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are ready to stop running. After weeks spent in hiding as two of the Bureau of Reformation's most wanted criminals, they have finally arrived at the safe house, where they hope to live a safe and quiet existence.
And all that's left is smoking ruins.
Devastated by the demolition of their last hope, Ember and Chase follow the only thing left to them―tracks leading away from the wreckage. The only sign that there may have been survivors.
With their high profile, they know they can't stay out in the open for long. They take shelter in the wilderness and amidst the ruins of abandoned cities as they follow the tracks down the coast, eventually finding refugees from the destroyed safe house. Among them is someone from Chase's past―someone he never thought he'd see again.
Banding together, they search for a place to hide, aiming for a settlement a few of them have heard about…a settlement that is rumored to house the nebulous organization known as Three. The very group that has provided Ember with a tiny ray of hope ever since she was first forced on the run.
Three is responsible for the huge network of underground safe houses and resistance groups across the country. And they may offer Ember her only chance at telling the world her story.
At fighting back.
SET FIRE duology
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Ash is descended from a long line of gladiators, and she knows the brutal nature of war firsthand. But after her mother dies in an arena, she vows to avenge her by overthrowing her fire god, whose temper has stripped her country of its resources.
Madoc grew up fighting on the streets to pay his family’s taxes. But he hides a dangerous secret: he doesn’t have the earth god’s powers like his opponents. His elemental gift is something else—something that hasn’t been seen in centuries.
When an attempted revenge plot goes dangerously wrong, Ash inadvertently throws the fire and earth gods into a conflict that can only be settled by deadly, lavish gladiator games, throwing Madoc in Ash’s path. She realizes that his powers are the weapon her rebellion needs—but Madoc won’t jeopardize his family, regardless of how intrigued he is by the beautiful warrior.
But when the gods force Madoc’s hand, he and Ash uncover an ancient war that will threaten more than one immortal—it will unravel the world.
AMAZON | B&N | HARPER COLLINS
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Two gods are dead. The Mother Goddess has returned. War is rising.
Fleeing the ruins of Deimos, Ash and Madoc sail across the ocean toward their only possible allies: the water and plant gods. But when Anathrasa attacks on the way, Ash leaps to the defense—by using a power she didn’t know she had.
When Madoc made the fire and earth gods mortal, he inadvertently transferred their magic to Ash. Now, if Ash can get energeias from the other four gods, she will be powerful enough to end Anathrasa once and for all.
But not all the gods want the Mother Goddess defeated. To stop her, Madoc will have to become the obedient son his mother always wanted, and Ash will have to take a merciless place among the gods.
To defeat an immortal, Ash and Madoc must fight like gods—even if it means sacrificing their humanity.
AMAZON | B&N | HARPER COLLINS
YA STAND-ALONES
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Once there was a time when men and women lived as equals, when girl babies were valued, and women could belong only to themselves. But that was ten generations ago. Now women are property, to be sold and owned and bred, while a strict census keeps their numbers manageable and under control. The best any girl can hope for is to end up as some man's forever wife, but most are simply sold and resold until they're all used up.
Only in the wilderness, away from the city, can true freedom be found. Aya has spent her whole life in the mountains, looking out for her family and hiding from the world, until the day the Trackers finally catch her.
Stolen from her home, and being groomed for auction, Aya is desperate to escape her fate and return to her family, but her only allies are a loyal wolf she's raised from a pup and a strange mute boy who may be her best hope for freedom . . . if she can truly trust him.
The Glass Arrow is a haunting, yet hopeful, new novel from Kristen Simmons, the author of the popular Article 5 trilogy.
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The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does.
Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right.
In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.
An enthralling story of friendship and rebellion, Metaltown will have you believing in the power of hope.
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Blue skies. Green grass. Clear ocean water. An island paradise like the ones that existed before the Melt.
A lucky five hundred lottery winners will be the first to go, the first to leave their polluted, dilapidated homes behind and start a new life. It sounds perfect. Like a dream.
The only problem? Marin Carey spent her childhood on those seas and knows there’s no island paradise out there. She’s corsario royalty, a pirate like her father and his father before him, and she knows a con when she sees one. So where are the First Five Hundred really going?
The Masseuse Series
***FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY—NOT YOUNG ADULT***
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The first in a thrilling, erotic series about a woman whose touch brings even the strongest men to their knees.
Anna Rossi lives in the moment. She doesn’t get attached. She doesn’t stay anywhere longer than she has to. But when she gets the call that Maxim Stein, owner of the billion-dollar Force Aviation needs a masseuse, she knows she needs to stick around Tampa a little longer. Working on Maxim will earn her enough to live the life of her dreams. There’s just one problem—the undeniable attraction she feels for Maxim’s hot-as-sin bodyguard.
Alec Flynn’s job is simple: protect his boss and Force Aviation’s assets at all times. But his life is complicated when his work for Maxim endangers Anna, the beautiful new masseuse. He wants her more than he’s wanted anything—wants her skillful hands on his body alone—but taking her for himself may put both of them in danger.
Anna’s passion ignites a hunger Alec’s never known, but when she discovers a secret his boss will do anything to keep hidden, it will throw them both into a fight for their lives.
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The author who brought you the tense, erotic thriller, The Masseuse, returns with a second sensual installment.
Anna has been without Alec for three long months—time she’s used to recover from the trauma of Maxim Stein’s nearly fatal attack, and take strides toward becoming the woman she’s always dreamed she could be. But her desire for Alec hasn’t lessened in the slightest, and every night of his absence she’s dreamed of acting out her every fantasy on him when he returns.
Alec’s desire for Anna has only grown in their time apart, and when they’re reconnected the chemistry is hot enough to burn their city to the ground. But danger follows Alec, and getting close to Anna threatens her life—a life he’s vowed to protect—once again.
With Maxim Stein’s hitmen seeking vengeance, and the FBI pushing Alec for what he knows about Force Aviation’s illegal activities, Anna and Alec are pushed to the limit, and not even their desperation for one another may be enough to keep them together.
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The author of The Masseuse returns with another erotic story, and the tension is about to snap...
Anna knows she did the right thing leaving Alec—there was no other way to keep the dangerous men after him from coming for her friends and family, even if it broke her heart and did nothing to silence her scalding desire. But even distance can’t protect her when Maxim Stein makes one final attempt on her life.
Alec has tried to respect Anna’s wishes. The secrets he has about Maxim and Force Aviation could end this nightmare once and for all. But he’s never stopped loving her, or longing for her soft body against his. Her safety is more important than his desire, so he keeps his distance, until his worst fears come true.
Maxim has Anna, and getting her back may cost them everything.
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The author of thrilling Masseuse series returns for a final erotic installment, following the best friends who’ve been waiting to fall in love…
Amy has kept her distance from men after her sleazy ex took everything from her—everything but her daughter, Paisley, whom Amy would do anything to protect. She's learned how to keep her guard up, but it's getting harder and harder to do that around Mike, whose penetrating gaze leaves her speechless, and her body aching for his touch.
Mike is unlike any man Amy has ever met. He's patient, kind, a loving father, and somehow, into her. Still, Amy makes it clear that she has no intention of the two of them being more than friends. But when threats from her past put Paisley in danger, Amy finds that more with Mike might just save her life…and her heart
The Talent Trilogy
***FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY—NOT YOUNG ADULT***
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The author of The Masseuse series returns with a new erotic story of forbidden love between a woman on the run, and the man hunting her.
Marsella Talent has rules for survival: don’t make friends, don’t stop moving, and above all else, don’t tell anyone who you are. She has her father to thank for that. Two years ago, he gave her a journal—one she didn’t realize was full of illegal information about his crimes—and told her to run. Now, both the cops and dangerous men who worked for him are after her, and looking back may cost her everything.
Jake has rules, too. Find Marsella. Get the journal. And don’t, under any circumstances, let the beautiful woman who cost him his place in the Talent syndicate get under his skin. His life has been hell since the sting targeting her dad, but if Jake can retrieve that journal, he can earn his place back in the operation.
But instead of finding Marsella, Jake finds Cassie, a woman who looks just like her. Carefully, he pushes through her secrets, earning her trust bit by bit. But the closer they get, the more the passion between them intensifies, and he knows he can’t walk away.
She might have the journal, but he has her heart.
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The author of FORSAKEN returns with the next installment of the Talent Trilogy—a steamy tale of a woman who wears her heart on her sleeve, and the man who’d do anything to keep her safe…
Cole Talent may be the brilliant, sexy, owner of Reno’s hottest restaurant, Rare, but behind closed doors his life’s a mess. His father’s arrest tore their family apart, and his sisters, Marsella and Elaina, have disappeared. Desperate for information, Cole journeys to a small town in Ohio where he’s tracked Marsella, but instead of answers, he finds the gorgeous, quick-witted MacKenzie Sharp.
Kenzie’s life has been anything but simple since Marsella Talent set foot into Flapjacks Diner, and when her brother, Cole, follows, Kenzie knows she’s in trouble. He may be the perfect man on paper, but danger has followed him, and in a matter of days the restaurant she’s poured her heart and soul into is overtaken by dangerous men.
Forced to flee, Cole and Kenzie race to Las Vegas to blend in, and in hiding, ignite an unquenchable passion. But they can’t outrun the Talent organization forever, and with Kenzie’s life on the line Cole must choose between family, and the woman he’s come to love.
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The Talent Trilogy returns with its final erotic installment—the story of a woman walking a very dangerous line, and the man who can’t resist her…
With her dad in jail, Elaina Talent is now the leader of her father’s crime syndicate, but it’s come with a price. There is no one she can trust, no one she can turn to for support. And when tensions rise between the Talent Organization and a Las Vegas based drug lord, Elaina narrowly escapes with her life.
Though Garrett Sharp has been in love with Marsella Talent as long as he’s known her, the ex-army medic knows she’ll never be his. But when her sister Elaina shows up in town, injured and frightened, he has no choice to take her in—for Marsella’s sake. Aware of the danger that surrounds Elaina, Garrett keep a cautious distance, but the longer he cares for her, the more he realizes she may not be the woman he thought he knew. And though he loves Marsella, the intensity of his need for Elaina has him rethinking everything he once believed.
As Elaina is forced to confront the Talent Organization, Garrett must make a choice—the friend he’d do anything to protect, or the woman he can’t live without.