dystopia
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The Crossing Gate (A Waltz of Sin and Fire Series: Book 1) by Asiel R. Lavie
She can’t grow up. Literally.
In the kingdom of Elpax, juveniles must walk through the mysterious Crossing Gate to become adults—and seventeen-year-old Lenora is determined that her third attempt at crossing to adulthood will be successful. Even though adulthood means facing horrible realities, such as sin-spots appearing on her body whenever she commits a sin, it also means being able to have a job. And Lenora needs to work to support her struggling family.
But Lenora’s Crossing Day goes horribly wrong.Accused of trying to start a revolution, Lenora must obey the kingdom’s laws to the letter if she wants to take suspicion off herself. But following the rules isn’t as easy as it sounds. Especially when she meets a mysterious and handsome stranger who makes her feel emotions she’s never experienced before—even though juveniles in Elpax aren’t supposed to be capable of falling in love.
With the long arm of the law looming over her and her family, Lenora must walk a tightrope between following the rules and investigating why she’s unable to cross. Not to mention discovering where her new adult emotions are coming from. But as Lenora uncovers more of Elpax’s terrible secrets, she realizes that fighting the system might be the only way to save her family, her country, and her first love.
The first in an epic series perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen and Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, The Crossing Gate combines the tropes of classic YA dystopia with a Greek-inspired setting and fantasy elements that will whisk readers away on a journey like no other.
Containment Zone by R. A. Seckler
October 12, 2021.
That was the day Death ceased her collection of souls.
Instead of claiming people on the day of their death, human beings are doomed to remain trapped inside their decaying bodies until a sliver of the brain dubbed the ‘soul region’ rots away. When the government’s only solution is to set up Containment Zones in each state to handle the burgeoning undead demographic, what were intended to be peaceful, country club settings for the deceased quickly fill above and beyond capacity, to the point that each Containment Zone more closely resembles a third world slum. Slums filled with our dead and decaying loved ones…
Parker Wallace May wasn’t ready to die, but when one inhales too much smoke from a house fire, that’s exactly what tends to happen. He never imagined ending up in a Containment Zone at his age, and definitely never imagined his living wife would abandon him and never return his calls. But when Parker receives news from the outside that his wife is getting remarried, Parker sets out to do the one thing no one has ever done before…break out of the Containment Zone…
To do this, Parker goes to work for a ruthless undead mobster smuggling in and selling an illegal drug called Phanex that reacts with the soul region of the dead’s brain, giving them a taste of the life they once had but exacerbating their decay with each use…
Can Parker escape the Containment Zone and get back to his wife? Or will Parker succumb to the alluring qualities of Phanex, planting the seeds of his own demise in the process…
Mindgames by Jasmine Gold
In this erotic romance set in a dystopian future, healer Gabriel’s attempt to convince slavegirl Mariah to trust him goes too far, endangering his life, his freedom, and his sanity. Mariah can save him from the despair that envelopes him only if she can find the strength to trust herself.
Gabriel, on a mission of mercy, is horrified by what he finds when he arrives in Riviera, a land far from his home. So-called “humans,” bored and decadent, amuse themselves with the senseless torture of their slaves. Yet Gabriel finds unexpected friends. An artist named Animal, who notices everything except Rose, his slavegirl. And Mariah, a slave foisted on Gabriel when he unwittingly prevents her from escaping.
Mariah knows that Master Gabriel’s talk of a different way of life, in which slavery does not exist, is merely the latest and cruelest of the mindgames that humans have used her whole life to toy with her. She must play along, but actually believing in it would bring disaster to her and to everyone she cares about.
Mindgames is about love, and friendship, and the potential for redemption. It is about how one person can change the world, or be destroyed by it.
Reviewers online call Mindgames “absolutely amazing. The perfect balance of substance and sex and never a dull moment.” “Simply magnificent.” The writer “proves that writing is an art form that possesses the ability to transfix and transform the reader to faraway lands.” “I LOVE this story, and I think about it all the time.”
The Orphan’s Secret by RJ Francis
In this romantic, highly-rated adventure from New Zealand, a trio of teens must unravel the deepest secrets of their kingdom’s court in time to stop a war.
When a bitter evil threatens to destroy the kingdom of Arra, a nineteen-year-old farm girl, the orphan Elaina, finds her life entangled with that of the prince. Through her adventures in the royal court, Elaina learns who she truly is, what happened to her parents, and why the king himself is afraid of her. She also learns that only she can save the region from disaster.
AVERIE: Before Raging Rulers by Mercedes Shepherd
After a great disaster, everyone grows a brain full of air.
And to the ones who think right, the world is truly unfair.
This time, the story leads us through the mind of Farian, the newest Ruler of Realm 3. But as Averie unveils the truth behind his plan, she realizes that calamity between the Realms may actually exist. Someone out there is up to no good, and it’s up to Averie and Farian to figure out who, and why.
The Heart of Hannen: Book I in The Atriian Trilogy by Fawn Bonning
* Awarded Runner-Up in romance – 2014 New York Book Festival
An epic tale of dark fantasy, erotic romance, and horror.
Christine is a troubled teen with a dark past. She is miserable in her small town where she feels destined to live her life as an outcast.
She has no idea that her true destiny lies in a different town . . . and in a different world, a most brutal world called Atriia. There she will learn the true meaning of misery, the true meaning of loneliness and shame.
And in the arms of a most unlikely candidate, she will also learn the true meaning of love.
He is Hannen Fallier, the one they call the foul fraigen dropper, revered by men for his fearless feats, yet looked upon by women with open disdain. With a face horribly mauled, he hides behind a mask of shame, deeming himself unworthy of love.
That he would seek acceptance from Christine is irony in its purest form. That he would seek her love . . . the ultimate betrayal.
**Mature subject matter**
**Warning – Enter Atriia at your own risk, but beware, it is not for the faint of heart. If you do decide to brave your way within, you will need the aid of the dictionary located at the back of the book.
Passion’s Sacred Dance by Juli D. Revezzo
Unless Stacy Macken can stave off her creditors, she may lose her historic art gallery–a loss she can’t afford for, she suspects, more reason than one. Then Aaron Fielding appears, claiming to be a Tuatha dé Danaan warrior dedicated to protecting humanity from demonic monsters and that her land is their sacred battlefield. Confirming everything she feared. Stacy and Aaron must work together to ensure mankind survives, but their mutual attraction only complicates things.
