Showing results by author "Annette Marie" in All Categories

Emi is the kamigakari. In a few short months, her life as a mortal will end, and her new existence as the human host of a goddess will begin. Carefully hidden from those who would destroy her, she has prepared her mind, body, and soul to unite with the goddess - and not once has she doubted her chosen fate.

When I found myself facing down the scariest black-magic felon in the city, practically daring him to abduct me, I had to wonder exactly how I ended up here. It all started when I accidentally landed a job as a bartender - but not at a bar. At a guild, populated by mages, sorcerers, alchemists, witches, and psychics. Good thing this lame-o human is adaptable, right? Then my favorite guild members - three sexy, powerful, and intermittently charming mages - asked for my help. Did they want access to my encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails? Oh no.

Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig. It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview - to see if I'd mesh with their "special" clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right? I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they...offered me the job?

I'm not your average girl. My best friend is my switchblade. My favorite hobby is using it on the cruel, the abusive, and anyone who gets on my bad side. I'm a convicted murderer with a chip on my shoulder and a dangerous lack of restraint. And then there's Zak. His rap sheet makes mine look tame. The bounty on his head is worth more money than I'll ever make, and the deadly fae that shadow his every step wield more power than I'll ever know. He's the Crystal Druid, and his first mistake was setting foot on my turf. His second was saving my life.

Emi has dedicated her life to preparing for her destiny: to become a living vessel for her goddess’s spirit. With the fulfillment of her divine duty only two months away, she’s never once questioned the strict rules that control every aspect of her daily existence. Until the day she discovers her entire life has been built on lies.

Annette Marie presents Book One in the Guild Codex: Warped series. Make sure to check out the companion series, The Guild Codex: Spellbound and The Guild Codex: Demonized, available now.

Clio isn't a thief. She isn't a spy, a soldier, or a diplomat. Aside from her rare ability to mimic spells, her only notable talent is gardening. But with a war threatening her homeland, and her half-brother—the nymph prince—pleading for her help, she agrees to attempt the impossible: stealing deadly magic from the best spell weavers in the three realms. Their stronghold is located deep in the Underworld, which is exactly the sort of place an Overworld nymph like her should never go. Getting in won't be that hard. Getting out alive is the impossible part.

When I arrived at my uncle's house, I expected my relatives to be like me - outcast sorcerers who don't practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else. Rule two: Don't listen to the demon. My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I'm supposed to act like I don't know how illegal and dangerous it is. Rule three: Don't talk to the demon. All I had to do was keep my nose out of it.

I've said it before, but sometimes I'm a bad person. I cheated on my 12th-grade math final, I've run countless yellow lights, and I gossip about how hot my kickass best friends are. (Good thing my job as a guild bartender doesn't require moral perfection.) But there's bad, and then there's bad. And I'm not sure which applies to a certain dark druid/wanted criminal/reluctant friend of mine. His transgressions include black-magic dealings, kidnapping, and murder, and he's about to add "revenge-fueled killing spree" to his resume - if I don't stop him. Should I stop him?

When Clio conned her way into the Underworld, her job was to steal magic that could protect her homeland. Instead, she escaped with the rebellious son of a notorious spell weaver family. And in the process, she exposed his most calamitous spell. Now she and Lyre are in a race to recover his spell before his family catches up to them. Their only hope is to escape to the Overworld, and as an Underworlder on enemy ground, Lyre will have no choice but to trust Clio with his survival. But can she trust him when his seduction magic has the power to erase her will?

I'm learning to embrace who and what I am, but there's one thing I can't face: the night Zak betrayed me. But even with the mysteries of our shared past hanging between us, I can't turn Zak away when he asks for my help.

I'm bound to a demon. For my entire life, I avoided magic at all costs. Now, I'm responsible for a demon who wields magic more powerful than the toughest mage or sorcerer. Demons are evil. That's what my textbooks say. That's what I see. He's ruthless, he's temperamental, he's cold. But he protects me without fail. I wonder if he's hiding a heart behind his hostility. My demon is a monster.

I promised to avenge my parents. But their killer is still on the loose, and he's stolen more than my parents' lives. Now, as he draws closer to his mysterious goals, he's poised to destroy what little I have left. I promised to translate an ancient grimoire. But it holds the secrets of my family - and the secret history of demon summoning. I fear its answers as much as I need them. Who was the foremother of Demonica...and who am I?

In the mesmerizing sequel to Red Winter, Emi can no longer hide within the safety of the shrines. The goddess has charged her with a new task, one that will take her deep into the perilous realm of yokai. Shiro is her guide and protector, yet his confusing, captivating allure is a danger of its own. With the fate of the world in her mortal hands, she cannot falter, but is she strong enough to sacrifice everything - including him?

As a guild bartender, I can handle pretty much anything - mages, sorcerers, witches, the occasional demon. But show me anything family-related and I'd rather run for the hills. It doesn't even have to be my family. So I have no idea why I thought spending the holidays with Aaron's mom and pop was a good idea. Meeting his famous parents is already terrifying enough, but I've got a bigger problem. Students of his family's renowned mage academy are being attacked on the grounds - and somehow no one has seen a single assailant?

The weirdness level of my life has reached an all-time high. Which is saying something, considering I started out as a psychic conman and somehow ended up as a MagiPol agent. And not just any agent. Lately, I've been Captain Blythe's right-hand man and most trusted confidant.

Now in the pantheon of great thinkers, Simone Weil (1909–1943) lived largely in the shadows, searching for her spiritual home while bearing witness to the violence that devastated Europe twice in her brief lifetime. The letters she wrote to her parents and brother from childhood onward chart her intellectual range as well as her itinerancy and ever-shifting preoccupations, revealing the singular personality at the heart of her brilliant essays. The first complete collection of Weil's missives to her family, A Life in Letters offers new insight into her personal relationships and experiences.

Agent Kit Morris. Has a nice ring, doesn't it? It's a big step up from "wanted criminal" or "that weird con-artist guy with weirder psychic powers", both of which recently applied to me. But my promotion to MagiPol agent comes with a few drawbacks. First, supremely talented and effortlessly gorgeous Agent Lienna Shen won't agree to a dinner date with me. Second, my new assignment has pitted me against a guild with very bad taste in pets. Third, those pets are demons, and those demons want to kill me.

I thought I was a useless witch whose only weapons were a switchblade and a mean disposition. I thought Zak was a rogue druid with waning power and an alluring aura that's impossible for me to resist. And I thought my fae familiar was a harmless shape-shifter who chose me because I'm "mildly interesting". But nothing is what I thought. Nothing is what it seems. Including me. I need answers, and I need them fast - before I sink any deeper in the quagmire of secrets I've fallen into. The Crystal Druid's. The Winter King's. And my own.

Three months ago, I landed a job as a bartender. But not at a bar-at a guild. Yeah, the magic kind. I'm not a badass mage like my three smokin' hot best friends. I'm not a sorcerer or an alchemist, or even a wussy witch. I'm just a human, slinging drinks like a pro and keeping my non-magical nose out of mythic business. Seriously, I know my limits. So why am I currently standing in a black-magic ritual circle across from a fae lord? Somewhere behind me, my three mage friends are battling for their lives.