Young adult

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    Some of my favorite reads of 2025 …

    Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
    The Serpent and the Wolf
    Little White Lies

    I can’t believe we’re almost to the end of 2025. Where has the year gone?! It seems like January was just last week. Here are some of my favorite read this year: 

    • Emily’s Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: This is the first book in the Emily Wilde cozy fantasy series about a professor who researches faeries. Emily is a delightfully smart and grumpy heroine, and the descriptions of the faeries are both lovely and frightening. 
    • The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson: After her mother’s death, Vaasa inherited a dark magic that is slowly killing her. In order to learn to control her dangerous new power, Vaasa forges an alliance with an enemy ruler, but devious villains threaten everything they are fighting to protect. This is the first book in the Dark Inheritance romantasy series.
    • Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: When eighteen-year-old Sawyer is offered a contract by her wealthy grandmother to participate in debutante season, she accepts the deal to learn more about her family, including who her father is. This is the first book in the Debutantesseries, and it’s a twisty young-adult mystery with lots of family secrets.

    What were some of your favorite reads of 2025?

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    My favorite reads of 2024 …

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: What were your favorite reads this year?

    Dungeons and Drama book cover with a young couple and pink backgroundAnswer: I read more than 30 books this year, which was my goal. Woot! Here are some of my favorite reads this year:

    • Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce is a young adult romance about a girl who is forced to work at her dad’s game store and agrees to fake date a co-worker. This book/story is like a giant love letter to Dungeons & Dragons gaming and game/comic book shops. Boyce has another gaming-themed book, Dating and Dragons, coming out later in December.
    • The Spider Heist by Jason Kasper focuses on a former FBI agent who gets tangled up in a complicated heist. I love, love, love books about thieves/heists, and this one was really fast-paced and fun.
    • Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland is an epic fantasy about five people who join forces to try to kill a king and end up caring about each other more than they ever expected. Four Ruined Realms, book #2, will be out in January.

    What were some of your favorite reads this year?

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    Spider and Frost crossover novella available …

    Spider and Frost, an Elemental Assassin and Mythos Academy crossover novella, has been released. Woot!

    Spider and Frost is a 28,000-word crossover novella that features the first-person points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost. Readers have been asking me for crossover stories for years, and this was a lot of fun for me to write. 😎 

    Spider and Frost cover artGET THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    ABOUT THE PRINT BOOK:

    There will not be an individual print book for Spider and Frost, given its short length. However, the novella will be included in the print books of Stings and Stones, the Elemental Assassin short story collection that will be out on Nov. 28:

    Stings and Stones cover art with woman holding knives standing in front of a Ferris wheelGET THE STINGS AND STONES PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org

    Booksellers and librarians can order print copies through IngramSpark

    ABOUT THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Spider and Frost is not available as an audiobook at this time, so if you want to read the novella right now, you will have to get the ebook. If an audiobook becomes available, I will let everyone know. Thanks for reading!

    SPIDER AND FROST DESCRIPTION:

    New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep delivers an epic team-up featuring beloved characters from her Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and her Mythos Academy young adult series. This crossover novella, Spider and Frost, mixes magic and mythology in an action-packed adventure. Perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Rick Riordan.

    WHEN AN ASSASSIN . . .
    My name is Gin Blanco, and I’m on vacation. Sort of. As the assassin the Spider, it’s hard for me to completely relax, but I’m determined to enjoy a scenic train ride and a nice, quiet lunch before heading back home to Ashland.

    My plans change when Gwen Frost boards the train. The girl says she’s heading back to Mythos Academy, the fancy private boarding school, but I can’t shake the feeling that Gwen is hiding something—and is in far more trouble than she realizes.

    . . . MEETS A CHAMPION
    My name is Gwen Frost. I might have saved the world from Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos, but I’m still chasing down Reaper villains. It’s all part of being the Champion of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

    I’ve been assigned to protect some mythological artifacts that are being transported via train to Mythos Academy, but some Reapers are hot on my trail, and they’ll do anything to recover the artifacts—and kill me.

    Also on the train is Gin Blanco, who claims to be the owner of the Pork Pit barbecue restaurant. My psychometry magic keeps whispering that there’s more to her than meets the eye, although I can’t tell if Gin is a friend, an enemy, or something else entirely.

    Note: Spider and Frostis a 28,000-word crossover novella between the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and the Mythos Academy young adult series. It is told from the points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost.

    Spider and Frost takes place after the events of Last Strand, book 19 in the Elemental Assassin series.

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    Read it now — Spider and Frost crossover novella released …

    Spider and Frost, an Elemental Assassin and Mythos Academy crossover novella, has been released today, Sept. 26. Woot!

    Spider and Frost is a 28,000-word crossover novella that features the first-person points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost. Readers have been asking me for crossover stories for years, and this was a lot of fun for me to write. 😎 

    Spider and Frost cover artGET THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    ABOUT THE PRINT BOOK:

    There will not be an individual print book for Spider and Frost, given its short length. However, the novella will be included in the print books of Stings and Stones, the Elemental Assassin short story collection that will be out on Nov. 28:

    Stings and Stones cover art with woman holding knives standing in front of a Ferris wheelGET THE STINGS AND STONES PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org

    Booksellers and librarians can order print copies through IngramSpark

    ABOUT THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Spider and Frost will not be available as an audiobook at this time, so if you want to read the novella right now, you will have to get the ebook. If an audiobook becomes available, I will let everyone know. Thanks for reading!

    SPIDER AND FROST DESCRIPTION:

    New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep delivers an epic team-up featuring beloved characters from her Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and her Mythos Academy young adult series. This crossover novella, Spider and Frost, mixes magic and mythology in an action-packed adventure. Perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Rick Riordan.

    WHEN AN ASSASSIN . . .
    My name is Gin Blanco, and I’m on vacation. Sort of. As the assassin the Spider, it’s hard for me to completely relax, but I’m determined to enjoy a scenic train ride and a nice, quiet lunch before heading back home to Ashland.

    My plans change when Gwen Frost boards the train. The girl says she’s heading back to Mythos Academy, the fancy private boarding school, but I can’t shake the feeling that Gwen is hiding something—and is in far more trouble than she realizes.

    . . . MEETS A CHAMPION
    My name is Gwen Frost. I might have saved the world from Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos, but I’m still chasing down Reaper villains. It’s all part of being the Champion of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

    I’ve been assigned to protect some mythological artifacts that are being transported via train to Mythos Academy, but some Reapers are hot on my trail, and they’ll do anything to recover the artifacts—and kill me.

    Also on the train is Gin Blanco, who claims to be the owner of the Pork Pit barbecue restaurant. My psychometry magic keeps whispering that there’s more to her than meets the eye, although I can’t tell if Gin is a friend, an enemy, or something else entirely.

    Note: Spider and Frostis a 28,000-word crossover novella between the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and the Mythos Academy young adult series. It is told from the points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost.

    Spider and Frost takes place after the events of Last Strand, book 19 in the Elemental Assassin series.

  • · ·

    Spider and Frost crossover novella set for Sept. 26 …

    Spider and Frost, an Elemental Assassin and Mythos Academy crossover novella, will be released Sept. 26. Woot!

    Spider and Frost is a 28,000-word crossover novella that features the first-person points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost. Readers have been asking me for crossover stories for years, and this was a lot of fun for me to write. 😎 

    Spider and Frost cover artGET THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    ABOUT THE PRINT BOOK:

    There will not be an individual print book for Spider and Frost, given its short length. However, the novella will be included in the print books of Stings and Stones, the Elemental Assassin short story collection that will be out on Nov. 28:

    Stings and Stones cover art with woman holding knives standing in front of a Ferris wheelGET THE STINGS AND STONES PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org

    Booksellers and librarians can order print copies through IngramSpark

    ABOUT THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Spider and Frost will not be available as an audiobook at this time, so if you want to read the novella as soon as it comes out, you will have to get the ebook. If an audiobook becomes available, I will let everyone know. Thanks for reading!

    SPIDER AND FROST DESCRIPTION:

    New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep delivers an epic team-up featuring beloved characters from her Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and her Mythos Academy young adult series. This crossover novella, Spider and Frost, mixes magic and mythology in an action-packed adventure. Perfect for fans of Ilona Andrews, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Rick Riordan.

    WHEN AN ASSASSIN . . .
    My name is Gin Blanco, and I’m on vacation. Sort of. As the assassin the Spider, it’s hard for me to completely relax, but I’m determined to enjoy a scenic train ride and a nice, quiet lunch before heading back home to Ashland.

    My plans change when Gwen Frost boards the train. The girl says she’s heading back to Mythos Academy, the fancy private boarding school, but I can’t shake the feeling that Gwen is hiding something—and is in far more trouble than she realizes.

    . . . MEETS A CHAMPION
    My name is Gwen Frost. I might have saved the world from Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos, but I’m still chasing down Reaper villains. It’s all part of being the Champion of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

    I’ve been assigned to protect some mythological artifacts that are being transported via train to Mythos Academy, but some Reapers are hot on my trail, and they’ll do anything to recover the artifacts—and kill me.

    Also on the train is Gin Blanco, who claims to be the owner of the Pork Pit barbecue restaurant. My psychometry magic keeps whispering that there’s more to her than meets the eye, although I can’t tell if Gin is a friend, an enemy, or something else entirely.

    Note: Spider and Frostis a 28,000-word crossover novella between the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series and the Mythos Academy young adult series. It is told from the points of view of Gin Blanco and Gwen Frost.

    Spider and Frost takes place after the events of Last Strand, book 19 in the Elemental Assassin series.