The Ward Witch

Mysterious, magical, and a little bit deadly… Welcome to Unholy Island. Esme Gray runs the guest house and tends to the ethereal wards that protect the island. She’s sheltering from a terrible past and will do anything to stay safely hidden. Luke Taylor has been searching for his missing twin for months, but has begun to believe that his brother might be dead. With his hope in tatters, a tip off leads him to a remote tidal island in the North Sea. It’s further out than the famous Holy Island, and far stranger. Visitors shouldn’t be able to stay for more than two nights, so when Luke breaks this rule, the close-knit community is sent into turmoil. The residents of Unholy Island have secrets and they intend to keep them. When Luke stumbles across one of the islanders dead on the shore, he finds himself under suspicion, made worse by his own troubles washing up on the tide. Esme is drawn to Luke, but she doesn’t trust her own instincts. That’s not ideal for a witch — especially when there is a killer on the loose and a storm is rolling in… The Ward Witch is the first book in a brand new contemporary fantasy series from the bestselling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter. *The Ward Witch is set in the same world as the urban fantasy mystery books, Crow Investigations, but it is the start of a separate series and can be enjoyed independently. Praise for the Crow Investigations Series: 'I'm a huge fan!' Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels 'My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!' Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled 'The Lydia Crow books are a firm favourite of mine, combining intriguing crime fiction with a hint of other-worldly mysticism. The characters are brilliantly drawn, and Sarah Painter cleverly makes them believable despite them having magical powers - or even being dead. With just enough comedy to make the dark bits even darker, and the perfect amount of mystery, these books are a wonderful read.' Kerry Barrett

When you are ready, seek and you shall find. It is your gift. Gwen Harper left Pendleford thirteen years ago and hasn’t looked back. Until an inheritance throws her into the mystical world she thought she’d escaped. Confronted with her great-aunt’s legacy, Gwen must finally face up to her past.

For this witch, surviving Halloween will be the death of me Seriously, being seventeen is difficult enough. I don’t need a pretentious angel telling me to be good and an arrogant demon trying to convince me to be bad whenever it suits them. To make matters worse Mason, the annoying human who just landed me in a heap of trouble, just won’t go away. Of all nights he wants to be chivalrous he picks tonight. To get to the witching ceremony I might just have to be bad for good reasons. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

Skylar Kincaid liked her life just the way it was before the accident. When her brother Selby crashed his car, she met a handsome stranger who offered her help, but at a price. Dr. Leo Ward would do plastic surgery on her brother and take care of him until he was fit again. But in return, Skylar had to acknowledge that she is a witch, a fact she's run from for all of her life, and she has to go into training to be safe with her magic. But when the handsome helper starts talking about magical connections making romantic bonds between witches, Skylar knows her life will never be the same.

The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at 21 she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town as a favour to one of the agency’s associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes. Soon Savannah is in over her head. She’s run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker, and freaked out when the brother of one of the dead women is murdered when he tries to investigate the crime. To complicate things, something weird is happening to her powers. Pitted against shamans, demons, a voodoo-inflected cult and garden-variety goons, Savannah has to fight to ensure her first case isn’t her last. And she also has to ask for help, perhaps the hardest lesson she’s ever had to learn. Book 11 in the Otherworld series.

As the ongoing struggle with the Dark Order draws stronger, Dymphna finds a man on her doorstep with no memory. Later, they find that he is the brother of the Dark Order's leader, and that Gage Redman is the man most able to stop the Dark Order once and for all. But he is also destined to be Dymphna's husband. Will they be able to move past Dymphna's fear of love to make a better future for everyone?

*Now a major Sky original production* THE NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER. A Discovery of Witches is the first in the must-have, must-read ALL SOULS trilogy. It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches. Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestselling ALL SOULS trilogy. A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it. When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels... Five reasons to read A Discovery of Witches and the All Souls Trilogy 'Rich, thrilling ... A captivating and romantic ripping yarn' E L James 'Intelligent and off-the-wall ... irrestistible to Twilight fans' Sunday Times 'I could lose myself in here and never want to come out ... Utterly enchanting on every level' Manda Scott 'Exciting amounts of spells, kisses and battles, and is recounted with enchanting, page-turning panache' Marie Claire 'A bubbling cauldron of illicit desire ... an assured saga that blends romance with fantasy' Daily Mail

The start of a very British urban fantasy series: our man is plunged into a world of magick, mystery and one very aggressive giant mole. Consistently top ten in the Urban Fantasy charts, this mix of modern life and ancient magick combines humour and adventure. Features gods, strong female characters and roars along at a fast pace.