H. L. Burke

Being framed for murder and forced to flee the country sort of takes the fun out of vacations. Reformed cat burglar, Nyssa Glass, wants to lead an honest life as an electrician's apprentice. Instead, she's on the run with her new friend, Ellis, implicated in a crime she didn't commit. The pair ends up stowing away on a zeppelin and meeting Renard and Amara, two teens running away to be married. But the mysterious couple is hiding something-and it might get Nyssa and Ellis killed.

After decades of Elemental War, humans are rebuilding their civilization from the ground up. Empathic healer, Quill, lives on an isolated farm, hiding from her family's turbulent, war torn past. However, when the voices of Water Elementals force their way into her thoughts, Quill fears she will bring destruction upon those she loves. Help arrives from an unlikely source, her mother's estranged father. Eanan hasn't seen his daughter since she eloped with Quill's dad. Now, in spite of the inherent danger of Elementals, Eanan seeks the Evermirror, a mythical gateway to the Water Realm. Quill's only hope for safety and sanity may be casting her lot with her grandfather. Running away will break her mother's heart, but unless Quill learns to commune peacefully with the Elementals, their powers may tear her apart from the inside.

Elemental Realms: Book OneWhat remains when the world burns? After decades of Elemental Invasions, Kingdom of Forra has been reduced to ruins. A band of survivors pulls together in one last attempt to defend their homes and families as the Elementals push to wipe them out. Stoic Militia Captain Karvir and his brother, ardent fighter, Ketyl, lead a skeleton force against the Fiery Horde. Everything-their families, their home, their very world-hangs on their success against impossible odds. Meanwhile across the wilderness, young Brode and his pregnant stepmother flee, hoping to find safety near the ocean. As Elementals pour through the portals, a sacrificial act gives hope for peace, but is it sustainable? With their cities burned, the human race must fight back from the edge of extinction. Could the key to their survival lie in a child?

Thaddeus F. Whiskers is a pampered palace pet, a kitten enchanted to never become a cat. Princess Clarice loves him, for in the entire kingdom, for there is no other kitten as cute or as clever. He leads a life of cushions and cream until a wizard's "gift" results in his banishment. Determined to make it back to the princess he loves, he escapes into the wilderness where he discovers the lair of a dragon. Grandious, the dragon, doesn't care about anything besides himself. He wants to be left alone with his treasure. However, there is something about Thaddeus that has him entranced. He finds himself opening his home and his heart to the little cat. Thaddeus is a small creature in a big world. Between him and his beloved Princess stand conniving wizards, would-be-step-mothers, and rampaging rats. However, when danger threatens both Clarice and Grandious, Thaddeus won't allow his size to get in the way of saving his friends.

In Gelia City, magic is music: a constant ever-changing melody known as the Strains. Hereditary ability to use the Strains divides the city into two classes: the wealthy Highmost, who can access the full potential of the Strains, and the Common tradesmen, who are limited to mundane spells, known as beggar magic. With the help of the Strains, Common teen Leilani rescues and befriends a gifted Highmost girl, Zebedy. The girls' friendship opens Leilani's eyes to the world of the Highmost. She's intrigued by Zeb's close relationship with the Strains, and longs to know them as she does. Zeb, in turn, comes to depend on Leilani's strength and intelligence, making them an inseparable team, ready to take on anything with the Strains at their back. As their unlikely friendship strengthens and endures, Zeb draws Leilani further into the Highmosts' intrigues. Beneath the polished, academic facade of the Highmost manors lurks a threat to the Strains. An unknown force consumes their music, leaving only heart-rending silence behind. Leilani and Zeb will do anything to save their beloved Strains, but as the silence grows, they face danger their previously sheltered lives could never prepare them for. Whoever is behind the death of the Strains is willing to kill to keep their secret safe. To preserve the Strains, the girls may have to sacrifice their friendship, or even their lives. Second Place in the CIAN Book of the Year: Fiction Category

Dragon Prince Ewan has promised his beloved, Shannon, that he will become a man again or die in the attempt. Now he will do anything to make good on that promise. With the aid of his scholarly friend, Martin, Ewan consults the great Dragon Queen Harviss, who offers him a unique solution: return to the past to find Ewan's Fey ancestor and beg for her help. Leaving Shannon behind, Ewan and Martin travel to a dangerous past and fall into the clutches of a powerful Fey queen. Meanwhile, Shannon finds herself alone and with child. Unable to sit still with her husband absent, she joins with Ryan of Westshire in the prince's desperate search for his young son. King Riley, however, will see Ryan dead before allowing him to find the lost child. Can Shannon find a way to unite Ryan with his son? Or will the attempt cost her not only her life but the life of her unborn baby? Will Martin and Ewan ever find the cure they seek or will they remain trapped in the past and Ewan separated from his bride forever?