The most intense of the water signs, most stinging Scorpios have retreated to their reading nooks at some point to help balance out their heavy emotions and spinning curiosity. They often spend their time mulling over the darker secrets of the universe. This draws Scorpios to overthinking philosophy and astrology, plotting secretive revenge on the mean girl at work/ school, or binge-watching all the serial killer documentaries on Netflix.
Luckily, we at The Parliament Press spew the morbid and mysterious! Here are three fantastic and sometimes frightful reads for all you Scorpios out there...
Charlotte Ruzikova finds that she is the freak in her world of magic and monsters. When she stands before an army of impossible obstacles, the likelihood of survival is slim. Will she vanquish the nightmares, or will there be bloodshed? Filled with hatred for what he is, Valek condemns himself to a life of solitude. Always hiding in the dark, will he ever let Charlotte's love in? Together, they must fight in the shadows with their league of loveable misfits to survive the light. But will they still be alive at the break of day? Of Light and Darkness is the first installment in an epic series not to be missed! If you love Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, you'll love this fiercely imaginative, multilayered dark fantasy filled with Slavic folklore!
"You are unbroken."
Princess Isabelle of The New Kingdom has lived her entire life in the confines of her palace. She spends her time hunting for the poverty-stricken Voiceless-people of the Old Kingdom who warred with her kingdom and ultimately lost-and dreaming of a world beyond the walls of her home. As the only remaining child of the king and queen, she is to be married off by her eighteenth birthday.
"My father said that magic died long ago. It was evil, cursed, and wicked. My father is a liar."
When Izzy witnesses the use of forbidden magic in the woods outside the palace, she is attacked, and saved by an unknown man. Soon after she discovers her rescuer is a Voiceless servant in the castle named Fray, she befriends him to seek out the magic users who tried to kill her. Fray agrees to help, but not before Isabelle discovers the servant boy harbors a secret the king has tried to bury-that he is a Gwylis, people of the old Kingdom who made a pact with the demons of the underworld for the power to transform into giant ferocious wolves. But to shift into a beast, Fray must be able to speak the words to do so. If he is to thwart the attackers from killing her entire family, Izzy needs to cure the ailment that took away his voice.
"Sometimes one action-one death-can spur a movement, sway the cosmos, and move the stars."
But curing Fray holds more danger than she ever thought possible. The lies of her parents and the risk of putting her own life on the line deems as destructive as falling for the servant boy. If Isabelle is to save herself and Fray, she’ll need to face enemy Gwylis, cross paths with usurper kings and princes, and decide what side she is on-human or wolf-or lose her kingdom forever.
"I am fearless."
She’s an assassin with a gift her parents died for.
He’s a reluctant prince content to drink himself into oblivion.
And hiding in plain sight amongst them both, a monster is searching for redemption.
In a kingdom where magick is forbidden and spoken of only in whispers, they must each face their own demons, walking the line between loyalty and betrayal.
Enter a dark new world full of forbidden love, painful loss, and a growing war between those with power and those who crave it. An Unholy Magick is a bloody and spell-binding fantasy debut, the first from Kali Rose Schmidt’s shadowy series, Vile Sacraments.