Like staying up-to-date on new urban fantasy books that hit the shelves? Check out this brand new release and read an excerpt to see if it’s the right book for you.
This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Book Information
Title: Wish Marked
Series: Stones & Curses #1
Author: Lissa Bolts
Genre/Tropes: Urban Fantasy / Slow-Burn Enemies-to-Lovers Romance
Release Date: August 1, 2022
Book Description
Hi. I’m Nora, and I bring people’s worst nightmares to life.
Everyone needs a hobby, right?
Gah. Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I do it on purpose. I’m cursed. Like bonafide needle-pricking, frog-kissing, poison-apple cursed. Except worse because in addition to slowly chipping away at my soul, this thing will eventually kill me too.
Let me start over…
It all goes back to wishes. The damned things come true around me but in the worst possible way. And I don’t mean that lightly because, well… sometimes people wind up dead.
The kicker? Once I grant my quota of ill-fated desires, that’s it for me. Finito. I know because there were others before me. Just our sick family heritage. We screw people over, and then we die. Hell of a way to live, right?
I think I might be the last one too. I’ve searched my whole life and found nothing. No answers. No cure. Not one hint of magic in this entire world besides me.
Well, that is… until today.
*This is the first book in the all-new urban fantasy series: Stones & Curses. If you like fierce heroines with hearts of gold, edge-of-your-seat adventure, a touch of swoony romance, and enough mind-blowing treachery to leave you wondering what in the world just happened, this is the series for you.
Excerpt
Bentley’s was a bar.
The thing about bars was that they had people. Often lots of them. And it was just my luck that this particular bar was ridiculously popular. As a general rule, I avoided places like this for a reason.
That reason being that I didn’t want to die.
So many things could go wrong. The curse could harm me. It could harm other people. The stupid thing could start an apocalypse for all I knew.
If only I could ensure things would go my way.
I’d tried using my wishes once. Back when I was younger, I’d been desperate and wished for the word “wish” to be stricken from the English language. Besides getting a nasty new mark, nothing happened. Not one damn thing. I mean, it’s entirely possible that the word “wish” used to be a completely different word that none of us could remember. One that I’d stricken from the English language…
Nah.
I could spend all day making my brain numb just thinking about things like that. Instead, I’d spent the day having a massive anxiety attack about whether or not I should go to Bentley’s.
But here I was. Standing in a line that ran around the block as a cold sweat began to creep across my skin despite the California heat. My earlier assessment of this place being popular was the understatement of the year. It was a madhouse. And… exclusive, considering the bouncer at the door was turning people away when they so much as looked at him wrong.
What had I gotten myself into?
My gaze surveyed all the stilettos, sequins, and fake boobs that surrounded me. Even the guys were pretty. There was no other way to describe it. It was like a gathering of the flawless. The dude at the front was probably going to take one look at my adorable magenta high-low skirt and my Converse then send me packing. I quickly tied my white t-shirt in a knot, showing off my flat stomach—toned from all that time spent on the water.
Nervous energy swarmed inside of me like a hive of angry bees. I popped my earbuds in and cranked my music. I liked to pretend that if I didn’t hear the wishes, then maybe the curse wouldn’t kick in and answer the call. It wasn’t true. Not even a little bit. The curse slowly wrapping itself around my throat and burrowing its claws beneath my skin? It was its own entity. And it was always listening.
I tried to ignore the shiver that ran up my spine.
I hated this. I hated crowds. I shouldn’t be here.
A tap on my shoulder startled me and I flinched. Spinning, I found the bouncer smirking down at me with a predatory gaze. I yanked the buds from my ears.
“ID?” he asked.
The guy was middle aged and obviously spent a lot of time at the gym. He gave off vibes that screamed, Danger, Will Robinson. Swallowing hard, I pulled my identification out of my wallet and handed it over. He gave me a slow once over that made me feel like I was being analyzed on a cellular level before he tossed my card back. I fumbled, barely managing to catch it.
“Stay out of trouble, Nora,” he said, pulling the door open for me.
“What? I’m so not trouble.”
He just raised a brow and gestured for me to enter. Okay, maybe I was a little trouble. But not on purpose and… hopefully, not tonight.
About the Author
Lissa Bolts is an urban fantasy writer and the author of The Ruling Magic Series. She has a passion for creating new worlds, perilous situations, and villains you’ll love to hate.
A native to Utah, Lissa enjoys spending time with her family tearing up the powdery slopes in the winter and long lakeside camping trips in the summer.
Book Links
I haven’t read this book yet and would love to hear from those who have. Share your thoughts in the comments!
The Shadow Journals 