Annette Marie is a Canadian fantasy writer. Her work includes several YA epic urban fantasy series. The first one is the Steel & Stone series and its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver. Next is the romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter, followed by the sassy UF series The Guild Codex.
Her first passion is fantasy, and her guilty pleasures are fast-paced adventures and forbidden romance books. She lives with her husband and their cat Caesar (which she refers to as her furry minion of darkness). Right now she resides in Alberta, Canada. When she isn’t writing, she can be found working on one of her many art projects, ignoring most of her adult responsibilities, as she puts it.
Annette Marie Books in order
Red Winter Trilogy
Spell Weaver
Steel & Stone
- Chase the Dark (2014)
- Bind the Soul (2015)
- Yield the Night (2015)
- Feed the Flames (2015)
- Reap the Shadows (2015)
- Unleash the Storm (2016)
The Guild Codex: Demonized
- Taming Demons for Beginners (2019)
- Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (2019)
- Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (2020)
- Delivering Evil for Experts (2020)
- Three Mages and a Margarita (2018)
- Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (2018)
- Two Witches and a Whiskey (2019)
- Demon Magic and a Martini (2019)
- The Alchemist and an Amaretto (2019)
- Druid Vices and a Vodka (2020)
- Lost Talismans and a Tequila (2020)
- Damned Souls and a Sangria (2020)
- The One and Only Crystal Druid (2021)
- The Long-Forgotten Winter King (2022)
- The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow (2022)
Similar authors
- Helen Harper’s The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Magic series. It follows the witch Ivy as she’s yanked into the investigative department of the Order of Magical Enlightenment.
- K.M. Shea’s Hall of Blood and Mercy series follows Hazel, a wizard. When she is betrayed she has to flee for her life but finds no place is safe as her allies abandon her. To survive she must learn to trust Killian Drake, a feared vampire.
- Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar and Grill series by B.R. Kingsolver follows a magical girl sold to the Illuminati. Using her powers, they train her to become an assassin, spy, and thief.
See also: Shatter Me Series in Order.
Most recommended books
- Immortal Fire (Red Winter Trilogy, #3) (4.60 Goodreads score)
- Delivering Evil for Experts (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #4) ( 4.58 Goodreads score)
- Damned Souls and a Sangria (The Guild Codex: Spellbound, #8) (4.53 Goodreads score)
- Dark Tempest (Red Winter Trilogy, #2) (4.51 Goodreads score)
- The Long-Forgotten Winter King (The Guild Codex: Unveiled #2) (4.50 Goodreads score)
Awards
In 2015 Annette Marie was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award. It was for her YA fantasy novel Yield the Night (the Steel & Stone trilogy).
Upcoming releases
- In January 2022, Annette released her latest book, The Long-Forgotten Winter King. It is the second in the Guild Codex: Unveiled series.
- In may 2022, Anette will release the third book in the Guild Codex: Unveiled installment. The book is called Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow.
Book summaries
Red Winter (2016)
Emi has spent her entire life hiding from the creatures that hunt her. The savage earth spirits are determined to kill her before she can become the living host of a goddess, so she stays hidden–until the day she saves the life of one of her hunters. Shiro isn’t the harmless fox spirit she thought he was. He’s mysterious, cunning, unpredictable … and now hers to command. He’s sworn to pay his debt to her, but he doesn’t know who she is. If he finds out, he’ll kill her. But she can’t send him away–not yet. Her future isn’t what she thought. The lies surrounding her fate have begun to unravel, and she needs answers before time runs out–answers that lie in the spirit realm. Shiro can take her there … if she dares to trust him. And only then will she find out how deep the gods’ treachery runs.
Dark Tempest (2017)
In the mesmerizing sequel to Red Winter, Emi can no longer hide within the safety of the shrines. The goddess has charged her with a new task, one that will take her deep into the perilous realm of yokai. Shiro is her guide and protector, yet his confusing, captivating allure is a danger of its own. With the fate of the world in her mortal hands, she cannot falter, but is she strong enough to sacrifice everything–including him?Dark Tempest is the second installment in the Red Winter Trilogy.
Immortal Fire (2017)
Once, Emi believed the heavenly gods were righteous and wise, while the earthly yokai spirits were bloodthirsty and evil. But with a traitorous deity poised to destroy her world, and the yokai standing as humanity’s only defense, the lies of her upbringing have toppled to reveal a far more terrifying reality.Despite the looming threat, Emi can’t escape her greatest distraction: Shiro, the fox yokai who has so deftly claimed her heart for his own. Soon—too soon—she will have to break the curse that binds his magic and memories. And once the ancient power inside him awakens, the yokai she loves will be changed forever.As the earthly gods gather to wage war against the heavens, Emi and Shiro must gamble everything to turn the tide against their immortal, all-powerful foes. Together, they will find a way to save her world—even if it means losing each other.
The Night Realm (2017)
Clio has the rare ability to mimic magic. Sent on a mission to steal spells from the most dangerous family in the Underworld, she ends up stealing something else: their spell weaver.As a nymph living in exile among humans, Clio has picked up all sorts of unique survival skills. But pilfering magic from the Underworld’s deadliest spell weavers? Not so much.Unfortunately, that’s exactly what she has to do to earn a ticket back home.Conning her way into the Underworld may have gone pretty well, but now she’s got a new problem. His name is Lyre and he’s a sinfully alluring incubus, a skilled spell weaver, and the only thing standing between her and stealing some damn magic.Maneuvering around him without blowing her cover shouldn’t be that difficult, but chaos has been dogging her every step. Monsters hide behind beautiful faces and Lyre keeps saving her neck even though they’re enemies. Kind of enemies? Either way, her mission is getting complicated fast, and in the Underworld, even one mistake could prove fatal.
The Shadow Weave (2018)
Clio might be a nymph living in exile among humans. And she might possess the rare ability to mimic any magic she sees. And she might have just seriously ticked off the most powerful family of spell weavers in the Underworld.But she is not in love with an incubus.Lyre is the rebellious black sheep of said weaver family, and he’s the only reason she survived her recent Underworld “vacation.” He’s also the sexiest thing she’s ever seen. Together, they have to track down a catastrophically dangerous magic—a magic he created, she sort of stole, and they both lost—before his family gets their hands on it. And that means fighting alongside him in a desperate attempt to avert complete disaster.But she is definitely not in love with him. At least, she’s pretty sure she’s not.
The Blood Curse (2018)
When Clio conned her way into the Underworld, her job was to steal magic that could protect her homeland. Instead, she escaped with the rebel son of a notorious spell weaver family.And in the process, she exposed his most calamitous spell, putting her people–and all magic–in peril.Now she and Lyre face two impossible feats: recover his creation, and do it before his family catches up to them. But when the spell is unleashed with devastating results, caution is no longer an option.Clio and Lyre’s only chance lies in combining their strength, but to make it out alive, they’ll need magic more dangerous than they’ve ever wielded before. And if they fail, the realms will pay the price.
Chase the Dark (2014)
Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: To become a Consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons. There are three obstacles in her way.The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is to get Piper into bed and otherwise annoy the crap out of her. The second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive — and scary. Did she mention scary?The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the weapon.And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.Now she’s on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She’s dead on her own, but there’s no one she can trust — no one except two entirely untrustworthy daemons …
Bind the Soul (2015)
The most important rule for an Apprentice Consul is simple: Don’t get involved with daemons. Well, Piper is planning to break that rule—big time.After a near-deadly scandal with the Sahar Stone, she has the chance to return to the only life she’s ever wanted. All she has to do to keep her Apprenticeship is forget about Ash and Lyre. Ash might be enigmatic and notoriously lethal, and Lyre might be as sinfully irresistible as he is irritating, but they’re not bad for a couple of daemons.There’s just one problem: Ash is missing.Really, she shouldn’t risk her future for him. He lied. He betrayed her. But he also saved her life, damn it. Wherever he is, he’s in trouble, and if she doesn’t save his sorry butt, who will? But with every dangerous secret she unravels, each one darker than the last, she slips deeper into Ash’s world—a world with no escape for either of them.
Yield the Night (2015)
After surviving a round-trip to hell, Piper figures she can survive anything. After all, she just lived through the devastating loss of her Consul apprenticeship and a torturous stint at boarding school. How much worse could it get?Well, she wasn’t expecting a group of crazy radicals to burn her home to the ground and take her prisoner.The Gaians, a.k.a. the crazy radicals, plan to rid Earth of daemons and they need Piper’s help. In exchange for her cooperation, they promise her the answer to all her problems: magic. With her own magic, she could reclaim her apprenticeship, the only future she’s ever wanted. But her magic comes at price—it could kill her.With the only life she’s ever known crumbling around her and her future slipping from her grasp, she needs Ash’s help one more time. But the greatest danger of all lies within her, and no matter what she does, she may lose everything—including him.
Feed the Flames (2015)
Seiya wants nothing more than to disappear with her brother, safe from all the enemies that would tear them apart. But now she, along with Lyre, has been taken prisoner. Separated from Ash, his fate unknown, and tormented by memories of her imprisonment in Asphodel, she must put her faith in Lyre and his carefully guarded secrets. To have any chance of escape, they’ll have to work together to find a way out—before they learn what fate their captors are planning for them.
Reap the Shadows (2015)
Piper is feeling a bit overwhelmed. With Seiya and Lyre missing, Ash recovering from near fatal injuries, and the Gaians picking fights with daemons all over the city, a girl can’t help but think she might be in over her head. And this time, she’s on her own.Before she even has a chance to investigate the Gaians’ new stockpile of mysterious, high-tech weaponry, an old enemy ambushes her: Samael’s henchman Raum. He wants Ash’s help and won’t take “get lost” for an answer. She doesn’t know if she can trust Raum, but even more than that, she can’t trust herself with Ash. Sooner or later he’ll catch up to her, and she fears she won’t be able to walk away from him a second time.Despite her feelings, it will take their combined strength to face a frightening discovery about the Gaians. She and Ash begin to realize that the daemon war is coming to Earth, and they might be the only ones who can stop it—if it’s not already too late.
Unleash the Storm (2016)
Piper thought she could handle the Sahar, the most powerful magical weapon in existence. She thought she could protect her loved ones and stop a war. She thought she could make a difference.She was wrong, and her mistakes were paid for in blood.Leaving her world — and her failures — behind, she retreats to the Underworld with Ash and the other draconians. They forge deep into long abandoned mountains, the first draconians to fly the valleys and passes in centuries — or so they thought. Until now, Ash’s mysterious heritage has been nothing but a name, but his presence does not go unnoticed. A new danger stalks him, one that may be even greater than what they escaped.Cut off from the power she’d come to rely on and lost in a world where she doesn’t belong, Piper has never felt so hopeless. But she must find her strength, and find it quickly, before she loses Ash to an ancient power he can’t fight, before her home is devastated by the daemon war, and before her mind, body, and soul are consumed by the Sahar’s insidious magic.
Taming Demons for Beginners (2019)
Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.But I did, and now it’s too late.–From the author of The Guild Codex: Spellbound comes a new series that will plunge an unprepared young woman into the darkest magic of the mythic world.
Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (2019)
I’m bound to a demon.For my entire life, I avoided magic at all costs. Now, I’m responsible for a demon who wields magic more powerful than the toughest mage or sorcerer.Demons are evil.That’s what my textbooks say. That’s what I see. He’s ruthless, he’s temperamental, he’s cold. But he protects me without fail. I wonder if he’s hiding a heart behind his hostility.My demon is a monster.Whether he’s heartless or not, my contract with him is illegal and beyond dangerous. Together, we must find a way to return him to his own world before anyone discovers our secret. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’ve come to realize something else:My demon isn’t the only monster I should be worried about.
Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (2020)
I thought I understood power.My parents taught me that magic attracts equal danger, and everything I’ve seen since becoming a demon contractor confirms it. I’ve witnessed how power twists and corrupts–and I’ve tasted power no human should wield.I thought I knew greed.Ambition and avarice drove my family into hiding. My parents died for someone else’s greed. I’ve never hunted anything in my life, but now I’m hunting their killer–with my demon’s help.I thought I’d seen evil.But with each step closer to my parents’ murderer, I’m uncovering a different sort of evil, piece by hidden piece. I’ve stumbled into an insidious web that silently, secretly ensnares everything it touches. My demon and I came as the hunters……but I think we might be the prey.
Delivering Evil for Experts (2020)
I promised to avenge my parents.But their killer is still on the loose, and he’s stolen more than my parents’ lives. Now, as he draws closer to his mysterious goals, he’s poised to destroy what little I have left.I promised to translate an ancient grimoire.But it holds the secrets of my family–and the secret history of demon summoning. I fear its answers as much as I need them. Who was the foremother of Demonica…and who am I?I promised to send my demon home.But the way he watches me, the way he protects me, the way he touches me–how can I cast him away forever? I swore I would do this for him, but can I? Should I?But I promised–and I will keep my promises even if they cost me my heart, my soul, and my life.
Three Mages and a Margarita (2018)
Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview — to see if I’d mesh with their “special” clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That’s the definition of fitting in, right?I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they… offered me the job?It turns out this place isn’t a bar. It’s a guild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I’m exactly the kind of takes-no-shit bartender this guild needs, or there’s a good reason no one else wants to work here.So what’s a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course — with a pay raise.
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (2018)
When I found myself facing down the scariest black-magic felon in the city, practically daring him to abduct me, I had to wonder exactly how I ended up here.It all started when I accidentally landed a job as a bartender—but not at a bar. At a guild, populated by mages, sorcerers, alchemists, witches, and psychics. Good thing this lame-o human is adaptable, right?Then my favorite guild members—three sexy, powerful, and intermittently charming mages—asked for my help. Did they want access to my encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails? Oh no. They wanted to wrap me up in a pretty ribbon and plunk me in the crosshairs of a murderous rogue to lure him out of hiding.So that’s what we did. And that’s why I’m here. About to be kidnapped. Oh, and our grand plan for safely capturing said murderous rogue? Yeah, that completely fell apart about two minutes ago.Why did I agree to this again?
Two Witches and a Whiskey (2019)
Three months ago, I landed a job as a bartender. But not at a bar—at a guild. Yeah, the magic kind.I’m not a badass mage like my three smokin’ hot best friends. I’m not a sorcerer or an alchemist, or even a wussy witch. I’m just a human, slinging drinks like a pro and keeping my non-magical nose out of mythic business. Seriously, I know my limits.So why am I currently standing in a black-magic ritual circle across from a fae lord?Somewhere behind me, my three mage friends are battling for their lives. Somewhere near my feet is the rogue witch I just knocked out with a stolen spell. And I have about five seconds to convince this very angry sea god not to shmoosh me like a bug.I’m pretty sure this wasn’t in the job description.–Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn’t a reverse harem. It’s 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.
Demon Magic and a Martini (2019)
When I first landed a bartending job at the local guild, I didn’t know a thing about magic. These days, I’m practically an expert on the different magical classes, but there’s one nobody ever talks about: Demonica.Turns out they have a good reason for that.My guild is strictly hellion-free, but some people will risk life and soul to control the biggest bullies on the mythic playground. And now a demon has been loosed in the city.My three best friends are determined to slay it, but even badass combat mages are critically out-magicked. And that’s not all. The monster they’re tracking—it’s not hiding. It’s not fleeing. It’s not leaving a trail of corpses everywhere it goes. The demon is hunting too.And in a city full of mythics, it’s searching for deadlier prey.If we can’t unravel the demon’s sinister motivations, more innocent people will die, but finding the answers means digging into dark secrets…and learning truths I never wanted to know.
The Alchemist and an Amaretto (2019)
As a guild bartender, I can handle pretty much anything—mages, sorcerers, witches, the occasional demon. But show me anything family-related and I’d rather run for the hills. It doesn’t even have to be my family.So I have no idea why I thought spending the holidays with Aaron’s mom and pop was a good idea.Meeting his famous parents is already terrifying enough, but I’ve got a bigger problem. Students of his family’s renowned mage academy are being attacked on the grounds—and somehow no one has seen a single assailant? Unexplained tracks litter the nearby woods, rumors of forbidden alchemy are circulating the campus…and Ezra has been acting strangely since we arrived.Something deadly is brewing in the shadow of Sinclair Academy, and the longer we take to uncover it, the more dangerous it becomes. But no matter the risk, we’ll protect the students.And Aaron’s parents too, I suppose. If we have to.
Druid Vices and a Vodka (2020)
I’ve said it before, but sometimes I’m a bad person. I cheated on my twelfth grade math final, I’ve run countless yellow lights, and I gossip about how hot my kickass best friends are. (Good thing my job as a guild bartender doesn’t require moral perfection.)But there’s bad, and then there’s bad. And I’m not sure which applies to a certain dark druid/wanted criminal/reluctant friend of mine. His transgressions include black-magic dealings, kidnapping, and murder, and he’s about to add “revenge-fueled killing spree” to his resume—if I don’t stop him.Should I stop him?He and his nemesis are gearing up to tear each other apart, rogues and vultures are converging with their sights on the spoils, and the guilds that would normally stomp them into the ground are under attack. We’re on the brink of an all-out criminal turf war, and my time to decide is almost up.Who’s the real bad guy … and do I dare stand in his way?
Lost Talismans and a Tequila (2020)
You know that squirmy sensation in your gut when you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re about to screw everything up?Yeah, that feeling.I thought I was a good judge of character, but recent events proved me very wrong. Now, in a brilliant demonstration of my newfound caution, I’m putting all my faith in a demon—a demon who’s tried to kill me before. The squirmy feeling is making sense, right?Unfortunately, I don’t have any other options. Ezra’s time is almost up, which means I need answers and I need them fast. So it’s time to toughen up, pack my gear, and find me one of the most illegal, reviled, and scarce mythics out there: a demon-mage summoner.And all I have to do is follow a demon’s instructions on where to look. How could that go wrong?
Damned Souls and a Sangria (2020)
Once upon a time, I was your average spunky redhead with the lamest employment history ever, a shaky relationship with my only family member, and no idea what I was doing with my life.Now, I’m a pseudo mythic with the best bartending job in the world, the most amazing (and hot) best friends I never knew I needed, and a guild of misfit magic-users who’ve become my extended family.And I’m about to lose it all.In my desperation to save Ezra, I stumbled into a web of ruthless deception–and seriously pissed off a sleeping hydra. Now its every murderous head is turned toward me and my guild, and I don’t know how to stop it. I’m not sure I can.I’m not sure anyone can.But if I don’t, we’re all doomed–Ezra, Aaron, Kai, and my beloved guild.
The One and Only Crystal Druid (2021)
Ten years ago, I risked everything on a nameless boy. I came out the other side with a murder conviction, a prison sentence, and a minor case of amnesia. I forgot everything about that boy, and now I’m out on parole, just a nobody witch volunteering at an animal rescue and keeping a low profile. Everything was fine until the notorious Crystal Druid showed up to hunt a powerful fae that’s leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake—bodies that the local ex-con, me, will be blamed for. To save my own hide, I offer to help him. But with every clash of temper between us, something inside me cracks a little more. The closer we get to our target—and the closer I get to the guarded Crystal Druid—the more my missing memories loom. The fae killer is far deadlier than I imagined—but so is the boy I forgot. And the only question now is which one will destroy me first.
The Long-Forgotten Winter King (2022)
Everyone is keeping secrets. Zak won’t reveal what really happened between us ten years ago. Ríkr’s been hiding so much I scarcely recognize him anymore. But the biggest secret belongs to my parents, and it’s the one I’m most desperate to unravel. Finding out who they really were, and who I am, means solving their eighteen-year-old murders. For reasons unknown, Zak decides to join me—and that makes me nervous, especially when the trail leads us into the most dangerous fae territory in the lower mainland. The questions keep piling up, but as I realize too late, my parents’ killer is no mystery. He’s been lying in wait all along. But not for me. I’ve led Zak and Ríkr into a hell with no escape, and I need more than answers now. I need power—because without it, none of us will make it out alive.
The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow (2022)
I’m learning to embrace who and what I am, but there’s one thing I can’t face: the night Zak betrayed me. But even with the mysteries of our shared past hanging between us, I can’t turn Zak away when he asks for my help.Powerful fae are going missing, and when he tried to investigate, Lallakai vanished too. Now he wants me to venture with him into the territory of the Shadow Court, but its bloodthirsty courtiers don’t welcome meddling druids.Danger is gathering around us, seen and unseen. As we uncover incomprehensible clues about the missing fae, we realize this nightmare runs deeper than we imagined, and unveiling it means delving into the past—our past.If I abandon Zak now, he’ll never make it out alive. But if I stay at his side, if I face the truth of that night, it will destroy us both.
