Rogue Community College

With this fun fantasy, Slayton launches the Liberty House series, set in the world of his White Trash Warlock. Isaac Frost was born with a strange skill--consuming a drop of a magic user's blood will temporarily give him their powers--which he uses to rescue young sea elf Vran from goblin mercenaries. Vran knows of Isaac's reputation as one of a gang of assassins led by the mysterious Undertaker, but Isaac explains that he's run away from that deadly operation and he's looking for answers about who he was before the Undertaker took him in. In gratitude, Vran brings Isaac to his home, a magical college where the elves educate the next generation of Guardians to protect their realms. Here, Isaac gets a chance at a normal life, with classes, friends, and, as he gets closer to Vran, even romance. But each of his new friends has something to hide, and Isaac's own secret may be the biggest of all: he hasn't really run away. The Undertaker sent him to assassinate the "beating, living heart" of the school itself. The college setting and accessible prose means this will have crossover appeal for YA readers. Propulsive, funny, and on-point with its social critique, this promises good things for the series to come. (Oct.)