Unvarnished: Balance Blade Chronicles Book 1

"It is really bold, imaginative, and deeply engaging. Unvarnished offers a unique storytelling style that feels raw and thought-provoking. A refreshing and creative read! I love this book." - Amazon Review

Carrie thought she had outrun the impossible. After barely escaping a brutal, fantasy-like realm, she ends up on Earth alive… but not safe. Her pursuers are on her trail.
Autumn seems normal at first glance, but Carrie knows better. She’s connected to something far older and far more dangerous: the living incarnation of a powerful Balanced One, a force tied to existence itself. And that power makes her a target.
Now Carrie has one mission: protect Autumn at all costs. But danger is closing in from every side:

• A buried family legacy tied to myth.
• Undead enemies that refuse to stay gone.
• A ruthless high school hierarchy led by a queen bee cousin determined to break Autumn down.
• And something else that followed Carrie… watching, waiting.

But the real danger might not be external.
As Carrie fights to keep Autumn safe, her feelings shift into something deeper, faster than she can understand. What starts as protection begins to blur into obsession… or something older than both of them. And the closer she gets, the harder it becomes to tell where duty ends and desire begins.

In Unvarnished, James O’Rell delivers a gripping urban fantasy filled with supernatural intrigue, emotional tension, and dangerous desire—where myth collides with modern life, and love itself may be the most powerful—and perilous—magic of all.