Book picks similar to
To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker
fantasy
romance
retellings
fantasy-romance
Gods & Monsters
Janie Marie - 2012
In fact, she's a sad sight to behold. Afflicted by the sorrow of her tragic past and failing marriage, the young mother of two is as terrified as every other soul when humanity faces doom. Yet, when hope seems lost, Jane does something even her estranged husband fails to--she fights. And she's not alone.David and his companions are what our world has dismissed as mere legend. Their duty to the human race brings them across the country, and they all know it is no coincidence when they cross paths with Jane.As it happens, Jane is special. She's destined to rid the world of darkness.With monsters from every nightmare seeking her out, a noble immortal knight showing her what love truly feels like, a secret past that even Jane can't remember, and even more powerful beings wagering the fate of her soul, Jane will embark on an epic journey to save her family and the world.So what will happen when they realize she's the greatest monster of them all? ***If you want an instant, fearless heroine, Jane won't be your gal. If you actually want to read a deep, epic story and witness every character grow throughout their journey, give this story a chance but be prepared for realistic pacing for character growth.Book One is 155,000 words, but the entire trilogy is over 700,000. This is just the beginning. Each book completes a part of the whole journey and should be read in its entirety.Warnings: Triggers for abuse, mental health disorders. Heavy violence, horror, strong language, emotional and controversial themes, sex, rape(not praised), will have multiple loves for the heroine(stressful but worth the wait and makes sense when it's meant to)*Please do not criticize the mental health disorders in this story or how the character copes with these disorders as well as grief, trauma, and confliction. This book was written for a very specific group of readers in mind, and bashing Jane's path to heal, how she reveals her tragedies, and how she raises her children with these disorders may cause distress to these readers. Be considerate. Everyone grieves differently, loves differently, and heals from trauma in their own ways. Criticizing a survivor in any way is awful, so please be mindful with your reviews. READING ORDERThe Gods & Monsters NovelsThe Gods & Monsters Trilogy1. Gods & Monsters2. The Fallen Queen3. The Light BringerStandalone but best read as fourth Gods & Monsters Novel:Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Standalone Alternate reality: Jane's Team: A High School Reverse Harem Romance
Her Soul to Take
Harley Laroux - 2021
Killer, they called me, and killing is what I'm best at.Except her.The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed - I didn't.The cult that once controlled me wants her, and I'm not about to lose my new toy to them.RaeI've always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient - something evil - is waking up and calling my name.I don't know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes.All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn't just want my body - he wants my soul.Her Soul to Take is book 1 in the Souls Trilogy. Although all the books are interconnected, they are stand-alone and can be read in any order.Content WarningThis book contains graphic sexual scenes, violence, kink/fetish content, horror elements, and depictions of hard kink/edgeplay. This book is strictly fictional and is not meant to represent realistic expectations of BDSM or kink.Kinks/Fetishes Within: consensual non-consent (CNC), breathe play/choking, bloodplay, spit, needle play (body modification fetish), pain play, fear play, public play, bondage, restraint, spanking/impact play.
Hooked
Emily McIntire - 2021
Once Upon A Time, there was a little boy. His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy. Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away.The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play. His dreams gone forever, he grew up way too fast. An endless night of crocodiles, and watches made of glass. He grew into a villain, the taste of vengeance on his tongue. Craving to make his enemies pay for the misdeeds they had done. Instead he found a darling girl, and refused to let her go. For what better way to make the man pay, than to steal his little shadow. *Hooked is a full-length, complete standalone and the first in The Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. This is a DARK Contemporary romance (not a literal retelling and not fantasy) featuring mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.*
Fortune Favors the Cruel
Kel Carpenter - 2019
But with her dark powers on the rise and her ascension nearing, Quinn's blood retribution will have to wait in favor of her immediate survival. Lazarus Fierté is a nobleman without equal. He’s as controlling as he is stubborn, and for the last six years he’s been waiting for a woman to appear—but not just any woman. A Maji of great power, capable of terrible things. She could be the key to everything he holds dear. His savior … or his destroyer. The only thing he didn’t predict was that she would become both.
Depravity
M.J. Haag - 2015
Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn't one she expects. Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.A classic fairy tale with a new twist, the Beauty and the Beast saga begins with Depravity.Intended for mature readers due to sexual situations and moderate language.
Alice
Christina Henry - 2015
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood… Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.
Allison's Adventures in Underland
C.M. Stunich - 2017
Um. Um. Are you reading this? If you are, I need your help. I was at a party; I was running; I fell. And get this—this is the part you'll never believe—I fell down a rabbit hole. Like Alice in those old books. Except in those books, there wasn't blood everywhere. In those books, the characters weren't all male, attractive, and interested in me. Forget everything you know about the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the March Hare … This isn't Wonderland; this is Underland. Violence, sex, drugs, and magic … that's all there is in this place. There's me, Allison, and there are the men that want me, the enemies that hunt me, and the darkness that's quickly rolling in. And only I can stop it. So if you're reading this, will you help me? Please. I just want to escape this place and go … home. ALLISON'S ADVENTURES IN UNDERLAND (Book 1 of 3 in the "Harem of Hearts" series) -- is a full-length reverse harem/new adult/dark romance novel, a gritty retelling of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Don't expect a children's tale; these characters are nothing like their more innocent counterparts. This book contains: drugs, cursing, violence, sex ... and love found in the darkest shadows.
Vein Of Love
R. Scarlett - 2016
On the eve she turns nineteen, Molly leaves for her birthday party against her parent’s wishes, sick of their warnings about her “betrothal to a demon.”Except that she’s very much betrothed, and he’s very much a demon—one who’s only agreed to the nuptials to steal Molly’s ancient daemon powers. Brash, arrogant, and built like a Greek god, Tensley Knight keeps showing up to save Molly from otherworldly attacks, only to insult her a moment later.As Molly learns more about the demon world, she realizes two things: that her family’s safety depends on a successful marriage, while any chance of freedom she’ll ever have calls for Tensley’s demise.Yet sometimes Molly spots a tortured soul beyond those liquid grey eyes, and there’s no denying the way her skin tingles when Tensley touches it. In Vein of Love, safety requires sacrifice, foe becomes lover, and one must decide whether to kiss...or to kill.
Malice
Heather WalterHeather Walter - 2021
But in this darkly magical retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” true love is more than a simple fairy tale. Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after. Utter nonsense. Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world. Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I— I am the villain.
A Court of Honey and Ash
Shannon Mayer - 2021
Trained to fight. Raised to fear the power of Underhill. Secretly in love with a man who doesn’t want me.I’m still just Alli, aka the half-human orphan fae, but my life is looking up for the first time. It only took me my whole 24 years. But when Underhill—the ancestral home of the fae—shatters, making it impossible for any fae to enter, I’m the only one who knows who did it. A secret that will be the death of me if I do nothing. A brutal madness spreads through the fae as they lose their connection to Underhill, and to save my people, my only choice is to leave all I have fought for and go on the run.Unless I figure out how the hell magic that has existed since the dawn of time was destroyed with a single touch, well, an entire life spent fighting to prove myself isn’t going to mean anything at all.I must find the answer to the riddle of Underhill’s shattering.Hunted by the very man I loved once upon a time.
Broken Bonds
J. Bree - 2021
This book will end on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.
Little Thieves
Margaret Owen - 2021
Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back... by stealing Gisele's life for herself.The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of "The Goose Girl" about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.
Bitterburn
Ann Aguirre - 2020
Amarrah volunteers to brave what no one has before—to end the threat or die trying.The Beast of Bitterburn has lost all hope.One way or another, Njål has been a prisoner for his entire life. Monstrous evil has left him trapped and lonely, and he believes that will never change. There is only darkness in his endless exile, never light. Never warmth. Until she arrives.It's a tale as old as time... where Beauty goes to confront the Beast and falls in love instead.
Charming
Jane Washington - 2018
As an Enforcer-in-training, she is one of the many tasked with keeping each generation of fairy tale creatures on track with their fates. There are just a few problems:1. Being tasked with the all-important "Cinderella" tale as her first assignment had to be a clerical error. 2. Prince Charming is too busy chasing fairy "tail" to settle down.3. Cinderella has sticky fingers and boundary issues.4. A certain someone is hell-bent on taking her out of commission, but not even the High Warlock of Bastan can stop this witch when she gets started. Arlo Demarcus is the High Warlock of Bastan and it’s his job to investigate magical crimes and to enforce magical law. It’s also his job to protect the next target in a string of magical murders: Lilou Adler.There are just a few problems:1. Lilou being tasked with the all-important "Cinderella" tale as her first assignment had to be a joke. 2. A certain someone is hell-bent on making his job a living hell, but there’s no way a twenty-something Enforcer-in-training is going to stop this warlock when he gets started.This is a full, standalone novel. It is book #1 of the Bastan Hollow Saga, but each book CAN be read as a standalone.
The Bone Witch
Ivy Asher - 2020
I was counting on it.But now my Grammy Ruby is gone, and here the bones sit on my kitchen table.I thought bitter relatives would be my biggest problem. But I’ve barely had time to find a familiar before trouble comes a-knocking. The kind that possesses smoldering green eyes and a smile that can turn any woman dumb.His name is Rogan Kendrick, and he’s certain that someone is hunting down and taking my kind.According to him, I’m next.This is a world that I never wanted to be a part of, but magic gives no fucks and takes no prisoners... At least we have that much in common.I don’t know what my ancestors were thinking when they chose me, but I’m going to give them a run for their money. My name is Lennox Osseous, but you can call me the Bone Witch.