Book picks similar to
The Unwanted by Jeffrey Ricker
fantasy
young-adult
ya
lgbt
Lava Red Feather Blue
Molly Ringle - 2021
But the Highvalley witches have rarely done things the way they're supposed to. On the north Pacific island of Eidolonia, hidden from the world by enchantments, Prince Larkin has lain in a magical sleep since 1799 as one side of a truce between humans and fae. That is, until Merrick Highvalley, a modern-day witch, discovers an old box of magic charms and cryptic notes hidden inside a garden statue.Experimenting with the charms, Merrick finds himself inside the bower where Larkin lies, and accidentally awakens him. Worse still, releasing Larkin from the spell also releases Ula Kana, a faery bent on eradicating humans from the island. With the truce collapsing and hostilities escalating throughout the country, Merrick and Larkin form an unlikely alliance and become even unlikelier heroes as they flee into the perilous fae realm on a quest to stop Ula Kana and restore harmony to their island.Content warnings: Magic used nonconsensually to compel others; violent attacks, including some blood and fire; death and grief; imprisonment; untrustworthy governments.
Dreams
James Erich - 2012
Then suddenly the Taaweh vanished and the Stronni declared victory.Now, as tensions escalate between the emperor and his regent, Vek Worlen, the vek's son, apprentice mage Sael dönz Menaük, finds himself allied with a homeless vagabond named Koreh. Together they flee the capital city and make their way across a hostile wilderness to the vek's keep, mere steps ahead of the emperor’s assassins.But Koreh has dreams—dreams of the ancient Taaweh—and he knows the looming war between the emperor and the vek will be nothing compared to the war that is about to begin. The Taaweh are returning, and the war between the gods may destroy the kingdom once and for all. Word Count: 79,709
Seven Tears at High Tide
C.B. Lee - 2015
Remembering a legend his mother told him, he lets seven tears fall into the sea. “I just want one summer—one summer to be happy and in love.”Instead, he finds himself saving a mysterious boy from the Pacific—a boy who later shows up on his doorstep professing his love. What he doesn’t know is that Morgan is a selkie, drawn to answer Kevin’s wish.As they grow close, Morgan is caught between the dangers of the human world and his legacy in the selkie community to which he must return at summer’s end.
The Cat in the Cradle
Jay Bell - 2010
Loving someone you weren't supposed to? That was hard. A faceless killer terrorizes the five lands, extinguishing from great distances the lives of even the most powerful men. It is from this murderer that Dylan is forced to flee. Only Tyjinn, a brash and unpredictable bodyguard, stands between Dylan and certain death. Rather than play it safe, Tyjinn makes an unusual proposal; to hunt the hunter. This isn't the only unorthodox idea he puts forth as an attraction blooms between the two young men. In the midst of uncountable obstacles and unforgiving odds, can Dylan really afford to recognize his own feelings?
The Boy Who Couldn't Fly Straight
Jeff Jacobson - 2013
That is, until one afternoon in late August, when a German shepherd crashes through their living room window and demands that the boy be handed over.Barely escaping with their lives, mother and son flee California and head to Seattle, where Charlie discovers the secret Elizabeth has been keeping from him his entire life: that he hails from a family of witches, and will soon be initiated into the craft.Charlie moves in with an aunt and an uncle he barely knows, then has to adjust to a new school and a new life. Soon after, the coven strikes again, barely failing to capture him.At the same time, Charlie tries to deny that his feelings for popular high school junior Diego Ramirez have become something more than friendship. He learns the hard way that ignoring what his heart wants obstructs his development as a witch, making him defenseless against Grace and her growing threat.Will Charlie refuse to accept who he is, or will he acknowledge the truth, in order to stay alive and protect the people he loves?
Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks
'Nathan Burgoine - 2018
Easton when he was four permanently set Cole's status to freak. At seventeen, his exit plan is simple: make it through the last few weeks of high school with his grades up and his head down. When he pushes through the front door of the school and finds himself eighty kilometers away holding the door of a museum he was just thinking about, Cole faces facts: he's either more deluded than old Ms. Easton, or he just teleported. Now every door is an accident waiting to happen―especially when Cole thinks about Malik, who, it turns out, has a glass door on his shower. When he starts seeing the same creepy people over his shoulder, no matter how far he's gone, crushes become the least of his worries. They want him to stop, and they'll go to any length to make it happen. Cole is running out of luck, excuses, and places to hide. Time for a new exit plan.
Bonds of Brass
Emily Skrutskie - 2020
He's spent seven years putting himself back together under its rule, joining an Umber military academy and becoming the best pilot in his class. Even better, he's met Gal Veres--his exasperating and infuriatingly enticing roommate who's made the Academy feel like a new home. But when dozens of classmates spring an assassination plot on Gal, a devastating secret comes to light: Gal is the heir to the Umber Empire. Ettian barely manages to save his best friend and flee the compromised Academy unscathed, rattled both that Gal stands to inherit the empire that broke him and that there are still people willing to fight back against Umber rule. As they piece together a way to deliver Gal safely to his throne, Ettian finds himself torn in half by an impossible choice. Does he save the man who's won his heart and trust that Gal's goodness could transform the empire? Or does he throw his lot in with the brewing rebellion and fight to take back what's rightfully theirs?
A Boy Worth Knowing
Jennifer Cosgrove - 2017
But they aren’t the only ones making his high school years a living hell. All Nate wants is to keep his secret and keep his head down until he can graduate. That is, until the new boy, James Powell, takes a seat next to him in homeroom. James not only notices him, he manages to work his way into Nate’s life. But James has issues of his own.Between dead grandmothers and living aunts, Nate has to navigate the fact that he’s falling in love with his only friend, all while getting advice from the most unusual places.Ghosts, bullies, first love: it’s a lot to deal with when you’re just trying to survive senior year.
The Fascinators
Andrew Eliopulos - 2020
But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs.With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart—and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix.
Timekeeper
Tara Sim - 2016
I got out. I’m safe now.An alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, where a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.A prodigy mechanic who can repair not only clockwork but time itself, determined to rescue his father from a Stopped town.A series of mysterious bombings that could jeopardize all of England.A boy who would give anything to relive his past, and one who would give anything to live at all.A romance that will shake the very foundations of time.
Lord of the White Hell, Book 1
Ginn Hale - 2010
However Javier is a dangerous friend to have. Wielder of the White Hell and sole heir of a dukedom, he is surrounded by rumors of forbidden seductions, murder and damnation. His enemies are many and any one of his secrets could not only end his life but Kiram's as well.
The Painting of Porcupine City
Ben Monopoli - 2011
His coworker Fletcher Bradford is looking for a heaven spot of his own, and his is even more elusive. Out since age 12, Fletcher's been around more blocks than Mateo has ever painted. He's dated all the jerks, all the creeps, all the losers in between. At 26 he's decided the only way to meet a nice guy is just never to give him a chance to prove otherwise. When he's introduced to Mateo, Fletcher expects to add another notch to his bedpost. But Mateo is different--and from him Fletcher will rediscover a long-lost feeling: surprise. What Fletcher finds in the trunk of Mateo's car will change his life in ways he never imagined--and may help him find what he's always wanted.From the author of THE CRANBERRY HUSH comes an epic story spanning years and hemispheres and miles of painted walls. At times sexy and sweet, gritty and gut-wrenching, THE PAINTING OF PORCUPINE CITY takes readers along with Mateo and Fletcher on an adventure through the subways of Boston to the towers of São Paulo. Are you in?
White Trash Warlock
David R. Slayton - 2020
When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.
Turnskin
Nicole Kimberling - 2008
For Tom the big city is a daydream of opening nights and bright theater lights.But when Tom meets Cloud Coldmoon — infamous and handsome heir to a criminal syndicate — everything changes. Suddenly suspected of murder, Tom must flee to the only city where his kind are common.Filled with shapeshifters, con men, mobsters and ruled by the vengeful Coldmoon Family, Riverside is as perilous as it is alluring. Tom seeks refuge in the Turnskin Theatre, where his shape-changing skills can be put to good use on and off the stage.Here he has a chance to fulfill his dreams of stardom and romance, but only if he can stay one step ahead of police and criminals alike, otherwise the next shape he takes could be his last.
Aspect of Winter
Tom Early - 2014
His best friend Sam is his only confidante, and even with her help, Fay’s life is barely tolerable.Everything changes when Janus University, a college for individuals with magical capabilities, discovers the pair. When the university sends a student to test them, Fay and Sam, along with their classmate Tyler, are catapulted headfirst into a world of unimaginable danger and magic. Fay and Tyler begin to see each other as more than friends while they prepare for the Trials, the university’s deadly acceptance process. For the first time, the three friends experience firsthand how wonderful and terrible a world with magic can be, especially when the source of Fay’s power turns out to be far deadlier than anyone imagined.