Book picks similar to
The Misbegotten by Justin DePaoli


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Miserere: An Autumn Tale


T. Frohock - 2011
    She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen's hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven's frontline of defense between Earth and Hell. When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina's wrath isn't so easy to escape!

Now, Then, and Everywhen


Rysa Walker - 2020
    But which one broke the timeline?In 2136 Madison Grace uncovers a key to the origins of CHRONOS, a time-travel agency with ties to her family’s mysterious past. Just as she is starting to jump through history, she returns to her timeline to find millions of lives erased—and only the people inside her house realize anything has changed.In 2304 CHRONOS historian Tyson Reyes is assigned to observe the crucial events that played out in America’s civil rights movement. But a massive time shift occurs while he’s in 1965, and suddenly the history he sees isn’t the history he knows.As Madi’s and Tyson’s journeys collide, they must prevent the past from being erased forever. But strange forces are at work. Are Madi and Tyson in control or merely pawns in someone else’s game?

The Girl In Between


Laekan Zea Kemp - 2012
    Afflicted with Klein-Levin Syndrome, she suffers episodes of prolonged sleep that steal weeks, and sometimes even months, from her life. But unlike most KLS patients, she doesn’t spend each episode in a catatonic state or wake up with no recollection of the time she’s missed. Instead, Bryn spends half her life in an alternate reality made up of her memories. For Bryn, the past is a place, until one day a boy she’s never met before washes up on the illusory beach of her dreams with no memory of who he is.But the appearance of this strange boy isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Bryn’s symptoms are worsening, her body weakening as she’s plagued by hallucinations even while awake. Her only hope of finding a cure is to undergo experimental treatment created by a German specialist. But when Dr. Banz reveals that he knows more about her strange symptoms than he originally let on, Bryn learns that the boy in her head might actually be the key to understanding what’s happening to her, and worse, that if she doesn’t find out his identity before it’s too late, they both may not survive.

Strange the Dreamer


Laini Taylor - 2017
    Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?Welcome to Weep.

Legends


Melanie Nilles - 2010
    The true dragons are ready to renew their ancient wars to save the world, but they cannot do it alone. Unfortunately, the magi and the two races of men are far from ready to face the darkness unleashed by Lusiradrol.The white dragon was made to banish her, one who could unite all beings of Light, but his return is not as any foresaw. Through a woman who guards his power and his spirit, he will be reborn. But will he be too late to save the world?

Winterbirth


Brian Ruckley - 2006
    For some, war will bring a swift and violent death. Others will not hear the clash of swords or see the corpses strewn over the fields. They instead will see an opportunity to advance their own ambitions. But soon, all will fall under the shadow that is descending.For, while the storm of battle rages, one man is following a path that will awaken a terrible power in him - and his legacy will be written in blood.

Oath of Swords


David Weber - 1995
    He's no knight in shining armor. He's a hradani, a race known for their uncontrollable rages, bloodthirsty tendencies, and inability to maintain civilized conduct. None of the other Five Races of man like the hradani. Besides his ethnic burden, Bahzell has problems of his own to deal with: a violated hostage bond, a vengeful prince, a price on his head. He doesn't want to mess with anybody else's problems, let alone a god's. Let alone the War God's! So how does he end up a thousand leagues from home, neck-deep in political intrigue, assassins, demons, psionicists, evil sorcery, white sorcery, dark gods, good gods, bad poets, greedy landlords, and most of Bortalik Bay? Well, it's all the War God's fault.

Spirit Legacy


E.E. Holmes - 2013
    Jess' life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn't exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school:They’re dead.Aided by Tia, her neurotic roommate, and Dr. David Pierce, a ghost-hunting professor, Jess must unravel the mystery behind her hauntings. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger shadows her every move. An ancient secret, long-buried, is about to claw its way to the surface, and nothing can prepare Jess for one terrifying truth......her encounters with the world of the dead are only just beginning.Spirit Legacy is the first of three thrilling novels in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes.

Cherokee Mists: The Complete Set


Meredith Blevins - 2017
    It brings to life an ancient people and a time of magic in a warm and intimate storyteller’s voice. A young Shaman of the Galayi people has had a powerful and frightening vision: it is of the Eagle Feather Cape, the gift of the Thunderbird, which is worn by the Seer of the People to see the future and gain the guidance of the gods. The cape is torn and bloody, and it will no longer bring visions to the Seer of the People. But the Shaman's vision also tells her of the cure: a child will be born to the People, a hero who will restore the cape and return the goodwill of the gods to the People. Dahzi may be that hero, if he can survive the hatred of his grandfather. He was born after his mother’s death, as she fled from her father’s anger. But Dahzi carries the hope of all of his People, along with the power to become a great Chief. He will be tested--by his family, by his people, and by the Gods. (Originally published as 'Zadayi Red.') SHADOWS IN THE CAVE Let go of everything . . . fall into a young man's thrilling quest to reach back in time, save his family, and return healing magic to his tribe. A dynamic combination of an ancient quest and Native American Spiritualism.

The Experiment of Dreams


Brandon Zenner - 2014
    After years of testing experimental medicines and participating in repetitive sleep-related studies, all is finally going well for Ben ... until strange dreams begin to plague him and memories once hidden begin to reveal themselves. The doctors and staff onboard project Lucy are not who Ben thinks they are, and the organization will stop at nothing to keep his emerging memories buried for good. Ben is put on a collision course that will bring him to the brink of total insanity, and perhaps even death. At the heart of it all, Ben's worst enemy is his own mind, and he must confront his past in order to save his future. "The twists and turns of the plot will leave your head reeling and possibly questioning your own mental state for a moment.” (The San Francisco Book Review). With over 100 five star reviews on Amazon.

Gateway to Fourline


Pam Brondos - 2015
    Sending one young woman through may be the key to survival for the kingdom of Fourline. Strapped for cash, college student Natalie Barns agrees to take a job at a costume shop. Sure, Estos—her classmate who works in the shop—is a little odd, but Nat needs the money for her tuition.Then she stumbles through the mysterious door behind the shop—and her entire universe transforms.Discovering there’s far more to Estos than she ever imagined, Nat gets swept up in an adventure to save his homeland, an incredible world filled with decaying magic, deadly creatures, and a noble resistance of exiled warriors battling dark forces. As she struggles with her role in an epic conflict and wrestles with her growing affection for a young rebel, Soris, Nat quickly learns that nothing may go as planned…and her biggest challenge may be surviving long enough to make it home.

Murder in Wizard's Wood


Michael J. Allen - 2018
    At the same time, a vengeful mercenary company lays a trail of suspicious murders directly to Jedediah's door. Unwitting pawns to a deeper menace, both serve a centuries-long plot to steal magic's deepest secret.The bloody conflict thrusts Jedediah's family into Death's reach. As the body bag count rises and law enforcement closes in, Jedediah is forced to make desperate choices to protect his loved ones and magic itself by stopping the murders in his wood.

Once Again


Amy Durham - 2012
    That’s what sixteen year-old Layla Bradford discovers when she moves to Sky Cove, Maine, a small-town she thought was ordinary, but turns out to be an episode of “Cold Case” on steroids.Layla doesn’t want to fit in; she wants to blend in and stay out of the spotlight. But the spotlight is where she winds up when she catches the eye of school cross-country star and all-around-nice-guy Lucas Ellis. She quickly learns there’s more at stake than high school reputations when she and Lucas discover they are the reincarnations of a young married couple from the mid-1800s who suffered a horrible tragedy at the hands of a madman who was never brought to justice. After a series of frightening visions show Layla and Lucas glimpses of their past-lives, they realize that the villain of their previous existence has also been reincarnated, in the form of a fellow high school student who targets them with teenage pranks that soon turn dangerous. As they grow closer, will Layla and Lucas be ableto uncover the truth in time to stop the same tragedy from unfolding once again?

The Cypher


Julian Rosado-Machain - 2011
    A glimpse into a multinational company that is in reality the oldest of secret societies, one that spans close to seven thousand years of existence, weaving in and out of history, guiding and protecting humanity from creatures and forces that most of us believe are only mythology and fairy tales.The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn't be aware of and dangers he shouldn't face, but that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity's future.The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology, but every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we've driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future.

A Throne of Swans


Katharine Corr - 2019
    Aderyn's ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother - ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors. With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.