Book picks similar to
Darkshine by R.D. Vallier


fantasy
giveaways
fiction
paranormal

Fields of Elysium


A.B. Whelan - 2012
    Can love mend a heart full of hate?Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens. On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers. While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly's life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden. Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.

Night's Rose


Annaliese Evans - 2009
    Now the tribe has gathered in London to work a spell that will destroy the scourge of their kind, the woman they call the Briar Rose.Two magnetic men will unite to aid Rose--her mysterious Fey advisor, Ambrose, and the vampire, Lord Shenley, an Earl of scandalous reputation and even more scandalous appetites. One will save her, one will betray her, and both will challenge her to face the past that haunts her.Once upon a time, she was ensnared in the mists of enchantment, cursed to sleep one hundred years. But this beauty wasn’t awakened with a kiss, and has never known happily ever after.With the help of her handsome allies, Rose may yet find it.

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories


Maggie Stiefvater - 2012
    These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author's comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.So, are you curious now?

The Year of the Great Seventh


Teresa Orts - 2013
    Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don’t know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages.To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

Echo in Time


Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2013
    The revelation sparks a change within Lex, and her dreams become far too real. She sees things she shouldn’t be able to see…knows things she couldn’t possibly know. Terrifying things. Deadly things.To distract her from the surreal changes taking over her life, Lex leaps at the chance to join an Egyptian excavation run by Oxford’s enigmatic Professor Marcus Bahur. But the distraction might be more than she bargained for. While deciphering the secrets of a mysterious stone tablet, Lex falls headlong into a prophecy created by a dying god over four millennia ago. She must rely on her frightening new psychic powers to dig up the truth. And it doesn’t take long for her visions to convince her that both Professor Bahur and his excavation are much more than they seem…The past clashes with the present in this paranormal tale of ancient prophecies and warring gods. If you like Egyptian mythology, steamy romance, and headstrong characters who won’t give up until they discover the truth, then you’ll love the first installment in author Lindsey Fairleigh’s sprawling time travel adventure.

Faelorehn


Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - 2012
    It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . .Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own.Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.

The Hunt


Frost Kay - 2020
    Driven by rage and an oath to avenge her mother's memory, Tempest throws herself into training.But becoming the first ever female assassin isn't enough. Now, she must obtain the heart of her kingdom's most feared enemy - the jester - a deadly shapeshifter hidden in a land twisted by myth and darkness.Revenge is never easy or cheap. Tempest is willing to sacrifice everything to see justice served. Even her own soul and freedom.Enter the world of the Twisted Kingdoms at your own risk where monsters wear pretty masks, good and evil are at war, and fairy tales don't exist. If you love fiery heroines, sexy villains, enemies-to-lovers romance, pulse-pounding action, mafia undertones, and dark fairy tales, you need to discover the new series readers are comparing to Holly Blacks's Cruel Prince and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows.

Faerie Wars


Herbie Brennan - 2003
    Fogarty clean up around his house, he expects to find a mess and a cranky old man; what he doesn't expect to find is Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the Faerie realm, who has escaped the treacherous Faeries of the Night by traveling to the human world through a portal powered by trapped lightning. An egomaniacal demon prince, greedy glue factory owners Brimstone and Chalkhill, and the nefarious Lord Hairstreak, leader of the Faeries of the Night, all dream of ruling the Faerie realm and are out to kill Pyrgus. Enlisting the help of his sister, Holly Blue, and his new friend, Henry, Pyrgus must get back to the Faerie world alive before one of his many enemies gets to him instead. But how many portals are open, and can Pyrgus find the right one before it falls into the wrong hands? Conjuring scenes filled with vivid color, unforgettable detail, and fearless characters, author Herbie Brennan brings readers to the Faerie world, where nothing is ever what it seems and no one can be trusted.

The Fallen Vampire (Flux & Firmament: The Cloud Lords, Prequel Part #1)


Beata Blitz - 2016
    As she attempts to escape across the dystopian, war-ravaged territory of her homeland, she yearns for a chance to find refuge and acceptance. On the run and haunted by ghosts from her past, Chloe finds herself at the center of a conflict between the warring factions of Cloud Lords, shape-shifters from another dimension, alternately revered as angels and reviled as demons by the subjugated human populace below. A dispute between her people’s rulers, the virile Drakonin dragon shifters, and their sworn enemies, the night flying Vampirii, radically alters Chloe’s destiny when she brazenly intervenes in their struggle by sheltering a fallen warrior.Chloe comes face-to-face with Aethan, a prince among the Vampirii, the most fearsome of the Cloud Lords, known for craving human blood. She will share a forbidden connection with Aethan that could ultimately lead to a place where her nascent power might bloom, provided she can survive the perilous events that will test the bounds of her resolve and love. THE FALLEN VAMPIRE is the first volume in the FLUX & FIRMAMENT romance series for young adults. This epic adventure takes place in an entirely new universe—The Realm of the Cloud Lords, created by a catastrophic experiment at the Large Hadron Collidor, which has led to a fusion between our world and another dimension.

Raven's Shadow


Patricia Briggs - 2004
    As generations of wizards pushed the limits of their abilities, an evil entity was unleashed that could only be contained by the sacrifice of their city. From the ashes of Colossae, the Travelers emerged--roaming the world to ensure that the Stalker would remain imprisoned forever...Seraph is a Raven mage and among the last of the Travelers. Unwelcome among those who fear magic, the wizard clans have been decimated by the very people they've sworn to protect. But Seraph is spared a similar fate by the ex-soldier Tier--and together they build a life where she is no longer burdened by her people's responsibility.But now Tier is missing--or dead--and Seraph's reprieve from her duty is over. Using her magic to discover her husband's fate, Seraph realizes the Stalker's prison is weakening--and only Seraph can fulfill her ancestors' oath to protect humanity from destruction...

Nettle & Bone


T. Kingfisher
    No one, except for Marra herself.Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.

The Grendel Affair


Lisa Shearin - 2013
    Things that go bump in the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to contain, even for us…   When I moved to New York to become a world famous journalist, I never imagined that snagging a job at a seedy tabloid would change my career path from trashy reporter to undercover agent. I’m Makenna Fraser, a Seer for SPI. I can see through any disguise, shield, or spell that a paranormal pest can come up with. I track down creatures and my partner, Ian Byrne, takes them out—usually saving my skin in the process.   Our cases are generally pretty routine, but a sickle-wielding serial killer has been prowling the city’s subway tunnels. And the murderer’s not human. The fiend in question, a descendant of Grendel—yes, that Grendel—shares his ancestor’s hatred of parties, revelry, and drunkards. And with New Year’s Eve in Times Square only two days away, we need to bag him quickly. Because if we don’t find him—and the organization behind him—by midnight, our secret’s out and everyone’s time is up.

Urban Shaman


C.E. Murphy - 2005
    No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams.And if all that's not bad enough, in the three years Joanne's been a cop, she's never seen a dead body -- but she's just come across her second in three days.It's been a bitch of a week. And it isn't over yet.

Gathering Frost


Kaitlyn Davis - 2015
    A resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my childhood--my mother, my life, my very world. But I'm not. I'm not the good guy. I'm the one who puts the good guys in their graves."Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Under his relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.

The Apple: History's greatest mystery. Mankind's greatest theft.


Devashish Sardana - 2019
    Now someone is about to commit history’s most daring theft… Queen Azura would sacrifice her life to fulfill her ancestors’ sacred mission. For thousands of years the Sentinels have safeguarded Eden and the Tree of Immortality. But one fateful night she awakens to find a man with a bullet wound in his head and an empty branch where the apple once hung.He has no memories, not even his name. Nursed back to health by stern islanders who demand answers, he worries his nightmares of secret gates and a monstrous seven-headed serpent may be real. And if he doesn’t piece together the visions soon, his caretakers could become his executioners.As the strange man struggles to recall how he came to the island, Azura fears someone has the means to defeat all their safeguards. And with the temptation of life everlasting, it’s only a matter of time before the would-be-killer strikes again.Can Azura and the outsider solve the riddle before Eden’s final secret is exploited for evil?The Apple is an innovative, fast-paced thriller. If you like unique puzzles, ancient legends, and a pulse-pounding twist on a familiar story, then you’ll love Devashish Sardana’s action-packed adventure. Buy The Apple to bite into a spectacular, wild ride today!