Book picks similar to
Westward to Strange by Ray Litt
fantasy
mermaids
first-reads
paranormal
Pale Queen Rising
A.R. Kahler - 2015
When the queen commands her to kill, Claire does the job and doesn’t ask questions. Her deadly skills and loyalty are soon tested when Claire is sent to the Immortal Circus, one of the many places where “Dream” is harvested from the imaginings of mortals. There she must find the culprit who is causing Dream to mysteriously disappear before the Winter Kingdom’s supply is depleted enough to threaten its very survival. But when she meets Roxie, a beautiful mortal singer with a strange link to the Dream thieves, Claire quickly recognizes an odd and unexplained connection that may cloud her judgment. As each new clue unveils another secret, Claire finds herself confronting the riddle of her own buried past—and a dangerous illusion that, as part of the Immortal Circus, is just another act in the show.
Ascendant
Rebecca Taylor - 2013
I was the first person to never find her.I’m sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I’m not the girl I should have been.When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother’s childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother—clues to her family’s strange past and her mother’s disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother’s old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts—and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.
Katrina, the Beginning
Elizabeth Loraine - 2009
Katrina is a young royal blooded vampire from a very old vampire family, chronicles her journey as leader of the Five from the age of seventeen. She, along with young members of each royal vampire family have been called to council. Why? No one knows, but Katrina feels the danger all around them and feels that she will the one called upon to save them all. This fast paced historical saga begins here with Katrina as she begins the journey that will change all their lives forever. It's full of romance, intrigue, danger and betrayal. To succeed the Five must become the many...Join us. John Daniels, author writes: "This is a page-turning, swashbuckling adventuure told by a gorgeous seventeen-year-old vampire on the verge of womandhood. Katrina and her companions are girls who love fancy clothes and romantic gossip; but when their race is threatened they becone Women Warriors, using their paranormal talents, lightning speed, and razor-sharp blades to wreak dealy justice. By turns tense, funny and sad, this is a great read for fans of bloodlust."
Tempus
Tyra Lynn - 2011
All in all, it is one of my favorite books I've read this year." Beth - YA Sisterhood"I am so in love with this story. I wasn't expecting to be so emotionally affected by this book. I definitely cried my eyes out. I was pulled in from the very beginning." CAOakley Book Reviews"The only reason I put this book down last night was because my eyes were completely dried out and could not stay open for a second longer. I started reading again the second I woke up this morning, and I didn’t stop until I read the last page. Needless to say, it’s addicting!" Reading, Eating & Dreaming I was Blair Waldorf"This book is definitely going on my top shelf! - I can’t put my finger on what exactly moved me most…the characters who were wonderful and vivid, the love story that was a delicious slow burn - it was all of these things that touched me and I can’t wait for the next book!!" Ana - The Book Hookup"The romance is sweet, it’s intense, it’s a slow burn, it’s AMAZING. I fell in love and I cried….I need more!" Celeste - The Book Hookup~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~According to Albert Einstein, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. He might have been right.Seventeen-year-old Jessie McLeod is used to getting glimpses of the past when she touches objects in her dads antique shop, but she's not used to the past looking back. Especially when the past is a gorgeous guy and she is dressed like a slob.Shocked and intrigued, Jessie becomes obsessed with trying to catch another glimpse of that perfect face. When thoughts of him invade her sleep, the dreams seem so real that she wakes with the feel of his lips lingering on her skin. Soon after, however, the one guy she thought she’d never date suddenly asks her out. Either something strange is going on, or all those years of using furniture cleaner finally caused brain damage.Brain damage is easy enough to believe—until the day she turns around and looks straight into the face from her dreams. Completely unaware, Jessie is now in a race against time to remember something important, something life-changing, and the one person who can tell her the truth doesn’t dare to—she must remember on her own.With only a week before senior year, the once self-assured Jessie is now sure of nothing. Well, maybe one thing. Everything’s been turned upside down, and it's all because of that stupid mirror she found in the shop on Monday and the glimpse that changed her future—maybe even her past.
Lure
Stephanie Jenkins - 2011
When she gets wasted at a party and investigates the ethereal tune, she almost drowns. Charlotte comes to with an overwhelming thirst for salt water, a new desire to eat fish, and a heartbeat of only seven beats a minute. She wakes up by the sea almost every day and dead men wash up hours later.But then Charlotte meets Lorelei, a siren. Lorelei reveals she saved her from drowning with the "Siren's Kiss"-a curse that made Charlotte a soulless immortal. Her role as a siren is simple: guide the souls of the dead at sea. Too bad taking care of the dead means being stuck in the middle of a war between a fertility goddess and the sirens . . . and losing her soul. If Charlotte wants to regain her mortality, she must find love with a mortal. And if she fails to secure it, she risks becoming a puppet to the gods.
Florence
Ciye Cho - 2012
Literally. Kidnapped and taken below the waves to the mer world of Niemela, she is the ultimate gift for merman Prince Kiren: a human familiar tied to his side. But nothing is what it seems amid the beauty and danger of a dark ocean.Every Niemelan has a role to play, from the mermaids who weave towers out of kelp to the warriors who fight sea monsters. But in trying to survive, Florence will end up in the middle of a war between the mer and the Darkness. A conflict that will push her between two brothers: Kiren, the charmer inexplicably drawn to both her and the monsters; and Rolan, the loner who has been pushing her away since the day they met. But in order to take a stand--and find out where she belongs--Florence will have to risk it all: her life, her heart... and her very soul.
Hiding Haelo
T.M. Holladay - 2016
Real mermaids don't have fins. Summoning ocean currents at will and feeling the auras of those around her are Candeon capabilities completely wasted at high school. When the memory of an underwater battle surfaces in her dreams, Haelo realizes there is more to her story than she thought. And Dagger, the only other Candeon at school, might have the answers she needs. Haelo is about to discover that high school is poor preparation for the alarming future set out before her.
The Undelightened
Bentz Deyo - 2014
Making things worse,Leam’s insufferable brother, Zach, the pride of the family, is set to delighten in a few short hours.When Gideon, the evil leader of Darkness, arrives to preside over Zach’s ceremony, the course of Leam’s life takes a drastic turn. Rather than fading farther into the background, Leam is ordered to undergo a series of brutal trials. Vast magical power is suddenly within Leam’s grasp if he triumphs, but Leam can’t seem to stay away from a beautiful girl of Light, and his testing is yielding disturbing results.As Leam begins to uncover secrets on both sides of the war, he realizes the fate of humanity is at stake, and he may have the most to lose in the fight.
How to Flunk Magic
Elena Bryce - 2013
Until all spell broke loose!
Cool party? Check. Boy of my dreams? Check. First kiss? Not so fast.Because that’s when I discovered I was a witch. And not a very good one.Just ask Peter, the ghost I can now see haunting my bedroom, or the zombies I accidentally raised from their graves.And then there’s Fletch.GorgeousBroodyWerewolf!And he wants me to lift his curse.Am I ready for this? No.Do I hesitate? No.Does it go well? Big fat No!And now, instead of being at the party, I’m dancing naked on the town common with a coven of witches and my new familiar, in a race against time to put things right.Sounds crazy. Is crazy. But I kinda heart crazy…
Author note: 2018 Edition. Previously released as Halloween Magic & Mayhem by Stella Wilkinson.
The Sisters' Grimoire
Suza Kates - 2014
The Victorian house near the cliffs holds much more than painful memories, and when lightning strikes midnight, family secrets unfold. She and her sisters have no choice but to work together, as they find strength they never knew they had . . . and face danger from a place they never knew existed.
Ripple
Mandy Hubbard - 2011
The water calls to her, draws her in, forces her to sing her deadly song to unsuspecting victims. If she succumbs, she kills. If she doesn't, the pain is unbearable. To keep herself and those she cares about safe, she shuts herself off, refusing to make friends or fall in love - again. Because the last time she fell in love with a boy, he ended up dead.Then Lexi finds herself torn. Against her better judgement, she's opening up again, falling in love with someone new when she knows she shouldn't. But when she's offered the chance to finally live a normal life, she learns that the price she must pay to be free of her curse is giving him up.
Dreamthief
Tamara Grantham - 2015
Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. Despite her empty bank account, she takes pride in her job as Houston’s only Fairy World medical doctor. She's never failed to cure a client—until now.Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an ancient being called the Dreamthief. To complicate matters, she may be losing her heart to someone who can’t love her in return. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much. As if battling the forces of evil wasn't difficult enough…
Immortal Bound
T.G. Ayer - 2017
Special Agent. Supernatural CSI.Beneath New York’s cosmopolitan veneer lies a darker truth—a concrete jungle of the supernatural kind. But humanity is protected, their souls guarded by powerful ancient Gods. Vee deals in death—demons, evil spirits, possessions, and even the odd rogue God or two. But Vee’s power to read life essences is both a gift and a curse. She’s a Warrior of the Gods, but she’s also in the crosshairs of powerful demonic forces. And from the shadows, dark things come, dogging her every step, threatening her every move.Vee doesn’t know it, but her power means more than just a quirk of her DNA. Her true identity is a secret better left untold. But as both her alliance with a mystery informant and her strange powers grow, Vee must confront a truth that will make her question her very existence. Before all hell breaks loose. Literally.
Shock Me
Ashley C. Harris - 2013
The only exciting thing in life is her secret friendship with Ryan, her childhood crush. But after the accident—one that should have killed her—she discovers she has impossible powers! Why now, at sixteen, can she transform into something shocking and inhuman? Donna doesn't know how to use her new abilities or who she can trust, but unveiling this mystery might lead to conclusions about Ryan that are deadly. Rich kid, Ryan Applegate is the most popular guy in town. He has a face that should be on a poster in every girl’s bedroom and dates the hottest chick in school. But ever since the big explosion at the town’s power plant, Ryan has been keeping secrets of his own, that if revealed could force him to choose between his family and the girl he's forbidden to love.As their electrifying puzzle unfolds, so unfolds a town where friends become enemies, and enemies become unrecognizable and intertwined. Tortured heroes just might be the bad guys,and Donna discovers that her and Ryan’s secrets are powerful enough to destroy everyone... including themselves.
Chosen by Grace
Alicia Rades - 2018
until the night they attacked.Ryn Tyler didn't intend to kill a demon when she moved to Eagle Valley—or to become the hero of a divine race of angels. She just wants to be a normal teenager, but fate has other plans.While discovering the secrets of the supernatural, Ryn navigates a complicated relationship with Marek, the guy who can't stop saving her life. But Marek knows more about Ryn's magic than he's letting on.Only Ryn has the power to stop the coming apocalypse. But there's a demon in Eagle Valley who wants that power for himself—and if Ryn wants to survive, she'll have to fight back.