Book picks similar to
Red Sapphire by Ashley Mayers


fantasy
science-fiction
young-adult
female-author

The Witches of Dark Root


April Aasheim - 2012
    Some call me a wilder - a woman with untamed magical powers. Others just call me a witch. My childhood was spent dreaming of a world beyond my hometown of Dark Root - a world where I could be whatever I wanted to be, and not the coven-leader I was slated to become under the tutelage of my mother. When I finally got the opportunity to leave I jumped at it, never looking back. Now, seven years later a call from my beloved sister forces me to return to Dark Root and I'm unprepared for what awaits me: a mother with a mysterious illness, a renewed sibling rivalry, and a town that's fallen into disrepair and has lost its magic. I never wanted to be a witch but it seems I have no choice. I only hope it's not too late to set things right again.

Who Let the Dogma Out


Theophilus Monroe - 2021
    The only alternative was admitting they might be wrong.Unthinkable!I didn’t go into ministry to defend dogma.I just wanted to spread a message of hope.But now I don’t know what to believe.Elves are real. I mean, seriously? How does getting stabbed confirm to anyone I am the center of ancient prophecy?Now it isn’t just my beliefs I have to fight.There are many who don’t want to see the elven prophecy fulfilled.And they want me dead before I can do something radical.Like, oh, I don’t know…How about save the world?P.S. – Learning to communicate with your cat is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Nine Lives of Adam Blake


Ryan Gladney - 2014
    He has died before, and will die again, and always it’s the same. For Adam, there is no heaven, no hell, no reincarnation, or cold, final sleep. When he dies, his life flashes before his eyes; it rushes backward—nothing skipped or overlooked—until it stops, suddenly, at age twelve, one week after he had mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind his childhood home. Then, he wakes up. Adam is cursed—or blessed—to relive the same life again and again, from this moment onward, regardless of how he lives, who he becomes, or what ultimately causes next his demise. He is free to right past wrongs, avoid past mistakes, pursue any interest and chase any dream. But the longer Adam lives, the less anything matters but answers. He must know: Why is he stuck in this loop? What is its cause? How will it end? And what awaits him on the other side of death when it finally does?

Edge of Time


Melissa Lynne Blue - 2012
    Confederate Officer Dr. Craig Langston is an enticing man that any woman would long to fall in love with, and now Marissa is torn between rampant desire, for the man ignites her very soul, and a longing to return home.Can she find it within herself to embrace a new life in the arms of her Confederate officer or will more sinister forces intervene before she can discover what may be the greatest love of all time?

Sleep Writer


Keith Robinson - 2014
    Madison is fifteen, pretty, and much weirder than she seems. Sometimes when she's sound asleep, she scrawls a message on a notepad by her pillow. She finds these cryptic words when she wakes the next morning – a time and a place. But for what? Liam and best friend Ant join her when she goes hunting around a cemetery late one night, and life is never the same again...So begins one freaky adventure after another involving all manner of aliens, monsters, and ghouls.SLEEP WRITER is the first in a brand new sci-fi/fantasy series by the author of ISLAND OF FOG.

The Afterlife of Alice Watkins


Matilda Scotney - 2018
    Alice didn't. She woke up on a space station orbiting Saturn. Then the real mystery began. Time’s attention must have been elsewhere the moment elderly, grey, unsophisticated Alice Watkins died in her armchair a few days before her birthday in November 2016. It still wasn’t minding what it was doing on Saturn Station in the year 2513. Dr Jim Grossmith, one of the most eminent scientists of the age has devoted his career to The Sleeping Beauty Phenomenon, guarding the beautiful, red-haired young woman who sleeps peacefully, in a mysterious sarcophagus, her life perfectly suspended, her body preserved in a strange fluid. The woman, cocooned in her protective shell has defied scientific analysis for almost four hundred years. History recorded little, only that she is Dr Alexis Langley, a noted scientist of her time. When the sarcophagus opens and vanishes without a trace, leaving the young woman in his care, Jim Grossmith eagerly awaits the day when she can tell him the manner of her preservation. A strange science, lost in the annals of the past? Alien technology? But as he learns her story, Jim Grossmith finds himself faced with an even deeper mystery. He is certain the physical form of Dr Alexis Langley emerged from the sarcophagus, but as for anything else…

Drinking Life


Kevin George - 2011
    But it's not the other team she has to worry about stopping her - it's the two soldiers in ancient battle armor who attack during the game! Nia has always been a little quicker, a little stronger, a little more agile than everyone else. She quickly learns that hand-to-hand combat is another skill she possesses...The attack makes headlines and causes her parents to uproot the family business and move cross-country during her senior year. It's not an easy adjustment and before long she finds herself in the middle of another physical altercation, this time with the entire boy's lacrosse team. But a mysterious stranger named John Leon shows up to help and starts Nia's life on an uncontrollable spiral she never imagined...On the night of her eighteenth birthday, she begins to dream about being another person in another life. The dreams grow increasingly frequent - and increasingly clear - and she begins to question everything about her life, from who she really is, to who she really was, to whether her parents are who they claim to be...Nia unexpectedly finds herself falling for John but has fierce competition for his affection. Cassie is her neighbor and the daughter of her parents' business partner. She's selfish and ruthless and shallow and John seems like he can't stand her. But he also can't say no to her...John knows something about Nia's past and the dreams she's been having but getting the information from him might turn deadly...CHAPTER ONEI’m the first person to see the attackers though I have plenty of reason to be focused elsewhere. I don’t know how but it’s like I sensed the danger coming and looked up just in time to see a pair of behemoths charging out of the nearby woods. In the split second I first lay eyes on them, my mind registers every minor detail: two men well above six feet tall, biceps rippling like steroid-laced professional wrestlers. One has long greasy blond hair and wields a sword almost as long as his body; the other has brown hair just as long and greasy and wields a massive axe. Their teeth are equally brown and rotted, evil sneers of blood lust plastered across their lips. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re both ugly but I can’t see their faces behind metal helmets that cover their heads and most of their faces. Only a single slit in the helmets allows them to see, their eyes focused in my direction.Had I not spotted the attackers right away, I surely would have heard them soon after appearing from the trees. They wear matching suits of armor that cover their chest and legs, clattering and clanging with every step they run. I can’t imagine how a normal human could walk in such bulky suits let alone run but they don’t seem slowed by them at all. For the second time in a matter of seconds, my mind surprises me with something else I can’t quite explain: somehow I know that these soldiers are from the Spanish Armada. Logically, I think this should be some sort of ill-advised joke. This type of soldier hasn’t been seen in centuries. Others around me must have the same thought because it takes several seconds for the first scream to cry out from the large crowd. I stop staring at the soldiers once I feel a heavy smash against the back of my leg; I’d almost forgotten that I was in the middle of the most important game of my life.Did I forget to mention that I’m in the middle of a field hockey game?CHECK OUT THE AUTHOR'S OTHER NOVELSKEEPER OF THE WATER TRILOGYBOOK ONE - Drinking LifeBOOK TWO - Recruits BOOK THREE - The Water Queens

A Question of Faith


Nicole Zoltack - 2016
     After learning her birth mother sought the help of witches to conceive her, fifteen-year-old Crystal's previously unwavering faith is shaken. God hasn’t been answering her prayers like she thought--she was. Crystal’s limitless magical potential is put to the test when her boyfriend’s mother is in a life-threatening accident. Surely God won’t mind her using magic to help people, but the miraculous outcome leaves Crystal wondering what she is capable of and worrying that her magic will damn her to Hell or, worse, prove she has no soul to condemn. After her aunt is threatened, Crystal sets out to master her power, but flying and conjuring fireballs attracts dangerous attention. A witch hunter kidnaps her boyfriend, and shamans and witches hunt Crystal, desperate to use her to end a centuries-old war between the supernatural races. Her magic is an uncontrollable time bomb. If Crystal can't figure out what she's capable of, she won't just fail to protect those she loves and end the war--she might start the apocalypse.

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.

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer


Laxmi Hariharan - 2012
    Criminals run the streets of Bombay. Jam-packed with the worst degenerates. The city is a shell of the pride and joy it used to be. Ruby knows something must be done, but it isn’t until her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr. Braganza that she knows that she and she alone must save city, save her best friend, save the world from total destruction. Armed only with with Vikram, a cop-turned-rogue they are about to embark on a road they may never return from.

Deep Blue Sea


Valerie Howard - 2013
    With her marriage, her job, and her sanity in jeopardy, Jamie is desperate to escape everything that reminds her of that fateful night, if only the nightmares would stop haunting her.Widowed pastor Byron Mitchell lost his wife and his son in the same weekend. His wife in a horrible accident, and his son in a heated argument. Desperate to win his son back, no matter the cost, Byron strikes out at every turn until he gets injured trying to stop a bank robbery. Forced to visit him in the hospital, his son makes it clear he doesn't appreciate Byron's intrusion into his life.When Jamie interviews Byron for a magazine article about the shooting, the peace in the pastor's eyes tells her that he might be able to help with her problems, and she's determined to help him reconcile with his long-lost son. As the pastor teaches Jamie about God's forgiveness, she must make the heartbreaking choice between reconciling with her family or keeping her secret forever. Either way, her life will never be the same.Fans of Karen Kingsbury, Lisa Wingate, Cynthia Ruchti, and Katie Powner will also enjoy the true-to-life characters and faith-driven stories written by Valerie Howard. Available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook format.

Storm


Brigid Kemmerer - 2012
    An alternate cover edition can also be found here.Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys-- the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her.Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water--just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca. Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all. The storm is coming. . .

The Road to Farringale


Charlotte E. English - 2017
    New World. In the 21st century, little remains of magick save scattered, beleaguered pockets of magickal community and scholarship - and a vast, but rapidly decaying, heritage. How can any of it survive the pace of modern life? As an agent of the Society for Magickal Heritage, Cordelia “Ves” Vesper has an important job: to track down and rescue endangered magickal creatures, artefacts, books and spells wherever they are to be found. It’s a duty that takes her the length and breadth of Britain, and frequently gets her into trouble. But somebody’s got to keep magick alive in the modern world, and Ves is more than equal to the job. In this first adventure, Ves meets her new partner, the Waymaster Jay. Their mission? Find the source of a magickal disease that’s decimating Britain’s troll enclaves - and fix it. Simple in theory, tricky in practice, for the only place that might hold the information they need is the ancient and inconveniently lost enclave of Farringale... From the author of The Malykant Mysteries: The Road to Farringale is episode one of the contemporary fantasy web serial, Modern Magick.

Realm Keepers: Episode One


Garrett Robinson - 2013
    Plucked from their ordinary lives and given extraordinary powers, they're the only thing standing between us and destruction.In Episode One, Sarah is living the life every high school student dreams of: she works hard, does well, and has her whole life laid out before her. Until she ends up in detention and mysteriously falls asleep, along with everyone else in the room. Waking up, Sarah finds herself in another world—and another life, one more fantastic and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.This is the first episode of Realm Keepers. Each volume consists of six regular episodes, and a Finale that is three times the length (and price) of a single episode, told from the perspective of all six kids. Your adventure in Midrealm begins here. Scroll up and add it to your cart NOW.

No Beauties or Monsters


Tara Goedjen - 2021
     Rylie hasn’t been back to Twentynine Palms since her dad died. She left a lot of memories out there, buried in the sand of the Mojave Desert. Memories about her dad, her old friends Nathan and Lily, and most of all, her enigmatic grandfather, a man who cut ties with Rylie’s family before he passed away. But her mom’s new work assignment means their family has to move, and now Rylie’s in the one place she never wanted to return to, living in the house of a grandfather she barely knew. At least her old friends are happy to welcome her home. Well, some of them, anyway. Lily is gone, vanished into the desert. And Twentynine Palms is so much stranger than Rylie remembers. There are whispers around town of a mysterious killer on the loose, but it isn’t just Twentynine Palms that feels off—there’s something wrong with Rylie, too. She’s seeing things she can’t explain. Visions of monstrous creatures that stalk the night. Somehow, it all seems to be tied to her grandfather and the family cabin he left behind. Rylie wants the truth, but she doesn’t know if she can trust herself. Are the monsters in her head really out there? Or could it be that the deadliest thing in the desert . . . is Rylie herself?