Book picks similar to
Awakening: Book One of Kira's Story by Rebel Miller
new-adult
romance
sci-fi
portals
A Spark of White Fire
Sangu Mandanna - 2018
Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali. It’s a great plan. Until it falls apart. Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love.
The Starving Years
Jordan Castillo Price - 2012
In 1960, a superfood was invented that made starvation a thing of the past. Manna, the cheaply manufactured staple food, is now as ubiquitous as salt in the world’s cupboards, pantries and larders.Nelson Oliver knows plenty about manna. He’s a food scientist—according to his diploma, that is. Lately, he’s been running the register at the local video rental dive to scrape together the cash for his exorbitantly priced migraine medication.In a job fair gone bad, Nelson hooks up with copywriter Javier and his computer-geek pal Tim, who whisks them away from the worst of the fiasco in his repurposed moving truck. At least, Nelson thinks those two are acquainted, but they’re acting so evasive about it, he’s not sure how they know each other, exactly.Javier is impervious to Nelson’s flirting, and Tim’s name could appear in the dictionary under the entry for “awkward.” And with a riot raging through Manhattan and yet another headache coming on, it doesn’t seem like Nelson will get an answer anytime soon. One thing’s for sure, the tension between the three of them is thick enough to cut with a knife...even one of those dull plastic dealies that come in the package with Mannariffic EZ-Mealz.(Gay fiction, adult content)
His Perfect Partner
Priscilla Oliveras - 2017
Burned by a shattering divorce, he's laser-focused on his career and giving his young daughter, Maria, the secure home she deserves. Plus, he's certain that with her talent, Yaz will be leaving Chicago and heading back to Broadway as soon as she can. But Yaz's generous spirit and caring concern are sparking a desire Tomas can't resist and doesn't want to let go . . . For Yaz, good-looking workaholics like Tomas simply can't be part of her life ever again. She owes it to herself to get back her confidence and fulfill the dreams her papa could not. She's glad to spend time with Maria and taste the family life she feels she can never have. And she's sure that she and Tomas can keep their attraction under control because there's so much at stake. But each unexpected intimacy, each self-revelation, makes the fire between them grow hotter with every step and every risk to their hearts . . .
Owned by the Alien
Tammy Walsh - 2020
Callous. Cruel.That’s how the crew describe their captain.After their attempted mutiny, he comes to me for aid.Help him recover from their poison and he’ll return me to Earth.There’s just one catch.Healing requires the use of my body for one whole night.If I give him what he needs, will he keep his word?And will sleeping with him make me his fated mate for all time?
Hot Flash
Carrie H. Johnson - 2016
Johnson, one woman with a dangerous job and a volatile past is feeling the heat from all sides…READY, AIM…She sweats every detail as a forensic firearms specialist—and as a forty-something single mother. She’s got more responsibilities than she can count, more baggage than she wants to claim, and way too many regrets. But Muriel Mabley will do whatever it takes to put Philadelphia’s most vicious killer in lockdown for good…BURN…Until her troubled younger sister in witness protection receives a terrifying warning—and Muriel’s long-time partner, Laughton, reveals he knows more than he should about her and Muriel’s shattered past. And when Laughton’s ex-wife and her new husband turn up dead, his own secrets will send Muriel down a twisted trail of lethal leads, disappeared witnesses, and the ultimate wrenching betrayal… “A lively and clever novel that will dare you to put it down. The reader will leave fingerprints pressed into the cover of this one. Top of the ‘must read’ list.” —John Lutz, New York Times bestselling author
“Muriel Mabley has hot flashes, a hot new love, and a heap of deadly cold secrets that will destroy everyone she loves. A gripping, fast-paced debut novel.” —Valerie Wilson Wesley, author of The Tamara Hayle Mysteries“A heartfelt, well-crafted read! Muriel is the perfect combination of vulnerability and intelligence.” —Anika Nailah, author of Free & Other Stories“Hot Flash left me breathless and blown away from page one!” —Karen Holmes Ward, Director of Public Affairs/Host of CityLine, WCVB Channel 5 Boston
Each of Us a Desert
Mark Oshiro - 2020
Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enimagic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes.Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit.One night, Xo's wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town's murderous mayor. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match... if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.
Trail of Lightning
Rebecca Roanhorse - 2018
The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.Welcome to the Sixth World.
The Deep
Rivers Solomon - 2019
Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting.
Cutlass
Ellis Leigh - 2016
Earth wasn’t his home, but he’d find a way to survive there if it meant finding a mate. He could put up with their ancient mechanical devices and a name that wasn’t his own for the right woman.
Chloe never imagined she’d sign up to be some sort of modern-day mail order bride. But too much wine and an internet connection were a bad combination, especially when the life she imagined seemed so much greater than the life she was living. Everyone stretches the truth on those dating websites, right?
One ad in a space station, one night of too much drinking, and one hotel room that will never be the same. What would you do if you found out the man from your fantasies was actually the man from your science fiction?
Echo
Alicia Wright Brewster - 2013
The citizens are organized. Everyone's been notified and assigned a duty. The problem is . . . no one knows for sure how it will end.Energy-hungry Mages are the most likely culprit. They travel toward a single location from every corner of the continent. Fueled by the two suns, each Mage holds the power of an element: air, earth, fire, metal, water, or ether. They harness their powers to draw energy from the most readily available resource: humans.Ashara has been assigned to the Ethereal task force, made up of human ether manipulators and directed by Loken, a young man with whom she has a complicated past. Loken and Ashara bond over a common goal: to stop the Mages from occupying their home and gaining more energy than they can contain. But soon, they begin to suspect that the future of the world may depend on Ashara's death.
Alien Barbarians' Hope
Zara Starr - 2019
Some say the end of the world is coming, but for Ella, life goes on as always: stressing about work, her health problems, and now a broken car to top it all off. She tries to make her way home in the stormy weather when a lightning suddenly strikes her. She loses consciousness and when she wakes up, she finds herself in the middle of a TV production. Because giant purple aliens just can’t be real, right? Especially not when they come in threes and want to mate with her… Alien Barbarians’ Hope is the first book in a brand new sci-fi reverse harem romance series! Each book is a standalone romance featuring a different woman and three hot, purple aliens who want her as their mate. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a HEA!
Shadowshaper
Daniel José Older - 2015
But then a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season. Sierra's near-comatose abuelo begins to say "Lo siento" over and over. And when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep.... Well, something stranger than the usual New York mayhem is going on.Sierra soon discovers a supernatural order called the Shadowshapers, who connect with spirits via paintings, music, and stories. Her grandfather once shared the order's secrets with an anthropologist, Dr. Jonathan Wick, who turned the Caribbean magic to his own foul ends. Now Wick wants to become the ultimate Shadowshaper by killing all the others, one by one. With the help of her friends and the hot graffiti artist Robbie, Sierra must dodge Wick's supernatural creations, harness her own Shadowshaping abilities, and save her family's past, present, and future.
Polaris Rising
Jessie Mihalik - 2019
As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .
Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon
Mary Fan - 2019
They agree to give him their sacred, enchanted River Pearl in exchange for permanent protection—if he’ll marry one of the village girls to solidify the alliance. Anlei is appalled when the viceroy selects her as a bride, but with the fate of her people at stake, she sees no choice but to consent. Anlei’s noble plans are sent into a tailspin, however, when a young thief steals the River Pearl for himself.Knowing the viceroy won’t protect her village without the jewel, she takes matters into her own hands. But once she catches the thief, she discovers he needs the pearl just as much as she does. The two embark on an epic quest across the land and into the Courts of Hell, taking Anlei on a journey that reveals more is at stake than she could have ever imagined.With incredibly vivid world building and fast-paced storytelling, Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon is great for readers who are looking for something fresh in epic fantasy.