Book picks similar to
Magic Required by H.S. Paisley


fantasy
urban-fantasy
tbr-longterm
books-with-less-than-300-reviews

Second Chances


Rachel Cullen - 2017
     Second Chances follows a single mother deserted by her adulterous ex-husband, a socialite who abandoned her family and fled to the Caribbean, a high-powered executive with a disconcerting fear of commitment and a questionable sense of judgment, and a privileged teenager plagued with a lecherous father and absentee mother while bewildered by an unforeseen opportunity with the most sought after boy in school. Although the women are each dealt cards they never expected, they find friendship, family and love in the least likely of places, and with those, they find hope.

Spooks for Sale


Carolyn Ridder Aspenson - 2020
    Just without the extra pay.Now I’m showing old homes, and every single one of them is haunted. As a witch, I’m not supposed to be able to see ghosts. But I do. And they know I do. And I know they know I do. And, oh boy.Worse yet, an apparition that looks an awful lot like my boss’s dead partner has come knocking, and demanding I solve her murder. I’ve been given an ultimatum: help or die. It looks like I can’t really trust anyone any more. Will my cat, mouse familiar, and a new shapeshifter friend be enough to help me get the job done in what little time I have left?

Deep Dark Secrets


Sarra Cannon - 2017
    They say there was no shadowy figure on the bridge that night. No oil-black tears running down Hailey's face. No guy who appeared from a bright light in the forest. Frustrated, Marayah locks those memories away and tries to focus on the future, but the past keeps pulling her back. A guy who looks like the stranger from the forest enrolls in her school, and her nightmares are getting worse. But when she finds a note in her locker, the mystery of the accident becomes more terrifying than ever. The note is from Hailey.“Marayah,If I’m dead— it wasn’t an accident.”

A Tale of Mer-der


Morgana Best - 2018
    Misty's mean boss sends her to an island resort in the Great Barrier Reef to investigate one paranormal event, but mermaids and murder throw her off the track. When Misty makes waves, she attracts the attention of the murderer and one mysterious stranger. Will Misty get to the bottom of this, or are there too many red herrings?

Til Death We Do Part


Bruno Beaches - 2021
    Through decades of quiet dedication and single-minded devotion he has achieved the successes one strives for in life, both with his family and career. Close to retirement and to sitting back and enjoying the fruits of a successful career and marriage, a malicious spurious complaint at work should have no material consequences on his life, but it starts a domino effect, and before long he finds himself shockingly dismissed, divorced, without a home, and with a criminal record. This story explores a convoluted tragic journey of divorce, rich with emotion, loss, betrayal, revenge and confusion. Along the way it explores the dynamics of what makes a relationship weak and vulnerable, or strong and resolute. It’s not a miserable story, but one of resilience, hope, and true love. It is told with an immense depth of feeling, insight, humour and faith, and there are many truly surprising twists and turns as the story unfolds.

Crossroads of Bones


Luanne Bennett - 2017
    . .a bunch of fat cat society folks smelled her out and made her an offer she couldn't refuse.Katie just wants to run her tattoo business quietly under the radar. But when a man walks into her shop and hands her a drawing of the same tattoo she's been dreaming about for weeks, things start to spin out of control. The last two people who tried to apply that tattoo are dead.Only half human, it's her other half that an elite group wants to hire-a group of Savannah's more privileged citizens, including the city's reigning coven of witches.There's a rogue god on the loose, and Katie is the only one who can send him back to hell before he breaks open the crossroads and lets the underworld waltz right in-if he manages to get that deadly tattoo inked onto his back.

Bottled


Carol Riggs - 2016
    For a thousand years, she fulfills the wishes of greedy masters--building their palaces, lining their pockets with gold, and granting them every earthly pleasure. All that sustains her is the hope of finding Karim, the boy she fell in love with as a human. When at last she finds a note from her beloved, she confirms he has access to the elixir of life and that he still searches for her. But someone else also hunts her. Faruq--the man who plots to use her powers to murder and seize the life forces of others--is just one step behind her. With the help of a kind master named Nathan, Adeelah continues to search for Karim while trying to evade Faruq. To complicate matters, she begins to experience growing fatigue and pain after conjuring, and finds herself struggling against an undeniable attraction to Nathan. As Faruq closes in, Adeelah must decide just how much she'll risk to protect Nathan and be with Karim forever. How much power does she really have to change her future, and what is she willing to sacrifice for an eternity of love? If she makes the wrong choice, the deaths of many will be on her hands.

Shoes on the Stairs


Jan Steele - 2019
    She takes the reader on a journey of both laughter and tears while learning even the smallest of gestures can make a significant and lasting impact.* * *Claire Blackwell can’t find that damn white light. Thanks to a mishap at an intersection, she’s dead and stuck somewhere between Heaven and what seems like Hell as she is forced to watch her husband and children unravel without her. While she struggles to find answers for her limbo state, her family begins to see her, offering what she believes, is a gift of second chances. As she navigates through this new, untouchable world and the challenges it creates, she is forced to face some sad and potentially dangerous truths. Determined, she works to mend her relationship with her family, but her stubborn teenage son refuses to acknowledge her, and when tensions escalate with his long-time bully, her inability to control the physical world around her leaves her fearing for her family’s safety. With her time running out, she must find a way to save them before the progress she has made is lost and she fades from this world forever.

Jinx Hamilton Box Set Books 1-6 (The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries)


Juliette Harper - 2017
    Rowling or secretly want to be Harry Dresden, Jinx Hamilton may be the witch for you. She's new to magic, with one option: learn fast. For the first time in a single ebook collection, enter the world of Briar Hollow, North Carolina, with the first six books of The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries. Set in a fictional town near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Jinx, a former waitress, inherits a store -- and more -- from her eccentric Aunt Fiona. The series begins with a sweet “cozy” note in the first novel Witch at Heart, but evolves into a full-blown paranormal urban fantasy. From shapeshifting werecats and ancient Fae to baseball playing ghosts and paramilitary fairy troops, the Jinx Hamilton books have it all. Listen to what readers have to say about Jinx and her world: “Absolutely terrific! The characters are great, the story is griping and you never want to end.” “The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries, are full of surprise, fantasy, and feeling.” “From the first book, right on through, you feel like you can become friends with each character.” “Plot twists and new characters keep her work fresh and exciting. Lots of humor and romance. Love the series. Want MORE!!!!” “The story has progressed -- we have a full bodied urban fantasy with a well thought out world, well developed characters of all descriptions, and a great and complex story line.” “Great storyline and dialogue, lots of action and drama. The author has great imagination and insight into human behavior.” If you’re ready for magic, adventure, humor, family, and friendship, come with us to Briar Hollow and beyond in this special boxed ebook collection!

The Tears of Monterini


Amanda Weinberg - 2020
    1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life, Etruscan tales and the growth of Benito Mussolini. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives amidst and perhaps because of the fear and uncertainty. When Angelo discovers their liaison he suggests they marry but life is complicated and tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship. When war is declared on the day of Bella's wedding to Michele a fellow Jew, the peaceful village they live in is torn apart, and the Levis find themselves displaced and fighting for their lives. Will life ever be the same again?The Tears of Monterini is a story of love and betrayal, loyalty and friendship. Inspired by true events in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, this beautifully written debut will appeal to readers interested in history, Italy, romance, family dynamics and conflict.

Songs and Portobellos


M.A. McCormack - 2015
    Songs and Portobellos is a magical story that captures the creativity and clarity of perception that young people possess.The book centres on the development of teenagers Conor and Melanie during the summer of 1967 and explores the influences that bring them to understand their uniqueness.By the end of the summer they have transcended the ordinary, discovered who they are and determined what they stand for.

The Book of Secrets


Melissa McShane - 2018
    Abernathy’s Bookstore is disorganized, out of the way, and smells funny, but it pays well and promises to at least be interesting. She has no idea how interesting her life will become. By the end of the first day, Helena has a dead boss in the basement, an unexpected promotion, and the news that she is now a part of an endless war against creatures from another reality.As Abernathy’s newest custodian, Helena is responsible for its secrets, including the most important one: Abernathy’s isn’t just a bookstore. It’s the world’s only living oracle, producing prophecies to help fight the war against alien invaders bent on draining this world of its magic. Helena’s job is to find books to answer questions put to the oracle by the Wardens, fighters in the Long War. It seems simple enough, but Helena’s new job is anything but.She has allies: her best friend Viv, from whom she has no secrets; Harry and Harriet Keller, elderly magi skilled at uncovering secrets; and the enigmatic Malcolm Campbell, warrior magus and one of the few who have faith in Helena’s abilities. But not everyone is thrilled that an outsider now has charge of one of the world’s most powerful magical entities. Helena must defend herself against the antagonism of Judy Rasmussen, who’d expected to be the next custodian of Abernathy’s, and her father William, powerful leader of the Wardens and someone with an agenda of his own.Without training, without any knowledge of the magical world, and facing the hostility of those who’d wanted someone else to be Abernathy’s custodian, Helena must navigate the treacherous waters of her new world and find a place for herself within it. But there’s still a murderer on the loose, someone who intended to control Abernathy’s by killing its custodian—and Helena might be next on his list.

The Messengers Menagerie


Joey Anderle - 2017
      Now, Sterling Booker Wells hasn't been in charge of her for 24 hours and they have already busted up one effort on her life, and even worse, there is a crossbow bolt hole in Alphonse's prized, painstakingly accurate, exquisitely restored, vintage replica of Steve McQueen's 1968 Mustang from the hit movie Bullitt.However, Booker argues in his defense, the Princess hasn't suffered a scratch. The Messengers Menagerie continues the first weekend when Sterling Booker Wells meets the Royal Elven Princess Auralee, what (else) could possibly go wrong? How about a new crew sent to do him in? And the Princess who will be by his side. Join Runner Sterling Booker Wells as he attempts to keep the Elven Princess out of harm's way... Again.

Dog-Heart


Diana McCaulay - 2010
    Alternating between the perspectives of the woman and the boy, the story engages with issues of race and class, examines the complexities of relationships between people of very different backgrounds, and explores the difficulties faced by individuals seeking to bring about social change through their own actions. The dramatic climax and tragic choices made grow from the gulf of incomprehension between middle-class and poor Jamaicans and provide penetrating insights into the roots of violence in impoverished communities.

The Guy Next Door


D.L. White - 2019
    The attraction between them at first sight is immediately electric. When a storm ravages Potter Lake, and they're forced to share close quarters, they can no longer resist each other.But... now what? Evonne is on a mission to prove that she isn't the screwup that was sent home from Spelman College ten years ago. Taj is floundering, trying to tamp down a desire that can't be stifled. The last thing either of them wants is an emotional attachment to a temporary relationship.. but does it have to stay temporary?On a rainy night in Georgia, two hearts meet. They're never the same again. Grab this fun and funny small town Black romance in ebook, paperback (COMING SOON TO AUDIO!).