Book picks similar to
Cursed! by J.R. Rain


horror
paranormal
mystery
thriller

Of Saints and Shadows


Christopher Golden - 1994
    Now the book has been stolen, and the sect races to retrieve it before their purpose is discovered: a final purge of all vampires. As the line between saints and shadows grows ominously faint, private eye Peter Octavian is drawn into the search. And he'll do anything to find the book ... for Peter Octavian is also a vampire.Ostracized by his kindred for refusing to take part in the 'blood song', he cannot stand by and watch while they are destroyed. In a deadly game with a driven, sadistic assassin, the trail leads to Venice at the time of carnival, where the Defiant Ones, as the vampires are known, are engaged in a savage battle for their lives. Filled with plot twists, mystery, sex and violent death, Of Saints and Shadows is a spine-tingling thriller which opens the door to the world of Peter Octavian.

Wraith


Angel Lawson - 2012
    Weird. Crazy. These are the names tossed around seventeen-year old Jane Watts by her fellow classmates. But things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes there’s a reason for talking to yourself in the hallway at school.Adjusting to her new home and school after an abrupt move, Jane just wants to be like everyone else at school. Although she does manage to make one friend, Evan — sixteen, charming and protective. Evan is everything a girl could want in a best friend, with one minor caveat: He’s dead.Caught somewhere between life and death, Evan is tied to Jane and the living world, unable to complete the journey to the other side. She thinks he’s here to be her friend, to take care of her, and that’s why no one else can see or hear him.That is, until a new boy shows up at school after a rumored stretch in juvie. Connor can see Evan and is not convinced that the ghost is completely honest. Past experience taught him how ghosts tend to need something from the humans they connect to and Evan, despite his arguments, isn’t any different.Jane is resentful of Connor’s intrusion but soon realizes that her ghostly friend has secrets about his past. And now Evan's family, still reeling from his tragic death, is in danger. Jane must face her fears and battle Evan’s human demons to free both of them.

Whispering Pines Mysteries Books 1-3: Family Secrets / Kept Secrets / Original Secrets


Shawn McGuire - 2017
     Family Secrets — Book 1Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic? What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it’s up to her to solve this murder. Kept Secrets — Book 2One month after arriving in the Northwoods, former detective Jayne O’Shea has settled comfortably into small-town life and is making good progress with her task of getting her grandparents’ house ready for sale. Then the shocking death of one of the carnies rocks the community, and the villagers look to Jayne for help, placing her in an impossible middle ground of not wanting to get involved and needing to ensure justice is served. When a second carney turns up dead, and the newly hired sheriff—more concerned with ticketing tourists than catching the killer—dismisses the death as an accident, Jayne has no choice but to step in. Can she uncover the truth before the murderer strikes again? Original Secrets — Book 3Exhausted from being the only law enforcement official on duty, while also trying to open a bed-and-breakfast, Jayne O’Shea welcomes the escape she finds in her grandmother’s journals. Each entry gives her a deeper understanding of why her grandparents moved to the secluded spot so long ago. But as questions are answered, deeply hidden secrets are unearthed. If Jayne can put all the pieces of this puzzle together, she’ll not only learn the truth behind her grandmother’s death, she’ll catch a killer who's been wandering the village for forty years.

Paranormal Public


Maddy Edwards - 2011
    . .Charlotte Rollins is an elemental, but she doesn't know it yet. Now, with the help of her old friend Cale and her new friend Keller, she will fight against an evil whose only goal is to consume her.From Kobo:There is no such thing as a mage. There is certainly no such thing as a vampire, pixie, werewolf, or fallen angel. And they certainly do not all attend a college together called Paranormal Public University.One minute Charlotte Rollins is a normal girl about to go to a normal college. She is at once excited and nervous, getting ready to start this new phase in her life. The next minute she is a freshman not at a normal college, but at Paranormal Public University, a school where paranormals of all kinds must co-exist. Charlotte must learn magic, that is, if she could actually do magic, which unlike every other mage at Public she can’t seem to manage.Her transition to this new and wonderful world is difficult. On top of trying to learn magic, make new friends, and confront forbidden love, the archenemy of the paranormals, the demons, are getting stronger. They are looking for something. It turns out that Charlotte might just hold the key to finding it.Can Charlotte get a handle on her powers in time to save the school she loves? Can she fulfill a destiny the paranormals scarcely dared to hope for? Or will she be too late?

Apocalypse Island


Mark Edward Hall - 2012
    Is it a serial killer, someone with a penchant for the macabre and a need to destroy? Or is it a darker force, an ancient legend from a mysterious Island come ashore to wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting?Amid the backdrop of Portland's burgeoning night scene, Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings discovers that no one is safe, and that evil has many faces. Danny Wolf, a gifted musician with alcohol problems is witnessing brutal murder in his dreams. Someone is carving a cross on each of the young female victims before crucifying them. Newly released from prison for a crime he did not commit, Wolf is having trouble adjusting to civilian life. He believes the dreams are a symptom of his adjustment until he discovers that they are real and that the victims are his own groupies. He soon begins to doubt his sanity. Could he be a homicidal madman? Wolf has no memory of his early childhood but discovers that he spent his first eight years in a Catholic orphanage on a mysterious island off the coast of Maine. Is it possible that his early life and the murders are somehow connected? Soon the killings become more bold and gruesome, as members of the church begin to die. Enter Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings and his young assistant Laura Higgins. They discover a government conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, and a cold war CIA mind control program known as MK-Ultra where children were used as test subjects. Danny Wolf becomes the number one suspect in the murders, but no one, not even Wolf, is prepared for what they discover on Apocalypse Island, a mind blowing secret that was supposed to stay hidden forever.

Divine and Dateless


Tara West - 2014
    Bad girls go all the way... What can be worse than electrocuting yourself while getting ready for your Internet date? Realizing the hot stud you’ve been fondling is the Grim Reaper? Being chased by a sex-crazed bloated, naked corpse? How about an eternity of more bad hair days and horrific dates? Or lusting after the one guy in all the afterlife whose hydrophobia rivals his fear of commitment? Yeah, that’s a whole lot worse.

Soul Breaker


Clara Coulson - 2015
    But during a fateful nighttime stakeout in search of a prolific killer, Cal witnessed the darkest corner of his dreams come to life. A rogue vampire slaughtered his partner — to put it nicely — and introduced Cal to the supernatural world he never knew existed in the shadows.Now, Cal is a newly minted detective at the often mocked Department of Supernatural Investigations. By day, the agents of DSI are called “Kooks” by local law enforcement. By night, they’re known as “Crows,” reviled by the supernatural underworld.Mere weeks out of the academy, Cal catches his first real case, a vicious murder at a local college. An unknown sorcerer has summoned a powerful creature from the Eververse, a realm of magic and mayhem that borders Earth, and set it on a dangerous warpath through the city.Between butting heads with his grumpy team captain, stirring up ill will with the local wizards and witches, and repeatedly getting the crap beaten out of himself, Cal must find a way to stop the Eververse monster and send it back to the hell it came from……preferably before Aurora, Michigan runs out of coffins for the dead.

Find Me


Francesca Riley - 2018
    What will it cost her to cross the distance? Seventeen-year-old Skye Sebastian knows that love hurts; her broken father is a constant reminder. And she doesn't believe in happy ever after. But when she returns to the seaside village where her mother drowned, she meets Hunter, a mysterious, compelling swimmer who never seems to leave the water. Beautiful and mesmerizing, he is like no one she has ever known.But Hunter is cursed. And Skye shouldn't be able to see him at all.Does Hunter hide the answer to her mother’s death? And what IS he, really? Skye will risk everything to find out, but the truth might cost her more than she bargained for. As she uncovers his secrets and learns of his cursed clan, the danger grows. It might already be too late for her. Because once you're in too deep, there is no going back.Inspired by The Little Mermaid, this addictive, mythical love story will leave you breathless.Fans of Erin A Craig, A. L. Knorr, Amanda Hocking and Stephenie Meyer will love the Immersed series

Fearless Leader


Tricia Owens - 2012
    When the beautiful and sexy empath Calyx Starr is pulled from the streets and forced onto his team as part of the police captain's secret agenda, Black must deal not only with Starr's relentless seductions, but also a dangerous telepath with a deadly grudge who has targeted the empath and Black's team.Calyx Starr isn't used to being denied. Born on the streets and forced into a life of prostitution to fuel his Bliss habit, Calyx is street-wise and tough, and thinks he can use Black for his own secret plans. However the more Calyx learns about Black and his team, the more the empath begins to think Black may be more than a challenge...he may be the only man Calyx can trust with his life and his heart. Too bad Black is a man with dangerous secrets, and becoming involved with him means Calyx may wind up dead or psychically destroyed.

The Ghost and the Graveyard


Genevieve Jack - 2012
    After a series of failed relationships, the last of which left her destitute, she takes advantage of her father’s offer to live rent-free in a property he hasn’t been able to sell. But feeling at home in a house on the edge of a graveyard isn’t easy, especially when things go bump in the night.The only positive is the stunning cemetery caretaker, Rick. Despite her resolve to end her pattern of relationship mistakes, she literally can’t keep her hands off him. The intensity of her attraction seems almost...magical.Once a spirit manifests on her staircase, Grateful can no longer deny that her house is haunted. Rick has a dark secret, and it has everything to do with her personal history, the house, and the spirit who warns her about both.Feisty witches, seductive vampires, and swoon-worthy immortals come together in this page-turning paranormal romance/urban fantasy series.**The Ghost and The Graveyard is a funny, exciting, and sexy read intended for adults. Due to sexual content, language, and violence this book is recommended for ages 18+.**

Cruxim


Karin Cox - 2012
    Destined to seek redemption as a vampire hunter, he quenches his insatiable hunger on vampire blood. But when the object of his passion, the novice nun Joslyn, is turned into a vampire and enters a vampire coven, Amedeo's worlds collide. Shattered by the loss of his beloved, he vows to rid the world of vampires once and for all, even if it means destroying Josyln in the process.A Paranormal Game of Cat and MouseJoining Amedeo on his quest to rid the world of the undead is Sabine. Half-woman, half-lioness, she is a Sphinx, a Guardian who has protected humans from vampires since the dawn of time. Yet Sabine comes to this fight pursued by her own enemies. An evil scientist, Dr. Claus Gandler, knows the secret of Sabine's mythological past, vowing to torment her for eternity or destroy her forever.Immortal Ever AfterCaptured by the evil doctor, Amedeo and Sabine are paraded as sideshow freaks in the Circus of Curiosities. Only vampire Joslyn has the power to intercede. Will she prove Amedeo's redemption, or his destruction?.

Hidden


M. Lathan - 2012
    She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.Let’s hope she can stay hidden.

Breakwater: Leo


Becca Fanning - 2016
    White kinetic fabric dress, the latest grav-heels and a sea of her loved ones all blinking away tears of joy. But this wasn't a dream: it was a nightmare. Instead of her father giving her hand in marriage, he's lost it in a game of poker to the galactic war criminal Strathmore. But if fate had dealt her a bad hand, it was time to flip the damned table and run. Captain Leo Ingram. Smuggler. Bear Shifter. Lover. Or at least that's what his business card said. Not that the mewling merchant in front of him cared about any of that. This was a quick hand-off, merchandise for credits. Then he and his crew would be back aboard the Breakwater and off to the nearest trade port to drink and piss their ill-gotten gains away. But before they could finish the deal, a young woman stumbled out of the underbrush into their illicit business deal. Was that... a wedding dress? This 15,000+ word novella has hot Science Fiction Space Opera Bear Shifter action, a Happily Ever After, no cheating and no cliffhangers! I've attached some free stories afterward as my thanks to you.

Ted Saves the World


Bryan Cohen - 2014
    All books in the series have been re-released with new titles and covers. Books in the series include;1. The Dark Souls, previously published as Ted Saves the World.2. The Telepath, previously published as Mind Over Easy.3. The Candidate, previously published as Portal Combat. 4. Enemy Territory, previously published as The Light, the Dark and the Ugly. 5. The Devil Within, previously published as Veil to the Chief. 6. The Rebellion7. The Final Battle Ted Finley was your typical, wise-cracking teenager… …until an otherworldly force gave him abilities beyond his wildest dreams. After an unintended public display of his powers, Ted has become an instant celebrity and the target of a gang of undead thugs. Sixteen-year-old Erica LaPlante was six-feet-under when a blast of blue light brought her body back to life. Armed with the consciousness of a fierce warrior, Erica must keep her teenage urges at bay to protect the newfound hero. When sparks fly between Ted and Erica, Erica wants nothing more than to hide who she really is and the dangerous mission they must face. But when their school comes under attack, Ted and Erica must use everything at their disposal to save their friends, the town and... well, the world. Ted Saves the World is a YA sci-fi/fantasy novel that features fast-paced action, terrifying horror, side-splitting comedy and a touch of romance. Author Bryan Cohen has watched every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it shows in the first book of his new series.

Prophecy (The Owens Chronicles Book 1)


Amanda Lynn Petrin - 2019
    Her first week of kindergarten she was dubbed “that weird Owens girl” and her social status never recovered. She lives a quiet, sheltered life with her guardians, her best friend, and frequent visits from two mysterious young men, Embry and Gabriel, who claim to be friends of the family. On prom night, things take an unexpected turn when Lucy is forced to escape the dance through a window and brought to a safe house. She discovers that Embry and Gabriel are Gifteds, a subset of humans with supernatural abilities who don’t die until their job is done. In this case, their ‘job’ is to defend Lucy against another Gifted who is hell-bent on acquiring her. Now, on the run with Embry and Gabriel, Lucy is left wondering who this other Gifted is. And, more importantly; what does he want with her?