Book picks similar to
Circles & Crossroads: Two Robin Archer Tales by Laura VanArendonk Baugh
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The Exchange
Jeanne Bannon - 2015
Carly, the love of his life has just died in an accident and in three days will pass to the other side. Without a soul, he cannot cross over with her and the thought of spending eternity without his beloved is unbearable. Is seventy-two hours enough time to find a way?With the help of his brother, Alexei, they must face the vilest creature of all, Boris, an ancient one with selfish motivations of his own.
The Nero Prediction
Humphry Knipe - 2005
Agrippina, the emperor Claudius' niece, reads in the stars that someone born in Alexandria on July 19, 32 AD, is destined to help raise her son, the future emperor Nero, to the throne of the Caesars. This fated young man is Epaphroditus, a library slave and the book's narrator, who at the age of 16 is taken by force to Rome to serve young Nero. Epaphroditus becomes Nero's confidant as the art-obsessed Caesar dreams of an age when music rules the world. After Nero performs his musical spectacles in public, apocalyptic Christians-believing him to be the antichrist-set Rome afire. Revolutionary unrest strikes Rome, a fiery comet makes a foreboding appearance, and the young emperor makes a concert tour of Greece as enemies sprout like Hydra's heads. Epaphroditus, fortified by the return of his faith in astrology, discovers that he, Nero's protector, is fated to kill his Caesar. Author Humphry Knipe's brilliant historical novel shakes the rafters of conventional belief about Nero and his Rome and the ancient science of astrology.
Spine
Steven Jenkins - 2015
A creak, almost too light to be heard…was it the shifting of an old house, or footsteps down the hallway? Breathe softly, and strain to hear through the silence. That breeze against your neck might be a draught, or an open window. Slip into the pages of SPINE and you’ll be persuaded to leave the lights on and door firmly bolted. From Steven Jenkins, bestselling author of FOURTEEN DAYS and BURN THE DEAD, this horror collection of eight stories go beyond the realm of terror to an entirely different kind of creepiness. Beneath innocent appearances lurk twisted minds and scary monsters, from soft scratches behind the wall, to the paranoia of walking through a crowd and knowing that every single eye is locked on you. In this world, voices lure lost souls to the cliff’s edge and illicit drugs offer glimpses of things few should see. Scientists tamper with the afterlife, and the strange happenings at a nursing home are not what they first seem. So don’t let that groan from the closet fool you. The monster is hiding right where you least expect it. “If you love scary campfire stories of ghosts, demonology, and all things that go bump in the night, then you’ll love this horror collection by author Steven Jenkins.” COLIN DAVIES – Director/Producer of BAFTA winning BBC’s The Coal-House.
The Elven Prince’s Kiss
Abella Ward - 2017
After the beautiful performance Victor had just given, I'd be a puddle for days They always told me that, being a female half-dwarf, I wouldn’t amount to anything. But I proved them wrong. I’m now a high-ranked member of the Protective Guild. I was hired to escort the elven Princess Charlotte and her brother Victor to her wedding. I thought that the worst part of the job would be to drive the Guild’s old Hummer. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Before I know it, we’re under attack by rogue elves, trolls–and, worst, my own traitorous emotions. Emotions involving Victor. I must be crazy. He’s a typical elf–snooty and arrogant. And beautiful, graceful and strong. Could I be the princess in my own fairytale? Of course not. I’m busy enough trying to survive and protect Charlotte. Plus, nothing can happen between a half-dwarf and an elf, especially when that elf is a prince. Or is there a way after all? This is a 61-page stand-alone urban fantasy story with magic, fairy, and action elements. It has an HEA, so no cliff-hangers! This is a HOT story with mature themes and language. For 18+ readers only.
Orfeia
Joanne M. Harris - 2020
For to save something precious, she must give up something precious, be it a song, a memory, or her freedom itself . . .Beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, this is a stunning and original modern fairytale.
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…
Alejandro's Sorceress
Alyssa Day - 2014
He's a warrior, hardened by years of protecting his town from vampire attack. She's a garden witch who sees the world in shades of sunshine and delight. Opposites don't only attract, they go supernova in this sizzling tale of magic and mayhem. [Author's note: this novella - 84 pages, 22,000 words -- was originally published in the Dark & Deadly: 8 Bad Boys of Paranormal boxed set, so if you have that one, you already have it. Thanks!]
Georgia Peaches: 5-Books RomCom Bundle
Kira Graham - 2020
They will seduce. They will play dirty. And above all else, they will prove to five alpha men that girls know exactly how to have fun.JULESThe man is infuriating!I can only love once. That’s the family legend and in my case it happens to be true. When Jesse left me, breaking my heart and walking away without a backward glance, I thought I’d live the rest of my life alone, broken and always longing for something that wasn’t meant to be. That’s why it shocks the hell out of me when Jesse comes to me with a deal I can’t refuse. I have to pretend we’re an item for a short time and help him keep his dad occupied while his cousin searches for something I have nothing to do with.I can do that. I can do that all day long. I just hope Jesse knows that this marriage he’s waving under my nose isn’t going to be fake because I have plans…NATALIEHe’s looking for trouble and I’m going to give it to him.He’s a heartbreaker and I hate him. I’ve loved Jett Grey about as much as I’ve hated him. Problem is, I love him a little more sometimes and hate him a little less more and more. In fact, I think I may just want him back, which is ludicrous because the man has no sense, no heart and absolutely no idea how to back down from a challenge. I don’t want him to see me as a challenge though. I want love. Family. All that stuff he promised me three years ago when he made me believe he loved me. And I will get those things. I’m a lawyer. I know how to argue, cheat, and connive.He’s looking for trouble and he’s found me again. I hope he’s ready.MISSYWhat the hell just happened?I’m a lady. I’ve lived half my life being as perfect as I possibly could be and the other half trying to be as invisible and dowdy as I could be, all to avoid love. Love scares me senseless. The thought of falling in love and victim to a family curse that says we only love once…I can’t let that happen. I just can’t. I shouldn’t let Sam Grey push my buttons. I should ignore him and keep going as I have been. But I’ve gone and played with fire and gotten myself trapped and falling. In love. With a wild mountain man. What am I going to do and how will I get over it if it turns out that Sam doesn’t love me?SUNNYI was married. He divorced me. I hate him. I love him.I’ve felt every emotion a woman can feel when Jacob Harper left me high and dry, divorcing me without a reason, without a warning and without the chance to fix a wrong I didn’t know existed. I can’t love another. My family is cursed that way. We love once. We love hard. We love forever. When I’m pregnant, alone and just starting to get back on my feet and I’m determined to move on, he comes back. He wants me back. He wants me to love him but the reality is, I can’t let myself. Jacob broke my heart once before and I am not aiming to give him another chance. Trouble is, my heart and my head aren’t always in agreement.ROSIEI don’t remember a thing.I woke up from a coma and nothing makes sense to me. I don’t know my name, I don’t recognise my crazy family and I have no idea who I am, who I was or who I want to be. All I know is that I feel a connection with Jagger Grey and that for whatever reason, I need him. He doesn’t want me. He’s told me that straight to my face, and yet here I am, kidnapped by a wild mountain man who’s pretending to be civilized while he tries to get me to remember and uses me to break a case that will make his career. I hate being used. I may not know myself anymore but I know that and when I realise Jagger is seducing me with the intention of walking away, I run first.I guess he’s going to have to come catch me…
Maelyn
Anita Valle - 2012
The king found her as a child, the lone survivor of a poor village slaughtered by the Red Fever. Suddenly she became a princess of Runa Realm, the first of nine orphans adopted by the king.By her eighteenth year, Maelyn rules over Runa and a family of nine sisters. But some call the princesses frauds and imposters, a handful of urchins raised into royalty. Even Uncle Jarrod, the High King of Grunwold, seems determined to prove that Maelyn no longer deserves to be a princess. With a family losing faith in her, and a kingdom growing dangerously hostile, even Maelyn begins to wonder if she is truly a real princess. And if her riches will turn to rags once again….The Nine Princesses Novellas is a series that chronicles the adventures of an unconventional family of princesses, the struggles they face in a kingdom often hostile to their humble origins, and the day-to-day dramas of nine young women whose personalities often clash like swords. Fans of Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale would enjoy this young-adult series. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
A Grave Magic
Bilinda Sheehan - 2015
Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.Amber Morgan is a rookie in The Elite, an organisation tasked with the elimination of rogue preternatural beings in King City. But she has a secret. She's a witch and only joined The Elite to settle a personal score.Her first case is supposed to be the routine investigation of a rogue vampire but it soon becomes clear that dark forces are at work, darker than anything the team has dealt with in the past.When an irritatingly sexy Hunter offers to help, Amber wants to say hell no! The last thing she needs is another distraction even if he is sin personified. But with the fate of a missing child at stake and a possible connection between the case and her past, how can she refuse?
The Night Universe Collection
Selene Charles - 2018
I’m one of the seven deadly sins, they call me Lust, but you can just call me Pandora. This is a story of darkness. Redemption. Hope. And betrayal I never saw coming. A reaper’s found me—deadly to my kind—and though I know I shouldn’t be I’m as drawn to him as a moth is to flame. But I don’t have time to indulge in my fantasies of stripping him down naked and having my dirty, dirty way with him. Because there’s a prophecy going round. Real end of the world type stuff. And somehow this little demon is at the heart of it all. I’m thousands of years old, but I’m starting to feel like my numbers finally come due...Book 1: Crimson NightMy name is Pandora, and I'm a Nephilim-half demon-what's my other name? Lust. I'm the dark craving that drives you mad, makes you reckless and stupid. But I'm not all bad. I fight for light. People are starting to disappear and lately I've felt a dark presence lurking around me. I think it might be a death priest. And before the night is through I'll be betrayed by the one person I thought I could trust.Book 2: All Hallows NightSecrets and truths, lies and red herrings… which is which? That’s what Pandora’s trying to figure out. And there's no better time to do it than during Mexico's annual Dia de Los Muertos festival. There's just one problem... Zombies. Book 3: Howler’s NightLies. Half-truths. A zombie Queen. And a really freaking dark entity known only as the Triad. The more Pandora learns the worse things seem to get. "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him..." Book 4: Red RainWelp... this is it. The end of the world. Somehow, I don't think I made anything better, only worse. But now I've got allies, people I call friends and maybe, just maybe I might come out of this nightmare alive... or maybe I'll turn into something darker than anything the world could ever imagine. Guess, you'll just have to wait and see.The Night Series was originally written as Marie Hall, now writing as Selene Charles.
The Replacement
Brenna Yovanoff - 2010
Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.
Rua
Miranda Kavi - 2012
She is oddly drawn to aloof Rylan, the other new student who has his own secrets. The exact moment she turns seventeen, she wakes to a bedroom full of strange creatures, purple light emanating from her hands, and Rylan breaking in through her bedroom window. He knows what she is . . . Intriguing and deeply romantic, RUA is page-turning YA novel with a supernatural twist.
Lion on Fire: A casino-heist thriller
Ted Galdi - 2017
Nothing goes as planned, and soon Brian is forced to team up with a charismatic co-worker to rob the mobsters who run the casino.
Lion on Fire is the third book by Ted Galdi, the Amazon #1 bestselling author of Elixir and An American Cage. He’s been featured by Kirkus magazine, ABC, FOX, iHeartRadio, and many other media outlets.
Main character Brian is shocked to learn that his younger brother not only has been dealing cocaine, but foolishly lost a whole package of it, and now owes his boss $30,000. If Brian’s brother doesn’t come up with the money in a few weeks, he’s dead.
Brian decides to help. However, he realizes scrapping together that sort of cash in such a short timeframe is nearly impossible legally. So he approaches Dusty, another driver at the limousine company where he works, and asks him about the whispers of lucrative, yet illegal, side jobs he’s heard among the staff.
After proving himself trustworthy with an initiation test, Brian is invited to participate in an underground driving network that shuttles wealthy individuals to extravagant, though illicit, gambling events set up in multi-million-dollar Manhattan penthouses.
At first things go smoothly, and Brian pockets a lot of much-needed extra income. However, they turn jarring once he finds out a high-profile Russian gangster is behind the gambling events, and becomes mixed up with him not only professionally, but personally.
With tensions rising, and the fate of Brian’s relationships with his parents and girlfriend now entangled with the underground casino, not to mention the life of his brother, he winds up in a position where pulling off a mafia robbery may be his only chance to get himself and his loved ones out of this mess alive and intact.
Lion on Fire is a fun, fast-paced, action-packed gambling thriller, and also an emotionally charged buddy story, which pairs do-gooder Brian with the charmingly wild and alluringly mysterious Dusty, who not only guides Brian through the dangerous world of the mafia casino, but ushers him toward a new and profound view of the world as a whole.
The book is perfect for fans of crime fiction that’s edgy while having a soul. A Russian mafia thriller featuring a revenge plan and heist, it’s loaded with adrenaline. However, it is just as touching as it is exciting. At the core of a plot about organized crime and pursuing police officers is the budding friendship of two young men who initially seem very different.
Set in New York City, Lion on Fire takes readers on a ride through a colorful cross section of neighborhoods and the lives that populate them. It’s written in the tradition of the Manhattan thriller, showcasing both the glamour and the grit of the city.
With this unique story, you’ll find yourself quickly turning pages as your pulse rises, while cheering for characters who make their way into your heart.
The Boss's Fiance : The Complete 5-Books Romance Series
Amanda Horton - 2019
Book 5: The Boss’s Fiance Maxwell I’m used to getting what I want. But now, the board of my company is threatening to throw me out. I have to convince them I’m a good-hearted, responsible guy. And fast. She came into my life at the perfect time. A nurse with a heart of gold – who desperately wants something I just happen to have. I’ve sworn off long-term relationships. But this isn’t a relationship: it’s a business deal. All we have to do is live together for a few months. Killian Until last week, I’d never seen Maxwell Saint. He spent more time in tabloids than in the hospital he runs. But now, he’s offering me my dream come true – if I’ll pose as his fiancee for the hospital board. Maxwell Saint is spoiled. He’s my boss. He’s the last man on earth I’d consider dating. But he’s also incredibly hot. And how hard can a few months of fake fiancee-ship be? Book 4 : The Gypsy Dancers Anna There aren’t a lot of gypsy dancer jobs. That’s why I need this one – desperately. But the head of the dance company is just so...infuriating. Lance is hot. He’s rich. And we had that night together – one night, where I felt a connection I’ve never felt with anyone else. But I care about our culture and I won’t let him ruin it. And I’m not going back, no matter what he says. Lash I’ve got no time for love. After all, I’ve got a dance company to run. And I’ve found the perfect lead – a woman who eats, sleeps, and breathes in gypsy culture. Anna is beautiful. She’s graceful. She’s passionate. We had one great night and I’ve never felt like that before. But she can be so...infuriating. Nothing Anna says will change my mind, but I can't let go of her either. I won't. Book 3: The Long Shot Every time he looks at me, I struggle for breath, my knees go soft, my heart races. Leon Alvaro is Spain's football captain, and my competitor. He wants to fu*k me....on the biggest deal of my life. He thinks just because of his strong arms, his chiselled body, his salty scent of the ocean… that he will beat me. I will let him touch me, kiss me, run his tongue over my body. I will let him believe that he has me like his other girls for one night, and I'll be done with him - once and for all. But this game is tougher than I thought and this playboy plays dirty. Book 2: High Rise Love Miranda asks America’s toughest CEO for help. Wolfe Hawkins drives a hard bargain. And he wants only one thing in return: Miranda's hand in marriage. Say yes and this might ruin her. So no and she will loose her dream. But this is just a business deal - nothing personal. Or so she thought. Book 1: Conquered The immigration department comes knocking on my door and gives me one week to leave the country. I have seven days to find a husband, or I will lose my son Nikko to my degenerate ex-husband. Then New York's richest billionaires finds me, and promises me U.S. citizenship. I would never even date a spoiled brat billionaire like Hunter – but now, I have to marry him.