Book picks similar to
Blood Casino by Nina Walker


fantasy
vampires
urban-fantasy
paranormal

Of the Blood


Cameo Renae - 2020
    Two rival kingdoms. And an innocent girl caught in the crossfire.Raised in a war-ravaged continent, temptation comes to Calla Caldwell in the form of a charming and mysterious stranger. Giving in to his intimate seduction, her world is forever changed by a single bite.Calla quickly learns the handsome stranger is vampire prince, Trystan Vladu. His bite was an attempt to claim and save her from a plot of vengeance generations in the making. However, the claws of that ancient vendetta are scraping ever closer.Thrust into a new nightmare by the Prince of the corrupt kingdom of Morbeth, Calla is captured, tortured, and starved in the dank confines of his dungeon. While in captivity, she takes part in a séance with a witch of light where she contacts a departed relative—a Princess of Incendia—who bequeaths a gift to Calla that will tip the scales of good and evil . . . if she can learn to harness it.With a dark tapestry of secrets, lies, and murder unraveling around her, Calla must learn to embrace the power roiling through her veins, or be snuffed out by the strangling fist of a malevolent darkness.

Dinner with a Vampire


Abigail Gibbs - 2012
    A place from which there is no escape...no matter how hard Violet tries.Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dangerous Kaspar Varn.Violet and Kaspar surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds – but it’s a passion that comes at a price...

Twisted Fate


Jessi Elliott - 2018
    I can’t stand him, but I also can’t deny the tension that ignites whenever he’s close.After surviving my run-in with the fae, I planned to go back to my perfectly mapped future and forget they existed. Silly me, I should have known that silver-tongued Tristan wouldn’t leave me alone.And maybe I don’t want him to.But when my brother falls ill to a sickness not even fae magic can cure, none of my plans matter anymore. And before I have a moment to catch my breath, both my life and my heart are put in danger when Tristan’s fae nemesis emerges and forces me to make a terrible choice.One I don’t know I’ll survive.

Nightfall


L.H. Cosway - 2012
    None of them, however, have anything on the handsome stranger who comes in one night and helps her fend off an armed robber. He looks the thief directly in the eye and without confrontation convinces him to turn around and walk out the door.Tegan has never seen anything like it, nor does she understand why he then lays those mesmerising eyes on her and tells her to forget they ever met. She shrugs it off as just another weird night shift encounter, until the following evening when her best friend produces free passes to a new club in the city. Tegan agrees to go and is pleasantly surprised by the tasteful, classy décor and oddly beautiful, intensely ethereal clientele. To her surprise, her mysterious stranger is sitting smack dab in the VIP section. What are the chances?!Tegan is struck by the coincidence of bumping into him again so soon, while he is furious that she remembers him when he insisted she forget their meeting. Tegan has no idea that she’s taken a misstep into a whole new world inhabited by vampires, slayers, dhampirs, witches and warlocks. All of whom display a wholly disconcerting interest in what makes her unique from the rest of the clueless humans who populate the city. On top of this, her handsome stranger keeps turning up at her work and seems intent on getting to know her a whole lot better.Nightfall is book one in L.H. Cosway’s Blood Magic Series. A previous, unedited version of this story was published under the title Tegan’s Blood.

Promise of Darkness


Bec McMaster - 2019
    Tribute. Sacrifice. Is she the one prophesied to unite two warring Fae courts? Or the one bound to destroy them?In a realm ruled by magic, the ruthless Queen of Thorns is determined to destroy her nemesis, the cursed Prince of Evernight.With war brewing between the bitter enemies, the prince forces Queen Adaia to uphold an ancient treaty: she will send one of her daughters to his court as a political hostage for three months.The queen insists it’s the perfect opportunity for Princess Iskvien to end the war before it begins. But one look into Thiago’s smoldering eyes and Vi knows she’s no assassin.The more secrets she uncovers about the prince and his court, the more she begins to question her mother’s motives.Who is the true enemy? The dark prince who threatens her heart? Or the ruthless queen who will stop at nothing to destroy him?And when the curse threatens to shatter both courts, is her heart strong enough to break it?A fairytale twist inspired by the Hades and Persephone myth.

Thief of Lies


Brenda Drake - 2016
    That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

Ash


Jaymin Eve - 2015
    Don’t let the name fool you, Charlie was all woman and she wanted nothing to do with the ash … until the day she found out she was one. It all started when infected bats bit a small group of humans and created what are now called vampires. Then, the male vampires knocked up some female humans and the result was a gorgeous race of all male ash. Superhuman freaks that had looks to kill. Charlie is the first female ash, aka unicorn of the Hive – the gated compound in Portland that the humans have designated to isolate vampires and ash from society. Problem? The Hive is full and only a select few will be allowed to live there. To live at all, really. If Charlie wants to earn the right to become a citizen of the Hive, she will have to survive the culling – a series of fights to the death. And guess what? Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she’ll get special treatment. Good thing there’s Ryder, the mysterious lead ash enforcer, who seems to always have her back. But when secrets bubble to the surface, it will take more than one guy to save her. **Recommended reading age is 17+ due to language

Witch's Reign


Shannon Mayer - 2018
     If I can find a way out, if I can find a way to escape, perhaps I can outrun this curse. But that means passing through the Ice Witch's realm-something no one has returned from. But life has a funny way of changing directions on you. A freak accident. A child in danger. And a damn Warlock named Merlin who thinks he can manipulate me. It looks like I'm about to start a journey I never planned on, to face a Witch who has never been challenged, in an attempt to survive a storm of magic, danger, and trickery.

House of Royals


Keary Taylor - 2015
    Ruled from the shadows by the House—the immortal Born and their aging, enslaved Bitten—everyone knows not to go out after dark and that the police will never look into crimes involving blood.Alivia Ryan didn’t know the man who claims to be her father through a will even existed until she inherits the Conrath plantation. Instead of the sleepy house she expects, she finds a mansion and a staff who look at her with fear in their eyes.Ian Ward tried to kill Alivia the first time they met, and then insisted he train her to defend herself against the House, who he claims will try to manipulate and take her in for their own political reasons. And the growing attraction between them will threaten their lives—Ian is a sworn enemy of the House.In Silent Bend, people disappear, the threat of a demented King and the legend of his resurrecting Queen hang over everyone’s heads, and proving loyalty means far more than blood. You’d better watch who you trust in this town…

Half-Blood


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2011
    Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is.If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Love is Darkness


Caroline Hanson - 2011
     In London for graduate school, Val knows she's finally free. Her father and ex-almost-boyfriend are back in California and she's out of the Vampire hunting biz for good. Or is she? She draws the attention of Lucas, a 1600 year old Vampire, and King to his kind. He’s also wicked hot. As golden as Lucifer, and just as tempting, he makes Valerie an offer she can't refuse — help him find out if the Others (Empaths, Fey and Werewolves) still exist or he'll stop protecting those she loves. Lucas tells her that Empaths were a Vampire’s biggest weakness before going extinct hundreds of years ago. While the Fey or a Werewolf might kill a Vampire, an Empath could enslave them, seducing or harming with emotions at will. The one detail he leaves out? Valerie is an Empath. And after 1600 years of an emotionless existence, Lucas wants Valerie like a recovering alcoholic wants a wine cooler. Can she keep those she loves alive, stop Lucas from munching on her, survive a fanged revolution and still find a way to have that boring, normal life she’s always wanted? Probably not, but boy is she gonna try! This is a full length novel and contains adult content.

Immortal Beloved


Cate Tiernan - 2010
    She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

The Princess Must Die


Everly Frost - 2018
    DESTINED TO BE TORN APART.In an Elven city beneath the streets of Chicago, the perfect storm rages, kept under control only by Marbella Mercy, the Storm Princess. Now she is of age, champions from each of the elven houses will play a game of wit and strength to fight for her hand – and for the chance to control the forces of nature.Baelen Rath, a warrior and leader of the feared House of Rath, is the only male Marbella has ever trusted. He'll risk everything to be her champion. But what he and the others don't know? The princess is fighting too.Because she's discovered that the winner is cursed to kill her, not marry her, and the only way to save herself is to win.But Marbella is fighting a power greater than herself, because someone believes that the perfect storm should be unleashed and for that to happen – the princess must die.

Blood Oath


Raye Wagner - 2017
    Dragons. Intrigue. Romance. More than anything, I crave adventure. But in the disease ridden land of Verald, life is mapped out much like the well-established rings of our kingdom. At the very heart reigns our vicious king and Lord Irrik, an invincible dragon shifter, at his side. Their power poisons the land and the people, leading to a steadily mounting number of enemies. But change is coming. When the rebellion surges, the king strikes back. Captured by Lord Irrik, I'm suddenly embroiled in a deadly game. One where I'm desperate to understand the rules. Because I'm not only fighting for my life... but also a love that could be the very key to my freedom.

The Casquette Girls


Alys Arden - 2013
    But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition. As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless... you’re immortal.