Book picks similar to
Hell Gates & Hot Flashes by Aurelia Skye


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The Circle


Kat Mayor, K.M. Montemayor - 2013
    She was never supposed to be the One. It is 1988 and Lilly, a shy high school senior with a non-existent social life, is forced to live out her romantic fantasies through the fictional characters of her books. That all changes when she issues a spur of the moment invitation to the strange new kid.The world Charlie comes from is much different than Earth. Almost every aspect of a Sentrian's life is under complete government control. There is only one right the intrusive authorities may not violate: that God chooses your soul mate. While on his planet, Charlie never found his One, so when he develops an attraction to Lilly, he is torn. Should he ignore his feelings for the Earthan, or pursue a doomed relationship with the only girl he has ever cared about? His contact with Lilly does not go unnoticed. Involvement with an Earthan is considered blasphemy, and Charlie is condemned as a criminal of the state. The couple is faced with a difficult choice: accept eternal separation or risk everything to stay together.

The Hazel Wood: Chapter Sampler


Melissa Albert - 2017
    This excerpt from The Hazel Wood—Melissa Albert's fiercely stunning contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of The Magicians—contains the first six chapters.Everyone is talking about The Hazel Wood!“Thoroughly, creepily captivating.” —Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling and Jane, Unlimited “This book is pure imagination candy.” —Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval “Destined to be a classic.” —Kami Garcia, author of The Lovely Reckless “Absolutely breathtaking.” —Seanan McGuire, author of Every Heart a Doorway “Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny.” —Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places “Unlike anything else I’ve ever read before.” —Evelyn Skye, author of The Crown’s Game “A part of me will never leave The Hazel Wood.” —Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl from Everywhere “An elegant dark fairy tale, full of the power of story.” —Kat Howard, author of Roses and Rot

Smoke


Val St. Crowe - 2016
     For one thing, she’s not actually looking for an employer. For another thing, Naelen is the kind of rich, entitled playboy that she hates. For a third thing, he’s a dragon shifter, and she’s a dragon slayer. Those things don’t mix. Sure, okay, she doesn’t kill shifters, only soulless, monster dragons that do nothing but burn, kill, and destroy. And fine, he does happen to have eyes like the sky in high summer and a deep voice that makes her feel warm all over. And all right, she needs the money he’s offering. She could use it to help her sister, who’s never caught a break her entire life. But screw that guy. That’s what she wants to say, anyway. Instead, she ends up taking him up on his offer, and then she’s flying off in a private jet to get mixed up with a creepy country town, a nest of powerful vampires, and a bunch of potent magical objects.

Hidden


M.M. Crumley - 2021
    CheckSelf-replicating knife. CheckTwo-hundred-year-old score to settle. Double check.Meet the immortal Doc Holliday.Lying on his deathbed, Dr. John Holliday was offered a choice; let the tuberculosis finish its work or accept immortality. Doc chose the latter, knowing full well that such “gifts” don’t come cheap, but damned if the last two hundred years haven’t been a blast. Partying, playing, fighting, killing; yes, eternal life’s been good... But the time to get serious has finally come, and the task he’s always known he was saved for is at hand.Now in modern-day Denver, Doc will be pushed to his limits to keep his promise and save the missing descendent of the beautiful shaman who gave him everlasting life. The trouble is things aren’t going as planned, and it’s becoming clear that there is far more at stake than Doc bargained for...Fans of edgy Urban Fantasy look no further! If you’re into badass, morally ambiguous, anti-heroes that don’t flinch at killing bad guys (and stealing their souls) then this is the book for you! It has the perfect blend of supernatural action, humor, and mystery that you crave.

Feral


Laxmi Hariharan - 2016
    She just didn't know it. When Maya leaves Luke to go in search of her blood family, nothing prepares her for the secrets she uncovers about herself. An intense, shifter romance, set in Bombay. A standalone novella in the Many Lives universe.

8 Souls


Rachel Rust - 2019
    But when she runs into David Higgins at his father's hardware store there's something about the cute boy that feels so familiar. If only she could pinpoint why.When the "ghost squad" she calls to help her deal with the spirits invading her room turns out to be David and his friend, Mateo, the three sort out the clues that would explain the century old murder mystery. But the closer Chessie gets to David, the more everything she learns points to him somehow being involved. As her time in Villisca runs out, Chessie must figure out the ties that connect her, David, and the spirits haunting the Axe Murder House before it's too late...for all of them.

Into the Shadows


Karly Kirkpatrick - 2010
    This is the first book in the Into the Shadows Trilogy.Paivi Anderson has it all - friends, a spot on the varsity basketball team, wonderful parents, and quite possibly, her first boyfriend. It was everything a freshman in high school could ask for. Her perfect life begins to crumble when she discovers her name on a list distributed by a power-hungry presidential candidate. How could anyone think of Paivi as an Enemy of the State? Could it be because of her special powers? No one was supposed to know about them, but the mysterious messages in her tater tots say otherwise. In INTO THE SHADOWS, Paivi quickly learns who her friends are and is forced into a reality she didn’t see coming.

The Phoenix Whisperer


Scarlett Reid - 2021
    That is, until I met my phoenix.”Ana de Navalles has almost nothing, aside from her friends. Having always been a child of the slums, her fortunes change when she’s admitted to Galfour’s Point, the prestigious and almost-mythical academy, and the only place in the world where you can train to become a dragon rider.Just before she is set to leave, her friend Cien is murdered before her by a mob-affiliated criminal with surprising strength. But Ana does not cower. With dark magic seemingly on the rise, her hunger to make something of herself – and thirst for revenge – is revived.After mere days at the academy, Ana is beginning to feel like the odd one out. A poor slum-dweller in a school of snobbish rich kids, all eyes are on her, and if she can’t pass her entrance exams, she’ll be kicked out without so much of a glance at a dragon.So when she discovers a young phoenix, newly hatched, and quickly establishes a bond with the precocious and unpredictable creature, Ana’s suddenly the talk of the academy. If, that is, she can convince the school authorities to let them stay.As Ana and her friends – some new and some old – prepare to investigate Cien’s murder, nefarious forces within the academy, and outside in the wider world conspire against them. Can Ana and Fyrenza – her newly named phoenix - rise from the ashes, and shine bright upon a cruel world?This novel contains violence. This is a young adult fantasy novel. If you love epic phoenix-tamer fantasy, life-risking adventure, and loyal friendships, Phoenix Whisperer is for you.

A Twisted Riposte


Alyn Troy - 2021
    A fencer stabbed by her own blade. Can Twizzie untangle the twisted mystery?Twizzle Twist isn’t your normal real estate pixie. Nor is St. Maurice your normal Southern California town. The magic in the valley belches at the worst time. The faerock vein in St. Mo marks the local fae in uncomfortable ways. Twizzie’s mismatched wings and bum leg are the least of her worries when a showing becomes deadly.The house-hunting lunges off-target when the first showing comes with more than she bargained for. The owner is dead, stabbed in the back with her own sword.The seaside town of St. Maurice’s has one of the few remaining amusement piers on the west coast. And someone is twisting the town council to tear it down. If that happens, it will be the end of Twizzle's home above the carousel.With a murderer on the loose, a cute vampire she needs to sell a home to, and the imminent demise of her home on the pier, Twizzie has too many strikes to dodge all at once.Will Twizzie and her friends pull the right cord to untangle the twisted knot of intrigue in their sleepy SoCal town? Can they do so before the killer lunges again?If you love mysteries with a dash of quirky characters, a dose of warped magic, and snarky humor, you'll love Alyn Troy's new Paranormal Cozy Mystery series.

Villains Never Die


Nick DeWolf - 2019
    Here, heroes may never be forgotten, but villains never die." It started when the warehouse exploded. But not really. The moment when Japan was nearly destroyed. But not quite. When the world's greatest heroes came together to fight the Triad of Evil, it began. But still, no. The moment Doctor Dendrite became the world's most feared man.Almost there.History is coming to a head. The military is moving in the shadows. Evil, thought to be long gone, reemerges, while plans made decades ago are set in motion. The world is crumbling, and at the center of a hurricane of chaos are three people who will change everything.An old villain.A new hero.And a wayward girl.One's been planning. The other's been training. And the third?She's in way, way over her head.

Early Grave


Lori Drake - 2017
    Can she save his soul?Joey and Chris have everything werewolves could ask for: a strong pack, good health, money, and centuries stretching ahead of them to live their lives to the fullest. Or do they?When Chris turns up dead, the whole pack goes on alert. A killer is on the loose, one who knows enough about werewolf biology to be a real threat.But it’s not just her pack that Joey ends up fighting for. Chris’s spirit lingers, denied his eternal rest by a ruthless fanatic. Can Joey foil the killer’s nefarious scheme and set her best friend’s spirit free? Or will he be trapped between this world and the next forever?Early Grave introduces a new breed of werewolf in a nail-biting mystery chocked full of surprising twists, complex emotions, and a diverse cast of characters. If you like strong, independent women and convention-defying tales with a generous dose of the supernatural, you’ll love this book.This book was previously published as A Turn for the Worse. Same great book, new cover & title!

Unchained


Helen Hardt - 2018
    What he craves is red gold—human blood. After being held captive as a blood slave to a female vampire for years, he has finally escaped. Unchained at last, he follows his nose to the nearest blood bank to sate his hunger.ER nurse Erin Hamilton expects just another busy night shift…until she finds a gorgeous stranger vandalizing the hospital blood bank. Though her logic tells her to turn him in, she’s pulled by stronger and unfamiliar emotions to protect the man who seems oddly infatuated with her scent. Chemistry sizzles between them, but Dante, plagued by nightmares of his time in captivity, fears he won’t be able to control himself…especially when he discovers a secret she doesn’t even know she’s hiding.

Brooms Away


D.A. Kelly - 2020
    A missing sister. And suspects with dangerous supernatural abilities around every corner. When Arabella Black is swept away to a fantastic and faraway land by her cat, who she thought was an everyday Maine coon, she discovers everything she knew about her life was a lie. The biggest lie of all: she’s not human. Not even close. And to top that off, her sister is missing, her family home is threatened and a mysterious shapeshifter is following her. So what’s a half-banshee, half-dryad to do, but get her sleuth on.Can Arabella harness her new powers to unlock her family heritage, help her sister and save the family home in this place of secrets and sorcery?

Lost Souls ParaAgency and the Three Witches of Burberry


K.M. Waller - 2018
     The Assignment—stop witches from creating magical chaos in the small town of Burberry, South Carolina. There’s no dead body… yet. And there won’t be if Lex Dimas takes this assignment. Forced to take on the occasional paranormal case by his manipulative grandfather, he’d prefer to spend his days striking deals in the boardroom. Instead, he’s stuck in small town Burberry searching out witches who intend to harm the unsuspecting townspeople. Only, he doesn’t come upon a group of hateful witches—instead he finds a sweeter-than-peach-pie tea shop owner who wouldn’t harm anyone. Amira Walker and her two sisters come from a long line of witches who harness the power of emotional manipulation. But the Walker girls aren’t interested in fulfilling their witchy destinies, much to the chagrin of their three powerful aunts. When Lex shows up, Amira mistakenly believes he's spelled by the aunts in a love match attempt. To her mixed delight and disappointment, she discovers he’s there to apprehend a paranormal villain. As Burberry becomes a hotbed of magical activity, Lex is sure Amira’s youngest sister is to blame. It’ll be up to Amira to prove her sister’s innocence and help Lex find the true culprit. Can they survive malicious witchcraft and come together as a paranormal investigative team before it’s too late?

Shifter Protectors 12 Book Compilation


Lisa Daniels - 2020
     The first story is a special Valentine's Book soon to be released in late January! Author's Note: All stories are intended for 18+ and are stand alone romances with a HEA.