Book picks similar to
Losing Emma by J.L. Weil


young-adult
demons
angels-demons
j-l-weil

Sanctum


Sarah Fine - 2012
    Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

Blood Will Tell


Samantha Young - 2011
    Her family has convinced her that soon she will have to take a life in order to save her own. It’s a decision Eden doesn’t want to deal with even as her hunger for souls grows stronger every day.To complicate her impossible position, new guy in school Noah Valois’ determination to befriend her puts Eden in touch with a humanity she’s never known. Addicted to his company, his friendship and affection, she becomes more and more terrified that giving into her hunger will mean losing him forever…… But when she discovers that Noah is not what he seems, his betrayal forces her to face two choices. One will offer her revenge and the destruction of a boy she loved. The other may offer her a life of eternal redemption…

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?

Mother of Shadows


Meg Anne - 2017
    When her childhood friend returns to tell her she is the prophesied ruler of the Chosen—those blessed with the gift of magic—there’s no avoiding her destiny. Suddenly, Helena is surrounded by a circle of protectors, each man having sworn their loyalty to her since her birth. All except for one: her Mate. It’s not enough that she learn how to use her magic and undergo a trial to prove her worthiness; in order to claim her title, Helena must also find the man who carries the other half of her soul. Exiled due to a past he had no part in, Von is the last man the Chosen expect Helena to select. Despite their protests, his soul calls to hers, and there’s no denying he was made for her. But the prophecy stands...and all isn’t as it seems. There’s an enemy lurking within plain sight who will stop at nothing to destroy her. Fans of KF Breene and Ilona Andrews will fall in love with The Chosen by Meg Anne.

Fallen Academy: Year One


Leia Stone - 2018
    Having black wings is not normal. 2. Selling her soul to the demons was a mistake. 3. Lincoln Grey is the biggest *** she's ever met … but not falling in love with him might prove impossible. When angels fell from the sky to war with the demons that ravaged Earth, their combined powers infected humanity. Now, the humans are assigned one of two fates, being either demon gifted or angel blessed.After wings sprout from Brielle's back at her awakening ceremony, she's sure she's an angel blessed celestial. It's not until she sees black wings that she realizes something is terribly wrong. Having sold her contract at a young age to save her father's life means she should be bound for Tainted Academy. That is, until a fallen angel unexpectedly fights for her to be accepted into Fallen Academy, the elite school for those that inhabit Angel City. She's immediately matched with her impossibly handsome celestial teacher, Lincoln Grey. Laying eyes on him, her first thought is that her time at the academy might actually be fun, but this theory quickly fades when she and Lincoln clash on day one. To further prove her admission into Fallen Academy is cursed, the entire school is thrown into chaos when an Abrus demon reveals that he knows Brielle's secret. Now, above all else, Lincoln must fight to protect her. To his surprise, the only thing more difficult than trying to save her … is trying not to fall for her.

Becoming


Raine Thomas - 2011
    Okay, not a blown-to-smithereens explosion, but whatever it is always hurts like hell and leaves her life a shambles. She’s already worked her way through five foster placements, and she’s doing whatever she can to avoid getting blasted into a sixth.As her eighteenth birthday approaches and she feels the strange and powerful energy building, disaster looms. When the inevitable explosion occurs, her life gets its biggest shakeup yet. She’ll not only learn how her fellow foster and best friend, Gabriel, really feels about her, but she’ll discover that she isn’t really without family.To top it all off, she’ll finally find out why she’s having the power surges: she isn’t entirely human.Amber must Become, transitioning to another plane of existence and risking the loss of the most important relationship she’s ever had. Her choice will impact the future of an entire race of beings, and will pit her against an enemy that will prey upon her doubt to try and take her very life.Kind of makes the explosions now seem like a cakewalk.

Bloodline Academy


Lan Chan - 2019
    This isn't a joke. There's no punch line. My name is Alessia Hastings. Welcome to my personal hell.My weekly visit to Nanna's psychiatric hospital ends with me in a celestial jail cell. Now an impossibly gorgeous Nephilim with a face I want to kiss, and an attitude I want to punch, tells me I'm not quite human.Too bad they can't figure out exactly what I am. Only that my magic is dangerous. Which means I've earned a one way invitation to Bloodline Academy: A secret magical school that teaches the next generation of supernatural monsters how to go bump in the night.You'd think the resident Fae mean girls, the shifters, and bloodthirsty vamps would be my biggest problem at the Academy. But it's the strange voices in my mind that truly scare me. Because Hastings women have always heard voices, and the ones in my head are telling me there's something worse out there hunting me.Finishing this semester alive is going to be treacherous. Not making it through could mean the end of the world. No pressure, right?Bloodline Academy is book 1 in the Bloodline Academy series. It is an Australian Young Adult Urban Fantasy series. Filled with pulse-pounding action, snarky dialogue and slow burn romance. Think Buffy meets Shadowspell Academy with a side order of Supernatural.

Grave Matters


Jana Oliver - 2013
    So when she travels to Scotland to meet up with her hunky boyfriend, and celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she’s thrilled at the chance to leave Atlanta and its troubles behind. Denver Beck, who has been studying for months to become a Grand Master – a rare and highly dangerous job -- is just as eager to see his girl. He’s anticipating a romantic reunion, keen to take their relationship to the next level. But Riley’s twisted history with Hell has garnered unwelcome interest by people willing to use her for their own purposes. Trouble is brewing in the land of the heather, the kind that will drive a wedge between her and Beck, and prove the ultimate test of their love . . . and their survival skills. Bonus content includes demon illustrations and two Demon Trappers short stories.

Embrace


Jessica Shirvington - 2010
    The guy she thought she could fall in love with just told her he's only half-human - oh, and same goes for her. And she keeps hearing a distant fluttering of wings.Violet Eden is having a very bad 17th birthday.But if angels seek vengeance and humans are warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden...

Messenger


Laury Falter - 2014
    ​Fans of the Guardian Saga are also treated in this novel to the origins of the Book of Dossiers, how the Fallen Ones' only vulnerability is discovered, and how the first battle begins.

The Shadow Children


L.C. Hibbett - 2016
    For over two thousand years the Angels have hunted the Half-Born, determined to maintain the barrier that conceals the magical world from Human eyes. Grace and her foster family have survived capture by living amongst humans, but the noose is tightening as the spell binding their magic begins to fail. When unexpected allies send Grace and her family crashing into the world of The Shadow Children, she finds herself at the epicentre of a battle to save those she loves. But who can she trust when everyone has the face of an angel? The Shadow Children is the first book in The Demon-Born Trilogy, an exhilarating series of Urban Fantasy novels. If you like action-packed fantasy that tugs at the heartstrings, then you’ll love L.C. Hibbett’s debut.

The Devil's Intern


Donna Hosie - 2014
    Now Mitchell is The Devil's intern in Hell's accounting office. Lately, he's noticed a disturbing trend: the volume of new arrivals is straining Hell's limited resources. Then Mitchell overhears his boss discussing plans to limit newcomers with a legendary time travel mechanism. With a device like that, Mitchell realizes, he could change history and prevent his own death. Mitchell's plot goes awry when his three closest friends—Alfarin, the Viking prince; Elinor, from 17th-century London; and Melissa, from 1960s San Francisco—insert themselves into his plans. It soon becomes clear that the fates of all four are entwined in dangerous and unpredictable ways. With unforgettable characters and a thrilling premise, this original novel is by turns funny, poignant, and thought-provoking.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone


Laini Taylor - 2011
    She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Darkness Brutal


Rachel A. Marks - 2015
    Since then, every three years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.In desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. In their company, Aidan believes he’s finally found a haven for Ava. But when he meets Kara, a broken girl who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he awakens powers he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.With the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay and accept his brilliant, terrifying destiny?

Katie's Hellion


Lizzy Ford - 2011
    Both claim she’s destined for something great. If she can survive, that is. She’s drawn into a world filled with immortals like Rhyn, an outcast who claims her as his mate in a show of defiance to his brothers. Katie rescues Rhyn from Hell, and he discovers fast just how special his little human is. With Death counting his days on one hand, Rhyn must learn to love, before his own time is up and Katie becomes the first human casualty in the brewing war between immortals. Will the love between a gifted young woman and an immortal outcast save the world-- or destroy it?