Book picks similar to
A Curious Invasion by Marie Andreas


steampunk
mystery
alternate-history
magic

The Amulet Thief


Luanne Bennett - 2015
    When she comes home to New York City, she wants just two things: a little peace, and answers about the unsolved murder and why she was abandoned in the middle of America at the age of eight.Greer Sinclair, an enigmatic stranger who knows a little bit more than he should, just might give her both–and more if she’ll let him.What is she?What is he? Who is this beguiling satyr who keeps coming between them? She attracts the otherworldly like moths to a flame. And why does every stranger on the streets of Manhattan want a piece of her and that pendant hanging around her pretty little neck?Maybe the answers are in a peculiar shop in the heart of Greenwich Village where ghosts, memories, and secrets are bursting from the walls and the books and the one person who knows her best. The line between the mundane and supernatural worlds is starting to blur. Which side will she choose? Which would you?

Wolves and Daggers


Melanie Karsak - 2018
    Can she trust him to help her chase down the monsters they’re hunting?Wolves and Daggers is a retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale set in Melanie Karsak’s bestselling steampunk universe.

Assassins of the Steam Age


Joseph Robert Lewis - 2013
    But the case becomes terrifyingly personal when Taziri finds that her enemies have turned her own inventions into weapons and her family's survival may hang in the balance. Meanwhile, exiled Incan princess Qhora and her swashbuckling lover Lorenzo face a gauntlet of assassins, cruel aristocrats, and wealthy industrialists conspiring against the very Queen that Taziri is trying to save, and her country's only hope for peace may be her crippled airship plummeting out of the burning sky. Welcome to a world where strange machines sail the seas and the skies, enormous prehistoric beasts roam the earth, and the restless dead whisper to the living.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street


Natasha Pulley - 2015
    Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.

The Clockwork Dagger


Beth Cato - 2014
    Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.Suddenly, she is caught up in a flurry of intrigue: the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Daggers—the Queen’s spies and assassins—and her cabin-mate harbors disturbing secrets. But the danger is only beginning, for Octavia discovers that the deadly conspiracy aboard the airship may reach the crown itself.

Phoenix Rising


Pip Ballantine - 2011
    Clandestine Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is forbidden to investigate. But Eliza Braun, with bulletproof corset, fondness for dynamite, remarkable devices, drags along timorous new partner Wellington Books, of encyclopedic brain, against Phoenix intent on enslaving Britons.

Lumière


Jacqueline Garlick - 2013
    One resourceful boy. One miracle machine that could destroy everything. After an unexplained flash shatters her world, seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth sets out to find the Illuminator, her father’s prized invention. With it, she hopes to cure herself of her debilitating seizures before Professor Smrt—her father’s arch nemesis—discovers her secret and locks her away in an asylum. Pursued by Smrt, Eyelet locates the Illuminator only to see it whisked away. She follows the thief into the world of the unknown, compelled not only by her quest but by the allure of the stranger—Urlick Babbit—who harbors secrets of his own. Together, they endure deadly Vapours and criminal-infested woods in pursuit of the same prize, only to discover the miracle machine they hoped would solve their problems may in fact be their biggest problem of all.

This Crumbling Pageant


Patricia Burroughs - 2014
    Winner, Golden Quill for best Romantic Fantasy in 2015 The Fury family is known for its extraordinary music, its powerful magic, and its historic role as kingmakers. But the Furys have their secrets as well, none so dangerous as the daughter whose Shadow magic spills from her, unchecked. Unless her powers are concealed, she’s not only ruined in Society, but marked as a target for those who would use and abuse her magic. Persephone Fury is the Dark daughter, the one they hide. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and a good marriage for this frightening daughter is desperately needed. On the night of her debut, her world comes crumbling down around her when she is abducted from the man she loves by the man she most loathes. Evil powers circle, calling her to the destiny foretold at the moment of her birth, drawing her to the source of her power, to the one place she can finally be free. By embracing the Shadows, by embracing the Darkness within her. Persephone is ruthless, devious, and clever, but when confronted with the truth, she must make horrifying choices. Can she defy destiny and seize her own fate? ______________________ START READING NOW ______________________Amazon/Kindle http://amzn.to/2p0FtzF Barnes&Noble/Nook http://bit.ly/2vNH8Z7 Kobo http://bit.ly/2xBntha iBooks http://apple.co/2iLLWNm And book stores around the world. https://books2read.com/u/4jKXlo Website: https://furytriad.com

Cast into Darkness


Janet Tait - 2014
    Born a powerless Null to America's pre-eminent magical family, she escapes to a distant college and the life of a theater major. The last thing she wants is to be dragged into her family's war for global domination against the rival Makris clan. But when an innocent favor pulls Kate into a perilous contest with a legendary magical stone, she plunges into their dangerous world of spellcasting and scheming. A world Kate's sexy, devious boyfriend Kris is all too familiar with… Hardened magical operative Kristof "Kris" Makris chafes under the rule of his lunatic father, but he's found the perfect way to overthrow his leader and save his people. But the artifact he needs is in the hands of the Hamilton family, and each attempt to steal it from Kate brings him closer to blowing his cover. If he does, he'll do more than alert his father to his treachery. He'll lose Kate. And that possibility bothers him more than he cares to admit. As the ancient power inside the stone begins to transform Kate into a vessel of world-destroying magic, the line between friends and enemies blurs. Kristof must choose between his family and the girl he's grown to love. And Kate must either trust the man she thought she knew or lose herself to the stone’s deadly embrace.

Bitter Spirits


Jenn Bennett - 2014
    The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who’s more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he’s the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida’s supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her.On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…

Greywalker


Kat Richardson - 2006
    until a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead for two minutes. When she comes to in the hospital, she sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker- able to move between the human world and the mysterious cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift is about to drag her into that strange new realm-whether she likes it or not.

The Grendel Affair


Lisa Shearin - 2013
    Things that go bump in the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to contain, even for us…   When I moved to New York to become a world famous journalist, I never imagined that snagging a job at a seedy tabloid would change my career path from trashy reporter to undercover agent. I’m Makenna Fraser, a Seer for SPI. I can see through any disguise, shield, or spell that a paranormal pest can come up with. I track down creatures and my partner, Ian Byrne, takes them out—usually saving my skin in the process.   Our cases are generally pretty routine, but a sickle-wielding serial killer has been prowling the city’s subway tunnels. And the murderer’s not human. The fiend in question, a descendant of Grendel—yes, that Grendel—shares his ancestor’s hatred of parties, revelry, and drunkards. And with New Year’s Eve in Times Square only two days away, we need to bag him quickly. Because if we don’t find him—and the organization behind him—by midnight, our secret’s out and everyone’s time is up.

Burned by Magic


Jasmine Walt - 2015
    No one outside the mage families are allowed to have magic, and anyone born with it must agree to have it stripped from them to avoid execution. Sunaya Baine, a shifter-mage hybrid, has managed to keep her unruly magic under wraps for the last twenty-four years. But while chasing down a shifter-hunting serial killer, she accidentally loses control of her magic in front of witnesses, drawing the attention of the dangerous and enigmatic Chief Mage. Locked up in the Chief Mage’s castle and reduced to little more than a lab rat, Sunaya resists his attempts to analyze and control her at every turn. But she soon realizes that to regain her freedom and catch the killer, she must overcome her hatred of mages and win the most powerful mage in the city to her side.

Faery Swap


Susan Kaye Quinn - 2013
    Especially when they possess your body.2 minute book trailerWarrior faery princes can be very stubborn. Especially when they possess your body.Fourteen-year-old Finn just wants to keep his little sister out of Child Protective Services--an epic challenge with their parentally-missing-in-action dad moving them to England, near the famous Stonehenge rocks. Warrior faery Prince Zaneyr just wants to escape his father's reckless plan to repair the Rift--a catastrophe that ripped the faery realm from Earth 4,000 years ago and set it adrift in an alternate, timeless dimension. When Zaneyr tricks Finn into swapping places, Finn becomes a bodiless soul stuck in the Otherworld, and Zaneyr uses Finn's body to fight off his father's seekers on Earth. Between them, they have two souls and only one body... and both worlds to save before the dimensional window between them slams shut.Faery Swap is an action and druid-magic filled portal fantasy, told by both a runaway faery prince and the boy he's tricked into taking his place. This Prince and the Pauper meets Warrior Faeries tale is suitable for all ages.Includes 4 interior illustrations.NOTE TO TEACHERS: A 2 minute book trailer and a 9 minute Virtual Author Visit video brings Author and Rocket Scientist Susan Kaye Quinn (Ph.D. Engineering) into your classroom, sharing her background in science and engineering and talking about her book, Faery Swap. A downloadable Teacher's Guide includes discussion questions, activities, and a Knowledge Seekers card-based game designed to be played in the classroom - all aligned to Common Core reading, writing, and college readiness standards for Grades 3-6. (Virtual Author Visit can be found at Susan's website.

Meows, Magic & Murder


Madison Johns - 2015
    It’s bad enough that her cat, Pansy, had gotten into his house—especially when Pansy wasn’t a cat at all, but Jeremy Walters, a man she gave a love potion to, which transformed him into a cat.