Book picks similar to
Race the Night by Deb Elliott


paranormal
urban-fantasy
vampires
shapeshifters

Bloodfire


Helen Harper - 2012
    Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.

Born in Fire


K.F. Breene - 2017
    Breene will take you on a magical joy ride you won't soon forget. Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn't the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don't have many options.So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.Knowing I'm poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I'll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case.Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I'm stuck. As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn't know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.

Godhunter


Amy Sumida - 2013
    I've trained with sword and magic to be strong enough to kill them. Except now, on the cusp of my greatest battle, everything I know has been turned upside down by one man and his offer of an alliance. One man who is also a god.

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.

A Cat's Chance in Hell


Sharon Hannaford - 2012
    Some might call them supernatural, but for her they’re just part of everyday life. What she knows about the supernatural would give most humans nightmares forever. Ridding the streets of bad-ass creatures of the night is Gabi’s other job. Taking up the mantle of her father’s legacy, she is a Hunter for the Malus Venatori. If she had a choice it would be her only job, but a girl has to make a living, right?Being ambushed and kidnapped by the sinfully sexy Master Vampire of the City should have been just another night on the job, except for the fact that Julius has other plans for her. When he reveals that his nemesis wants control of the City and has plans to fill it with Demons from the Etherworld, creating an army of Ghouls and turning humans into nothing more than cattle to feed his Clan, Gabi must choose her path. She must decide whether to join with Julius in a stand against the Demon Master or flee the City with her friends and family, leaving the Vampires to wage their own war and the rest of the residents to their fate.But it’s not in Gabi’s nature to back down from a fight, no matter how impossible the odds. As the Malus Venatori prepare for war, Gabi finds herself pulled deeper into Julius’s world and makes some disturbing discoveries about her unusual supernatural abilities. Her existence might just be the answer to a mystery as old as the Vampire race. Even more unsettling than that is her undeniable attraction to Julius and the taste of his blood. But before she can come to terms with her conflicting desires they must all survive the Demon onslaught and find a way to safeguard the truth of her heritage. While the supernatural bad guys know her as Angeli Morte, her friends call her Hellcat!If you like your heroine smart, sassy and absolutely kick-ass and your Vampire hero sexy as sin and twice as dangerous you’re going to want to read the hellcat series.

Academy of Assassins


Stacey Brutger - 2017
     Abandoned as a child and unable to remember her past, Morgan was raised as a hunter, one of an elite group of fighters sworn to protect humans from the dangerous paranormal creatures who invade our world…creatures such as herself. Her life changes the day she’s summoned to the Academy of Assassins, a school that trains witches and hunters to eradicate paranormals who prey on humans. Her first assignment—find and eliminate the killer who is using the Academy as their own personal hunting ground. As Morgan delves deeper into the investigation, she will need to dodge assassination attempts, avoid the distraction of romantic entanglements with the devilishly handsome security expert, Kincade, and his maddeningly overprotective teammates, while keeping the volatile magic in her blood concealed from those who would use it for their own purposes. When the danger increases and the school is threatened, Morgan must unearth her missing memories before someone finishes the job they started so long ago—killing her and unleashing a plague that will consume the world.

Magic Forged


K.M. Shea - 2020
    As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it.The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage. I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake - the most feared vampire in the region, and a far more deadly villain than the jerk threatening my family.Is Killian sexy and charismatic? Heck yeah.He's also so powerful that my flight or fight instincts kick in every time our eyes meet. And he's definitely using me as his personal magic detector in his feud against the local fae.But Killian is also the first person to believe I might have more than just a scrap of magic. And if I can convince him to train me, I might get strong enough to free my family and get my house back.I'm not sure what happens when a scrappy wizard is taught how to fight by a hall of deadly vampires, but I'm about to find out.Magic Forged is the first book in the Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy, which features vampires, wizards, fae, and werewolves. It's packed with humor, adventure, and a sweet, slow burn romance between a vertically challenged wizard and the most lethal vampire in town.

Moonshadow


Thea Harrison - 2016
     Her past is a blank, her future uncertain…. Recovering from a shooting, LAPD witch consultant Sophie Ross leaves her job and travels to the U.K. to search for answers about her childhood. When she encounters a Daoine Sidhe knight of the Dark Court, she becomes entangled in an ancient hatred between two arcane forces. He has given his body and soul to fight for his people…. Barred from his homeland along with his surviving brother knights, Nikolas Sevigny is embroiled in a conflict that threatens everything he holds dear. Only by uniting his people’s resources can they hope to prevail against Isabeau, the deadly Queen of the Light Court. He will do anything and use anyone to return home to Lyonesse. When Nikolas encounters Sophie, he sees a tool to be used. The insouciant witch might be the key to unlocking every passageway that has been barred to the knights of the Dark Court, even as a fascination for her takes root in what’s left of his soul. Sophie has no intention of becoming anyone’s pawn, yet the fierce Nikolas is so compelling, she can’t deny the temptation that endangers her guarded heart. As magic threatens Lyonesse, Queen Isabeau unleashes her merciless Hounds, and Nikolas and Sophie become embroiled in a race for survival. Meanwhile, the passion that ignites between them burns too hot to be denied and quickly turns into obsession. Thank goodness they both know better than to fall in love…

Mere Mortal


Katie Roman - 2014
    However, working as a social worker for vampires makes life anything but. When an ancient vampire brings trouble right to Samantha's doorstep she must step out of her quiet life and into a world of villainous vampires, werewolves with hero complexes, and witches out to make mischief. Armed with attitude and a blessed baseball bat Samantha decides to get her life back to normal, or as normal as she can.

Iron and Magic


Ilona Andrews - 2018
     Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast. Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify. Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies? As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.” Hugh and Elara may do both.

Destined Darkness


Tessa Cole - 2018
    as long as they never learn her secret. I’m Officer Essie Shaw, and I shouldn’t exist. If anyone finds out their friendly neighborhood beat cop is a nephilim — public enemy number one — I’ll be imprisoned. Or worse, dissected. I survive by keeping my head down and my barely-there magic under wraps. But when I lose a fight with a strange, smoke-like wraith, I’m confronted with my worst nightmare. A Joined Parliament Team of Agents — supernatural monster hunters who’d arrest me in a heartbeat if they knew the truth — a no-nonsense angel whose mere gaze captures my soul, a vampire with a breathtaking bite, an incubus with enticing hellfire in his eyes, and, worst of all, my smoldering-hot ex-partner, turned werewolf thanks to my rookie mistake. This wraith has been picking off veterans of the recently won war against the archangel Michael, and the bodies are piling up. My unwanted connection to it, along with the team’s skills, could be the key to trapping it in magical stasis. Question is, am I strong enough to serve as bait, while keeping the secret that could brand me their enemy? Destined Darkness is the first book in the Nephilim’s Destiny series, an action-packed full-length paranormal romance with four irresistible guys and a kick-ass heroine who doesn’t have to choose.

Oath Sworn


K.N. Banet - 2019
    Owning a bar takes work and that was all I wanted. Serving cold beers and paying my taxes. Those were the responsibilities I wanted for the rest of my life.I didn’t ask to be a werecat. I didn’t ask for the responsibility to uphold an ancient treaty. I didn’t ask to get pulled into the middle of a werewolf pack’s coup.But Carey Everson, the very human daughter of a werewolf Alpha, needs me. Her father’s enemies are on her heels and I’m her last defense. And I’ll be that defense until my final breath, even if it means challenging the very Laws that govern the supernatural. I gave her my word.My name is Jacky Leon and nothing is going to stop me from honoring my word.

Double-Sided Magic


McKenzie Hunter - 2016
    Once my kind were the hunters—now we are the hunted Supernaturals are out of the closet but I have to stay hidden because of the type of magic I possess. I’m a Legacy. It sounds like the title should come with reverence, a trust fund, or at the very least a cool backstory—instead it comes with a death sentence. I have to hide in plain sight and pretend to be just human. I’m pretty good at it. I live a simple and somewhat normal life, and I work in antique acquisitions. Everything’s going fine until a dangerous and enchanted dagger that was once in my possession is stolen. I didn’t think things could get any worse until I woke up next to a dead shifter, fae, and mage, without any memory of the past twenty-four hours. Considered guilty of murder by most of the magical community and humans, I must work with Gareth, the sexy and dangerous leader of the Supernatural Guild. If he’s as good as rumored, it’s only a matter of time until he discovers the truth about me—then being found guilty of murder is the least of my worries.

This Dark Wolf


Everly Frost - 2020
    Mateless. Unable to bond.Cast out of my pack, I live in a supernatural safe house filled with broken women. Other women come and go, but I remain.I'm waiting.For him.Tristan Masters—the ruthless alpha of the most vicious pack in the city.He fought for my life when my pack wanted to kill me. He saved me. I should be able to trust him.But I know better.Tristan Masters wants my wolf; my killer soul. When he’s ready, he will use me to destroy his enemies.Tristan thinks he owns me. He thinks there are no consequences because I can't bond to him.He's going to discover that I am nobody’s to command.This dark wolf will bite back.This is a dark urban fantasy romance. Full length. 17+ for sex scenes and language.

Dead in the Water


Hailey Edwards - 2016
    Her peculiar talent solves cases with a touch. She isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, but every bright star casts a shadow, and her deepest scars lurk just beneath the skin. A routine consultation goes sideways when a victim’s brother gets involved in the investigation. Riding the edge of grief, the warg will go to any lengths to avenge his sister’s death. Even if it means ensuring Cam’s cooperation at the jaws of his wolf. When the killer strikes again, Cam is caught between a warg and a hard place. To save the next victim, she must embrace her past. Even if it means dragging her darkest secrets into the light of day. This series is a spinoff of the author's "Black Dog" series.