Book picks similar to
The Island by S. Usher Evans
fantasy
romance
fiction
young-adult
Every Last Kiss
Courtney Cole - 2011
Controlled by the Fates. Can Macy's love for her soul mate survive the bonds of time... and death?17-year old Macy Lockhart is as far from normal as any one girl can be. The problem is, she doesn’t know it yet.After a bloodstone pendant is mysteriously left on her door, Macy’s life begins to change in ways she’d never dreamed. And while she will eventually come to realize that nothing is ever what it seems, that her life is a tangled web of lies and the Fates themselves pull the strings, for now she is left with only the explanations that they offer her.Macy is led to believe that if she doesn’t return to a previous doomed life, one in which she served as Queen Cleopatra ‘s handmaiden, the fate of the entire world will be threatened in a way that would destroy history as we know it. She learns that she has lived thousands of lives, each one ending tragically…but none as tragic as this one.After returning to ancient Egypt, she is faced with heart-wrenching decisions. Unless she interferes with Fate’s plan, the very thing she was born to protect, her soul mate will die leading Marc Antony’s forces against Rome. Can she really stand aside and watch the love of her life die all over again?In this fascinating novel-length prequel to The Bloodstone Saga, Courtney Cole sets the stage for an epic journey that will have readers holding their breath until the very last page of the very last book has been turned.What would you do if you held Fate in your hands?
The River Maiden
Meredith R. Stoddard - 2014
Raised by her Scottish grandmother deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sarah grew up with one foot in the old world and one foot in the new world. Her childhood friends were the stuff of ancient Celtic legends. But Sarah’s seemingly idyllic past hides a horrifying secret. As a little girl she watched her mother’s inexorable slide into madness. But she hasn’t let her past stop her from reaching for her dreams. She has managed to put together a pretty good life for herself. She has great friends, a boyfriend, and her career as a folklorist is all planned out. That is until she meets Dermot Sinclair. The handsome Scot seems to be dogging her every step. At best he’s a fellow folklorist who can help her research. At worst, he could be there to steal her work. All she has to do is find one song that proves her thesis and her dissertation will be done. Unfortunately, unlocking that song may also mean unlocking some buried memories and a dangerous destiny set in motion generations ago.
The Change
Teyla Branton - 2013
By fluke of a recessive gene, she has become Unbounded, a nearly immortal being with paranormal abilities. Erin’s Change separates her from her loved ones and alters everything she believes to be true. A week earlier she was considering a marriage proposal; now she contemplates the best way to stay alive. Caught in a battle between two Unbounded groups, she is also hunted by a secret mortal society sworn to eradicate the Unbounded gene. Worse, a new identification software could mean death for all Unbounded—or enslavement for the entire mortal world. As Erin plunges into this dangerous new life, she must carve out her own place in the madness, protect her mortal family, and decide which group she should join. Her powerful attraction to Ritter Langton, whose family was massacred by opposing Unbounded two hundred and forty years ago, complicates her choices. There are no second chances. Death, life, or love—Unbounded always play for keeps. Non-stop action, terrifying consequences, and powerful romance make this an exciting addition to the world of urban fantasy.
Ever
Jessa Russo - 2012
She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.Some girls lose their hearts to love.Some girls lose their minds.Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.
Bound by Prophecy
Melissa Wright - 2013
He never wanted to take Morgan’s place among council, never wanted to rule their hidden world. But when the key to the prophecy is found, a young girl named Brianna whom Morgan will destroy, Aern knows he has to take action.What he really wants, is for things to go back to normal. But now he’s kidnapped a girl, and his brother’s men are after him. His only hope is to join with the Division, but they have plans of their own, and it’s the last thing Aern is willing to do.Emily just wants her sister back. She doesn't care about the prophecy, or realize what’s at stake. But when she goes after Aern, the truth of the matter uncoils, and Brianna isn't the only one who’s in danger.Suddenly, they’re at the center of a secret war, and unless they can work together, they’ll both have a sacrifice too big to make.
Wind Warrior
Jon Messenger - 2013
The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty-year-old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he’s going to college and dating the leader of the schools top sorority. It’s all very… normal. However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander’s life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new ‘super power’ quickly if he wants to survive. For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn’t help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can’t deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated.
Phoenix Unbound
Grace Draven - 2018
For the last five years, one small village's tithe has been the same woman. Gilene's sacrifice protects all the other young women of her village, and her secret to staying alive lies with the magic only she possesses. But this year is different. Azarion, the Empire's most famous gladiator, has somehow seen through her illusion, and is set on blackmailing Gilene into using her abilities to help him escape his life of slavery. And unknown to Gilene, he also wants to reclaim the birthright of his clan.To protect her family and village, she will risk everything to return to the Empire and burn once more.
Tides of Time
Luna Joya - 2019
Or at least as normal as a life in a family of witches can be. She can’t tell her sisters about her violent ex. Or that she broke the first rule of magic to “harm none.” When her youngest sister asks for help unraveling the death of a 1930’s star abused by those she loved, Cami can’t say no. A reformed bad boy who doesn’t know his own family’s secrets…Sam lives for his restaurant and coveted screenplay expertise of Hollywood history. He avoids the entanglements of relationships since even his own parents didn’t want him. But when the enchanting Cami needs his help to crack an unsolved mystery, he can’t resist. The closer they come to finding a killer, the more they crave each other. But someone is determined to stop them.Can they solve the mystery before history repeats itself?
Reign & Ruin
J.D. Evans - 2020
Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”
She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy. She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people. His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war. Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion. They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…
Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.
Breath of Earth
Beth Cato - 2016
Their first target is a vulnerable China. In San Francisco, headstrong Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of powerful geomancer Wardens who have no idea of the depth of her power—or that she is the only woman to possess such skills. When assassins kill the Wardens, Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose Earth’s powers to masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching American and Japanese, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies, transforming the city into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor will set it off. . . . Forced on the run, Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her powerful magic has grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance of world power rests.
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…
Sleepers
Megg Jensen - 2011
Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?
Steel Maiden
Kim Richardson - 2015
But she is caught, and the punishment for stealing is death. And yet in that moment she is given a choice—death or to become one of the High priests' champions in The Great Race.Elena is catapulted without warning into the bloodiest race in all the realms, forced to compete with a man she hates while she develops a growing passion for another. She struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious healing powers that she must keep secret. Within a world built on a religious sect and dangerous secrets, she becomes a woman torn between obligation and desire, between a man she supposedly hates and another.As Elena comes to terms with her own secret, she discovers the truth behind the race and must stop the ancient, wicked evil that threatens all living things before it's too late.
City of Dark Magic
Magnus Flyte - 2012
When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood. Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide. City of Dark Magic could be called a rom-com paranormal suspense novel—or it could simply be called one of the most entertaining novels of the year.
Magic of Thieves
C. Greenwood - 2012
Concealment. In the shadow of Dimmingwood, she finds temporary protection with a band of forest brigands led by the infamous outlaw Rideon the Red Hand.But as Ilan matures, learns the skills of survival, and struggles to master the inherent magic of her dying race, danger is always close behind. When old enemies reappear and new friendships lead to betrayal, will her discovery of an enchanted bow prove to be Ilan’s final salvation or her ultimate downfall?