Book picks similar to
The Aching Darkness: A Dark Fantasy Anthology by Parker Sinclair
paranormal
fantasy
vampire
romance
Forbidden Honor
May Dawson - 2021
Dragon shifters are always royals. They’re always male. They’re always assholes.An orphaned servant like me? Everyone assumes on first shift, I’ll turn into a squirrel.Instead, I grow wings. Breathe fire. Throw the world into chaos.No one wants a girl in the Royal Dragon Guard. So I’m disguised as a man and sent off to military training.The Dragon Royals are not a welcoming bunch. These princely scions of the four ruling families have been training to fight the plague-crazed Scourge since they were toddlers. Every girl in the city dreams of winning the heart of one of the dragon nobles, but they only care about each other.Jaik, the cold-hearted hero who never smiles and never falters. Arren, who kills without mercy and guards his friends fiercely. Lynx and Branick, the twin spymasters with deadly swords. Talisyn, with the beautiful cruel mouth and endless bravery. By night, I’m the servant they flirt with. I’m the one stealing Jaik’s heart and kissing Talisyn and antagonizing Arren. All the while, Branick and Lynx fret that I’m a spy, sent to destroy the Royals.By day, I’m Lucien Finn, the man they despise and the dragon shifter they have to fight alongside.These royals are determined to make me fall, and the princes play dirty. Can I ignore the pull they have on my heart and kick them off their thrones?Or will they break the maid... or kill the man? What will it do to us all when they finally discover the truth about who I truly am?If cocky dragon shifters, steamy scenes, and snarky heroines who refuse to choose anything less than ALL their heart's desires offend...then back away. Otherwise, scroll up and dive into the adventure alongside Honor.
What Lies Beyond the Veil
Harper L. Woods - 2022
In their absence, our lives have shifted from decadence and sin to survival and virtue under the guidance of the New Gods. I’ve spent my entire life tending to the gardens next to the boundary between our worlds, drawn to the shimmering magic like a moth to the flame.Then, we died on their swords.All of that changes the day the Veil shatters, unleashing the fae upon our world once again. The magic of faerie marks those of us they mean to take, but the Mist Guard protecting Nothrek will kill us all before they let the fae have us. There’s no choice but to flee everything I’ve ever known, not if I want to live to see my twenty-first birthday as a free woman.Now, they’ll claim what’s theirs.But before they capture me, Caelum saves me from the Wild Hunt. Fae-marked and on the run, he is able to fight back in ways I only dream of. From tentative alliance to all-consuming passion, our bond strengthens as the fae close in and evil lurks ever nearer. With my life on the line, he is everything I shouldn’t dare to want and a distraction I can’t afford. I can’t seem to stay away, not even with something greater on the line.My heart.Author’s Note: This book is intended for readers who are 18 and older. It contains mature language, graphic violence, and explicit content with darker elements. This is book one in a series and ends in a cliffhanger.
Teeth: Vampire Tales
Ellen DatlowNathan Ballingrud - 2011
Features stories by Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Garth Nix, and many more.
Fury's Kiss
Nicola R. White - 2015
At least to waitress Tara Walker, who dreams of more excitement than slinging plates of seafood for Cape Cod tourists. But as Tara learns when she is attacked and forced to fight for her life, fate sometimes has a funny way of giving you exactly what you wish for. Faced with strange new powers and embroiled in a murder investigation, Tara must now race to uncover the secrets of the ancient Fury that has woken inside of her - and of the evil that stalks her.As if Tara’s life hasn’t gotten complicated enough, she is forced to ally herself with Jackson Byrne, witness to her assault and uncle to a pint-sized oracle whose fate is intertwined with hers. Skeptical, stubborn, and oh-so-sexy, Jackson wrestles with demons of his own. He is determined to ignore the attraction rising between them even faster than the body count, but like it or not, he and Tara need each other if they are to unravel the mysteries that surround them.
Wilde's Fire
Krystal Wade - 2012
When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she's dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. Kate's forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What's worse, she has no control over her new future, and it's full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will Kate discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?
Lake Silence
Anne Bishop - 2018
. . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . . After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.
Loved by the Dragon Collection
Vivienne Savage - 2015
Originally published as Saved by the Dragon, Mated by the Dragon, and Taming the Dragon. Chloe's weekend getaway doesn't go according to plan when she's trapped in a cave with a gorgeous, golden-eyed rescuer named Saul. His fiery secret and a hot, one-night stand will set in motion events able to change her life forever -- but all dragons aren't ready to accept mortalkind. As shadowy forces in the draconic world object to their new union, Chloe must find the strength to fight for a future with the man she holds dear. When Marceline Vargas agrees to join her friend Chloe for an island vacation in Mexico, she's ready for fun in the sun and an escape from her hectic career. After crossing paths with the resort's owner, she soon discovers the billionaire dragon shifter is a charismatic enigma -- sexist but kind-hearted, intimidating yet generous. Can his chauvinistic patterns be tamed? Marcy intends to find out.
Stunner
Trina M. Lee - 2012
Reckless and young, Alexa O’Brien has finally met her match. A werewolf with unusual power, Alexa has a talent for finding trouble. This time trouble is a vampire who will change her life forever.Plus Chapter One from Huntress Book One: Once Bitten
Kindred
Nicola Claire - 2012
I have waited five hundred years for you." Vampires, shapeshifters, ghouls and magic-users abound in a world where the Norms, (those humans without paranormal abilities), are ignorant of the creatures of the night and the supernatural species that live alongside them.Lucinda Monk is a bank teller by day and a vampire hunter by night, but she wasn’t always a part of this world. Thrown into a heady mix of powerful people and sensual beings, she’s had to find her way practically blindfolded in amongst the creatures of the night. Lucinda, though, is a capable and realistic kind of girl. Her motto: Never Show Fear. But there's something different about Luce. Something those creatures she hunts want. So, in order to stay one step ahead of the enemy, she has to let the enemy in. In all his compelling, seductive and delicious ways. Sleeping with the enemy has never meant so much before. But can she trust him?From the urban streets of the city to the dark alleys and sinful bars that promise a wickedness a girl from the farm has never before been exposed to, Lucinda gets drawn irreversibly into the dark side of life.And if the Master of the City has his way, she will always be his. For eternity.
Watched
Sharde Richardson - 2011
I didn't know if I qualified to say that anymore. How did things get so out of control, so messy? I was normal, once. Put on my bra one arms strap at a time, laced my Converses from bottom to top just like everyone else. Granted it was a slightly different version of normal--a little too far left of kosher, maybe? But before all of this twistedness happened, I was me. I was a little ignorant, a little naïve. I was whatever my social network profile said. But I hadn't updated it in, like, three months, so...Three months ago, I was the girl who wore her hair in a saggy ponytail, the girl with the stutter. I despised my mom's cooking, gamed too much, and laughed at all my dad's jokes even when they were corny as hell. I'd never been kissed or gotten into trouble. I was Mikayla Blake, human, prone to fuckups and mishaps. No more, no less.Three months ago, my new life started. And nothing's been coincidence since.
Halfway to the Grave
Jeaniene Frost - 2007
Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership.In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner – are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side … and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.
Captive
Jex Lane - 2016
Unable to stop the vampire inside from preying on humans, he keeps himself confined to a lonely existence. Everything changes the night he is lured into a trap and taken prisoner by High Lord General Tarrick—a seductive incubus who feeds off sexual energy. Forced into the middle of a war between vampires and incubi, Matthew is used as a weapon against his own kind. Although he's desperate for freedom, he is unable to deny the burning desire drawing him to the incubus general he now calls Master. This book is intended for mature audiences.
The Ghost and the Graveyard
Genevieve Jack - 2012
After a series of failed relationships, the last of which left her destitute, she takes advantage of her father’s offer to live rent-free in a property he hasn’t been able to sell. But feeling at home in a house on the edge of a graveyard isn’t easy, especially when things go bump in the night.The only positive is the stunning cemetery caretaker, Rick. Despite her resolve to end her pattern of relationship mistakes, she literally can’t keep her hands off him. The intensity of her attraction seems almost...magical.Once a spirit manifests on her staircase, Grateful can no longer deny that her house is haunted. Rick has a dark secret, and it has everything to do with her personal history, the house, and the spirit who warns her about both.Feisty witches, seductive vampires, and swoon-worthy immortals come together in this page-turning paranormal romance/urban fantasy series.**The Ghost and The Graveyard is a funny, exciting, and sexy read intended for adults. Due to sexual content, language, and violence this book is recommended for ages 18+.**
Her Soul to Take
Harley Laroux - 2021
Killer, they called me, and killing is what I'm best at.Except her.The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed - I didn't.The cult that once controlled me wants her, and I'm not about to lose my new toy to them.RaeI've always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient - something evil - is waking up and calling my name.I don't know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes.All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn't just want my body - he wants my soul.Her Soul to Take is book 1 in the Souls Trilogy. Although all the books are interconnected, they are stand-alone and can be read in any order.Content WarningThis book contains graphic sexual scenes, violence, kink/fetish content, horror elements, and depictions of hard kink/edgeplay. This book is strictly fictional and is not meant to represent realistic expectations of BDSM or kink.Kinks/Fetishes Within: consensual non-consent (CNC), breathe play/choking, bloodplay, spit, needle play (body modification fetish), pain play, fear play, public play, bondage, restraint, spanking/impact play.
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
Charlaine Harris - 2011
Charlaine Harris has topped the bestseller charts and has become a nationwide phenomenon, thanks to the unconventional-and otherworldly- life of Sookie Stackhouse. Now, in her own words, Sookie gives readers a look at her family, friends, enemies, adventures, and-of course-the lovers who set her world on fire... Readers will: • Tour Bon Temps, the small Louisiana town that Sookie calls home, and visit the houses of her Gran and her sometime vampire lover, Bill • Prowl around the werewolf and were-panther communities • Browse through her best friend Tara's dress shop • Belly up to the bar in Merlotte's, where Sookie works • Get must-have Bon Temps recipes-including Caroline Bellfleur's famous chocolate cheesecake • Test themselves with trivia questions from the series.