Book picks similar to
A Veil for the Vanguard by Danny F. Santos
fantasy
young-adult
magic
giveaway
Hereditary
Jane Washington - 2013
Even before she steps foot inside the Academy, they know her name and they know the truth about her birth. She is one of the Tainted: a mixed-breed creature with the blood of a monster, clinging to legitimacy by the genes of her human father. She is more beautiful, more powerful, and more despised than any other being in the Read Kingdom.Her life was never going to be easy, but when fate throws her together with Cale, the troublemaking son of her father’s sworn enemy, and Hazen, the intimidating crown prince of the Read Kingdom, she quickly discovers that her problems haven’t even begun. In a world built on status, there are lines that can never be crossed. In a time of peace, it is inevitable that war will whisper on the wind once again. In a land of mixed blood, a Tainted Creature can either be killed … or they can be recruited.
Rise
Jennifer Anne Davis - 2016
The kingdom’s only hope lies with the Order of the Krigers—twelve warriors with mysterious powers linked to magical weapons. For over a century, Morlet has been annihilating the Order, picking them off one by one. Eleven Krigers have been hunted down, tortured, and imprisoned in his dungeon. Now, only one remains. Sixteen-year-old Kaia survives by keeping her head down and minding her own business. But when she finds herself in the middle of a public execution where the mysterious Morlet is in attendance, an odd compulsion she can’t resist comes over her. Kaia looks into Morlet’s eyes.Soon, an ancient power awakens and Kaia can no more blend into the scenery. Will she heed the call of the Krigers or will Morlet’s dark magic destroy the last of the Order?Fans of GRACELING and THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS will enjoy RISE, book one in the RISE OF THE KRIGERS series from international bestselling author Jennifer Anne Davis.
Me and My Ghoulfriends
Rose Pressey Betancourt - 2008
By day, Larue Donavan is a down-to-earth bookstore owner. But by night, she's a world-renowned psychic investigator dedicated to helping lost spirits find peace. Dead people won't leave her alone and Abraham Lincoln thinks he's in charge of her lovelife. Larue can handle ghosts and undead presidents. It's the living that drive her crazy. When Callahan Weiss moves to town, the handsome newcomer opens a coffee shop right next door. She's smitten from the start, but she's not the only one -- The boutique owner across the street has her eye on Callahan too, and uses witchcraft to fight dirty. When Callahan gets hit by a love spell, Larue will need more than a little help from her ghoul-friends to save the day...
Touch of Death
Kelly Hashway - 2012
One minute she's in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she's being stalked by some guy no one seems to know. After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he's not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she's part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendants of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins. Jodi's deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn't difficult enough, Jodi discovers she's the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can't figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.
House of Eclipses
Casey L. Bond - 2021
While she has no chance at inheriting her father’s title, what she truly longs for is peace from his unrelenting hatred. Hope builds that she may finally be able to claim that reprieve when a missive arrives from the House of the Moon.The new Lumin, chosen of the moon god, Lumos, seeks to broker peace with the Kingdom of Helios for the first time in ages. He envisions open trade routes and an end to archaic rivalries. His dedication to this cause extends to visions of a union between the two families by marrying one of Aten’s daughters, if one of the matches is a fit. Driven by his own twisted agenda, Noor’s father is willing to sacrifice his daughters as pawns to steal the crown for him to further his despotic reign, pitting sister against sister in a brutal battle for power. But Noor must come out the victor, either by capturing the Lumin’s heart or stealing his crown. For whomever wears the crown of moonlight, holds the power of the moon itself. With such strength at her command, she could finally defeat her tyrannical father.Yet this endeavor cannot be accomplished without great sacrifice. As Noor learns more about Lumin Caelum, guilt over her betrayal consumes her, burning hot as the sun itself. If only he wasn’t kind, and selfless, and exactly what she wanted. If only she had greater dominion over her heart…Can Noor carry out her plan and end her father’s vile reign? Or will unlikely alliances allow a new day to dawn?Praise for House of Eclipses:"A gorgeous journey you'll want to take again and again." ~New York Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins“Stunning world-building, a fierce heroine, gorgeous writing, and a storyline unlike anything you've ever read. House of Eclipses will pull you in until the very last page.” – Celia McMahon, author of The Unspoken Series“House of Eclipses is full of compelling characters, beautiful worlds full of whimsy and wonder, an edge-of-your-seat storyline, a love story for the ages, and an ending that packs in incredible punch.” – Ethan Gregory, One Guy’s Guide to Good Reads
The Bone Season
Samantha Shannon - 2013
Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.
Lost Girl
Colleen Vanderlinden - 2013
Determined to make something of her bizarre powers, she devotes herself to saving those who need her most. One night, she's followed by a powerful being in a pickup truck, and her world will never be the same. Finding herself thrust into a world full of supernatural beings she could have only imagined, Molly learns how powerful she really is, and how much she stands to lose.
Luminous
Mara Rutherford - 2021
But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn't take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora's childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius's visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to.To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she'll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos--and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him.A witch who must learn to harness her power--or risk losing her loved ones forever.
The Delphi Effect
Rysa Walker - 2016
Unfortunately, seventeen-year-old Anna Morgan has no choice. Resting on a park bench, touching the turnstile at the Metro station—she never knows where she’ll encounter a ghost. These mental hitchhikers are the reason Anna has been tossed from one foster home and psychiatric institution to the next for most of her life.When a chance touch leads her to pick up the insistent spirit of a girl who was brutally murdered, Anna is pulled headlong into a deadly conspiracy that extends to the highest levels of government. Facing the forces behind her new hitcher’s death will challenge the barriers, both good and bad, that Anna has erected over the years and shed light on her power’s origins. And when the covert organization seeking to recruit her crosses the line by kidnapping her friend, it will discover just how far Anna is willing to go to bring it down.
School for Psychics
K.C. Archer - 2018
Yes she’s resourceful, bright, and scrappy. But she can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t realize: she’s actually psychic. When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force operatives: it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world. In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen: break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself. Set in a world very much like our own, School for Psychics is the first book in a stay-up-all night series.
Belvedor and the Four Corners
Ashleigh Bello - 2014
CREATOR. AGRARIAN. WARRIOR.—Welcome to the Four Corners—Arianna Belvedor has never known a world outside of this cold and cruel region, but she’s always dreamed of the freedom beyond. Per the King’s decree to weed out the weak, all children must excel in one of four special skills and survive a rigorous test to earn citizenship—win or die.As #22 of Warrior’s District, Arianna has become notable with her swords. She’s confident she’ll survive the ultimate battle. But everything changes when she learns a secret about King Devlindor’s long-standing reign… before these dark times, the world had been filled with magic.There had once been a thriving Golden Age where magic was for all to claim. Dwarves, mermaids, elves, and even dragons roamed the land. Then, the King’s greed and iron grip thrust the world into darkness.Arianna must now make a choice: ignore the enchanted truth and abide by the King’s laws or use her swords to carve out a new path to freedom.Does she have what it takes to follow the magic?__________________________The Belvedor Saga is a completed YA Epic Fantasy Adventure series—perfect for fans of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.The third edition of Belvedor and the Four Corners was released in October 2020, with added and expanded scenes!Note from the author:Arianna Belvedor is a heroine you will love to follow, but she’s not one to give her heart away easily. Don’t expect much romance on this daring quest—her magic comes from within.__________________________"Belvedor and the Four Corners is a great read! It's one of those books that will keep you hooked till the end. It's up there with The Hunger Games and Harry Potter with its combination of the magical world and the fight for your life. I can't wait to see what happens the rest of the series." - From Nikola ★★★★★"It's a novel filled with magic, sorcery, swords, bows and arrows, knives, magical creatures, oppression, freedom, and pure excitement ... I'm in love with all the main characters. Ms. Bello takes you on a remarkable adventure and you'll wish for more...” - From PixiePassion ★★★★★Read all the Belvedor Books!
The Belvedor Saga by Ashleigh Bello
Belvedor and the Four CornersBelvedor and the King’s CurseBelvedor and the Desert of SecretsBelvedor and the Trail of FireBelvedor and the Golden Rule
The Book of Deacon
Joseph R. Lallo - 2010
The find will change her life, sending her on an adventure of soldiers and rebels, wizards and warriors, and beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step will bring her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.
Darkest Night
Alessa Thorn - 2021
Enemies. Lovers.All is fair when the price is this high.'Darkest Night' is the first book in 'Mercenaries and Magic' a fast-paced paranormal series full of morally gray characters, found family, hot romance, and dark humor. It's perfect for fans who love magical relic hunting like 'Tomb Raider,' or a fun, trigger-happy rivalry like 'Mr and Mrs Smith.'Three years ago, Kon seduced a mysterious woman and stole a magical artifact from her. He thought their paths would never cross again. He had just made the biggest mistake of his life.Found as a bloody child in a forest, and raised by one of the most ruthless and calculating mercenaries dirty money can buy, Athena Edgeworth isn't the kind of person you betray and get to walk away unscathed.It was the perfect rivalry waiting to happen.Both know they should end their dangerous game once and for all, but they are addicted to the thrill of the chase...and to each other.When they get a common enemy hunting them, they will have to put their vicious rivalry aside and work together.Kon's only ever wanted revenge, but Athena Edgeworth's dark heart might be the prize he's always been searching for. And she's not about to let him have it without a fight.Full of morally gray characters and dark humor, Darkest Night is an adult, dark paranormal romance that contains graphic violence, swearing, and steamy sex scenes.
Reign of the Fallen
Sarah Glenn Marsh - 2018
Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?
Slumber
Samantha Young - 2011
Now Haydyn, her best friend and the one person she does trust, is dying and only Rogan can save her.Setting off on a journey to retrieve the plant that will cure Haydyn and subsequently the ills that will befall them all if she dies, Rogan is stuck in close quarters with a protector she distrusts above all others.Wolfe Stovia.The son of the man who destroyed Rogan’s family.At a constant battle of wills with the handsome Captain of the Guard, Rogan just knows this adventure together will be fraught with tension. She never imagined, however, that the quest would be so dangerous… not least of all when she finds herself falling for a man she could have sworn was her no.1 enemy…