Book picks similar to
Haven of Shadows by Ken Lozito


fantasy
consider-reading
first-in-series
epic

The Fireproof Girl


Loretta Lost - 2016
    When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart. Until it did.When news of a brutal murder reaches Sophie, she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…---------When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man. Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together. But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…His enemies might just take him down.

Emily's House


Natalie Wright - 2011
    But Emily has a secret, one that she has kept even from her best friends. Soon the ancient legacy coursing through her veins will force her secret to be revealed. Dormant for over a thousand years, an evil has arisen and this time, it will destroy anyone - or anything - that stands in its way.Three teens embark on a dangerous journey and risk everything. For Emily, the fate of her friends - and her world - lies in her hands.Travel with Emily as she unlocks the secrets of her Celtic ancestors as she goes on a mystical journey to the inner house and beyond.Join the Journey...

Terra


Gretchen Powell - 2012
    A young girl struggling to survive. A lost boy with a powerful secret.A discovery that will change everything.In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population, humanity is split in two: The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon is a terrestrial--a denizen of the barren groundworld--who makes her living as a scav. Long abandoned by her father, her caregivers gone, Terra supports herself and her younger brother, Mica, by scouring the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. One day, while on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16. When the value of her discovery is revealed, Terra's world is turned upside down.Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Her search for the truth leads her to Adam--a beguiling skydweller unlike any she has ever met. But Adam has secrets and a quest of his own, and with him by her side, the world Terra thought she knew begins to unravel. Soon her discoveries unearth a terrifying conspiracy that has the potential to shatter everything--a revelation that will test the bonds of loyalty, family, and love.

Dark Seeker


Taryn Browning - 2011
    He's the hunted. What's at stake could kill them both...For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

The Regent's Gamble


A. Payne - 2013
    Now he protects the fragile balance between the mundane and supernatural realms. The job is easier said than done, even with the aid of a sultry half-dryad who possesses unique talents of her own. Crumbling truces test boundaries of the new ruler and his elite wizards as they are swept into a treacherous game of loyalty and betrayal. A sinister enemy forges deadly plans for the city of New York, and it will stop at nothing to achieve its wicked desires. In a world where demons whisper seductions into mortal ears and fae prey upon the desperate with underhanded deals, fate thrusts an ordinary young woman and her child into the center of a building storm. In Manhattan, trolls lurk under more than bridges, gentle nature spirits become killers overnight, and necromancers raise the dead to benefit their insidious plots. To save New York City from ruin, the lives of four strangers must intertwine. If they cannot defeat their own inner demons, then all is lost and the forces of Hell will triumph.WARNINGAdult content and mature situations. Not recommended for readers under 18.

Nature's Destiny


Justine Winter - 2014
    I was becoming something I didn't recognise as myself anymore. A Werewolf. I was different. Bitten. 'Hybrid' was what they called me, and the weight that rested against that one word was crippling. They depended on me to bring them safety. What made me so special? Oh, that's right. My destiny. I was sucked into a world I'd had no idea existed. Twenty-one years as a human, and this was what I found out. My travelling plans, my writing degree, all of it was gone within one night. One evil night that robbed my humanity. I wasn't completely sour. Life had been unfair a while ago, only now I'd had something worth fighting for besides myself. Something to live for. I was afraid for the others. I couldn't let them down. I wouldn't let them down. I'd gone to bed a human and woken up a Werewolf. A special Werewolf. A Hybrid. ** Due to mature content this book is intended for readers 17/18+ **

The Book of Bart


Ryan Hill - 2014
     With a mysterious Black Cloud of Death hot on the shard’s trail, a desperate Heaven enlists the help of Bartholomew, a demon who knows more about the shard than almost anyone. Six years ago, he had it in his hands. If only he’d used it before his coup to overthrow the Devil failed. Now, he’s been sprung from his eternal punishment to help Samantha, an angel in training, recover the shard before the Black Cloud of Death finds it. If Bart wants to succeed, he’ll have to fight the temptation to betray Samantha and the allure of the shard. After an existence full of evil, the only way Bart can get right with Hell is to be good.

Dark Enchantment


Kathy Morgan - 2014
    On the night her father dies, he appears to her with cryptic instructions to return to her birthplace. Upon her arrival in Ireland, she finds her fate intricately intertwined with that of a tall, dark and enigmatic Irishman: a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to someone she grew up with. In her dreams. Caleb MacNamara is the Chief Brehon of the Túatha de Danann. Plagued by a primeval enchantment, the males of their race are forbidden to mate with a mere mortal women—the penalty for doing so, the woman’s gruesome death. After three thousand years, the evil geis has reached its deadline. And unless a mortal woman appears and succeeds in an impossible quest, a demonic abomination will be released upon all humankind. When Caleb meets Arianna, he recognizes the little mortal as the woman who has haunted his nights. Could the lucid dreams mean she’s the woman foreshadowed by the sacred scrolls? And have the Fates chosen him to champion her against Anathema, the Beast shackled by a divine slumber, buried deep within the bowels of the earth? If so, he knows he’ll have to control his ravening lust for the girl...or risk killing her himself.

Thrown Away: The Complete Post Apocalyptic Series


Glynn James - 2019
    Now in one complete edition! Thrown Away is a post-apocalyptic survival saga that drags the reader, kicking and screaming, on a journey through a world hundreds of years after civilization fell. Long after the world has died, one man goes on a journey to save a single soul and ends up changing the lives of countless others. For Jack Avery, living among the ruins of the outer zone and scavenging to survive is not the worst of nightmares. Something haunts him far more than any hunter patrol. In one short moment, two years before, something happened that changed him. This story is about his journey through the apocalypse, but also through his own regrets and doubts. Are there second chances? Can Jack find the answer to his torment among the shattered ruins of the past? Part 1 – In a Fallen World Part 2 – Into the Junklands Part 3 – Recycled Part 4 – Reconditioned Part 5 – What Lies Below Part 6 – What Lies Ahead Part 7 – Another Man’s Gold Second series coming soon!

The Kingdom Within


Samantha Gillespie - 2014
    Upon her coming of age, she is to marry the prince of Alder, the most powerful kingdom in the world. Though the idea of marriage to a complete stranger is appalling, she knows she has no choice. Without the marriage contract, Stonefall’s alliance with Alder will be lost, and her people will be safe no longer; Theros, King of Talos, has set his eyes of conquest on Stonefall and he wants Meredith dead.Connor, an elite soldier entrusted with Meredith’s safety, arrives at the palace just as things begin to take a turn for the worst. Together, they will embark on a journey of survival, in which Meredith will find that the only thing she never prepared for was falling in love.

Hero Born


Andy Livingstone - 2015
    Now he must do everything he can to survive.Miles away, word is spreading of a growing evil; a deposed and forgotten Emperor is seeking a weapon to use in his bid to rise once again to power. Ruthless and determined, nothing and no one can stand in his way. Especially not a galley slave like Brann.But heroes can be forged in the most unlikely of ways, and Brann’s journey has only just begun.

The Rise of Nazil: Complete Epic Fantasy Trilogy: Gritty Epic Fantasy


Aaron-Michael Hall - 2019
    A war not for land, wealth, or power, but for the fate of the mortal world which hung tethered to a brittle filament, separating the Nether from the mortal. As the gods continued to weaken, the demons began their rise.What began with Mah’saahc’s awakening in Seed of Scorn, crept across Faélondul, devouring and possessing the souls of men, incessantly seeking the Blood of Oisin needed to breach the threshold between realms.The sacrifices and bonds that once held the Benoists’ together could be the catalyst which tears them apart. The darkness is coming, and once the sides are chosen, neither can win...without dying.If you love the intrigue and treachery of George R.R. Martin, the epic battles and characterization of R.A. Salvatore, and the exceptional world-building, politics, and magical systems of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Rise of Nazil trilogy will captivate you from start to finish.Step away from the ordinary and immerse yourself in a unique and enthralling diverse epic fantasy. Faélondul Awaits “The Rise of Nazil is an epic fantasy that should be shelved next to the works of R.A. Salvatore and J. R. R. Tolkien. This book was the best read of 2015.” -Mudville Dames“The Rise of Nazil is a complex work, with the violence, intricate treacheries, and modern sensibilities of The Game of Thrones.” -Amazon“This is the best epic fantasy trilogy I’ve read in over a decade. The plot twists, deep characters, amazing prose, superb dialogue, and worldbuilding are mere elements in the vast tapestry Hall creates. This trilogy defies categorization.”  -Amazon“This is a complex plot at its best. The character development is perfect.” -Readers’ Favorite Books by Aaron-Michael Hall Gritty Epic Fantasy: The Rise of Nazil I Seed of Scorn II Piercing the Darkness III Science Fantasy: Rites of Heirdron I Orbs of Trenihgea II Epic Fantasy: Kurintor Nyusi Tamesa Coming Soon Shadokyn: Blood of Oisin I Keepers of Nine

Dying World


Chris Fox - 2020
    Soon the continents themselves will break apart. The ships are gone. There's no way off. But I'm not giving up. I'm a Relic Hunter...an archeologist with a gun, and I have a plan. Our people arrived on Kemet thousands of years ago in the wake of a terrible space battle. The Great Ships are still up there, ancient derelict hulks powered by a combination of technology and magic, created by gods we no longer remember or understand. If I can get one of those ships active, maybe I can save myself. Maybe I can save everyone. A brand new series in the Amazon Bestselling Magitech Chronicles universe. Magitech Legacy begins several months after the events of Godswar, and as the series unfolds you’ll encounter your favorite heroes from the perspective of a new protagonist! Want to make your own characters? The Magitech Legacy uses the Magitech Chronicles RPG system, and allows you to be part of the action long after you finish the books. Learn more at magitechchronicles.com or by googling Magitech Chronicles World Anvil

The Dragonslayer's Sword


Resa Nelson - 2008
    Her happiness is shattered when her lover-the dragonslayer-disappears without a trace, and the life that she knows and loves implodes without warning. Astrid lives in a world of shapeshifters whose thoughts have the power to change not only themselves but others. Everything Astrid knows to be true is called into question when she learns the truth about her past and the mysterious family from which she was separated as a child. Reality turns inside out as Astrid gradually learns the truth about the people she loves as well as those she disdains. With the fate of dragons, ghosts, and slaves in foreign lands resting on her shoulders, Astrid faces the challenge of deciding who she is and how she will stand up inside her own skin. Will she withdraw and hide from the world that has disappointed her so much... or will she rise to lead others to freedom and peace? AUTHOR'S NOTE: This series is written for adults but appropriate for ages 14 and up.

Pale Queen Rising


A.R. Kahler - 2015
    When the queen commands her to kill, Claire does the job and doesn’t ask questions. Her deadly skills and loyalty are soon tested when Claire is sent to the Immortal Circus, one of the many places where “Dream” is harvested from the imaginings of mortals. There she must find the culprit who is causing Dream to mysteriously disappear before the Winter Kingdom’s supply is depleted enough to threaten its very survival. But when she meets Roxie, a beautiful mortal singer with a strange link to the Dream thieves, Claire quickly recognizes an odd and unexplained connection that may cloud her judgment. As each new clue unveils another secret, Claire finds herself confronting the riddle of her own buried past—and a dangerous illusion that, as part of the Immortal Circus, is just another act in the show.