Book picks similar to
Desires by Roxanna Rose


first-reads
rt18
romance-included
signed

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Jill Hathaway - 2012
    She was murdered.Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn't actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else's mind and experiences the world through that person's eyes. She's slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed "friend" when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie's slashed body.Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can't bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting distant lately, especially now that she's been spending more time with Zane.Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

The Frey Saga


Melissa Wright - 2013
    But a tiny spark ignites a fury of changes and she's suddenly being hunted by council and forced to rely on strangers for protection. But the farther she strays from home, the more her magic and forgotten memories return and she starts to suspect the band of strangers are not what they seem. They help her find her rightful place and destroy the bonds, but securing her future might be more than she can do with magic alone.

Memory's Wake


Selina A. Fenech - 2011
    All versions of the book (ebook, paperback, hardcover) include 44 interior black and white illustrations by the author and artist.In a culture of cravats and corsets, a troubled sixteen-year-old stands out in her t-shirt and torn jeans. She takes the name “Memory” because hers are stolen, and she’ll do anything to get them back. Lost in a world not her own, where magic and monstrous fairies are real, Memory has enough to handle just trying to stay alive.Chased by wizard hunters, hunted by a dragon, stalked by a strange, handsome savage, despised by the fae and wanted by the king himself – everyone is after Memory, and she suspects it’s not just for her eye-catching outfit. Her forgotten past holds dangerous secrets that will change everything.Memory will fight to get back to a family and home she can’t remember but desperately desires, even at the cost of new friendships and romances. On the run with no name and no memories, she thinks she has nothing left to lose. She couldn’t be more mistaken.

Black Moon


Jessica McQuay - 2012
    What other explanation could there be for her hearing a conversation held barely above a whisper in the back of a classroom full of students? What about coming home to find one of those very classmates lying in wait in the darkness of her home, ready to attack her? Confused, frustrated and feeling every ounce of her social ostracism, Paige confides in the one person she's always been able to count on: her mom. But when her mom reveals a deeply rooted, unbelievable family secret, Paige discovers her world is filled with more than she ever imagined possible. A world where fairytales live alongside nightmares and secrets are the glue that binds them together. Suddenly no one is who they seem and Paige is faced with more questions than answers. Can she survive in a world filled with creatures scarier than anything she could imagine and where deceit runs as thick as blood? Or will the truth send her over the edge?

Dark Mirror


M.J. Putney - 2011
    Then she makes a terrifying discovery that will ruin her life and disgrace her family forever. Tory's blood is tainted... by magic.When a shocking accident forces Tory to reveal her despised skill, she is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. Tory's greatest wish is to be cured so she can return home and perhaps recover some of her shattered life.Instead, curiosity and the lure of magic lead Tory to rebel students who have pledged their talents to protect England. As she joins them in their secret studies, she discovers her full powers - and is drawn to the handsome, enigmatic young Marquis of Allarde. But Allarde'a reserve and haunting secret keep him away, though she can see equal longing in his eyes.Then Tory's pledge sweeps her and her friends into a perilous world of danger, challenge, and a triumph that saves Britain from conquest. Can danger also bring Tory and Allarde together, despite all that stands between them?

Dove Arising


Karen Bao - 2015
    She’s barely spoken since her father died in an accident nine years ago. She cultivates the plants in Greenhouse 22, lets her best friend talk for her, and stays off the government’s radar. Then her mother is arrested. The only way to save her younger siblings from the degrading Shelter is by enlisting in the Militia, the faceless army that polices the Lunar bases and protects them from attacks by desperate Earth dwellers. Training is brutal, but it’s where Phaet forms an uneasy but meaningful alliance with the preternaturally accomplished Wes, a fellow outsider. Rank high, save her siblings, free her mom:  that’s the plan. Until Phaet’s logically ordered world begins to crumble... Suspenseful, intelligent, and hauntingly prescient, Dove Arising stands on the shoulders of our greatest tales of the future to tell a story that is all too relevant today.

Beasts of Prey


Ayana Gray - 2021
    Indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, she cares for its fearsome and magical creatures to pay off her family's debts and secure their eventual freedom. But the night her loved ones' own safety is threatened by the Zoo's cruel master, Koffi unleashes a power she doesn't fully understand--and the consequences are dire.As the second son of a decorated hero, Ekon is all but destined to become a Son of the Six--an elite warrior--and uphold a family legacy. But on the night of his final rite of passage, a fire upends his plans. In its midst, Ekon not only encounters the Shetani--a vicious monster that has plagued the city and his nightmares for nearly a century--but a curious girl who seems to have the power to ward off the beast. Koffi's power ultimately saves Ekon's life, but his choice to let her flee dooms his hopes of becoming a warrior.Desperate to redeem himself, Ekon vows to hunt the Shetani down and end its reign of terror, but he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Koffi believes finding the Shetani and selling it for a profit could be the key to solving her own problems. Koffi and Ekon--each keeping their true motives secret from the other--form a tentative alliance and enter into the unknowns of the Greater Jungle, a world steeped in wild magic and untold dangers. The hunt begins. But it quickly becomes unclear whether they are the hunters or the hunted.In this much-anticipated series opener, fate binds two Black teenagers together as they strike a dangerous alliance to hunt down the ancient creature menacing their home--and discover much more than they bargained for.

Shark & The Wolf: Predators and Prey


Daniel D. Shields - 2011
    Escape into an exotic untamed world in this sci-fi adventure that has been called a cross between Gladiator, Planet of the Apes and The Hunger Games. In Las Vegas, Shaw, billionaire casino magnate and self proclaimed world's greatest showman, nears completion on the massive Serengeti Resort & Casino. Its amphitheater is being transformed into an authentic slice of African savanna for the show Predators and Prey which will savagely pit animal against animal in the bloodiest gladiatorial spectacle ever created for human entertainment. The only thing missing is the main attraction - which Shaw soon finds in Shark, the world's only Great White Half Man Half Shark Hybrid to be exact. Shaw envisions the show's tagline as "Come One - Come All To See - The Only Great White Shark In Captivity" but soon learns that capturing the world's top predator and delivering him to Vegas is easier said than done. This daunting task will require the cruel tactics of the evil animal slave trading hyena, Old Jack. The heartbreaking plans they devise and innocent pawns they use to try to coerce Sharks allegiance will force all to rely on primitive instincts to survive.

The Beast's Heart


Leife Shallcross - 2018
    But if loneliness breeds desperation then I was desperate indeed, and I did what I felt I must. My shameful behaviour was unjustly rewarded.My Isabeau. She opened my eyes, my mind and my heart; she taught me how to be human again.And now I might lose her forever.Lose yourself in this gorgeously rich and magical retelling of The Beauty and the Beast that finally lays bare the beast's heart.

Duplicity


N.K. Traver - 2015
    The girl who wants to save him. And a rogue mirror reflection that might be the death of them both.In private, seventeen-year-old Brandon hacks bank accounts just for the thrill of it. In public, he looks like any other tattooed bad boy with a fast car and devil-may-care attitude. He should know: he’s worked hard to maintain that façade. With inattentive parents who move constantly from city to city, he’s learned not to get tangled up in things like friends and relationships. So he’ll just keep living like a machine, all gears and wires.Then two things shatter his carefully-built image: Emma, the kind, stubborn girl who insists on looking beneath the surface – and the small matter of a mirror reflection that starts moving by itself. Not only does Brandon’s reflection have a mind of its own, but it seems to be grooming him for something—washing the dye from his hair, yanking out his piercings, swapping his black shirts for … pastels. Then it tells him: it thinks it can live his life better, and it’s preparing to trade places.And when it pulls Brandon through the looking-glass, not only will he need all his ill-gotten hacking skills to escape, but he’s going to have to face some hard truths about who he’s become. Otherwise he’ll be stuck in a digital hell until he’s old and gray, and no one will even know he's gone.

The Edge of Nowhere


Elizabeth George - 2011
    When Becca King arrives there, she doesn't suspect the island will become her home for the next four years. Put at risk by her ability to hear "whispers"--the thoughts of others--Becca is on the run from her stepfather, whose criminal activities she has discovered. Stranded and alone, Becca is soon befriended by Derric, a Ugandon orphan adopted by a local family; Seth, a kindhearted musician and high school dropout; Debbie, a recovering alcoholic who takes her in; and Diana, with whom Becca shares a mysterious psychic connection. This compelling coming-of-age story, the first of an ongoing sequence of books set on Whidbey Island, has elements of mystery, the paranormal, and romance. Elizabeth George, bestselling author of the Inspector Lynley crime novels, brings her elegant style, intricate plotting, incisive characterization, and top-notch storytelling to her first book for teens.

Glimmers


Barbara Brooke - 2012
    She can’t explain how or why, but special moments exist inside beloved trinkets — clinging to a letter, a ring, even a worn-out pair of boots. With a simple touch of a cherished token, Paige can relive someone else’s memory, see the world through her eyes, and feel her deepest emotions. When Paige returns from each event, or “glimmer,” a small part of her has changed. Who is this gourmet cook, fashion designer, feisty lover? And how can she explain all of this to her family without their assuming she’s lost her mind? Paige thinks her new talent is a gift … until she’s transported into her sister’s memory and catches a glimmer of her secret life. QUANTUM LEAP meets THE NOTEBOOK meets BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY meets PRIDE AND PREJUDICE when Paige witnesses true love through the eyes of three extraordinary women. Awards include silver-medal winner in the Global Ebook Awards 2013, first place in the eLit Book Awards 2013, runner-up in the New York Book Festival 2012, finalist in the Prize Writer Competition 2015, and finalist in the Kindle Book Reviews Best Indie Books of 2013.

The Faerie Ring


Kiki Hamilton - 2011
    Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring is a reservoir that holds a truce between the English royals and the world of the Fey. But there are many who want the ring, including the mysterious Rieker, a handsome pickpocket who has been watching Tiki, and a rebel group of UnSeelie fey who would do anything to break the truce...A delicious blend of urban fantasy and heart-stopping suspense, the story of THE FAERIE RING takes you from the gritty slums of London to the glittering ballrooms of the Royal Palace to the menacing Otherworld - in a spellbinding tale of mystery and suspense where nothing is what it seems...

Star Mother


Charlie N. Holmberg - 2021
    Holmberg.When a star dies, a new one must be born.The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden, who considers herself an outsider, sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor and take control of her legacy. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, however, it’s not nine months later—it’s seven hundred years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants.Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious—and desperate—godling. Ristriel is incorporeal, a fugitive, a trickster, and the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.Together, pursued across the Earth and trespassing the heavens, Ceris and Ristriel are on a path to illuminate the mysteries that bind them and discover the secrets of the celestial world.

The Summer of No Regrets


Katherine Grace Bond - 2012
    Even from my celebrity-obsessed best friend. Maybe he *was* a dead-ringer for notorious Hollywood bad boy Trent Yves. And it was possible that everything he told me was a lie. And yes, I was probably asking for trouble. But all I saw was Luke--sweet, funny, caring--someone who would let me be the real me.But which was the real him?