Book picks similar to
Departing by Joynell Schultz


sci-fi
romance
science-fiction
scifi

Open Minds


Susan Kaye Quinn - 2011
    Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.TOP 5 FINALIST for 2012 Best Indie Book, Young Adult Fiction - The Kindle Book ReviewMINDJACK SERIES READING ORDEROpen Minds (Book 1)Closed Hearts (Book 2)Free Souls (Book 3)Locked Tight (Book 4)Cracked Open (Book 5)Broken Wide (Book 6)Mindjack Short Story Collection (Book 7)The Locksmith is a standalone novella that can be read independently of the trilogy and novellas.

Beyond


Maureen A. Miller - 2012
    College beckons, as does her dream of becoming an engineer. On an early evening walk, her cocker spaniel charges into the woods on the other side of the pond. Aimee trails after him, and in the stillness of that forest the unthinkable happens. She becomes paralyzed and watches in horror as her hands vanish before her eyes. Waking to the sound of voices, Aimee realizes that she has been kidnapped. Little does she know how far away from home she is, though. In an attempt to flee her captors, she launches from their confines only to freeze at the view outside the window. The sky is black and filled with stars, and in the distance is a familiar blue globe. The planet Earth. A group of humans forced to flee their planet after an epidemic destroyed their civilization now travel the galaxies in search of an antidote. Retrieving samples of plant life from every solar system, on this occasion Aimee was accidentally seized instead. Aimee must learn to avoid the advances of an awkward young scientist who seems intent on dissecting her, as her own fascination turns to the exotic young warrior, Zak. Having fallen in love with Zak, she is now torn with the decision to return to Earth or live beyond the stars.

Token Huntress


Kia Carrington-Russell - 2014
    At eighteen, Esmore’s a Token Huntress in her Guild, surpassing her mentor’s expectations of her, despite having no magical ability, like all hunters before her. During a raid in the once iconic San Fransisco, Esmore’s team is ambushed, and a mysterious vampire that she is drawn to captures and takes her to the Vampire Council as a prisoner. Her captor—Chase, a lethal, immortal, sexy, and charming vampire who will stop at nothing to claim her as his familiar. While in captivity, Esmore learns information that makes her question everything she’s been taught. Now in the year 2341, Esmore fights for her survival. But who exactly is she fighting against? The very people who nurtured her or the evil she’s supposed to hate?Dark. Romantic. Dangerous. Your newest obsession awaits…

Sevan


Mandy M. Roth - 2005
    No woman could be that perfect…except perhaps his fated mate. No human or alien alive would dare answer a lion-shifter’s call. Not with the state of unrest and anti-supernatural movement in the universe. When the raven-haired beauty who invaded his dreams appears on his communication screen, he knows everything is changing, and maybe destiny is on his side. And just maybe, she is his mate. He just needs to find a way to keep her safe on her own planet before he can keep her for eternity. *Formally titled Paranormal Payload (Project Exorcism Series). This title has been expanded slightly, re-edited, and re-titled.

Garrick


Theresa Beachman - 2017
     Battle-weary SAS officer Garrick no longer cares if he lives or dies. He’s tracking aliens, intent on vengeance. Instead he finds a feisty bio-weapons engineer in mortal danger. Protecting the sexy scientist while escorting her to safety wasn’t in Garrick’s plans, but his sense of duty won’t let him leave her with her life in peril. A traumatic childhood taught Dr. Anna Ward that the only person she can trust is herself. But then her lab is attacked by the insectoid Chittrix. With time running out, Anna is forced to accept the help of the rugged soldier to make sure her vital research is put in the right hands. As they escape across devastated London, their battle with the invaders heats up almost as fast as the fiery attraction between them. Despite vowing to never get emotionally involved with any man, the dark and brooding soldier quickly works his way under Anna’s skin and into her heart. For Garrick, protecting Anna reignites the lust for life he had almost forgotten and he’s willing to sacrifice everything to keep her safe. Garrick is a full-length post apocalyptic scifi romance novel of 67000 words. It is recommended for readers who enjoy a lot of action (lethal insectoid aliens, explosions, daring escapes), steamy romance and lots of sexy times, all wrapped up in one book.

Planet Urth


Jennifer Martucci - 2013
    The planet has been battered by war, its inhabitants plagued by disease and death. Few humans survived and remained unaffected. Most changed dramatically and evolved into something else entirely. Irrevocable alterations caused by chemical warfare have created a new species. North America is in ruins and has been overtaken. Humanity has fallen at the hands of mutants known as Urthmen. Seventeen year-old Avery is alive and unchanged. But she has not been immune to the harshness of the new world. She has lived on the run for much of her life, in terror. After losing her father, Avery is the sole guardian of her eight-year-old sister, June. Avery is now charged with June’s safety as well as her own, a nearly impossible task.Forced to hide deep in the forest and away from the cities overrun by Urthmen, Avery and her sister are constantly hunted. Danger awaits them at every turn. They fear they are the only human beings left, that they are the last of their kind. But are they truly alone?Find out in this raw and rousing first installment of the Planet Urth series.

Saving Mars


Cidney Swanson - 2012
    Earth-Mars relations couldn’t be worse, and her brother is captured during the raid. Breaking rules of secrecy and no contact, Jess finds an ally in Pavel, nephew to a government official, but their friendship only makes more agonizing the choice before her: Save her brother or save her planet?

Zero's Heart


Mina Carter - 2020
    Instead, she got a smart-alec mercenary and commandos trying to kill her…Medically discharged from the military over a decade ago, Station Chief Eris Archer just wants a quiet life. But life on a frontier station like Tarantus is never dull. The wild west of space, she’s used to less than scrupulous characters crossing her path.So when handsome cyborg, Zero, charms her with fantastical tales of being non-human, she takes it with a pinch of salt. When commandos storm the base, trying to kill her and she ends up with a price on her head, she has to trust him with her life… but can she trust him with her heart?He doesn’t know where he came from, but he knows one thing… his destiny is with her.Zero is a mystery, even to himself. Since waking up badly damaged in a wrecked shuttle, he’s made his home with the Warborne, a band of Latharian Mercenaries with a lethal reputation. He lives fast and he expects to die young…Until he meets her. Eris Archer captures the attention of all his instincts, human and cyborg. Drawn to her like a targeting lock… he wants to get to know her better. But his plans for a date in the station’s brig are foiled by people with guns and they have to get off the station. Fast.Between murderous commandoes, betrayals and an unexpected rescue mission; can Zero prove to her that he’s all the man, or machine, she’ll ever need...

Faite Books 1-3 Bundle


Mary E. Twomey - 2019
     When a stranger crashes into her life and lifts the concealment that has marred her face since childhood, Rosie Avalon leaves everything she knows behind. Pulled into a realm teeming with magical creatures, Rosie must navigate this new, broken world while avoiding capture by the evil queen, who knows there’s more to Rosie than meets the eye. Bastien is an Untouchable, feared and shunned by all but a handful of elite warriors. His realm has been ravaged by the evil queen’s reign, but he will stop at nothing to save the land he loves, even if it means pushing Rosie past her breaking point. Thrust into a quest that threatens to destroy her, Rosie’s path is clear: she must sacrifice all she holds dear to save a world on the brink of collapse. This is books 1-3 in a 14-part fantasy romance series written by USA Today Bestselling Author Mary E. Twomey. Download now to start this heart-pounding adventure!

First World


Jaymin Eve - 2013
    An epic journey. If the Seventine are released, will anyone survive?Abigail Swish might not love her life, living in gang-ridden New York in 2035 and training to fight and survive with Compound 23. But she is grateful for a few things, especially her no-filter-between-brain-and-mouth best friend Lucy and her escape each night into a dream world far different from her own. In fact, sometimes she lives for the fleeting moments she spends at night with the man who fuels every romantic fantasy she’s ever had. But each morning reality returns. She could just cry. But she won’t of course; tears don’t change a damn thing.Then without any warning, a month before her eighteenth birthday, everything does change. A guardian finds her. He explains, in a strangely familiar accent, that she was stashed on Earth for safekeeping and has been lost to her family ever since. And it is time to return home. To the First World; a land of unimagined beauty. Abigail and Lucy find themselves escaping New York, ending up on another planet and traversing through an unforgiving wilderness. Yeah, because that sort of thing just happens every day. Luckily an unexpected saviour arrives; the man from her dream-world. Brace is six-and-a-half feet of gorgeous perfectness, wrapped in an arrogance like no other. Unable to trust his assistance, and unsure which of her instincts to follow - kiss him or punch him in the mouth - Abigail eventually accepts his help to find her family. And what a family. Enter Josian, her father; larger than life and apparently not even human. He is Walker, a planet-less race revered as gods, causing mischief and mayhem through-out this star-system. Unfortunately, there is no time for a cosy reunion, since no one explained that by returning to First World her half-Walker genetics would act as a catalyst setting forth a chain of events which could spell disaster for not only her existence but that of all worlds.First World is book one in the Walker Saga, a seven-book paranormal fantasy series.Spurn - A Walker Saga Book Two release date set for September 2013.

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer


Laxmi Hariharan - 2012
    Criminals run the streets of Bombay. Jam-packed with the worst degenerates. The city is a shell of the pride and joy it used to be. Ruby knows something must be done, but it isn’t until her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr. Braganza that she knows that she and she alone must save city, save her best friend, save the world from total destruction. Armed only with with Vikram, a cop-turned-rogue they are about to embark on a road they may never return from.

Under Different Stars


Amy A. Bartol - 2013
    Well versed at dodging caseworkers from Chicago’s foster care system, the past few years on her own have made Kricket an expert at the art of survival and blending in. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, she dreams of the day when she can stop running and find what her heart needs most: a home. Trey Allairis hates Earth and doubts that anyone from his world can thrive here. What he’s learning of Kricket and her existence away from her true home only confirms his theory. But, when he and Kricket lie together under the stars of Ethar, counting them all may be easier than letting her go. Kyon Ensin’s secrets number the stars; he knows more about Kricket's gifts than anyone and plans to possess her because of them. He also knows she’s more valuable than any fire in the night sky. He’ll move the heavens and align them all in order to make her his own. When everything in their world can be broken, will Kricket rely upon love to save her under different stars?

The Lost Star Episode One


Odette C. Bell - 2016
    Some seek it out.And some turn from it.Ava is a priestess of Avixa, a powerful being with a powerful destiny to keep her people on the true and righteous path.Yet it is a destiny she does not want. To flee it, she joins the Coalition Academy. But her past cannot so easily be left behind. When she joins the newest ship in the fleet, a series of unfortunate accidents befall her.Soon she finds herself thrust into a secret war. One that will span the entire Milky Way. Yet she is not alone. The unpredictable Hunter McClane is by her side. Together they must find out what’s at stake before it’s too late.….The Lost Star is a four-part serialization that plunges you into a sprawling sci-fi adventure that charts the galaxy. Ava and Hunter are pitted against a shadowy conspiracy, slave traders, and ultimately a legend that threatens everything and everyone….

Binding Brinley


Maren Smith - 2017
    Nobody expected her to survive the healing process either, but now, in the home of the same magistrate who tried and found her guilty of crimes against Pra’kir, Brinley knows only that she can’t stay any more than she can leave. However, if he thinks she’ll blindly obey any command he makes, then he can think again. His punishments might leave her body aching, both with pain and sensual arousal, but Brinley has never been a woman to blindly submit to anyone, much less an alien lawyer. Everyone is guilty of something. That is the motto dominant Rowth Lashat lives by and he doesn’t consider the diminutive human female lying battered and broken in her hospital bed to be any different. Not until she issues that first irresistible challenge and suddenly he finds his authority being pricked at every turn. Still, it’s not her constant defiance that forces him to bend the rules, bringing her into his home, into his care… and even into his bed. It’s something much more important. Though winning her submission calls to him, it’s Brinley’s cooperation that Rowth needs. Hopefully, before it’s too late. She survived the crash. He’ll make her wish she hadn’t. Captives of Pra’kir. Note: This is a BDSM-themed romance that includes elements of impact play, anal punishments, bondage and consensual-non-consent. If any of these themes bother you, please do not buy this book.

Make Me Exist


Brittany Ziegler - 2020
    She isn't even human. Hunted by an alien race, can she discover the truth before it's too late?Valerie Carling's life is quite normal for a divorced, single mother. She misses her ex-husband, but her world now revolves around her young daughter. That is, until a band of strangers show up and turn everything upside down.It's Charlotte's sixth birthday, and she's loving it. Presents, games, and cake! For Valerie, it's not that simple. Being with her ex and his new wife is always a strain, but not as hard as finding out that you're not who you think you are.When a group of strangers unexpectedly shows up at the party, suddenly Valerie's whole life feels like a lie. Why do they look so familiar? Why do they act like they know her? Stranger yet, why do they have the same startling green eyes as Charlotte?Catapulted into a world she doesn't remember, Valerie needs to trust these strangers to help save her daughter and herself from a terrible fate. She and Charlotte are pure-bloods, the only chance for an alien race on the brink of extinction.On the run and hunted like animals, her enemies will not rest until they have them in their clutches. But as her memories return, can Valerie tap into the powers she didn't even know she possessed and save their lives?Make Me Exist is a heart-pounding sci-fi adventure that will keep you riveted to your seat in a journey of mind twisting awakenings.