Book picks similar to
Nervous Water by Tracy Korn


new-adult
awesome
ftp-little-mermaid
indie

Spelled


Betsy Schow - 2015
    32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the charming brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.Talk about unhappily ever after.Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called “Kansas.” Now it’s up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse…before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.

Knocked Up by the Other Brother


Ashlee Price - 2018
    Then again, Grace isn’t my real wife... I don’t know much about her... Where she’s from, how she ended up in Hope Creek, why she has strange marks on her wrists and how she survived The Icebreaker that wiped out a good portion of humanity. What I do know is that she’s one of the handful of remaining fertile women left and so the Council wants me to have a baby with her. What I do know is that I’m pretending to be her husband so she doesn’t run off and spill the town’s secrets to the world. What I do know is that she has the most mesmerizing blue eyes that my heart can’t escape from. And I could go on living this lie but the truth has a way of catching up just as the most perfect of worlds can end up crumbling. And now we both have to face the facts... She with the fact that she’s been living in a devastated world and sleeping with a stranger. And I with the fact that I’m in love with a woman who’s engaged to my brother. Knocked Up The Other Brother is a steamy, stand-alone second chance romance with a HEA. No cheating and no cliffhangers.

Halo


Frankie Rose - 2013
    Her training. Her halo.The first and second give her the ability to defeat the opponents she is pitted against each month. The third frees her from pain and fear. From any kind of emotion at all. Everything is as it should be. Everything is as it should be, until…Fear… Pain… Anger… Happiness… Desire… Guilt…Love.When a newly named Kit escapes the Sanctuary after killing her best friend, the last thing she needs is another knife in her hand. Or Ryka, the damaged, beautiful blond boy, whom she refuses to let save her. The sights and sounds of Freetown are new, yet one thing is familiar: the matches. The only difference? Where the blood in the Sanctuary landed only on the Colosseum floor, Kit will quickly learn that a river of red runs through Freetown’s very streets.Without her halo, the inhabitants of Kit’s new home consider her saved, but is that really the case? The reality of her old life is paralyzing. Would she be better off free of the guilt associated with all the blood on her hands, or is the love of one boy worth living through all the pain?Raksha is the call of the dead. It is the rumbling chant for fresh blood from the other side, the demand for sacrifice. The Colosseum is behind Kit. The fighting pits await.

Little Thieves


Margaret Owen - 2021
    Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back... by stealing Gisele's life for herself.The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of "The Goose Girl" about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.

Behind the Glass


Kristen Morgen - 2014
    Then she meets a handsome stranger/secret admirer named Michael Vale one fateful late night at a bookstore café. As a focused but struggling photographer with a passion for art, her outwardly happy world is turned upside down during this life-changing encounter when she quickly realizes she has met her soul mate. The undeniable attraction between them and their intense, immediate connection seem picture perfect as they discuss the shop’s local artwork, until Rebecca abruptly ends the chance meeting with no explanation.Betraying Brett, her loyal, loving boyfriend, is something Rebecca can never bring herself to do. Driven by a strong moral code and molded by divorced parents and a tumultuous childhood, she struggles to stay away from Michael, but fate and circumstance intervene, bringing them back together time and time again. As much as she resists, there is no denying her true feelings for him and the simple fact that Michael understands her in a way Brett never has. Michael proves to be everything she’s ever wanted, but remains just out of her reach.Behind the Glass tells the story of Michael and Rebecca’s extraordinary love and the many unconventional stages their relationship must go through. Their morals and their faith in true love and in each other will be put to the test as they learn that meeting one’s soul mate does not come without obstacles.

Merciless


Jacqueline Pawl - 2021
    She'll teach them to regret it. After being taken by the illustrious Assassins' Guild when she was one week old, Mercy has endured seventeen years of grueling training in the art of killing. She is covered in more scars than she can count—gifts from her cruel tutors and the human apprentices who do not tolerate being bested by an elf—and she's more than ready to prove her worth to the head of the Guild. In the capital city of Sandori, elf-human violence runs rampant and a king mad with grief rules with an iron fist. All that stands between Mercy and the completion of her contract is the cold, brooding Prince Tamriel. If she succeeds in killing him before the cutthroat courtiers discover her true identity, she'll earn her place as the greatest Assassin the Guild has ever trained. If not, it'll be more than her pride on the chopping block.

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet


Charlie N. Holmberg - 2016
    She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.

Pistol Daisy (Pistol Daisy, #1)


Natalia Leigh - 2020
    Accompanied by strangers in pursuit of the same outlaws, Daisy takes to the Colorado plains with an old revolver and a hunger for revenge. But the Hopkins gang isn’t easily found, and as their pockets run dry and the trail goes cold, Daisy and her companions may be at the end of the road. She must learn how to survive in this dangerous world of outlaws and gunslingers, or her only chance at avenging her family may be lost.Don’t miss Whiskey City, the next book in Daisy’s cutthroat quest for revenge. Praise for Pistol Daisy! "The voice was amazing, easily the best part of the book. I felt so immersed in this world and really loved how the voice was able to convey so much of the shift in emotion of our main character." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review"I usually don't read westerns, but this one really intrigued me. I was drawn into Daisy's world from page one and stayed through to the last page...and I didn't want to leave! The end left me wanting to dive right into the sequel, Whiskey City, as soon as it becomes available!" ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review"Natalia Leigh writes her characters with such effervescence that you can't help but be swept up in the whirlwind of their world, their wants, and their journey."★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review

Reckless Attraction


J.J. Knight - 2018
    Pounding. Sweating. And winning.Then I meet Chloe.She picks me up in her funny yellow Beetle and instead of heading to my fight, we race to the beach.It's the perfect beginning.That night in the cage, I fight with her in mind.Until I see her there, lurking in the corner.She spots me, too. But she's not there to watch the match.This isn't the perfect beginning at all.She's just called the cops on my fight.This is the beginning of the perfect revenge.___Reckless Attraction is an enemies-to-lovers trilogy. This series is complete.

Mermaid Queen


Anna Santos - 2018
     All her mermaid life, Mirella has been told to stay away from the humans. Yet, one night, a mysterious pull compels her to save a handsome stranger from drowning in a shipwreck. Once she takes him to his island, the language barrier stops her from explaining to him that she’s his fated mate. Duncan has been waiting for his fated mate. As the king of the Lycans, it’s his duty to marry and leave offspring. He never thought his mate could be a gorgeous mermaid. Despite being unable to communicate with her, he wants to make her his. But is she able to live out of water? Mirella strikes a deal with the Sea Witch for the ability to speak the human tongue. Deeply in love with the stranger she keeps meeting on a beach, she’ll defy her father and will offer her tail to the witch to be with Duncan. But can she trust him with her heart and her life? This is an adult fairy tale retelling of the Little Mermaid. This novella is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Of Beast and Beauty


Chanda Hahn - 2019
    I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms.I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.

Grim Lovelies


Megan Shepherd - 2018
    But Anouk can never have those things, because she is not really human. Enchanted from animal to human girl and forbidden to venture beyond her familiar Parisian prison, Anouk is a Beastie: destined for a life surrounded by dust bunnies and cinders serving Mada Vittora, the evil witch who spelled her into existence. That is, until one day she finds her mistress murdered in a pool of blood—and Anouk is accused of the crime. Now, the world she always dreamed of is rife with danger. Pursued through Paris by the underground magical society known as the Haute, Anouk and her fellow Beasties only have three days to find the real killer before the spell keeping them human fades away. If they fail, they will lose the only lives they’ve ever known…but if they succeed, they could be more powerful than anyone ever bargained for. From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies is an epic and glittering YA fantasy. Prepare to be spellbound by the world of Grim Lovelies, where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price.

Her Hidden Destiny (#1)


Tami Payton - 2021
    The night my dad died and I survived. I lived with guilt ever since and it doesn’t help that my mother and twin sister don’t ever let me forget it. I’ve always asked myself why.Why did I survive and he didn’t?I’ve built walls around myself. Walls so high and thick that it would take a wrecking ball to knock them down. I need to escape and start over, away from my mother and sister. Away from their constant reprimands. So I take a job that sets me away from them all.Only I didn’t expect what I found. Triplets. Three very hot men who I have to work with every day. Men who seem to be hiding something. Even worse? Men who seem to be breaking down the walls I have been building for years. They say everyone has a destiny, that fate has something planned for them. Maybe my destiny is hidden in the form of these hot men in the small town of Hot Sulphur Springs.

Bitterburn


Ann Aguirre - 2020
    Amarrah volunteers to brave what no one has before—to end the threat or die trying.The Beast of Bitterburn has lost all hope.One way or another, Njål has been a prisoner for his entire life. Monstrous evil has left him trapped and lonely, and he believes that will never change. There is only darkness in his endless exile, never light. Never warmth. Until she arrives.It's a tale as old as time... where Beauty goes to confront the Beast and falls in love instead.

Love, Lucy


April Lindner - 2015
    After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse have to be, does it?In this stunning novel, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.