Book picks similar to
Chosen by K.E. O'Connor


fantasy
paranormal
young-adult
ya

Shade


Marilyn Peake - 2014
    Having a name like that while being the new girl in school is pretty much catnip for bullies. The summer before Shade’s junior year of high school, her mother breaks up with yet another boyfriend and moves them once again to a new town.This time, they move into a dilapidated old house where Shade has an entire attic bedroom to herself—at least until she discovers it’s haunted by the ghost of a teenaged boy named Brandon Yates. When Shade’s best friend goes missing, her life becomes even more complicated. With the help of Brandon who’s struggling with his own issues in the world beyond, Shade faces the question of whether or not she has what it takes to become a true hero.Although this novel deals with a number of serious issues—drug and alcohol abuse, cutting, and disturbing world events—it's primarily a novel about a teenaged girl finding out who she really is and that she's capable of so much more than she ever thought possible.SHADE is a YA Paranormal Mystery / YA Urban Fantasy novel.

Aftermath


Sandy Goldsworthy - 2014
    Emma wants to forget the pain and loss of the past few weeks, finding relief in the company of Ben Parker—a local boy who she has an instant attraction and uncanny connection with. When Ben seems a little too preoccupied with other responsibilities and has no time for her, Emma turns to the town’s hottest flirt—Lucas Crandon—for affection. Unfortunately, she realizes a little too late that, sometimes, bad boys really can be bad for you. Life as an undercover agent for the Afterworld’s Bureau of Investigation isn’t an easy job. When Ben Parker finds his soul mate, Emma, in a small town, he finds himself forced to choose between doing his job or rekindling a relationship with the love of his existence. After Ben is notified that a notorious immortal is loose somewhere near Westport, he realizes that his love life will just have to wait. There is a criminal to apprehend before he can have his girl. When lives are at stake and immortals are on the loose, can two soul mates find their happy ever after?

The Deadliners


Rachel Medhurst - 2014
    These 'deadline assignments' have karma which must be cleared by the time they die. What the deadliners don't know is that by helping others they are also clearing karma of their own.They're a strong family unit who would do anything for one another - until one of them has to take Danny's wife over to the other side. Will they be able to go through with it? The group finds themselves in unfamiliar territory as each one of them faces their toughest lesson since they've died: letting go.Danny loses control as his friends start doing what they want, instead of their jobs. What was making them forget their training? Was there something darker going on? Never before had a deadliner group been so torn apart by the challenges that each one had to face.

Alex Finch: Monster Hunter


Cate Dean - 2013
    Instead she makes a life-changing discovery.Monsters are real.That single, mind-blowing incident throws her life in a completely different direction – and into the path of Sam, the boy she’s had a serious crush on since first grade. He knows more than he’s telling, and the further she digs, the deeper and darker the secrets become.What else is hiding behind the ordinary facade of her California beach town?Alex is about to find out.

Dark Angel Series Books 1-3: Angelfire, Angelstone, Angelsong


Hanna Peach - 2014
    His angel Guardian. A love written in the stars.Forget everything you know about angels.You'll likely find Alyxandria slicing demons with her blades rather than plucking at harp strings. Whether it's with weapons, unarmed or with the "borrowed magics" of distilled angel-blood tattoos, she trains harder than any other Seraphim warrior to prove she is nothing like her parents who abandoned her to become Rogues. When Alyx starts displaying the signs of a strange new magic, most don't believe her and no one has answers for her. The web of lies she uncovers will shatter her world and she'll be forced to risk everything for Israel, a gifted mortal she barely knows. Alyx and Israel will soon realize that their destinies are inexplicably tied - and that their choices will determine the fate of Earth itself.It begins in Angelfire. The series is now complete! Angelblood (Dark Angel #4) and Angeldust (Dark Angel #5) and both out now (not included in this box set).

Darlings of Urban Fantasy


Chrissy PeeblesC.M. Doporto - 2013
    BlakeBook 2 – Ignite (Midnight Fire Series Book One) By Kaitlyn DavisBook 3 – Element, Part 1 (The Natalie Vega Saga) by CM DoportoBook 4 – Stake You by Claire FarrellBook 5 – Tempest by Holly HookBook 6 – Seventh Mark (Hidden Secrets Saga) by W.J. MayBook 7 – Dangerous Designs (Book #1 of the Design Series) by Dale MayerBook 8 – Crush (The CRUSH Saga) by Chrissy PeeblesBook 9 – The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw (The Morgan Sisters) by Suzy TurnerBook 10 – Keeper by Tiffany Evans (BONUS two-chapter excerpt)

Valhalla


Jennifer Willis - 2011
    Playing sick from school in Portland, she’s casting rune spells during a rare astronomical convergence to bring about a better, happier planet — and hoping her parents don’t find out.What Sally doesn’t know is that the Norse gods are still around, albeit without their divine powers — Odin is a high school principal, and blustering Thor is about to lose yet another job as a photocopier repairman. But Heimdall has the perfect cover as a forest ranger while he and his kin hunt for the newly reincarnated World Tree and try to prevent Ragnarok, the literal end of the world that could be timed to the same alignment of stars.Instead, Sally stumbles across Managarm the Moon Dog, a lost god who seems desperate for her magickal help. But does he really share Sally’s vision of a more peaceful world, or are his intentions much, much darker? And what can she do about the ancient Berserker warriors she accidentally calls up, who pledge their allegiance and then demand junk food runs to Voodoo Doughnut and Burgerville?

Fire in Frost


Alicia Rades - 2015
    It's not the harmful kind that can kill a girl like Olivia. It's the kind that can save her."CRYSTAL FROST tells herself she isn't crazy, but sane people don't see ghosts. As her psychic abilities manifest, Crystal discovers she can see into the future, witness the past, and speak with the dead. Add blackmail to the list of things she never thought would happen to her, and you basically have her sophomore year covered. After spotting her first ghost, secrets from her family, friends, and classmates begin to surface. Uncovering secrets can be dangerous, but giving up means someone will get hurt. Again.

The Medium


C.J. Archer - 2012
    Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love.

In Your Dreams


Amy Martin - 2012
    But when Kieran Lanier moves to town and passes out on her desk on his first day at school, Zip’s life gets complicated in a way she never dreamed. Kieran has narcolepsy, and although he sometimes struggles to stay awake, he has no trouble capturing Zip’s heart and trusting her with his most guarded secret—he sees bits and pieces of the future in his dreams. And while he didn’t know who she was at the time, Kieran had seen Zip in his dreams over five months before he moved to Titusville from North Carolina. But just when Zip thinks that maybe she can handle having a boyfriend who sees things before they happen, her budding relationship with Kieran gets a jolt. She and Kieran learn that his sleeping disorder and the future flashes were likely caused by a drug invented by his birth father, Morgan Levert, a convicted felon who plays a starring role in Kieran’s nightmares. And when Zip begins to have unsettling dreams after chance encounters with Morgan's former partner-in-crime, she must decide if she can live with the possibility of seeing the future when she doesn’t always like what she sees.

Super Dark


Tanith Morse - 2013
    Ten years ago on Halloween night, grotesque creatures snatched her best friend Elliot and Sam narrowly escaped with her life. Now a decade on, the police investigation has ground to a halt and Elliot’s whereabouts remains a mystery. Traumatized by her ordeal, Sam finds it hard to make friends. She is mistrustful of authority and changed schools more times than she cares to remember. To her, the world is cruel and unforgiving. Then she meets the enigmatic Lee Weaver. With his gorgeous face and magnetic presence, he turns heads wherever he goes. Sam has never wanted anyone as much as she wants Lee, but there are things about the alluring stranger that don’t add up, leading Sam to ask unsettling questions about her past. Soon she discovers the boy of her dreams is keeping a terrible secret: one that threatens to destroy everything Sam holds dear . . .Super Dark is a seductive love story that will keep you guessing right until the final page ...

Seeker


Amy Reece - 2015
     Jack Ruiz has a troubled past, but is trying to make a fresh start at a new high school… He just wants to keep his head down and graduate, hopefully before he turns 20. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a feisty redhead and her psychic visions. While Jack valiantly attempts to keep Ally at arm’s length, she is equally determined to be a part of his life. Who will win this battle of wills? More importantly… Can this unlikely couple work together to find answers to Ally’s visions before someone gets killed?

Katana Shodan: The Scroll of the Five Masters


Ken Warner - 2014
    Master Osaka sends her away to the Hall of the Dragon to learn to use and control her power. Soon after her arrival, a mysterious band of warriors tries to steal the Scroll of the Five Masters, which contains the key to immortality. Katana learns that they are the Arashi, a secret society that preserves the dark art of dim mak. It was believed that knowledge of the art’s highest power, the death touch, was taken to the grave by its ancient master. But now a new dim mak master has risen, commanding a power even more terrifying than the death touch—and he will stop at nothing to obtain the Scroll of the Five Masters. In the end, it’s up to Katana to confront this new enemy and uncover the shocking truth of his identity.Katana Shodan is the first book in a YA martial arts fantasy series. If you like coming of age stories in a modern setting, full of action and adventure, mystery and magic, then Katana will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more!

The Grave Artist


Paula Lynn Johnson - 2012
    Her psychiatrist assumes the compulsive drawings are just expressions of Clare's grief over her father abandoning her. But then Clare discovers that her Sammies are exact matches for the Death's Head on the grave of Samantha Forsythe, a teen who reportedly fell to her death over two centuries ago.Before long, Clare's drawings morph into cryptic writings that urge her to uncover the truth behind Samantha's death. Together with Neil -- the friend she might be falling for -- Clare scours the local history for clues. She finds that, although Samantha was engaged to a wealthy landowner, there were whispered rumors of her involvement with a younger, biracial man.Soon, Clare is haunted by disturbing dream images -- a mysterious eye, a broken chain -- that point to someone Samantha called her "Dearest". But who is Dearest? And why does Samantha need Clare to find him so badly?Isolated and carrying hidden scars of her own, Clare fears her obsession with Samantha will threaten her sanity and safety. But it seems she has no choice in the matter . . . The Grave Artist is a compelling paranormal murder mystery and a poignant story about loss and what it means thrive in a less-than-perfect reality.

The Third Eye of Jenny Crumb


Martina Dalton - 2013
    She’s smart, beautiful, and... normal. But, on the inside, she struggles to keep a dark secret from her friends and family. Jenny is psychic—and she fears that if people find out, she’ll be labeled as a loser and a freak. Jenny falls in love with the handsome new guy in school. But her visions are becoming jarringly intense and she is having trouble hiding her gift. Not only is she having premonitions about a creepy man with a knife, but she also learns a girl in her school has gone missing. Will her premonitions about the kidnapper put herself and the people she loves in danger as she tries to find the missing girl? Even if Jenny survives, her life will change forever.