Book picks similar to
Thoeba by Donna Milward


fantasy
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signed-books
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Bedbugs


Ben H. Winters - 2011
    ft., 2BR 2BA, eat-in kitchen, one block to parks and playgrounds. No broker’s fee.Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment.Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it’s too good to pass up.Big mistake. Susan soon discovers that her new home is crawling with bedbugs... or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad—until a more sinister explanation presents itself: she may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from Hell.

The Last Swordsman


Benjamin Corman - 2019
    What’s worse, they were traitors to the crown. At least that’s what he hears the village folk saying moments before he is whisked away to the castle of Highkeep. There he finds himself before the aged King Alginor, a man brought to a boil by his very presence. With his fate hanging in the balance, Nikolis accepts an apprenticeship with the castle’s master of arms, a decision that catapults him on a journey fraught with danger, treachery, self-discovery and burgeoning love, where his wit and the edge of a blade may be all that protects him from a world that is spiraling out of control.

Angel Time


Anne Rice - 2009
    At its center: Toby O’Dare—a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again. A soulless soul, a dead man walking, he lives under a series of aliases—just now: Lucky the Fox—and takes his orders from “The Right Man.”Into O’Dare’s nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions comes a mysterious stranger, a seraph, who offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest but instead came to embody danger and violence, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear . . . In this primitive setting, O’Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.

The Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 2


James E. Wisher - 2018
     But the danger is only beginning. What seems like a simple bodyguard job will see Conryu dragged halfway across the world and into a war between monsters. If that isn’t bad enough, the La Fey Society is mixed up with the mad emperor. After surviving the war it’s time for some fun and games. At least until a group of terrorists show up intent on killing all the contestants. Despite Conryu’s best efforts, The Le Fay Society is on the verge of freeing their leader. If they succeed, all Hell is going to break loose. The Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol. 2 contains four complete novels: Escape the Dragon Czar, Wrath of the Dragon Czar, The Four Nations Tournament & Death Incarnate.

Blythewood


Carol Goodman - 2013
    Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn’t sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes. . . .Vivid and atmospheric, full of mystery and magic, this romantic page-turner by bestselling author Carol Goodman tells the story of a world on the brink of change and the girl who is the catalyst for it all.

The After Wife


Gigi Levangie Grazer - 2012
      L.A. is no place for widows. This is what forty-four-year-old Hannah Bernal quickly discovers after the tragic death of her handsome and loving husband, John. Misery and red-rimmed eyes are little tolerated in the land of the beautiful. But life stumbles on: Hannah’s sweet three-year-old daughter, Ellie, needs to be dropped off at her overpriced preschool, while Hannah herself must get back to work in order to pay the bills on “Casa Sugar,” the charming Spanish-styled bungalow they call home.   Fortunately, Hannah has her “Grief Team” for emotional support: earth mother and fanatical animal lover Chloe, who finds a potential blog post in every moment; aspiring actress Aimee, who has her cosmetic surgeon on speed dial; and Jay, Hannah’s TV producing partner, who has a penchant for Mr. Wrong. But after a series of mishaps and bizarre occurrences, one of which finds Hannah in a posh Santa Monica jail cell, her friends start to fear for her sanity. To make matters worse, John left their financial affairs in a disastrous state. And when Hannah is dramatically fired from her latest producing gig, she finds herself in danger of losing her house, her daughter, and her mind.   One night, standing in her backyard under a majestic avocado tree, in the throes of grief, Hannah breaks down and asks, “Why?” The answer that comes back—Why not?—begins an astounding journey of discovery and transformation that leads Hannah to her own truly extraordinary life after death.

God's Eye


A.J. Scudiere - 2011
    But all that changes as increasingly disturbing events begin to occur: soot stains on the carpet, glimpses of strange black animals, and cryptic messages written on her bathroom mirror. Baffled and afraid, Katharine begins to doubt her own sanity. At the same time, two charismatic men enter her life: Allistair, her new assistant at work, and Zachary, a well-heeled neighbor who just moved into her building. Katharine soon finds each of them inextricably entangled in her affairs. As her life becomes stranger and her dreams more terrifying, she realizes neither man is what he seems and that she's caught in something far beyond her own comprehension. For the first time, she must reach beyond her own boundaries.

Better Off Dead


H.P. Mallory - 2013
    Killed in a car accident before it’s her time to go, Lily learns that the hereafter isn’t exactly what she hoped it might be. First, there’s AfterLife Enterprises, the company responsible for sorting out the recently dead and sending them on their way to the Kingdom, (aka happily ever after,) or to the Underground City, (not so happily ever after.) Learning that Lily’s death was indirectly their fault (her guardian angel, Bill, was MIA during her accident and was one of their employees,) Afterlife Enterprises offers Lily the chance to live again. But, as with most things involving the afterlife, beware the fine print. Most notably, Lily will have to become a soul retriever, venturing into the bowels of the Underground City to retrieve souls that were mistakenly sent there by Afterlife Enterprises during a Y2K computer glitch. Second, there’s angel Bill. As if risking her second life in the Underground City wasn’t enough, Lily’s guide to the Underground is none other than her incompetent, alcoholic, womanizing guardian angel, Bill, the antithesis of anything wholesome. With only Dante’s Inferno and Bill to help her in her quest, Lily’s future isn’t looking bright.Finally, there’s the legendary bladesmith, Tallis Black. As Scottish as his kilts and heavy brogue, Tallis Black is a centuries-old Celt who, for reasons only known to him, offers to train Lily and act as her escort into the depths of the Underground City. Dark, brooding and definitely dangerous, Lily knows she shouldn’t trust Tallis, but she also can’t deny her attraction to him. Between soul retrieving in hell, dealing with Bill and trying to figure out what’s in it for Tallis, Lily wonders if maybe she would’ve just been better off dead.

The Taken / The Sacrifice / The Regular Guy


Elicia Hyder - 2020
    She has 139 to be exact. In that time, there’s a lot to do: a missing friend to find, a wedding to plan, and her own murder plot to overthrow. When a lead takes the crew back to Chicago, the truth they uncover is more shocking than they ever imagined—to fight the enemies of the present, they must first face the demons from the past. THE SACRIFICE - BOOK 5 "Hello, Praea." There's only one being on Earth who calls Sloan Jordan by that name—her biological mother, a demon named Kasyade. So why did she answer Sloan’s best friend’s phone? When Sloan reaches Adrianne Marx’s apartment to investigate, all she finds is a half-written list of things to do before Sloan’s wedding: 1. Order booze for the reception.
 2. Send the final guest count to the caterer.
 3. Register for gifts.
 4. Don’t forget to— That's where the to-do list ended. Mid-sentence with a scrawled line like Adrianne had been dragged away from the task. If Kasyade was involved in the abduction, Adrianne probably had been. The reason? Ransom. The price? Sloan’s unborn daughter, the most powerful angel in all of history. But hell can’t rival the fury of an angry mother protecting her child, and until the baby is born, her incredible power is Sloan’s to wield. Now the prey becomes the predator as Sloan seeks to put an end to Kasyade forever. THE REGULAR GUY: A NATHAN MCNAMARA STORY They say the best things come to those who wait, and no one hopes that's true more than Special Operations Commander, Nathan McNamara. For over a year, he's put his life, his career, and his mother's hopes for more grandchildren on hold to dive headfirst into a world he never knew existed. A world full of angels, demons, and enough sexual frustration to crack the Pope. But all that is supposed to be behind him, and his future looks bright and full of possibilities. That is, until a familiar chill ripples the atmosphere--and a supernatural thunder rumbles over the mountains.