Book picks similar to
A Grim Pact by Adam Slade
short-read
urban-fantasy
bellow_100_rating<br/>s
demons
Working on a Full House
Alyssa Kress - 2012
But spending one night in the arms of this fascinating stranger is a fantasy too tempting to resist. For one night, she can pretend to be a femme fatale.Professional gambler Roy Beaujovais has made millions of dollars, but never enough to feel complete. He’d hoped the woman with whom he spends one magical night might be the answer, but she deserts him in the morning.Only after Valerie returns, and reluctantly admits she’s pregnant, does Roy know what will finally fill the lonely hole in his life: becoming a father. He’ll have to play his best hand ever, though, to get the skittish Valerie to include him in the game.
And With Madness Comes the Light
Karina Halle - 2013
The Mystery. The Madness.Dex Foray has never been anyone’s fool – until he missed his chance for happiness with Perry Palomino. Broken and alone, Dex has no choice but to rise from the ashes Perry left behind and find his own path to redemption. But nothing in Dex’s life has ever come easily, especially when there’s a dark madness waiting in the wings.Told from Dex’s POV, And With Madness Comes the Light is short story/novella that spans the time period from the end of Lying Season (Book #4) until the end of On Demon Wings (Book #5). If you were ever wondering what really happened to Dex while Perry was gone - his journey to Dex 2.0 - now is your chance.
Semi-Fated
Isabel Jordan - 2021
If you’re really lucky, sometimes he’s also in your bed…Adrianne Riddick is far from normal. But her latest psychic vision, the one of her death, is weird even for her. To stop it from coming true, she’ll need help from her family of supernatural hunters. She’ll also need to avoid Gabriel Malek, her first love. The demon who shattered her young heart.But as complicated as all that is, her life doesn’t really go to hell (literally) until a new enemy shows up and knocks Adrianne and Gabriel into another dimension. (Long story)Now, if they want to get home and stop Adrianne’s vision, they need to work together—all while dealing with the fact that her unrequited feelings for Gabriel aren’t exactly unrequited anymore. Yeah…his timing could be better.So, what’s a vampire hybrid, misfit of magic to do when her happily ever after—and, you know, her life—is on the line?She’ll get back to you on that…Semi-Fated is book 8 in the Harper Hall Investigations paranormal romance series. You could read it as a stand-alone, but it definitely works best if you've read the rest of the series, starting with Semi-Charmed. It also works best if you like strong, kick-ass heroines and the sometimes befuddled alpha heroes who love them. You also might want to skip this one if you don't have a healthy appreciation for characters who cuss, and snark. Lots and lots of snark. Happy reading!
The Bonds of Blood
Becca Andre - 2016
It’s an insecurity his abusive brothers reinforced daily, and with his very existence bound to theirs through the alchemically altered blood they share, James has always been at their mercy. All that changed when James found a home within the magical community and fell in love. Elysia Mallory doesn’t mind that he is technically dead. The only thing standing between them is her lethal magic. As her health continues to deteriorate, James searches for a cure, determined to save her and give them a chance at a life together. But his brothers aren’t willing to let him go, not when the Huntsman legacy is dependent on James. They will stop at nothing to capture their wayward brother, and that includes using Elysia as leverage. James is left to decide how far he is willing to go to save the family he has chosen from the family he was created to serve. (The Bonds of Blood is a 62,000 word novel.)
Breaking Out
Gayle Parness - 2014
When they reach LA, they help out a girl in trouble, attracting the attention of an ancient creature with an alarming agenda all his own. And as Charlie tries to come to terms with his magical powers and his unique bloodline, he's faced with the reality that he might be putting the people he cares for the most in danger.
50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Linda Wisdom - 2008
Nikolai Gregorivich, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer.The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been off-again, on-again-for about 300 years. Mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz's help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hearts and resist their ever-increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters, including Irma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz's sports car, Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss, and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)!
Troy Ounce
Phillip S. Power - 2017
Why? Because as the only openly vampire police officer in the world, even after disclosure, he's been put on one of the very few supernatural divisions anywhere. Meaning it's his job.It also doesn't hurt that the demon whose area he works in has been targeted as well, seemingly by the same group.If he and his new partner can't figure the case out in time, things might well end up going very badly, indeed.
Julian to Mark
Cassandra Clare - 2022
It had once belonged to the Lightwoods, a long time ago." - Lord of ShadowsJulian and Emma are on their travel year when the Clave sends him a message - clean up Blackthorn Hall or ownership reverts back to the Clave. Amidst the clutter and disrepair they discover secrets that Blackthorn Hall has kept hidden for years.This is a Shadowhunters novel that takes place between The Dark Artifices and The Wicked Powers. Per Cassandra Clare, it is set about 15 months after the end of The Dark Artifices.The novel follows the characters from The Dark Artifices and delves into the history of those from The Last Hours.Secrets of Blackthorn Hall will be a novel told in serialized format, with illustrations, sound, and more. New entries posted online every Monday beginning August 16, 2021. The project will also feature artwork from artists like Cassandra Jean.No official cover artwork has been posted to date—the artwork used here is from the official Tumblr page that hosts the novel.
The Day We Met
Ash Keller - 2021
. . for all the wrong reasons.Chuck:My whole life has been building to this moment. I've studied. I've trained. I've paid my dues. And as of this morning, I'm Engine 17's newest recruit.I've been on the clock for two hours…and I'm ready to throw in the towel. What could bring a fully trained firefighter and EMT to the breaking point? Was it a five-alarm blaze? Or a thirty-car pileup on the interstate?Nope.It's a silver maple tree, a black-and-white cat with eerie yellow eyes, and a platinum blonde with more curves than a rolled-up firehose. Alli O'Malley. Don't let her angel face fool you. I wouldn't be surprised if she has tiny devil horns hidden beneath her hair.*An earlier version of this story was published in the Spring into Love charity collection.Fall in love with the men of Engine 17 one novella at a time! Each standalone rom-com features a different fireman and his quest to find the one woman who will set his soul on fire.
The Summoning
Kelley Armstrong - 2008
My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House... before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
Anna Dressed in Blood
Kendare Blake - 2011
Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.Yet she spares Cas's life.
Glimpse of Destiny
Samantha Ketteman - 2014
At the top of the supernatural creature’s most wanted list, Xade’s existence has become a lonely world of kill-or-be-killed. Unfortunately for her, the Vampire Council’s hitman and Xades ex-lover shows up on her doorstep and Xade's life spins out of control. With her best friend Shauna by her side, and Deysyl wreaking havoc on her emotions, Xade must fight for her life as she traverses into Hell and back. Discovering her heritage, fighting feelings for Deysyl, and avoiding constant attempts on her life is just another day for Xade Daniels.
It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis
Robyn Peterman - 2020
I was married to the man I loved. I had a body that worked without creaking. My grandma, who raised me, was still healthy, and life was pretty damned good. But as they say, all good things come to an end. I’d honestly love to know who ’they’ are and rip them a new one. One year later, I’m a widow. My joints are starting to ache. Gram is in the nursing home, and dead people think my home is some kind of supernatural bed and breakfast. Gluing body parts onto semi-transparent people has become a side job—deceased people I’m not even sure are actually there. I think they need my help, but since I don’t speak dead, we’re having a few issues. To add to the heap of trouble, there’s a new dangerously smokin’ hot lawyer at the firm who won't stop giving me the eye. My BFF is thrilled with her new frozen face, thanks to her plastic surgeon, her alimony check, and the miracle of Botox. And then there’s the little conundrum that I’m becoming way too attached to my ghostly squatters… Like Cher, I'd like to turn back time. Now. No can do. Whatever. I have wine, good friends, and an industrial sized box of superglue. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, apparently. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a wonderful midlife crisis…
True Grit Spirit
Lily Harper Hart - 2020
When an invitation to a special retreat, strictly for psychics, lands in her lap, she decides it’s time for a leap of faith.As the owner of Casper Creek, a cosplay Western town in Kentucky, Hannah Hickok is in a precarious position. A recent incident involving the death of a tourist – and a member of her own coven – has Hannah struggling. That’s why she agrees to host a bunch of psychics in her town.Maddie and Hannah are both magic in their own way, although they approach life from different directions. Their worlds are about to collide, though.When the most famous psychic in attendance – a woman who was both prickly and full of herself – is murdered in broad daylight, they’re going to have to work together to solve a terrible crime.What do you do when your victim was hated by everybody, to the point where she kept a list of her enemies? Dig deep. That’s what. Even then, though, it’s going to be a bumpy ride … and the ending might not be happy for everybody.Note: This is a crossover book featuring Maddie Graves and Hannah Hickok. It’s set after the conclusion of the Maddie Graves series and after The Monstrous Seven in the Hannah Hickok series.