Book picks similar to
The Whisper of Leaves by K.S. Nikakis


fantasy
adventure
fiction
australian-authors

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Cindy Paterson - 2011
    Collectively, they are known as the 'Senses'.Centuries of loyaltyHis code of honor was respected without question, until he consumed the blood of an enemy in exchange for a mortal woman to be set free from certain slavery.He can't forget herDespite knowing, he will be imprisoned and put to death if caught, Balen, a fierce Senses Tracker, returns to Toronto to find the mortal woman, Danielle, he left behind two years ago. Haunted with memories of the torture they endured in the hands of a Senses enemy, Balen's determination to see her again, drives him to risk everything. But when he does, a new enemy comes into play, one he can't defeat.To conquer the wrath of fearDetermined to find some sort of peace after her abduction, Danielle finds solace in painting a man from her nocturnal unconsciousness. When he comes knocking on her door, her world is shattered and Danielle must face her worst fears in order to survive what is coming after them. It won't stop. It can't. For the ancient spell has no compassion.A journey of tenacious desire that refuses to fade even though that is what will destroy them. Because--in order for Danielle to live, first she must die.

Cold Magic


Kate Elliott - 2010
    At a select academy they study new airship technologies and the dawning Industrial Revolution, but magical forces still rule. And the cousins are about to discover the full ruthlessness of this rule.

Capture the Crown


Jennifer Estep - 2021
    Gemma Ripley has a reputation for being a pampered princess who is more interested in pretty gowns, sparkling jewelry, and other frivolous things than learning how to rule the kingdom of Andvari. But her carefully crafted persona is just an act to hide the fact that Gemma is a powerful mind magier - and a spy. Gemma is undercover, trying to figure out who is stealing large amounts of tearstone from one of the Ripley royal mines when she encounters Prince Leonidas Morricone of Morta - her mortal enemy. Gemma tries to steer clear of the handsome prince, but when she finds herself behind enemy lines, she reluctantly joins forces with Leo. Also coming to Gemma’s aid is Grimley, her beloved gargoyle. Despite the fact that Andvari and Morta are old, bitter enemies, a dangerous attraction sparks between Gemma and Leo. Further complicating matters is Leo’s murderous family, especially Queen Maeven Morricone, the mastermind behind the infamous Seven Spire massacre. The closer Gemma gets to the stolen tearstone, the more deadly plots she uncovers. Everyone is trying to capture the crown, but only one queen can sit on the throne...

The Choosing


Jeremy Laszlo - 2012
    His life no longer in his hands, he fears an uncertain future where the only certainty is a life of servitude to the kingdom. Fortunately for Seth, he is not alone. His brother Garret too attends the choosing ceremony where their fates will be decided. Together the twins make their way to the castle city of Valdadore for the choosing ceremony but along the way Seth notices a strange new trend in his life. Time after time strange circumstances befall him in what others might call a coincidence, but Seth knows something else is amiss and begins mentally cataloging each new and strange event. Learning his past is all a lie, Seth begins to fear more for his future as a dark goddess vies for his service to her cause. Seths loyalties and responsibilities begin to stack up as he makes friends and allies and even falls in love, but with the choosing ceremony growing ever nearer will he be forced to flee the kingdom into a life of exile, or choose to serve the goddess who swears that only through her will he find peace.

The Pearls


Deborah Chester - 2007
    When the hardened warrior Lord Shadrael kidnaps her and takes her through the fearsome Hidden Ways of the shadow world, Lea can foresee her destiny in him. For if she is to save Shadrael from his own darkness, she will ultimately have to choose between her brother and her abductor.

Master Assassins


Robert V.S. Redick - 2018
    Kandri Hinjuman was never meant to be a soldier. His brother Mektu was never meant for this world. Rivals since childhood, they are drafted into a horrific war led by a madwoman-Prophet, and survive each day only by hiding their disbelief. Kandri is good at blending in, but Mektu is hopeless: impulsive, erratic—and certain that a demon is stalking him. Is this madness or a second sense? Either way, Kandri knows that Mektu’s antics will land them both in early graves.But all bets are off when the brothers’ simmering feud explodes into violence, and holy blood is spilled. Kandri and Mektu are taken for contract killers and must flee for their lives—to the one place where they can hope to disappear: the sprawling desert known as the Land that Eats Men. In this eerie wilderness, the terrain is as deadly as the monsters, ghouls, and traffickers in human flesh. Here the brothers find strange allies: an aging warlord, a desert nomad searching for her family, a lethal child-soldier still in her teens. They also find themselves in possession of a secret that could bring peace to the continent of Urrath. Or unthinkable carnage.On their heels are the Prophet’s death squads. Ahead lie warring armies, sandstorms, evil spirits and the deeper evil of human greed. But hope beckons as well—if the “Master Assassins” can expose the lie that has made them the world’s most wanted men.

The Griever's Mark


Katherine Buel - 2014
    Despite being one of the few remaining Drifters, able to manipulate the energy world, she cannot break free. She knows her fate: she will serve Belos until she dies, at which point he will harvest her energy to augment his own.She’s done some bad things in her master’s name. She’s not asking for forgiveness—she expects to be hated.What she doesn't expect is Logan, a man meant to be her sworn enemy, a man with secrets as dark as her own. When Logan recognizes that Astarti may be more than she seems, she begins to unravel Belos's lies: about the tattoo she bears on the back of her neck, about her history—and about her power.Previously released under Katherine Hurley.

The Throme of the Erril of Sherill


Patricia A. McKillip - 1973
    Brave Cnite Caerles seeks her hand, but her father the King has set a price: You want Damsen. I want the Throme of Sherill. Find it for me and I will give you anything you want. And so begins a quest that will wind from the Mirk Well of Morg to the borebel pits to the Floral Wold to the Dolorous House of a dead Dolerman and, finally, to the Western Wellsprings, where the answer to the Everything lies.

Miserere: An Autumn Tale


T. Frohock - 2011
    She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen's hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven's frontline of defense between Earth and Hell. When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina's wrath isn't so easy to escape!

Raven's Shadow


Patricia Briggs - 2004
    As generations of wizards pushed the limits of their abilities, an evil entity was unleashed that could only be contained by the sacrifice of their city. From the ashes of Colossae, the Travelers emerged--roaming the world to ensure that the Stalker would remain imprisoned forever...Seraph is a Raven mage and among the last of the Travelers. Unwelcome among those who fear magic, the wizard clans have been decimated by the very people they've sworn to protect. But Seraph is spared a similar fate by the ex-soldier Tier--and together they build a life where she is no longer burdened by her people's responsibility.But now Tier is missing--or dead--and Seraph's reprieve from her duty is over. Using her magic to discover her husband's fate, Seraph realizes the Stalker's prison is weakening--and only Seraph can fulfill her ancestors' oath to protect humanity from destruction...

All Hallows Heartbreaker


Delilah Devlin - 2004
    After he rescues her from the unwanted attentions of another partygoer, she succumbs to his kisses and spends an evening engaged in wicked-sexy lovemaking. Sure she's just a one-night stand, she tries to exit gracefully, but soon find she needs Dylan's special skills when her world is turned upside down by a blood-drinking killer and his gang who target her for their next meal. Dylan O'Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his sexual needs, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draws this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he'll lose Emmy once she discovers her "Dracula" has real fangs

Forest of Firelight


Shari L. Tapscott - 2020
    Youthful thoughts of love are pushed aside as she accepts her fate, setting upon a quest throughout the kingdom to find a man worthy of her father’s throne.Little does Amalia know, someone has already set his sights on her.Rhys is a man of secrets, and his mission is simple: befriend the princess of Renove. Coax her to trust him, convince her to follow him.Betray her when it’s time.All goes according to plan until Rhys meets the princess. Amalia is a disaster. Never has he met someone so drawn to trouble. Never has he met someone so irritatingly likable.He’s not allowed to fall for her.She could never entrust him with a crown.But, unbeknownst to them, their unlikely partnership might be the key to saving their entire world from a darkness that’s slowly creeping from the wounded earth that separates one kingdom from the next.

Shadow


Anne Logston - 1991
    Shadow is all three... Shadow, a light-hearted (and light-fingered) elven thief, returns to her homeland after several centuries' absence only to find that a great human trade city has grown up next to the forest in which she was born. Now the elves and the humans maintain an uneasy alliance, but when Shadow steals a magical bracelet, she finds herself caught in the middle of a plot that may tear the city-and the alliance-apart forever.

The Sibylline Oracle


Delia J. Colvin - 2012
    But Alex knows the terrifying truth...time is running out! And unless they can discover the source of an ancient curse, fate will take her life...again. Greek Mythology and modern romance intertwine in this addictive trilogy.THE SIBYLLINE TRILOGY - a love more enduring than life...than death...than destiny.

In Shades of Grey


Melissa Myers - 2011
    For Jala, the first taste of magic was a brutal one. Spared from death by the protection of a god, Jala is rescued by outlaws and taken to a remote country temple to be raised. Thinking herself no more than a farmer's orphan, Jala is caught completely off guard when told that she is to train at the High Academy. With no escape from this new future, Jala finds herself cast out of the temple and forced into a world of magic and intrigue. Now she must learn quickly about her world as well as herself if she is going to survive. As Jala's magic unfolds she is drawn back to her ruined homeland by nightmares and acquires a Familiar like no other. Realizing she is far more than a simple farmer's daughter, Jala begins searching for the secrets of her past. As the truth unfolds and her reputation in the city of Sanctuary grows, so does the danger. With half of the Elder Blood houses wanting her dead and the other half wanting her help, Jala finds herself the center of more attention than she ever wanted.