Book picks similar to
Don't Look at Me by J.P. Grider
contemporary
fairy-tales
romance
dnf
Mistress of the Wind
Michelle Diener - 2013
. .
The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.
Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .
She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.
It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .
A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
Not So Broken (Love Grows Series Book 1)
Renee Regent - 2019
An independent woman. When they collide, love grows in a most unexpected way! A bitter divorce from my cheating ex-husband left me reeling, but I forged a new life on my own. Now on the verge of a promotion, everything I want is in reach—except a family. I’ve all but given up on ever having a child.So I decided I would adopt one on my own.Then one wild night changed everything. I was swept away by Gibson, a hot-looking handyman who was, well, pretty good with his hands. And then some.But there were unintended consequences from our tryst. Now he and I are forever connected, and it turns out Gibson was not at all what he seemed to be. We barely know each other, and now he is in my life forever. Maybe we can make this work if we stay platonic.That will be easy, right?The Love Grows Series- Strong, protective heroes. Feisty, independent heroines. When they meet, Love Grows in unexpected ways.
A Ruin of Roses
K.F. Breene - 2021
We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king.We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruction.The only one keeping this kingdom alive is Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter.He’s our hope.He’s my nightmare.When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn’t punish me with death, as he’s entitled.He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me.Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king’s power.But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him.It would mean my ruin._ _ _ _ _ _This is a dark and sexy Beauty and the Beast retelling, featuring a strong heroine, a dangerous anti-hero, and a humorous supporting cast. It is a full-length novel at 80k words and suitable for 18+. This is the beginning of a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Buckle up. The author was let off her leash.
Sticks & Stones
Rachael Brownell - 2017
I was “that” girl, the one everyone made fun of. The outcast. Band geek. Nerd. That’s all changed, and so have I. Jane Sharp vanished into thin air years ago; I go by Reese Kennedy now. But Reese isn’t the one invited to the Meadow High School Class of 2005 reunion next month. I am. So I need a plan.Step one: Hire a fake fiance.Step two: Attend my reunion and rub my success in their faces.Step three: Resume my normal life.Falling for Hunter Drake is not on my agenda.
Dust City
Robert Paul Weston - 2010
Or will be, someday. His dad is doing time for the double murder of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother so everyone assumes crime is in Henry's blood. For years, he's kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves on the outskirts of Dust City--a gritty metropolis known for its black market, mind-altering dust. And the entire population of foxes, ravens, and hominids are hooked. But it's not just any dust the creatures of this grim underground are slinging and sniffing. It's fairydust.When a murder at the Home forces Henry to escape, he begins to suspect his dad may have been framed. With a daring she wolf named Fiona by his side, Henry travels into the dark alleyways and cavernous tunnels of Dust City. There, he'll come face to snout with legendary mobster Skinner and his Water Nixie henchmen to discover what really happened to his father in the woods that infamous night...and the shocking truth about fairydust.
Withering Hope
Layla Hagen - 2015
Her dress, her fiancé and the location—the idyllic holiday ranch in Brazil—are perfect. But all Aimee’s plans come crashing down when the private jet that’s taking her from the U.S. to the ranch—where her fiancé awaits her—defects mid-flight and the pilot is forced to perform an emergency landing in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. With no way to reach civilisation, being rescued is Aimee and Tristan’s—the pilot—only hope. A slim one that slowly withers away, desperation taking its place. Because death wanders in the jungle under many forms: starvation, diseases. Beasts. As Aimee and Tristan fight to find ways to survive, they grow closer. Together they discover that facing old, inner agonies carved by painful pasts takes just as much courage, if not even more, than facing the rainforest. Despite her devotion to her fiancé, Aimee can’t hide her feelings for Tristan—the man for whom she’s slowly becoming everything. You can hide many things in the rainforest. But not lies. Or love.Withering Hope is the story of a man who desperately needs forgiveness and the woman who brings him hope. It is a story in which hope births wings and blooms into a love that is as beautiful and intense as it is forbidden.
Best Friend's Ex With Benefits
Ashlee Price - 2019
And, now she's pregnant. It was supposed to be a pretend relationship after their breakup. But fake turned into real and Natalie became my obsession. Her deep green eyes and her innocence is all I ever think about. I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. Especially now that she's carrying a baby. A baby that could be mine. Is Natalie going to tell me the truth about who the father is?
The Player and the Bet
Liv Reid - 2021
(Doesn’t it always?)The star quarterback. The school loser. You know the rest… But our story is anything but typical.Mace Law is the bad boy football player all the girls want—except me.I’ve hated him since the day we met, all those years ago.Now, we are both at Winterford University, and the school is forcing me to keep him out of trouble if I don’t want to get expelled.It’s an almost impossible task, and I’m about to learn he has secrets darker than I could have ever imagined.But I’m not going to let some obnoxious, hard-partying player destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for. I’m not going to let him bully me.Sorry—not sorry—Mace, this is one game you aren’t going to win.The Player and the Bet is an enemies-to-lovers college sports romance. It’s a standalone story with a HEA. It’s filled with smoking-hot bad boys, sarcastic heroines, twists, and banter for days. It contains scenes that may be offensive or triggering for some readers.
TAG
Shari J. Ryan - 2014
. . a life changing secret. My dad, the bigwig CIA agent, was always on the run, whether he was being chased or doing the chasing. I missed him. Then my mom passed away, and my sister was murdered. I turned my solitude to strength because the alternative was too bleak. But my luck seemed to turn: I met Tango. And while I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my twenty-two years, danger lurks around every corner and I simply can’t take the chance of it finding me. But his tattoos, his smell, his darkness, and his body— that marine has taken over my every thought. But, what if he too isn’t what I think? A ticking time bomb isn’t going to leave me much time to waver. Even the bravest person can be in need of a miracle. Before she was gone, my mom warned me to know everyone and trust no one. But what was I supposed to do when I found out I am the one not to be trusted? Turns out, I was always the bait in this conspiracy. In author Shari J. Ryan’s New Adult novel, TAG, the canyons hold secrets, the waterfalls provide safety, and romance has a pesky way of showing up when you are sweaty and dirty and least expect it.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely
Brigid Kemmerer - 2019
But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.Break the curse, save the kingdom.Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
Gathering Frost
Kaitlyn Davis - 2015
A resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my childhood--my mother, my life, my very world. But I'm not. I'm not the good guy. I'm the one who puts the good guys in their graves."Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Under his relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.
Taken by Passion
Jaymie Holland - 2003
2015: the Wonderland series is back, better than ever. The award winning “Taken by Passion: King of Hearts” includes sixty pages of new and expanded, never before published scenes. After being cheated on yet again, full-figured Alice O'Brien no longer believes she’ll find her Prince Charming. She resolves to enjoy men, but refuses to involve her heart. When she literally tumbles down a rabbit hole, she finds she has left her familiar home city of San Francisco. She has landed in a strange and beautiful world, where she meets a powerful and dominant shapeshifter, Jarronn, and his equally fierce and irresistible brothers. By the draw of a card foretelling his kingdom’s future, Jarronn has deliberately lured Alice to his realm in hopes of averting a terrible danger threatening his people. He has every intention of saving his kingdom with his and Alice’s bond of passion, and nothing will stop him from making her his Queen of Hearts. St. Martin’s Press published the Wonderland series in trade paperback only, with the pseudonym Jaymie Holland. Ellora’s Cave published the series primarily in e-book, under the name Cheyenne McCray. Neither version had the new and expanded scenes. Taken by Passion/King of Hearts has won numerous awards and accolades, including the “RT Book Reviews Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award!”
Once Upon a Kiss
Alethea KontisJenna Elizabeth Johnson - 2017
Inspired by old favorites as well as lesser-known tales, find retellings of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Old Rinkrank, King Thrushbeard, The Princess and the Pea, and many more - all with fresh, romantic twists - just in time for Valentine’s Day~ THE GLASS MOUNTAIN - Alethea Kontis On the way to her wedding, brave and clever Princess Sabine falls into a Glass Mountain, where she is trapped with a crotchety man she calls “Old Rinkrank.” The two form a unique, unlikely friendship while working to escape. THE BAKERS GRIMM - Hailey Edwards When two struggling business owners compete for the contract of a lifetime, it’s all bakers on deck. Mix in a dollop of rivalry, a tablespoon of romance, and a pinch of magic, and you’ve got the recipe for one heck of a bake-off. May the best decorator win! GALATEA AND PYGMALION - Kate Danley A young woman in ancient Greece is tasked with carving a new statue for Aphrodite's temple. But what happens when she falls in love with her art? RED– Sarra Cannon Charlotte is searching for a cure to save her sister, but what she finds in the woods is not at all what she expects... PRINCESS CHARMING – Yasmine Galenorn Sometimes, the road to Happily Ever After leads a girl right past Prince Charming... into the arms of his sister. MAD ABOUT YOU – Jennifer Blackstream Alice doesn't want to marry the Mad Hatter. Will an unexpected trip to Wonderland change her mind? THE SEA KING'S DAUGHTER—Anthea Sharp A mermaid gives up everything to be with the mortal man she loves – but can there be a happy ending when the Sea Witch intervenes? ROMEO AND JULIET: THE AFTERLIFE – Julia Crane Juliet enters the afterlife and discovers the truth behind her relationship with Romeo and Paris - and that their greatest challenge is yet to come. SOOT AND STONE: A Fae Tale of the Otherworld - Jenna Elizabeth Johnson Aisling, a young Faelorehn artist, finds herself falling for the son of one of the famed Tuatha De Danann. The only problem is, she’s unaware of his true identity, and her selfish uncle will do anything to keep her from realizing her dreams. THE HUNTSMAN'S SNOW – Mandy M. Roth Sometimes, a prince isn’t as charming as history would like you to believe. And sometimes, a princess needs an alpha male shifter to find her happily ever after. RUMPELIMPSKIN - Debra Dunbar An imp finds herself in a fairytale world without her infernal powers facing an impossible task. Will Sam barter away her firstborn? Will her angelic main-squeeze save her? Or will she come up with a devilish solution of her own? THE GLASS SKY - Alexia Purdy Star’s refusal of suitors lined up for her hand has her family in knots, but when the city is bombed and overthrown, she loses everything. After she’s rescued by a handsome stranger named Clyde, she sneaks away to save her parents but finds herself trapped in the new president’s clutches. RUSH - C. Gockel Misogyny is a beast. When the incarnation of Creation gets angry at Rush for innocently stating his opinion, she curses him to find true love in two weeks … or else. PERCHANCE TO DREAM – Phaedra Weldon Her first love has been placed under a spell.THE TOAD PRINCE - Nikki JeffordIsabel Ivers’s stepfather will do anything to secure his place as Far North’s new ruler, even if it means marrying her off to the depraved prince of the lowlands.CRAFTED WITH A KISS - Shawntelle MadisonDespite fighting in countless battles to bring peace to warring kingdoms, Pynnelope, a warrior maiden made of wood, knows no fear. Becoming human is all she desires until she discovers she can have so much more.A SMALL MAGIC - Devon MonkA cursed princess, a talking pea, and a wish that changes everything.
Disfigured Love
Georgia Le Carre - 2014
I should still be in school, hanging out with friends, meeting boys, falling in love—just like you. But on my eighteenth birthday my father sold me. Now, those are yesterday’s dreams. My home is now a remote castle. And the man who owns me? I have never seen him. Guy Hawke keeps his face hidden under a mask. At first, I knew only fear, but now his voice and touch make me unashamedly want him. Each night, his hired help blindfolds me, and takes me to his room. He whispers that I am beautiful and we have wild, torrid sex. When I awaken he is always gone. He and his castle hold dark secrets that I must unravel, but what he fears most—being unmasked—is my deepest desire. Will either of us survive the consequences of my desire?
Ice
Sarah Beth Durst - 2009
Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.