Book picks similar to
Shadow of the Fae by K.J. Baker


fae
paranormal
paranormal-romance
fantasy

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.

Angels' Blood


Nalini Singh - 2009
    Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option…even if the task is impossible.Because this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

Wicked


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2014
    She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

What Lies Beyond the Veil


Harper L. Woods - 2022
    In their absence, our lives have shifted from decadence and sin to survival and virtue under the guidance of the New Gods. I’ve spent my entire life tending to the gardens next to the boundary between our worlds, drawn to the shimmering magic like a moth to the flame.Then, we died on their swords.All of that changes the day the Veil shatters, unleashing the fae upon our world once again. The magic of faerie marks those of us they mean to take, but the Mist Guard protecting Nothrek will kill us all before they let the fae have us. There’s no choice but to flee everything I’ve ever known, not if I want to live to see my twenty-first birthday as a free woman.Now, they’ll claim what’s theirs.But before they capture me, Caelum saves me from the Wild Hunt. Fae-marked and on the run, he is able to fight back in ways I only dream of. From tentative alliance to all-consuming passion, our bond strengthens as the fae close in and evil lurks ever nearer. With my life on the line, he is everything I shouldn’t dare to want and a distraction I can’t afford. I can’t seem to stay away, not even with something greater on the line.My heart.Author’s Note: This book is intended for readers who are 18 and older. It contains mature language, graphic violence, and explicit content with darker elements. This is book one in a series and ends in a cliffhanger.

On the Edge


Ilona Andrews - 2009
    Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it.

Double-Sided Magic


McKenzie Hunter - 2016
    Once my kind were the hunters—now we are the hunted Supernaturals are out of the closet but I have to stay hidden because of the type of magic I possess. I’m a Legacy. It sounds like the title should come with reverence, a trust fund, or at the very least a cool backstory—instead it comes with a death sentence. I have to hide in plain sight and pretend to be just human. I’m pretty good at it. I live a simple and somewhat normal life, and I work in antique acquisitions. Everything’s going fine until a dangerous and enchanted dagger that was once in my possession is stolen. I didn’t think things could get any worse until I woke up next to a dead shifter, fae, and mage, without any memory of the past twenty-four hours. Considered guilty of murder by most of the magical community and humans, I must work with Gareth, the sexy and dangerous leader of the Supernatural Guild. If he’s as good as rumored, it’s only a matter of time until he discovers the truth about me—then being found guilty of murder is the least of my worries.

A Kingdom of Exiles


S.B. Nova - 2017
    Serena Smith is unusual. Growing up in a backwoods village, her life is lonely and dull. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, she's gifted a magical heirloom only to be snatched by fae and condemned to a lifetime in chains.Dragged to Aldar, a fae kingdom ruled by a tyrant witch, Serena discovers a forbidden love, and meets fellow outcasts, each with their own dark secrets. As the lives of warriors, rebels, and witches clash, they find a shared destiny. For only together, and with Serena's unique gifts, can they survive long enough to build the flames of a revolution. Only together can they go to war ...

Ash


Jaymin Eve - 2015
    Don’t let the name fool you, Charlie was all woman and she wanted nothing to do with the ash … until the day she found out she was one. It all started when infected bats bit a small group of humans and created what are now called vampires. Then, the male vampires knocked up some female humans and the result was a gorgeous race of all male ash. Superhuman freaks that had looks to kill. Charlie is the first female ash, aka unicorn of the Hive – the gated compound in Portland that the humans have designated to isolate vampires and ash from society. Problem? The Hive is full and only a select few will be allowed to live there. To live at all, really. If Charlie wants to earn the right to become a citizen of the Hive, she will have to survive the culling – a series of fights to the death. And guess what? Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she’ll get special treatment. Good thing there’s Ryder, the mysterious lead ash enforcer, who seems to always have her back. But when secrets bubble to the surface, it will take more than one guy to save her. **Recommended reading age is 17+ due to language

Layla


Colleen Hoover - 2020
    After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

The Trade


Leigh Walker - 2019
    One love. One chance…to finally get it right. After the devastating loss of her mother and sister, high-school senior Victoria Edwards is worried she’s going crazy. First, she sees a handsome boy floating outside of her room. Then she receives a mysterious letter asking her to go to a nearby pond at midnight. I’ll be waiting for you on the other side, the side you can’t see from here, it reads. Intrigued, Tori investigates—but suddenly finds herself in a different time and place. It’s the year 3130, and she’s smack-dab in the middle of the Kingdom.The Vampire Kingdom. She sees him in the kingdom, the same boy from outside her window, and learns he’s a prince. Most likely a vampire prince. Against her will, Tori’s entered in The Trade, in which pretty young maidens are offered as sacrifices to the royals in exchange for crops. In a first for the competition, Prince Dominic proposes to the candidate of his choice—who happens to be a very reluctant Tori. Once she enters the royal compound, she learns that the kingdom is even more treacherous than she could have ever imagined. The prince and his family are dangerous, but Dominic holds the key to secrets about Tori’s past…and more importantly, her future.If she lives long enough to have one.Book 1 of the Vampire Kingdom Trilogy!Vampire Kingdom 1: The TradeVampire Kingdom 2: The PactVampire Kingdom 3: The Claim

Shadow Fae


Quinn Blackbird - 2020
    and desires so forbidden they must be fought.Fans of LAURA THALASSA, C.N. CRAWFORD and JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT will love this dark, apocalypse-driven series.The world was plunged into eternal darkness, riddled by plagues and famines. Then when most of humanity had fallen, they came to finish us off. The dark fae, brutal warriors of myth, came to kill the last of the humans in this new, dark world.I'm Coralie - I'm not brave, I'm desperate, so I won't go down without a fight ... if I can stomach it, that is. This is a novella rapid-release series for KU. For purchase-to-read, please check out the box set which is the full collection of the whole series, available on pre-order now. CONTENT WARNINGS ARE INSIDE. JUST CLICK THE 'LOOK INSIDE' FEATURE ABOVE.

Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors


Annette Marie - 2020
    So maybe I've conned a few people, but did I really deserve to be thrown in MPD jail alongside magic-wielding serial killers?According to Agent Lienna Shen, one-hundred-percent yes.But her hardass attitude and “Arcana prodigy” status aren’t enough to bring down my former best friend, who slipped through the MPD’s fingers and is days away from unleashing untold horrors upon the city. Or he’s going to steal something. I don’t really know.Whatever he’s up to, that’s why I’m sitting in an interrogation room with Lienna. And that’s why I just offered myself as her temporary new partner for the purposes of thwarting my ex-accomplice.And that’s how I’m going to escape. I might even help with the case before I cut and run.

Vampire Shift


Tim O'Rourke - 2011
    Investigating a series of horrific murders, grave desecrations, and missing persons, Kiera uses her unique ability of seeing, and soon realizes her own life is in danger. When Kiera falls for police officer Luke Bishop, not only are her mind and heart opened to a terrifyingly new world, she comes to suspect that Luke might be involved in the killings. In a race against time to unearth the truth, Kiera must discover the identity of who - or what - is behind the gruesome deaths on her Vampire Shift. "Vampire Shift" is Book One of The Kiera Hudson Series One.

Blood & Ash


Deborah WildeDeborah Wilde - 2020
    Long-lost magic. Can one determined private eye topple a dark conspiracy?​​​​​​​Detective for hire, Ashira Cohen is having a no-good, very bad day.When Ash was thirteen, her con artist father disappeared, leaving her with emotional scars and a limp she can't hide. But she toughened up, determined never to be played again. Is history repeating itself?First, she’s hit on the head during a stakeout, revealing a mysterious tattoo on the back of her skull. Even worse? It’s a now-broken ward unleashing dangerous magic that as a Mundane, she shouldn’t possess. And the icing on this crap cake? Her unruly powers nearly kill her long-time nemesis, Levi, the uptight leader of the magic community. One word from him revealing her forbidden abilities, and everything she’s built will be taken from her… by force.The only bright spot is that Levi requires her supernatural skills to solve a spree of abductions. After years of being underestimated by him, it’s Ash’s chance at payback and she’s going to enjoy bringing him to his knees—or stuffing him in a body bag.Crackling with humor and suspense, Blood & Ash features a headstrong heroine tackling paranormal mysteries and an enemies-to-lovers romance. Get this complete series now!"Wilde combines hardboiled noir and Jewish folklore in this action-packed, perfectly paced paranormal romp. ... the real star is Ash's hilariously snarky narrative voice which is archly sarcastic but never mean. ... Wilde balances exuberant wit with deep compassion and handles Ash's chronic pain and fragmented family with care. This giddy, sexy series launch is a delight." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Magic Forged


K.M. Shea - 2020
    As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it.The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage. I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake - the most feared vampire in the region, and a far more deadly villain than the jerk threatening my family.Is Killian sexy and charismatic? Heck yeah.He's also so powerful that my flight or fight instincts kick in every time our eyes meet. And he's definitely using me as his personal magic detector in his feud against the local fae.But Killian is also the first person to believe I might have more than just a scrap of magic. And if I can convince him to train me, I might get strong enough to free my family and get my house back.I'm not sure what happens when a scrappy wizard is taught how to fight by a hall of deadly vampires, but I'm about to find out.Magic Forged is the first book in the Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy, which features vampires, wizards, fae, and werewolves. It's packed with humor, adventure, and a sweet, slow burn romance between a vertically challenged wizard and the most lethal vampire in town.