Book picks similar to
The Spirit of Things by Ben McQueeney


fantasy
ya-fantasy
group-project-fantasy
fantasy-paranormal

After Obsession


Carrie Jones - 2011
    The dream rushes back to me. We were falling, clutching at each other, with twisting darkness all around us... The girl looks up at me and I realize I've stopped walking and am staring at her. I see something in her eyes, something like recognition.AIMEEAnd in that second I know, absolutely know, that something in my life has changed irrevocably. This is the guy from my dreams. Right here. And we are going to have to do something, save something, together. I just don't know what.TOGETHERAlan and Aimee have just met, but already they are bound to each other by something they can't quite name. Something that rattles the windows, haunts the waters... and threatens to tear them apart before they get a chance to find out what their connection means.

Bloody Hell


Theophilus Monroe - 2020
    She's a witch. And she's heartless... literally.Mercy died twice. Once when she became a vampire. Again, when her own father had her heart cut out of her chest. But Mercy’s guide in the Craft had other ideas. The essence of her heart, now bound to her brother's soul, revived the vampire witch. But the Order of the Morning Dawn will stop at nothing to eliminate her. An organization devoted to two tasks-burning witches and vanquishing vampires-will literally go to hell and back in an effort to liberate Mercy's brother's soul and end Mercy’s vampiric life. If Mercy wants to live she must go to hell herself and capture her brother’s soul before the Order can get to him. Will Mercy survive, or will the Order finally eliminate one of the most notorious vampires in existence? Bloody Hell is the first book in Theophilus Monroe's Legacy of a Vampire Witch series. These vampires don’t sparkle. If Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles ever met the Mayfair witches you might end up with a character like Monroe's Mercy Brown. She is a ruthless, badass, snarky anti-hero straight out of your worst nightmares. But you will want to root for her nonetheless! Bloody Hell will take you from the time she was turned in the 1890s through the present day. Readers of Monroe's Voodoo Legacy will get a glimpse of her role in that series-from her own perspective-while being taken on a new action packed adventure and dark urban fantasy story that is wholly Mercy's own.

Bitter Sweet Love


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2013
    A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining the balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again...

See Me


Wendy Higgins - 2014
    Prearranged bindings are common for magical families like her own, however when she travels to the whimsical Emerald Isle she discovers there’s more to her betrothal and McKale’s clan than she was led to believe. What starts as an obligatory pairing between Robyn and McKale morphs over time into something they both need. But one giant obstacle stands in the way of their budding romance: a seductive and deadly Fae princess accustomed to getting what she wants—and what she wants is McKale as her plaything. Love, desire, and jealousies collide as Robyn’s family and McKale’s clan must work together to outsmart the powerful Faeries and preserve the only hope left for their people.

First Flight


Zachary Jones - 2019
    Just the Earth Federation and the League of Sovereign Systems fighting for the third time over who would be the supreme power in settled space, and who would have to exist in the victor’s shadow. Then the Ascendency showed up and ruined everything.One moment, Flight Lieutenant Mason Grey was a fighter pilot of the Federal Space Forces about to strike a League base located on a dwarf planet in an uninhabited system. The next, unknown starships showed up, blew his carrier to hell, killed his squadron, shot down his fighter, and left him stranded amid the ruins of the very base he had come to attack.With nothing but a space suit and a dwindling life support system, Mason was in way, way over his head. And that was just the start of his problems. (Content Warning: This novel contains violence and adult language)

The Goddess's Binding


Sam Dogra - 2013
    But that choice was never hers. And no-one escapes the will of the Goddess.A thousand years ago, a Goddess cast a powerful spell over the kingdom of Azaria; the Binding, an unseen magic that guarantees a lifelong bond with one other. But the magic has become corrupted, and now even strangers can accidentally seal themselves together, forever.That’s seventeen-year-old Eliza’s greatest fear, and she’ll do anything to avoid such a fate. But when a mysterious bounty-hunter saves her life, her worst nightmare is realised. Now Bound, she can’t stray from his side, else the spell will poison their souls and leave them empty, rotted husks.Her new partner, however, is fleeing a shadowy past, and Eliza is caught in another bitter conflict. Together they must evade a relentless pursuer and a blood-thirsty cult, and along the way Eliza vows to take back the life that is hers and destroy the curse for good.And even the wrath of the Goddess won’t stop her.

Frost's Forfeit


Laura Greenwood - 2018
     With the Fae Queen of Summer itching for war, a daughter to protect, and a kingdom to run, things are already complicated for Nieves. When she calls the annual frosts and discovers she's being watched by a mysterious man, things only get worse. Faced with an almost impossible choice, Nieves has to make the best decision for her people, her daughter and her heart. Frost's Forfeit is a Standalone Paranormal Fantasy Romance set in the Paranormal Council Universe and is prequel to Saving Eira.

The Casquette Girls


Alys Arden - 2013
    But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition. As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless... you’re immortal.

Queen of the Warrior Bees


Jean Gill - 2019
    Together they must change the world. As the Mages of the Citadel fight amongst themselves and prepare for war against the Forest, Mielitta, a despised servant, has her own battle to face. Bastien and Jannlou, the boys who terrorised her as a child, have grown into their status as Mages and she cannot escape them forever.In desperation, she flees to the forbidden Forest and its dangerous attractions. Her scent angers thousands of bees and, although she survives their attack, she has changed. A strange bee symbol glows on her thigh and her senses are altered. She learns that her connection with bees enables her to summon their aid and gives her the power to shift shape.This new-found bond works both ways and the bees need Mielitta's help as the rift widens between Forest and Citadel. Can one girl and a colony of bees reunite Man and Nature, or is the split irreversible?Block Nature out and she'll force a way in.

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things


Martina McAtee - 2015
    Two worlds. One prophecy. Seventeen-year-old Ember Lonergan has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie.Mace is a monster, a soulless assassin tasked with a single purpose: follow Ember. He only has two rules. Do not interact with her. Do not to kill her. Simply watch and report. But Mace has never been good at following orders, and Ember is a temptation he simply can't resist.Whisked away to a small Florida town, Ember must learn to embrace a family she's never known, a supernatural world she never knew existed, and a power so vast it just might kill her. All that stands between Ember and destruction is that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery.Can she learn to trust him before it's too late?This edition features exclusive hidden art under the dust jacket.

The Gatekeeper's Staff: An Old Gods Story


Antoine Bandele - 2021
    His powerful sister was ordained to lead his people into a new age of prosperity, but her mysterious death in Nigeria threatens to destroy the very foundations of TJ’s world.Desperate to pick up where his sister left off and uncover the secrets behind her questionable death, TJ commits himself to unlocking the magical heritage that has always eluded him. So he enrolls in Camp Olosa—a remedial magic school for the divinely less-than-gifted in the humid swamps of New Orleans.But little does he know, TJ is destined to cross paths with powerful spirits of old thought lost to time: the orishas.Delve into this young adult fantasy based on the mythology of the West African Orishas, where TJ will encounter unlikely allies, tough-as-gatorhide instructors, and the ancient secrets of the orishas.

Earthbound


Aprilynne Pike - 2013
    When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told.Tavia immediately searches for answers, desperate to determine why she feels so drawn to a boy she hardly knows. But when Tavia discovers that the aunt and uncle who took her in after her parents' death may have actually been responsible for the plane crash that killed them - and that she may have been the true intended victim - she flees for the safety of Camden, Maine, where the boy she sees in her visions instructs her to go.Now, Tavia is on the run with no one to trust. No one, that is, except for her best friend and longtime crush, Benson.Tavia feels torn between the boy who mysteriously comes to her at night and the boy who has been by her side every step of the way. But what Tavia doesn't know is that the world is literally falling apart and that to save it she will have to unite with the boy in her visions. Only problem? To do so would mean rejecting Benson's love. And that's the one thing Tavia Michaels swore she'd never do.

The Unnaturalists


Tiffany Trent - 2012
    Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

Menagerie


Rachel Vincent - 2015
    But under the macabre circus big-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town. But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed. Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale

Forbidden Queen


R.J. Vickers - 2020
    But she's next in line for the throne. When Princess Kalleah is born with a forbidden magic power, her mother takes her into hiding to keep her safe. Now, at eighteen, she is back to claim her throne. People with Kalleah's deadly power aren't allowed into the city of Baylore, let alone the palace. If she is to rule, her people will need to overcome centuries of prejudice against the forbidden races. But the timing for her return could not be worse. Baylore was once a haven for the magic races that were persecuted and killed in other lands. Now, a small but dangerous group calling themselves Truthbringers have stirred up public sentiment against all magic--not just the forbidden races. If Kalleah can't claim her rightful place on the throne, the once-peaceful city of Baylore will fall to chaos. Hatred and bigotry threaten to overthrow everything Baylore once stood for. But as she seeks support in her bid for the throne, she faces enemies at every turn. Can Kalleah win the throne and hold Baylore together? Or have the Truthbringers already sown the seeds of discontent too deep? Forbidden Queen is the first in a 6-book epic fantasy series filled with intrigue, adventure, and romance. Perfect for fans of Robin Hobb, Sarah J. Maas, and Sabaa Tahir.