Book picks similar to
Client from Hell by R.J. Blain


romance
paranormal
urban-fantasy
fantasy

The Dawn of Dae


Trillian Anderson - 2015
    If she can become a Bach, she can escape the poverty she’s endured ever since her parents died when she was five. Only through education can she rise above her birth caste–and she knows it. All of her plans fall to dust when she opens a portal within her refrigerator, turning her macaroni and cheese casserole into a sentient being. By dawn the next day, the mysterious dae have come to Earth to stay. Hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air, and as the days pass, the total of the missing number in the millions. Some say it’s the rapture of the Christian faith. Alexa knows better: their dae ate them, leaving behind nothing more than dust as evidence of their hunger. As one of the unawakened, she doesn’t have a dae, nor can she manifest any forms of magical powers. She’s lacking the innate knowledge of what the dae are and what they mean for the world. Now more than ever, she is an outsider. Her survival hinges on her ability to adapt to a world she no longer understands. Unfortunately, one of the dae has taken notice of her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Alexa’s problems pile up as she’s forced to pick her allegiances. Will she submit to the new ways of the world? Will she become some monster’s pawn? Or, against all odds, can she forge her own path and prove normal humans can thrive among those gifted with powers once the domain of fantasies and nightmares?

Taken


Susan Copperfield - 2020
    After being taken from his family and home, Pat decides he’ll just rescue himself and ruin their plans while he's at it. Texas is about to learn their king is far more than the horse loving, bootscraping of a chef they believe he is.In chronological reading order, Taken takes place following Storm Called.

Putting the Fun in Funeral


Diana Pharaoh Francis - 2018
    As luck would have it, someone beats her to murdering Mommy Dearest and now Beck gets to plan the tackiest funeral the world has ever seen for the worst woman she’s ever known. But first, Beck has a few minor problems to deal with. First on the list? Avoid getting kidnapped. She also has to convince the police she didn’t kill her mother. And then there’s surviving a death curse …. With the help of her three best friends, cheesecake, and a little magic, Beck figures she can handle anything, even the mysterious and irritating Damon Matroviani, whose sexy good-looks light her panties on fire. All too soon, her life is turned inside out, and just when things are looking like they can’t get any worse ... everything hits the fan.

Semi-Magical


Isabel Jordan - 2019
    Again.Harper has accomplished a lot over the years. She's fallen in love, gotten married, and raised a supernaturally gifted baby, all while running the most successful PI business in the state. She'd mention her hot-as-hell dhampyre husband Noah Riddick, too...but that'd just be bragging. It's not like challenges haven't presented themselves, either. Vampire serial killers? Yep. Caught a few of those. Supernatural mafia? Shut that down ages ago. Hostage negotiations? Fuhgedaboudit. So when someone near and dear to Riddick's heart is targeted by a maniacal military asshat intent on building an army of genetically engineered super-soldiers, Harper knows she'll have to fix things once again. Especially since the asshat in question just happens to be her father ...But it's not long before Harper and Riddick realize the military is the least of their concerns, and if they aren't careful, they just might trigger a paranormal apocalypse. Can Harper and her band of semi-magical misfits save the world--or will this be the end of Harper Hall Investigations (and life as we know it)--once and for all?NOTE: This is a crossover novel, and while it could be read as a standalone, it definitely works better when read as part of the Harper Hall Investigations series. Here's the reading order:Book 1: Semi-CharmedBook 2: Semi-HumanBook 3: Semi-TwistedBook 4: Semi-BrokenBook 5: Semi-SaneBook 5.5: Semi-Obsessed

In a Fix


Linda Grimes - 2012
    A kind of human chameleon, she’s able to take on her clients’ appearances and slip seamlessly into their lives, solving any sticky problems they don’t want to deal with themselves. No fuss, no muss. Big paycheck.This particular assignment is pretty enjoyable... that is, until Ciel’s island resort bungalow is blown to smithereens and her client’s about-to-be-fiancé is snatched by modern-day Vikings. For some reason, Ciel begins to suspect that getting the ring is going to be a tad more difficult than originally anticipated.Going from romance to rescue requires some serious gear-shifting, as well as a little backup. Her best friend, Billy, and Mark, the CIA agent she’s been crushing on for years—both skilled adaptors—step in to help, but their priority is, annoyingly, keeping her safe. Before long, Ciel is dedicating more energy to escaping their watchful eyes than she is to saving her client’s intended.Suddenly, facing down a horde of Vikings feels like the least of her problems.

You Slay Me


Katie MacAlister - 2004
    In her job as courier, Aisling is to deliver a precious demonic artifact to a Mme. Deauxville in Paris, but she finds Madame freshly dead, surrounded by a circle of ash. The artifact is then stolen by the fast-talking Drake, who claims that Aisling is no mere courier but in fact a demon lord and his destined mate. Determined to play detective, Aisling summons up a demon only to find herself saddled with one, in the form of a slobbering Newfoundland who wants to go walkies. Drake wants to show her the way dragons mate, and then bodies seem to pile up all over Paris, making Aisling a corpse magnet and top suspect. It's going to take every screwy new ally she's got to solve this murder and adjust to her new life in a strange new world.

A Demon Bound


Debra Dunbar - 2012
    All she wants to do is drink beer by the pool, play mischievous pranks on the humans, and get her hot neighbor in the sack. It’s a relaxing break from her infernal home, as long as she manages to avoid the angels, who won’t hesitate to execute her on sight.But when her naughty hellhound lands her in trouble with the local werewolf pack, Sam is blackmailed into helping track and catch a killer. The steps she must take to appease the werewolves will put her right in the crosshairs of the angels. And with angels, there is no second chance.

Midlife Bounty Hunter


Shannon Mayer - 2020
    The next, I’m divorced and living in the guest room of my ex’s hotter- than-sin cousin’s place in Savannah . . . and talking to an animated skeleton named Robert. I have to admit, Robert isn’t my worst date. At forty-one, I didn’t think I’d be starting over. But I’ll be damned if my ex thinks I’m down and out because he pulled a fast one on me. When a job comes my way that offers me a chance to use my childhood training in the shadow world, I take it—I need the money more than I care about my sanity. It’s dangerous. I have to embrace the magic and dark of my past. And I need Advil to keep me going. So those who’d hold me back better sit up and take notice, because a new woman is in town, and she’s not about to be counted out by anyone. Even if she does groan when she rolls out of bed in the morning.

I'm the Vampire, That's Why


Michele Bardsley - 2006
    And I, Jessica Matthews, have been a member of that club ever since my husband dumped me for his twentysomething secretary and then had the gall to die in a car accident. Now I’m not just a single mother trying to make ends meet in this crazy world....I’m also a vampire. One minute I was taking out the garbage; the next I awoke sucking on the thigh of superhot vampire Patrick O’Halloran, who’d generously offered his femoral artery to save me.But though my stretch marks have disappeared and my vision has improved, I can’t rest until the thing that did this to me is caught. My kids’ future is at stake…figuratively and literally. As is my sex life. Although I wouldn’t mind finding myself attached to Patrick’s juicy thigh again, I learned that once a vampire does the dirty deed, it hitches her to the object of her affection for at least one hundred years. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of commitment....

Dragons Don't Eat Meat


Kim McDougall - 2020
    And the killings point to a civil war brewing among the fae.When Kyra finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn’t want to bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon killers, she’s on babysitting duty. As a pest controller with a soft heart, Kyra already has an apartment full of rescues, including a basilisk who thinks he’s a turkey, a banshee nanny, and even a pygmy kraken. She might take care of them, but they also fill her need for family. And when that family is threatened, she’ll risk everything to save them. She’ll even join forces with the handsome and irritating captain of the city’s vigilante Guardians, who never fails to be around at her most undignified moments.Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves the safety of Montreal Ward and travel through the dangerous Inbetween—the land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law—to reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force from invading their home. Fans of Kate Daniels and Fantastic Beasts will find something to love in this action-packed, Urban Fantasy tale set in a future version of Montreal. Book 1 of the thrilling new Valkyrie Bestiary series is a true menagerie of fascinating characters, adorable critters and dark magics.

Magic Bites


Ilona Andrews - 2007
    But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Magical Midlife Madness


K.F. Breene - 2020
    A new house with an unexpected twist. A cape wearing butler acting as the world's worst life coach."Happily Ever After" wasn't supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my husband of twenty years packs up and heads for greener pastures and my son leaves for college, that's exactly what my life becomes.Do-over.This time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number, after all, and at forty I'm ready to carve my own path.Eager for a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. I'll be taking care of a centuries old house that called to me when I was a kid. It's just temporary, I tell myself. It'll just be for a while.That is, until I learn what the house really is, something I never could've imagined.Thankfully forty isn't too old to start an adventure, because that's exactly what I do. A very dangerous adventure that will change my life forever. I have a chance to start again, and this time, I make the rules.

Underdead with a Vengeance (Underdead Mysteries)


Liz Jasper - 2013
    Why not?Who cares. She has everything under control.Except she's not sure Will is really dead dead. And Detective Gavin Raines, her vampire-hunting crush, has popped back in her life to investigate an odd string of murders...and maybe finally ask her out on a real date.At least her her teaching job is straightforward. Or rather it was before the world's most perfect teacher joins the staff and seems to be noticing that her vampire traits are, well, a lot more apparent than she'd like them to be.Caught between two worlds and fitting into neither, Jo must risk it all to take her own path--before the next person dead is her. Buy your copy today!

I Bite She Sucks


Penelope Bloom - 2021
    First mistake.I aimed it at a gorgeous stranger and put my address on it. Second mistake.Yep. You guessed it. I missed and hit a werewolf instead. Best thing that ever happened to me?Next thing I knew, a large angrily attractive werewolf man was trying to get in my apartment. I introduced him to my baseball bat and figured that was the end of things. Or not.Because my well-meaning sister became a vampire to cure my immune disorder. Long story. In the process, she got a deadly team of fang bangers to hunt us for breaking their rules.Longer story. A+ for good intentions and a D- for execution, if you ask me.Re-enter Mr. Grumpy and Growly werewolf. He’s going to be my bodyguard slash kidnapper, whether I like it or not. Apparently, he’s the only thing standing between me and certain death. Swoon, right?Of course, he hates all things vampire. A.K.A. he will take me from undead to dead-dead if he figures out what I’m becoming. Thankfully, he has completely underestimated my ability to woo him with my adorable innocence, cheery disposition, and extreme powers of modesty. As long as the feelings stay one-sided, I’ll be fine. Because giving your heart to a guy who is probably going to try to murder you is a recipe for disaster. And come on. When was the last time I made a catastrophic, life-threatening mistake?

Drink, Slay, Love


Sarah Beth Durst - 2011
    fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast—as the entrees. The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?