Book picks similar to
The Stag Lord by Darby Kaye
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The Man of Legends
Kenneth C. Johnson - 2017
The bet pays off, resulting in a story that will be popular with book clubs and fun to discuss.” —Associated Press
New York City, New Year’s weekend, 2001. Jillian Guthrie, a troubled young journalist, stumbles onto a tantalizing mystery: the same man, unaged, stands alongside Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gandhi in three different photographs spanning eighty-five years of history.In another part of town, Will—an enigmatic thirty-three-year-old of immense charm, wit, and intelligence—looks forward to the new year with hope and trepidation. Haunted by his secret past and shadowed by a dangerous stranger, he finds himself the object of an intense manhunt spearheaded by an ambitious Vatican emissary and an elderly former UN envoy named Hanna.During the next forty-eight hours, a catastrophic event unites Will, Jillian, and Hanna—and puts them in the crosshairs of a centuries-old international conspiracy. Together, the three must unravel an ancient curse that stretches back two millennia and beyond, and face a primal evil that threatens their lives and thousands more.Award-winning science-fiction mastermind Kenneth Johnson blends epic adventure, romance, and evocative drama into an intense supernatural thriller rooted in one of the great untold legends of human history.
The Curse Girl
Kate Avery Ellison - 2011
escape! But she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all before she can leave, and that is proving more difficult than she originally thought thanks to the bitter young master of the house, Will.Will wants nothing to do with Bee or her help (and he certainly isn't planning on falling in love with her), but he might have underestimated just how determined and clever--and irresistible--she can be.
Urban Shaman
C.E. Murphy - 2005
No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams.And if all that's not bad enough, in the three years Joanne's been a cop, she's never seen a dead body -- but she's just come across her second in three days.It's been a bitch of a week. And it isn't over yet.
Skinwalker
Faith Hunter - 2009
But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission—or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own...
Written in Red
Anne Bishop - 2013
Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others. Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Chains of Frost
T.A. Grey - 2011
Three Sisters.When a will from her dead father decrees Chloe into the protection of the renowned vampire commander, Tyrian en Kulev, she does what any woman would do—and casts a spell. Things get worse for Chloe when the spell she and her sisters perform summons an ancient demon from deep within the earth. Now she's being hunted by a demon set on killing her and must live at the aptly named Castle Death with the king of cold, Tyrian. Surprisingly, Chloe finds that she doesn’t mind her new Protector so much. His cold, impassionate nature needs a firm push to show his true colors, and Chloe thinks she’s just the one to do it.Tyrian en Kulev always pays his debts. When Francis Bellum dies and orders Tyrian to act as his eldest daughter’s Protector, Tyrian resigns himself to the position. What should have been a simple deal--keep her in the castle, protect her--has turned difficult. Chloe comes to him with a demon trying to kill her and a sexy attitude that keeps invading his thoughts everywhere he goes. The little succubus easily grabs hold of the heart he’d kept locked away for so long and makes him feel once again. But can they defeat the demon that haunts her and can Tyrian overcome his past and move on to a new future with Chloe?Chains of Frost is a full-length novel.
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
Emily Croy Barker - 2013
And with an appealing female protagonist, cinematic storytelling, wry humor, and wonderfully clever literary references, The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic is sure to capture the imaginations of readers everywhere. During a miserable weekend at a friend’s wedding, eager to forget about her disastrous breakup and stalled dissertation, Nora Fischer wanders off and somehow finds herself in another realm. There, she meets glamorous Ilissa—who introduces Nora to a decadent new world—and her gorgeous son Raclin. But when the elegant veneer of this dreamland shatters, Nora finds herself in a fairy tale gone incredibly wrong. And the only way she can survive is by learning real magic herself.
Red the Were Hunter
Rebekah R. Ganiere - 2014
Defying the head of her order, she sets out to kill the beast she believes responsible. The King of the Weres-- But there are worse things in Wolvenglen Forest than the wolves. Adrian, reluctant heir to the throne of Wolvenglen, and his band of wolf brothers are bound to protect the humans; especially the Sisterhood. Finding Redlynn unconscious in his woods, awakens in him a passion he's never before experienced and a protective instinct that has him ready to turn on his own men. Problem is, a female is the last thing Adrian needs complicating his life. But all is not as it seems in Wolvenglen Forest and to save the missing girls before time runs out, Redlynn and Adrian must move past their inner demons and learn to trust each other. In the search for vengeance however, sometimes you must give up what you desire most. Red The Were Hunter won 2nd Place in the Hook, Line and Sinker Contest and is a current finalist in the Great Beginnings Contest.
Julia Vanishes
Catherine Egan - 2016
. . unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people's senses. It's a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it's a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned--crime pays.Her latest job is paying very well indeed. Julia is posing as a housemaid in the grand house of Mrs. Och, where an odd assortment of characters live and work: A disgraced professor who sends her to fetch parcels containing bullets, spiders, and poison. An aristocratic houseguest who is locked in the basement each night. And a mysterious young woman who is clearly in hiding--though from what or whom?Worse, Julia suspects that there's a connection between these people and the killer leaving a trail of bodies across the frozen city.The more she learns, the more she wants to be done with this unnatural job. To go back to the safety of her friends and fellow thieves. But Julia is entangled in a struggle between forces more powerful than she'd ever imagined. Escape will come at a terrible price.
The Goblins of Bellwater
Molly Ringle - 2017
But some are about to find out. Skye, a young barista and artist, falls victim to a goblin curse in the forest one winter night, rendering her depressed and silenced, unable to speak of what happened. Her older sister, Livy, is at wit’s end trying to understand what’s wrong with her. Local mechanic Kit would know, but he doesn’t talk of such things: he’s the human liaison for the goblin tribe, a job he keeps secret and never wanted, thrust on him by an ancient family contract.Unaware of what’s happened to Skye, Kit starts dating Livy, trying to keep it casual to protect her from the attention of the goblins. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Kit, Skye draws his cousin Grady into the spell through an enchanted kiss in the woods, dooming Grady and Skye both to become goblins and disappear from humankind forever.It’s a midwinter night’s enchantment as Livy, the only one untainted by a spell, sets out to save them on a dangerous magical path of her own.Content warnings for the book: Magic used nonconsensually on people's minds, including a lust/attraction spell; some violence; facing fears including heights, deep water, fire, and being underground.
How to Date Your Dragon
Molly Harper - 2018
While the League hopes to hold on to secrecy for a little bit longer, they're preparing for the worst in terms of human reactions. They need a plan, so they look to Mystic Bayou, a tiny town hidden in the swamp where humans and supernatural residents have been living in harmony for generations. Mermaids and gator shifters swim in the bayou. Spirit bottles light the front porches after twilight. Dragons light the fires under crayfish pots.Jillian's first assignment for the League could be her last. Mystic Bayou is wary of outsiders, and she has difficulty getting locals to talk to her. And she can't get the gruff town sheriff, Bael Boone, off of her back or out of her mind. Bael is the finest male specimen she's seen in a long time, even though he might not be human. Soon their flirtation is hotter than a dragon's breath, which Bael just might turn out to be....
Croc's Return
Eve Langlais - 2015
Until it’s time to come back, a scarred veteran, in many ways broken and looking for a meaning to his life. Perhaps it's not too late to right some wrongs. Make amends. Kiss a certain pair of sweet lips one more time.If only Renny would damned well let him.It doesn’t take Caleb long to realize Renny’s just the thing this croc needs to bring him back to life. Yet, what if he loses control again? He doesn’t want to take nibbling on her thighs to a whole new level.Too bad, he can’t stay away, especially not when he discovers her secret. Add in a strange creature stalking the townsfolk and there is no way he’s leaving her alone.Years ago it just about killed him to leave, but Caleb’s a changed man now. A darker kind of animal, and this retired soldier is ready to kill so he can stay.Welcome to Bitten Point, where the swamp doesn't just keep its secrets, it sometimes eats them.
Kindred
Nicola Claire - 2012
I have waited five hundred years for you." Vampires, shapeshifters, ghouls and magic-users abound in a world where the Norms, (those humans without paranormal abilities), are ignorant of the creatures of the night and the supernatural species that live alongside them.Lucinda Monk is a bank teller by day and a vampire hunter by night, but she wasn’t always a part of this world. Thrown into a heady mix of powerful people and sensual beings, she’s had to find her way practically blindfolded in amongst the creatures of the night. Lucinda, though, is a capable and realistic kind of girl. Her motto: Never Show Fear. But there's something different about Luce. Something those creatures she hunts want. So, in order to stay one step ahead of the enemy, she has to let the enemy in. In all his compelling, seductive and delicious ways. Sleeping with the enemy has never meant so much before. But can she trust him?From the urban streets of the city to the dark alleys and sinful bars that promise a wickedness a girl from the farm has never before been exposed to, Lucinda gets drawn irreversibly into the dark side of life.And if the Master of the City has his way, she will always be his. For eternity.
Dragon Called
Kara Lockharte - 2020
A one time nursing gig seemed like the perfect deal: lots of cash, no questions asked. Even when her employer turns out to be the notorious billionaire Damian Blackwood, Andi is determined to keep quiet and finish the job. But when Damian saves her life from a monster, there’s no forgetting what she saw — not his insanely superhero physique, not the hungry way he looks at her, like she’s some priceless treasure to be possessed, and definitely not the fact that he’s got another hidden self; he’s an honest-to-god dragon.Andi knows the dragon shifter’s secret and he’s definitely far from pleased. After a night of monsters and mayhem, he takes her home in his fancy sports car and….asks her for a date.The expensive well-tailored suit can’t disguise the fire in his eyes and wildness in his savage smile.She should say no.What if she says yes?Author note: This is the first of a slow burn paranormal romance series featuring a hot dragonshifter hero: heck yes, explicit scenes are in here but you’ll have to be patient for the HEA to come.
Firebolt
Adrienne Woods - 2013
Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself.