Book picks similar to
Shadowborne by Matthew Callahan


fantasy
speculative-fiction
dnf
action

One is Come


C.H. MacLean - 2014
    With a chance to finally have real friends, all she cares about is if her suspension will make her parents move again. Her parents, forced to keep their own magical past silent, are shocked to learn that she is indeed a magic user. She tested negative. Twice! Desperate to hide Haylwen from the King of magic users, they flee, but their efforts thrust them all into mortal danger. Haylwen’s parents don’t know about the prophesy of “The One,” or that the only one who doesn't know Haylwen is a powerful magic user is Haylwen herself. The King and the dragon clans’ plans to remake the world are already in motion. As Haylwen struggles with her feelings of loneliness and unworthiness due to her inability to make a friend, she is completely unaware that the fate of the entire world rests on her choices. Will she learn about her magic and true friendship in time to save her life and hopefully the rest of the world?

The Circle


Cindy Cipriano - 2013
    No one until Laurel shows up at his mother’s bookstore wearing a dark clan’s mark.When Calum learns the details surrounding the disappearance of Laurel’s brother, he suspects the evil Hobayeth clan. Calum and Laurel work together in the Realm of Man and the Otherworld to rescue her brother – revealing a connection between Calum and Laurel that may cost Finley his life.

Winter's Fury


A.E. Rayne - 2017
    But her uncle stole the throne and sent her away to marry Eadmund, the drunken son of their worst enemy. Now she must pick up her sword again to restore her family’s honour and return to the home she loves. Despite her skill with a sword, her prowess in battle, and her reputation as the greatest warrior in Brekka, without her father to protect her, Jael was merely a pawn, a woman to be married off so her uncle could forge an alliance to fulfil his own desperate ambitions.Eadmund is broken hearted, tortured by the murder of his first wife, but his father had lost patience with him. He wanted heirs for his kingdom. He wanted his son back, restored to the fierce warrior he had once been. And when his daughter has a dream about Jael, the woman who would save him, he eagerly jumps at the opportunity to make an alliance with his worst enemy.Jael and Eadmund will fight against their union, but the dreamers know that this marriage is meant to be; it must happen for the sake of all Osterland. For without them... without Jael and her sword, without Eadmund by her side, the five kingdoms will not survive the darkness that is coming to claim them all.

Wizard's Key


Mitch Reinhardt - 2016
    Staying alive, however... The dirt-encrusted key didn’t look like much, but when bullied teen Geoff inadvertently activates it, he is suddenly thrust into a strange and beautiful world. It doesn’t help that he’s accompanied by Sawyer, his chief tormentor at school, but there is a silver lining in that intelligent, compassionate Jane is also with them. Soon the three teenagers encounter evil orcs, majestic unicorns, dangerous trolls, and a mysterious elven druid who doesn’t care for humans. Together, they must make their way back home before the new world they find themselves in erupts in war. Along the way, they’ll be tested to the limits of their endurance—and discover hidden powers deep within. But will those powers be enough to stop the ravenous werewolf that is stalking them? * AWARD WINNING, Young Adult Fiction Book of the Year, 2017 NYC Big Book Award

Aegis Rising


S.S. Segran - 2013
    Struck by lightning, the aircraft crashes and the passengers find themselves cast into a life-changing adventure.In a hidden valley, a mysterious people gaze at the stormy sky as a glowing object with fiery wings disappears behind a mountain ridge. The astonishing sight reignites an ancient prophecy foretelling the arrival of five chosen ones destined to become bearers of light against a dark storm gathering on humanity's horizon.In a distant city, a secretive organization led by a shadowy figure initiates a sequence of cataclysmic events designed to wreak havoc across the planet, beginning with a remote mining site in a northern Canada.As the three worlds collide, unlikely heroes arise. Armed with powers entrusted to them by the ancient prophecy and the resilience of their life-long bond, the five teens take a stand against a malevolent foe.

Shakespeare's Witch


Samantha Grosser - 2020
    Young witch Sarah Stone works as a seamstress for Shakespeare’s company of players, and her life revolves around the theatre, her witchcraft, and her brother. But her world is shattered when she foretells the fortune of Shakespeare’s latest play.After her vision, Sarah fears for her life. A dark shadow haunts the playhouse, and when her brother Tom seduces boy actor John Upton, John sees the hand of witchcraft in his own forbidden desires for men. Then Sarah weaves a spell to win another man’s love, and John begins to make his accusations against her.As the first performance of Macbeth approaches, Sarah must find a way to convince John that his sins are his own – her life and the fortune of the play are at stake.In a world of seductive illusion, can Sarah find a way to save herself?A compelling and suspenseful tale of love, magic, and the power of fate. Contains adult themes.

And A Meadowlark Sang


Jen Pretty - 2018
    One woman makes a life for herself after tragedy. One vampire is hell bent on keeping his city streets free of violent rogues. Where they intersect… …a journey begins. Lark’s life is strange. Vampires roam among us undetected, except by her. She learned the hard way to keep her curse to herself and run at the first sign of trouble. Meditation and yoga have been the core of her sanity as she sets down roots in the city she calls home. When she is suddenly backed into a corner, its fight-or-flight time, but a huge secret is lurking beneath her skin. One that will change the course of her life, forever. The time for running is over. But will the price of her new purpose be too high?

Emerge (Immortals of Indriell, #1)


Melissa A. Craven - 2020
    

Obsolete Theorem


Stan C. Smith - 2020
    A fight for survival. A bond between species.It wasn't possible, but then it happened…A Neanderthal's 47,000-year-old remains are found in Spain. That's not unusual, but positioned beside the woman's skeleton is something that shouldn't be there—a robotic drone. Lincoln Woodhouse has some explaining to do.When confronted with the evidence, Lincoln cannot deny that the drone is one of his own models. After all, he routinely jumps his drones into the past to collect environmental data. The problem is, this drone shouldn't even exist in Lincoln's universe. Everyone knows sending a drone into the past creates an alternate timeline.The implications of the discovery are staggering, and Lincoln is ordered to jump back in time to investigate, even though no human has ever done so before. Upon jumping, he and his team find themselves in a world of deadly creatures and savage beings.Amidst the primeval chaos, Lincoln encounters Skyra, a woman unlike anyone he has ever known. She is a skilled hunter and vicious fighter. She is not human, but she just might hold the key to humanity's future.

Gods and Psychopaths


Louis Park - 2019
    Like most omnipotent beings, Little Dog finds boredom a constant problem, but the deity has just the right plaything to solve this, a psychopathic and eccentric vagabond called Cain. Cain never wanted to make a deal with the sadistic and petulant deity. All he ever wanted was to gorge on Manchester's finest foods, fight the police and save the bumblebee through murderous rampages. Instead, he has to give bloodthirsty performance after bloodthirsty performance to keep the deity entertained. If he fails, he might just find that he - and the rest of the world - become Little Dog's snacks.**If you like your violence gory, your heroes twisted, your sex messed up, and your comedy as black as your ex's heart, then this is the book for you!**

Blood and Bones


A.D. Starrling - 2022
    The world's foremost yet least celebrated expert on all things ancient and arcane. A metalsmith with unusual skills. The owner of an antique shop and a switchblade that is more than just a knife. What he doesn’t want to be is a hero. When the monster he first met on the night he turned six appears on his doorstep, Artemus suspects his life is about to go from strange to hell in a handbasket. And he isn’t too happy about that.Callie Stone arrives in Chicago with one purpose in mind: to sell one of her dead husband’s prized possessions. When the auction house gets attacked by fiendish creatures and the relic goes missing, Callie realizes that the life she has known is a lie and the world is full of frightening things straight out of her worst nightmares.Moments after snatching a priceless artifact from one of the most securely guarded private functions in the country, Drake Hunter is confronted by enemies he thought he’d left in his past. Brought face to face with the mysterious organization after the relic, Drake knows he is dealing with something evil. Because the devil inside him is stirring once more.With no option but to join forces with a pair of ruthless mercenaries, the reluctant associates are cast into a race to uncover the organization’s dark intentions and the true nature of the artifact. To survive, they will need more than brute strength and wit. They will have to figure out what twisted Fate links them. And they will have to embrace powers they never knew they possessed.From the author of bestselling supernatural thriller series Seventeen comes a spin-off series like no other. Get the spellbinding book fans have been waiting for and enter a world you won’t want to leave!

The Butterfly Code


Sue Wyshynski - 2015
    I am a genetically modified human. PAINFUL SECRETS. STARTLING TRUTHS.UNDENIABLE LOVE.All it took was a chance meeting--one tingling glance across a darkened street to change my life.I'd been searching for my two best friends in the crowded Zenith Club, which was a really bad idea because I'm totally claustrophobic. I burst outside, and that's when I came face-to-face with the incredibly gorgeous Hunter Cayman. Dark-haired, tall, and leaning against an insane sports car, my pulse went haywire. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. The young doctor had his long muscular arms crossed over his leather jacket clad chest, and all his six-foot something would make any girl's knees turn weak. But then, if what Ella said was true, Hunter was the kind of guy who left behind a trail of broken hearts. And heartache was the last thing I needed right now.Yet there's something strange, something almost superhuman about Hunter. It's more than that infuriatingly knowing grin. I'm trying to stop thinking about him, and I get the feeling he's avoiding me, too. Yet Deep Cove is a tiny town and every time we run into each other the tension literally crackles, sparking around us. It just figures that when suddenly I'm in danger, he's there to save me.In truth, I should be dead. By all the logic in this world, I should be shattered to pieces. How fast was I going on that ATV when I smashed into those iron gates? Ninety? A hundred? And the men who were chasing me, where did they go?Somehow I'm whole.Maybe better than whole. There's no one I can talk to, not even my best friend, Gage. Gage hates Hunter. He wants Hunter's laboratory to be shut down. He thinks Hunter's a monster. And yet, if that's true, if Hunter's a monster...than what am I? I'm not sure what terrifies me more, the metamorphosis taking place inside me, or the intensely powerful connection with a guy whose heart and soul has become linked with mine.

Blood Gifts


Becca Andre - 2016
    Born into a necromancer family, he and his twin brother Lex exhibited uncommon magical potential at an early age that led their father to expect great things—from them both. That is until Lex’s blood gift fails to manifest. Or so everyone believes. For the past five years, Ian has been keeping a secret. A secret that—if it got out—would see his brother shunned, or worse. Lex does have a blood gift, but not every gift is a blessing, and not every recipient can manage the talent in his blood. As Lex’s sanity begins to slip, Ian knows the responsibility to raise his family’s fortunes is on his shoulders, and his alone. When he is offered an apprenticeship with one of the most influential men in the necromancer community, Lex convinces Ian that the connection would offer their family even more if Ian were to marry his elderly mentor’s “spinster” niece. Ian’s plan takes an unexpected turn when he discovers that Isabelle is not a spinster. She’s a young, beautiful, intelligent woman who, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with him. Now Ian must find a way to win her over before Lex attempts to elevate their family, his way. BONUS – Included in this ebook is the short story, Lords of the Dead (Total word count for both the novella and the short story is over 52,000 words.)

Dragon Feared


Kit Bladegrave - 2018
    Not Everest. She wants answers. She wants to know more about Slade, her mother, her father, not to mention being a First Descendant.Why is being a teenager so complicated when you’re a witch that dragons fear?

A Chance Beginning


Christopher Patterson - 2014
    . . and every journey begins with a first step. Erik Eleodum never wanted to be a hero. Fate had a different plan. Erik is content farming for his family for the rest of his life, while his brother and cousin can't think of a worse fate. For different reasons, they leave the life they know behind. Soon, their world crashes down around them as they realize it is cruel, brutal, selfish, and violent. Now, they must not only rely on one another, but also on gypsies, thieves, mercenaries, dwarves, and a mage for their survival. In the end, Erik will face danger, deceit, murder, death, evil, and - most terrifyingly - himself to become the hero he was always meant to be as an ancient evil many thought only a myth resurfaces.Enter a world readers have compared to the epic fantasies of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, a world of adventure, terror, political intrigue, sorcery, and great heroic deeds. Come face to face with ogres, elves, dwarves, slavers, black mages, ruthless warriors, dragons, evil and fear.  A true hero's journey of faith, friendships, and trials well worth the price of admission!