Book picks similar to
Shadowborne by Matthew Callahan


fantasy
speculative-fiction
action
dnf

Hexing


Ciara Graves - 2017
    Druids. Shamans. Priests. Familiars. Military experiments. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. Magic and Alchemy will suck you in. Rori’s dream to bake in her mother’s shop went up in smoke when she was pulled into a supernatural school for magic types. On her first day there, she meets two guys. Chas and Brogan. One’s mysterious and brooding. The other one’s sweet and hunky. And Rori’s in the middle of a rock and a hard place when she can’t figure out what type of supernatural she is and what path she should follow. And what does her missing father have to do with any of this? Warning: Unputdownable action-packed fantasy, with necromancers, druids, shamans, and priests.

The Pages of Time (The Pages of Time, #1)


Damian Knight - 2015
    Can Sam and his friends somehow defeat the sinister forces that want to use his powers for their own ends? Can they manage to save Sam’s family from violent deaths that are already in the past – and maybe also win the girl he loves – by turning back the pages of time?

Captain Hawkins


H. Peter Alesso - 2016
    His heroic effort to save the lives of innocent women and children, caught in the cross-fire of war, placed him squarely in the cross-hairs of avenging soldiers.Hawkins was stunned when his rescue effort was seen as treachery. Unfairly convicted of treason by a corrupt judge, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor on an infamous penal colony.Once in prison, his courage and perseverance won him the admiration and trust of his fellow convicts. While he was plotting his escape, an enemy attacked the planet--giving this daring warrior his chance. Together with his fellow prisoners, he launched a bold assault and high-jacked an enemy warship.From then on, Captain Jamie Hawkins and his ship the Indefatigable fought against a corrupt government--only to discover a mysterious alien presence was behind the war.

The Song of the Ash Tree: The Complete Saga


T.L. Greylock - 2019
    His ship is fast and sleek, his crew skilled and eager, and they will seek out new lands and win fame in the eyes of the gods. But Raef’s father refuses to allow the journey and when a stranger brings word that the king is dead and a gathering has been called to choose a successor, Raef must set aside his dream for his duty to his ancestral lands and his father. When factions split at the gathering to choose a successor, Raef finds himself mired in bloodshed and treachery. Forced to make an uneasy alliance with a man he does not trust, Raef must navigate the tides of a war among three kings while seeking revenge for cold-blooded murder. But winter has come early to Midgard, and even the gods will feel the cold.

Aether Witch (Witches of Mountain Shadow, #1)


Tarah Benner - 2020
    Murder in a small town. A killer is on the loose, and the coven fears it might be one of their own.The Grimes sisters aren’t normal — even by witches’ standards. For weeks, Fiona has been having chilling visions of death, and Eleanor sees restless spirits nearly everywhere she goes. It doesn’t help that Mountain Shadow is a strange place to begin with, where rumors of curses fly as fast as salt-water taffy on a warm summer day.When a string of gruesome murders rocks the small town, Fiona and the rest of her coven begin to worry that a fellow witch may be the killer. Even worse? A witch hunter has just moved in next door, and he suspects the coven.When it seems that Eleanor might be the next victim, it will take an unlikely alliance and all the witches’ combined powers to stop the killer before it’s too late.Aether Witch is Charmed meets Gilmore Girls. If you love a dark supernatural mystery with witty banter and unforgettable small-town characters, this book is for you!

Defender


Robert J. Crane - 2011
    Those who live in this world are faced with two choices: live an ordinary life or become an adventurer and seek the extraordinary.Cyrus Davidon leads a small guild in the human capital of Reikonos. Caught in an untenable situation, facing death in the den of a dragon, they are saved by the brave fighters of Sanctuary who offer an invitation filled with the promise of greater adventure. Soon Cyrus is embroiled in a mystery - someone is stealing weapons of nearly unlimited power for an unknown purpose, and Sanctuary may be the only thing that stands between the world of Arkaria and total destruction.

The Magic of Unkindness


Kevan Dale - 2020
    Sweeping magic. Hidden realms. High-stakes intrigue. And she’s only getting started.If the demons don’t kill her, Kate Finch might just outrun the murderers on her trail.In London, her family and associates met gruesome ends at the hands of the deadly spirits. Boston delivers more of the same. So when her desperate flight brings her to the ruins of Salem, a town abandoned to accursed magic for a generation, she’s ready to listen to the one person who might help.August Swaine, the greatest sorcerer of the age—but his answer isn’t at all what she expects.The demons trail her, he claims, because she’s a witch. She refuses to believe it. How could she possibly be a witch? But Swaine is intrigued. His secret experiments could use a skilled assistant. It’s clear Kate has a knack for surviving mayhem, and a raw talent at the unseen arts.She proves to be the perfect apprentice. Until her peculiar talents come under growing scrutiny from the highest circles of power in Boston. And when the hidden perils of Salem drag Swaine off into a twilight world of unstable magic, Kate is the only one who can save him.If she can even reach him.Can Kate unlock the infernal puzzle before the dangers close in on her? Has her witchcraft stirred an older mystery to life? And what will the demons do to stop her once she sets foot in the hidden realm to save her mentor?Fast-paced and imaginative, this first novel in the trilogy introduces fantasy’s next great heroine.Unstoppable, unforgettable: Kate Finch.

Forsaken Kingdom


J.R. Rasmussen - 2017
    A pity he can’t remember who he is ... To save his people and the forbidden magic they’re sworn to defend, Wardin Rath surrenders his birthright and his past. For seven years he’s held at the court of his deadliest enemy, oblivious to all he’s lost. Until one day, the spell that stole his memories begins to crack. On the heels of a harrowing escape, Wardin's quest for answers leads him to the last magistery, where he studied magic as a boy. But he’ll find no safe haven there—or anywhere. Plagued by threats and suspicion, hunted relentlessly by the king who will stop at nothing to crush him, Wardin is soon battling for his life, his home, and the survival of magic itself. And this time, the enemy will take no prisoners.

The Atlantis Girl


S.A. Beck - 2015
     Sixteen-year-old Jaxon Andersen doesn’t know anything about her origins and has been shuffled around different foster homes ever since she can remember. Trouble follows her, but bullies underestimate her small stature; she has an inexplicable strength, and she can kick some serious butt. She tries for a fresh start at the Forever Welcome Group Home for Juveniles. Dr. Hollis, her psychiatrist, is fascinated by her intelligence and astounded by her strange powers. However, Jaxon is still an easy target for bullies. She seeks refuge in the company of Otto Heike, an eighteen-year-old athlete and boys’ resident assistant. Will Otto think Jaxon’s a freak when he discovers her secrets? Meanwhile, the US military, which is performing terrifying genetic experiments, is closing in on Jaxon… The Atlantis Girl is the first book in the thrilling Atlantis Saga. This is a planned 7-book series about the girl with the Atlantis gene.

Message Bearer


M.S. Dobing - 2015
    I can see it. You are Latent.’ For reasons unknown, Seb is constantly drawn to random places without meaning, following an instinct he doesn't understand. One night that instinct lands him in trouble when he encounters Sarah, a young woman hunted by a fiend that can only be described as the stuff of nightmares. Against his better judgement Seb attempts to intervene, only to nearly get himself killed in the process. Before she passes, Sarah transfers something to him, an arcane knowledge that gets buried deep into his subconscious. Rescued by the Brotherhood warrior Cade, Seb's life takes on an unexpected turn when he is told he is a Latent, able to manipulate the very energies of reality to his own devices. He is brought into a world within our own where the Magistry and its allies engage with the demonic Sheol in a timeless conflict that has traversed entire universes. A world where he, and he alone, carries the message that could change the course of the conflict forever.

The Tinkerer's Daughter


Jamie Sedgwick - 2011
    Breeze is left in the care of a strange old Tinkerer, where she soon learns that the world is not as simple -or as safe- as anyone would like it to be. With a little help from the Tinkerman and his amazing discoveries, Breeze just might be able to change her world for the better. Unfortunately, peace is never easy and war always looms just over the horizon.What reviewers say:Five Stars - "WOW... This book drew me in instantaneously... beautifully written and wholly captivating." -Semisweet Book BlogFour Stars - "captivating... Sedgwick beautifully creates this other world that as a reader you totally get into." -Goodreads reviewerFive Stars - "...a beautifully written book with an intriguing plot and a loveable main character. This is certainly one that I will reread!" -Goodreads reviewerFive Stars: "...an incredible, adventurous read!" Amazon Review

Child of the Flames


D.W. Hawkins - 2011
     She alone escapes the slaughter, spiriting away the secret which brought them down on her family. Revenge is all she has to keep her alive. Dormael Harlun just wants to find a place to sleep off the drink, but he decides to help her--though he wonders why something in her possession makes his magic react so violently, and what it's trying to tell him. Some secrets, though, are better left where they lie. Will they escape, avenge the deaths of Shawna's family, or drown in a tide of blood?

Catling's Bane


D. Wallace Peach - 2017
    Love and fear, pain and pleasure, healing and death mark the extremes of their sway, but it’s the subtle blends that hook their victims’ hearts. They hide behind oaths of loyalty and rule the world. A child born in the grim warrens beneath the city, Catling rues the rose birthmark encircling her eye. Yet, it grants her the ability to disrupt the influencers’ sway. Established methods of civil control disintegrate before her. She’s a weapon desired by those who reign and those who rebel. To the Influencer’s Guild, she’s an aberration, a threat. They order her death and thus the betrayals begin. One woman protects and trains her, plotting to use her shield to further imperial goals. No longer a helpless child, Catling has other plans. As chaos shakes the foundations of order and rule, will she become the realm’s savior? Or its executioner? The Rose Shield Tetralogy – a blend of science fiction and fantasy. Welcome to a world of three moons, a sentient landscape, rivers of light, and tier cities that rise from the swamps like otherworld flowers. A planet of waterdragons, where humans are the aliens living among three-fingered natives with spotted skin. Where a half-blood converses with the fog and the goddess plans her final reckoning. Follow Catling’s journey as she grows from childhood into the deadly force that shapes the future. She is the realm’s shield, an influencer, assassin, healer, mother, and avenger. And all she wants is to go home.

Mask of the Fallen: A Cultivation/Progression Fantasy Series: (War Priest Book One)


Harmon Cooper - 2021
    

Rise of the Forgotten Sun (The Sun and the Raven #1)


Jon Monson - 2017
    A life of scholarly solitude and adventure was more than enough for me. I never wanted to play politics. I never wanted to get married. I most certainly never dreamed of becoming a god. Yet when I ventured into the depths of the Soulless Desert, I found... something- a power so ancient it has been forgotten by mankind. That day unleashed a chain of events that, once started, cannot be stopped. It is the Rise of the Forgotten Sun. It is the beginning of the end.