Book picks similar to
The Catalyst by Kathryn Curran


genre-romance
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steampunk
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A Little Bit Country


Brian D. KennedyBrian D. Kennedy
    But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything. Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Turbulence Collection


Jordan Castillo Price - 2013
    First Officer Paul Cronin has no use for magical thinking—he’s a logical guy, a skeptic who only believes what he can see. When a new assignment on Flight 511 takes him directly through the legendary Bermuda Triangle, he’s not concerned about losing his aircraft to supernatural forces. He’s busy trying to hook up with handsome flight attendant Dallas.Dallas seems eager to oblige at the airport, but his ardor cools quickly when he finds out he and Paul are now on the same crew. Then the turbulence hits, and Paul soon discovers there’s more to the Bermuda Triangle than made-for-TV movies. While trying to decipher his cryptic predecessor’s notes and guide Flight 511 around the Triangle phenomenon, Paul attempts to piece together a relationship with Dallas. It seems that forces—both paranormal and mundane—are stacked against them. Can Paul navigate a successful course through the turbulence while he finds a way into Dallas’ heart?Turbulence Collection contains the following novelettes: Into the Bermuda Triangle, Autopilot Engaged, Red-Eye Dawn, Connecting Flight, Black Box, Flying Blind, Radio Silence, and Final Boarding.

Liberty & Other Stories


Alexis Hall - 2015
     Lament! as an upstanding clergyman falls into the villainous clutches of a notorious criminal mastermind. Question your sanity! as a dissolute governess confronts blasphemies from beyond creation. Wonder! at the journey of the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae across sapphire oceans, through smog-choked streets, and to the depths of the sky itself. Gasp! at an entirely true and accurately rendered tale of pirates, cavalrymen, aethermancers, scientists, and a power to unmake the world. Plus, hitherto unseen extracts from the meticulous and illuminating journals of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace, rogue scientist and first of the aethermancers.

Pantomime


Laura Lam - 2013
    . . Gene's life resembles a debutante's dream. Yet she hides a secret that would see her shunned by the nobility. Gene is both male and female. Then she displays unwanted magical abilities - last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. Matters escalate further when her parents plan a devastating betrayal, so she flees home, dressed as a boy. The city beyond contains glowing glass relics from a lost civilization. They call to her, but she wants freedom not mysteries. So, reinvented as 'Micah Grey', Gene joins the circus. As an aerialist, she discovers the joy of flight - but the circus has a dark side. She's also plagued by visions foretelling danger. A storm is howling in from the past, but will she heed its roar?

Risk it All


Megan Derr - 2015
    Anything is better than continuing to live as a roughskin, subjected to brutal pit fights and abuse day after day. But constantly running for his life, always looking over his shoulder, and having nowhere to call home isn't much better.When he finds an abandoned cabin in the mountains, it seems the ideal place to hide until his pack gives up the search. All he needs is supplies, and a quick trip into town should take care of that. Instead of supplies, however, he encounters Tori, who seems like everything Kipling has ever wanted—and far too good to be true.And if Tori's not a trap then he, and his beautiful dragons, are just one more obstacle to be taken down by Kipling's pack.Warning: This story contains polyamory and twins

A Time to Rise


Tal Bauer - 2016
    Deep in the Vatican, a brotherhood exists, sworn protectors of the earth, and they stand against the darkness. Operating in secret and silence, they protect our world from the sinister, the etheric, and the evils that exist beyond the Veil.But it's a lonely life, and Alain Autenburg knows that more than most. His lover was ripped from him years ago, and he vowed never to get close to another soul again. Even when the loneliness presses down on him, and his empty heart cries out for something more.Something more comes in Cristoph Hasse, a new soldier arriving in Rome to serve in the Pontifical Swiss Guard. Young, brash, and fitting in at right angles everywhere he goes, Cristoph struggles in the murky, deceptive labyrinth of the Vatican. Propelled forward by a past he can't understand, Cristoph collides with Alain as both men crash headfirst into the darkest secret of the Vatican... and of the world.

Reputation


Lex CroucherLex Croucher
    A classic romcom with a Regency-era twist, for fans of Mean Girls and/or Jane Austen.Abandoned by her parents, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who lives a life Georgiana couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams.Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana falls in with Frances and her unfathomably rich, deeply improper friends. Georgiana is introduced to a new world: drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely arresting hands, and the upper echelons of Regency society.But the price of entry to high society might just be higher than Georgiana is willing to pay ...

A Small Country about to Vanish


Victoria Avilan - 2015
    In many ways, Israel's story is reflected in Eithan's who finds himself ultimately alone and unloved in a sea of condemnation.Avilan, speaking directly to her beloved country, is saying, "I love you enough to speak truth as I see it." Avilan writes about Israel with the love and pain stemming from the realization that not all that we love is perfect, but we can't help loving it, or him, or her.This book almost reads itself, so sure-footed is the pacing, the ease of being drawn in despite some unease about what is written; I admire the way the author does not intrude on her characters (and thus her readers) with the pointed finger of too much message forcibly delivered. A reader's ease and ability to identify with each main character is to have witnessed Avilan's magic literary show.As a reader, one leans into this character or that one, or all of them, as readily as one turns the pages. One of the hallmarks of a well-designed and well-written story, for me, is whether the characters stay with me long after the book is done. Do they ever! Read this book at your own peril and your own pleasure because it will make you feel. And you will remember the people from A Small Country About to Vanish." By Historical Romance author T. T. Thomas.

Cold Little Heart (Cold Little Heart, #1)


seducedbycurls - 2017
    Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha childA few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, AbrahamLouis really could use the help.

Trick


Natalia Jaster - 2015
    She's a righteous princess. It’s forbidden love.In the Kingdom of Spring, Poet is renowned. He's young and pretty, a lover of men and women. He performs for the court, kisses like a scoundrel, and mocks with a silver tongue.Yet allow him this: It's only the most cunning and manipulative soul who can play the fool.For beyond the castle walls, Poet guards a secret.One the Crown would shackle him for. One that he'll risk everything to protect.Alas, it will take more than clever words to deceive Princess Briar.Convinced that he's juggling lies as well as verse, this righteous nuisance of a girl is determined to expose him.But not all falsehoods are fiendish. Poet's secret is delicate, binding the jester and princess in an unlikely alliance—and kindling a breathless attraction, as alluring as it is forbidden.Trick is the first book in the Foolish Kingdoms historical fantasy series by Natalia Jaster. If you like strong princesses, seductive heroes, and magical royalty romance, this steamy enemies-to-lovers story will enchant you. Ready for a book hangover? Pick up your copy now!*Mature young adult/new adult: sexual content and language. For readers 17 and older.*

Precious Omega


Rowan Lane - 2017
    Because male omegas are valued so highly, finding a dignified alpha who's willing is no problem. Finding one William thinks will actually help his family's reputation, and help his own future, is where he runs into trouble. Especially with his parents. Harvey Sterling has left all his alpha responsibilities behind, in his complicated past. All he wants is a good time - none of that shifter tradition, courtship and wolfy-bonding stuff. But when he attends the formal debut of the Quincey omega, he starts to question what he really wants. For William and Harvey both, the question is: will they let the past get in the way of the future? A future... together? Precious Omega is a standalone, ~40k-word romance novella with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It involves mpreg and intimate scenes unsuitable for readers below the age of 18. Includes a prelude to the second book of the Omega Rarity series!

Love Like We Do - Side A


Lori L. Otto - 2015
    Two books. One story of love. Side A tells the story from the outsider's perspective.The odds were stacked against Max Rosser when he was born sixteen years ago. A month before his birth, his father was put in jail for breaking parole, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest. His single mother was an alcoholic, struggling to keep her job and her home. Already, she could barely take care of eight-year-old Will and twelve-year-old Jon.Max's older brothers hid their mother’s disease from him as best as they could, and they made sure Max had everything he needed to be a normal, well-adjusted kid, despite the fact that they lived at or below the poverty line for much of his childhood. When his oldest brother became engaged to Livvy Holland, the daughter of the richest man in the state, Max befriended her little brother, Trey, and the two remained best friends even though their home lives couldn’t be more different.Through Trey, Max made more friends, including star athlete Callen McNare. Over the years, the boys played team sports, went on group dates, and worked summer jobs together. They became close; closer than anyone would have guessed. Before a real relationship could even begin, Max and Callen were forced apart when their secret was discovered. In LOVE LIKE WE DO - SIDE A, family and friends reevaluate their associations with the boys. Callen’s parents are in denial. Trey feels betrayed by his two closest buddies and wonders how their friendship will change. Jon struggles to keep his family together, despite his mother’s devout beliefs and his brother Will’s immoral ways. Interactions with the people around them could bring enlightenment and understanding, or they could keep Max and Callen apart while doing irreparable damage to their families.This is Trey and Jon's side of the story.

Breaking Point


Shane Brown - 2011
    He has been suffering from bullying for months at the hands of Jason Mitchell and his friends but, as they return to school after the Easter break, Jason takes his tormenting to a whole new level. As James struggles to cope, Andrew Mitchell, a teacher at the school, finds his hands tied when he tries to help him."Breaking Point" is a novel about homophobia in our schools, and talks about the sides of bullying which are rarely talked about by the victims, the schools or the media. Recommended for 14 years and upwards due to some more adult themes.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care


Ashley Herring Blake - 2022
    Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to…

Foundryside


Robert Jackson Bennett - 2018
    And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle. But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic--the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience--have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims. Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them. To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.