Book picks similar to
Algernon's Anomaly by Valentyne
romance
awesome-indie-books
dnf
fantasy
Ghost Wood Song
Erica Waters - 2020
I’d learn all the secrets he kept.Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness.But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets.In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing.Family secrets, a gorgeously resonant LGBTQ love triangle, and just the right amount of creepiness make this young adult debut a haunting and hopeful story about facing everything that haunts us in the dark.
All Our Hidden Gifts
Caroline O'Donoghue - 2021
After Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards while cleaning out a closet during her in-school suspension, she quickly becomes the most sought-after diviner at St. Bernadette’s Catholic school. But when Maeve’s ex–best friend, Lily, draws an unsettling card called The Housekeeper that Maeve has never seen before, the session devolves into a heated argument that ends with Maeve wishing aloud that Lily would disappear. When Lily isn’t at school the next Monday, Maeve learns her ex-friend has vanished without a trace.Shunned by her classmates and struggling to preserve a fledgling romance with Lily’s gender-fluid sibling, Roe, Maeve must dig deep into her connection with the cards to search for clues the police cannot find—even if they lead to the terrifying Housekeeper herself. Set in an Irish town where the church’s tight hold has loosened and new freedoms are trying to take root, this sharply contemporary story is witty, gripping, and tinged with mysticism.
Keeper vs. Reaper
Jennifer Malone Wright - 2014
She has known all of her life that she would be in line to watch over the souls of the recently passed, keeping them safe from the Reapers. The soul eating Reapers have been a plague upon the Earth, stealing souls and leaving the Keepers as the only thing that stands between Heaven and Hell. The factions despise each other and have warred for generations. Then Lucy discovers an ancient legend predicting the arrival of the Chosen One, destined to bring forth an end to the Reapers. The surprises continue when she realizes she is that person. For Lucy, being the Chosen One doesn’t change much. Fighting Reapers is just another day in the life of a Keeper. When she meets Jack Walker, they both realize they have an insane, mutual attraction. Too bad that he’s been sent to prevent the prophecy from coming true. His only mission: to kill the Chosen One.
The Last Sun
K.D. Edwards - 2018
But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?
The Fever King
Victoria Lee - 2019
His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.
The Deathless Girls
Kiran Millwood Hargrave - 2019
Even with their own kin.On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn't understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts.They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate...
Docile
K.M. Szpara - 2020
To be a Docile is to forget, to disappear, to hide inside your body from the horrors of your service. To be a Docile is to sell yourself to pay your parents' debts and buy your children's future.Elisha Wilder’s family has been ruined by debt, handed down to them from previous generations. His mother never recovered from the Dociline she took during her term as a Docile, so when Elisha decides to try and erase the family’s debt himself, he swears he will never take the drug that took his mother from him. Too bad his contract has been purchased by Alexander Bishop III, whose ultra-rich family is the brains (and money) behind Dociline and the entire Office of Debt Resolution. When Elisha refuses Dociline, Alex refuses to believe that his family’s crowning achievement could have any negative side effects—and is determined to turn Elisha into the perfect Docile without it.
Cloaked in Shadow
Ben Alderson - 2017
But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn't know what he is.Zacriah joins forces with new friends and they soon find themselves embroiled in a clash between the three Elven continents. With war looming on the horizon, Zacriah must learn to use his latent power to fight and protect those he loves before they are destroyed.
The Surgeon's Instant Family
Ezra Dawn - 2019
Since this book isn’t an integral part of either series, it can be read as a standalone. If you’d like to get to know some of the characters mentioned in this story, then you’ll want to read the Asphalt Bay and Venetian Hills books. Reading order for those can be found inside this book) Bruno Marrz -no not the singer- is a wolf shifter and single father to three boys. After separating from his cheating ex-wife and gaining custody, Bruno took his three boys and moved cross country, returning to the pack he was born in. Bruno does his best, but he’s struggling to make ends meet and now, a year after leaving, his ex-wife wants custody of their boys. Unsure if he can afford to fight, Bruno seeks the help of the pack’s lawyer. Idris Vaughn is the top trauma surgeon at Venetian Hills Medical and a dragon shifter originally from Wales. He’s also the youngest surgeon to reach his level. Idris has a big house and lots of money, but those things don’t keep him warm at night. Idris longs for the love of a fated mate and the joy of a family but, he hasn’t had any luck finding the one person destined to be his. Neither man expected to meet their fated mate at the scene of an accident, but that’s what happens. Between the custody battle, navigating a new relationship, and trying to figure out Bruno’s ex-wife’s motives, these two men will have their work cut out for them when it comes to their happily ever after. Can they achieve it, or will they fail? (Warning: Contains sexual content, Mpreg elements, and explicit language. Not recommended for those under the age of 18.)
Smokejumpers Werebear Boxset #1-5
Kim Fox - 2015
Includes: Book 1: Ellis and Alexi Book 2: Beckett and Amanda Book 3: Finch and Jessica Book 4: Matteo and Lani Book 5: Keene and Chloe [cliffhanger]Note: Smokejumpers: Werebear 6 & 7 are available as individual titles.Bear shifter romances, full of comedy, action, suspense and lots of hot sex! (HEA and almost no cliffhangers.)Smokejumpers: Werebear 1Rich BBW, Alexi, has run away from her abusive fiancée the day before her wedding. She ends up miserable, living in the Flathead National Forest in the middle of Montana working in a roadside diner and living in a rundown garage. But when she meets the local fireman, a group of big, sexy, muscular, witty, dirty talking, smokejumpers, she may just find the paradise she is searching for.Ellis is a hot, adventurous, risk taking, smoke-jumping bear shifter. His inner bear has been desperate to find a mate and its tearing him apart. When he starts losing control of his animal, his big brother, and alpha, is ready to kick him out of the crew. Until he meets the new waitress at the diner who changes everything.Passion heats up between them, but when Alexi's violent past catches up with her, she may put the whole clan of bear shifters in danger, and the two lovers may be torn apart forever.Smokejumpers: Werebear 2Flirty and sexy BBW, Amanda Pike, has taken a new job as a pilot in Montana for the Hudson Crew. She is shocked to find that not only are these big, burly, sexy smokejumpers a crew of werebears but that the hot alpha of the crew has seemed to have bonded strongly to her.Alpha of the Hudson Crew, Beckett Jacoby, is torn. Every shifter knows that an alpha can't take on a mate. It makes a bear soft, weak and careless and can tear even the most cohesive crew apart. But when his bear bonds with the new pilot living in his camp he can't seem to follow even his own rules.Tensions rise around camp as the alpha begins neglecting his duties, choosing passion over responsibility. But when Beckett goes too far he not only risks losing his alpha position but his whole crew all together.Smokejumpers: Werebear 3BBW and werebear, Jessica White's, life is a mess. She's the little sister of the sociopathic alpha of the Flint Crew named Kai. She has bonded to the mortal enemy of her brother, a man she has only seen once. Now Kai has her locked in the basement and her bear is driving her crazy, yearning for this man she knows so little about, not even his name.Loyal member of the Hudson Crew, Finch Bender, is on a suicide mission. He knows that he can't win in a fight against the cruel alpha of the Flint Crew, Kai, but that doesn't stop him from sneaking around his camp looking for Kai's gorgeous sister, a werebear who he has bonded strongly with.The two bonded werebears will risk anything to be together, including their lives. But when Kai discovers their forbidden relationship their lives may be the very thing they will be forced to give.Smokejumpers: Werebear 4BBW, Lani Jacoby, has been gone for ten years. She is reckless, selfish, bitchy and the sister of the Hudson Crew alpha, Beckett, and the number two of the Crew, Ellis. She has returned to the life and home that she escaped from all of those years ago and is causing chaos wherever she goes. Werebear, Matteo Brown, has finally gotten his bear under control when Lani, the crazy woman that he bonded to a decade ago, returns to his camp. His emotions, and whole way of life, is thrown upside down as he has to deal with the heartache and desires that he successfully buried so long ago. It turns out that Lani isn't just back to create trouble. She wants something from the man that bonded to her. Will Matteo stand strong and kick her to the curb where she belongs? Or will he let his bear have his way and give her everything?Smokejumpers: Werebear 5BBW and journalist, Chloe Sparks, is about to break the biggest story of her life. She has found a source that has the ultimate scoop on shifters. Now if only she can get him to talk. Joker and giant polar bear shifter, Keene Watts, is a little, shall we say…f#cked! It is against the Hudson Crew’s, and not too mention the vicious, SEA (Shifter Enforcement Agency), rules to reveal shifter secrets to reporters. And now he has brought one into his Crew’s camp with promises to reveal all of their secrets. He is torn between his loyalty to his Crew and to the new bond with his bear’s new mate. But the turmoil that Chloe brings into the Crew of werebears will be nothing compared to what the SEA will bring when they discover that the Hudson Crew is housing a reporter… [This bear shifter romance has a cliffhanger.] (I don’t normally do cliffhangers but I figured that if you’ve gotten this far - chances are you’re willing to read the last two!)Note: The books, Smokejumpers: Werebear 6 & 7, are available as individual titles.
The Scapegracers
Hannah Abigail Clarke - 2020
They have been published in the Portland Review and PRISM International. They graduate college at Miami University of Ohio in May.
Indigo
Audrey Faye - 2020
Her chart isn't showing any surprises this week, but that doesn't always keep her Sagittarius soul at home, and neither does a little cold April rain.Drew isn't sure he's eaten in the last three days, but he knows the sudden tug inside of him isn't hunger. Not the kind that food will fill, anyhow.Two wandering hearts whose paths are about to cross - and if that doesn't get them headed in the right direction, there are two best friends and a matchmaking ghost waiting in the wings.
Past Perfect
Danielle Steel - 2017
They revel in the privileged, ordered life they lead in Manhattan with their children, teenagers Andrew and Caroline and 6-year-old Charlie. But when Blake accepts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the CEO of a visionary social media start-up in San Francisco—and then buys a magnificent turn-of-the-20th-century Pacific Heights mansion on impulse—all that will change. Built by the Butterfields, a prominent banking family, abandoned for decades, the grand house retains its exquisite furnishings and aura of long ago elegance. And that’s not all it retains. The modern Gregorys are about to meet their ghostly long ago counterparts….
The Diviners
Libba Bray - 2012
It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened…
Leaving Time
Jodi Picoult - 2014
Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.