Book picks similar to
The Queen's Training by Noelle Riches


fantasy
romance
character-royalty
got-free-not-giveaway

The Wolf and the Woodsman


Ava Reid - 2021
    The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

The Shattered Court


M.J. Scott - 2015
    If a woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer magics of the earth—ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather. Any magic more dangerous is forbidden. Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days away from finding out if she will be blessed—or perhaps cursed—with magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion’s ancient enemies leaves the kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown. Then Sophia’s powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious temptation of power.…

Nick (Holidays with the Hometown Hero #6)


Mazzy King - 2020
    Holidays with the Hometown Hero is a series of standalone short, sweet, and steamy instalove romances. No cliffhangers. No cheating. HEA guaranteed!Books in the Holidays with the Hometown Hero SeriesFELIX by Kate TilneyCHRIS by Tarin LexGABE by Carly KeeneLOGAN by Kali HartOLIVER by Lana DashNICK by Mazzy King

Wrath and Wing


Megan O'Russell - 2019
    They are all a lie.Healing is a hanging offense, and Ena is done risking her neck to watch her patients die. Fleeing a future of blood and death, Ena braves the dark unknown. Life taught her the cruelty of the world. But she never imagined the dangers of her journey.As evil surrounds her, Ena is threatened with a fate worse than the one she escaped. Legends and dark magic stand between her and the future she dreams of. A future that will cost more than pain.When innocent lives depend on her mercy, Ena must face an enemy with the power to set the sky on fire.A life of romance and adventure wait for Ena, if she can survive the road ahead…

The Star-Touched Queen


Roshani Chokshi - 2016
    Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.Listening Length: 9 hours and 22 minutes

Jordyn


Tiffany King - 2013
    There's nothing ordinary about me. I'm "special." I know this because I'm reminded of it every stinking day. I can kick a Daemon's ass with both hands tied behind my back. I can run up a mountain without breaking a sweat. Know what I can't do? Get guys to notice me, or hang out with friends like normal people do. I can't just be ordinary because I have an Arch Angel for a mentor who is always breathing down my neck, and a family of angelic Guides and Protectors who scrutinize every little thing I do. Just for a day I want a life where I'm no longer some anomaly, where I don't have to feel like a lab rat. And then I met Emrys. Okay, so my mentor and family hate him, but probably for good reason. After-all, he is a Soul Trader, and they aren't the most trust worthy beings. But, he is sooo hot with his green eyes, leather jacket and the sexiest tattoo you've ever seen running down his back. And-he doesn't treat me like a project.I've got myself in quite a little quandary here. Choosing between my responsibilities and the Trader that holds my heart is something I didn't sign up for. Torn between two different worlds, I must now decide who to trust and who to walk away from. What's a girl to do? See what I mean? I am an anomaly. I am Jordyn.

Stolen Songbird


Danielle L. Jensen - 2014
    A prince cursed to darkness. A bond that will unleash magic caged for centuries.Centuries ago, the Isle of Light was ruled by cruel creatures with dangerous magic until a witch bound them to their underground city. But a prophesy has spoken of a union with a human girl that has the power to set them free.Cécile is a singer destined for the stage when she is kidnapped and bonded to the cursed prince of Trollus, with their minds linked in a way she never dreamed possible. Trollus is both magical and deadly, but as Cécile hunts for a way to escape, she discovers there is more to her mysterious husband than anyone realizes. As tension brews and political games escalate, Cécile finds herself at the center of a rebellion... and she is the one with the magic needed to overthrow the tyrant who rules.Torn between returning to her human life and becoming the princess Trollus needs, Cécile must decide which world she belongs to... and how far she's willing to go to save the prince who holds her heart. Stolen Songbird is the first novel in a complete YA fantasy romance series that is perfect for readers looking to be lost in a magical world full of swoon-worthy and slow-burn romance!

The Clash of Yesterday


Sawyer Bennett - 2020
    That will never change no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. They say there is a thin line between love and hate.While bad blood may have started in our home realm of Brevala long before I was ever born, I am expected to stand strong with my people against our sworn enemies. And given that we’re both immortal Light Fae, we have centuries ahead of ourselves to continue hating each other. A clash of rivals the world never saw coming.An unexpected favor leads us into dangerous territory as we travel from modern day Seattle to the realm of Faere. If our families learn what we have done, we risk our safety. If we admit to ourselves what we’ve done, we risk our hearts. Throughout the years, we have stoked the flames of anger, but this carnal inferno might just burn us all.The Clash of Yesterday: A Chronicles of the Stone Veil Novella is a companion novella to the Chronicles of the Stone Veil series and can be read as a standalone.

Sacrificed to the Dragon


Jessie Donovan - 2014
    Being a sacrifice means signing a contract to live with the dragon-shifters for six months to try to conceive a child. Her assigned dragonman, however, is anything but easy. He’s tall, broody, and alpha to the core. There’s only one problem—he hates humans. Due to human dragon hunters killing his mother, Tristan MacLeod despises humans. Unfortunately, his clan is in desperate need of offspring to repopulate their numbers and it’s his turn to service a human female. Despite his plans to have sex with her and walk away, his inner dragon has other ideas. The curvy human female tempts his inner beast like no other. NOTE: This is the entire first story arc of the Stonefire Dragons, complete with a HEA and no cliffhangers.

When Sinners Kneel


R. Scarlett - 2018
    Someone who fights there must have the answers she’s seeking. Instead, she found him. The damage inside her matches the darkness inside him. She’s only eighteen, but the feelings she has for him are as old as time.Beau Knight should have ruled New York. Falling in love was the beginning of his end. He watched her die and he lost his heart. Now, The Pit is his heaven and his hell. The only place he can be himself.They’re both beyond fixing. Addicts, with desires humans couldn’t understand.A soulless man and a souleating girl.How do you find redemption from your demons when you are one?Beau Knight's Book.

The Tainted Accords Box Set: The Complete Series


Kelly St. Clare - 2017
    What I am capable of, what I will change, what I will become. But there is one thing I will never know… The veil I’ve worn from birth carries with it a terrible loneliness; a suppression I cannot imagine ever being free of. Some things never change… My mother will always hate me. Her court will always shun me. …Until they do. When the peace delegation arrives from the savage world of Glacium, my life is shoved wildly out of control by the handsome Prince Kedrick who, for unfathomable reasons, shows me kindness. And the harshest lessons are learned. Sometimes it takes the world bringing you to your knees to find that spark you thought forever lost. Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live. Book Two (Fantasy of Flight): My veil is gone and I need it back. *************************************************************************** Stuck in the lethal Outer Rings of Glacium, I must fight to survive while keeping my true identity the gravest of secrets. Only then can I continue the search for Prince Kedrick's murderer and navigate my way back to King Jovan's castle. No one can discover I'm the Tatuma of Osolis - the princess of their enemy world. . . especially now I know why I was veiled at birth. . . Has my mother refused Jovan's peace offers and declared war? Do my brothers and Aquin know I'm alive? Who are my enemies and who are my friends? Nothing is certain. Though if I think about it. . .nothing has been certain in a long time. Book Three (Fantasy of Fire): An army is half way to Glacium. And not just any army - it belongs to my mother. ************************************************************************** Time is running out as I rush to prevent a war which will kill thousands; The Solati people, my brothers, and the many Bruma I've come to care for. Yet it appears preventing this inter-world war is just one snowball in an avalanche of problems as the situation in Glacium becomes volatile and destructive. My various identities hover on the edge of discovery, forcing me to consider drastic action. Old questions rise up and threaten to explode. The two halves of me tug in opposite directions. The Tatuma of Osolis knows what she should do, and the Olina of Nowhere Special finally knows what feels right. What it really comes down to is, am I brave enough to follow my heart? Book Four (Fantasy of Freedom): This is the heaviest the veil has ever felt. But I am the strongest I have ever been. The veil is nothing. ************************************************************************** A part of me knew when I was taken from Osolis, That when I returned--if I lived long enough to return--I would carry death and destruction to her doorstep. That is the irony of peace. It only comes after war.

The Seven Day Switch


Kelly Harms - 2021
    What a difference a week makes in a heartfelt, laugh-out-loud novel by the Washington Post bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler.Celeste Mason is the Pinterest stay-at-home supermom of other mothers’ nightmares. Despite her all-organic, SunButter-loving, free-range kids, her immaculate home, and her volunteering awards, she still has time to relax with a nice glass of pinot at the end of the day. The only thing that ruins it all is her workaholic, career-obsessed neighbor, who makes no secret of what she thinks of Celeste’s life choices every chance she gets.Wendy Charles is a celebrated productivity consultant, columnist, and speaker. On a minute-by-minute schedule, she makes the working-mom hustle look easy. She even spends at least one waking hour a day with her kids. She’s not apologizing for a thing. Especially to Celeste, who plays her superior parenting against Wendy whenever she can.Who do Celeste and Wendy think they are? They’re about to find out thanks to one freaky week. After a neighborhood potluck and too much sangria, they wake up—um, what?—in each other’s bodies. Everything Celeste and Wendy thought they knew about the “other kind of mom” is flipped upside down—along with their messy, complicated, maybe not so different lives.

Insidious


Victoria Evers - 2016
    What she got was a death warrant. As it turns out, the quaint little hamlet of Mystic Harbor, Maine houses more than sandy beaches and adorable B&B’s. Beneath the New England charm rests a deadly world where shifters, demons, vampires, and angelic hunters all vie for power. A world where magic is the greatest weapon. Magic that Kat now possesses. After that one fateful night, she can feel the changes beginning to take hold of her. Only problem, she doesn’t even know what she’s turning into. With threats hiding in plain sight, deciphering the lines between friend and foe is nearly impossible. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Kat learns her only real ally rests in the one person she can’t stand: Reese Blackburn, an insufferably handsome magician whom the town fears most. Kat’s very soul is at stake, and destiny doesn't seem to be playing out in her favor. Can these two unlikely partners challenge fate itself before it's too late?

Hand of Justice Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4): The Dark Mage, Chasing Magic, Magic Rising, Magic Unchained


Jace Mitchell - 2019
    She’s a new-age knight pledged to keep her King and countrymen safe. Storm clouds are circling on the horizon. Riley’s hearing rumors about a dark mage in the north. He’s amassing a ruthless army and practicing twisted magic. His evil past intertwines with Riley’s kingdom……and he’s coming to claim it.With the kingdom at stake, Riley embarks on a collision course with this mage... and with her own mortality.  Will Riley’s fighting prowess prove enough to vanquish the dark mage and his legion, or is her fate already sealed in his twisted magic? You'll love this book, because it's got a hero you can cheer for and the fun doesn't stop. Grab it today! This Boxed Set included the first four books in the Hand Of Justice Series The Dark MageChasing MagicMagic RisingMagic Unchained

The Final Masquerade


Ariana Nash - 2021
    The darkest day, the longest night.Every year the solstice heralds the return of the masquerade ball. Fae and human dance and drink and make merry, so long as they remain masked. But there's a darker side to this night. Should a guest lose their mask, their life is forfeit, cursed to dance forever for the entertainment of the masquerade's cold and cruel fae host.Ever since he was a boy, Brice LeChoix's mother had warned him of the terrible fae. But it wasn't the fae who took his parents from him. Madness did that. Years later, now Lord of the crumbling LeChoix estate and buckled by debt, he has more important things to think about than fairytales. Until the masquerade comes to town. Every year on the solstice it appears, and every year the townsfolk frolic with the fae. Some never return. Brice warned his brother not to go. And when the masquerade vanishes like mist at dawn, it takes Charon with it.Now Brice must return to the masquerade, the very place he vowed never to set foot in again. The fae know his desires, they know his weaknesses. Forbidden lust will lure Brice from his world, into theirs. To save his brother, he must survive the masquerade's beautiful lies and avoid the host's wicked ways.But the fae have other ideas. One in particular has his eye on Brice... The trickster, Raoul, will stop at nothing to seduce Brice because he knows, more than anyone, that the masquerade is a trap from which no soul truly ever escapes.The longest night is upon us. Can you hear their call? Take my hand, come with me, to the masquerade ball... A stunning adult MM dark fairytale standalone novel of 115,000 words. Coming Autumn/Winter 2021.Warning: this book contains devious fae, dubious consent, coercive rape, sex with multiple partners, suicide, and violent punishment, and is advised for readers aged 18+