Book picks similar to
Uncommonly Verdant: An Arborous & Amorous Fairy Tale by Daria Vernon
monster
romance
fantasy-romance
novella
Beauty and the Beast
Vivienne Savage - 2016
Prince Alistair isn’t an ordinary dragon. He’s a shifter afflicted by a curse, unable to become human again until he finds his true love. When a mortal king’s adventurers trespass in Alistair’s territory to steal a rare flower, the prince decides to steal a valuable prize of his own. (Author's Note: This is a magical retelling of the beloved tale written for an adult audience. Reader discretion is advised.)
Red as Blood and White as Bone
Theodora Goss - 2016
Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss is a dark fantasy about a kitchen girl obsessed with fairy tales, who upon discovering a ragged woman outside the castle during a storm, takes her in--certain she’s a princess in disguise.
Hansel, Part One
Ella James - 2014
One boy. Mother calls him Hansel. One girl. Mother named her Gretel. Locked in little rooms, in the mountainside mansion of a crazy woman. Until he saws a hole into the wall dividing them. Then at least, they have each other’s hands. It doesn’t end well at Mother’s house. Everything gets…broken. Ten years later, they meet again in an exclusive Vegas sex club. Whips. Chains. And most of all, a mask. What happens to love when it gets twisted? Fairy tales are cautionary tales, remember?
Unspoken
Kerrigan Byrne - 2012
Blessed by an ancient Deity with Berserker rage, he has the strength of ten men. Cursed by a malicious enemy, he's incapable of speech. A desperate clan war rages around him and a malevolent adversary lurks in the darkness, calling for blood.Evelyn Woodhouse is an English refugee with a dangerous secret. She has the ability to see the outcome of tomorrow's battle and knows they're on the wrong side of it. When a doomed and silent mercenary rescues her from a fate worse than death, it seems he has his own plans for her. This is his last night alive and she's never been able to defy destiny.
Rage
K.A. Knight - 2019
Then he screwed his way through the city, the only problem? I didn’t stay dead. It seems killing me woke something deep inside, something so dark and buried so deep I never knew it was there. I don’t know what I am, I don’t really care. All I can think about is revenge, even as the monsters in the dark start to surround me. Their horns and black eyes, mouths filled with fangs claiming I am theirs. My monsters will have to wait, he will regret the day he crossed me. Are you scared of the dark? You should be. *18+ Reverse Harem Romance. Warning this book contains scenes and references of abuse/assault that some readers may find triggering. Along with graphic sex scenes and violence. This is a dark book*
The Summons
Shona Husk - 2011
If he could grant her wish, she'd finally be safe. He would protect her. But what would he ask in return...?Enjoy this short free prequel and a sneak peek of The Goblin King, the first of a highly imaginative new paranormal series by Shona Husk.
His Beauty
Jack Harbon - 2020
A deft pickpocket his whole life, it’s unlike him to take so long on a run. It isn’t until her sister informs her of where he went that Isla understands just how much danger he’s put himself in.Highburn Hold.The castle no man or woman dare enter on their own. Ruled by a bloodthirsty abomination with a cruel streak and penchant for imprisonment. Finding her sickly father locked in one of the cells in Highburn’s dungeon, she knows in order to save him, she must offer the beast something else.Something her father cannot.Something the beast is hungry for.
The Necromancer's Bride
Brianna Hale - 2018
Since that day I have borne his mark, a black star in the center of my left palm. The villagers say it brands me as evil. I think it means something far worse. It marks me as his. The disease that nearly killed me has returned to the village and children are dying. I’m the only one who dares to climb the mountain and learn his secrets. In exchange I’m to clean his house and help with his strange experiments, but Meremon wants more. He wants me. And it isn’t long before I discover that his demands are as twisted as his experiments. Warning: This story is a dark fantasy romance with scenes of non-consent and dubious consent. Additionally, Meremon is a necromancer and enjoys unusual things. Some sex scenes might be strange or creepy for some readers. As always with Brianna Hale books, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily ever after. THE NECROMANCER’S BRIDE is a novella of 16,000 words.
A Deal with the Elf King
Elise Kova - 2020
In both cases, they come for death.Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen.To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she's dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town's only healer.That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives... for her.Everything Luella had thought she'd known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another... but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a "happily ever after" ending. It's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.
Heart of Fire
Bec McMaster - 2017
Dreki seducing young ladies? Ha. They probably eat such foolish girls. But when the local dreki steals her last ram--costing her any chance of feeding her ill father through the winter--Freyja intends to confront the fearsome myth.Sentenced to a life of exile from his clan, Rurik is fascinated by the furious woman who comes to claim her ram. She reeks of mysterious magic and challenges him at every step. He intends to claim the passionate firebrand, but to do so he must take mortal form. It's the only time the dreki are vulnerable, and with a dragon-hunter arriving on the shores of Iceland, he can barely afford the risk--but lonely Freyja, with her elf-cursed eyes and pragmatic soul, tempts him in ways he's never felt before. Is she the key to reclaiming his heritage? Or will she be his downfall?The Legends of the Storm series:- Fantasy Romance- Historical Fantasy- Paranormal Romance- Fated Mates- Shifter romance
The Too-Clever Fox
Leigh Bardugo - 2013
This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming novel, Siege and Storm, the second book in the Grisha Trilogy.This story is also included in Some of the Best From Tor.com, 2013 Edition
Heart of Stone
Demelza Carlton - 2021
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B09NP9ZSP2A prequel to Demelza Carlton's Heart of Stone gargoyle shifter steamy paranormal romance series, set in the Scottish Highlands.On the outside, Pamela is the perfect lady, spending her days sketching landscapes while waiting for her father to find her a husband, until she meets Ben, the stonemason building her father's new castle, she knows she's found a kindred spirit, with a heart as artistic as her own.But when family secrets come to light and the supernatural steps in, fate has other plans, and their very lives hang in the balance...
Carnage
Sandra R. Neeley - 2018
In truth, she is making every attempt to avoid forced marriage to any of the men he would have her shipped off to. She’s always believed that her husband would love her, would give his very life just to hold her; not be a man who would marry her to claim her father’s wealth. When she arrives in the deep-south, she catches the eye of a local backwoods family of brothers. The eldest, Bobby, decides that he is deserving of a step-up in life, takes her against her will to his hovel of a home at the edge of the swamps to be shared between himself and his brothers. Carolena — not the shrinking flower they think her to be, flees into the deepest, darkest, wildest portion of the swamps in an effort to escape the brothers and their plans for her. Death at the hands of the creatures in these wetlands is a better option, in her mind. Little does she know, she’s also caught the eye of the most dangerous creature there, one of legend — of nightmares. He’s watching her every move, admiring her bravery — and he’s decided he’s keeping her. Carnage is a Gargoyle. He’s also volatile, dangerous, unpredictable, and lonely. One evening minding his own business at the edge of the sanctuary he calls home, he spies a female. A human female, and she’s running headlong into his swamps, with no regard for her own safety. Then he sees the reason; three men, and they’re hot on her trail, torches in hand, hell bent on catching her before she can get away. He watches as they get closer and closer to her, easily following her trail. Carnage makes a snap decision that changes both their lives forever; he drops out of a tree right behind her, slaps one clawed hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, wraps her in his huge arms and goes right back to the treetops. He shelters her while the men traverse the ground below, unable to determine why her trail disappeared. Carnage admires this little female — she was brave to run into the swamps alone. There are many creatures lying in wait for just such a meal. But she no longer has to worry about that, because now she’s his. He only hopes that she doesn’t fear him too much once she gets a good look at his blue-grey skin, his fangs and his horns. Because regardless of what she thinks, or the rules of his community — he’s not giving her up.
Black Sunshine
Karina Halle - 2021
Unfortunately, fate has other plans for her. A week before her birthday, she’s kidnapped by the brooding and dangerous stranger with cold eyes and a lethal touch, who has been stalking her on San Francisco’s fog-shrouded streets. Absolon "Solon" Stavig isn’t your average criminal though. He’s a centuries-old vampire who’s caught between wanting to kill Lenore and wanting to save her. You see Lenore, too, is a vampire.She just doesn’t know it yet.Taken by a pair of vampire slayers when she was just an infant, Lenore was raised never knowing her true nature. All Lenore knows is that she has (normal) parents who love her, that she’s exceptionally smart, and she’s squeamish around blood. But once she turns twenty-one, she’ll fully turn into a vampire, and Solon hopes he’ll be there to guide her, opening her eyes to her deepest hunger...both sexual and otherwise. But this turning can’t be kept a secret. Soon both slayers and vampires are hunting Lenore, with only Solon and his unpredictable motley crew of vampires to save her.If they don’t kill her first.Black Sunshine is a dark adult romance with a paranormal twist, about sex, love, secrets, and revenge, set in contemporary San Francisco.
The BEARly Controlled Grizzly
Jenika Snow - 2018
I made no apologies for my possessive, territorial side. I was a grizzly bear shifter, after all. It was my nature to be over the top.Bethany hadn’t known what to do at first—being mated to a shifter—one who was grouchy and burly and made no apologies for how rugged he really was. But she wanted me, my sweet little human mate, who could have brought a beast like me to my knees with just a look. I’d wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my lair like a caveman.But I let her take the lead, even if my bear wasn’t happy, even if the alpha in me wanted to have my way with her right then and there. And I would have my way with her. All the ways that counted, in fact.I’d claim her, mark her, and before it was all said and done, there’d be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Bethany was owned by a grizzly.Warning: Holy moly, this hero’s crazy for his mate, but who wouldn’t want one OTT alpha bear shifter obsessed with you? This story is sweet and sexy, and oh so very filthy. Of course, you get a happily ever after … and a little somethin’-somethin’ at the end to wrap it up nicely.