Book picks similar to
Airborn by Nina Kiriki Hoffman


fantasy
female-author
age-young-adult
age-teen

A Tale of (Two) 3 Witches


Barbra Annino - 2011
     This novelette reunites Mara, Gus, Aunt Tillie and Grundleshanks the Toad (from the Toadwitch paranormal series) with Stacy Justice, the Geraghty Girls and Thor, the Great Dane, (from the Stacy Justice paranormal mystery series). As Gus, Mara and Stacy band together, they're bossed around by the cantankerous ghost of Mara's Aunt Tillie, tripped up by the spirit of Lord Grundleshanks the Poisonous Toad, backed up by Stacy's grandmother's coven, and given assistance by a local hoodoo master -- in-between episodes of Antiques Road Show, that is -- but they're still in for the Samhain of their lives. If they don't stop the stranger's nefarious plan, the only thing they can count on is that all three of their souls will be at risk! This is a quirky, paranormal adventure that combines thrills and chills with all-out spooky fun. It's a fun, fast-paced read that also works as a stand-alone to introduce new readers to the quirky paranormal world of the main characters. It includes short excerpts from the paranormal novels "Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead" and "Opal Fire."

How to Flunk Magic


Elena Bryce - 2013
    Until all spell broke loose! Cool party? Check. Boy of my dreams? Check. First kiss? Not so fast.Because that’s when I discovered I was a witch. And not a very good one.Just ask Peter, the ghost I can now see haunting my bedroom, or the zombies I accidentally raised from their graves.And then there’s Fletch.GorgeousBroodyWerewolf!And he wants me to lift his curse.Am I ready for this? No.Do I hesitate? No.Does it go well? Big fat No!And now, instead of being at the party, I’m dancing naked on the town common with a coven of witches and my new familiar, in a race against time to put things right.Sounds crazy. Is crazy. But I kinda heart crazy… Author note: 2018 Edition. Previously released as Halloween Magic & Mayhem by Stella Wilkinson.

Every Girl's Dream


Meg Cabot - 2004
    Here, at last, is that long lost short story, which appears chronologically between the books Reunion and Darkest Hour. Enjoy!

What Really Happened in Peru


Cassandra Clare - 2013
    One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.There are good reasons Peru is off-limits to Magnus Bane. Follow Magnus’s Peruvian escapades as he drags his fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss into trouble, learns several instruments (which he plays shockingly), dances (which he does shockingly), and disgraces his host nation by doing something unspeakable to the Nazca Lines.This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, What Really Happened in Peru, is written by Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare.

You May Now Kill the Bride


R.L. Stine - 2018
    Each with a terrible resentment she can barely contain.Two Fear family weddings, decades apart... Each bride will find that the ancient curse that haunts the Fears LIVES ON. It feeds off the evil that courses through their blood. It takes its toll in unexpected ways, and allows dark history to repeat itself.In this all-new Fear Street story, family ties bind sisters together—till DEATH do they part.

Besieged


Kevin Hearne - 2017
     - At a Kansas carnival, fun and games turns to murder and mayhem, thanks to soul-snatching demons and flesh-craving ghouls luring visitors into an all-too-real house of horrors. - Verily, in olde England, striking up a friendship with William Shakespeare lands both Atticus and the Bard in boiling hot water with a trio of infamous witches. - During the Gold Rush, the avatar of greed himself turns the streets of San Francisco red with blood and upsets the elemental Sequoia. Atticus may have to fight fire with fire if he's going to restore balance.More, you say? Indeed there is--including bogeymen, vampire hordes, wrathful wraiths, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. Prepare to be besieged with nine tantalizing tales--not to be missed, never to be forgotten.

Rainy Nights 4


J.R. Rain - 2010
    Rain, including: MOON DANCE Mother, wife, private investigator...vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire. Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn't exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head. THE LOST ARK In a lonely bar in eastern Turkey, ex-National Geographic photojournalist Sam Ward is hired to find an eccentric professor who disappeared high atop Mount Ararat, fabled resting spot of Noah's Ark. Accompanied by the professor's beautiful daughter, archaeologist Faye Roberts, Sam soon stumbles upon a secret stronghold—a base of operation for unleashing hell on earth. Now running for their lives, Sam and company are about to come face-to-face with the greatest archaeological discovery of all time.... THE GRAIL QUEST Hidden deep within the ancient, mist-covered hills of Glastonbury, England is a secret that could forever change the world. A secret that could help usher in a new age of enlightenment for all mankind. Or so the legend goes...Plagued by months of persistent dreams of King Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail, mystery novelist James Dupree finally sets out to England to understand the meaning behind his nightly visions. Upon arriving in Glastonbury, a locale deeply connected to stories of Camelot, Avalon and the Knights of the Round Table, James quickly discovers that not all is as it seems in this quaint little town. There's a raven-haired girl dying of a rare lung disease, knights with swords, and perhaps strangest of all is the man who emerges from the forest...a man who just might be the greatest king Britain has ever seen. Something is happening in Glastonbury, something mysterious and powerful and not-of-this world, and somehow James Dupree is in the thick of it. Mankind is ready for the next great spiritual shift. But to do that, one man, one simple writer, must journey deep into the heart of a mystical land in search of a legendary relic. But there are others who seek the treasure...dark forces who will stop at nothing to keep it for themselves, and end Dupree's quest for good. HEAR NO EVIL Audial telepath Kylie Cain works for a black ops branch of the CIA (PSI—Psychic Sensory Intelligence unit). Now tasked with the biggest challenge of her life when a faction of rogue operatives who call themselves WON (World Order Now) kidnap eleven-year-old Hope Mitchell, a powerful girl who may be the link to other worlds, Kylie feels immediately drawn to the girl’s energy, and vows to save her... Kylie’s elite team of psychic spies soon discover that not only is Hope Mitchell an audial telepath, too, but the girl has another special gift—a gift that could change the courses of the past, present and future. A gift that could open up worlds...and destroy them.

The Tailor


Leigh Bardugo - 2013
    New scene from Shadow and Bone told from Genya's point of view.

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead


Joe Hill - 2013
    The show's about to begin. Step right up for the Circus of the Dead: where YOU are the concessions. #CircusoftheDead

The Damsel and the Daggerman


Delilah S. Dawson - 2014
    He keeps to himself until a pesky female journalist arrives, anxious to interview him about his checkered past—his last assistant disappeared under mysterious and bloody circumstances, earning him the nickname “The Deadly Daggerman.”Unsinkable journalist and adventurer Jacinda Harville doesn’t take no for an answer, and she’s determined to wear down Marco no matter how threatening—or incredibly desirable—he might appear. He agrees to an interview—but only if she’ll let him strap her to a spinning table and throw knives at her body. How can she say no? And how can she resist him when he leans close for a kiss that strikes her more sharply than any blade? It’s the first time she’s let a man get the better of her, and she’s determined it will be the last…Just when she thinks she can’t take any more of his games, Jacinda receives a note from Marco saying he’s finally ready to tell her the truth about what happened to his missing assistant. She sets out for an address miles away, but what she finds there turns the tables on everything she thought she knew about the tender lover who wears a smile as sharp as his knives.As secrets are unraveled and passions take hold, Jacinda realizes her hard heart has melted. But will it be too late to save Marco—and herself—from the daggerman’s dangerous past?

Inside Job


Connie Willis - 2005
    Smart, dedicated, gorgeous, and, thanks to her last movie before she hung up on Hollywood, rich, she's a pleasure to oblige when she says Rob has to witness this channeler Ariaura's act--on her, not the Eye's, nickel--despite channelers being so last year. It's quite a show, all right, for in the midst of Ariaura's particular ancient wise guy's basso spiel, a gravelly baritone interrupts (both voices emanate from the channeler's female mouth) to berate the audience as "yaps" and the act as "claptrap." Why is Ariaura undermining herself? Or is she? After all, she angrily accuses Rob and Kildy of scheming to destroy her. Could the baritone belong to a genuine channeled spirit? Willis, one of sf's most spirited writers, rounds on the New Age; pays tribute to a great, skeptical journalist; and affectionately parodies pulp fiction at its best in this irresistible entertainment.

After: Taras and Theron / Beyond Jerusalem


David McAfee - 2011
    Tired, weak, and nearly broken under the weight of his guilt, he wanders the streets waiting for death to catch up to him. But when he is beset by bandits, he gains a new perspective. Maybe he doesn't have to feel guilty about feeding, after all.Theron - Theron travels by ship to his long ago home of Athens, Greece. He soon discovers the Council of Thirteen has put a price on his head so large every Bachiyr in the city will try to collect it, which leads to a very tense reunion with an old lover.The Ugliest Thing, by Daniel Arenson - Just what is it about the image in the telescope that makes people lose their sanity? Is it worth the risk to see for yourself?Also included is a preview of 61 A.D., the thrilling sequel to David's 2010 horror bestseller, 33 A.D.

Afterlife


Willow Cross - 2012
    William had big plans. He would become a valiant soldier, fall in love, have a family, and die. In fact, he was certain it would happen in that exact order. But fate is a fickle taskmaster and things almost never go as planned. And sometimes, just sometimes, your true destiny will greet you after life.

Called by Magic


Jasmine Walt - 2019
    A damned good investigator and a loyal friend, she's fought rebels and terrorists, taken down dangerous criminal gangs, and risked herself time and again for the sake of her city. But when Annia's life goes up in smoke, she decides she's had enough. Hoping to lose herself in an adventure or two, she travels to the Southern continent for a much-needed respite. The first mission she snags is simple enough--escort two mage children and their guardian back to their ancestral home, and make sure they don't get killed or kidnapped by bandits. But while Southia's verdant lands are beautiful and compelling, they are also rife with ancient, wild magic that the world has forgotten. Evil shamans, powerful goddesses, and vengeful ghosts lurk in unexpected places, and if Annia isn't careful, she might very well become their next victim... NOTE: This is a backstory novella that takes place concurrent to the events in Taken by Magic. It is also a prequel to Tempted by Magic, Book One in the brand-new Mischief and Magic series, coming Spring 2020!

Trouble on Reserve


Kim Harrison - 2012
    The timing of the story sort of puts it between A Perfect Blood and Ever After, but the feeling of it is seriously slanted toward Ever After. If you get a chance to read it, I’d [author] be curious to know what you think about the “voice.” One of the things I tried to do–besides get a chance to see Rachel and Trent work together–was to give it a more mainstream feel since there’s the chance readers who would normally never pick up the Hollows might be reading it.