Book picks similar to
The Demon Within by Stacey Brutger


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The Shadow Children


L.C. Hibbett - 2016
    For over two thousand years the Angels have hunted the Half-Born, determined to maintain the barrier that conceals the magical world from Human eyes. Grace and her foster family have survived capture by living amongst humans, but the noose is tightening as the spell binding their magic begins to fail. When unexpected allies send Grace and her family crashing into the world of The Shadow Children, she finds herself at the epicentre of a battle to save those she loves. But who can she trust when everyone has the face of an angel? The Shadow Children is the first book in The Demon-Born Trilogy, an exhilarating series of Urban Fantasy novels. If you like action-packed fantasy that tugs at the heartstrings, then you’ll love L.C. Hibbett’s debut.

Trials Of The Damned: Year One


Avery Song - 2021
     But not as a hero… After falling in battle, Lilith, known as Queen Merciless to foe and friend alike, expects to wake up in the toasty halls of hell —not the depths of the Underworld as a candidate for entry into the Academy for the Fallen. Confused, she assumes it’s either a misunderstanding or someone’s idea of a joke. Forced to prove her strength with three challenging tests, Lilith is determined to dominate, showing she has no need for more schooling. She’s no damsel needing protection or rescue. Stuck with a former angel on the outs with God, a hellhound with a dangerous secret, and a trickster shapeshifter posing as the previous King of the Afterlife, Lilith thinks they should change the school’s name to Academy for Psychos. Her opinion only strengthens when she meets the dastardly sexy headmaster. There are no math classes. No one cares what books you read. And the only chemistry that matters is deadly. Academy for the Fallen has no use for the weak and pure. Its purpose is to train an elite force of the evilest, blood driven souls to keep the Damned from escaping Satan’s grasp and unleashing hell on Earth. Time for Lilith to dust off her crown and fight alongside the irresistible dark trio determined to win her affection. There’s a new war to wage — the battle between evil and evil — and no one is a badder bitch than Queen Merciless.

Balance


M.R. Forbes - 2013
    Once upon a time I was a twenty-three year old security guard, trying to regain my life after spending a year in prison for stealing people's credit card numbers. Now, I'm dead.Okay, I was supposed to be dead. I got killed after all; but a funny thing happened after I had turned the mortal coil...I met Dante Alighieri - yeah, that Dante. He told me I was special, a diuscrucis. That's what they call a perfect balance of human, demon, and angel. Apparently, I'm the only one of my kind. I also learned that there was a war raging on Earth between Heaven and Hell, and that I was the only one who could save the human race from annihilation. Dante asked me to help, and I was naive enough to agree.Sounds crazy, I know, but he wished me luck and sent me back to the mortal world. Oh yeah, he also gave me instructions on how to use my Divine 'magic' to bend the universe to my will. The problem is, a sexy vampire crushed them while I was crushing on her.Now I have to somehow find my own way to stay alive in a world of angels, vampires, werewolves, demons and humans that all want to kill me before I can mess up their plans for humanity's future. If that isn't enough, I also have to find the queen of all demons and recover the Holy Grail.It's not like it's the end of the world if I fail.Wait. It is.

Inception


Bianca Scardoni - 2015
    I know vampires are real. I watched one murder my father eight months ago, and even though they tried to convince me it didn’t happen—that I’d lost touch with reality due to the trauma, I know what I saw was real.Hollow Hills is now the place I call home. It was supposed to be my chance at a normal life. My chance to bury my secret and start over. But everyone around me is keeping their own secrets, whispering lies into my ears like promises, and one of them is about to turn my entire world upside down.I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I had the answers. I thought I knew who I was. The truth is, I didn’t even know the half of it. There's a reason these vampires are still after me. There's a reason they will always hunt me. Because I'm not human.I'm the devil they fear and the angel they crave.Only problem is, I don't know it yet.INCEPTION is the enthralling first installment in The Marked series. A YA paranormal romance full of atmosphere, supernatural adventure, and jaw-dropping twists that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Forbidden


Megan Curd - 2011
    That's what a Guard does. He's done it for years on end, and he'll spend his eternity doing the same, mundane thing, following the same, mundane rules....Watch from afar....Never share your name....And above all, never touch a human.What Levi doesn't know is that his newest human to protect, Hannah, just might be the catalyst to tipping the scales between good and evil, and he will be forced to decide which side he belongs to. Which friends will he side with, and who will he ultimately protect: his human, or the delicate balance that hangs on stopping the heartbeat of the person he has sworn to protect?And, when you're already condemned, what's there to lose by breaking the rules?THE GUARDIAN CHRONICLES: FORBIDDEN will take you into a world of Guards and Guardians, Light and Darkness. What side will you take?

Airel: The Awakening


Aaron M. Patterson - 2011
    But bloodlines can produce surprises, like an incredible ability to heal. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything. Airel knew change would be an inevitable part of life. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

The Hidden Witch


Chandelle LaVaun - 2019
    Isn’t. Real.At least that's what I thought. But now, my story is changing...You know you’re invisible when even your bullies forget to pick on you. That’s me, Bettina Blair, hidden in plain sight. No matter how hard I try I just never fit in with my classmates.Now I know why. I’m a witch...apparently.One little demon attack and my parents confess their ugly secret…and ship me off to an elite academy of magic- for witches only.I can't summon magic. I can't fight with my hands or my fists. I just don't belong here, and Jackson Lancaster keeps reminding me every single chance he gets. This boy is the most insufferable, intolerable, unbearable, judgmental person to ever have the right to be that gorgeous. I don’t care how sexy his British accent is, or that literally everyone else on campus adores him. He hates me, and the feeling is mutual.Suddenly, I’m sent on a quest into the Old Lands to find the only thing that can save Eden from a demon invasion. I’m in way over my head, and my best chance of coming back alive lies in the hands of the guy who wants me gone…The Hidden Witch is the first book in a brand new, fast paced urban fantasy adventure featuring a sharp-witted heroine, swoon-worthy hero, and one epic hate-to-love rollercoaster set inside a magical academy!*Disclaimer: Academy Magic is Season Two in The Coven Series. It can be read as a standalone but contains some spoilers for Season One - Elemental Magic.

The Kiss of Death


Auryn Hadley - 2018
    It wasn't. Four years later, I can still remember the exact shade of his skin: a blue so pale it looked like moonlight. I dream of his touch. Mostly, I paint the man under the heavy cowl, including those perfect lips which ruined mine for anyone else. I'm obsessed with him. The doctors say he's nothing more than a hallucination caused by a mixture of head trauma and emergency pain medications. I think he's a really sexy figment of my imagination. I mean, who besides an artist would dream up the Grim Reaper for their hero? Now, something's changed and my drawings are taking on a life of their own. As if college wasn't hard enough, trying to keep this a secret is going to be impossible. Keeping my sanity might be worse. And that's not the worst of my problems. Death is back. He wants another kiss. And he's not alone. The Kiss of Death is a 156,000 word, full-length novel with NO cliffhanger ending. This is a Reverse Harem series which includes multiple love interests, some m/m themes, and graphic scenes of sex, violence, and language. Be warned: everything you thought you knew about the world, religion, and death will be pulled apart, twisted around, and put back together in ways you will not expect.

Stealing Embers


Julie Hall - 2020
    A world of lies. She belongs to both.My name is Emberly, and everything I’ve ever been told is a lie.Monsters don’t exist. Wrong.The nightmarish spectrum world is just my imagination. Wrong.In a few months, I’ll finally be free. Wrong.It takes being dragged to a secret training academy in the mountains to unravel the truth. My captors--an elite race of angel-born warriors called Nephilim.The deadliest of them all is an arrogant shape shifter, Steel. He’s gorgeous, lethal, hot-headed . . . and convinced I’ll be the death of them all.Maybe he’s right. As soon as I show up, the monsters that have haunted me my entire life breach the academy walls. My only hope of saving my new friends is learning how to control my powers, but when a stunning betrayal hurts someone I care about, I have an impossible choice.Stay and fight for a place to belong . . . or decide once and for all that I’m better off alone.Enter the spectrum world, a realm in-between worlds where shadow beasts draw blood, reality is a maze of twisted lights and sounds, and life goals are whittled down to just one: survive.Fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Cassandra Clare will love this Crescent City meets Crave mash up!

Timeless


S.J. West - 2013
    You need to have either read my Watchers Trilogy or Watcher Chronicles. Appropriate for ages 13+.Lilly and Brand’s daughter, Caylin, saw her soul mate for the first time when she was fourteen years old. After a simple exchange of smiles, she knew her life was set on a path which would lead Aiden back into her world forever. For three long years, Aiden keeps his distance from Caylin out of respect for her parents’ wishes. Being a Watcher who once gave into the dark side of his curse, Aiden uses the time to come to terms with his own demons and strives to become a man worthy enough for the granddaughter of an archangel.Caylin learns that one of the Princes of Hell, Baal, is out to kill her. With the help of her family and Aiden, she discovers why he wants her dead and what she needs to do to stop him and the other princes from destroying not only her future but the future of the world.

The Beautiful and the Damned


Jessica Verday - 2013
    She’s a witch who casts spells on men so she can steal their cars. He spends his time being judge, jury, and executioner to the truly evil in the supernatural realm.When the blackouts Cyn’s been having ever since her time in Sleepy Hollow start escalating, she finds herself unable to remember where she’s been or what she’s been doing. Frightened, she seeks guidance at a local church, and it’s there she meets Avian.The unlikely pair soon discovers that her blackouts are a side effect of what she truly is—an Echo—a conduit for souls of the dead. The only way to prevent Cyn from losing complete control is to return to Sleepy Hollow and vanquish the source of her power—but she may not survive the process. And if she does? She won’t ever be the same...

The Demon


Sarra Cannon - 2014
    Two handwritten words near the top haunt her. "Little Bird." Her mother's nickname for her. Only, Franki's mother disappeared without a trace exactly three years ago to the day. Who sent this dark gift? Franki's need to answer this question will lead her to the doorway of a strange, dangerous, and sexy new world. A world her mother went to great lengths to keep hidden. A world someone desperately wants Franki to discover. See the world of Peachville High Demons series from the eyes of a brand new, kickass heroine. You do NOT need to have read the original Peachville series to understand this one!Sacrifice Me is a serial new adult paranormal romance with twists and turns that will pull you in and keep you guessing until the last installment. There are six episodes total.Unlike the Peachville series, this is NOT a young adult story. Due to some language and sexual situations, it is appropriate for readers 16+

Demon Kissed


H.M. Ward - 2011
    By surviving, Ivy is drawn into the conflict between the Martis and the Valefar. The war between these two immortal forces has raged for millennia without distraction. Until now. Ivy is an anomaly-she is the only person who has ever walked away from a demon kiss alive. Her survival gives her unique and deadly abilities. Too powerful to ignore, Ivy is a threat to both armies. These two ancient enemies will stop at nothing to kill the seventeen-year-old. Surviving is nothing new for headstrong Ivy, but her survival has never depended on another person before. This time it does. And if she misplaces her trust, she's dead. To her horror, she starts falling in love at the worst possible time-with the enemy. He appears to be protecting her. But she can't be certain if he is trying to help her, or help himself to her power. For Ivy, trusting the right person is the difference between love and survival, or a deadly demon kiss.

Sacred Bloodlines


Wendy Owens - 2011
    It seemed like everyone he knew or loved was doomed for a life of misery or death. He was starting to come to the same conclusion everyone else had—he must be cursed. Until one day, in a subway tunnel, everything suddenly changed. A horrific disaster led him to a strange new person named Uri.Uri introduced Gabe to an exciting new world filled with angels, demons, magic, and best of all, a beautiful girl named Sophie. This chance at a new life had everything Gabe always longed for: a family, friends, and possibly even love. He soon discovered, though, that this life came at a steep price. One he feared might cost him his life.

Silver Smoke


Monica Leonelle - 2011
    It is there that Brie meets the Hallows, a superhuman race descended from archangels, and discovers the shocking secrets of her past that put her family's lives in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Pilot meets a mysterious girl who helps him research an ancient feud between two Hawaiian families and tries to figure out why his best friend Rykken is acting so strange lately...The Seven Halos series consists of seven books about seven humans who are descendants of archangels and archdemons. Each of them must uncover the chilling (and sometimes sinister) mysteries of their lineage in order to save two races of superbeings from an all out war that no one can win. It s a story of love, death, heartbreak, betrayal, and the one thing that matters most--allegiance.