Book picks similar to
Qualia by Marie Browne


fantasy
urban-fantasy
fiction
adventure

Marked


Kim Richardson - 2011
    Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals. With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever…

The Conduit


Stacey Rourke - 2011
    And maybe to spend some time with the hot cameraman she just met. Instead, because of a pact her ancestors made in the 17th century with a mythical creature, she has to save the world. While normal kids are slamming energy drinks and cramming for exams, Celeste will get her adrenaline rush fighting a fire breathing dragon. She wants to meet friends in the quad to exchange lecture notes, but first she must exchange blows with a shapeshifting demon on the rooftop. Life isn’t always fair for a superhero, but at least she doesn’t have to do it alone. With her brother and sister as sidekicks, they alternate between saving lives and getting on each others’ nerves. Together the trio encounters unspeakable odds, mystical forces and comes face-to-face with an image that will haunt them forever—their grandmother in a leopard print bikini. Okay, little side note here. If a psychopathic killer asks if you want to see a trick, say no. That’s the smart thing to do. I, on the other hand, responded, “Bring it.”-excerpt from THE CONDUIT

Angelfall


Susan Ee - 2011
    Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Graveyard Shift


Angela Roquet - 2009
    She resides in Limbo City, the modern capital of the collective afterlives, where she likes to stick it to the man (the legendary Grim Reaper himself) by harvesting the bare minimum of souls required of her. She’d much rather be hanging out with Gabriel, her favorite archangel, at Purgatory Lounge. But when a shocking promotion falls in Lana's lap, she learns something that could unravel the very fabric of Eternity. If the job isn’t completed, there could be some real hell to pay.

Dead Radiance


T.G. Ayer - 2012
    And she knows all too well what psychiatrists do to people who claim impossible powers. She's always stayed below the radar, but when she discovers the meaning of the beautiful auras, she's not sure why she was cursed with the ability to see the soon-to-be-dead and be unable to do anything about it. But Bryn is on the brink of the unbelievable truth - she is a creature from myth. Valkyrie- a warrior maiden of the God Odin. And a Collector of Souls. Aidan Lee just can't do what he's told. Visiting Craven was not supposed to be a time to fall in love. He's just helpless when faced with the beautiful Brynhildr, but there is more to the biker dude that either Bryn or Aidan himself knows. Can their fledgling love survive the secrets and intrigue, the reality of Odin's realm of Asgard, the pressures of being a warrior of the gods, But Bryn lucks out when the Trickster god Loki sets his sights on her. Can Bryn hold her own against the charmingly manipulative god long enough to discover what Loki is really planning?

Daughter of Smoke & Bone


Laini Taylor - 2011
    She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I, Lucifer


Glen Duncan - 2002
    Highly sceptical, naturally, the Old Dealmaker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh.The body, however, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted in his bath mid-suicide. Ever the opportunist, and with his main scheme bubbling in the background, Luce takes the chance to tap out a few thoughts - to straighten the biblical record, to celebrate his favourite achievements, to let us know just what it's like being him. Neither living nor explaining turns out to be as easy as it looks. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the Father of Lies slowly begins to learn what it's like being us.

White Hot Kiss


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2014
    Trouble is, Zayne treats Layla like a sister--and Layla is a half demon, half gargoyle with abilities no one else possesses. And even though Zayne is a Warden, part of the race of gargoyles tasked with keeping humanity safe, Layla's kiss will kill anything with a soul--including him.Then she meets Roth--a demon who claims to know her secrets. Though Layla knows she should stay away, it's tough when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue. Trusting Roth could ruin her chances with Zayne, but as Layla discovers she's the reason for a violent demon uprising, kissing the enemy suddenly pales in comparison to the looming end of the world.

Exiled


M.R. Merrick - 2011
    On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Sweet Evil


Wendy Higgins - 2012
    She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Thrall


Jennifer Quintenz - 2012
    Together they’re doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas. As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren’t always clear or easy. And as for “good” and “evil” – it all depends on how we choose to act.Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.

Gabriel's Hope


Lizzy Ford - 2012
     Death Finds Love. Recently appointed as Death, Gabriel’s life can’t get much worse. His underworld is in shambles, and he’s racing demons to collect souls in the human world. To add to his mess, he discovers that his predecessor raised an unwelcome Immortal from the dead, one who threatens the Immortal Council that his friend, the Ancient Rhyn, is trying to hold together. When the underworld shuts Gabriel out, he’s convinced he’s hit rock bottom. Until he meets her, and he realizes things can get worse. Much worse. Now in human form, Deidre – Gabriel’s predecessor and long-time tormenter – is dying from a brain tumor. Rather than mourn, she decides to enjoy the rest of her short life by checking off every box on her bucket list. Little does she suspect that a weekend getaway to the beach will throw her into the hands of Death himself and overturn everything she knows about her world. Deidre has no idea who she was in her past life, but she must learn fast, or she’ll never understand why the Immortals, demons and Death alike are after her. The secret is buried in her head, and the only way to uncover it will kill her. To survive, she must reach the wounded man behind the mask of Death and show him that the world is filled with more than tragedy and pain.

Mercury Falls


Robert Kroese - 2009
    That is, until she meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who's frittering his time away whipping up batches of Rice Krispy Treats and perfecting his ping-pong backhand instead of doing his job: helping to orchestrate Armageddon. With the end near and angels and demons debating the finer political points of the Apocalypse, Christine and Mercury accidentally foil an attempt to assassinate one Karl Grissom, a thirty-seven-year-old film school dropout about to make his big break as the Antichrist. Now, to save the world, she must negotiate the byzantine bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell and convince the apathetic Mercury to take a stand, all the while putting up with the obnoxious mouth-breathing Antichrist.

Hidden Wings


Cameo Renae - 2013
    But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.

Existence


Abbi Glines - 2004
    Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.