Book picks similar to
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things by Martina McAtee
fantasy
paranormal
young-adult
ya
Mortal Obligation
Nichole Chase - 2011
Seventeen year old Ree McKenna has three goals: get through high school, convince her crush she is more than his best friend’s little sister, and save money for college. Fate, though, has other plans for her. After the untimely death of her older brother, Ree is haunted by dreadful nightmares and terrifying visions. To make matters worse, Ree has started to suspect that something dangerous is stalking her from the shadows. A night full of frightening surprises leaves Ree with unsettling news. Gifted by the gods with unusual powers, she must devote herself to a battle that could very well lead to not only her death, but the demise of everyone she knows and loves. After all, Ree is the only mortal standing between the Earth and utter darkness. Set in Savannah, Ga, Mortal Obligation is the first book of The Dark Betrayal Trilogy.
Initiate
Tara Maya - 2010
A DETERMINED GIRL Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan... AN EXILED WARRIOR Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.
The Gifting
K.E. Ganshert - 2015
And crazy is dangerous."In a world where nothing supernatural exists, Tess Eckhart is positive she’s going crazy. After her complete freakout at a high school party, her parents worry she might be right. So much that they pack their bags and move across the country, next to a nationally-renowned facility for the mentally ill.Tess is determined to fit in at her new school, despite the whispers and stares. But when it comes to Luka Williams, a reluctantly popular boy in her class, she’s unused to a stare that intense. Then the headaches start, and the seemingly prophetic dreams that haunt her at night. As Tess tries harder to hide them, she becomes increasingly convinced that Luka knows something—that he might somehow be responsible.But what if she’s wrong? What if Luka Williams is the only thing separating her from a madness too terrifying to fathom?
Rippler
Cidney Swanson - 2011
Handsome Will Baker offers help and secrecy, but soon Sam will have to choose between keeping her secrets and keeping Will in her life. Suspenseful and romantic, Rippler and its sequels capture the collision of the beautiful with the dark.Two further sequels form a complete trilogy. Four additional books in series for those who fall in love with the Ripple world and want even more!RIPPLER is the free first book in a teen and young adult paranormal fantasy series set in a contemporary world where invisibility has long been a well kept secret. It combines the heart pounding action of a thriller with a touch of clean romance and a science fiction twist.
Redemption
R.K. Ryals - 2011
. . .Dayton Blainey is a foul-mouthed, grief-stricken young woman forced to live with a religiously eccentric aunt who favors her moral older sister. But when Dayton's life becomes intertwined with a dangerous stranger, she suddenly finds herself at the center of a war fought since the beginning of time. Trapped between what she believes is right, and a forbidden attraction, Dayton must come to terms with betrayal and her surprising lineage to stop a war before it even begins.
Undraland
Mary E. Twomey - 2015
With her heart set on college life, Lucy’s dreams of medical school are dashed when a rabid bear attacks her in the middle of suburbia. When Jens, a handsome yet irritable stranger, saves her life, Lucy’s gratitude is cut short when he abducts her, taking her to a land filled with people and creatures she remembers from bedtime stories she assumed were just Scandinavian folklore. Jens takes Lucy to a world she never expected, and cannot escape. Undraland is teeming with oversized garden gnomes, warrior elves, Nøkken, Fossegrimens, and worst of all, Sirens. Lucy goes further and further down the rabbit hole until she signs up to join a band of thieves bent on taking down Pesta, the last Siren.
River's Recruit
Charlotte Abel - 2012
His left hand, his identical twin and his self-respect. He searches for redemption during a solo backpacking trip into the remote Sawatch Mountains of Colorado and discovers a secret tribe of shifters.River, the beautiful young shifter that rescues Jonathan from certain death, wants to recruit him. He is equally determined to rescue her from her cult-like society — even if he has to kidnap her.
Touch the Dark
Karen Chance - 2006
The ghosts of the dead aren't usually dangerous; they just like to talk...a lot.The undead are another matter.Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking Mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire-and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay...
Moon Spell
Samantha Young - 2010
Raised in a world where kids aren’t scared by bedtime tales of the bogeyman but by the real life threat of enemy supernaturals who might come creeping into their community to kill them in their sleep, Caia is used to the darkness; she’s used to the mystery and the intrigue of the ancient underworld war she’s bound to by chance of birth. What she’s having trouble with are pack members treating her with wary suspicion, the Elders tucking secrets behind their backs out of her sightline, and her young Alpha, Lucien, distracting her, with a dangerous attraction, from her decision to uncover the truth.But as the saying goes ‘the truth will out’ and when it does, Caia will only have so long to prepare herself before the war comes pounding on their door threatening to destroy the safe, secret lives of the wolves… and the girl they protect.YA Paranormal Romance recommended for ages 16 and up.
Once Dead, Twice Shy
Kim Harrison - 2009
Because I'm there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it. Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.Well, if she believed in that stuff.
£6.19 per Witching Hour
Joanna Mazurkiewicz - 2013
Her normal day at the office consists of seeing clients, searching for new vacancies, updating CVs and visiting employers.It seems as though she has an ordinary life but in reality Julia is half elf and she works for a recruitment agency for paranormals. She is normally calm, confident and is not afraid to stand up for herself, but when the meeting with La Caz Corporation doesn’t go as well as she hoped, she wants to bury herself under the ground and die. Nathaniel La Caz is a player and he wants to seduce Julia. The incredible sexual chemistry that builds up between them complicates her life to the point where she can’t control her magic. La Caz not only wants her but he also has a craving for her blood. Then her ex-boyfriend Jasper comes back on the scene and nearly exposes the whole paranormal world to humans when trying to protect her.It doesn't end well when vampires and elves mix. The problems start escalating when Julia witnesses the kidnapping of her cousin Claudia on the busy street. From then on things only go from bad to worst. More elves and fairies begin to vanish in London without trace and the police suspect vampires. Julia is determined to find Claudia even if it means she will get herself into more trouble.*Adult Paranormal Romance novel - contains adult situations, graphic sexuality, violence, suited for ages 18 and up*
Blur
Kristen Middleton - 2012
Seventeen year old Nikki and her twin brother, Nathan, move to the small town of Shore Lake to start over after their mother is brutally attacked. When a missing teenager washes up on shore during their first night at the cabin and there are whispers of vampires in Shore Lake, Nikki begins to realize that there are things roaming in the darkness that are far more sinister than what they left behind in the big city. This book contains some graphic language, violence, and mild sexual situations.
Amethyst
Heather Bowhay - 2012
Premonitions dictate her every move, compelling her to rescue strangers day and night. After years of self-sacrifice, she decides to ignore one, but innocent people die. So, when the next premonition depicts her own death, Lexi is faced with the decision of a lifetime. As if an ill-fated future isn’t enough to deal with, a series of strange illnesses and murders devastate her small town, and co-worker Jessica Nelson insists Lexi can help. According to Jessica, everyone is born with an inner energy called Essence. Only a select few, Amethysts, can control Essence and heal people. Jessica claims to be an Amethyst and asks Lexi to join her and a group of her friends as they track the murderers. Despite her personal plight, Lexi considers joining them.Then again, Lexi discovers secrets run deep among Jessica’s friends. Not only do they have a hidden agenda, but they also harbor extraordinary abilities. And they have connections with the Ray-pacs – the sadistic killers who are preying on human Essence. Ultimately, Lexi must decide if life, not death, equals salvation. And if so, is she willing to make certain sacrifices and join her friends in eradicating the Ray-pacs?Amethyst is the first novel in the Guardian series, a spellbinding, young adult, urban fantasy series. One that wouldn’t be complete without a love triangle at the heart of the story.
Fire in Frost
Alicia Rades - 2015
It's not the harmful kind that can kill a girl like Olivia. It's the kind that can save her."CRYSTAL FROST tells herself she isn't crazy, but sane people don't see ghosts. As her psychic abilities manifest, Crystal discovers she can see into the future, witness the past, and speak with the dead. Add blackmail to the list of things she never thought would happen to her, and you basically have her sophomore year covered. After spotting her first ghost, secrets from her family, friends, and classmates begin to surface. Uncovering secrets can be dangerous, but giving up means someone will get hurt. Again.
Brightest Kind of Darkness
P.T. Michelle - 2011
Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate...until she dreams a future she can't ignore.After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.