Book picks similar to
Sword of Secrets by S.M. Schmitz


urban-fantasy
norse-mythology
fantasy
free-reads

Witch Hearts


Angharad Thompson Rees - 2018
     The Cheval triplets have no idea of the fate that awaits them. Protected on the edge of the mystical wood, Morganne, Amara, and Fae would never believe that they would team up with magical horses, Camelot knights, dragons, and King Arthur’s magician to fight against the dark evil forces lurking over the land. But in time, they will… In Witch Hearts, the first installment of the Magic and Mage series, the three sisters discover the secret that will set them on this journey and change the course of their lives, forever. Episode one: Witch Hearts The mysterious Cheval triplets live a peaceful life in a secluded cottage on the edge of the Mystic Wood. Yet when their mother’s illness creeps her closer to death, the three sisters, Morganne, Amara, and Fae must leave their quiet sanctuary in search of a rare cure within the darkened forest. But they are not the only ones lurking in the midnight shadows, so when fiendish witch hunters capture the sisters, their search for a cure turns into a desperate escape attempt. Their only hope rests with the exhausted, worn out horses pulling the cart to the witch trial, and the secrets the sisters keep locked in the deepest chambers of their hearts. When they unleash the truth will it set them free, or send them closer to the burning witch pyres? A lyrical and poetically woven fairy tale never before told. Legends never lie. • "Angharad's novella reminded me of the Grimms' fairytales - a dark premise with evil lurking in the shadows and villains that are creepy and cringe-worthy." • "Wow, reading this book was like reading a graphic novel without the pictures. The images are so vibrant and the story moves so seamlessly that I read the entire book in one sitting."

Darkness Awakened


Stephanie Rowe - 2012
    She'll do whatever it takes to get his help, including a bit of rule-breaking and blackmail. As for the addictive attraction between them? She's ignoring it completely.Quinn is a little too busy and a lot too antisocial to help an interfering witch find her sister. But when he realizes the distractingly sexy siren might be the key to everything he wants, he's all in.Grace and Quinn are determined to stay single, but a centuries-old, match-making curse has other plans for the pair. Can an immortal warrior burned by love win the heart of the sexy witch meant to save his ever-lovin' soul?

Blood Vows


Kathryn M. Hearst - 2017
    and we don't sparkle. Serena’s not your typical vamp. She drinks holy water for breakfast, and her boss runs the Vatican. However, life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Her relationship is in the crapper, and she’s asking herself the age-old question… “Should I stay or should I go?” Change is hard, especially for an immortal. For three centuries, two things have been constant – Nicholai and her job. Working as an assassin for one of the most influential forces in history has its perks, but business is slow. That all changes when Nicholai's human descendant is murdered, and he's the prime suspect. As the body count rises, Serena and Nicholai are forced to work together to find the real killer before it's too late. The problem is…the more they discover, the more they’re convinced the murderer is their commander. Worse still, proving him guilty could lead to a rebellion. On the bright side, there’s nothing like a war to put the spark back in a 300-year-old marriage. You'll adore this urban fantasy series, because everyone loves a tale of redemption and second chances. **Previously published as Feast of Reverence**

Special Offers


M.L. Ryan - 2011
    Then, she had to find another job when her boss went to prison for running a prostitution ring in his spare time. Three years later, Hailey still hadn’t gone on a date and she milks chinchilla for a living.Her life was about to get weirder.While in pursuit of inter-dimensional miscreants who use their arcane powers to prey upon humans, Sebastian Kess was ambushed and mortally wounded. To save his life, he used his own magic to convert his soul to binary code and transfer it into Hailey’s soon-to-be shipped Kindle eBook reader. When Hailey inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined.Hailey must come to grips with the existence of the parallel dimension of Coursodon and the realization that magically inclined non-humans walk the world all while dealing with Sebastian’s arrogant banter in her head. Her predicament also introduces her to another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland. The action moves from Hailey’s hometown of Tucson, Arizona to New England and across Europe as she and Alex try to returnSebastian to his own body while staying one step ahead of the criminals who want to keep him where he is.Special Offers, the first book of the Coursodon Dimension Series, combines urban fantasy, paranormal romance, a bit of science fiction and a healthy dose of quirky humor.

Bound by Faerie


W.B. McKay - 2016
    Most of them inflict torture, except the most beautiful. That one kills. As an agent for the Faerie Affairs Bureau, Sophie loves retrieving dangerous magical objects. The job lets her indulge her covetous nature, and most importantly, it pays the bills. But when a routine job goes south, she finds herself struggling to keep her deadly magic in check while fleeing the wrath of an enraged dragon. In a desperate search for answers, Sophie stumbles across Owen, a fae nightclub owner who's as sexy as he is irritating, but just happens to hold the key to her problems. Sophie wants nothing more than to get her magic under control and return to her normal life, but first she'll have to face off with all the dangers Faerie can throw at her. Can she fight her way back home? Or will both she and Owen fall prey to a crazed death cult? Bound by Faerie features a gutsy, kick butt heroine, a broody and dangerous hero, and a ton of magical mayhem.

Kiss of the Demon Girl


Eddie R. Hicks - 2018
    That’s me on a good day. Just imagine what I’m like on a bad day.My name is Reika. I don’t know who I am anymore other than the following facts:I’m unlikeable.I used to be a member of the Yakuza.I think a succubus has a thing for me.The police shot me six times.After my discharge from the hospital I learned that I had the unique talent to control fire. That’s right, a modern day pyromancer. I have no idea where these powers came from, the doctor that worked on me upped and vanished, along with all records of me ever being admitted to the hospital.That’s when shady people from the shadows began to stalk me, some even had the balls to attack me. Don’t worry, I flambéed them all, I can take care of myself. What I am worried about are the people of New York City. Who’s going to defend them when my war with these shadow people reaches a boiling point?I don’t want to be a heroine. I just want my life back.

Cursed


Casey Odell - 2012
    But legends sometimes forget the true history of things and Claire’s eyes are soon opened to a world she never knew. One that has been kept from her for most of her life. All Claire wants to do is return home and start looking for her mother, the only family she ever had. But the elves have different plans. The mysterious mark that appeared on her arm isn’t a curse, at least not to them anyway, and before she knows it, she is whisked away on a mission she never agreed to, unless they help her in return.Now she is stuck on an adventure with the perverted elf, Aeron, and one with an attitude, Farron. But there is more to this adventure than she’d ever hoped for.

Reiver


David Pilling - 2016
    The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death. Richie Reade, known as Richie O’the Bow, finds himself dragged into this dark and bloody world. One night his village is raided by a gang of Armstrongs, the most dreaded of the reiver families. After he slays two of the gang, Richie is declared a dead man walking: the Armstrongs and their allies will not rest until they have his head. Betrayed by the law, Richie is forced to flee into the wilderness. He and his fellow outlaws begin to forge a reputation as Richie’s Bairns, killing the Armstrongs wherever they find them. Meanwhile the Border is threatened by war. The rebellious northern earls plan to depose the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, and replace her with the Catholic Mary Stewart. Many of the reiver families rise to join the rebellion, and the earls march south under the Banner of the Five Wounds. Civil war threatens to break out in England, even as fresh murder and conspiracy raise havoc in Scotland. With the north in turmoil, and the Border in a state of bloody flux, Richie and his outlaws do what they can to survive. As his fame grows, Richie finds himself drawn inexorably into the war for England’s soul. When the final battle looms, above the rushing waters of the Hell Beck, he must choose his fate. Reiver is the latest novella by David Pilling, author of the Caesar’s Sword trilogy, Leader of Battles, The White Hawk and Soldier of Fortune.

The Third Eye of Jenny Crumb


Martina Dalton - 2013
    She’s smart, beautiful, and... normal. But, on the inside, she struggles to keep a dark secret from her friends and family. Jenny is psychic—and she fears that if people find out, she’ll be labeled as a loser and a freak. Jenny falls in love with the handsome new guy in school. But her visions are becoming jarringly intense and she is having trouble hiding her gift. Not only is she having premonitions about a creepy man with a knife, but she also learns a girl in her school has gone missing. Will her premonitions about the kidnapper put herself and the people she loves in danger as she tries to find the missing girl? Even if Jenny survives, her life will change forever.

Veiled Eyes


C.L. Bevill - 2010
    Thais. The trees sit on a black lake that resembles a dark Louisiana bayou with an evocative aura. The dream includes the presence of a man who seems to know Anna all too well and a group of people with strange telepathic powers, sometimes called veiled eyes. An orphan from Texas, she is on her way east to help out a friend when she encounters two terrifying things. Psychically, she begins to see and hear things through the eyes of an unknown individual, a man who knows more about her than she ever would have imagined. The second thing is that she has been kidnapped by a sociopathic trucker intent on making her his latest victim. When she is rescued by Gabriel Bergeron, a member of the elusive Lake People in Northwestern Louisiana, Anna doesn’t realize that he is her psychic counterpart and she has been inexplicably pulled to the area. She shares their strange colored gold eyes and their distinctive mental powers. They are a reclusive lot and know that Anna is one of them, but has been isolated by unknown circumstances. She is drawn into their incomparable world, something between that of the Creoles and Cajuns, and much in addition to those. There Anna finds a romantic link with Gabriel and the spine-tingling fear of not knowing who to trust. Her return has disturbed the inner workings of the group and threatens to expose secrets long concealed in the murky Louisiana bayous. There are secrets to be divulged about her past and why she was spirited away as an infant. Anna isn’t safe until she discovers the answers she so desperately requires.

Serenity


Craig A. Hart - 2016
     A woman dies in his arms...a drug dealer offers him $10,000...a gunman is determined to kill him. And then everything goes to hell. Shelby Alexander is an aging ex-boxer and retired fixer, whose activities often flirted with the wrong side of the law. Looking for a little peace and a slower pace of life, he moved to Serenity, the small Michigan town where he grew up. But trouble follows men like Shelby, and he finds himself embroiled in an underworld of drugs and violence that may prove to be his undoing. The first book in the new Shelby Alexander Thriller Series, Serenity is an action-packed read with a lovingly rendered cast, witty dialogue, and a main character who doesn't know when to quit.

Netherworld


K.N. Lee - 2013
    Demons, ghouls, vampires, and Syths. The Netherworld Division is an organization of angels and humans who are there to keep the escaped creatures from the Netherworld in check in this action-packed paranormal thriller. Introducing Koa Ryeo-won, a half-blood vampire with an enchanted sword and a membership to the most elite vampire castle in Europe. A vengeful demon threatens everything Koa has worked hard to protect. Not even Halston and his legendary infinity gun can stop him, but Koa's mother might be strong enough to do it--if only her curse can be broken. There is one vampire that can help. First stop, the Ivory Tower, where only the most notorious supernatural beings are kept. But even that won't be enough. Koa must prepare herself to return to the place that nearly killed her. The Netherworld. The Chronicles of Koa SeriesPublication order:Netherworld (The Chronicles of Koa, Book 1)Dark Prophet (The Chronicles of Koa, Book 2)Lyrinian Blade (The Chronicles of Koa, Book 3)

The Matchmaker


N.G. Simsion - 2014
    The girl. Things haven’t been going so well with Anne lately, though; their relationship has become a perpetual study date, and Ollie’s roommates are starting to worry about him. How to fix things? Why, with a marriage proposal, of course. Unfortunately for Ollie, his relationship with Anne has run out of gas. Life feels like it’s counting down to one. And that one is the only person in Ollie’s life he really cares about: Ollie. Perhaps, then, he should get over himself. But first Ollie has to deal with Aaron Sparks, the irritating little Yankees fan who invades his life in order to “help” him. And while Keith, his best friend, is doing all he can to help, Ollie’s other friend Richie never fails to show up and threatens to ruin everything just by being himself. Never mind all the drama Aaron brings to the party by forcing Ollie to take a job actually helping people in need. Will Ollie meet the girl? Will it be in history class? On a road trip to Colorado? Can he get over Anne, or should he try to mend the relationship? Should he pursue the new girl Aaron is trying to set him up with? As the strings of the puppeteer tangle with the strings of the heart, only one person can sort out the mess Ollie has made. It seems that the harder he tries, the more Ollie messes things up. Is Aaron a cruel manipulator, or is he really going to help Ollie find his match?

Vampire Vacation


C.J. Ellisson - 2010
     Meet Vivian. She's a 580-year-old vampire who exudes sensuality, has a talent for drama, and is passionate about two things: her human husband, Rafe, and their resort for the undead. Her ability to project physical illusions has created the perfect vacation spot—a dark, isolated Alaskan hideaway where visitors can have their wildest fantasies come true. Vivian knows the best performance requires perfect timing, but the powerful vamp is put to the test when she discovers a corpse in a locked guestroom minutes before the next arrivals. Always cool-headed, Rafe hides the body, convinced he and Vivian can find the culprit without disturbing their guests. Juggling the increasingly outrageous demands of their customers while tracking a killer isn't easy. Will their poking and prodding give them the answers they need, or will it uncover secrets Vivian would kill to protect? The V V Inn, in reading order: Vampire Vacation, Book 1 The Hunt, Book 2 Big Game, Book 3 Death Times Two, Book 4 ~ A Grim Reality and V V Inn novel co-authored with Boone Brux Blood Legacy, Book 5 Sharpen the Blade, Book 6 Blood Reckoning, Book 7 (late 2017) Prequel Stories: Death's Servant, Before the V V Inn Book One (Jon's Tale)

Sleepers


Megg Jensen - 2011
    Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?