Book picks similar to
All That's Left Behind by Miri C. Golden
fantasy
kick-ass-heroine
indie
arcs
Dark Swan (The Shadow Realms 0.5)
Regine Abel - 2017
She's used to being overlooked until the day the circus rolls into their quiet little town of Willow Grove. The crew only has eyes for her while she can't get hers off their boss.Thoryn feels her presence before he sees her. The others have too, especially Ken. Thoryn must move quickly and bind her to him before another claims what was always meant to be his. And his she will be, for eternity.
Who's Afraid?
Maria Lewis - 2016
The sudden appearance of a dark, mysterious (and very attractive) guardian further confuses her as her powers begin to develop and she begins to understand that her life can never be the same again. The reader will be swept up in Tommi's journey as she's thrown into the middle of a centuries-old battle and a world peopled with expert warriors and vicious enemies - this is the start of a series - and a world - you will fall in love with.
Court of Dragons
Frost Kay - 2021
Captured, she's dragged before the elvish king and given two choices.Death or marriage.She submits, biding her time as she plots and spies, determined to strike at the heart of the elvish royalty and take back her family's throne once more. But the more time she spends with her dangerous and achingly handsome husband, she finds herself wavering.Only the strong survive the hash moors of the Dragon Isles, and she can't afford to question her loyalties, leaving only one final choice.Strike hard and fast. Never waver. It's his heart or hers.A Court of Dragons is the first book in a new fantasy romance series, inspired by the tales of Beauty and the Beast with Reylo viking vibes. It's perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash, A Deal with The Elf King, and The Bridge Kingdom. If you're looking for enemies to lovers with a delicious slow burn romance, scroll up and read now!
Darkest Fear
Cate Tiernan - 2014
But that doesn’t mean she’s accepted it. Being Haguari isn’t something she feels she’ll ever accept. How can she feel like anything but a freak knowing that it’s in her genes to turn into a jaguar?Now eighteen, Vivi’s ready to break away from the traditions of her heritage. But all of that changes with the shocking, devastating deaths of her parents and the mysteries left behind. Vivi discovers family she never even knew she had, and a life open with possibility. New friends, new loyalties, and even romance all lay ahead—but so do dangers unlike anything Vivi ever could have imagined.
A Promise of Fire
Amanda BouchetAmanda Bouchet - 2016
She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods-and her homicidal mother-have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever.Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm-until he realizes he wants her for much more than her magic. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin's fairness, loyalty, and smoldering advances make him increasingly hard to resist and leave her wondering if life really does have to be short, and lived alone.
The Hollow Gods
A.J. Vrana - 2020
Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead. When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience. Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise? And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested. A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?
Secret Heir
M.J. Prince - 2018
But all the stories are wrong.Running parallel alongside Earth, but never touching, there exists not just a garden, but an entire world of vivid colours and breathtaking beauty where the Seraph reside.Jazmine has lived in ten different foster homes, in ten different towns and all her life she has felt like she doesn’t belong – not in the trailer park which happens to be foster home number ten, not anywhere on Earth. After a universe shattering revelation, she discovers why. Far from being the nothing and no one, with no past and no future, that Jazmine had always believed herself to be, she discovers that she is in fact an heir to one of the seven remaining Seraph Dynasties. She is Jazmine Evenstar, the last heir to the sovereign Evenstar Dynasty.Thrust into the world of wealth and privilege in which the impossibly beautiful and equally cruel Dynasty heirs reside, Jazmine is forced to manoeuvre the tangled web that holds the Dynasties together.Against the backdrop of breathtaking star filled nights, sweeping coastlines, grand marble halls and decadent palaces, Jazmine tries to find her place in this beautiful new world whilst fighting not to lose herself in the process.But the fairy tale quickly unravels. Half human and the illegitimate daughter of the late suicide King of Eden, the other Dynasty heirs make it clear that Jazmine does not belong in their world. Raphael St. Tristan, heir to the rival sovereign St. Tristan Dynasty and next in line to the throne of Eden, the guy with the face of an angel but who is as wicked as the devil himself, promises to break her. Jazmine quickly learns that the beauty of Eden is nothing but a deception as she uncovers the secrets festering at the heart of it. But can she disentangle herself from the web of deception and intrigue that the Dynasty heirs have spun? Can she stop herself from falling into Raphael St. Tristan’s trap before he can fulfil his promise to shatter her completely? Or are those stories about Eden true after all and will she be foolish enough to taste the forbidden fruit that is Eden itself?
Garden of Thorns
Amber Mitchell - 2017
But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn’t one of the emperor’s men—not anymore. He’s the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it.Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose’s attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she’ll tell him all the Garden’s secrets.Except the one secret she’s kept for seven years that she’ll take to her grave if she must.
The Raven and the Dove
Kaitlyn Davis - 2020
Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo!
A princess longing to be free...
On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.
A bastard aching to belong...
Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.
Fate brought them together, now destiny will tear them apart...
Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.Three shocking betrayals. Two star-crossed lovers. One unforgettable journey. If you like fierce heroines, brooding heroes, forbidden romance, and action-packed magical adventures with twists you'll never see coming, don't miss The Raven and the Dove!
Devils & Thieves
Jennifer Rush - 2017
Magic kills.Eighteen-year-old Jemmie Carmichael is surrounded by magic in the quiet town of Hawthorne, New York. In her world, magic users are called “kindled,” and Jemmie would count herself among them if only she could cast a simple spell without completely falling apart. It doesn't help that she was also recently snubbed by Crowe—the dangerous and enigmatic leader of Hawthorne’s kindled motorcycle gang, the Devils’ League.When the entire kindled community rolls into Hawthorne for an annual festival, a rumor spreads that someone is practicing forbidden magic. Then people start to go missing. With threats closing in from every side, no one can be trusted. Jemmie and Crowe will have to put aside their tumultuous history to find their loved ones, and the only thing that might save them is the very flaw that keeps Jemmie from fully harnessing her magic. For all her years of feeling useless, Jemmie may just be the most powerful kindled of all.
The Orchid Throne
Jeffe Kennedy - 2019
Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…A PRINCE AMONG MENConrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?
The First Girl Child
Amy Harmon - 2019
Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.
Seared by Desire
Jennifer T. Alli - 2010
Defeating the Malachites, all that stand between him and becoming King of the vampires and the demon within himself, battling desperately for release. His attention stretched thin he has no time for women but Sara, his fiery bride won’t be denied.A burning touch…With a deadly curse hanging over her head, Sara knows her time is short. Placing her life in Lucian's hands is a risk she knows she must take and one her innocent heart gladly makes for Lucian makes her body burn and her soul fly. Never had hot and cold reacted so combustively. Sara’s presence pushes Lucian to the brink of madness, her nearness making him crazed with the need for her blood. Though his fangs ache with longing, to bite her could condemn them both but the attraction between them is too strong to be denied. As they race headlong towards a fiery conclusion will they emerge unscathed to will the flames of desire consume them both?
A King so Cold
Ella Fields - 2020
There, and only there, would she unveil a time when she once allowed herself to be vulnerable. A past detailing how her heart was coaxed to beat outside her chest, only to have it crushed by the cold hands of betrayal.But true vengeance will need to wait. War is coming, and with it, decisions and danger masked in treacherous beauty.All too soon, the young queen will learn that time could be the most dangerous foe of all.For it is time that would reveal all the ways a dead heart can beat anew.Contains dark themes and a HEA. Recommended for 18+
Intricate Obsessions (Intricate, #3)
Jennifer Rayes - 2019
Dominique has lost his mother, his crew, and his purpose, and is trying not to lose his sister, while playing a dangerous game with the Governor. Salim has confessed his treason and has threatened to eradicate Kayamato with the release of a deadly disease, unless he's given reigning power. Beneath it all, Antione's obsession simmers as he moves his final pieces into place. Will the players be able to fight their individual threats by coming together, or will they be picked off, one at a time, one after the other?