Book picks similar to
The Alchemist's Box by Alex Avrio
fantasy
fantasy-adventure
muskets-and-magic
self-published
Blood and Shadow
Robin Lythgoe - 2016
A powerful gift. A naive youth. Sherakai never wanted to become a warrior like his father and brothers. Satisfied with being fourth in line to inherit title and responsibility, he wants only to be Master of the Horse. But on the eve of his sister’s wedding, a terrible gift arrives and Sherakai’s course changes forever. His magic is the key to secrets he does not know or understand, and he must learn to fight to escape a future he doesn’t believe in. Now he must use what he hates to regain what he loves.
The Death Series; Boxed Set
Tamara Rose Blodgett - 2012
When teens receive a government-sanctioned pharmaceutical cocktail during school, paranormal abilities begin manifesting... making the teens more powerful than the adults.After Caleb discovers he has the rare, Affinity for the Dead, he must do whatever it takes to hide it from a super-secret government agency whose goal is exploitation. Caleb seeks refuge in his new girlfriend, Jade, until he realizes that she needs as much protection from her family, as he does from the government.Suddenly, Caleb finds that hiding his ability while protecting Jade and his friends is a full time job; can he escape the government, protect Jade and lose the bullies that are making him miserable? (App. 119,000 word count.)DEATH SPEAKS:Caleb's in high school now and thinks the chaos of last year is behind him. Unfortunately, a serial killer is on the loose and children are his victims. Caleb agrees to help the police apprehend the murderer...until the killer takes notice of Caleb and his paranormal friends.Carson and Brett remain the bullies they always were and their posse continues to grow. How long can the two groups stay out of each others' way before there's a firestorm of retribution...The Government Graysheets continue to keep tabs on Caleb's every move while Jade's family threatens their relationship. Can they still be together even when events threaten to tear them apart? (App. 92,000 word count.)DEATH INCEPTION:Kyle Ulysses Hart and his team of scientists mapped the human genome in the year 2010. As Brain Impulse Technology came online... so did the long arm of the United States government. A covert, military-driven regime was born with genetic manipulation the key to future widespread control. When pharmaceutical laboratories, funded by the Graysheets, discover a way to unlock paranormal potential through compulsive inoculation, their exploitative dream is realized.Clyde and Caleb's lives are predestined to intertwine as they cross paths, his history becoming Caleb's future.A lone teenager named Jeffrey Parker, falls prey when he manifests the rare, Affinity for the Dead. The Graysheets abandon all pretense of stewardship, ripping him from his family for their nefarious purposes. Can Jeffrey remain who he was destined to be in an environment exclusively built for mass control? (App. 24,000 word count._
The Unwilling
Kelly Braffet - 2020
Judah and Gavin share an unnatural bond that is both the key to her survival... and possibly her undoing.As Gavin is groomed for his future role, Judah comes to realize that she has no real position within the kingdom, in fact, no hope at all of ever traveling beyond its castle walls. Elban - a lord as mighty as he is cruel - has his own plans for her, for all of them. She is a mere pawn to him, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.But outside the walls, in the starving, desperate city, a magus, a healer with his own secret power unlike anything Highfall has seen in years, is newly arrived from the provinces. He, too, has plans for the empire, and at the heart of those plans lies Judah... The girl who started life with no name and no history will soon uncover more to her story than she ever imagined.An epic tale of greed and ambition, cruelty and love, this deeply immersive novel is about bowing to traditions and burning them down.
Broken Realms
D.W. Moneypenny - 2014
That's about to change.After a jetliner plunges into the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon, everyone survives. So why do crash investigators have a hangar full of bodies, one for each passenger except Mara? Before the plane goes down, she glimpses a new reality, one with scales and snouts, fangs and gills. She sees a boy running down the aisle carrying a ball of blue light, chased by a girl who could be her clone. By trying to help, she unwittingly unleashes dozens of creatures on an unsuspecting world and sparks a series of events that threatens her life, her family and everything she believes. To save them, she has to embrace a power she cannot comprehend.
Lichgates
S.M. Boyce - 2011
When Kara Magari uncovers an ancient book of dark and deadly magic, she realizes she’s the only one who can read its enchanted pages… and overnight, she becomes the most coveted magical creature in not just one, but two worlds. Now hunted by every living creature under the sun, she discovers a new world full of beautiful and terrifying things: Ourea. Out here, everyone wants something from her, and there’s no one she can trust. Kings and queens are drawn to her, assassins and demons seek her out, but it’s the charming soldier with a protective streak and a dark secret that may just be her undoing. Before this is over, Kara will have to make the ultimate choice… either she surrenders to this dangerous book of magic, heart and soul, or it will be the death of her. Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive. Buckle in & experience the beginning of a timeless epic fantasy adventure with this first installment of the Grimoire Saga. If you enjoy Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, or Eragon, you’ll love this breathtaking epic fantasy adventure with a modern twist and a slow burn romance. NEW 5th EDITION with never-before-read scenes and chapters from your favorite bad guys. Completely re-edited and revised for a smoother, more vivid reading experience. Want more? Read the full series… Book 1: Lichgates Book 2: Treason Book 3: Heritage Book 4: Illusion Book 5: The First Vagabond: Rise of a Hero Book 6: The Misanthrope Warning: this story contains adventure, action, and mild cussing.
Awaken
Skye Malone - 2014
Neither was ending up the target of killers, or having her body change in unusual ways. She only wanted a vacation, someplace far from her crazy parents and their irrational fear of water. She only wanted to do something normal for once, and maybe get to know her best friend's hot stepbrother a bit better at the same time.But the first day she goes out on the ocean, strange things start to happen. Dangerous things that should be impossible. Things to which 'normal' doesn't even begin to apply. Now madmen are hunting her. A mysterious guy with glowing blue eyes is following her. And her best friend's stepbrother seems to be hiding secrets all his own. It was supposed to be a vacation. It's turning out to be a whole lot more.
Watcher's Web
Patty Jansen - 2011
She casts webs of power, reading the feelings of living beings and telling them what to do. Nobody knows what causes it, least of all her. Her name is Jessica, but most people call her ‘freak’.One fateful day, her ‘web’ connects with a stranger, and stray power causes the plane in which she’s travelling to crash in an alien world. An accident? The more she discovers about the world in which she has landed, the more she doubts it.She is a survivor from an ancient race that once travelled the stars. Her ancestors were powerful and dangerous, and it seems at least two people want her: the man who invades her mind, and the man who’s desperate to help her get back home. But Jessica grew up an Earth girl, and isn’t having any of this. She’ll pander to no one, thank you very much, even if her stubbornness enrages the tyrant race who hold the world in their grip.
Fire and Sword
Dylan Doose - 2015
When all the good men are dead and gone, who is to answer the call and defy what is wicked for what is right?A Twisted Tale of Three Unlikely Heroes.Heretic monk turned Sorcerer, Aldous Weaver. Infamous crusader turned fugitive, Kendrick the Cold. Aristocrat, rogue, monster hunter, and legend in his own mind, Theron Ward.Three men condemned to die for their crimes find in each other both the will and the means to survive. A dark brotherhood with Sword and Sorcery is forged, and all monsters meek and mighty do fear the three.Honorable mention in Library Journal’s Indie Ebook Awards and a Shelf Unbound Magazine Notable 100!Read all the books in the dark and gritty Sword and Sorcery Series!Fire and Sword (Volume 1)Catacombs of Time (Volume 2)I Remember My First Time (short story)The Pyres (Volume 3)Ice and Stone (Volume 4)As They Burn (Volume 5)Black Sun Moon (Volume 6—a complete, stand-alone novel)Embers On The Wind (Volume 7)Graves of the Gods (Volume 8)—Coming Soon!
The Boy who Lit up the Sky
J. Naomi Ay - 2012
Duty comes before personal choice for a princess especially when her country has been at war for more than a thousand years. Lydia's pregnancy removes her brother and new husband from their respective lines of succession placing her yet unborn infant at the head of the both queues. No one is happy about this, especially Lydia who dies during childbirth from wounds caused by the talon-like toenails of her very strange newborn son.Grief stricken at the loss of his daughter, the Mishnese King hastily sends Senya, his infant grandson off to a decrepit inner city orphanage with the intent to retrieve him much later when things got sorted out. At the orphanage, Senya is protected by the invalid Sister Meri who instantly falls in love with the little fellow. She's not bothered at all by his strange telekinetic and telepathic powers, flickering pupil-less silver eyes or wicked clawed toenails. The House Father takes a shine to the lad too and when Senya is six years old, he is summoned to the Father's chamber. The Father ends up in flames forcing Meri and Senya out into a snow storm running for their lives. Thus begins the tale of Senya, a prince created to be king of a planet but then tossed aside until his twelfth birthday when Lt. Taner, a Royal Guard detective is sent to retrieve him. It is unclear to all whether Senya is the product of something good or something evil but in either case, it is very apparent that he is something more than just Lydia Kalila's son.Note to readers - This title contains graphic language, violence and sexual situations. It is not intended for children or young teens.
Mythical
C.E. Martin - 2012
With no memory of who, or what killed him, he sets out to piece together his past with the help of two teens that find him wandering the Arizona desert. After returning to a modern world he doesn't remember, Kenslir starts to remember his final mission: stop a prehistoric shapeshifter that steals the lifeforce, form and memories of its victims- by tearing out and eating their hearts.
The Midnight Sea
Kat Ross - 2016
A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King's elite Water Dogs is that they leash wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister.Scarred by grief, she's willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he's possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other's emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close.As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius's past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…
Death's Queen
Janeal Falor - 2017
Owned by a vicious man who refuses to call her anything but girl, she is forced to commit atrocious acts of violence. Vowing to take her future into her own hands, the seventeen-year-old decides to risk everything on one act of defiance—drinking from The Death Drink. The beverage kills most whose lips touch it—only allowing those who are destined to be royalty survive the first sip. To the astonishment of the nation of Valcora, she imbibes it and lives, which crowns her queen. Thrown into a life of royal intrigue, she now has a purpose—to rule with the fairness she was never shown. Despite her altruistic plans, it becomes apparent that someone wants her dead. The new queen must use her training from the former life she only wants to forget in order to stay alive long enough to turn her kingdom into something she can be proud of. She’ll hold onto the crown… or die trying.
Daughter of the Red Dawn
Alicia Michaels - 2012
Yet, Selena has always felt as if she doesn’t belong and is counting the days to graduation and her freedom from the small town that makes her feel so out of place, when the arrival of a stranger turns her world upside down. Selena will learn just how different she is and the truth of where she comes from. A lost princess, they call her, the catalyst for a war involving a world that she was taken from as a child. An evil queen obsessed with her own beauty with a plan to enslave the human race.…the notion seems so silly, yet Selena knows in her heart that it is true. Then there is Titus, the shape shifter whose blue eyes and claims of destiny hold her heart captive. Can Selena find the strength to do what she must while following her heart?
The Path of Man
Matt Moss - 2016
Suddenly, Arkin is thrown into an age old war between the Order and the Dark Society. The kingdom is already in turmoil over the scarcity of jobs and the rationing of food, and now the church is trying to convert the people from their faith of old to a new and less holy religion. Arkin will need all the help he can get to save the people he loves and the land he calls home. Somewhere out there lies the Garden of Stones, a place of myth and magic that Arkin and his new band of friends and warriors are hoping will be the miracle they need to turn the tides of war. Choices made in the past ripple through time as Arkin puts the pieces together. His choices will determine the future of all as he follows The Path of Man.
Xoe
Sara C. Roethle - 2009
So she was stuck going to high school, and she only had a few friends to call her own. She liked her normal life. Things were about to change though, because there's a new guy in her small town, and he is anything but normal. Before Xoe can say, "Werewolf," her best friend's life is in peril, and Xoe's world is turned upside-down. Then, of course, there's Jason. Xoe doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, and given that he's a vampire, she'd have to be able to catch him first.