Book picks similar to
Familiar Magic by M.V. Stott
urban-fantasy
fantasy
paranormal
magic
Fire in the Mind
Arjay Lewis - 2017
A psychic series of clues. Can a PhD with incredible mental powers stop a real-life firestarter?Years after a tragic car accident claimed his fiancée, Dr. Leonard "Len" Wise is just coming to terms with his demons. Now sober, the countless drunken nights helped him cope with the pain while he studied his newly-acquired psychic abilities. When a friend enlists him to deliver a lecture on parapsychology, he never expected it to end with a strange invitation: a police consult on a case of spontaneous human combustion. With no-nonsense Detective Bill McGee by his side, Len deduces the victim may have been murdered by someone with similar abilities to his own. But when an enchanting suspect catches fire before his eyes, the PhD becomes the prime suspect. To clear his name and protect the people he loves, Len must take his powers to the next level before he too is engulfed in flames. Fire in the Mind is the first book in the Doctor Wise series of paranormal mysteries.
Spies and Spells
Tonya Kappes - 2016
Soon Maggie gets entangled with a mysterious handsome stranger, Mick Jasper, and his secret U.S. organization, SKUL. Has she found her calling?
The Temptation of Dragons
Chrys Cymri - 2016
‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’ When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky. As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires. That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…
Trials of Magic
Thomas K. Carpenter - 2016
Ever since our parents were killed I knew exactly which hall was for me. Aurelia "Aurie" Silverthorn is one of the best and brightest to ever apply to the Hundred Halls, the only magical university in the world. To be accepted, she must pass grueling trials that claim the lives of aspirants every year. But more than her desire to practice magic is at stake. Aurie's little sister has been courting powerful forces in hopes of protecting herself from the beings that killed their parents, but alliances come with complications. As things spiral out of control, and dangerous foes arise at every turn, Aurie knows the only way to protect her sister is to pass the trials-even if it means making a terrible sacrifice.
Demon Rogue
D.N. Erikson - 2016
I've been around for longer than you could know - and most people don't want to know me, being half-demon, and all - but right now I've got a big f'in problem. A woman just came into my office, and I gotta say, from the photo she slipped me, someone's got a serious issue with the supernatural. Life expectancy is looking kinda low if I don't figure out who's kidnapping magical creatures, selling their blood and trying to reveal magic's existence to the mortal world. Last time that happened it didn't end well. I'm not optimistic about this time, either. Joke's on me, anyway, for setting up a magical salvage and retrieval business. 50% of an item's magical essence and a per diem can't cover the damages this job is gonna inflict. Money and magic aren't of much use to a dead man. And If I didn't have a code (yes, I'm a demon with a code), then I would jet out of Texas faster than a vamp at a sorority party (you don't want to know). But I agreed to the gig, she paid the cash, so I gotta see it through. Did I mention the super-powerful wiccan - who I used to have, ahem, relations with - just returned from a long hiatus in a place worse than hell? And she's still obsessed with finding a certain god's spear that I may or may not have. Seriously. This situation is code red. I'm almost willing to accept help from wizards. On second thought, no wizards. I hate you guys. I'd rather die. So um, if I don't make it through the next three days, anyone want a talking dog that's read too much for his own good? Because the way things are going, Argos is gonna need a new home after the spells stop flying...* *His only request is that you suck less than Odysseus. Apparently the epic poems got that all wrong, and that guy was a major asshole. Or my dog might just be bitter. Tends to rub off when you live with a demon.
Dark Siren
Lee Dignam - 2016
A city of monsters. One girl’s soul caught in the middle. Supernatural bounty hunter Alice Werner loves her job. She gets paid the big bucks to take down her targets and doesn’t ask her clients too many questions as long as the money’s good. But when a girl goes missing and the case feels all too familiar, Alice can’t help but act.Concern for the girl’s safety draws her into a risky case. Compassion keeps her involved when the stakes begin to rise. Desperation forces her to call on an old flame for help. Despite their unfinished past, Alice and Isaac Moreau, a prominent Mage, must work together to save the girl.When clues reveal more than meets the eye, Alice must face her deepest fears and confront demons from her past to protect the victim, and herself, from a fate worse than death.Dark Siren is the first book of the Half-Lich Urban Fantasy series, a collection of tales set in the grim, unforgiving metropolis of Ashwood. If you like mysterious supernatural creatures, fast-paced suspense, and conflict-ridden romance, then you’ll love Dignam and Martinez’ otherworldly series starter which early reviewers are comparing to works by Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews and Ella Summers! Buy Dark Siren and dive into the city of Ashwood today!
Immortal Vegas Boxset, #0.5-3
Jenn Stark - 2017
One Wilde Night Tarot-reading artifact hunter Sara Wilde has had her share of tough assignments, but this one just might take the cake. When her newest client hires her to steal a fertility idol from an Amazonian sex-and-death cult, she finds herself south of the equator and shoulder deep in true believers, while Rio de Janeiro gears up for the closing celebrations of Carnival. Stealing the idol is one thing, however. Keeping it is another.The arcane black market has drawn a host of cutthroat operatives and Sara's now in their sights. In a race across one of the most colorful cities in South America on its most famed night of the year, Sara must navigate cunning enemies, backstabbing allies, a fifty-foot wedding cake float and a new, sensually mysterious contact who may be friend or foe...and whose name she’ll never know if she doesn’t make it to dawn alive. Getting Wilde Using her well-worn Tarot deck, magical-artifacts hunter Sara Wilde can find anything--for a price. And the price had better be right, since she needs to finance her own personal mission to rescue several young psychics recently sold on the paranormal black market. Enter Sara's most mysterious client, the wickedly sexy Magician, with a job that could yield the ultimate payday. All she'll have to do is get behind Vatican walls... and steal the Devil himself. But play with the Devil and you're bound to get burned. From the twisting catacombs of Rome to the neon streets of Vegas, Sara confronts ancient enemies, powerful demigods, a roiling magical underworld about to explode... and immortal passions that might require the ultimate sacrifice. But oh, what a way to go. No matter how the cards play out, things are about to get Wilde. Wilde Card All that glitters may not be gold. When an antique gold show comes to Vegas, artifact-hunter Sara Wilde's job is simple: to locate and liberate a set of relics rumored to give their bearers access to an ancient, incredible power. Yet within the Connected community, whispers of a war against magic draw every psychic, mystic, warlock, and witch to Sin City. The most powerful Connected also covet the infamous relics, but no one wants them more than Sara's client--the insufferably arrogant, criminally sensual, and endlessly evasive Magician. Sara's heist takes a turn for the trickier as the smoky-eyed specter from her past, Detective Brody Rooks, is assigned to investigate a break-in at the gold show, forcing her to confront the one man in Vegas she can't bluff. Worse, as the game changes anew, Sara is forced to turn to the one person she knows will manipulate, obfuscate and beguile to get whatever he craves. Only now, it seems, the Magician wants her. Sometimes, when the deck is stacked against you... you've got to play the Wilde Card. Born To Be Wilde The past has a way of catching up with you.If there's one thing that Tarot-reading magical artifacts hunter Sara Wilde has never been able to track down, it's the truth about her own past. But now a powerful new threat to the psychic community will take Sara back to where it all began: the last job she worked with Officer Brody Rooks as "Psychic Teen Sariah," the job that destroyed her life and sent her on the run. Because the enemy she fled all those years ago has returned... with a posse of demons as his personal entourage.
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.
Infernal Ties
Holly Evans - 2016
They keep the supernal community of Prague in line, and they’re good at it. The witches whisper their names when something goes bump in the night, and the lycans tell stories of them to make their cubs behave. When Quin doesn’t come home after what should have been a quick rogue-disposal, Evie begins to worry. Evelyn Hawke is a force to be reckoned with. Nothing and no one will stop her from getting her twin back. She’ll do whatever it takes, even dive into the supernal world and work with those she despises to find Quin and dig him out of the very large hole he’s got himself into. Little does she know the far-reaching consequences of her actions. Infernal Ties is the prequel novella, sitting at some 30,000 words. Infernal Ties begins the larger plot.
Hunter, Hunted
Ashley Meira - 2016
Following a deadly encounter, Morgan is stuck on bed rest in her hometown and has resigned herself to a few months of binging on TV shows. But when a straightforward murder investigation takes an even worse turn with the discovery of another body - one that leaves Morgan brokenhearted and lusting for revenge - she's forced to do something she never wanted to do: work with the sexy and insufferably sweet man who came to put her in handcuffs - and not in the fun way. Oh, and she has to kick a ton of bad guy ass, but that's something she's always happy to do. Hunter, Hunted is the first book in The Spire Chronicles urban fantasy series, and is 52,000 words of fast paced action! The Spire Chronicles series in reading order (with more to come!): Hunter, Hunted Ties that Bind King's Gambit (Coming late April 2016)
Ordinary Girl
Ripley Harper - 2020
The outsider with the strange hair. The tragic weirdo who can’t get over her mother’s death. The violent psycho who beat up the biggest boy in school. Over the years she’s worked hard to fit in. To make some friends. To control her grief and her rage. To become socially acceptable—just an ordinary girl. But at the start of her senior year things begin to unravel. At night she’s plagued by blood-soaked dreams of terror and suffering. But the blood isn’t hers. Nor is the terror or the suffering. In the bright light of day, her own thoughts begin to scare her. Because deep inside her something is stirring. Something much older than her. And colder. And unmoved by any human feeling. When she learns that she’s the last descendant of an ancient bloodline controlled by an ominous secret Order, Jess doesn’t know who to trust. At school, a group of popular boys is planning to humiliate her. At home, she's haunted by ancient secrets and dark lies. Nobody is quite what they seem. Least of all herself.
The Accidental Alchemist
Gigi Pandian - 2015
Dorian Robert-Houdin is no simple automaton, nor is he a homunculus; in fact, he needs Zoe's help to decipher a centuries-old text that explains exactly what he is. Zoe, who's trying to put her alchemical life behind her, isn't so sure she can help. But after a murder victim is discovered on her front porch, Zoe realized she's tangled up in ancient intrigue that can't be ignored.Includes recipes!
Amanda Harper Paranormal Detective
Steve Higgs - 2018
Amanda will just have to wing it then. Amanda Harper's life has changed a lot in the few weeks since she met Tempest Michaels. Working out her notice period in Kent Police, she has already taken a new job as a Paranormal Investigator to work alongside him. She could be interested in Tempest, but even after she arrested (thankfully he was innocent) Brett Barker, the single, athletic, multi-millionaire heir to the Barker family fortune he still wants to take her on a date to Paris in his helicopter. How does a girl say no to that? But Tempest has a case for her to look into: There is an elevator in a nearby shopping center that has a ghost in it. The specter has shown up on a photograph and people's belongings have gone missing from inside the lift without anyone getting on or off. The shopping center manager wants the case solved, but will she be able to bring the spook into the daylight and reveal its true nature? Or will she get stuck in the dicksand with Brett like sassy best friend and Police colleague Patience Woods predicts and just be too distracted to solve crimes? It is time to find out if she can be who she wants to be in both her professional and personal life. Time to put her big-girl knickers on.
Witch of a Godmother
Belinda White - 2020
The natural order of things is for a mother to raise her children. Not the other way around.My new housemate Kimberly doesn't know yet what (or who) her newborn daughter is, but I do. I was there when she was born and shared a short soul-gaze with my own mother. Someday, I'll have to break the news to Kimberly, but not today.Or this week, it looks like. Not with all the shenanigans going on in Wind's Crossing.Who would have thought buying a simple desk at an estate auction would lead to so much trouble for my little shop? The break-ins ticked me off, but I could live with them. I had my own way of handling things like that.But when the last break-in yielded a dead body? Well, a witch has to draw the line somewhere.Besides, I'm a Ravenswind Witch and head priestess of the Gemstone Coven. We don't rest until justice is served. One way or another.
Witch of a Godmother is the first book in the Witch Reborn Series, a Paranormal Witch Cozy Mystery starring none other than Opal Ravenswind, witch extraordinaire. This series is the second series featuring the Gemstone Coven's witches. If you want to start at the very beginning, check out the Accidental Familiar Series.
Blood & Ash
Deborah WildeDeborah Wilde - 2020
Long-lost magic. Can one determined private eye topple a dark conspiracy?Detective for hire, Ashira Cohen is having a no-good, very bad day.When Ash was thirteen, her con artist father disappeared, leaving her with emotional scars and a limp she can't hide. But she toughened up, determined never to be played again. Is history repeating itself?First, she’s hit on the head during a stakeout, revealing a mysterious tattoo on the back of her skull. Even worse? It’s a now-broken ward unleashing dangerous magic that as a Mundane, she shouldn’t possess. And the icing on this crap cake? Her unruly powers nearly kill her long-time nemesis, Levi, the uptight leader of the magic community. One word from him revealing her forbidden abilities, and everything she’s built will be taken from her… by force.The only bright spot is that Levi requires her supernatural skills to solve a spree of abductions. After years of being underestimated by him, it’s Ash’s chance at payback and she’s going to enjoy bringing him to his knees—or stuffing him in a body bag.Crackling with humor and suspense, Blood & Ash features a headstrong heroine tackling paranormal mysteries and an enemies-to-lovers romance. Get this complete series now!"Wilde combines hardboiled noir and Jewish folklore in this action-packed, perfectly paced paranormal romp. ... the real star is Ash's hilariously snarky narrative voice which is archly sarcastic but never mean. ... Wilde balances exuberant wit with deep compassion and handles Ash's chronic pain and fragmented family with care. This giddy, sexy series launch is a delight." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)