Book picks similar to
Initiation by Heather Renee


fantasy
dnf
paranormal
reverse-harem

Blood Casino


Nina Walker - 2021
    Becoming a vampire hunter was never in my cards, but it is now that she needs my help. A decade ago vampires seized control of the bars, casinos, and the dark underbelly of society. Now they deal in addiction and bargain with blood, and humans over twenty-five can't fight back against their compulsion. It's made my mother vulnerable––the only family I have left.To save her, I'm forced to make a deal with the devil––one who lives above a casino, wears a crown, and wants to drink my blood. Andrianos Teresi may be dangerous and alluring but I've got a stake hidden up my sleeve. I'll go all in and play his game, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.What I don't expect? The heart that needs guarding is my own.

First Impressions


C.R. Jane - 2018
     Failed by the foster system, and left in the hands of a woman who hates her, and a man who wants her, Eva has given up hope of ever having a life. When she finds a mysterious letter from Rothmore College addressed to her in the trash, Eva's future suddenly comes alive. Now all she has to do is figure out a way to escape her attic prison, make her way across the country to New York City, and figure out all the things that point to the fact that there are things about her that aren't exactly normal... Along the way Eva meets new friends, explores new places, and stumbles across three beautiful, charismatic, and alarmingly otherworldly men. Do they hold the key to Eva discovering who she really is, or are they just good at first impressions?

Emerge


Lena Mae Hill - 2018
    Gwen has spent her life on the road, picking up and moving every few months when her mother has a mental break. They take care of each other. They don't need anyone else. Or so Gwen believes...until her mother announces she's met a man online. When they arrive at his opulent home, Gwen is plunged into a world that seems too good to be true. Suddenly she's living in a mansion overlooking the beach and eating foods she's only read about in paperback novels. Her mother's new man has a gorgeous daughter and four irresistible sons who apparently don't mind her complete social incompetence. At last, her dream of going to school and being a normal 16-year-old is within her reach. But the family they've joined has more than its share of secrets. Not all of them want her there, and her inexplicable attraction to each of them only complicates matters further. When strange phenomena begin to occur in their presence, Gwen must emerge from her protective shell and embrace a destiny she's never imagined. Contains mature themes.

After Darkness Falls


May Sage - 2019
    Or so they think. Chloe used to study hard, do everything right to pave a bright future, but children sometimes have to pay for their parents’ sins, and Chloe’s tab is pretty steep. At twenty-six, when a series of attacks forces her to seek refuge in the notorious Institute of Paranormal Studies, Chloe sees it as a second chance to achieve her goals. She believes she has nothing to lose. She couldn’t be more mistaken. Levi has had centuries to observe the mortals and immortals of this world. He knows what the sassy woman who entered his domain is at first glance. A relic of the old days, so ancient that even an elder lord descended from the first immortals has reason to fear her. He should slit her throat while he has the chance. He should. After Darkness Falls is a series of standalone paranormal romance novels.

A Legacy Witch


Ashley McLeo - 2019
     But my parents don’t want me attending their alma mater, Spellcasters Spy Academy. They think I can’t hack it. Of course, I plan on proving them wrong. If I can stay alive long enough. Someone is attacking witches in my year, and I seem to always be nearby when they strike. I swear I have nothing to do with it. Shoot, I can barely get my magic to cooperate. But convincing some people of my innocence is impossible. Like hot-as-hell Alex Wardwell, who despises me because of one dumb mistake. So between proving my parents wrong, passing the trials Spellcasters has in store, trying to convince Alex that he has me pegged wrong, and simply staying alive, it looks like I’m going to have a busy year. Thank the universe I’ve always been up for a challenge. A Legacy Witch is an upper YA/NA paranormal academy novel with an espionage twist! With an enemies-to-lovers romance, mysterious deaths, and a diverse cast of supernatural creatures, your enrollment at Spellcasters will be unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Enroll today!

Shadow Hunter


B.R. Kingsolver - 2019
    They trained me as an assassin, spy, and thief. But when they sent me to steal a magical artifact that reveals Truth in all things, I discovered that I was working for the Dark and not the Light. The Illuminati trained me well, and paid the ultimate price for their deception. Thousands of miles away, I landed a job in a quirky little bar. But the scattered remnants of the Order still strive for world domination, and no one leaves the Illuminati alive.

Lost Girl


Colleen Vanderlinden - 2013
    Determined to make something of her bizarre powers, she devotes herself to saving those who need her most. One night, she's followed by a powerful being in a pickup truck, and her world will never be the same. Finding herself thrust into a world full of supernatural beings she could have only imagined, Molly learns how powerful she really is, and how much she stands to lose.

From the Ashes


Amber Lynn Natusch - 2016
    Then the dark and mysterious Merc walks into her life, and it takes a disastrous turn for the worse.Now under attack by enemies both known and unknown, Piper has little choice but to flee her refuge—and start over in a place few vampires ever go. Rural Alaska seemed to fit the bill, except for Knox and his crew of werewolves. The pack shares a connection with Piper that few of them can explain, and none of them can escape. With time running out for answers, Piper must fight the demons of her past to ensure her future—or die trying.

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor


Kathryn Moon - 2021
    Even better, the invitation comes by the hand of the handsome Dr. Underwood, a delicate gentleman with a ferocious alter ego who knows exactly what he wants from Esther.Upon arrival the men and the daily decadence of the manor feel too good to be true for a girl of Esther’s station. There are rules to be followed, expectations to meet, and Esther is afraid she might be too wicked even for a place like Rooksgrave.Temptations lurk around every shadowy corner and Esther has never been a girl able to resist. But the risk of disappointing her new gentlemen isn’t all that’s threatening Esther’s new position. Rooksgrave Manor’s protections for its unusual patrons are failing, the wards are crumbling, and Esther’s new and exquisitely pleasurable life may all come tumbling down.Author's Note: I've returned to Rooksgrave Manor to polish and complete Esther's story (previously published in 2018) and rediscovered a whole world of monsters and devious young women that I absolutely adore!

Academy of Assassins


Stacey Brutger - 2017
     Abandoned as a child and unable to remember her past, Morgan was raised as a hunter, one of an elite group of fighters sworn to protect humans from the dangerous paranormal creatures who invade our world…creatures such as herself. Her life changes the day she’s summoned to the Academy of Assassins, a school that trains witches and hunters to eradicate paranormals who prey on humans. Her first assignment—find and eliminate the killer who is using the Academy as their own personal hunting ground. As Morgan delves deeper into the investigation, she will need to dodge assassination attempts, avoid the distraction of romantic entanglements with the devilishly handsome security expert, Kincade, and his maddeningly overprotective teammates, while keeping the volatile magic in her blood concealed from those who would use it for their own purposes. When the danger increases and the school is threatened, Morgan must unearth her missing memories before someone finishes the job they started so long ago—killing her and unleashing a plague that will consume the world.

Black Swan Rising


Lee Carroll - 2010
    John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, commissions her to open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to her by her deceased mother. Garet can't believe her luck and this eerie coincidence until she opens the box and otherworldly things start happening. . . .That evening, the precious silver box is stolen. When Garet begins to investigate, she learns that she has been pulled into a prophecy that is hundreds of years old, and opening the box has unleashed an evil force onto the streets of Manhattan and the world at large. Gradually, Garet pieces together her true identity--one that her deceased mother desperately tried to protect her from. Generations of women in Garet's family, including her beloved mother, suffered and died at the hands of this prevailing evil. Does Garet possess the power to reclaim the box and defeat this devastating force?On her journey, she will meet the fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can't stop thinking about. But the fairies reveal a desire to overpower mere humans and the seductive vampire has the power to steal the life from her body. Whom can Garet trust to guide her? Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she's got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.

Gravestones & Wicked Bones


D.D. Miers - 2017
    Half Demon. 100% Badass Bitch. My sisters and I weren’t born with magic. No, we were forced into it. Betrayed into it by the one person who was supposed to protect us. Now we’re living in a shithole desert town at the mercy of a sexy-as-hell Fae named Bastian. So far, I’ve been able to buy Violet and Jade time to live freely, without being held to Bastian’s constant call. I’ve been doing his dirty work for five long years, but my sisters’ freedom is wearing thin. Soon he’ll summon them, just as he did me—and I can’t let that happen. Bastian’s latest assignment offers an escape for my sisters, and I’d be a fool not to take it. But my target is more powerful than any man I’ve faced before, and doubly seductive. He draws out my inner demons—literally—and evading this attraction might prove more difficult than finishing what I started. The first book in a New Series by Award-Winning Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Author D.D. Miers. Perfect for fans of Mercy Thompson, Jane Yellowrock and Alex Craft!

Warrior of Magick


Jessica Wayne - 2021
    And it will change everything.For Sienna Faremin, staying alive has been merely a byproduct of the torture she received for over a decade.Running one mission after another for the Magick council, she is nothing more than their personal assassin, leaving her hands bloodier than most. ​When she's tasked with killing a man believed to be the last surviving member of a Guardian family, Sienna accepts, only to discover the man she's supposed to kill is none other than Daxon Ward, one of only two survivors she saved the night the Guardian academy burned to the ground.As she dives deeper into the truth behind the attack, Sienna discovers a web of lies and deceit carefully woven into place in order to cover a deadly plot that would change the realm...forever.

Darkfever


Karen Marie Moning - 2006
    I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.My philosophy is pretty simple - any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then."When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death, a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho...while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane - an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women - closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book - because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control both worlds in their hands.

Vampire Girl


Karpov Kinrade - 2016
    For fans of Twilight, A Shade of Vampire, and Outlander comes a fantasy romance with an original twist on an old tale.***You think it's safe to walk alone at night. It's not.You think the only threat is other humans. It's not.Monsters are real. Demons are real. Vampires are real. And I'm about to become one of them.My name is Arianna Spero. I was an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life, until my mother lapsed into a coma. Now, I am her only hope. She made a deal with the devil, and on my 18th birthday he came to collect. But there's a way to save her. There's something the princes of hell want more than my mother.Me.So I signed my soul away and promised to pick a prince to marry. I would take the blood oath, become one of them, and give them an heir. I would become a princess of hell, and my mother would live.I expected fire and brimstone. I expected pain and misery. I didn't expect beauty. I didn't expect magic.I didn't expect love.But the princes are keeping secrets from me.Secrets that could shatter everything.