Book picks similar to
The Mark of a Druid by Rhonda R. Carpenter
fantasy
fiction
historical-fiction
romance
Growl
Elaine Pierson - 2011
Her ability to move things with her mind has made her an outcast, even in her own home. She hates the power that she has and wants nothing more than to be normal like everyone else. But when she is forced to run away from home or be sent to a hospital to be studied like some kind of science project, she has no choice but to rely on her telekinesis in order to survive on her own. She soon finds herself in more danger than she ever thought possible when she discovers that there are even stranger people than her in the world. Like Cole, a man with a deadly secret who has vowed to stop at nothing until he has her. And Jesse, who seems like the perfect man until she learns that he may not be who she thinks he is.The unbelievable becomes reality when seemingly normal people shed their human skin for that of fur and prowl the streets at night looking for their next victim. Will Lacey's power be her saving grace or her doom?
The Darkening Dream
Andy Gavin - 2011
God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand. With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself.
Illicit Magic
Camilla Chafer - 2011
Young witch, Stella, has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive but she might not be any safer in their midst than from the danger she is running from.There is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful witch but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human? There is only one secret that someone will do anything to keep quiet, but whose secret is it and will Stella have to pay the price for silence?
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant
Drew Hayes - 2014
Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort.One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world, a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive.” Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess.
Besieged
Kevin Hearne - 2017
- At a Kansas carnival, fun and games turns to murder and mayhem, thanks to soul-snatching demons and flesh-craving ghouls luring visitors into an all-too-real house of horrors. - Verily, in olde England, striking up a friendship with William Shakespeare lands both Atticus and the Bard in boiling hot water with a trio of infamous witches. - During the Gold Rush, the avatar of greed himself turns the streets of San Francisco red with blood and upsets the elemental Sequoia. Atticus may have to fight fire with fire if he's going to restore balance.More, you say? Indeed there is--including bogeymen, vampire hordes, wrathful wraiths, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. Prepare to be besieged with nine tantalizing tales--not to be missed, never to be forgotten.
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.
The Kinshield Legacy
K.C. May - 2005
The kingdom is in ruins, with only warrant knights to keep the peace. But then, the gems in the tablet, one by one, disappear. Warrant knight Gavin Kinshield is a man of many secrets. He's the one deciphering the runes in the tablet. Unless he can find a suitable replacement, he'll be Thendylath's next king. All he really wants is the letter written by his ancestor Ronor Kinshield, champion to King Arek, confessing the truth of how the king perished.Daia Saberheart, warrior of the Viragon Sisterhood, wants to find the future king and help him claim his rightful place. Blacksmith Risan Stronghammer wants to reward him with a powerful weapon.And the sorcerer Brodas Ravenkind wants to capture him, steal his secret and claim the throne for himself.But when Gavin finally tracks down Ronor's letter, he gets far more than he's bargained for, for the truth of King Arek's demise is far darker than he ever imagined.________________________________
Every Last Kiss
Courtney Cole - 2011
Controlled by the Fates. Can Macy's love for her soul mate survive the bonds of time... and death?17-year old Macy Lockhart is as far from normal as any one girl can be. The problem is, she doesn’t know it yet.After a bloodstone pendant is mysteriously left on her door, Macy’s life begins to change in ways she’d never dreamed. And while she will eventually come to realize that nothing is ever what it seems, that her life is a tangled web of lies and the Fates themselves pull the strings, for now she is left with only the explanations that they offer her.Macy is led to believe that if she doesn’t return to a previous doomed life, one in which she served as Queen Cleopatra ‘s handmaiden, the fate of the entire world will be threatened in a way that would destroy history as we know it. She learns that she has lived thousands of lives, each one ending tragically…but none as tragic as this one.After returning to ancient Egypt, she is faced with heart-wrenching decisions. Unless she interferes with Fate’s plan, the very thing she was born to protect, her soul mate will die leading Marc Antony’s forces against Rome. Can she really stand aside and watch the love of her life die all over again?In this fascinating novel-length prequel to The Bloodstone Saga, Courtney Cole sets the stage for an epic journey that will have readers holding their breath until the very last page of the very last book has been turned.What would you do if you held Fate in your hands?
Bound by a Dragon
Linda K. Hopkins - 2014
Keira is content in her small, medieval village - well, sort of. Her mother is pressing her to marry, but her suitors are less than desirable. So when handsome Aaron Drake arrives in the village and focuses his attention on Keira, she cannot help but be interested. But Aaron is not the only new arrival in the area - a fire-breathing dragon has also taken up residence in the mountains, not far from the remote alpine castle that Aaron calls home. What exactly is the connection between Aaron Drake and the dragon? Why is his arrival coincident with the arrival of a beast? And when the dragon rescues her from the unwanted attentions of some village boys, who will set out to rescue her from the huge, scaly, fire-breathing monster? Bound by a Dragon sweeps the reader far from the modern world into a world of castles, medieval markets and fantastical romance.
The Fox
Arlene Radasky - 2008
Brilliant and utterly breathtaking, Radasky’s is a powerful new voice in romance, fantasy, and historical fiction. Bravo!The Romans’ path of destruction jeopardizes a Caledonian clan unless they are able to strike a bargain with the Gods, which ultimately means a human sacrifice. Jahna is a member of this first century tribe. She has the power to merge minds, which she chooses to do with a twenty-first century woman, Aine MacRae and her contemporary, a young man Lovern, to whom she was hand-fasted in her time and of whom she shared a child, in order to save her people. In the name of the gods, Lovern was killed. Druids place his body in the sacred Black Lake, but through a visit from his ghost, Jahna sends their child away thus securing their bloodline. In the midst of madness, Jahna lives just long enough to reveal to Aine, her grief. Two thousand years later, in the year 2005, Aine is hoping to reestablish her career as an archaeologist and assists in the excavation in the Highlands of Scotland of a first century Caledonian chieftain’s tomb with fellow archaeologist, Marc Hunt. As the fates align, Jahna, guides Aine to one bronze bowl, then another, and when she is led by a ghost, Aine uncovers a two thousand year old man encased in a bog. As the circle goes unbroken, a heart’s chains are loosened and it is understood that Aine and Marc are able to rediscover their past love.
The Dragon King and I
Adrianne Brooks - 2013
When a man is killed while trying to bring her an umbrella, she realizes that her condition isn't going away on its own and she’ll need to find a cure if she ever wants to live a normal life.So when her "Fairy Godmother" sends her on a quest to cure the curse that’s been plaguing her, Alex is doubtful but willing. Together with her beastly Prince Charming, she starts gathering all 6 ingredients that make up the cure. Everything was going smoothly...Until the last ingredient involves the heart of the one person she has learned to love: A dragon’s heart.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs - 2011
An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
Paranormal Public
Maddy Edwards - 2011
. .Charlotte Rollins is an elemental, but she doesn't know it yet. Now, with the help of her old friend Cale and her new friend Keller, she will fight against an evil whose only goal is to consume her.From Kobo:There is no such thing as a mage. There is certainly no such thing as a vampire, pixie, werewolf, or fallen angel. And they certainly do not all attend a college together called Paranormal Public University.One minute Charlotte Rollins is a normal girl about to go to a normal college. She is at once excited and nervous, getting ready to start this new phase in her life. The next minute she is a freshman not at a normal college, but at Paranormal Public University, a school where paranormals of all kinds must co-exist. Charlotte must learn magic, that is, if she could actually do magic, which unlike every other mage at Public she can’t seem to manage.Her transition to this new and wonderful world is difficult. On top of trying to learn magic, make new friends, and confront forbidden love, the archenemy of the paranormals, the demons, are getting stronger. They are looking for something. It turns out that Charlotte might just hold the key to finding it.Can Charlotte get a handle on her powers in time to save the school she loves? Can she fulfill a destiny the paranormals scarcely dared to hope for? Or will she be too late?
Dying Bites
D.D. Barant - 2009
And real is getting stranger every day…Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she’s the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David’s world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again…
The Witch Hunter
Virginia Boecker - 2015
But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.