Book picks similar to
Ashes of Retribution by L.J. Andrews


dystopian
fantasy
young-adult
death-games

Tainted


Alexandra Moody - 2014
    All she has ever known are the artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways, community comes first and everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing. With one simple blood test you could be taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.There are only a few people in the ARC who Elle truly cares about and she desperately tries to keep them at arm’s length away for fear of losing someone else. Especially, her best friend Sebastian who she denies her feelings for, even from herself. Chilling secrets and mysterious disappearances plague the ARC, but Elle would never dare to voice the forbidden questions that linger on her lips. That is until they take the wrong person.No one is truly safe in the ARC and Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse. With nothing left to lose she will risk everything to uncover the truth about the tainted.Will she find what she's looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?Don't miss the first book in this young adult series!

Outview


Brandt Legg - 2013
    For thousands of years, humans have sought to lift it. Imagine the secrets waiting for discovery, insights into the unknown, and powers beyond the possible.Nate wondered.After the death of his father, the loss of his brother, and mysterious messages, he finds himself enmeshed in a centuries-old conspiracy to hide the truth about what lies beyond that veil. He must juggle prophecies and mystic knowledge, trace a quest across countless lifetimes, and grasp a complex destiny, before he can unravel the ancient puzzle. Scores have died to protect the secrets. The "trusted"few whispered clues, guarded locations, and hid keys to what humanity was not yet ready for.Until Nate found a way.Those protecting the “veil” know he did. And so do the ones who have been searching since before he was born. At the same time, a clandestine group, wielding overwhelming power, wants him silenced.Nate is running.

The Way


Mary E. Twomey - 2013
    Born with a lesser blood type, Blue is raised in The Way, a work camp for A-bloods.The Vemreaux (B-bloods) are the ruling class. Theirs is the only type that responds to the Fountain of Youth, granting them an additional one hundred twenty years, heightened senses and nearly unbreakable bones in exchange for an iron deficiency that makes them crave O-type human blood.The Vemreaux are at the top of the food chain until a mysterious predator begins stealthily claiming them and sending back their filleted bodies. Thus begins the search for the Light – a woman foretold to be able to free the Vemreaux from this tyranny. Blue sets off with her brother to fight for those that oppressed her, charging ferociously into the battle that could claim her life.

The Scarlet Promise


Sangeeta Kathuria - 2018
    This invisible red thread will never break and you will either find your way back to me somehow, or me to you.” This is the promise that Jack makes to Esha at the end of their precious week together in London. Esha has to return to India for her wedding to Dev, which has been arranged by her wealthy parents. Aware of her cultural commitments and knowing in her heart that they cannot have a future together, their separation is marked with a single promise. The turbulent years that follow are recorded in Esha’s journal, in the form of letters to Jack, which eventually find their way into his hands and which rock his world to the core. The rigid traditions and formalities of the social world of Amritsar, in which Esha is trapped, and to which Jack has no access, may well stretch their scarlet thread to breaking point. Can a single promise made seven years ago bring together two star crossed lovers in this gripping tale, spanning two cities?

Cursed


Casey Odell - 2012
    But legends sometimes forget the true history of things and Claire’s eyes are soon opened to a world she never knew. One that has been kept from her for most of her life. All Claire wants to do is return home and start looking for her mother, the only family she ever had. But the elves have different plans. The mysterious mark that appeared on her arm isn’t a curse, at least not to them anyway, and before she knows it, she is whisked away on a mission she never agreed to, unless they help her in return.Now she is stuck on an adventure with the perverted elf, Aeron, and one with an attitude, Farron. But there is more to this adventure than she’d ever hoped for.

Incubation


Laura DiSilverio - 2016
    Raised with other repo kids in InKubator 9, she has pinned her hopes on Reunion Day, the annual event where sixteen-year-olds can meet or reunite with their parents. When her Reunion Day goes horribly awry, she and her pregnant friend Halla escape the Kube, accompanied by their friend Wyck who has his own reasons for leaving. In a world where rebuilding the population is critical to national survival, the Pragmatist government licenses all human reproduction, and decides who can--and must--have babies. The trio face feral dog packs, swamp threats, locust swarms, bounty hunters looking for "breeders," and more dangers as they race to Amerada's capital to find Halla's soldier boyfriend before the Prags can repo her baby and force the girls into surrogacy service. An unexpected encounter with Bulrush, an Underground Railroad for women fleeing to Outposts with their unlicensed babies, puts them in greater peril than ever. Everly must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to learn her biological identity--and deal with the unanticipated consequences of her decisions.

The Vampire Skeleton


Sara General - 2016
    Rowen is the healer’s apprentice. The rules have never bothered her—until a vampire attacks her community and hurts one of the people she cares about most. Suddenly, Rowen is forced to make a life-altering decision—hunt the vampire or let her best friend die. But hunting a vampire isn’t as easy as it sounds and soon enough, Rowen finds herself needing help. Enter Cruz, wealthy businessman and vampire overlord of the City of Brantwood. He’s the only person powerful enough to help Rowen save her friend and naturally—his help comes at a price. Will Rowen agree to pay it? And what will her decision cost her?

The Finding


Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - 2009
    Humans have been extinct for centuries, trapped by a terrible curse and left to live out their existence in the form of dragons. Despite his doubts, however, Jaax assumes responsibility for the baby girl only to discover that what he has been seeking for so many years has finally been found... Jahrra knows all about the legends and sagas of Oescienne, but never in her wildest dreams would she believe that she played a part in one of them. She’s far too busy dodging the bullies at school and seeking out new adventures with her friends to worry about what secrets her dragon mentor might be keeping from her, or that her every move is being watched by something living in the forest surrounding her home.But the secrets run deep, and as Jahrra fights to earn her place in this extraordinary world, she will begin to unravel the truth of it all: that she isn’t as safe as she thought she was, that danger lurks around every corner, and that her role in this unfurling tale is far more significant than she could possibly imagine.

Rehabilitation


C.B. Stone - 2014
    I suppose deep down I'd like to believe God exists. But he doesn’t, not since the war. Most days I’m okay with that. Jacob calls me a pessimist, but I’m a realist. How can I believe when a place like Rehabilitation and a regime like the Elite exist, dictating our every move? If God were so great, he’d do something. But he hasn’t. We’re forgotten. And that scares me, because it means I might have to do something myself…Sinna has spent her life walking a fine line between breaking the rules and obeying them to a fault. In a Godless world where science and logic reign supreme and people are punished for Believing, are friendship and love reasons enough to abandon unbelief? Enough to put her faith in something bigger than herself?

Nolander


Becca Mills - 2012
    They're wrong. Amateur photographer Beth Ryder is in trouble. She's taking pictures of things she can't see, things that aren't human. Beth has her own dreams, but people like her don't get to go free. She's seized by a dangerous organization dedicated to keeping Earth's shadow world -- and its frightening inhabitants -- a secret. Forced into otherworldly politics and uncertain whom to trust, Beth must come to terms with a radically altered future -- one in which her own humanity seems to be draining away.

Under the Blue


Josephine Dillon - 2011
    Drawn into his dream world by a darkness he cannot detect, he unknowingly opens the door to the other side. As the darkness begins to consume him, he becomes less and less human. Under The Blue is a story of two brothers caught in the middle of a timeless war between good and evil. As the story unfolds, they will soon learn what it is like to be only human. This is the first of seven books in The Blue Series. I am currently working on the last book, Volume 7, due this Summer, 2014. (16+ Contains profanity, violence, homosexual situations.)

Dark Secrets


Angela M. Hudson - 2013
    They look just like me, just like you. But they can kill. They do kill. And I’ve fallen in love with one.I wish I’d walked away. I wish I’d followed my gut. I wish he’d been there when I became the victim.You’ll love this fresh take on a tired genre, because vampires should be bad, and they should do it well. So hurry and start the series today. Don’t be the last to discover it.

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.

The Facility


Eliza Green - 2016
    With her life in tatters, she can’t shake the image of her parents’ murder by rebels who also wanted her dead.The facility needs to prepare Anya for the dangers beyond its gun-lined walls. Nine gruelling levels of tests await her before she can escape its hold. Success might mean freedom... but failure could kill her.A street-smart stranger with dubious underground connections tells Anya not to trust the facility. Still numb with grief, she ignores his warnings until two teenagers take their lives in front of her. Thrust into action, Anya pushes deeper into the game that pits teenagers against each other. To survive, she must choose a side. But she’s not sure who her enemy is.The right choice will guarantee Anya’s freedom. The wrong one will kill her...The Facility is the first book in the gritty science-fiction suspense series. If you like broken heroes, page-turning action, and intriguing twists you won't see coming, then you’ll love Eliza Green's fast-paced novel.Buy The Facility to join the game today!Note: The Facility used to be published as Feeder. The story is the same, just a different title.

Sworn to Raise


Terah Edun - 2013
    But beneath her empire’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron. But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with remarkable characters and unforgettable magic. Sworn To Raise is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Michelle Sagara, and Maria Snyder.