Book picks similar to
The Sacrifice by Jessica Gadziala


paranormal
romance
mc
paranormal-romance

Darkness of Light


Stacey Marie Brown - 2013
    Witch. Crazy. Schizo.Ember Brycin has always known she’s different. After finding her mother brutally murdered, her mind begins to see things that shouldn’t exist. The more she feels her sanity slipping, the more bizarre and inexplicable things constantly happen around her.When the latest school explosion lands her in a facility for troubled youth, she meets Eli Dragen—a hot as hell, darkly mysterious, bad boy from a notorious biker gang. Their connection is full of passion, danger, and secrets. Secrets that will destroy her life and lead her down a path she could never imagine.A pawn in a war between the Fae.In the middle of Light and Dark, Ember finds another world where truth and knowledge are power and no one can be trusted.No one.**New Adult/Mature YA: sexual content, language, alcohol, violence, death, and other mature content intended for readers 17 and older.

Shadow Rider


Christine Feehan - 2016
    When he’s not fodder for the paparazzi, he commands Ferraro family businesses—both legitimate and illegitimate.While their criminal activity is simply a rumor yet to be proven, no one knows the real truth. The Ferraros are a family of shadow riders capable of manipulating light and dark, an ability Stefano thought ran in his family alone—until now…With little left to her name, Francesca Cappello has come to Chicago in hopes of a new life. She wasn’t expecting to attract the attention of a man with primal hunger in his eyes, driven to claim her as his to protect and to please. And if he discovers her secret, it could ruin her...

Taming Demons for Beginners


Annette Marie - 2019
    I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.Rule two: Don't listen to the demon.My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I'm supposed to act like I don't know how illegal and dangerous it is.Rule three: Don't talk to the demon.All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn't find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn't notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn't break the rules.But I did, and now it's too late.

Styx


Layla Frost - 2018
    Next to me. In front of me. Behind me. Below me. It mocks me. My prison. My hell. I don’t know who I am. Where I am. How long I’ve been here. Decades? Centuries? It’s felt like an eternity. For all the unknowns, one truth has grown stronger with the torturous passing of time... I wish I was dead. Or, at least, I did until I heard her. She gives me hope. A purpose. Freedom. I follow her, soaking in everything she does and growing more dependent. Never in my long life have I seen anyone so perfect. Now I just have to find a way to make her hear me. And being able to see me would probably help, too… Warning: This book is NOT a dark romance, though it is still recommended for readers 18+ due to strong adult language, themes, and lovin’ so good, it must be magicks.

Exquisite Trouble


Ann Mayburn - 2014
    . .Before I met Smoke I'd never been kissed, really kissed, by a man, let alone a biker sex god bent on taking my virginity and my heart. I got dragged into the deadly world of the Iron Horse MC by my crazy twin sister who is engaged to the club's President and even crazier mom who only cares about herself. Smoke has been assigned by the club to keep me safe even though he's everything that I should be afraid of. He's the kind of man who lives by his own rules and does whatever he wants whenever he wants, but he treats me like I'm something rare and precious, not a socially dysfunctional basket case who has no idea how to love, but needs him more than her next breath. Not that my feelings matter, because if we don't find my mother soon, the only thing I'll have to be worried about is who is going to kill me first.*-*NOTE: This book, "Exquisite Trouble" is the first part of two, telling the story of Swan and Smoke, with a 'Happy For Now' ending. Their HEA follows in "Exquisite Danger", the second book of the series. Iron Horse MC series Reading order:Book 1: Exquisite Trouble (Swan & Smoke, Pt #1)Book 2: Exquisite Danger (Swan & Smoke, Pt #2)Book 3: Exquisite Redemption (Sarah & Beach, Pt #1)Book 4: Exquisite Karma (Sarah & Beach, Pt #2)Book 5: Exquisite Innocence (Lyric & Hustler, Pt #1)Book 6: Exquisite Sin (Lyric & Hustler, Pt #2)

A Hunger Like No Other


Kresley Cole - 2006
    Or partly one. Emmaline Troy is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.Sheltered Emmaline finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents—until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae—and their notorious dark desires—ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

Tempting Danger


Eileen Wilks - 2004
     National bestselling author Eileen Wilks draws readers into a bold new world where the magical and mundane co-exist in an uneasy alliance--and a cop balanced on her own knife-edged struggle is their only hope against a cold-blooded killer.Lily Yu is a San Diego police detective investigating a series of grisly murders that appear to be the work of a werewolf. To hunt down the killer, she must infiltrate the clans. Only one man can help her--a were named Rule Turner, a prince of the lupi, whose charismatic presence disturbs Lily. Rule has his own reasons for helping the investigation--reasons he doesn't want to share with Lily. Logic and honor demand she keep her distance, but the attraction between them is immediate and devastating-and beyond human reason. Now, in a race to fend off evil, Lily finds herself in uncharted territory, tested as never before, and at her back a man who she's not sure she can trust.

Gothikana


RuNyx - 2021
    An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an olden, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his paths cross with Corvina, she's dangerous to everything that he is.They shouldn't have caught each other's eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years for over a hundred years, and Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.And so begins a tale of the mystique, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.

A Love of Vengeance


Nancy Haviland - 2014
    Vasily needs someone he can trust in Seattle to protect his estranged daughter, Eva Jacobs, while he avenges the murder of the young woman’s mother. Gabriel is unstoppable in a fight, whether he’s using fists, blades, or bullets; but innocent, onyx-haired Eva may just be the most dangerous—and beautiful—thing he’s come up against.Intense sparks fly between the two, tempting Gabriel to mix business with pleasure while in the Emerald City. But once word gets around that Gabriel has shown up in New York, Stefano—his vengeful brother and the de facto head of the family—decides that Eva is the key to ending the feud between them…permanently.In this pulse-pounding romantic thriller set against the backdrop of New York City’s storied underworld, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be told, and mob justice will be served.

A Hint of Frost


Hailey Edwards - 2012
     Araneae Nation, Book 1 When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold. Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart. Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang. Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

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.

Trial by Fae


Linsey Hall - 2019
    As long as no one learns that I’m descended from a line of forbidden Dragon Bloods, I can keep my job and my life.But when a fiercely sexy Fae king realizes I’m his fated mate, I’ve got problems. Especially since A), he hates me and B), he learns my secret. It puts my whole life at risk. I want to kill my mate.The stars align when my job sends me to the Fae Court as an undercover agent to investigate him. Did the king kill hundreds?Even when I’m in disguise, he only has eyes only for me. He senses that I’m his mate, and our attraction is irresistible. Despite our mistrust, we can't stay apart. But when he realizes what I’m up to, there will be hell to pay. That is, if I survive.

Raphael


D.B. Reynolds - 2009
    . . and vampires.Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he'd give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it's too late.Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough and sexy, a private investigator and former cop who's tired of spying on cheating spouses and digging out old bank accounts. When Raphael asks for her help in tracking down the kidnappers, Cyn's happy to accept. But she soon realizes her greatest danger comes not from the humans, but from Raphael himself.Battling Russian mobsters and treacherous vampires, and betrayed by those they trusted, Cyn and Raphael find themselves fighting for their lives while caught up in a passion of blood and violence that is destined to destroy them both.

Reborn Yesterday


Tessa Bailey - 2020
    It was a night like any other for funeral home director Ginny Lynn, until the exceptionally handsome—and unfortunately deceased—young man on her embalming table sat up, opened his emerald eyes and changed the course of her life forever, making her feel quite fluttery while he was at it.Humans aren't supposed to know Jonas Cantrell, or any vampire, exists. It's kind of a major rule. Despite his instantaneous bond with perfectly peculiar Ginny, he has no choice but to erase her memories of their one and only meeting.That was the plan. Before a reluctant Jonas can wipe Ginny's mind clean, she reveals a secret that brings their worlds crashing together. Human and vampire. Past and present. Darkness and light. And while their love is strictly forbidden, it might be the only thing that can save them… Reborn Yesterday is a standalone paranormal romantic comedy with a happily ever after.

The Midwinter Mail-Order Bride


Kati Wilde - 2017
    It was not courage that drove Anja from her magic-wielding family’s enchanted palace, however, but a desperate attempt to secure a kingdom of her own—even if she has to kill the Conqueror to do it. She expects pain beneath his brutal touch as she awaits her chance. She expects death if he discovers the truth of her intentions.   She didn’t expect Kael to reject her and send her back to Ivermere.   Raised in the ashes of the Dead Lands, Kael fears nothing—certainly not the beautiful sorceress who arrives at his mountain stronghold. But no matter how painful his need for her, Kael has no use for a bride who would only tolerate his kiss. Yet the more of Anja’s secrets he uncovers during their journey to return her home, the more determined he becomes to win the princess’s wary heart.   And Kael the Conqueror has never been defeated… Don’t miss all of the titles in the Mail-Order Brides series by Alexa Riley, Ruby Dixon, and Ella Goode!