Book picks similar to
Court of Asphodels by Elisa E. Enzo
mythology
fantasy
retellings
hades-and-persephone
Highland Raven
Melanie Karsak - 2014
Bound by blood to the Celtic gods. Scotland, 1026--Gruoch, descendant of the line of MacAlpin, should have been born into a life of ease. But fate is fickle. Her father's untimely death, rumored to have been plotted by King Malcolm, leaves her future uncertain and stained by the prophecy that she will avenge her family line. Escaping to one of the last strongholds of the old Celtic gods, Gruoch becomes an adept in arcane craft. Her encounters with the otherworld, however, suggest that magic runs stronger in Scotland than she ever imagined. Haunted by dreams of a raven-haired man she's never met, Gruoch soon feels her fate is not her own. She is duty-bound to wed a powerful lord, if not the Prince himself; however, she's not sure she can stop her heart when she meets Banquo, a gallant highlander and druid. Fans of Outlander and Mists of Avalon will relish this sweeping Scottish Historical Fantasy that tells the tale of Gruoch, a woman struggling to escape her fate without blood on her hands. "A great novel that captures realistically a world of witches and fairies, warrior women and barbaric men, and a woman exploring a life she had no idea existed" Author Carrie L. Wells "A rich tale of lore and legend that will trap you faster than a fairy ring" Fabulous and Fun Book Reviews
The Moonfire Bride
Sylvia Mercedes - 2021
Until the night he whispers her name.For years, Valera has worked weary hours as a seamstress just to keep food on the table. She would give her all to protect her little sister from the cruelties of the world . . . and the tantalizing lure of the fae forest. One day, she fears, the fae will spirit her sister away, and how can Valera hope to stop them?Then the fae come. Not for her sister . . . but for her.Trapped in a magnificent palace far from her own world, Valera finds herself the unwilling bride of an enigmatic fae lord. He claims he won’t harm her and vows to return her home after a year and a day if she honors one rule: she must never see his face.Determined to return to her sister at all costs, Valera struggles to unravel the mystery of her so-called husband. Why does he so desperately need a wife? And why her specifically? Torn between love, duty, and the unexpected freedom she finds in this strange new world, Valera must fight to find her place.But will a burgeoning passion for the unseen figure in the shadows be her undoing?The Moonfire Bride is book one of a two-part fae romance inspired by the myth of “Hades and Persephone” as well as “Eros and Psyche.” Read today if you’re craving a dark, swoon-worthy hero and a sweet, slow-burn romance with just a touch of steam!
Drag Me Up
R.M. Virtues - 2021
He may do all the work, and Zeus may get all the credit, but at least it allows Hades to preserve the one thing he truly cares to have: his solitude. The mere mention of the Wraith of Khaos Falls is enough to keep order, and he is rarely forced to leave the shadows of Casino Asphodel.She belongs in the spotlight...And Persephone clawed her way out of Demeter’s shadow to reach it. Now she’s lead in Calliope’s Cirque production but not without great cost, and there is not enough money in the world to pay off the debt accrued for the simple mistake of trusting Zeus. Though it’s easier to ignore the bars when she still has room to fly.Landing a residency at the legendary Casino Asphodel is everything she trained for. Meeting a man she’d been convinced didn’t exist? She could never be prepared for that. Hades isn’t prepared for her either, but it’s soon evident they’re a force when together. He gives her a soft place to land, and she makes him want to reach for the stars. But when Zeus ups the stakes, they must be willing to go all in, even if it means coming down from the sky. Or stepping into the light.
Abducted
Bella Klaus - 2021
Now he thinks I’m his wife.I snuck into a masquerade ball and did something reckless with a man dressed as Hades. How was I supposed to know it wasn’t a costume?When I ran off, I thought that was the end of it. But he’s abducted me to a beautiful palace in hell.Hades claims we were once married. He wants me to help him win a civil war in hell and rule as his queen. But I’m just a gardener. I don’t have any magic and I know nothing about warfare or diplomacy.I said no, but he’s given me three tasks to earn my freedom, each of them more sinful and impossible than the other. If I fail, I must stay with him forever.The more time I spend in hell, the more difficult Hades becomes to resist, especially when he stands at my bedside at night and stares down at me with those penetrating eyes. His kisses set me alight, his touch awakens something within me thats hotter than hellfire.If I succumb to his seductive ways, I might forget why I want to leave.Abducted is a sexy Hades and Persephone for fans of enemies-to-lovers, fated mates paranormal romance.
The Wolf and the Woodsman
Ava Reid - 2021
The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.
Starcrossed
Josephine Angelini - 2011
And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood... and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together - and trying to tear them apart.
The Dark Wife
Sarah Diemer - 2011
Now, only a goddess can tell the truth. Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want--except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice. Zeus calls Hades "lord" of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny. But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself.
The Closed Doors
Pauline Albanese - 2015
You can download it here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ww9m...This is a coming of age story. This is about closing your eyes, shedding your skin, finding yourself, and touching your soul. In the Underworld, Persephone looks her Death in the face.
The Fallen
C.N. Crawford - 2020
Not glamorous, admittedly, but it's honest work. Okay, fine. It isn't honest either, but it means I get to eat.Until one night, a sinfully sexy angel strides into my favorite dance hall and compels me to work for him. It isn't just work, though. He wants me to be his wife in Castle Hades. Apparently, his prophetic dreams say I'll help him become king. Beautiful as he is, he's also a lethal tyrant. And I could be in danger. Luckily, I know how to fight back, how to weaken an angel: I must seduce him.Now, this is a battle, and he’s my beautiful enemy. We are fighting with weapons of desire, and we're both at risk of losing ourselves in this war.For readers of Laura Thalassa, Linsey Hall, and Sarah J. Maas.
Enchanted, Inc.
Shanna Swendson - 2005
Everywhere she goes, she sees something worth gawking at and Katie is afraid she's a little too normal to make a splash in the big city. Working for an ogre of a boss doesn't help.Then, seemingly out of the blue, Katie gets a job offer from Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., a company that provides tricks of the trade to the magic community. For MSI, Katie's ordinariness is an asset.Lacking any bit of magic, she can easily spot a fake spell, catch hidden clauses in competitor's contracts, and detect magically disguised intruders. Suddenly, average Katie is very special indeed. She quickly learns that office politics are even more complicated when your new boss is a real ogre, and you have a crush on the sexy, shy, ultra powerful head of the R&D department, who is so busy fighting an evil competitor threatening to sell black magic on the street that he seems barely to notice Katie. Now it's up to Katie to pull off the impossible: save the world and--hopefully--live happily ever after.
The Vine Witch
Luanne G. Smith - 2019
Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
Dark Descendant
Jenna Black - 2011
Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . . Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy. . . .
Elsker
S.T. Bende - 2013
But when she transfers from her one-stoplight Oregon town to Cardiff University in Wales, she falls in love with Ull Myhr. Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting. His cashmere sweaters and old world charm mask a warrior who's spent an eternity fighting for his very existence. Ull is an honest-to-goodness Norse god — an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth. On top of being marked for death, Asgardian law prohibits Ull from tying his fate to a mortal. No matter what she feels for Ull, Kristia knows she's the one thing he can never have.With Ragnarok on the horizon and a lunatic haunting her dreams, Kristia has to find a way to convince Ull that breaking the rules is the only way to survive; that defying the order he's sworn to uphold is their only chance to be together. And when someone starts asking the wrong questions, Kristia realizes the crazy visions she's had all her life might be the key to saving their realms... even if they end up costing her her life.
Daughter of Aphrodite
C.M. Owens - 2013
He's sexy, rich, and... persistent. Against her better judgment, she falls for him harder than she ever thought she could. But, Devin's secretive eyes and cryptic conversations leave her worried a stinging heartbreak is inevitable. Devin's secrets come to light, leaving her completely shocked and horrified. But not as horrified as she is when she learns her own secrets. Adisia never believed in the world of supernatural until it came crashing down at her feet. Now she's stuck in between the two realms, both promising to leave her destroyed. Devin refuses to lose her, and to keep her safe, he'll sacrifice everything. With death's breath on their back, they're forced to face a force they're not ready to contend with. Too many fates lie in their hands, and too many are ready to tear them down. Their love may just be the key to saving the world from the fate the dark hands are trying to deal.
The Shambling Guide to New York City
Mur Lafferty - 2013
After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.