Book picks similar to
Of Fate and Hate by Quirah Casey
young-adult
arranged-marriage-of-convenience
back-burner-books
fantasy
Ishtar's Blade
Lisa Blackwood - 2016
King’s confidant. Avenging blade of the Goddess Ishtar. Iltani asked to be none of these things. Yet fate does not ask permission when she weaves souls upon destiny’s loom. On the day of Iltani’s birth, an assassin tried and nearly succeeded in ending the line of the gryphon kings. Out of that bloodshed, an unbreakable bond was forged between child-king and goddess-chosen infant, and from that pivotal moment forward, Iltani was never farther from King Ditanu than his shadow. Not until her training to become Ishtar’s Blade required her to leave. After four brutal years of training, Iltani now returns to court as Ishtar’s Blade and takes up her role of king’s shadow—a dangerous position in a court where the threat of another assassination is but a blade’s width away. But for the chance to stand at the side of her beloved king, she will endure the dangers of court intrigues, assassins, and political maneuverings. Author's Note: Ishtar's Blade is a Fantasy Romance loosely based on early Sumerian and Mesopotamian religion. Ishtar's Legacy Reading Order: Ishtar's Blade A Blade's Beginning (short story) Blade's Honor Blade's Destiny (coming later in 2018)
The Falconer
Elizabeth May - 2013
Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.She's a liar.But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she's leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.She's a murderer.Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.She's a Falconer.The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder—but she'll have to save the world first.The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
Rebel of the Sands
Alwyn Hamilton - 2016
She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power.
The Seer's Secret
Brittany Fichter - 2021
But this reality will soon shatter. For among the cursed ashes of Solevar, a Seer has been found.Eirin, the king's favored warrior-in-training, is going to fail her combat test. She knows this, as does everyone around her. This comes as no surprise, though. Eirin never understood why the king chose to train her alongside the Walled City's most promising fighters. She's always been too slow, too weak, never enough for what a true Sgaeth is meant to be. And now that it's nearly over, she dreams only of returning to the home where she's loved and she belongs.For years, Drystan, the king's Heir, chosen for his strength and prowess in combat, has watched Eirin fight only to fall again and again. And though he's only the king's Heir, his patience with the situation grows thin. Anyone can see that Eirin was never meant to be a Sgaeth, but the king refuses to listen. As if his worry over Eirin's safety isn't enough, the ever-present pain in Drystan's chest is reaching nearly crippling levels. If he can't get it under control, his suffering will soon begin to affect those he should be keeping safe.Both Eirin and Drystan's plans and ambitions are brought to a halt, however, when just before Eirin's combat trial, the Walled City is attacked by an army of monstrous shifters. And Eirin and Drystan hear a word uttered that changes the course of the battle and their lives.Seer.Upon hearing mention of this word, the king sends Eirin, Drystan, and a small party of companions out of the Walled City, out of the mountain, into the ancient, dying land of Solevar. There, he promises, they will find the answers they've been seeking. But no matter what happens, Drystan must protect Eirin at all costs. The Walled City's survival depends on it.As they make their way into the dangerous world of the Atharrach shifters, far from the safety of their city's walls, Drystan and Eirin begin to see that perhaps the world is not exactly as they've been told. Even more importantly, though, they learn world-altering secrets about their own selves. And if they can't learn to embrace their true natures...and trust one another along the way, the world as they know it might fall.
Cruel Crown
Victoria Aveyard - 2016
As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation—Mare Barrow.Plus a Glass Sword sneak peek!An exclusive excerpt of the hotly anticipated second book in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword, transports readers to the world of Silver tyranny, a Red dawn rising, and one girl’s resolve to break down the system that will hold her back no longer.
Dangerous Dream
Kami Garcia - 2013
But when Dark Caster Ridley makes an appearance, the sometime bad girl can't resist picking a fight with her sometime boyfriend, Link. Angry and rebellious as ever, Ridley ends up alone in New York City and becomes entangled in the dangerous underground Caster club scene, where the stakes are high and losers pay the ultimate price.Where's a Linkubus when you need him?
Crewel
Gennifer Albin - 2012
Awkward. Artless. That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested. Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.Because tonight, they’ll come for her.
Madly
Michelle Leighton - 2011
A traitor has set free eight Lore, the spirits of what humans know as fairy tales, and they are making their way to Slumber to awaken their descendants. In order to save her home, the lives of her family, and all of humanity, Madly must learn to wield her exceptional powers and recapture the Lore before it’s too late and all is lost. But Madly’s only help are her two best friends and the Sentinel, Jackson Hamilton, that threatens both her heart and her destiny. Madly has loved Jackson as long as she can remember, but he is the one thing even a princess can’t have. Can she resist love to become the queen she was fated to be? Or can she find a way to have both?This novelette introduces you to Madly and prepares you for the quest of a lifetime
Cobweb Bride
Vera Nazarian - 2013
What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father ... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North...And everyone is trying to stop her.
Second Sight
J.A. Culican - 2017
At thirteen, Ela foretold the death of her best friend, only to watch it happen before her very eyes. Ela, now twenty-one, spends her days locked away in her apartment, avoiding the public and the gift she considers a curse.Until he appears. Luka Conway is handsome. Charming. And magical. After Ela predicts yet another death, Luka leads her to an underground city hidden beneath Atlanta, populated by empaths, telepaths, and seers. Luka is a Shade, a soldier fighting a secret war against the Wraiths, a deadly group of sorcerers who wish to take over the world. Ela is given no choice; she must prove herself a Shade, and use her powers for the light, or she will be put to death. Resolved to her fate, Ela trains as a warrior, determined to put her curse to good use. Then Talon Michaels appears. He's just as dashing as Luka, and even more dangerous. A Wraith, Talon warns Ela that the Shades aren't all what they appear. Who can Ela trust, if anyone? Should her powers be used for good...or evil? Which should she choose?
Secret Husband
Normandie Alleman - 2018
At first she finds this strange, but before long she falls so deeply in love with him, she forgets all about the unusual conditions of her arranged marriage.
But once she hears the rumor that her husband is actually a monster, she becomes obsessed with discovering the truth. Determined not to be deceived, she finally unmasks the man she loves, and risks destroying the one relationship that has brought her happiness.
Secret Husband is a re-telling of the love story between Cupid and Psyche. It was inspired by the original tale from mythology, spiced up a bit, and was previously published in the Legends & Lore boxed set.
Captivate
Vanessa Garden - 2014
In an effort to repair this broken bond, Miranda’s grandparents whisk the siblings away on a secluded beach holiday. Except before Miranda gets a chance to confess her life-changing secret, she’s dragged underwater by a mysterious stranger while taking a midnight swim.Awakening days later, Miranda discovers that she’s being held captive in a glittering underwater city by an arrogant young man named Marko...the King of this underwater civilisation.Nineteen-year-old Marko intends to marry Miranda in order to keep his crown from falling into the sinister clutches of his half-brother, Damir. There’s only one problem. Miranda is desperate to return home to right things with her sister and she wants nothing to do with Marko. Trying to secure her freedom, Miranda quickly forms an alliance with Robbie — Marko’s personal guard. However, she soon discovers that even underwater, people are hiding dangerous secrets...
Waylaid
Kim Harrison - 2016
The magic of the Hollows runs full force into the technological sophistication of The Drafter when a device capable of carrying a city’s data stream pulls Rachel, the bounty hunter witch of the Hollows, between realities, marooning her in a world where the supernatural holds no sway. To get Rachel and Jenks home, Peri, the dangerous renegade of 2030, must decide what will chart her future: her blind trust in those who grant her power, or her intuition telling her to believe.
Tempest Rising
Nicole Peeler - 2009
During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human. Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire. It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever rub the genie's lamp. If you love Sookie Stackhouse, then you'll want to dive into Nicole Peeler's enchanting debut novel.