Book picks similar to
Half-Blood Mage by Ginger Li


fantasy
dragons
paranormal-romance
young-adult

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven


Bella Forrest - 2018
    It’s how she snagged her first job pinpointing cheaters at a casino.But she has no clue where she got these freakish powers because she spent her childhood jumping from home to home in the foster system, and her father left her with nothing more than a cryptic note.Then she crosses paths with a terrifyingly real monster. Which is when a mysterious and annoyingly arrogant young warlock named Wade Crowley steps in, introducing her to a hidden world of beasts, magicals, and covens riddled with secrets—as well as clues about her murky past.Whether she likes it or not, this new world is where she belongs. But after a disturbing twist of events, Harley quickly realizes that her past is darker than she could ever have imagined.And that someone in the coven is out for her blood.With the help of Wade and her new friends, she must figure out who the traitor is and why they’re targeting her... Before the human and magical worlds dangerously collide.

The Shadows Between Us


Tricia Levenseller - 2020
    Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

Tesser: A Dragon Among Us


Chris Philbrook - 2014
    A creature of unimaginable power, unending intelligence and strength, and you've just woken from ten thousand years of slumber. Worse yet, you've awoken underneath a city; Boston, an alien and strange place that defies everything you've ever known.Your last memories were of primordial forests, erupting volcanoes sculpting a developing world, faeries, witches, vampires, krakens, and monsters that feared where you turned your eyes.But all that is gone. Humans, only barely coming into their own in the world from your memory, have taken over. They have erected cities made of stone and steel erupting from the earth like stalagmites reaching for the high blue sky, and developed sciences that have overshadowed even the glory of old magic.This was not the way it was supposed to be.Meet Tesser, the Dragon. He who walks in any form, and flies the skies free of fear.A Dragon Among Us is Tesser's story. Walk with him as he learns the human way, and discovers the dark truth about why magic has really faded from the world he calls home.And just maybe, humanity will remember why dragons were most noble, and most savage creatures again.Welcome to The Reemergence.Tesser: A Dragon Among Us is a mythical journey into urban fantasy. Set in the modern day but filled with elements of wonder and magic, it is sure to please enthusiasts of both action, adventure, and romance.

Daughter of the Red Dawn


Alicia Michaels - 2012
    Yet, Selena has always felt as if she doesn’t belong and is counting the days to graduation and her freedom from the small town that makes her feel so out of place, when the arrival of a stranger turns her world upside down. Selena will learn just how different she is and the truth of where she comes from. A lost princess, they call her, the catalyst for a war involving a world that she was taken from as a child. An evil queen obsessed with her own beauty with a plan to enslave the human race.…the notion seems so silly, yet Selena knows in her heart that it is true. Then there is Titus, the shape shifter whose blue eyes and claims of destiny hold her heart captive. Can Selena find the strength to do what she must while following her heart?

Vengeance


Tara Brown - 2012
    The end of you and the end of everything you once stood for. His words still echo in my mind, next to the images of the millions of places I might have gone. VengeanceAmillia Morgenstein wants nothing but freedom. Freedom to choose the man she marries and the life she lives. She wants nothing but the boy she can never have, Maddox.Her world is turned upside down when her brother betrays their whole family, in a deal to trade Amillia to a Duke name Herrick and overthrow their father. Broken hearted and fleeing her burning village, she rides away on the back of her closest friend, Artan.In a neighboring city, rumors of a red-cloaked assassin flood the streets. An assassin who targets only the rich and the wicked. The trail of blood left behind leads back to the burned out doors of a once flourishing kingdom, now ruled by a tyrant.Broken hearted and bound by vengeance, Amillia finds herself falling for something, she never thought she would have again. Grayson's blue eyes and sarcastic smile have her fighting the feelings she has, just as someone from her past reappears. She fights for her heart and the hope no one discovers her biggest secret. How far would you go for the ones you love, the ones you lost?Mature Content!!

The Midnight Sea


Kat Ross - 2016
    A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King's elite Water Dogs is that they leash wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister.Scarred by grief, she's willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he's possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other's emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close.As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius's past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…

Knightfall


Ann Denton - 2019
    I will stop you. Even if it means I have to go back to the palace. Even if it means I have to take back the crown I left behind. Even if it means I have to face the four men I left at the altar. I will take on them and their anger. I will take on anything to save Avia. Because the kingdom needs her. The kingdom needs a good queen. Not a cursed one. Not me. If I can’t save her, then the kingdom will fall. Because I can’t rule. I’m a walking death sentence for anyone who gets too close…

Last Day of Love


Lauren Kate - 2013
    . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

Forbidden Forest


Tenaya Jayne - 2012
    Cast from society. Shape Shifter/Elf hybrid, Forest must fight for any respect she can get. Targeted in her youth by a vampire noble who placed an illegal slave mark on her, she is forced to obey him, no matter what.Slipping the grip of her master and abandoning the prejudice of Regia, her native world, Forest takes a job on Earth, guarding the portal, using her skills as a warrior to enforce Regia's laws. Now, called home for a black ops mission, Forest must put aside her own prejudice to transport the vampire prince, Syrus, through enemy territory in a time of war. Prince Syrus, mage and master of the Blood Kata, wants Forest more than he's ever wanted anything. In spite of their mutual mistrust, their attraction cannot be denied. Through the danger of their mission, and the secrets they both keep, it doesn't matter what they feel. Forest is forbidden.

Haven


A.R. Ivanovich - 2011
    Outside the safety of her homeland’s borders, Katelyn meets Rune, a young soldier who will die without her immediate aid. She never considered that helping him would lead to her capture. While being held prisoner by the handsome Lord Dylan Axton, she learns that the outside world is rife with war and controlled by people with extraordinary powers. It becomes clear that there was a very good reason the founders of Haven locked their people away from the rest of the world. The depth of her peril reaches a fever pitch when a ruthless Commander wants Katelyn dead. Her only hope is to return to Haven, but can she survive long enough to find her home? HAVEN is an exciting young adult fantasy novel, set in a unique, rural steampunk world, by debut author A. R. Ivanovich.

Voices of Dragons


Carrie Vaughn - 2009
    On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them. But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon interactions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war? In her young-adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a distinctly twenty-first-century tale of myths and machines, and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide.

Onyx Dragon


Terry Bolryder - 2016
    Once an immortal, nearly-invincible dragon, he's been awakened only to have his powers and his treasure locked away until he can prove himself to be a trustworthy protector of humans. Since Zach has never liked humans, he's pretty sure he's going to end up back on ice. That is, until he meets sweet, curvy Erin, a human hairdresser who might just turn his world upside down.Erin has a pretty routine life, but that ends when a tall, gorgeous man appears out of nowhere, claiming to be an ancient dragon with immeasurable power who wants her as his mate. She doesn't know whether to laugh or run for the hills. But when the mysterious stranger saves her life and needs her help she can't just turn away.  Still, the closer she gets to Zach, the more she realizes there may just be something truly magical about him.But as the forces around them close in, Zach is quickly realizing that the darkness lurking inside him may be greater than he anticipated. And the beast within may not be the only thing they have need to fear. Warning: contains ferocious dragons, fearsome fights, fiery love scenes and a fiercely cute three-legged kitten that will steal your heart. The first in a brand new series with dragons unlike anything Terry has written!

Precinct 13


Tate Hallaway - 2012
    But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment... When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off. After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

Shadow Caster


Debbie Cassidy - 2019
    Doesn’t matter if you don’t remember doing the crime.I killed a human, and no, it wasn’t on purpose, but that shit doesn’t matter to the council. I’m facing death. So, when I’m offered a deal to avoid execution, I’d be a fool not to take it, even if it means leaving the human world and urban life behind to enroll in the Nightwatch Academy – a gothic monstrosity hidden from human eyes, located way too close to the largest tear in the fabric of our reality.It would be fun if I had any inclination of becoming a member of the Watch or supporting the shadow knights at keeping the Formorian threat at bay. But heck, the monsters beyond the mist aren’t my problem. I have personal demons to deal with.Once I’m out, the Watch can shove it.But one sip from the ceremonial goblet and my plans to coast are out of the window as my powers spark to life.I’m an anomaly, one the Watch won’t be letting walk any time soon.My only comfort is a man who prides himself on his ability to harness pain. Battle scarred and formidable, he’s my tutor, my mentor, and the object of some super saucy dreams. He’s completely off limits and my only hope of surviving my first test.I’ll need to harness my powers fast.There can be no distractions.But when my fellow cadets start going missing then returning with no memory of who they used to be and my best friend is taken, turning a blind eye is no longer an option.Allies are limited when you’re a freak. Luckily, I don’t need a cheer squad to get shit done. Whoever is responsible better watch out. I’m coming for them, and I’ll be bringing the pain.The Vampire Academy meets Game of Thrones in this kick-ass, supernatural academy, Urban Fantasy with a slow burn Why Choose Romance.

Chameleon


Kelly Oram - 2013
    Dani quickly discovers that not only do supernaturals exist, but she herself is one of them. This is great news for her life-long best friend Russ, who can finally come clean about his own supernatural status and his undying love for her. Before the two can start to enjoy the long overdue relationship, Dani is taken by a powerful council of supernaturals who believe she is the Chosen One destined to save them from extinction. As if being kidnapped and expected to save the world isn’t bad enough, an ancient prophecy warns of the Chosen One’s dark nature: “Only the truest love will keep her an agent for good.” The council believes they know who this “true love” is and, unfortunately, that person isn’t Russ. The mysterious, powerful and devastatingly handsome Seer is the last person Dani wants in her life, but when she starts having visions of a horrific future, she has no one else to turn to for help. Soon Dani finds herself torn between two very different boys with two very different opinions of whom she can trust. With the visions getting worse and time running out, Dani is forced to put aside her feelings and work with both the Seer and Russ before an ancient evil is unleashed upon the earth.