Book picks similar to
Smoke and Mirrors by Jess Haines


fantasy
urban-fantasy
dragons
paranormal

Seven Psychics


J.C. Diem - 2014
    Her dream is to become a sniper, just like her often absent father. During routine weapons practice, she meets Mark Steel, the head of a small team of agents who work for a mysterious organization. He needs someone with outstanding skills to help his squad destroy seven psychotic psychics. With her father overseas on a mission, she is the next best choice. Still reeling from the knowledge that psychics actually exist, Lexi agrees to become a temporary member of their team. From the first moment that she meets Reece Garrett, she is instantly drawn to him. He is strong, sexy and charismatic and unfortunately thinks of her as little more than a child. Agent Garrett and his team have a secret that few people are aware of. They are shape shifters who transform into ravenous beasts with every full moon. The upside of being shifters is that they possess a natural resistance to mind control, which makes them the perfect team to hunt the psychics. But Reece soon learns that some instincts are impossible for even him to deny. Caught in a mind trap that he can't escape from, he finds himself irresistibly attracted to the one person that he'd do anything to protect.

Blood of Anteros


Georgia Cates - 2011
    The leech inside me came out to find prey, but found none in this enigmatic girl. The close proximity of her essence didn’t entice the monster within, so what did that make her? I had more questions than answers, but one thing was unmistakable; although she released me from her embrace, her hold on me remained."Cruel circumstances turned Curry Brennan into the wretched monster he hates and refuses to accept, but when an expected turn of events releases him from the bond of his obsessive maker, he returns to the home he knew 161 years earlier and finds the return of happiness and joy in something he didn’t know existed. Puzzled by his growing attraction to Chansey Leclaire, a human, he is unable to resist the captivating relationship that threatens to reveal his existence as a vampire. He eventually discovers the reason he was destined to find what he didn’t know he searched for and is faced with the cruel realization that the living and the immortal undead will always be separated by one thing. Eternity.Be sure to check out the book trailer for Blood of Anteros on my Goodreads profile page or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LbJpi...BRIEF EXCERPT-Although somewhat involuntary, I was part of this now. My confrontation fanned the flames of Julian’s obsession, making him more determined than ever to have Chansey. Consequences battled within me and my heart spoke against my mind’s better judgement. “Maybe I should drive you back and forth to work for a while, just until he backs off.”She looked appreciative, but didn’t intend on taking my offer. “I can’t ask you to do that, it’s too much for you to take on.”I didn’t intend for her to not take my offer. “You didn’t ask. I offered and I insist.”Relief flooded her face. Then, she surprised me by stepping forward and put her arms around me. She placed her head against my chest, leaving me without an option and I returned the embrace by placing my arms around her. I lowered my face to her hair and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of lavender and vanilla. I dropped my face closer to her shoulder and smelled the lingering fragrance of jasmine, cherry blossom and peach, mixed with a slight release of salty perspiration due to the combination of heat and anxiety.The monster, deep within me, unexpectedly resurfaced. He no longer laid dormant as he screamed in agony, begging to be set upon this innocent creature. He pleaded with me for one taste. Didn’t he deserve it? It has been so long.One scent of her blood essence would surely send me over the edge, giving the awakened one the upper hand as he urged me to side with him. I braced myself for the battle against the leech within me and begged him to leave me in peace.I held my breath and didn’t move a muscle, for fear the beast might interpret any sudden movement as permission to strike. When I could no longer hold my breath, I exhaled, then inhaled slowly and shallowly. I waited for her fragrance to signal my defeat, giving the leech the permission to strike.I readied myself to charge against this inner beast when her aromatic essence penetrated my line of defense. When her aroma registered in my brain, I waited to see what my level of temptation would be. The beast received the verdict first and my battle was won as he retreated.I was intrigued by Chansey’s unexpected essence. It wasn’t unappealing, yet not enticing either. It was neutral and I was spellbound.She lifted her head from my chest and leaned back to see my face. “I don’t know what to say or how to thank you.”She raised up onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek before she released her hold of me. I reluctantly released my hold, as well, but I wasn’t finished exploring this. I wanted more, I needed more.We both knew we had just shared a significant moment, although neither of us voiced it.“I’m sure you’re exhausted. You should get a good night’s rest,” I said, verbally encouraging her to go to bed, but inside begging her stay.I regretfully watched her walk up the steps to the backdoor. Before entering, she turned and said, “Thank you again, Curry. You’re a real life saver.”The paradox of her words brought a smile to my face. She saw a life saver in a skilled killer and I was tantalized by the mystery of her. The leech inside me came out to find prey, but found none in this enigmatic girl. The proximity of her essence didn’t entice him, so what did that make her? I had more questions than answers, but one thing was unmistakable; although she released me from her embrace, her hold on me remained.I was uncertain what this meant for me, but more importantly, I didn’t know what it meant for Chansey. Of all the puzzling things in my head, there remained one clear circumstance; she needed my protection because, for once, I wasn’t the dangerous one.I lifted my eyes to Chansey’s bedroom window and watched darkness replace the light. She remained standing at her window, believing she was hidden in the darkness, and briefly watched me before she crawled into bed.She was lying in her bed, unaware of the strange emotions flooding me. Beings like me didn’t desire romantic relationships with humans, so it was unnatural for me to desire anything other than her blood while all I wanted was to be near her. I remembered the way she leaned forward to kiss me and it left room for no doubt in my mind; I wanted her with all of my heart, body and soul, if there still was one within me.

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead


Christiana Miller - 2011
    At least, that's what her cards tell her and they've never been wrong. She's evicted from her apartment, loses her job and is banned from Beverly Hills. So when the tarot cards predict her imminent demise, she uses a little magic to make her world right.Suddenly, an aunt she's never met dies, leaving Mara as her sole heir. But when Mara moves into her inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She's still one pissed-off old lady, even post-mortem, and she blames Mara's magical meddling for her death.When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie's ready to kill her -- literally. It's the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself. The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara's body.

Hunter's Moon


C.T. Adams - 2004
    Her plan doesn't include falling for Tony, the mysterious hit man she hires. He listens when she speaks and somehow convinces her that maybe her problems aren't entirely insurmountable. He even thinks her little potbelly is sexy. So he's a werewolf--everyone has flaws! Sue enjoys being coddled by Tony, and, for his part, Tony likes the way Sue moans when he touches her. She begins to think she and Tony might have a shot at a future together, despite his unorthodox profession . . . and even though she doesn't know his real name. But when Tony's enemies-not all of whom are fully human-decide Sue makes a perfect target, will Tony risk letting his darker side out during the day to save her?

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft


Mindy Klasky - 2006
    And another that turns a cat into her witch's familiar (a snarky, critical, self-absorbed man—pretty much a typical male). Though her impulsive acts of magic have brought a warder (sexy, grouchy, elusive and determined to stop her from using magic) down on her, Jane's not willing to let go of this fantastic new life.Though she wonders about having things that aren't "real," she's having too much fun to stop. After all, no one ever said being a witch was easy….

Dark Currents


Jacqueline Carey - 2012
    Introducing Daisy Johanssen, reluctant hell-spawn… The Midwestern resort town of Pemkowet boasts a diverse population: eccentric locals, wealthy summer people, and tourists by the busload; not to mention fairies, sprites, vampires, naiads, ogres and a whole host of eldritch folk, presided over by Hel, a reclusive Norse goddess. To Daisy Johanssen, fathered by an incubus and raised by a single mother, it’s home. And as Hel’s enforcer and the designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, it’s up to her to ensure relations between the mundane and eldritch communities run smoothly. But when a young man from a nearby college drowns—and signs point to eldritch involvement—the town’s booming paranormal tourism trade is at stake. Teamed up with her childhood crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, a sexy werewolf on the down-low, Daisy must solve the crime—and keep a tight rein on the darker side of her nature. For if she’s ever tempted to invoke her demonic birthright, it could accidentally unleash nothing less than Armageddon.

Shadow's Messenger


T.A. White - 2016
    That ended when I met tall, dark and handsome in a bar and wound up in a dumpster sporting a nice set of fangs and my life flipped on its head. Now I'm a messenger for Hermes Courier Service trying to make enough to support my ice cream habit while staying below vampire radar. When this newest job of mine goes disastrously awry, it puts me on the hook to be indentured to a sorcerer for the next fifty years unless I can find a way to fix things. What's hidden can't stay in the shadow's forever and my life will never be the same.

Breathing Fire


Rebecca K. Lilley - 2012
    I was already having the day from hell when two angry druids stormed into my shop. Druids in my shop was bad. Very bad. Their presence in my place of business was a disaster no matter how you looked at it, but the fact that I knew these two druids in particular was an outright catastrophe. The fact that they happened to hate my guts certainly wasn't going to help matters, though it was hardly surprising. Even druids who didn't know me cursed at the sound of my name...

The Bloodwood Academy Shifter: Semester One


Rae Foxx - 2019
    Bad joke or the start to the best time of my life? It all started when I was doing some bare-back riding with my boyfriend, Tommy, atop a rock in Middle-of-Nowhere, Nevada. In walks a wolf like he’s my mom on a meth trip, staring at us and growling like he’s an over-protective husband. Worse, according to Tommy, I’m growling back. Next thing I know, Tommy is halfway across the desert and I’m at an elite academy for Witches, Shifters, Vampires, and Fae looking like I was plucked out of the local trailer park. Oh wait, I was. Bloodwood Academy for the Supernatural has only one rule: Don’t mingle with students outside your race. So, of course, that just so happens to be the first thing I do. How can you say no to a Fae God with golden eyes, a moody Werewolf with pack issues, and a Vampire with magic fingers. My men are not only sending everything into a whirlwind, but now my life is in danger. It turns out that if I don’t go back to my single wide, some jealous females are going to rip my throat out. I need to figure out why I’m connected to all of them, and why the headmaster has it out for me, before I find myself ten feet under. At 90k words Bloodwood Academy is a full-length why choose romance with a snarky heroine, shirtless men, love scenes that will send you swooning, and no end to pulsing… muscles. It's not just Rae Fox, it's Rae Foxx. There's too much steam here for just one x.

Insidious


Victoria Evers - 2016
    What she got was a death warrant. As it turns out, the quaint little hamlet of Mystic Harbor, Maine houses more than sandy beaches and adorable B&B’s. Beneath the New England charm rests a deadly world where shifters, demons, vampires, and angelic hunters all vie for power. A world where magic is the greatest weapon. Magic that Kat now possesses. After that one fateful night, she can feel the changes beginning to take hold of her. Only problem, she doesn’t even know what she’s turning into. With threats hiding in plain sight, deciphering the lines between friend and foe is nearly impossible. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Kat learns her only real ally rests in the one person she can’t stand: Reese Blackburn, an insufferably handsome magician whom the town fears most. Kat’s very soul is at stake, and destiny doesn't seem to be playing out in her favor. Can these two unlikely partners challenge fate itself before it's too late?

Vampires Rule


K.C. Blake - 2011
    Unhappy as a vampire and forever stuck at age 17, he dreams of a life without fangs. So when a freak event gives him back his mortality, he sees it as a second chance to be normal. But what's normal about a werewolf English teacher, a girlfriend who is the werewolf hunter, and a brother that can't decide if he should welcome Jack home or stake him through the heart to be on the safe side?  Vampires just got fun again.(Alternate cover edition can be found here.)

Kiss of a Dragon


Alisa Woods - 2016
     Five hundred years is truly enough for a man like me. A monster. Yet a ten-thousand-year treaty will die with me, if I don’t spawn a dragonling to take my place. My two brothers are no use in this task. It falls to me, the eldest by a hair’s breadth, and yet, I cannot face the horror of another sealing. Another death. Another woman’s blood on my hands. ARABELLA I was saved from death in a dark Seattle alley by an impossibly beautiful man who swooped in on golden wings. Now he’s taken me to his lair, opened my eyes to a world of immortals I didn’t know existed, and given me an impossible task—find him a mate. Then, and only then, will he set me free. He needs her more than he wants; she wants him more than she should; and the fate of both the mortal and immortal worlds depends on not just repairing their hearts, but finding a Love that’s True…

Intertwined


Gena Showalter - 2009
    Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:One can time travel.One can raise the dead.One can possess another human.One can tell the future.Everyone thinks he’s crazy, which is why he’s spent his entire life shuffled between mental institutions and juvie. All of that is about to change, however. For months Aden has been having visions of a beautiful girl—a girl who carries centuries-old secrets. A girl who will either save him or destroy him.Together they’ll enter a dark world of intrigue and danger... but not everyone will come out alive.

No Man Can Tame


Miranda Honfleur - 2018
    A dark-elf prince. A kiss of fire and powder.After a failed courtship in an ally kingdom, twenty-one-year-old Princess Alessandra returns home to a land torn apart by mutual hatred between the humans and the dark-elves. The "Beast Princess," as Aless is known by courtiers, confidently sets her mind to ways of making peace, but her father has already decided for her: she is to marry one of the mysterious and monstrous dark-elves to forge a treaty, and go on a Royal Progress across the kingdom to flaunt their harmonious union. While she intends to preserve the peace, the Beast Princess has plans of her own.Prince Veron has been raised knowing his life is not his own, but to be bargained away by his mother, the queen of Nozva Rozkveta, to strengthen the dark-elf queendom. When his mother tells him he is to marry a self-absorbed, vile human, he is determined to do his duty regardless of his personal feelings. After arriving at the human capital, he finds the "Beast Princess" rebellious and untamed—and not to be trusted.Aless and Veron face opposition at every turn, with humans and dark-elves alike opposing the union violently, as well as their own feelings of dissonance toward each other. Can two people from cultures that despise one another fall in love? Can a marriage between them bond two opposing worlds together, or will it tear them apart for good?If you like the fantasy and politics of Danielle L. Jensen’s Malediction Trilogy and the romance of Elizabeth Vaughan’s Chronicles of the Warlands, No Man Can Tame will lure you into its world and not let you go.Buy No Man Can Tame today, and journey into a medieval world of magic and Immortals, masquerades and games, love and blood, and a tale as old as time...

The Werewolf Queen


Brandi Elledge - 2019
    Now I wish I didn't. Sadie's a dud, a failure-the only one in high school who doesn't have any kind of supernatural powers. Her psychic bff, Jo, knows something about Sadie's future, but just won't tell. And what the heck is going on when one of her teachers starts looking at her while he's going on about powerful lost keys, portals of madness, and destinies? Then it all starts. On her 18th birthday, Sadie starts to feel weird. And when werewolves, vampires, and demons all turn up to spoil her party, the weirdness really ramps up. Leaving her best friend, her family, and the only town she's ever known, Sadie must find safety. But while the king of the werewolves can offer her somewhere to hide while she's learning about her new powers, he can't stop his psycho witch fianc�e from finding new ways to try and kill her. Of course, the murderous tendencies of this psycho witch only get worse when she realises the Werewolf King is, um... attracted to Sadie. And all that's before Sadie sets off to try and find one of the lost keys. Before she visits hell. Before she picks up a pet ogre. And before she realizes just how powerful she can become. But if it really is her destiny to collect one of the lost keys, will she be able control her newfound power and help save the world and all the people in it she loves? Or will she buckle under the pressure? She's about to find out. A mansion surrounded by demons and full of vampires and witches intent on her destruction awaits. Oh, and that psycho-witch fianc�e of the Werewolf King. What could possibly go wrong? If you like high stakes, kick-ass heroines, and a solid dash of humour, you'll love this new Paranormal urban fantasy series by Brandi Elledge. Get it now.