Book picks similar to
The Queen of Aessarion by Astrid Jane Ray


fantasy
anti-hero
virgin-heroine
paranormal-romance

Her Wolf


Fiona Davenport - 2020
    Let alone that her campus was near a shifter town. But that all changed when she got into a crash and was rescued by Zeke Blakesley—the wolf shifter who insisted they belonged together.Zeke knew Allegra was his fated mate the moment he caught her scent. Now that he has found the woman who was born to be his, he’ll never let her go.

Bitten by the Beast


Alexa Riley - 2018
    When she finds more than she bargains for behind closed doors, will her fear take over, or will she fall for the beast? Kane Viscardi is unlike other vampires. He’s spent most of his time hiding away and is alone in the world without a mate. Until one night when there’s an unexpected knock at the door. Suddenly something awakens inside of him for the first time in a century. Warning: It’s the first time we’ve written vampires, so go easy on us. Enjoy this brand new series that features a coven of five and read about how all of them find love.

Bare for the Alpha


Olivia T. Turner - 2019
    My father has made sure of that. He’s the Sheriff and he’s got three rules: 1. Don’t talk to my daughter. 2. No fighting between crews. 3. See rule #1. I’m all alone and wishing for someone to look my way. And then someone does. A mean-looking grizzly bear shifter named Damon Ridge, and once he sees me, he refuses to look away. This rough, wild-looking man keeps telling me I’m his mate. He keeps saying he’s going to claim me. That I belong to him. I didn’t realize how possessive a bear shifter could get. If I knew how obsessed these huge men could be, I never would have come here. But now that I know how it feels, I’m never going to leave… Do you like an alpha who snarls in the streets and growls in the sheets? Damon is a dominant Over-The-Top grizzly bear shifter who will have you howling for more. This hot shifter book is SAFE, with no cheating, and a furry HEA guaranteed.

His Virgin Queen


Mink - 2020
    Even so, I still held onto the hope of living free of the families. But when I’m given to Antonio Tuscani, I realize my thin dreams of escaping this life were just that -- dreams. Giving up -- I accept my fate … Until a fierce-eyed boss, Nick DaVinci, shows up on my wedding day to exact lethal vengeance. NickI came for Tuscani blood, and I took it.The doe-eyed bride in her white dress and veil of innocence doesn’t bat an eyelash when I do what I was born to do. I’m the head of the most powerful mafia family in the city, and I didn’t get here by sparing enemies. But Sophia’s demeanor intrigues me, and soon I realize she is far more than a mafia princess -- she is a queen -- and I will stop at nothing to keep her by my side. *-*Mink's Note: Curl up with your fav feline for this safe, sweet, steamy, a 'lil dark, and a lot dreamy, HEA.

With Us


Layla Frost - 2017
    My wild love affair was Netflix without the chill. I had no business dating the older man who looked as though he'd stepped out of an expensive advertisement.But he was determined to have me.Wickedly sweet, Theo gently and strategically pulled me from my rut, handing me the world in the process. Growing up with nothing, I suddenly found myself with everything. More than I'd even known to dream of.But shadows play tricks on the eyes, and life wasn’t always what it seemed. With Us…It was better.Warning: Recommended for readers 18+ due to adult content, language, and situations.

Soul in Darkness


Wendy Higgins - 2019
    Their adoration for the mortal woman is so all-consuming that citizens begin to shower her with the very gifts and offerings they once left at the alter of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. But gods are known for their jealousy.Cupid, the god of love, takes pleasure in causing strife and mischief in the lives of humans. He uses love as a weapon, humoring in the weakness of people at the whims of their feelings. When his mother Venus approaches him about punishing the human girl who dares to steal her offerings and affections from the people, Cupid gladly accepts. Psyche's punishment is to be given to a mysterious creature who only comes to her in the dark of night under the pact that she will never lay eyes on him. She is terrified of this stranger, who the oracle described as a serpent. Her mate, however, is masterful in his dealings with his bride. He takes his time, morphing her fears into different sensations completely. Based on the Roman/Greek mythology of Cupid and Psyche by Lucius Apuleius, New York Times bestseller Wendy Higgins brings the tale to life, weaving layers that show exactly how a sacrificial lamb can be enchanted by an unseen monster.Adult Historical Fantasy. Standalone.

The Undying King


Grace Draven - 2016
    Imprisoned by a sorceress wife in a city out of time and place, he has passed into legend. Few believe in him, and fewer would set their hopes on his mercy. But Imogen has no choice. To break the curse that's isolated her since birth, she'll find the Undying King--and answer his secrets with her own...** Author Note: The Undying King is intended for more mature audiences and contains graphic descriptions of physical intimacy.

Feyness


E.S. Carter - 2016
    I don't see dead people.I see you.I see every incarnation of you.I see the history of your soul.I can see your aura soaked in the blood of your previous lives.Most people are inherently good or evil.Some flit between darkness and light.Few can change the fabric of their essence; it's a fight that most are too weak to win.He was once darkness.An evil so pure that his very soul is black and yet I am drawn to him like a moth to a flame.Some days, I feel like I am drowning, the waves of my feelings stealing the very air from my lungs.Other days, I feel nothing at all.I'm unsure which is worse; gasping for air or dying from this thirst.Can you learn to breathe underwater when you find someone worth drowning for?Feyness is a dark standalone.Readers of a sensitive disposition may want to step away from the book.Step away, nothing to see here.Readers who like to dance on the dark side, come on in and enjoy the ride.

Choosing Her Alpha


Isoellen - 2019
    Her mother is dying, and her step-father Merrick is a jackal waiting to stake his claim the second she is legal. In her world, Sasha is promised a choice. But if Merrick gets his way she will be married before anyone can protest against it. Desperate to secure the futures of herself and her workers, Sasha makes a dangerous gamble... She seeks out Constantine Kane, the most feared and respected man in the 12 Sectors. Sasha has made her choice... Will it be one she lives to regret?Warning: This dystopian romance explores 18+ themes including scenes of violence, sexual content and power exchange.

Three Wishes


Kristen Ashley - 2011
    Her family had three wishes and they’d only ever used one so Fazire was stuck in the human world. This worked since he’d become a member of the family anyway. Even with a genie, Lily's young life wasn’t perfect. To escape the kids making her miserable at school, Lily buried herself in romance novels. One day, when the teasing was just too much, she used one of her wishes. She told Fazire she wanted to find a man like in her books and she made the most complicated wish Fazire had ever heard. Her wished-for man had to be impossibly handsome, virile, fierce, rugged and ruthless (amongst a dozen other things). He also had to think she was beautiful and he had to love her more than anything in the world. Nathaniel McAllister wasn’t born to a life where there were such things as genies granting wishes. His life was filled with drugs, crime and neglect. He was running errands for a gangster before he was in his teens and, even though life and hard work led him to wealth and respectability, he always knew, deep down, he was dirty. When Nate met Lily he knew he was no good for her but as virile, fierce, rugged and ruthless as he was, Nate was no match for the pull of sweet, innocent Lily. Unfortunately, Lily’s wish included that she and her hero go through trials and tribulations to test their love. And Fazire wasn’t only a good genie, he loved Lily – so he gave her exactly what she wanted.

Sacrificed to the Beast


Jessa Kane - 2019
    He won’t stop rampaging until the villagers sacrifice an innocent. Lucky me! I’m the chosen one. I’ve been tied to a tree in a wedding dress and left as an offering to the cruel ruler of the hills. But once the beast approaches, I glimpse the lonely human beneath the wild hair and mountainous body. Yes, he’s very much a man…a man who will stop at nothing to claim me as his mate.

A Prime's Passion


Shiloh Walker - 2021
    Eyes down, little wolf, Zee’s father would say. You aren’t strong enough yet.Zennia Day kept her eyes down and stayed quiet, knowing that one day, she’d escape.When her chance comes, she finds herself on a road that takes her far from Massachusetts, all the way to North Carolina.She has her eyes on the future…until she meets Niko, a dominant Therian male and future Prime. When she looks at him, instead of a challenge for dominance, Zee sees a promise of forever.Niko charmed her, teased her…and stole her heart. Mere days later, after making a public, permanent claim, he crushed that same heart in his fist, tossing her aside in front of the entire world and casting her out of pack lands.Ten years later, she's an outcast, living far from her own when she gets word her father is dying.She can do nothing—she was banned. Violating Niko’s order was to court punishment, even if it was just to tell her father good-bye.“Day is dying.”The blunt words almost had him on his knees until Niko realized his second-in-command wasn’t talking about Zee, but her father.No Therian is ever left to die alone, so Niko sent orders the Day family to come home.Niko is unprepared for Zee’s message. I have no pack. I have no home.The words leave him shattered.Realizing what he’d done in his rage, Niko pushes harder for answers. It doesn’t take long to discover that what he’d heard a decade earlier had been based on lies. Because of those lies, he’d thrown away the love of his life.Zee’s been paying the price ever since.Now he must mend a heart he’d broken...and convince her to give him one more chance.

Why I Still Hate You


Monica Bolt - 2020
    I can’t even say this one.Grayson Anderson is the reason why I’m holding a pregnancy test in my hands.How could I have been so stupid?The guy bullied and tormented me for years in high school.Then ten years later, I just… fall into his bed?In my defense, I was wasted.Wasted out of my mind.My brain was clearly not functioning.Being pregnant means that I’m tied to my sworn enemy for the rest of eternity.My fate is dependent on this stupid stick that I just peed on.So, is it going to be two lines or one?This series is so crazy, it’s messed up. Brace yourself for a whole lot of heat, a satisfying HEA, no cheating, and absolutely no cliffhangers.

Trapping Her


Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2019
    Then Isabel Newport, an American woman, walks right into his life through the front door of his castle. Feelings long forgotten are brought back to life. Camron tries to control the craving he has for Isabel, but after one stolen kiss he knows it would be impossible to deny their connection. To have her, to hold her, to keep her is not going to be easy especially when vampires aren’t supposed to exist and humans aren’t allowed to be their mates. But having spent hundreds of years without his beloved he will do everything to keep her at his side.

Nectar


D.D. Prince - 2015
    Feelings are messy; they're painful; they hold you back. Due to a painful past and secrets she wants to stay buried she keeps everyone at arm's length. But then when she is abducted and presented as a gift to Tristan, a bored vampire prince who is destined to become a king, she has to face a few facts. Beyond facing that vampires are real Kyla has to face emotions that Tristan won't let her run from. Tristan is a vampire with a ravenous but insatiable appetite. For ten years he hasn't once had his hunger sated. He feeds constantly, looking for satisfaction, and because his favourite way to feed is to feed during sex he goes through a lot of women. But then Kyla is brought to him as a gift to celebrate a promotion and from the second their eyes lock he knows there's something different about her. After he gets a taste of Kyla neither of them will ever be the same.“Between the taste of you, the taste of your blood, and the way you look at me, I haven’t felt this… alive… in… maybe ever.”Cliffhanger.Books 2 & 3 avaiable. Trigger warnings: Explicit sex scenes. Copious amounts of blood. Some dubious consent, an ending that could be troubling to those who are squeamish about blood. If you don't love vampire alpha males who are also sweet and swoony nymphomaniacs, maybe you should give this one a miss...