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


fantasy
anti-hero
virgin-heroine
paranormal-romance

Allure of the Vampire King


Bella Klaus - 2020
    I had no choice but to leave.That was a long time ago. I got over the betrayal. Now, I’m on the mend.But when an assassin tracks me down to London, claiming that a deadly power thrums beneath my veins, only one person is strong enough to save my hide:Valentine Sargon—the Vampire King who stole my virginity and broke my heart.He’ll help, but only if I move into a safe house. With him.Valentine is as handsome as the devil, silver-tongued and seductive as sin. I don’t trust him or the way he hungers for my blood. But I’ve run out of choices and can’t refuse.He’s going to protect me from the assassins, but who’s going to protect me from him?If you like enemies-to-lovers paranormal romances with adventure, conflict, and steam, you’ll love Allure of the Vampire King.

Fairy-Struck


Amy Sumida - 2015
    Long ago, there was a war between humans and fairies, and we nearly destroyed the world with it. Now, we have a truce in place to prevent that from happening again. Both sides enforce the truce; we have the Extinguishers and they have the Wild Hunt. Humans don't remember the truce anymore; they don't remember the Fey anymore. A fact that the Fey use to their advantage. I hate that. After they killed my mother, I even started to hate them. But that hatred doesn't seem to matter when I look at him. Fairy hunter. Deadly. Beautiful. Intent on sliding himself into my life. We'll just see about that.

Watch Me Follow


Harloe Rae - 2018
    Freak. Crazy Eyes. I've heard it all. Over the years, they've slammed me with every demeaning name in the book. Their taunts warped me like a steady stream of poison. Anger replaced anxiety as I started believing the cruelty spat my way. Until she showed up and changed everything. Lennon Bennett is pure innocence—warm sunshine breaking apart my stormy existence. She's everything good and maybe I can be too. For her. With her. Because of her. Lennon doesn’t know I’m beckoned closer with each breath. She isn't aware that I'm completely consumed with her. It’s become my sole purpose to protect her, by any means necessary. But if she discovers the depth of my obsession, it will be the end of me. So, I remain in the shadows. Waiting. Watching. Wanting. She'll be my first. My last. My only. Watch Me Follow is a TOTAL STANDALONE new adult romance.

The Dark Fae


Terry Spear - 2011
    Only now she's faced with one highly annoyed dark fae and she's certain he knows the truth about her. She can see him, which means her life is forfeit. Add to that, his sister arrives, who wants to play, too. And their mother, the queen of the Denkar, will want Alicia's head, once she learns what Alicia can do. And all because Alicia was attempting to rescue her friend, Cassie, on their beach excursion at South Padre Island, from the wicked fae. Now, Alicia has really gone and done it--and she's thinking she should have let the fae have his fun. Her friend's broken heart would be a lot easier to deal with, than Alicia losing her life. But it is too late for regrets. As soon as she threw the soda at the dark fae's chest, she had declared war on the fae. And he is happy to take up the challenge.

A Little Green Magic


Isabel Wroth - 2020
    It’s time to venture out and find your place in this world.”Three years ago, those had been the damning words that banished Ivy Greene from the only home she’d ever known. She would have been completely alone if not for her friends and their determination to stay together. Unable to contribute magically to the coven, Ivy takes a job at a local garden store. She likes it there, she’s done well, and the view is unBEARably gorgeous.Ivy is beautiful and everything that keeps Uriah up at night, but it’s against the law for humans and shifters to mate. Uriah Tremarc has kept his distance for two years, terrified his love for her will get her killed. In a random twist of fate, he discovers she’s a witch, and now all bets are off.Ivy discovers she’s not as powerless as she’s been told, but the discovery comes with a warning.Someone is coming for her.Ivy only has A Little Green Magic, but she’s found her place in the world, and with Uriah by her side, she’s not about to let her mother’s murderer wreck her happy ever after.HEANO CLIFFHANGERSNO CHEATINGNO TRIGGERSShould you find grammatical errors, reach out to the author at isabelwroththewriter@gmail.com and allow her the opportunity to fix them before reporting quality issues to Zon.

Losing Me Finding You


Natalie Ward - 2014
    Today is the tenth time this has happened to me. The tenth time I’ve had to figure out where the hell I am. The tenth time I’ve had to try and work out who the hell I am. This is the tenth alteration of the person I am. Each of us has had different lives, different backgrounds and different families. But there’s always been one constant.Him.He’s the reason I keep doing this. He’s the reason I spend four years searching. If I’m lucky, I’ll get the trigger and find him quickly and we can spend those four years together before I disappear again. If I’m not, we might get a year, a month or even just a day. Once we got nothing, but that was a choice. And every time it happens, he patiently waits for me. He says that every time I come back to him, it’s like falling in love with me all over again. I say that every time I come back, I fall even more in love with him than before.It scares me that one day I won't be able to find him at all, because when that day comes, I'm not sure I'll want to keep going. He is my strength, my protector, my one and only constant.I love him.He loves me.But every four years, I lose myself. And every four years, I have to find him.This is our story.

Rite of the Omega


Eva Dresden - 2020
    Jealously guarded possession. The object of her cruel guardian’s desires.These are the only things Aida Vertia has known in her life. Locked away in the high towers of Logoria, the seat of Aeslomor, she has little contact with the outside world. Knowing nothing of its splendor and beauty, she sees only the cruelties within the sooty stone walls of her prison.Then he comes on the crest of a raging inferno. Destroying everything she’s ever known. Freeing her from one prison for the cold, hard chains of the next.They call him the Usurper. A blood crazed mage, no different than the one before.Yet he is wholly different.Forcing her to bend to his will, she is helpless to stop the way he makes her soul sing. No matter the murderous vengeance in his eyes or the vicious oaths he swears.He claims she has a purpose that he’ll see fulfilled, but amid the ruins of her past, she’ll find a destiny far more devastating.Rite of the Omega is Book One in the Blood Rites Duet, a dark Omegaverse tale with a guaranteed HEA. It contains dark themes and complete power exchange. Scenes are not glossed over, which may be distressing for some readers.

Black Heart


R.L. Mathewson - 2013
    That was the only explanation that she could come up with. Why else would she feel this way for the biggest SOB in town? Granted, he was also the hottest man in town, but he was also arrogant, callous, and determined to drive her away even as he drove her crazy with his touch. She should just walk away from him and probably would if it wasn’t for this connection that she’d always had with him that kept making her want more with the one man that couldn’t give her anything more than heartache.He should have left and never looked back when he’d decided to finally do the right thing and push Marty out of his life, but instead he stuck around to torture himself by staying close to the one woman that he could never allow himself to have. She deserved better than him, better than the tortured existence that he led and better than the horrifying future that waited for him.

Counterpoint


Rachel Haimowitz - 2010
    Depleted by generations of war with a dark race, the human kingdoms and their ancient alliance stand on the brink of extinction. The outlands are soaked with the blood of the fallen. The midlands are rotting with decadence and despair.Elfkind, estranged by past crimes, watches and waits for nature to run its course.And then the two collide.Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he must for his sister's sake swallow his pride and endure slavery in the service of a human prince, Freyrik Farr.Freyrik's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Can his life of service to his people leave room for this attraction? Dancing on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.Between prejudice, politics, pride, and survival, Ayden and Freyrik must carve a new path, no matter how daunting. For nothing less than the fate of both their peoples rests on the power of their perseverance and their love.Note: This edition is a re-release of the same novel first published in 2010 by Guiltless Pleasure Publishing.This title is #1 of the Song of the Fallen series."Warning, this title contains the following sensitive themes: explicit violence"

Menace to the Assassins


Stacey Brutger - 2021
    IN TRUTH, IT’S A DAY WHEN THE GODS MEDDLE, PLAYING A DEADLY GAME THAT FEW HUMANS SURVIVE.When Morgan and her assassins return to the Academy, they learn they’ve been promoted. With graduation looming, their last days at the Academy are numbered.Morgan and the guys are ecstatic, more than ready to put their troubles behind them and start fresh. But when someone tries to kill her, Morgan fears their problems are far from over.If they want to make it back to their small coven alive, they must uncover the secrets of her birth before she’s silenced forever. Unfortunately, the answers might ultimately get them all killed.An Academy of Assassins Novel: Book 5 (Short Story)Meet the Assassins: Morgan, Kincade, Ascher, Ryder, Draven, and Atlas.**PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED in the Into The Dark Charity Anthology.

Her Alien Prince


Presley Hall - 2020
    This wasn’t a peaceful mission at all. The women on board were meant to be sold in exchange for alien tech.2. There’s no way we’re getting off this planet.3. Our odds of survival are laughably low.When I’m accidentally separated from the other women, I’m pretty sure my chances of survival drop to zero. That is, until I fall—literally—into the lap of a gorgeous alien warrior with metallic blue skin and cat-like eyes.I don’t know who this man is, and I can’t even ask him since we don’t speak the same language. I don’t know why my body craves his touch, or why something deep inside me draws me toward him.But I do know this: he’s the best shot I have at finding a way back home.The only problem is, the more time I spend with him, the less certain I am that I want to leave.Her Alien Prince is a full-length standalone sci-fi romance featuring blue-skinned alien warriors, a heroine who learns what love truly is, and a rebel prince who would move the stars for his fated mate.If you like sexy aliens, steamy romance, and thrilling adventure, you’ll love this series. No cheating, no cliffhanger, and a happily ever after guaranteed!Note: each book in the series can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, it’s recommended that the series be read in order.

Captured Miracle


Alannah Carbonneau - 2014
    Not because of their light, but because of their suffocating endlessness. The dark abyss of their possession claims you before you’re even aware of the capture. Love is not linear. There is no timeline in which the emotion blooms. Sometimes it is a slow succession of events where one soul learns another and sometimes it’s quick. Sometimes it’s like lightning. Possessive. That’s what Calix was to me. He infused himself within my life – my mind – my body – and my heart. Until he possessed my soul. And then he shattered it all. The worst part of it all was that he owned me. Completely. And it only took him four days. What started out as an act of revenge quickly becomes so much more. After years of plotting and two years of watching Nova, Calix takes her. In the dead of the night, three strange men in her room, tugging her from her bed, wake Nova. Terrified of forcing the men to act on their threats to harm her mother and sisters, Nova agrees to allow them to cart her from the safety of her home. She never expected they would lead her to Calix. A dark and captivating man determined to have her as his wife – and every other way. As Nova tries to keep Calix from pushing his way past her barriers, his determination to capture her heart in the same way he captured her body grows. In his quest for her heart, Calix pushes her past her barriers and tests her every limit. When her heart softens, the reason for the game of revenge turns very real and Calix is forced to tell Nova just why he took her. Only, the truth will harden the heart that had softened against him. But Calix still won’t let Nova go. Until the end of time, she is his. *** This is an erotic romance. Captured Miracle is the first novel in what will be a three book series. This novel does end in a cliffhanger.

Demon King


Elizabeth Briggs - 2020
    Now he’s claimed me as his mate.When my best friend goes missing in Las Vegas, there’s only one man I can turn to for help.Lucas Ifer. Billionaire playboy. CEO of Abaddon Inc. King of Sin City.And…the devil himself?Lucas—aka Lucifer—agrees to help me, but in exchange he wants one thing: me.He’s dark, dangerous, and wickedly handsome. Oh, and evil incarnate. I should say no, but I can’t. I’m that desperate.But when you make a deal with the devil, there's no escaping it. Now he owns my body for seven nights of sin. Even worse, he owns my soul for all eternity.I’m Persephone being claimed by Hades, and I have no choice but to enter his underworld and become his dark queen.Is there any light left in that black heart? Or will his darkness consume me?Demon King is a sinfully sexy retelling of Hades and Persephone with a Lucifer twist, perfect for fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Sarah J. Maas, Laura Thalassa, and Amelia Hutchins.

Dishonorable


Natasha Knight - 2017
    My grandfather knew him well, though, and he quickly conceded. That restitution? Me.Six months later, on my eighteenth birthday, Raphael came to claim me. He stole me from my home, taking me to his Tuscan estate, where from the crumbling chapel to the destroyed vineyard to that dark cellar, the past stalked him like a shadow. Even the walls held secrets here and I’d need to uncover them all to survive.Because taking me was only the beginning of his plan. RaphaelSofia was the sacrifice to pay for her grandfather’s sins. She accused me of being the devil. And she’s right. But the truth was, he betrayed her. And when the time came to promise to love, cherish, and obey she spoke the words that would seal her fate.I do.We have a common enemy, though, my unwilling bride and I. But even the devil protects what’s his. And she’s mine.She just doesn’t yet know how much protecting she needs.

A Deal with the Elf King


Elise Kova - 2020
    In both cases, they come for death.Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen.To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she's dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town's only healer.That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives... for her.Everything Luella had thought she'd known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another... but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a "happily ever after" ending. It's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.