Book picks similar to
Curse of Blood and Shadow: Allied Kingdoms Academy 1 by J.M. Kearl
fantasy
vampires
academy
arc
Lore & Lust
Karla Nikole - 2020
Surviving but not thriving. As an elite purebred vampire in the twenty-first century, he is broken. Content in his subpar existence.He is done with life. But life is not finished with him.When he receives a formal request to oversee an antiquated vampire ritual at Hertsmonceux Castle, Haruka grudgingly leaves his home to meet another purebred. The vampire is not what he expects. Truly, he is unlike any vampire Haruka has ever encountered: cautious, innocent and with the warmth and gravitational pull of the sun.Lore and Lust is an exploration of cultures, contemporary society and romance. It puts a whimsical spin on traditional vampire lore, while also creating a vivid new world where love is love. No questions asked.Mature sexual content.
Becoming Alpha
Aileen Erin - 2013
Then again, it isn’t easy for a girl with visions to ignore what she sees. Luckily Tessa and her family are leaving California and moving halfway across the country, giving her the perfect opportunity to leave her reputation as “Freaky Tessa” behind. But Tessa doesn’t realize that kissing the wrong guy in her new Texas town could land her in far more trouble than she ever imagined. Like being forced to attend St. Ailbe’s Academy, a secret boarding school for werewolves. Even if the wrong guy did accidentally turn her into one of “them” and doom her to attending the weirdest high school ever, Tessa can’t help her growing attraction to the mysterious Dastien Laurent.When vampires attack St. Alibe’s and her visions pinpoint an enemy in their midst, Tessa realizes that boy drama and her newfound canine tendencies might just be the least of her problems.
Daughter of Shades
Sylvia Mercedes - 2019
A rival with a secret.A kingdom’s fate hangs in the balance . . . Ayleth and her shade move as one, ever hungry for the hunt. Under her mentor’s tight control, she fears her memories are being stolen. Now nineteen, apprenticed for as long as she can remember to the mysterious Holy Order, she longs to rise in the ranks and banish untamed spirits for the prophesied Golden Prince.When shadowy threats descend on the crown, Ayleth seizes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove her worth in open competition. Seeking to win the prince’s favor and escape her scheming mentor, she resolves to hold her own against Terryn, a handsome, arrogant opponent who may be more than a match for her untested powers. But as the two rivals follow a trail beyond the Great Barrier and confront legendary evil, the stolen secrets of Ayleth’s past may return to haunt her . . .Can Ayleth win the trial and reclaim her true self? Can she even survive her first day?Daughter of Shades is the first breathtaking book in The Venatrix Chronicles YA fantasy series. If you like kick-butt heroines, intriguing worlds of magic, and slow-burn romance then you’ll love Sylvia Mercedes’s action-packed story.
Untainted
Lilian T. James - 2021
Wielding a blade and pretending to be human were two of them. Following the rules and controlling her anger, were not. Raised in the heart of the Matherin Empire, Vera spent most of her life forced to hide what she was and what she could do. Until one day, she foolishly confronts a strange male she spies tailing the Crown Prince. Not only does the altercation not go as planned, but the male claims she possesses a power his people vitally need. He's desperate to return home and refuses to leave without her. Staying would give her a life she never thought she'd have but leaving could provide her with the only chance to learn more about her past. The more answers she uncovers about herself, the more questions arise, and nothing is adding up. Vera must decide what to do, not only with her life, but with the ancient power inside her.
Blood Captive
Kim Loraine - 2019
My life was unstable, but at least I wasn't alone. That all changed when my mother was murdered.I ran from the unknown creatures she'd always feared. Until the day I stopped being afraid.That was my first mistake.Cashel Blackthorne took me as his captive, but more than that, he opened my eyes to the terrible truth of the world.Vampires exist, and I am the key to their salvation.The Blackthorne vampires need my blood but their prince desires more--me.There's something between us neither of us can deny.He is my captor, but I'll be his ruin.
Academy of Assassins
Stacey Brutger - 2017
Abandoned as a child and unable to remember her past, Morgan was raised as a hunter, one of an elite group of fighters sworn to protect humans from the dangerous paranormal creatures who invade our world…creatures such as herself. Her life changes the day she’s summoned to the Academy of Assassins, a school that trains witches and hunters to eradicate paranormals who prey on humans. Her first assignment—find and eliminate the killer who is using the Academy as their own personal hunting ground. As Morgan delves deeper into the investigation, she will need to dodge assassination attempts, avoid the distraction of romantic entanglements with the devilishly handsome security expert, Kincade, and his maddeningly overprotective teammates, while keeping the volatile magic in her blood concealed from those who would use it for their own purposes. When the danger increases and the school is threatened, Morgan must unearth her missing memories before someone finishes the job they started so long ago—killing her and unleashing a plague that will consume the world.
Secondborn
Amy A. Bartol - 2017
Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
A Shifter's Curse
Raven Steele - 2018
I'd rather beat the shit out of you right now." With a dagger in her boot and blades in her bra, Briar, a powerful shifter, arrives in Rouen with one goal: find and kill Dominic, the man responsible for the destruction of her entire family and wolf pack. When she discovers he is an Alpha surrounded by muscle-ripped shifters and equally as strong witches, she knows the only way she will get close enough to kill him is if she joins his dangerous and shady pack. But infiltrating them proves more challenging than she expects, especially when her new roommates turn out to be supernaturals with their own powers and secrets. She can't tell if the centuries-old, nosey vampire and fashion-sensitive witch are working with her or against her. Whether they are friends or enemies doesn't change things. Briar has a job to do. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to quench her thirst for revenge, even if it means destroying her own soul. In this new urban fantasy series, Steele and Mason introduce readers to a dark and exciting world full of shifters, vampires, and witches. If you like Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Shayne Silvers or K.F. Breene, you will LOVE this new series! Scroll up and grab this gritty urban fantasy TODAY! ** Intended for adult readers due to violence and language, but it is funny as hell. Oh, and this is not an RH **
The Casquette Girls
Alys Arden - 2013
But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition. As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless... you’re immortal.
Imposter
Tate James - 2018
Three weeks. Three Royal Princes. It should have been an easy task, for a skilled mercenary like Rybet Waise. Simply break into the royal palace, and rescue her friend from the executioner's block. But when Rybet accidentally qualifies for the Trials, she finds herself with little choice but to see them through. A thin veil of etiquette, elegance and glamour hides the true nature of the Trials. Behind closed doors, they are brutal and bloody, and to fail means to forfeit her life. Thrust into the limelight and forced to compete with the Kingdom's elite sweethearts, unlikely allies emerge and bonds are formed. But someone will stop at nothing to see her fail. After all, she's nothing but a dirty pond-dweller. Rybet will do whatever it takes to survive until the Golden Ball, Princes be damned.
Riot House
Callie Hart - 2020
As far as the boys who run America’s most exclusive international academy are concerned, I’m an unwelcome interloper, an inconvenience, and they’re determined to make my life a living hell. When Wren Jacobi sets eyes on Wolf Hall Academy’s newest inductee, all he sees is an easy mark. A reserved little girl with a target painted on her back. He knows nothing of my troubled past, though. Nothing of my mother’s suspicious death, or the horrific treatment I’ve had to endure at the hands of my psychotic father. And he has no idea of the lengths that I, unassuming little Elodie Stillwater, will go to in order to break the savage beast who dreams of breaking me first. There’s a wolf stalking the forests that surround my new school. Little does he know…There are far scarier predators lurking out there in the dark.
Rest in Pieces
Lucinda Dark - 2019
Dust to Dust. If vampires kill your entire family, vengeance is a must.
I can’t say my parents never warned me about vampires. I just never believed them. Not—that is—until six months ago when vampires broke into my home and killed my family. Thanks to all the skills my parents taught me, I managed to escape but I couldn’t save them. Two vampires down and the rest of the world to go. My bid for revenge is going to have to wait, though, because until I turn 18, I’m being placed in the loving care of Elizabeth and Jonathan McKnight—godparents I didn’t even know existed. The clock is ticking until I can get back to my goal of eradicating the vampire race. But something is amiss at my new high school. According to my parents, vampires can’t walk in daylight. So, why then, does Torin Priest? If he’s not a vampire, then what is he? Because unlike the obnoxious asshole, Maverick McKnight, who sees me as some sort of bloodsucking leech on his wealthy family, Torin Priest is most certainly not human. To stake or not to stake, that is the question.
Star Mother
Charlie N. Holmberg - 2021
Holmberg.When a star dies, a new one must be born.The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden, who considers herself an outsider, sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor and take control of her legacy. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, however, it’s not nine months later—it’s seven hundred years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants.Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious—and desperate—godling. Ristriel is incorporeal, a fugitive, a trickster, and the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.Together, pursued across the Earth and trespassing the heavens, Ceris and Ristriel are on a path to illuminate the mysteries that bind them and discover the secrets of the celestial world.
A Time to Rise
Tal Bauer - 2016
Deep in the Vatican, a brotherhood exists, sworn protectors of the earth, and they stand against the darkness. Operating in secret and silence, they protect our world from the sinister, the etheric, and the evils that exist beyond the Veil.But it's a lonely life, and Alain Autenburg knows that more than most. His lover was ripped from him years ago, and he vowed never to get close to another soul again. Even when the loneliness presses down on him, and his empty heart cries out for something more.Something more comes in Cristoph Hasse, a new soldier arriving in Rome to serve in the Pontifical Swiss Guard. Young, brash, and fitting in at right angles everywhere he goes, Cristoph struggles in the murky, deceptive labyrinth of the Vatican. Propelled forward by a past he can't understand, Cristoph collides with Alain as both men crash headfirst into the darkest secret of the Vatican... and of the world.
Variant Lost
Kaydence Snow - 2018
The Institute is world renowned for educating and training Variants – the 18% of the population fortunate enough to have superhuman abilities. As a human, she’s lucky to be admitted. She’s done with fake identities, running and lying but once again she finds herself surrounded by secrets. Some she’s been keeping her whole life. Some have been kept from her. Some she finds herself dragged into… Ethan, Josh, Tyler and Alec have some of the rarest Variant abilities Evelyn has ever seen. They fascinate, intrigue and attract her, but is it their abilities, their own secrets or something more that Evelyn can’t seem to stay away from? The secrets they keep could drag Evelyn so deep into their dangerous and exciting world that she’ll never be the same. And the answers she finds could get them all killed.