Book picks similar to
Balanced Scales by Laura Greenwood
fantasy
mermaids
romance
retellings
Initiate
Tara Maya - 2010
A DETERMINED GIRL Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan... AN EXILED WARRIOR Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.
The Legacy of the Key
S.L. Morgan - 2012
Discover today a new dimension that will remove you from reality as you know it. Welcome to the new book series: Ancient Guardians. Book One, The Legacy of the Key, promises to give you a fun, new, and thrilling reading experience!No matter where you are, facing your reality with passion and purpose will always lead down the path you were intended to go.Reece Bryant was able to pick up the pieces of her broken life after the sudden death of her father. Though emotionally draining, she found the courage to move on, which would have made her father proud.After finalizing the last of his estate, and returning to pursue her degree in medical school, she has never felt so confident. While making her way through this world on her own, she is suddenly confronted with the truth of her existence, and the reality of her future.It is when she encounters two alluring and mysterious men, that a series of extraordinary events takes place, putting Reece’s life in grave danger. With her life in the balance, Reece must blindly trust the two mysterious strangers; and when she does, she is brought into an enchanting world that is beyond her logical comprehension. This captivating land reveals new worlds and new dimensions to which her existence is paramount.But it is once she falls in love with the stunning Levi Oxley that everything will change, and Reece’s life will be in more danger than ever before. Forced to return to Earth and face a Council of Worlds, Reece discovers there is more to this enchanting dimension than she could have ever imagined.At a moment’s notice, even thru the fog of our denial, our journey can become crystal clear. And within the revelation, once our fear subsides, we can find contentment and purpose if we focus on the things that matter most. Trust—Courage—Love.
Faelorehn
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - 2012
It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . .Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own.Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.
Birthright
Jessica Ruddick - 2017
Anything would have been better than coming into her birthright of being a seeker for the Grim Reaper, an arrangement made by her fallen angel ancestor in exchange for his re-admittance to heaven. And she isn't just any seeker--she finds souls that have the potential for becoming angels and sentences them to death. A year and two souls into her role as a seeker with her conscience overflowing with guilt, Ava comes up with a plan to thwart the system. When it goes awry, she is forced to submit the name of a classmate, Cole Fowler, an ornery, rough around the edges guy who always seems to come to her rescue, whether she likes it or not. Her feelings for Cole prompt her to intervene, and she saves him from death, upsetting the Grim Reaper's agenda.While Ava schemes to find a way to save Cole, she learns he has some secrets of his own. She lets him believe he is protecting her, and not the other way around, until a final showdown with the Grim Reaper forces Ava to make choices Cole may never forgive.
Thanatos
Eva Pohler - 2012
While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades-Hypnos (the god of sleep) and Thanatos (the god of death). She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world.Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her.The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than's fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.*Formerly The Gatekeeper's Sons
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden - 2017
But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.
Tales of Ever After
H.L. BurkeD.G. Driver - 2018
The authors of the Fellowship of Fantasy tackle fairy tales from once upon a time to happily ever after. Explore twists on old tales and brand new magical stories. Meet feisty mermaids, friendly lampposts, and heroes who just might be monsters themselves. This fourth anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy will lead you on a quest for entertainment and storm the castle of your imagination. So make a wish and enter the deep dark woods to find stories that will make you laugh, shiver, and maybe even fall in love.
Unlovable
Cynthia St. Aubin - 2014
It isn’t every day a sexy demigod throws a pissed-off Cupid onto psychologist Matilda Schmidt’s couch and informs her the fate of the world depends on her ability to get him off his diapered ass and back to helping people fall in love.Just when Matilda convinces herself she’s not hallucinating, in walks a Vegas hit man with a big gun and a bigger threat: pay back the million dollars she owes a notorious casino mogul, or wind up as fish food in Lake Mead.Rocketing across country with a gun to her head, Matilda has a dysfunctional love-god in her laptop bag, a million dollar debt she has no knowledge of, and must convince the seductive hit man he’s snatched the wrong woman before he convinces her he might be the right man—for a night.Can Matilda stay alive long enough to keep love from becoming history?
Anchored
Bridget E. Baker - 2021
If the wrong people find out, there's no telling what will happen. But when she almost kills a man in self-defense, her secret is exposed and she's forced to run for her life.On Earth, Alora's running from something else: hazy memories of her parents' death and the social worker who wants to separate her from her brother. When she sees the man she almost killed on Terra at work, she's flummoxed. She's never recognized anyone from there before—after all, Terra exists only in her dreams... When her dreams begin to leach into reality, something incredible awakens in Alora. But she knows better than anyone that everything comes with a cost. As the barrier between worlds crumbles, Alora must decide which is safer, which is more powerful, and which world is worth saving.
The Kerrigan Kids Box Set #1-3
W.J. May - 2021
May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or step into the series right here. You won't be disappointed! Grab the first three books of the 12 book series!Book 1 - School of PotentialHow do you save the world, when it's already been saved?Eighteen-year-old Aria was supposed to have it all. A tight-knit circle of friends, a loving family, and a magical tatu on her lower back that gave her every superpower under the sun. When it came to the battle between good and evil, she was ready to do her part. There was just one little problem.…good had already won.Trapped beneath their parents' legacy, Aria and her friends find themselves restlessly pacing the halls of Guilder University, desperate to come into their powers, desperate for whatever comes next. The months blend together, each more monotonous than the next, until one day, no different than any other, a mysterious stranger comes to school.Determined to uncover his secrets and driven by a fierce need to prove themselves, the new gang does whatever it takes to show the rest of the world they're ready. But that readiness comes at a cost.Will it be a price they're willing to pay?Book 2 - Myths & MagicIt was a trial by fire…When a vicious murder rocks the Guilder Boarding School, Aria and her friends find themselves on shaky ground. When everyone has motive, everyone's a suspect. And thanks to a public brawl with the victim, Aria Wardell was seen to have more motive than most.While fending off a ward of accusations from both the students and the faculty alike, Aria struggles to find balance in her life amidst the shocking development of some new powers. A new group of shifters on campus raise more questions than answers, and no matter how the world is crumbling around her, she can't get a certain moonlit kiss out of her mind.Trouble is brewing. Secrets can't stay secret for long.Will she ever get answers? Or should some secrets be taken to the grave?Book 3 - Kith & KinIf you can't beat them, join them…When yet another attack leaves the students of Guilder University looking for answers, Aria decides to take matters into her own hands. Armed with a set of powers she'd vowed never to use, she follows the clues to the killer—only to find that nothing is as it seems.The world is changing. Alliances are shifting. And the very foundations of the supernatural community are at risk. Like it or not, people are starting to take sides.But will Aria and her friends find themselves on the right side of the fight? Or are some sins too big to come back from?Kerrigan KidsBook 1 - School of PotentialBook 2 - Myths & MagicBook 3 - Kith & KinBook 4 - Playing With PowerBook 5 - Line of AncestryBook 6 - Descent of HopeBook 7 – Illusion of ShadowsBook 8 – Frozen by the FutureBook 9 – Guilt of My PastBook 10 – Demise of MagicBook 11- Rise of the ProphecyBook 12 – Deafened by the Past
Wolves
C. Gockel - 2012
Galaxies away Loki is waking up in a prison cell, strangely without a hangover, and with no idea what he’s done wrong — this time anyway. But he does know Thor is hiding something, Odin is up to something wicked, and there seems to be something he’s forgotten...In this tale that is equal parts “Another Fine Myth,” “American Gods,” and “Once Upon a Time,” a very nice midwestern girl and a jaded, still very mischievous Loki must join forces to outwit gods, elves, magic sniffing cats, and nosy neighbors. If Loki can remember exactly what he’s forgotten and Amy can convince him not to be too distracted by Earthly gadgets, her boobs, or three day benders, they just might pull it off...This first volume of "I Bring the Fire" is for anyone who suspects chaos and mischief makers might have their own redeeming qualities, and anyone who just wants a good fantasy romp through modern Earth, ancient Asgard, and beyond!
Dreadmarrow Thief
Marjory Kaptanoglu - 2017
During one of her outings, she accidentally reveals herself to the Conjurer Lord Fellstone. The tyrant sends his knights after her, resulting in the murder of her father. Driven to reverse his fate, Tessa and her two companions embark on a perilous quest seeking love, revenge, and a cure for death.Praise for Dreadmarrow Thief:"For those who enjoyed Harry Potter but who seek a feisty, determined female protagonist." -Midwest Book ReviewSilver Medalist, SPR Book Awards: “A stellar entry into the genre of YA fantasy.”Bronze Medalist, Wishing Shelf Book Awards: “A gripping fantasy adventure, highly recommended.”"The quest narrative is exciting and compelling... a work of classic fantasy." -The BookLife Prize“Celebrates life and love the way only the best fantasy tales can." -Kirkus Reviews“
Rose of the Oath: A Beauty and the Beast Novella
Hope Ann - 2022
But there’s no arguing with the strange, scarred host of a hidden valley who’s taken her brother captive. Without the resources to mount a rescue, Elissa desperately settles for the next best thing: exchanging her freedom for her brother.But the longer she stays in the valley, the more Elissa realizes it isn’t just her prison. It holds secrets that her host jealously guards. Secrets that could hold the key to her escape. Except maybe the curse isn’t a curse at all. And maybe secrets are the only thing keeping her alive. A Beauty and the Beast retelling, Rose of the Oath weaves the timeless elements of roses and captors and beauties with deeper shades of betrayal, sorrow, and sacrifice.The first novella in the Legends of Light series, this short novel is a stand-alone story and contains a handful of allegorical themes.
Stolen Songbird
Danielle L. Jensen - 2014
A prince cursed to darkness. A bond that will unleash magic caged for centuries.Centuries ago, the Isle of Light was ruled by cruel creatures with dangerous magic until a witch bound them to their underground city. But a prophesy has spoken of a union with a human girl that has the power to set them free.Cécile is a singer destined for the stage when she is kidnapped and bonded to the cursed prince of Trollus, with their minds linked in a way she never dreamed possible. Trollus is both magical and deadly, but as Cécile hunts for a way to escape, she discovers there is more to her mysterious husband than anyone realizes. As tension brews and political games escalate, Cécile finds herself at the center of a rebellion... and she is the one with the magic needed to overthrow the tyrant who rules.Torn between returning to her human life and becoming the princess Trollus needs, Cécile must decide which world she belongs to... and how far she's willing to go to save the prince who holds her heart. Stolen Songbird is the first novel in a complete YA fantasy romance series that is perfect for readers looking to be lost in a magical world full of swoon-worthy and slow-burn romance!