Book picks similar to
Crystal Beach by Tom Larcombe


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urban-fantasy
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The Hammer Commission


John Van Stry - 2013
    Founded by Pope Pius the Third in the fifteen century the members of the Commission work to hunt down devils, demons, and other evil creatures as well as the people who summon them to Earth. After centuries of hard and often deadly work the Commission members have begun to believe that this particular battle in the never ending war between Heaven and Hell might finally be won, until Mark and his partner are ambushed at a warehouse in Paris by a devil thought too big and too powerful to be summoned in these modern times.Suddenly things are no longer as they were, other teams are being attacked and even killed, devils are appearing in places thought impossible, and they all seem to have a goal in common: killing Mark. And to make matters worse Mark is starting to lose faith in his own organization, whom he thinks may also want him dead, and from which he has been keeping his own secrets.

Aimless Witch


Shannon Mayer - 2018
    The land is no longer whole, but broken into pieces, most technology gone, and the continents shattered into an unrecognizable place.New monsters have risen from the depths, adding danger on top of danger. Through it all the humans fight to survive as they compete not only with the supernaturals for food and resources, but their own kind as well.And me? The caravans of humans I pass, they look to me to save them.Only I am not the witch I once was. Bound by those who fear my power and my bloodline, I’m lucky if I can light a match with my magic, never mind protect anyone but myself.Now, the darkness in me rises, offering me all that I want. Freedom from the chains I wear, and the power to make everything right. But if I embrace the darkness I will face a cost I could never have imagined…

Origin


Lan Chan - 2020
    Mine begins with an underground cage fight and ends in a secret identity.By day I'm Willow Nguyen, not so mild-mannered teenager searching for her missing mother. By night...okay, I'm the same, but it's easier to break into banks under cover of darkness.My world is divided into the Academy and the Kings: the law and the thugs. At the centre of their power are the espers like me: the telepaths, psychics and illusionists.What I can do could change the balance of power in Melbourne. So it makes sense for me to keep a low profile. It's not my fault that I get drawn into an illegal cage fight. Yes, I did have to become a psychotic King's nemesis. No I won't stop fighting until one of us is dead.With great power comes great pain in the backside. I just have to make sure it hurts them more than me. Willow Nguyen might just be a girl, but Spectra will become a legend.Origin is the first novel in the Spectra Series. It is an Australian young adult urban fantasy series with slight Academy overtones. There are flavours of X-men and Dark Angel with a big helping of snark and a slow burn romance.

Shade Cursed


M.D. Massey - 2021
    The Fae took that from me when they tore me from my crib and turned me into a creature of blood and shadow. My kidnappers raised me, taught me magic, and made me their Hound. For years I served them, venturing out from Underhill to do their bidding, stealing magical artifacts, hunting down their enemies, and spying on humankind.But a cur can only be brought to heel for so long. I've broken my chains by betraying my adoptive mother, the powerful sorceress Fuamnach. Since then her assassins have been hunting me, and if I'm captured I'll be taken back to Underhill to face a crueler fate than death.So, I spend my days in my tower, conducting magical experiments to help me control the dark entity that Fuamnach grafted onto my soul. As for my nights, they’re spent capturing the deadliest of supernatural creatures. I must have ingredients for my research, after all.Now, one of those creatures claims he witnessed my abduction. Yet, the supernatural races are a treacherous lot, and there’s little to convince me he’s telling the truth.But if there’s even a remote chance that my family is alive and well…I’ll cut a swathe of destruction through an army of Fae, if it means gaining back a piece of the humanity they stole from me.My name is Crowley, and if I can’t have my life back, then vengeance will have to do.Shade Cursed is the first entry in The Shadow Changeling Series, a Colin McCool Junkyard Druid spin-off series set in M.D. Massey's Druidverse urban fantasy setting.If you enjoy dark urban fantasy books featuring haunted antiheroes in the tradition of Snape, Walker Boh, and Constantine, you'll love this story about a human changeling prince fighting to overcome the tragedy of his tortured past.Grab your copy of the first novel in this urban fantasy trilogy today!What Readers Are Saying:MD Massey's stories are excellent! The research on the Fae is excellent and helps the story flow and provide things to look up. All round fantastic literature for a really good price." ~Johns F."The Junkyard Druid series are really fun reads. Well thought out, engaging, with a cast of characters you can get behind! 100% recommend!" ~Nick H."An amazing world building author. The characters and plot lines have you sucked in and begging for more! Love it!" ~Andrea L."His books are great, the Junkyard Druid series is amazing. I've read them all and hope there's more." ~George C."The Colin McCool series is amazing. Found myself enthralled by the action, storytelling and comedy from start to finish. desperately awaiting the next installment!" ~Mic R."...among the best urban fantasy you're going to find." ~Todd C.Review"M.D. Massey's skillful storytelling and entertaining plot twists combine to deliver a page-turning experience that's sure to delight urban fantasy fans everywhere. If you're looking for your next riveting, supernatural adventure, this series delivers in spades!" ~ New York Times bestseller Joseph Nassise"M.D. Massey's action-packed novels take the reader on a rollercoaster ride into an immersive universe of quirky gallows humor, nightmarish supernatural creatures, and high octane urban fantasy adventures. The pages are filled with paranormal suspense and a host of monstrous grotesques in plots that teem with twists and turns. And in all this perfectly streamlined chaos, one thing's for sure; Colin McCool's never going to stop fighting until he's saved Austin, Texas, and most likely the entire world."~ Kit Hallows, Author of The Order of Shadows Series"MD Massey's Druidverse is the perfect playground for urban fantasy fans who enjoy what we've come to expect in excellent storytelling from the genre. Fast pacing. Relatable characters you want to root for. 'Bad guys' you love to root against. With plenty of supernatural elements, mythology, and non-stop action, his world is richly crafted and complex, never feeling bogged down in the details--just how urban fantasy should be told. Master storytellers are able to balance excitement, anticipation, and suspense over a long series--and that's exactly what MD does in the Colin McCool books. A must-read!"~ Paul Sating, Author of the Zodiac series"M.D. Massey offers bantering humor and action-packed adventure reminiscent of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files... a wonderful read with a snarky hero, quirky characters, bizarre creatures, and dangerous situations."~Liz Konkel, Readers' Favorite Reviews

Black Magic


Mark Feenstra - 2016
    After years of living on the street and trying to come to terms with the growing ability she had to teach herself to control, she’s happy to have settled into the relatively quiet life of finding lost pets, crafting the odd charm, and helping people deal with annoying fae creatures and spirits.But when Alex is asked to investigate the gruesome murder of an artifact dealer who’d lost his life trying to protect his latest acquisition, she’s thrown headlong into a world of danger that threatens to cut her career short at every turn. The closer she gets to tracking down the killer, the more dangerous the trail becomes, and the more Alex realizes that terrible things will happen if the true potential of the artifact is ever unleashed.

The White Dragon: Genesis (White Dragon, #1)


Stefan Bolz - 2014
    This is Stefan Bolz at his best." [Amazon Reviewer] "It's one of those books that leave you desperate for more!" [Amazon Reviewer] "Highly, highly recommend this jewel of a book!" [Amazon Reviewer] "A fantastic story, wonderfully developed characters, and an ending that will leave you on edge and begging for Genesis Part 2" [Amazon Reviewer] "I loved this book's prose, characters and story line. Get this. Read it. Experience the awesome that is Stefan Bolz." [Amazon Reviewer The White Dragon: Genesis is the story of the very beginning of an apocalyptic event as seen through the eyes of an eighteen-year-old girl. Nothing could have prepared her for what is about to happen and she has to face some seriously tough stuff before the end. During the thirty-six hours of terror that turn Kasey Byrne's life upside down and strip her of everything dear to her, something inside her awakens. It is gift and curse alike for it can destroy her or turn her into the most powerful weapon against the evil that has reached the shores of our world.

School of Magical Arts: New York City Campus Novellas 1-3 (The Coven)


Chandelle LaVaun - 2020
    

Disperse: The Cesmial Accords: A LitRPG Gamelit Adventure


Kevin Sinclair - 2021
    Unhealthy for Lyewax, at least.It’s not every day that violent earthquakes cause a rare and potent energy to leak from the planet's core. One that immediately kills over half the world's population while gifting the survivors with incredible powers.That energy is Cesmial. One of the most highly sought-after resources in the universe. Its sudden appearance has attracted attention.Enter the monsters. Huge, fearsome creatures with one purpose. Remove the Earth’s current occupants, so the Cesmial can be harvested.Humanity is on the back foot. They need heroes. They need leaders. They need Lyewax Vix. But he has more problems than you can poke a stick at. Embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with an unknowable enemy. Trapped in a loop of someone else’s making. If he can survive, then perhaps humanity has a chance too.

Assassin's Blood


Marina Finlayson - 2019
    But tonight, I’m stalking an ice-cold fae assassin. I’m on a mission to avenge my murdered friend. I’m only half fae, but my lack of magic won’t stop me. When I’m caught spying in the assassins’ stronghold, they give me a choice, according to their ancient custom: become one of them or die. As if that isn’t sucky enough, my new instructor, Ash, is the beautiful, cold-eyed killer I followed here. But the longer I’m with him, the more he intrigues me. Now my acting skills are facing their greatest challenge: convincing my brooding instructor that I’m a happy little recruit, while working to bring down the assassins’ guild from the inside. That’s a hell of a job, but my survival depends on it.

Sages Of The Underpass


Aaron Michael Ritchey - 2019
    Thanks to his damaged core and crazy family, he never stood a chance anyway. With money, fame, and untold power on the line, the corporations decide who wins. End of story.But when a mysterious group, calling themselves the Sages of the Underpass, threaten to upend the entire system with their unorthodox training and cultivation methods, Niko soon learns that what was once a handicap might be his greatest asset. The only thing standing in his way is a bitter, hard-hearted veteran, who would like nothing more than to see Niko stay in his place. Right at the bottom.Rocky meets Dragon Ball Z in this underdog redemption story from Dragon Award Finalist Aaron Michael Ritchey. Sages of the Underpass is an epic blend of Urban Fantasy, Cultivation, and Magical MMA that captures the passion, the power, and the perseverance it takes to follow your dreams—no matter what kind of artist you are.

The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology, Volume 1


Tao Wong - 2019
    A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with Classes, magic and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong. The System Apocalypse world was first introduced in 'Life in the North' and is a LitRPG science fiction and fantasy post-apocalyptic work that features monsters, science fiction technology, character sheets, supernatural races and ancient myths in one heady, LitRPG brew. Stories and writers featured in this anthology include: Craig Hamilton - "Hunting Monsters" has our protagonist doing what he does best. Finding those who would exploit the System and the people within. Except this time, there are even more complications than normal. Alexis Keane - "Tooth and Claw" is a heart-warming tale of friendship that knows no bounds of race or distance. Ix Phoen - "Rebel Within" tells a tale of hardship in South America, where the monsters are not always the ones outside the walls. Tao Wong – “Debts & Dances” covers the arrival of the System from the perspective of our favorite Truinnar Lord. R.K. Billiau – “Phoenix Rising” covers an unconventional hero, one whose mind is slipping from him before the apocalypse. Will the apocalypse be his salvation? Or doom? L.A. Batt - “Overture to Obliteration” brings us to far-off New Zealand to glimpse the wreckage the System has wrought.

Awakening Infinity


Meghan Ciana Doidge - 2021
    Yes, completely disregarding the well-established fact that magic and technology didn’t mix. At all.I was also hoping to browse as many bookstores as I could before my younger brother’s patience ran out. Unfortunately, the five-year-old fledgling dragon was better known for his exuberant — and ultimately destructive — tendencies rather than his attention span.I almost pulled it all off. Almost proved that my position as Archivist of the Modern World wasn’t just an empty title.Then I got summoned — by the most powerful beings in the magical world. And when the guardian dragons made a request, no one denied them. Not even a lesser dragon.Not even if it tore me away from everything I’d ever known — and the one person I couldn’t leave behind.

The Master's Chair


Mackenzie Morgan - 2010
    Long ago, magical and non-magical creatures lived together in harmony on both worlds, but as life on Earth evolved in the direction of science and technology, the use of magic deteriorated and soon magical creatures and sorcerers became the subject of myths and legends.Meanwhile magic flourished on Terah, and as sorcerers became more powerful, they became more influential, and soon they were the heads of government. The Council of Sorcerers became the ruling body, with the chairman, the Master Sorcerer, the highest position on Terah, a position that comes with tremendous responsibility and formidable enemies.When Master Sorcerer Badec realizes that his unborn son, Myron, will be his one and only heir, he protects the child by arranging for him to grow up on Earth. Myron is scheduled to be returned to Terah on his twenty-fifth birthday, at which time he’ll learn who he is and begin to study magic as well as everything else he’ll need to know in order to assume his role as Terah's next Master Sorcerer.For twenty-three years, things go as planned, and Myron goes about his life as Kevin, a typical nerd, who is more comfortable with computers than with people. Then Badec becomes quite ill and the decision is made to bring his son home early. One morning Kevin is an accountant living and working in Omaha, and the next he is in the middle of a field with six complete strangers, surrounded by huge stones and a forest. Before the day is out, Kevin learns that he is actually a sorcerer named Myron and that he’s next in line for the Master’s Chair. While he’s still reeling from that bit of information, he finds out that due to his father’s illness, he has a little less than one year to learn enough about sorcery to be able to defend his life and chair against sorcerers who have been practicing their craft longer than he’s been alive.Welcome to Terah.

Pride and Magic


Melody Raven - 2019
    Always. Samantha Harris walked away from her family, and magic, years ago. But when a string of murders rocks New York City, Sam can't help but notice that the placement of the bodies screams magic. Except no one in her family seems to pick up the connection. When she tries to give the lead detective a quick hint to send him in the right direction, Sam gets sucked further into the investigation than she ever thought possible. Now Detective Derek Pierce has to put together the half truths Sam is giving him and the facts of the case that get stranger by the second. The killer is closer to Sam than she could've imagined and Derek is the only one who can stop him from tearing her family apart, but only if he knows the whole truth. And the whole truth is exactly what could kill him.

Left Out By The System


Constantin Step - 2021