Book picks similar to
Strange Brews by Stobie Piel


fantasy
romance
paranormal
paranormal-romance

Ever Shade


Alexia Purdy - 2011
    A dark twist on faeries. For Shade, a chance meeting with a powerful Teleen faery warrior who wields electrical currents and blue fires along his skin, has her joining him on a treacherous mission for the good Seelie Faerie Court across the land of Faerie. Paperback includes the prequel: Evangeline. Books in this series: Prequel: Evangeline, Book 1: Ever Shade, Book 2: Ever Fire, Book 3: Ever Winter, Book 3.5: The Cursed, Book 4: Ever Wrath, Book 5: History of Fire, Book 6: Ever Dead, Book 7: Legends of Fire, Book 8: Guardians of Fire

Darksoul


Eveline Hunt - 2014
    Or two. Or three. Problem number one: Asher Evans, her best friend and long-time crush. A lover of piercings with tan skin and a posh British accent, he’s spunky, fun, dirty-mouthed...and clearly more than what he seems. Then there is Hunter Slade. Cold. Infuriating. Unreadable. He knows just how to work her last nerve. But under his calm, impassive mask, he’s hiding a terrible secret of his own. Hunter and Ash are the least of Hazel’s worries. Someone is out to kill her, and she has no idea why. Monsters seem to come from left and right. Invisible wings follow her everywhere she goes. There’s a voice, soft and strangely familiar, inside her head. After a series of scary encounters, Hazel doesn't know who or what to believe. Only one thing is for sure: She will not go down without a fight. **Due to strong language and crude sexual themes, this book is only recommended for readers ages 16 and up.**

The Lady is Trouble


Tracy Sumner - 2021
    She’s a psychic firebrand. Rebellious, spurned by society and determined to change his mind.What’s a defiant woman to do when the man she’s meant for doesn’t believe in love?After three years of waiting for Julian Alexander to realize they are destined to be together, Lady Piper Scott takes matters into her own hands. Because her gift as a healer has never done anything but distance her from the most principled man in England. A meaningless diversion as a medium, all done to gain a certain wandering viscount’s attention, backfires. As most endeavors have for a woman known in the ton as Scandalous Scott.What’s a reluctant viscount to do when the woman he can’t have becomes the woman he can’t live without?Julian Alexander, Lord Beauchamp, battled his way from the lowliest slum to assume his title. He carries not only a turbulent past, but a mystical psychic gift that separates him from society. Honorable to his core, he is committed to protecting a community of outcasts with abilities like his own. He has no time, no place, for love. Or repeatedly rescuing the most outrageous, beguiling woman he’s ever known. Even if she needs his protection most—and he desires her above all others.Seduction, intrigue and desire lead to an explosive passion…Julian vowed to shield Piper from the deadly foes seeking to possess her powerful gift. Although he needs her help in controlling his own, the mix could be deadly. Soon what was once a simple agreement to work together becomes enchantingly complex as they surrender to a timeless love…

Magic in the Stars


Patricia Rice - 2016
    As the Malcolm family librarian, she dutifully creates zodiac charts for her often eccentric and mysterious relations—until the day she realizes a dire conjunction of planets spells a fatal threat in a distant branch of the family. Lord Theophilus Ives, heir presumptive to the Marquess of Ashford, Earl of Ives and Wystan, is a dedicated astronomer who has perfected a telescope capable of seeing beyond Saturn’s moons. Living in an all-male family that distrusts the women who regularly abandon them, Theo is undaunted by the tumult of his life—until the day the luscious Lady Azenor arrives to warn them that the marquess is in danger. Can Aster, the Prophetess of Doom, convince a laughing disbeliever of peril? And what are the chances she can escape the fate her stars predict if she lingers too long in Lord Theo’s enthralling company? ~~~~~~~~~~~ "From this masterful storyteller comes the first book in the Unexpected Magic series. Rice packs her tale with whimsy humor and mayhem, along with a delightful female astrologer and an absentminded astronomer, who are often on a collision course--for love. Throw in some lovable canines and felines and Rice takes her readers on an amorous adventure in this magical tale." -- Joan Hammond, RT Book Reviews 4 1/2 top pick

Penelope and Prince Charming


Jennifer Ashley - 2006
     England 1819 Wallflower Penelope Trask believes nothing will ever happen in her village of Little Marching, Oxfordshire. Handsome princes only sweep in and carry off innocent maidens in the fairy tales she collects, never in real life. Prince Damien of Nvengaria is tired of living inside a fairy tale. His entire life has been ruled by prophecy, magic, and avoiding being assassinated by his mad father and the head of the Council of Dukes. When his father dies, he inherits a kingdom divided, his opposition led by Grand Duke Alexander, who will do anything to keep the monster's son from ruling Nvengaria. To make good his claim to the throne, Damien must fulfill a prophecy that reunites the lines of the original two princes of Nvengaria, best friends who'd carved a kingdom out of wild lands near the Transylvanian mountains. Damien's task—to bring back the Princess of Nvengaria, her line lost centuries ago. The price of disappointing the people, Alexander promises, will be Damien's execution. Damien tracks down the long-lost princess to the village of Little Marching in England, where nothing remotely interesting ever happens. He will have to convince the lovely Penelope that he is no charlatan, and that Damien's life and his kingdom depends on her facing danger with him. Along the way, the prophecy says, they will fall in love. And the prophecy is never wrong ... Note: The Nvengaria series is paranormal historical, the books loosely based on well-known fairy tales: Penelope and Prince Charming—Cinderella The Mad, Bad Duke—Beauty and the Beast Highlander Ever After—Snow White and the Seven … Highlanders The Longest Night—Little Red Riding Hood (and the Big, Bad Wolf)

The Faerie Guardian


Rachel Morgan - 2012
    Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamor follows her into the Fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the Fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.[This novel was originally published in four separate parts: Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor and Masquerade. It includes bonus scenes at the end that were not published in the individual parts.]

Master of Crows


Grace Draven - 2009
    In exchange for her freedom, she bargains with her masters, the mage-priests of Conclave, to spy on the renegade sorcerer, Silhara of Neith. The priests want Martise to expose the sorcerer's treachery and turn him over to Conclave justice. A risky endeavor, but one she accepts without hesitation--until she falls in love with her intended target.Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, is a desperate man. The god called Corruption invades his mind, seducing him with promises of limitless power if he will help it gain dominion over the world. Silhara struggles against Corruption's influence and searches for ways to destroy the god. When Conclave sends Martise as an apprentice to help him, he knows she's a spy. Now he fights a war on two fronts -against the god who would possess him and the apprentice who would betray him.Mage and spy search together for a ritual that will annihilate Corruption, but in doing so, they discover secrets about each other that may damn them both. Silhara must decide if his fate, and the fate of nations, is worth the soul of the woman he has come to love, and Martise must choose continued enslavement or freedom at the cost of a man's life. And love.

Descent of Blood


Elizabeth Marx - 2012
    Mortal men clash in the War of the Roses for the English crown, while vampire warriors’ move undetected among their ranks, savoring the flow of blood that battlefields provide. Vampire prince, Severian Pearce, fears the revelation of the immortal clans to humankind should King Henry fall from power. While in pursuit of Henry’s enemies, Severian comes to the aid of Meridian Neville, a human woman he craves—and not for the scent of her blood … Meridian is torn between honoring her father’s dying wish and her unexplainable yearning for Lord Severian. But as Severian and Meridian work together to protect a relic hunted by mortals and immortals alike, the red veil descends over them. This all-consuming attraction can drive immortals to the brink of madness. Will the existence of this powerful bond between a human and a vampire be enough to unite the immortal clans or is the red veil a scourge set on destroying any chance they might have of happiness?

The Undead Heart


Tate Jackson - 2010
    Hunters who, centuries ago, had vowed to slay all vampyres. A vow they set aside to protect the family that they had come to love, knowing that the outcome of that decision would be an eventual battle. A battle of decapitation and blood; a battle they may not survive.She was leaving a life she would kill to get away from for a family she would gladly die to protect, but could she do it? Could she make it back alive? Did she possess the strength and courage it would take to change the past and save their future?She was about to find out.The Undead Heart is a tale of love, life, horror, humor and family and is the first novel in The Blood Thirst Series.

Kiss of a Dragon


Alisa Woods - 2016
     Five hundred years is truly enough for a man like me. A monster. Yet a ten-thousand-year treaty will die with me, if I don’t spawn a dragonling to take my place. My two brothers are no use in this task. It falls to me, the eldest by a hair’s breadth, and yet, I cannot face the horror of another sealing. Another death. Another woman’s blood on my hands. ARABELLA I was saved from death in a dark Seattle alley by an impossibly beautiful man who swooped in on golden wings. Now he’s taken me to his lair, opened my eyes to a world of immortals I didn’t know existed, and given me an impossible task—find him a mate. Then, and only then, will he set me free. He needs her more than he wants; she wants him more than she should; and the fate of both the mortal and immortal worlds depends on not just repairing their hearts, but finding a Love that’s True…

Dreamspell


Tamara Leigh - 2012
    A TIME TO DIE. A TIME TO DREAM.Sleep disorders specialist Kennedy Plain has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. When her research subject dies after trying to convince her he has achieved dream-induced time travel and her study is shelved, she enlists herself as a subject to complete her research. But when she dreams herself into 14th-century England and falls into the hands of Fulke Wynland, a man history has condemned as a murderer, she must not only stay alive long enough to find a way to return to her own time, but prevent Fulke from murdering his young nephews. And yet, the more time she spends with the medieval warrior, the more difficult it is to believe he is capable of committing the heinous crime for which he has been reviled for 600 years.Baron Fulke Wynland has been granted guardianship of his brother’s heirs despite suspicions that he seeks to steal their inheritance. When the king sends a mysterious woman to care for the boys, Fulke is surprised by the lady's hostility toward him--and more surprised to learn she is to be his wife. But when his nephews are abducted, the two must overcome their mutual dislike to discover the boys' fate. What Fulke never expects is to feel for this woman whose peculiar speech, behavior, and talk of dream travel could see her burned as a witch.

Wilder's Mate


Moira Rogers - 2011
    His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along. At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn. As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save. Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.Word Count: 36,653 = approximately 146 pages.

To Have and To Trust (Heart of a Highlander Collection Book 1)


Allie Palomino - 2014
    On his deathbed, her father appointed her laird, and with that came the responsibility of freeing her clan from Alistair's cruelty. In her fervor to escape her cousin, who is hell-bent on marrying her to solidify his control of the clan, Andie stumbles upon Riley, a boy he kidnapped. As happenstance would have it, Riley’s father was one of her clan's allies. While her father told her not to go to him, Andie decides to return his son and gain his help. Gavin Maitland is a cynic as much as he is a bastard, and he's furious that his son was kidnapped. Hardened by the betrayal of his dead wife, and haunted by curses and prophesies, Gavin doesn't trust anyone, much less women. When he sees Andie approach with his son, he mistakenly believes she kidnapped him. Even after he learns she played no part in his son’s kidnapping or the machinations against his clan, he cannot fully trust her. Gavin agrees, however, to help her fight for her clan, but only after he finishes aiding his other allies. As one catastrophe after another befalls, delaying aid to the McBrides, Andie and Gavin find themselves in a whirlwind attraction and affair that blossoms into love. Their journey to be with one another is wrought with deception, mistrust, and uncertainty, and when they are at last together, the Curse of the Dark Wolf threatens to take Gavin’s newfound happiness and Andie’s life. Even if Andie survives the curse, regaining control of her clan and escaping Alistair may cost her more than she thought she’d ever have to sacrifice. To Have and To Trust is a historical romance novel with paranormal elements, set in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. The Heart of a Highlander…where the only thing fiercer than a warrior’s battle cry, is the way that he loves…

A Breath of Frost


Alyxandra Harvey - 2014
    Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies. Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away?

Binding Vows


Catherine Bybee - 2009
    Travel to the twenty-first century Renaissance Faire, deflower the Druid virgins, and go home. Only his job is not so easily accomplished with the virgin in question, Tara McAllister. Time is running out. The evil is closing in on them both. Tara finds Duncan irresistible after what was supposed to be a mock Hand-fasting binds them. When Duncan whisks her to his home in Scotland she could accept that. But, can she forgive him for taking away her modern life when she finds herself in the sixteenth century? And is it love they feel? Or something else?