Book picks similar to
Samarkand by Graham Diamond


fantasy
historical-fiction
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historical

Grace Lost


M. Lauryl Lewis - 2012
    They are joined by two other survivors, Gus and Emilie. Infected, Zoe must also face the realization that she has developed a telepathic link to the living dead that fills her mind with darkness and evil. Facing unimaginable horrors and unthinkable tragedies, the group must fight both the living and the dead. Zoe and Boggs manage to fall in love while surrounded by death and despair. Before long, it becomes clear that the living dead do not play by usual zombie rules.

Dreamlander


K.M. Weiland - 2012
    Every night, she begs him not to come to her. Every night, she aims her rifle at his head and fires. The last thing Chris expects—or wants—is for this nightmare to be real. But when he wakes up in the world of his dreams, he has to choose between the likelihood that he’s gone spectacularly bonkers or the possibility that he’s just been let in on the secret of the ages.Only one person in a generation may cross the worlds. These chosen few are the Gifted, called from Earth into Lael to shape the epochs of history—and Chris is one of them. But before he figures that out, he accidentally endangers both worlds by resurrecting a vengeful prince intent on claiming the powers of the Gifted for himself. Together with a suspicious princess and a guilt-ridden Cherazii warrior, Chris must hurl himself into a battle to save a country from war, two worlds from annihilation, and himself from a dream come way too true.

City of Blaze


H.O. Charles - 2011
    Its soldiers find entertainment in the beds of the castle's servants rather than fight, believing they are safe from the deadly embrace of wielders. Wars are fought to encourage otherwise absent mortality, and countless citizens suffer the terrible pangs of nalka - the hunger for intimacy. All the while, Cadra's king concerns himself with choosing which of his disappointing concubines to execute next. The duty falls upon his son, Morghiad, to restore the city's strength and the army's purpose. As Morghiad attempts to do just that, he uncovers darker horrors and encounters a young servant who could either be his greatest ally or his greatest hindrance.

The Price of Paradise


Susana López Rubio - 2017
    Young Patricio flees impoverished Spain and steps into the sultry island paradise of Havana with only the clothes on his back and half-baked dreams of a better life. Blessed with good looks and natural charm, he lands a job as a runner at El Encanto—one of the most luxurious department stores in the world.Famous for its exquisite offerings from French haute couture to Arabian silks, El Encanto indulges the senses in opulent extravagance. It caters to visiting Hollywood stars, rising politicos, and prerevolutionary Cuba’s wealthiest power players, including the notorious mobster César Valdés.Falling in love with the mobster’s young wife, Gloria, is suicide. But Patricio is irresistibly drawn to the beautiful girl with sad eyes, a razor-sharp intellect, and a penchant for both Christian Dior’s clothes and Einstein’s theories. Within the walls of El Encanto, anything seems possible, even a love that promises to heal them and a desire that thrums with the mambo beat of the city itself.In a reckless love affair that spans half a century, Patricio’s and Gloria’s lives entwine time and again, challenged by every twist of fate—for in a world of murder, betrayal, and revolution, those who dare to reach for paradise seldom survive unscathed.

American Warrior


James Snyder - 2004
    America has a new president, named John F. Kennedy, and a new era the newspapers are calling the Dawn of Camelot. But for ten-year-old Paul Brett, dealing with an abusive father and the immigrant gangs roaming his slum neighborhood of China Slough, America is only a small, dead-end place he is struggling to survive.That is, until the night a mysterious stranger comes out of the darkness to his rescue, and initiates a journey—an unforgettable odyssey—beyond his wildest imagination.From his unlikely beginnings in a brutal California migrant camp, into the darkest underbelly of a distant and unpopular war, to his final and, perhaps, most deadly struggle for survival inside the bowels of a near-medieval military prison, American Warrior follows one young man's breathtaking and mesmerizing journey into hell.

Heart of the Hunter


Tina St. John - 2004
    Her only ally is Braedon le Chasseur, a formidable knight with a mysterious past, whose scarred face and brooding nature mask a soul filled with pain. Ariana fears this dangerous man and the secrets he strives to conceal—but Braedon’s touch is pure seduction, his kiss a potent lure that tempts her into a passion she is powerless to resist.Once known as The Hunter, now haunted by a dark legacy he struggles to deny, Braedon lives in a world of shadow and isolation—until he is thrust together with an innocent beauty in need of his protection. Embarking on a journey that will lead them to a legendary treasure, Braedon will be forced to confront old enemies and the stunning secret of his true nature—or risk losing Ariana and the only happiness he has ever known. . . .

The Final Formula


Becca Andre - 2013
    When a fiery explosion destroys the Alchemica, the premier alchemy institute in the United States, she’s left with nothing. No home, no colleagues, and no memory. Learning what happened seems impossible, but she still has one strength, and in her opinion, it’s the only one she needs. She hasn’t forgotten a thing about alchemy.Addie brews a potion to restore her lost past, but remembers only the flames of the Alchemica’s destruction—and a man among the ashes. A man with the elemental power of fire, who just happens to be the leader of the magical community. He might know what happened, but getting him to tell her will require some…creativity. The magical aren’t fond of alchemists. Some say it borders on hatred, but Addie isn’t one to back down from a challenge, even if that challenge happens to be a man who can turn her to ash with a thought.

Dragonfly Dreams


Jennifer J. Chow - 2015
    Chow, author of the award-winning THE 228 LEGACY, comes a young adult novel about immigrant struggles and family conflict.It’s 1880 in Fresno, California when 17-year-old Topaz Woo dies after giving birth. She can get an extension in a non-physical body—if she uses The Ten Commandments to influence her newborn. Over the course of ten years, she finds herself stymied in parenting by intergenerational drama and spiritual battle. Will she adjust to an otherworldly existence and give her daughter a solid foundation? Or will she become mired in family disputes and forfeit her soul to evil?

The Valentine Circle


Reinaldo DelValle - 2014
    But what he doesn't know is that these young girls belong to the secret Valentine Society, an elite group of Boston socialites that have corrupted the city's top officials, unashamedly operating above the law.With the help of his boss, the highly intelligent Inspector Belloc, and his lovely assistant, the boisterous and spirited Miss Posy Chapman, Silas embarks on a journey that takes him inside a secret world of rules and privileges, of oppressive parents and mischievous alliances.Weighed down by the sickness of memory loss, Silas struggles to maintain his sanity as he begins to discover the darkness plaguing his own sordid past, a darkness that ultimately brings him to the brink of becoming that which he hunts, a serial killer who was raised and trained by an insidious organization known only as The Factory.

Touched by Magic


Doranna Durgin - 1996
    Almost gone from Keland when he was born, there is no trace of it left by the time he patrols the Keep lands as an elite King's Wolf. Magic has never been a part of Reandn's life . Until the people under his care start dying. Until the threat extends to his family--and then turns on him. Someone, somewhere, is trying to draw magic back into Keland, and they don't care what--or who--is destroyed in the process. But Reandn does.

Third Time Lucky: The Honey Trap


Victoria Browne - 2015
    Good friends Sarah a sensible simple soul, Laura bitchy complicated, Beth a ‘too cool for school’ high school teacher, and Jess a funky hairdresser, decide to honey trap Jess's new American boyfriend Richard. How could such a simple plan go wrong? Just add Jess’s new flat mate, hot sexy Elise to the mix, a few glasses of wine and you have a cocktail fit for disaster – especially when Elise honey traps the wrong boyfriend! Good friends are all Sarah needs when her uncomplicated life is jettisoned into chaos. Dan, Sarah’s boyfriend makes some shady life choices. But who is friend and who is foe? Wealthy bachelor Lee Preston sets his sights on Sarah and all Lee wants is to make her happy. Life could be fantastic when money is no object and your closet is filled with designer shoes, Oh, and his with secrets.

Everblue


Brenda Pandos - 2011
    he wanted his to stay the same.Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them. Ashlyn is about to discover what she'd thought to be true her whole life, wasn't, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.

Castle Cay


Lee Hanson - 2010
    Who could have killed rising artist Marc Solomon, and what does Castle Cay, the Solomon's mysterious Caribbean island, have to do with it? Before long, Julie's sixth-sense pulls a hidden string that unravels a deadly conspiracy...and her own troubled past.

The Choosing


Jeremy Laszlo - 2012
    His life no longer in his hands, he fears an uncertain future where the only certainty is a life of servitude to the kingdom. Fortunately for Seth, he is not alone. His brother Garret too attends the choosing ceremony where their fates will be decided. Together the twins make their way to the castle city of Valdadore for the choosing ceremony but along the way Seth notices a strange new trend in his life. Time after time strange circumstances befall him in what others might call a coincidence, but Seth knows something else is amiss and begins mentally cataloging each new and strange event. Learning his past is all a lie, Seth begins to fear more for his future as a dark goddess vies for his service to her cause. Seths loyalties and responsibilities begin to stack up as he makes friends and allies and even falls in love, but with the choosing ceremony growing ever nearer will he be forced to flee the kingdom into a life of exile, or choose to serve the goddess who swears that only through her will he find peace.

Louisiana History Collection - Part 2 (Louisiana History Boxed Sets)


Jennifer Blake - 2012
    She turns to handsome, moody El Leon, a nobleman turned to a life of outlawry by the depredations of Don Esteban. Together in the hills, Pilar and El Leon find their wills in constant battle and their hearts in secret accord . . .Perfume of ParadiseTerrified of her impending marriage, beautiful Elene Larpent scents her body with a Haitian voodoo perfume guaranteed to bewitch the wealthy landowner and ensure his devotion. But just moments into the wedding, a violent slave uprising interrupts the consecration.Elene escapes--only to be captured by a ruthless band of men. On the verge of certain death, she is saved by handsome Captain Ryan Bayard. Then, amid the exotic breezes of St. Dominique, Elene and the captain discover a lust as sultry as the Caribbean air. In her passion, Elene quickly forgets the magic potion she had applied to her delicate skin. But Elene must wait to see if it is true love or the dizzying aphrodisiac that inflames the captain's desire. For the uninhibited pair have much in store before the perfume's power is fully unleashed. . . .Prisoner of DesireAnya took Ravel as prisoner to save his life. But in a small dark room on her lush Louisiana plantation, it was Anya who became Ravel's prisoner of desire. As she struggled to contain her emotions, and Ravel strove to win her love, they both faced the challenge of staying alive....Southern RaptureLettie Mason, a proper yet headstrong Boston schoolteacher, journeyed to a small Louisiana town after the Civil War to expose the wretched rogue who'd killed her brother. The man was known as Thorn--a man with a reputation for both murder and mercy. She was sure he had killed her brother, but she learned that he also helped save the homes and lives of many townspeople. How could she reconcile these two different images of the same man--and how could she accept the overwhelming desire, the thrilling passion, and the reckless abandon he aroused deep within her?