Book picks similar to
The Rare Pearl by Jennifer W. Smith


fantasy
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fiction
first-in-series

Office Wars: The Mailroom Clerk


James G. Patton - 2017
    He sleeps in a real bed and eats real food and only jumps into Neuroma to work. All he wanted was to log in, work and log out and live in general obscurity. Getting the attention of a CEO, meeting a stranger in real life, and forced to play in a secret game of corporations were not penciled into his calendar. While that was bad, he started to question whether Odditek was still in control, or had their complacency created the noose tightening around their neck. Bran was not yet aware of the choice before him. He could no longer stand back and watch, and he had to pick a side and fight before he lost the ability to choose. Would he recognize the inevitable in time? Was it possible to make a ‘correct’ choice, or had the lines blurred so much that hero and villain were indistinguishable? This novel is part of an Odditek series and is a LitRPG novel. I realize it’s the first Odditek series, but more are coming. This series started as a companion series to a book called Lantern Online. I wanted a way to build up the world as it now exists, and to explain what Odditek is. Neuroma and Nerves are mentioned in Lantern Online, and I felt all that information was taking away from my story and is mostly not relevant, but good to know information. I took a lot of it out and added it to this series. Anyway, out of that came Office Wars. I hope it's different than most LitRPG you will read, and brings another dimension to the genre. Explicit language! I will not lie, there is a satirical nature to this story, and a lot of the language and scenarios are morally questionable on purpose. In this story and I use a lot of curse words and controversial commentary. Just look on Facebook or any half a dozen social media sites, and you will see similar language, conversations, and other nonsense. If we all moved into a digital world, this is how I view that world.

Gargoyle Knight


William Massa - 2013
    If he is to defeat an army of monsters, he must become one himself! His victory carries a terrible price... An eternity frozen in stone. Fifteen centuries later, the Celtic warrior is awakened when the world needs him most. A stranger in a strange land with his only guide a beautiful archeology student, he must battle his old adversary once again, all while struggling with his own darkness. For he is by day a man, by night cursed to become... The GARGOYLE!

Prayer for the Dead


Nicki Scalise - 2013
    Is it possible to find true love while condemned to purgatory until the end of days? Olivia Brennan isn't looking to find out. Her afterlife is nothing special — her days spent working for a division of Purgatory and Associates, her nights usually occupied with reruns or a good book. Everything changes when her best friend coaxes her into a girls' night out one fateful evening. The handsome stranger eyeing her from across the club seems too good to be true. Drake proves to be witty, charming, and considerate to a fault, despite the all-too-familiar sadness that lurks behind his eyes. It seems Fate has finally brought Olivia a kindred spirit, someone she can truly relate to. But can she move past her own dark regrets from the life she left behind? Or will falling for him demand the ultimate sacrifice—her soul?

The Elven Prince’s Kiss


Abella Ward - 2017
    After the beautiful performance Victor had just given, I'd be a puddle for days They always told me that, being a female half-dwarf, I wouldn’t amount to anything. But I proved them wrong. I’m now a high-ranked member of the Protective Guild. I was hired to escort the elven Princess Charlotte and her brother Victor to her wedding. I thought that the worst part of the job would be to drive the Guild’s old Hummer. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Before I know it, we’re under attack by rogue elves, trolls–and, worst, my own traitorous emotions. Emotions involving Victor. I must be crazy. He’s a typical elf–snooty and arrogant. And beautiful, graceful and strong. Could I be the princess in my own fairytale? Of course not. I’m busy enough trying to survive and protect Charlotte. Plus, nothing can happen between a half-dwarf and an elf, especially when that elf is a prince. Or is there a way after all? This is a 61-page stand-alone urban fantasy story with magic, fairy, and action elements. It has an HEA, so no cliff-hangers! This is a HOT story with mature themes and language. For 18+ readers only.

Alyth


Jared Southwick - 2011
    After escaping the tyranny of Marysvale, John quickly learns that old prejudices are alive in Alyth as well. When the villagers learn of his gifts, new enemies rage with old. However, a darker evil lurks in the shadows of the quiet village--one that threatens to consume John and all who live free. In order to save himself and those he loves, John must first defend the very people who seek his life.

The Charm


Alana Siegel Mag - 2011
    Nothing will prepare her, however, for the discovery of her own special Gift. Olivia Hart has always been satisfied living in the shadows of her peers, and so high school doesn’t get any easier when her charismatic brother goes off to college and her relationship with her edgy boyfriend comes to an end. When she comes across an antique charm, she finds out that she can compel people with her mind and hiding is no longer an option. With the help of her friends in the Gifted Program and each of their special Gifts, what happens next in this young love and coming of age story will force Olivia into the spotlight, test her friendships, and cause her to question her role in a society.

Blackbird Summer


Em Shotwell - 2016
    Until the rewards are worth the cost. The townsfolk come, cash in hand, always at night, to pay for services only a Gifted can provide. No matter the Gifts prevalent in her family, at twenty-one, Tallulah is expected to follow the path laid out for her: marriage, babies, and helping her mama teach the family home school program. She’s resigned to live the quiet life and stay out of trouble…until she meets Logan.An outsider and all around rebel, Logan doesn’t care about her family’s reputation. Yet after a tragic loss wreaks havoc on the crumbling relationship between the Caibres and the townsfolk, Tallulah must decide if love and freedom are worth risking everything.

Sleepers


Megg Jensen - 2011
    Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?

Nature's Destiny


Justine Winter - 2014
    I was becoming something I didn't recognise as myself anymore. A Werewolf. I was different. Bitten. 'Hybrid' was what they called me, and the weight that rested against that one word was crippling. They depended on me to bring them safety. What made me so special? Oh, that's right. My destiny. I was sucked into a world I'd had no idea existed. Twenty-one years as a human, and this was what I found out. My travelling plans, my writing degree, all of it was gone within one night. One evil night that robbed my humanity. I wasn't completely sour. Life had been unfair a while ago, only now I'd had something worth fighting for besides myself. Something to live for. I was afraid for the others. I couldn't let them down. I wouldn't let them down. I'd gone to bed a human and woken up a Werewolf. A special Werewolf. A Hybrid. ** Due to mature content this book is intended for readers 17/18+ **

A Grave Hunger


G. Hunter
    It was the way it had to be, the way I needed it to be. Haunted by the supernatural murder of her family, Leah McKnight is obsessed with getting revenge on the vampire that killed them. When she meets the heroic and handsome Finlay, the pair is bound by tragedy, an obsession for revenge and a fiery passion for each other. They embark on a mission, travelling to the darkest corners, hunting down creatures that most believe only exist in their nightmares. For them, hunting evil isn't just a job. It's an obsession. Warning – A Grave Hunger contains adult themes (Strong language, mild violence and scenes of a sexual nature. Recommended for 18+ audience)

Trinity


Deena Remiel - 2011
    While dealing with her five year old daughter’s night terrors, she attempts to live a normal life. That is, until the being from those very nightmares comes to visit her. Has her child been dealing with a real demon while she thought he was only a figment of an active imagination? Michael D’Angelo is known to everyone in Prophet’s Point, Arizona, as their loving elementary school principal. But to The Brethren, he is known as the most powerful Protector. Immortal and angelic does not mean he’s without doubts or fears. While trying to protect Emma and Hannah, his tortured past comes back to haunt him. Can he overcome it? Or is he doomed to repeat a failure he has lived with for what seems like an eternity?As Emma and Michael come together to protect Hannah, ancient secrets are revealed and faith is tested. When a prophecy is exposed, questions must be answered… Can Emma learn to trust enough to love again? Can Michael believe in himself enough to show Emma how? And will they be able to protect an innocent child, not to mention save the world as they know it, from total annihilation?

Orion's Moon: A Paranormal Short Story


Terri Reid - 2016
    (Previously published in 2011 Anthology - Every Witch Way But Wicked)

The Starry Child


Lynn Hanna - 1998
    Since the tragic death of her father, eight-year-old Sasha has not spoken a word. And sometimes, especially in bad thunderstorms, her behavior is strange and inexplicable. Rainey has taken Sasha to medical doctors, to child psychologists, to speech therapists. All the experts are baffled.An Extraordinary DestinyMatt Macinnes, a brilliant young linguist at Stanford University, recognizes that little Sasha's babblings are not her own invented gibberish—she is actually speaking in fluent Gaelic. Matt's understanding of Sasha opens a door to her secret world. At last someone can communicate with her, but what he discovers is both exhilarating and terrifying. Could a modern American girl really carry within her the soul of a long-ago Scottish princess?The Starry Child is a spellbinding adventure filled with the mystical power of Celtic legends and the lure of Highland heather. It is also the story of a young widow who solves the riddle of her daughter while discovering her own destiny, and the story of a timeless love held in trust in the heart of a little girl.

Rippler


Cidney Swanson - 2011
    Handsome Will Baker offers help and secrecy, but soon Sam will have to choose between keeping her secrets and keeping Will in her life. Suspenseful and romantic, Rippler and its sequels capture the collision of the beautiful with the dark.Two further sequels form a complete trilogy. Four additional books in series for those who fall in love with the Ripple world and want even more!RIPPLER is the free first book in a teen and young adult paranormal fantasy series set in a contemporary world where invisibility has long been a well kept secret. It combines the heart pounding action of a thriller with a touch of clean romance and a science fiction twist.

Tainted


Alexandra Moody - 2014
    All she has ever known are the artificial confines of underground fallout shelter, the ARC. Under the Council’s rule, ruthless officials roam the hallways, community comes first and everyone lives in fear of failing their annual testing. With one simple blood test you could be taken away without any warning or a word of goodbye.There are only a few people in the ARC who Elle truly cares about and she desperately tries to keep them at arm’s length away for fear of losing someone else. Especially, her best friend Sebastian who she denies her feelings for, even from herself. Chilling secrets and mysterious disappearances plague the ARC, but Elle would never dare to voice the forbidden questions that linger on her lips. That is until they take the wrong person.No one is truly safe in the ARC and Elle is about to experience her own personal apocalypse. With nothing left to lose she will risk everything to uncover the truth about the tainted.Will she find what she's looking for or are some secrets better left buried deep underground?Don't miss the first book in this young adult series!