Book picks similar to
Amulet by Nancy Lee Parish


fantasy
dragons
fiction
young-adult

You Are Mine


Janeal Falor - 2013
    She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Starstruck


Brenda Hiatt - 2013
    Orphaned as an infant and reluctantly raised by an overly-strict "aunt," she's not even sure who she is. M's dream of someday escaping tiny Jewel, Indiana and making her mark in the world seems impossibly distant until hot new quarterback Rigel inexplicably befriends her. As Rigel turns his back on fawning cheerleaders to spend time with M, strange things start to happen: her acne clears up, her eyesight improves to the point she can ditch her thick glasses, and when they touch, sparks fly--literally! When M digs for a reason, she discovers deep secrets that will change her formerly mundane life forever... and expose her to perils she never dreamed of.  Book 1 of the award-winning Starstruck series, where teen romance blends with science fiction to open a whole new world of action, adventure and discovery.

Serenade


Heather McKenzie - 2017
    But as she forms an unlikely connection with her abductor, Luke, her adventure takes a strange turn.There is nothing magical about growing up in a mountainside castle, when it’s your prison. Kaya’s ruthless and powerful father keeps her under lock and key, watched every second of the day–and Kaya’s not really sure why. She’s just a normal girl…no one special. She doesn’t understand her father’s obsession with her safety – until she is kidnapped. Dragged through a brutal wilderness, Kaya’s captor shows her the devastating truth, and even though he has dark secrets of his own, she is inexplicably drawn to him–when the stars are in your eyes, sometimes the line between right and wrong is blurred. Passion obliterates common sense. Love... makes you reckless. As Kaya's father’s men and her devoted bodyguard scour the woods to find her, she wonders if staying in the arms of her abductor is the safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is saying—her head is saying run… Dangerously passionate and darkly romantic, SERENADE is a page-turning thriller and seductive love story.

Rift


Andreas Christensen - 2014
    The RIFT Saga begins here.In the ruins of what was once North America lays the Covenant, a nation forged by the iron will of the Moon people, who descended from their dusty refuge on the Moon after the Fall. The Moon people are wealthy, ruled by a strong government who protects its citizens from the dangers from outside their borders. Their greatest achievement is having learned the secret of immortality, and every citizen has the opportunity to live nearly forever if they choose to, a life of riches and abundance.The English are the descendants of the original inhabitants of this place, and they live very different lives from that of the Moon people. They only live to serve the greater good, and citizenship is something few have the opportunity to earn. At the age of fifty all non-citizens are subjected to mandatory euthanasia. In order to maintain a sustainable society, they are told.Every year a number of girls and boys at the age of eighteen are selected for Service to the State. The brightest and most talented are sent to become Students. The strong, the fighters and the athletes become Janissaries, a band of soldiers protecting the northern border from the enemies of the Covenant. The Wardens, a secretive organization known to operate far to the west, near the Rift, which makes up the border to the wastelands, sometimes choses one or two initiates, but nobody knows what becomes of them. And then there is the Corpus, where the whip rules and backs are bent.Those who complete their Service, may become citizens. And although they will never be equal to the Moon people, they will have access to all the riches and opportunities granted by the Covenant leadership to its citizens.As Sue is nearing Selection Day, she secretly hopes to be chosen, despite having to leave her mother and brother behind. She doesn't crave glory or wealth though. A man or woman with citizen status can do a lot of good, and although few return to their home towns, Sue hopes to return to give her family a better life on the other side of Service.But the Covenant is rotten to the core, and as she begins to learn its secrets, Sue must question everything she has always taken for granted. Soon she will find herself in dire peril, for she has seen the truth and there will be no turning back after that...This science fiction dystopian trilogy is set more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a future dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster."Mr. Christensen has absolutely found his genre, and I hope he keeps the stories coming!"

First Truth


Dawn Cook - 2002
    Her father's stories about the Hold, a legendary fortress where human Keepers learn magic from the enigmatic Maters, are just that―stories. But her mother insists that Alissa has inherited her father's magical ability, and so she must go to the Hold―the only place her talents can be trained. On her way, she crosses paths with Strell, a wandering musician from the plains. And though Alissa is not sure she can trust a plainsman, Strell has something she needs―one of her father's old maps. Travelling together, they can reach the Hold before the snow sets in. But they don't know that the Hold is nearly empty. Something is very wrong and someone believes that Alissa and Strell knows about a book called First Truth.

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.

Golden Curse


M. Lynn - 2018
    A hidden identity. A dangerous love.Ten year old Persinette Basile was forced to flee the palace of Gaule for her life.Now at eighteen, she must find a way to return in order to obey a curse on her family line.The prince won’t know who she is. Not anymore. But she knows him and what he will do if he discovers her true name.Made to fight for her life to earn her place, she vows to find a way to break the curse no matter the cost.-------To. The. Death. The words describing the tournament turn Prince Alexandre Durand’s blood to ice.The last warrior standing will win a spot at his side.As he's thrust onto the throne, forbidden magic, dangerous betrayals, and a complicated love could tear his reign apart. When the secrets begin to unravel, will Alex stay true to the laws and traditions of Gaule or will he give it all up for a woman who deceived him?Inspired by the Rapunzel story, this is the golden-haired princess as you’ve never seen her before.

Darkin: A Journey East


Joseph A. Turkot - 2011
    None could have foreseen the total evil set to descend upon Darkin.A long age of peace has left the land devoid of heroes. Slavery has taken hold of the world’s commerce. All hope rests in the rebellious spirit of one slave.Alien bloodlust besieges Adacon late one night—an impulse drives him to murder his guards and set out to find and kill his oppressers. Escaping into wilds unknown, he realizes the great peril awaiting him. A strange hermit appears from under a sand dune, claiming to know “magic.” He believes that if they work together, they can build a band of warriors powerful enough to change the fate of the world. Can they find any still harboring valor and chivalry in their hearts?—or will their quest be for nought, ending in the ruin of the world?

Family Magic


Patti Larsen - 2011
    Her dad's a demon. And she just wants to be ordinary. Sydlynn Hayle's life couldn't be more complicated. Trying to please her coven, starting over in a new town, and fending off a bully cheerleader who hates her are just the beginning of her troubles. What to do when delicious football hero Brad Peters--boyfriend of her cheer nemesis--shows interest? If only the darkly yummy witch, Quaid Moromond, didn't make it so difficult for her to focus on fitting in with the normal kids. Add to that her crazy grandmother's constant escapes driving her family to the brink and Syd's between a rock and a coven site. Forced to take on power she doesn't want to protect a coven who blames her for everything, only she can save her family's magic. If her family's distrust doesn't destroy her first."A great, inventive plot, a deeply flawed, self-deprecating, heroine . . . What more could you want?" -- Amazon reviewer Hobbitual.Don't miss the exciting sequels in the Hayle Coven Novels: Witch Hunt Demon Child The Wild The Long Lost Gatekeeper Flesh and Blood Full Circle Divided Heart First Plane Light and Shadow Queen of Darkness Dark Promise Unseelie Ties Ancient Ways The Undying Shifting Loyalties Enforcer Coven Leader The Last Call"

Dragonslayer


Duncan M. Hamilton - 2019
    Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.Once a member of the King's personal guard, Guillot dal Villevaurais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He's astonished--and wary--when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capitol in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent...but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacing the young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead. Between Gill's rusty swordsmanship and Solène's unstable magic, what could go wrong?

Watcher's Web


Patty Jansen - 2011
    She casts webs of power, reading the feelings of living beings and telling them what to do. Nobody knows what causes it, least of all her. Her name is Jessica, but most people call her ‘freak’.One fateful day, her ‘web’ connects with a stranger, and stray power causes the plane in which she’s travelling to crash in an alien world. An accident? The more she discovers about the world in which she has landed, the more she doubts it.She is a survivor from an ancient race that once travelled the stars. Her ancestors were powerful and dangerous, and it seems at least two people want her: the man who invades her mind, and the man who’s desperate to help her get back home. But Jessica grew up an Earth girl, and isn’t having any of this. She’ll pander to no one, thank you very much, even if her stubbornness enrages the tyrant race who hold the world in their grip.

Song of the Fairy Queen


Valerie Douglas - 2009
    King Oryan, with his castle under siege and his son in his arms, could not be in any more dire need. With only High Marshall Morgan and a handful of Morgan's men at his back, there is only one place left to run, up, and only one ally who can save them. Kyriay, Queen of the Fairy.

Tomorrow is Today


Julie Cross - 2011
    The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

The Sable City


M. Edward McNally - 2011
    It might be a sign at that. The Island girl wasn't stupid. She knew how to work. And she had it inside her to be ruthless. Block had seen it plain as day." Epic Fantasy, Muskets & Magic. Historical fiction in a fictional world.The Trade Houses of the Miilark Islands control the shipping lanes linking four diverse continents across the blue vastness of the Interminable Ocean. The Houses are represented abroad by the Guilders; men and women skilled in business and burglary, salesmanship and swordplay, merchandising and musketry. Tilda Lanai has trained for years to take her place among them, but now the House she is to serve is imperiled by the sudden death of the House Lord. Scenting blood in the water, rival Houses begin to circle. The desperate search for an exiled heir takes Tilda across a war-torn continent and to the gates of the Sable City, where centuries ago dark magic almost destroyed the world. Along with a sinister sorceress, a broken-hearted samurai, and a miscreant mercenary long on charm but lousy with a crossbow, Tilda must brave the demon-infested ruins to find the heir who may yet save her House.Volume I of the Norothian Cycle

Crystal Magic


Madeline Freeman - 2014
    Windows break. Books rocket across the room. Lights flicker. Strange occurrences follow the sixteen-year-old everywhere. When tragedy forces her to move to the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. But Clearwater has secrets of its own—a mystical history that intersects with Kristyl’s life and might shed light on the inexplicable events that plague her. When a mysterious illness threatens her aunt’s life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?