Ali Reads... Paranormal Romance
Werewolves, vampires and witches, oh my! This month, Ali Williams brings us a selection of her favourite paranormal romance novels, just in time for some Halloween reading.
Remember, just click on the cover and a link will take you there.
Shifter mating patterns, vampires who can't help but fall for a human, and literal magic that captures readers' attention - who wouldn't love to get lost in paranormal romances? These are books which take us away to worlds filled with magical creatures, where the stakes are so much higher. I love these books because they combine everything I love about speculative fiction - the world building, the big bads, the magic systems - with the heartwarming passion of romance.
I hope you get lost in these amazing books the way I did!
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of 'rehabilitation' - the complete psychic erasure of her personality...
Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy co-existence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murder of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion - and that the animal in him is fascinated by her.
Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities - or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation...
Swept Away by Nia Arthurs
The sea took everything from her. Now she's taking it back.
All Frankie Simpson knows is how to survive. But when the impossible becomes her reality, Frankie is thrust into an underwater world more complicated than her own.
Back on land, a mysterious new drug is wreaking havoc in Belize, and Frankie's 'gift' might have something to do with it. The last thing she needs is a distraction, but Jesse Newman is proving to be a tempting one.
The son of a politician and a rich lawyer, Jesse's everything she's not, and he won't stop until he uncovers all her secrets...
Blacker Than Blue by Rebekah Weatherspoon
The beginning of Cleo Jones’s life as a vampire was the end of her relationship with her first love and only submissive, college senior Benny Tarver.
Mutual resentment and heartache have kept them apart for the past three years, but their responsibilities to the sisters of Alpha Beta Omega sorority have held them in each other’s sights.
With graduation looming, Benny knows it is time for her to move on from the sorority and her lingering feelings for Cleo, but when Cleo realizes she may lose Benny forever to a powerful demon, she must put her fears aside to discover if they can find the strength to let go of their pain and accept that the love between them is true.
Showers, Flowers and Fangs by Aidan Wayne
Darren is your average half-human, half-fae trans teenager, busy figuring out his powers and puberty while trying to survive finals. When Vlad, a newly turned vampire, moves in with the witch down the street, he and Darren get off on the wrong foot.
Darren is always one to give somebody a second chance, though, and as they become friends, he realizes Vlad is just lonely and struggling with his new powers. That's something Darren can definitely relate to, and he's happy to lend his support.
But while he coaxes Vlad out of his shell, Darren ends up learning about Vlad's past... and the danger Vlad is in. Darren only wants to help--help Vlad feel comfortable in his own skin and help him feel safe.
He hadn't planned on falling in love.
The Viking Queen's Men by Holley Trent
Contessa Dahl has spent most of her life in a daze. A rudderless orphan, most decisions involved her fists and feet: should she fight or should she run? At twenty-eight, she’s ready to clean up her act, but Tess might be a bit premature because she’s destined to be a special kind of leader.
Born into a group of desert-dwelling telepathic descendants of Vikings, Tess was meant to become a link for them all—their queen and conduit. Her kidnapping and the subsequent death of her parents meant her people, the Afótama, have had a hole in their web for too long. Now that she’s back at home, it’s Tess’s job to mend it. But, she can’t do it alone.
She needs a perfect mate to fill in her psychic gaps, and two men claim to be fated for the job. Harvey Lang, her childhood champion, and the group outsider Oliver Gilisson would fight to the death to win her. However, to gain full control of her considerable power, she must find a way to keep them both.
Darkling by Brooklyn Ray
Port Lewis, a coastal town perched on the Washington cliffs, is surrounded by dense woods, and is home to quaint coffee shops, a movie theater, a few bars, two churches, the local college, and witches, of course.
Ryder is a witch with two secrets—one about his blood and the other about his heart. Keeping the secrets hasn’t been a problem, until a tarot reading with his best friend, Liam Montgomery, who happens to be one of his secrets, starts a chain of events that can’t be undone.
Dark magic runs through Ryder’s veins. The cards have prophesized a magical catastrophe that could shake the foundation of Ryder’s life, and a vicious partnership with the one person he doesn’t want to risk.
Magic and secrets both come at a cost, and Ryder must figure out what he’s willing to pay to become who he truly is.
Death's Dancer by Jasmine Silvera
Isela Vogel has the power to attract the favor of the gods for anyone who can pay her fee but struggles to hide the degenerative hip condition that will end her career. Then she's offered a job that will set her and her family up for life.
Though her prospective patron is a formidable necromancer with a heated and infuriating gaze, she can hardly refuse the payday.
The Allegiance of Necromancers is powerful but not omnipotent, and when someone starts murdering his kind, Azrael must enlist a human godsdancer in order to track down the killer. But why does she have to be so frustratingly stubborn--and intriguing?
Azrael can make the dead walk, but he can't make the very much alive Isela toe any line.
Isela is thrown into a world of supernatural creatures--demons after dark, witches in the shadows, shifters running wild in city parks--where the grace of gods can truly infuse the blood of the most mortal-seeming dancer.
As the danger increases with each thrilling discovery, trusting Azrael may be the only way to survive a conspiracy to destroy the fragile peace of a broken world.
But the greatest threat is their growing attraction. Dancers and necromancers don't mix for a reason--and death is the least of their worries.
In a Badger Way by Shelly Laurenston
Petite, kind, brilliant, and young, Stevie is nothing like the usual women bodyguard Shen Li is interested in. Even more surprising, the youngest of the lethal, ball-busting, and beautiful MacKilligan sisters is terrified of bears. But she’s not terrified of pandas. She loves pandas.
Which means that whether Shen wants her to or not, she simply won’t stop cuddling him. He isn’t some stuffed Giant Panda, ya know! He is a Giant Panda shifter. He deserves respect and personal space. Something that little hybrid is completely ignoring.
But Stevie has a way of finding trouble. Like going undercover to take down a scientist experimenting on other shifters. For what, Shen doesn’t want to know, but they’d better find out. And fast. Stevie might be the least violent of the honey badger sisters, but she’s the most dangerous to Shen’s peace of mind. Because she has absolutely no idea how much trouble they’re in . . . or just how damn adorable she is.
Seducing the Jackal by Seressia Glass
Centuries ago, tragedy severed the alliance between the jackal shifters and powerful Egyptian priestesses.
But when four of his brothers succumb to a deadly curse, clan commander Markus kidnaps one of the witches and insists she undo the evil magic.
Although Tia can undo the curse, she insists her coven is not behind it—and she is shaken to her core by her intense attraction to her captor.
The sparks between them quickly ignite, filling them both with passion and power unlike anything they’ve ever known. Will it be enough to heal the rift between their peoples?
Awaken the Dragon by A. C. Arthur
He’s sworn to protect the very entity she was born to kill…
Next in line for the Drakon throne, Theo Masters is the most powerful half human, half dragon in the world. Royal power is the last thing he wants, however. He lives as a human and runs the Legion Security Company. But his new client—a mysterious, beautiful human from a small African village—and the unknown danger she faces may forever change the quiet life that he’s chosen.
Shola N’Gara exists to kill the dark spirit that is attempting to demolish her people. It’s her purpose and her destiny. The gorgeous protector who taunts her with his sexy voice and body is not—especially after he shifts into a magnificent black dragon with turquoise eyes.
A rise in demon activity and the brutal murders Theo’s agents have been reporting start to add up. Someone is making a play, and it’s big enough to change the course of the world as they know it. Now Shola must choose between her destiny and her heart. And Theo must decide if standing by the woman he’s fallen in love with is worth facing his father in a battle to the death.
Hexes and Ohs by Koko Brown
Rosalind Fletcher is a witch but that's not her only secret. Her one-of-a-kind wedding cakes are infused with a loving spell that produces long-lasting marriages where the men never stray, the women don't nag, and none of the blissful couples end up in divorce court.
What happens when a bewitched cake falls into the hands of the wrong person? Like her worst enemy Ace Benedict, who accidentally eats a sample meant for his clients? Well...all hormones break loose!
Surrendering to Ace's lustful appetites proves far easier than finding an antidote, for the conflicted low country witch with a sweet tooth for the blond tight end.
Can Rosalind alter the bewitching powers of a hundred-year old spell before things get out of hand? Will she let her conscience guide her to a remedy or will her heart lock them both in a sham?
In the Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard
In a ruined, devastated world, where the earth is poisoned and beings of nightmares roam the land...
A woman, betrayed, terrified, sold into indenture to pay her village's debts and struggling to survive in a spirit world.
A dragon, among the last of her kind, cold and aloof but desperately trying to make a difference.
When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn's amusement.
But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer.
In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies—and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn’s dark, unspeakable secrets...
Frostbitten by Charlotte Stein
Shy nurse Cora both dreads and lives for the moments she sees Zeke, an orderly at the hospital where she works. Zeke is too handsome, too compelling, too much, and seems totally unaware of Cora. But before she can bring herself to his attention, an explosion rips through the hospital Christmas party.
Zeke has noticed Cora — in fact, he’s so irresistibly drawn to her that he saves her from the explosion by turning her into a vampire, much to the jealousy and resentment of his partner, Merrick. Zeke hates being a vampire, and now that she’ll live, doesn’t want Cora to suffer his fate. If they can both resist the overwhelming instinct to bond, joining their bodies as Cora draws her maker’s blood, she might be able to return to her normal human life.
As Merrick uses every erotic trick to keep Zeke distracted from the blood passion, Cora becomes more and more drawn to both of her reluctant captors. And more and more happy to abandon her old life in exchange for an eternity with two hot immortal lovers. All she has to do is convince Merrick and Zeke that being a vampire isn’t all that bad.
Both Ways by Ileandra Young
Danika Karson, field agent of the Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment (SPEAR), has the highest capture and kill rate on record. That is, until the mayor of Angbec makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Moonlighting as a rogue private investigator, Danika must find the mayor’s son, presumed kidnapped by vampires.
Determined to solve the case, Danika’s only lead is Rayne, a vampire whose power and beauty mask a kind and gentle heart. They race against time to find the missing boy, dodging vampires, evading SPEAR agents, and fighting the attraction that sparks between them. When the stakes rise ever higher, Danika is forced to put her life in Rayne’s hands, but can she really trust a vampire?
Kitty Cat by May Sage
Aisling has every reason in the world to like her life as it is: away from the shifter community. Tucked in her little corner of the world, she sees no reason to gets involved in the drama of the ever warring packs, until trouble knocks at her door.
Trouble wrapped in a delicious package her cat wants to claw. Raygan didn't know what he expected when he moved his pride to the loner's territory; maybe having to deal with a criminal, or someone in hiding. Instead, he found a fiercely protective, insanely attractive lunatic with secrets he wants to unravel.
A lunatic who might very well be his fated mate.
A Mate for the King by Rebel Carter and Leona McNeely
Magic and shifters do not go together.
Ever.
But what happens when fate brings together a magic-wielding halfling omega and the shifter world’s soon-to-be-king?
Cora has spent every day since dreaming of her escape from the Moonwater Clan.
There's little hope of a happily ever after if she stays put. Still, she holds on to the hope that things will change for her. And what better occasion than the upcoming coronation of the shifter world’s king to wish for a new beginning?
But everything changes when she’s rescued from an aggressive alpha by none other than the soon-to-be king, and she finds herself drawn to him in a way she never imagined for herself.
Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert
This Halloween, love bites back… hard.
Chastity Adofo knows a monster when she sees one. As soon as Luke Anthony wanders into her family’s coffee shop, she recognises the evil lurking beneath his charming smile and fantastic arse. The handsome werewolf is determined to have her—but she’s determined to cut out his heart.
Little does she know, Luke’s plans for her are far more pleasurable than murder. And when the full moon rises, all bets are off…
The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara
Hunting for big bad wolves was never part of Agent Cooper Dayton’s plan, but a werewolf attack lands him in the carefully guarded Bureau of Special Investigations. A new case comes with a new partner: ruggedly sexy werewolf Oliver Park.
Park is an agent of The Trust, a werewolf oversight organization working to ease escalating tensions with the BSI. But as far as Cooper’s concerned, it’s failing. As they investigate a series of mysterious deaths unlike anything they’ve seen, every bone in Cooper’s body is suspicious of his new partner—even when Park proves himself as competent as he is utterly captivating.
When more people vanish, pressure to solve the case skyrockets. And though he’d resolved to keep things professional, Cooper’s friction with Park soon erupts…into a physical need that can’t be contained or controlled. But with a body count that’s rising by the day, werewolves and humans are in equal danger. If Cooper and Park don’t catch the killer soon, one—or both—of them could be the next to go.
Awakening the Shifter by Jane Godman
A tiger shifter falls for a werewolf...
...but their passion is forbidden…
Rock star Khan hides his shifter status behind his bad-boy reputation. But the weretiger is floored by the combined beauty and talent of singer Sarange Tsedev…who doesn't know she's a wolf!
Their chemistry is potent, but tigers and wolves don't mix.
Still, Khan's and Sarange's past and present are linked; it will take their combined magical abilities to create a future together.
Spellbound by Allie Therin
1925 New York
Arthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric…and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether.
Rory Brodigan’s gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he’s become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques. But with the city’s fate hanging in the balance, he can’t force himself to say no.
Being with Arthur is dangerous, but Rory’s ever-growing attraction to him begins to make him brave. And as Arthur coaxes him out of seclusion, a magical and emotional bond begins to form. One that proves impossible to break—even when Arthur sacrifices himself to keep Rory safe and Rory must risk everything to save him.
Awakened by Moni Boyce
Willow Stevens dreams of stardom are eclipsed by the real nightmares of a sinister man haunting her dreams. Unbeknownst to her, Eli Walker, her hot but snobbish co-worker, may know the reason nightmares plague her, but their history shows he is more prone to reject her, than help her.
Then Willow passes out at work only to wake in Eli's apartment. There she has her chance to learn more about her heritage. But, knowing why the vampire king stalks her doesn't make the nightmares disappear. If anything, they become more real as she now faces off against a slew of creatures she'd always believed were myth.
That Eli is one of those creatures is just her luck. Secret witch guild or not, his natural ways are casting spells her heart can't escape. As a Protector his only focus should be her safety. Anything else is forbidden. He plans to stay on task, but some women break a man, or tempt him to break the rules.
Can Eli keep Willow alive and safe from the vampires long enough for her to grow her own powers or will both cast aside rules for a reckless passion that will only lead to danger?
Who are your favorite Paranormal Romance Authors? Let us know in the comments or join the PHS community on Social Media using #amreading
