Recommendations based on "Until the World Falls Down: A Dark Fantasy Romance of Love, Betrayal, and Self-Acceptance in the Face of Eternal Temptation and Dangerous Choices―Perfect for Summer Reading"

"Sanchez's series opener is a robust blend of fantasy and romance, seeded with twists for a consistently rewarding read ... A well-balanced romance/fantasy that fans of both genres can enjoy." - Kirkus ReviewsWinner of NINE awards including Winner in Fastasy in the Book Excellence Awards (2022) and the Book Fest Awards (2023). Also won second place for Debut Author in the Feathered Quill Awards (2022).Pain is inescapable. Suffering is a choice.Azrael, the Angel of Death, knows pain. The deaths of his mother and sister, as well as his harsh experiences in the Watch Guard at age twelve, have brutally shaped him into the most feared assassin in all of Pandaren.Azrael's role as a Hunter requires him to search for those with magic, called Spectrals, which he is happy to do. Hunting allows him to pursue his true goal--exacting revenge on the Fire Spectral who altered the course of his life.Azrael's obsession with revenge and power leads him to undergo an experimental procedure that gives him magic, but when this procedure has unexpected and dangerous side effects, he becomes a liability to the Hunters and the Watch Guard.Rescued by the people he has sworn to eliminate, Azrael finds himself questioning everything he once believed as years of secrets and lies are exposed. His very nature is challenged as he battles unfamiliar emotions and navigates relationships that contradict the heart of a killer.Can the Angel of Death have a conscience? Can Azrael?

Nineteen-year-old Nessa Thorne expects death when she volunteers for Empire's selection. Instead, she's thrust into Confluence Academy, where students harness elemental magic and bond powerful beasts—from wolves to ancient dragons—forging themselves into the Empire's most lethal weapons. Students are branded by water, air, earth, or fire. But Nessa’s mark is different. A silver spiral—the mark of an unbound. It’s a power so dangerous her kind were hunted to extinction centuries ago—or so the Empire claims. Nessa’s greatest threat may be the only other volunteer—Raith Hollow, a powerful fire affinity whose scorching gaze follows her every move and whose secrets could topple kingdoms. Alliances are forged in blood, enemies circle like vultures, and forbidden desires close in. Death once seemed like release from her tragic past. Now it's not an option. She'll embrace her terrible potential or watch everything she's fought for burn. At Confluence Academy, students leave as weapons... or they don't leave at all.

"An instant romantasy classic!" -- Katee Robert, New York Times bestselling authorEnter a new world of romantic fantasy from award-winning author N.E. Davenport—a journey of powerful magic, enemies-to-lovers, and political intrigue—as a warrior-princess and a vengeful king from rival fae courts form a fierce alliance to take down a merciless despot.Princess of the Aether Dominion, Kadeesha wants nothing to do with fae politics. She is a warrior, first and foremost, and believes her greatest strength is leading her squadron of elite winged serpent flyers to protect her homeland. But bound since infancy to be betrothed to the Hyperion High King, ruler of all Dominions, she has no choice but to do what men have chosen for her.Repulsed by the idea, she decides to spend one last night of freedom—in the arms of a dangerous stranger who takes her to sexual heights she’s never experienced before…but who is only using Kadeesha to set a trap for the High King.For the High King and the kings of his six Dominions were responsible for the decimation of the Apollyon Court, and its new king, Malachi, wants his pounds of flesh.On Kadeesha’s wedding day, Malachi and his special forces attack. Her father is killed, and Malachi wounds the High King, ultimately taking Kadeesha as hostage back to his land.But she is no true hostage. The two form a pact: she will help lure the High King so Malachi can kill him once and for all, and he in turn will not harm Kadeesha or the Aether people. And as much as Kadeesha hates politics, she is now the Queen of her folk. Fae bonds are unbreakable…and so, perhaps, is the attraction Kadeesha and Malachi feel for each other. For even as they must publicly display their connection to provoke the High King’s jealousy, they struggle to resist the powerful allure between them in order to achieve their ultimate goals.

**THIS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE READ BEFORE COMPLETION OF THE DUSKWALKER BRIDES SERIES** There were rumours about monsters lurking in the forests; creatures that instilled fear. Lindiwe didn't believe a word of it. That is, until she is stolen from her home and forced to the edge of a growing crevasse. Not only is she wrong, but the creatures are more terrifying than ever imaginable. That same day, that same place, her life ends - and a new one begins. One of turmoil, change, and unbridled rage. Lindiwe learns she can stare into the void, and he often stares back... A deal is made, a bargain struck, and Weldir obtains a soul to keep. He's finally found himself a mate. He knows she doesn't trust him, doesn't particularly like him, and she's disobedient. But they made a vow, one he insists they honour, even if her mesmerising gaze never softens towards him. Their matebond is shaky, and Weldir doesn't know how to strengthen it when they're worlds apart.

He woke deep within the ground, and the first sensation he felt was hunger. An overwhelming hunger for blood that demanded satisfaction. But as he hunted the dark streets of Paris for prey, a voice called to him, soothing, calming, giving him the strength to control his craving. Francesca Del Ponce was a healer, a woman who radiated goodness as powerfully as the sun did light. But surely his obsession with her would turn him as his twin brother had turned, leaving the world with two monsters instead of one. Though he knew she would be like hot silk in his arms, though he knew the taste of her would be addictive, he feared for her life and his soul if he took her. Then with one mind-shattering vow she gave herself - "I offer freely, without reservation, I offer my life for yours as is my right"--And with a firestorm of long-forgotten feelings, he glimpsed salvation

"In a beautiful compound hidden away from the world, Emeline Sanchez tries to blunt the pain that has wracked her body ever since her terrifying ordeal in the labyrinth beneath the city -- when she was forced to exchange blood with an evil master vampire. Now, it's his voice that haunts her... that calls to her in the dark... that never lets her rest. And while the children that she helped to free from his clutches struggle to heal, watched over by their Carpathian protectors, Emeline knows one thing: She must sacrifice herself to keep them all from harm... For her beauty is irresistible to the vampires, her psychic ability like a drug. Whipped into a frenzy, they'll never stop coming for her. And only the taste of one Carpathian warrior -- the rush of his blood -- can save her..."--

As Anumith the Destroyer’s army draws nearer to the western realms, an alliance is forming to stand against him. The heir to the throne of Krimathe embarks upon a quest for the goddess Vela—a quest that the goddess has promised will give her strength enough to defeat the Destroyer.   All that Laina must do is stay silent…and serve a man she has sworn to kill. A man who helped destroy her family.   The son of a demon warlord and only recently freed from years of torture, Saxen seeks to make amends to his people before facing the justice of the Krimathean queen’s blade. When a mysterious, silent woman who wears a questing cloak joins his small band of warriors, he only wishes to rid himself of her.   But she isn’t so easy to get rid of—and fulfilling her quest will come at a far higher cost than Laina can imagine. For she might gain the strength to defeat the Destroyer…but what she needs from Saxen will destroy him first.

Enter a "vivid and detailed universe"* and "a richly woven world."* -*Quill & Quire Demonic activity has escalated in both the Undercity and the mortal surface level city as the worshipers and servants of the Lord of the Hells strive to complete the rituals that will return their god to the mortal realm. As Rath joins with mages and the Twin Kings' agents to wage a secret battle against this nearly unstoppable foe, he gives Jewel Markess and her den of orphans the opportunity to escape the chaos by providing them with a note of introduction to the head of House Terafin, where Jewel will discover her destiny.

Unfathomable forces have always contested Genevieve Indiana Falcon, known as Indie. The curse of her cold touch entraps her just as the grief ignited in her past torments her. Yet, her mysterious ability to dream while awake saturates her in the belief that she was not always anguished. There is hope that one day a true peace in her soul can be found.Foolishly, Indie assumes she has contained her life in an odd balance, and she cherishes the visions she sees of the enigmatic boy that held her in a lost time, but can never reach. She grieves for a life she fears she'll never possess, and that grief is a weapon she uses against her aunt who stands between her and her inheritance.Weeks away from her twenty-first birthday, the date where she would assume control over her family legacy, a night terror robs Indie of the balance she was clinging to. Like the dream she had before she lost her family, it predicts a fatal catastrophe on the horizon. The fight between life and death, good and evil, began the moment her thundering heart awoke her.Everything changed after that dream. The one thing that keeps her curse at bay is stolen, and then the enigmatic boy arrives in the flesh. Face to face with her fiery born-again lover Indie realizes that the only way she can prevent the tragedy before her is to surrender everything she was, is, and could be.Can she bend the laws of nature and fight the improbability that fire and ice could ever be one? As far as Indie is concerned, there is not a myth, spoken fate, or curse that is stronger than her stubborn desire to have it all ... including him.

"Smart, sexy, and absolutely memorable . . ." --J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of A Very Bad Thing "[A] fizzy, flirty, and fun space opera . . ." --Yume Kitasei, author of The Stardust Grail Let's get one thing straight: I am not your chosen one. Forty-five-year-old Imogen has always struggled to fit in, never finding her passion in life. And while that may include having cold feet in her impending nuptials, that doesn't mean she's ready to ditch planet Earth--and her entire life--completely. When Imogen is kidnapped by an alien prince in disguise, there's nothing she can do to stop him. He's sidhe--a being with powerful abilities--and he's grown up used to getting what he wants. The prince is convinced Imogen will fall in love with him, and that her new powers, once she's turned sidhe, will help his country win a centuries-old feud. With the help of the prince's much more tolerable brother, Imogen starts to get her feet back under her, but even he can't protect her from those who would use her for her powers. If Imogen can't find a way to fight for herself, she'll become a pawn in a world that has already decided what she's going to be. For readers who enjoy From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Faebound by Saara El-Arifi, and the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas.