Here are 100 books that Dark Possession fans have personally recommended if you like Dark Possession. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Lover Awakened

Tessa Dawn Author Of Blood Destiny

From my list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a very inquisitive person with a background in psychology and sociology. Human behavior and ancient civilizations fascinate me, as do the heart, mind, and soul. Why do we love? Why do we hurt? Why do we do the things we do? Having researched numerous vampire legends across history and cultures, I was surprised to find this folklore virtually everywhere! And now, I bring this love of research, psychology, and soul-level motivation to my plots, characters, and world building–hair color, eyes, and background are fine, but what makes this being tick!? Where’s the light, the dark, and the shadow? I hope you enjoy my book list!   

Tessa's book list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy

Tessa Dawn Why Tessa loves this book

This book is gritty, hard-hitting, and beautifully written–blood, sweat, and tears on a page.

I loved this book because the author did not pull any punches! The main male character was broken, his life had been tragic, and he didn’t just magically morph into some perfect model hero. While yes, I both see and imagine vampires as capable of incredible, deep love and loyalty, I also see them as a distinct species with an alternate nature, possessing the capacity for raw, animalistic pain, deep anger (even brutality), and the ability to act from all three places. This author nailed this, and she did it with intelligent, intricate plotting and bare, relatable emotion. She also wields some clever wit and biting snark. 

I was sucked in from the first chapter, and I never wanted to put it down. This story gave me so much to think about, and it stayed with…

By J. R. Ward ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Lover Awakened as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Minion

Tessa Dawn Author Of Blood Destiny

From my list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a very inquisitive person with a background in psychology and sociology. Human behavior and ancient civilizations fascinate me, as do the heart, mind, and soul. Why do we love? Why do we hurt? Why do we do the things we do? Having researched numerous vampire legends across history and cultures, I was surprised to find this folklore virtually everywhere! And now, I bring this love of research, psychology, and soul-level motivation to my plots, characters, and world building–hair color, eyes, and background are fine, but what makes this being tick!? Where’s the light, the dark, and the shadow? I hope you enjoy my book list!   

Tessa's book list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy

Tessa Dawn Why Tessa loves this book

This book encompasses the good, the bad, and the ugly—it is both powerfully real and beautifully raw!

We think with our minds, we feel with our hearts, but we exist within our souls. And this book pried every one of those open for me. It was so gritty and hard-hitting, so raw and uncut, so reminiscent of what it is like to look deep inside oneself, face both strengths and weaknesses, conquer fears and inner demons, acknowledge everything without pretense, then continue fighting to reach one’s potential.

Yes, this novel taps into all of this and more in an extremely well-written, brilliant tale about a kick-ass vampire huntress!  

By L. A. Banks ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Minion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There is one woman who is all that stands between us and the eternal night.
Here is an account of her legend....

All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons—predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. But Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires have been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their…


Book cover of Darkfever

Tessa Dawn Author Of Blood Destiny

From my list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a very inquisitive person with a background in psychology and sociology. Human behavior and ancient civilizations fascinate me, as do the heart, mind, and soul. Why do we love? Why do we hurt? Why do we do the things we do? Having researched numerous vampire legends across history and cultures, I was surprised to find this folklore virtually everywhere! And now, I bring this love of research, psychology, and soul-level motivation to my plots, characters, and world building–hair color, eyes, and background are fine, but what makes this being tick!? Where’s the light, the dark, and the shadow? I hope you enjoy my book list!   

Tessa's book list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy

Tessa Dawn Why Tessa loves this book

There is so much grit and titillation in this book!

What a wicked, wicked imagination–I couldn’t love it more! This story has everything: a smart, brassy, relatable main character; a dangerous, cynical, hot male lead; and Celtic culture, the world of the Fae, so full of magic, mysticism, and elaborate history that the world-building alone weaves a mind-blowing tapestry.    

It’s gripping. It’s entertaining. It’s non-stop excitement, endless fodder for the imagination, and food for the soul. It’s dark. It’s funny. It’s just plain brilliant. 

By Karen Marie Moning ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Darkfever as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The action-packed paranormal series that is filled to the brim with attitude, determination and and one kick-ass heroine.

'My philosophy is pretty simple: any day nobody's
trying to kill me is a good day in my book.
I haven't had many good days lately.'

MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that only breaks down every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman.

Or so she thinks ... until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death - a…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Kiss of Midnight

Tessa Dawn Author Of Blood Destiny

From my list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a very inquisitive person with a background in psychology and sociology. Human behavior and ancient civilizations fascinate me, as do the heart, mind, and soul. Why do we love? Why do we hurt? Why do we do the things we do? Having researched numerous vampire legends across history and cultures, I was surprised to find this folklore virtually everywhere! And now, I bring this love of research, psychology, and soul-level motivation to my plots, characters, and world building–hair color, eyes, and background are fine, but what makes this being tick!? Where’s the light, the dark, and the shadow? I hope you enjoy my book list!   

Tessa's book list on the cream of the crop in dark paranormal romance & urban fantasy

Tessa Dawn Why Tessa loves this book

I'm recommending this book because sometimes life is hard or overwhelming (even unhappy), and a book like this can take you somewhere else, let you live something else, then deposit you back in your life, reinvigorated.

This book was like a dark, sultry dance (under a menacing sky) or a slow, lingering kiss (with a rogue). It drew me in, piqued my curiosity, then held me, hypnotized, with its constant danger and alluring, cat-and-mouse peril. You got it: high intensity with spine-tingling feels. The stakes were high. The plot was engaging. And the world-building was absolutely enthralling.  

For me, it was a perfect escape.

By Lara Adrian ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kiss of Midnight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Evocative, enticing, erotic. Enter Lara Adrian's vampire world and be enchanted." ~J.R. Ward

More than 17,000 five-star ratings on Goodreads for KISS OF MIDNIGHT!

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell's deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night--or this man--is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed--a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises…


Book cover of Where the South Winds Blow: Ancient Evidence for Paleo South Americans

Paulette F.C. Steeves Author Of The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere

From my list on archaeology and the peopling of the Americas.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an Indigenous person, I have a lived experience of the negative impacts of an erased history on all people. Students I teach are shocked to hear that Indigenous people have been in the Americas for over 60,000 years. The violence against archaeologists publishing on older than Clovis sites in the Americas is intense; that got me asking why? I sought the truth about the evidence for Pleistocene age archaeology sites in the Americas. Global human migrations attest to the fact that humans have been migrating great distances for over 2 million years. Reclaiming and rewriting Indigenous history is one path of many, leading to healing and reconciliation. 

Paulette's book list on archaeology and the peopling of the Americas

Paulette F.C. Steeves Why Paulette loves this book

Many archaeological site reports from South America are published in non -English languages and are often hard to locate. Where the South Wind Blows is an English language collected edition with chapters authored by South American archaeologists. Chapters included numerous discussions of archaeological sites throughout South America that pre-date Clovis sites.

By Laura Miotti (editor) , Monica Salemme (editor) , Nora Flegenheimer (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where the South Winds Blow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The early prehistory of South America is poorly known by the English speaking world. This edited volume, translated from Spanish, contains twenty-one short papers documenting some of the most important recently investigated early archaeological sites from South America. These papers report Paleoamerican complexes and excavations of sites older than eleven thousand radiocarbon years before present, as well as cover issues in geoarchaeology, geochronology, Pleistocene extinction, and paleoecology. Numerous graphics are used to Illustrate site locations, excavations, and artifacts.


Book cover of Llama Drama

Susie Kelly Author Of The Valley of Heaven and Hell: Cycling in the Shadow of Marie Antoinette

From my list on travel adventures on two wheels.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer, living in southwest France since 1995, and previously in Kenya for 20 years. Travel has always been my passion. I’ve written about hiking across France in Best Foot Forward, touring the perimeter by camping car in Travels with Tinkerbelle, cycling through the Marne Valley in The Valley of Heaven and Hell, and a Kenyan safari in Safari Ants, Baggy Pants and ElephantsRecently, due to COVID and with an elderly dog that suffers from separation anxiety, I couldn't leave for any length of time; I satisfy my wanderlust by reading other people’s adventures. My taste is for tales that include plenty of humour, and I’ve selected five which I have particularly enjoyed.

Susie's book list on travel adventures on two wheels

Susie Kelly Why Susie loves this book

A vivid, amusing account of the author and her friend cycling and sleeping in the wild from Bolivia to Argentina. It is a story of determination and endurance as they push themselves to the extreme, always taking the hardest, highest route. Exhaustion, frustration, and sickness put their friendship to the test. 

As somebody who is the polar opposite, always seeking the easiest way, I was fascinated by this couple’s approach to adventure, and awed by their achievements.  

By Anna McNuff ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Llama Drama as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**WINNER of the 2020 Amazon Kindle Storyteller Literary Award**

"Llama Drama is simply hilarious. If anyone wants something witty and moving at the same time. Also, something empowering, then this is the one for them. I literally inhaled it." -  Claudia Winkleman, TV Presenter and Author

What Amazon readers are saying about Llama Drama:

★★★★★ “Loved every minute of it!”

★★★★★ “An antidote for the madness of 2020”

★★★★★ “Truly inspiring”

★★★★★ “A brilliant book for anyone interested in travel, conquering their fears, cycling, adventure, South America”

★★★★★ “I couldn't put it down!”

★★★★★ “Buy the damn thing. It’s awesome!”…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Up

Joan Budilovsky Author Of Floretta

From my list on to help grieving children open up about death.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up living above our family funeral home. My parents were exceptionally compassionate people. I learned through their kind upbringing that heaven was and is, here and now. Death was not only an inevitable part of life but a daily part. As an adult, I became a Yoga Teacher. Yoga means union. It's an exploration into the intimate balance between body and mind. One particular yoga pose essential to every single class – Savasana or Corpse PoseA coincidence a young girl raised in a funeral home would end up teaching daily classes of corpse pose? I think not. And through it all bloomed Floretta. The story of life and death coming together into a magnificent circular experience. Bilingual yet parallel worlds amidst beautiful chakra colors.

Joan's book list on to help grieving children open up about death

Joan Budilovsky Why Joan loves this book

It sure takes a village to turn an award-winning Disney Pixar movie, Up into a Read-Aloud Storybook, and this cast of creative characters does it well! A terrific story about those significant changes in life and about not closing doors to the inevitable new adventures to come. Heart-warming and brilliantly crafted. See the movie! And do certainly read this lovely book version too.

By RH Disney ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Up as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

A Little Golden Book retelling of Disney/Pixar Up! Meet Car and Russell. Carl is old and lonely. Russell is young and looking for a friend. When they’re thrown together on the adventure of a lifetime, they discover that friendships are great at any age! This Little Golden Book retelling of Disney/Pixar Up will appeal to adventurers of all ages.


Book cover of Island Queen

Patsy C. Robertson Author Of A Concoction of Lies

From my list on thrillers in foreign locations.

Why am I passionate about this?

In elementary school, I was told I had an overactive imagination, an insatiable curiosity, and an adventurous spirit. Fortunate to live across the street from the school, the school’s tiny, nondescript library became a sacred place, a sanctuary, a peaceful and magical space where I could escape into worlds far beyond the limits of a small southern town in the 1950s. I incorporate all of these characteristics, plus my love of travel, into my books. My goal is to write thrilling multicultural fiction novels that depict the blended relationships and experiences of African Americans and people within the communities that make up the global African diaspora.

Patsy's book list on thrillers in foreign locations

Patsy C. Robertson Why Patsy loves this book

When I lounge on the beach at an exclusive Caribbean resort, I typically lift my Pina Colada in a toast to my ancestors before taking my first sip. Vanessa Riley’s book increased my respect for the exploited and enslaved black women who lived in the Caribbean during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

My heart broke with the emotional and psychological trauma and physical dangers that Doll endured to save herself and her children. The intrigue and suspense kept me riveted, constantly wondering how Doll would overcome her challenges. Riley tells a beautiful story of the least likely underdog, Dorothy "Doll" Kirwan Thomas, who survived despite the injustices and became one of the Caribbean's wealthiest and most influential entrepreneurs.

By Vanessa Riley ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Island Queen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


"Riveting and transformative, evocative and immersive...by turns vibrant and bold and wise, discovering Dorothy's story is a singular pleasure."--The New York Times

A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free Black woman who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.

Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom-and that of her sister and her mother-from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and…


Book cover of The Condor Trials: Transnational Repression and Human Rights in South America

Debbie Sharnak Author Of Of Light and Struggle: Social Justice, Human Rights, and Accountability in Uruguay

From my list on human rights in Latin America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I worked at the International Center for Transitional Justice in 2009 when Uruguay held a second referendum to overturn the country’s amnesty law that protected the police and military from prosecution for human rights abuses during the country’s dictatorship. Despite the country’s stable democracy and progressive politics in the 21st century, citizens quite surprisingly rejected the opportunity to overturn the state-sanctioned impunity law. My interest in broader accountability efforts in the world and that seemingly shocking vote in Uruguay drove me to want to study the roots of that failed effort, ultimately compelling a broader investigation into how human rights culture in Uruguay evolved, particularly during and after its period of military rule. 

Debbie's book list on human rights in Latin America

Debbie Sharnak Why Debbie loves this book

Operation Condor is the coordination that occurred between military governments across borders in South America during the Cold War to repress those suspected of being subversives. Some fled their home countries, only to be apprehended, tortured, and sometimes killed by a neighboring regime.

As difficult as it has been to try those involved in national crimes, it has been even more challenging to do so in these legally complex cases that span numerous jurisdictions. Lessa, however, has been following these accountability efforts for over a decade, and writes a fantastic book about these battles, shedding light on not only the events that occurred but also the struggle to document them and have accountability for victims. 

By Francesca Lessa ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Condor Trials as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stories of transnational terror and justice illuminate the past and present of South America's struggles for human rights

Through the voices of survivors and witnesses, human rights activists, judicial actors, journalists, and historians, Francesca Lessa unravels the secrets of transnational repression masterminded by South American dictators between 1969 and 1981. Under Operation Condor, their violent and oppressive regimes kidnapped, tortured, and murdered hundreds of exiles, or forcibly returned them to the countries from which they had fled. South America became a zone of terror for those who were targeted, and of impunity for those who perpetuated the violence.

Lessa shows…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas

Flavia Z. Drago Author Of Leila, the Perfect Witch

From my list on picture books only Mexican authors could have made.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hello! My name is Flavia Z. Drago and I'm a Mexican picturebook maker currently living with my partner and my cat in the UK. As a child, most of the books that I read came from foreign countries, particularly Europe and the US, and these have had a huge influence on my work as an author and illustrator. However, now that I'm in charge of making the books that I would have liked as a child, I enjoy adding details of my Mexican culture whenever possible. To some extent, the books that I've shared with you collect some of the stories, experiences, and emotions that as a Mexican have impacted my life.

Flavia's book list on picture books only Mexican authors could have made

Flavia Z. Drago Why Flavia loves this book

I would have loved to have had this book in my childhood! As a child, I grew up reading myths and folk tales that came mostly from Europe, however, this book gives a glimpse of myths in America long before the colonization. Thanks to this book I discovered many myths from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego—or the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called itwhich sparked my curiosity in order to know more. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some of the stories were intertwined.

Even if this is not a picture book, I decided to include it because the stylish and sophisticated illustrations (of the multi-awarded) Mexican illustrator Amanda Mijangos, fill the spaces that the text is missing and add another level of reading to each one of the tales.

By Maria Garcia Esperon , Amanda Mijangos (illustrator) , David Bowles (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sea-Ringed World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Fifteen thousand years before Europeans stepped foot in the Americas, people had already spread from tip to tip and coast to coast. Like all humans, these Native Americans sought to understand their place in the universe, the nature of their relationship with the divine, and the origin of the world into which their ancestors had emerged.

The answers lay in their sacred stories.

Author Maria Garcia Esperon, illustrator Amanda Mijangos, and translator David Bowles have gifted us a treasure. Their talents have woven this collection of stories from nations and cultures across our two continents-the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs…


Book cover of Lover Awakened
Book cover of Minion
Book cover of Darkfever

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Interested in South America, vampires, and worldbuilding?

South America 40 books
Vampires 329 books
Worldbuilding 175 books