Friday Finds

 

Hosted by Should be Reading  

Two new book discoveries this week:

Q: A Novel by Evan Mandery (discovered at The Bodacious Pen)

Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q.

A unique literary talent, Evan Mandery turns the classic story of transcendent love on its head, with an ending that will melt even the darkest heart.

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The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady

by Elizabeth Stuckey-French 

Seventy-seven-year-old Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs come hell or high water. In 1953, he gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a secret government study that had horrible consequences.

Marylou has been plotting her revenge for fifty years. When she accidentally discovers his whereabouts in Florida, her plans finally snap into action. She high tails it to hot and humid Tallahassee, moves in down the block from where a now senile Spriggs lives with his daughter’s family, and begins the tricky work of insinuating herself into their lives. But she has no idea what a nest of yellow jackets she is stum­bling into.

Before the novel is through, someone will be kidnapped, an unlikely couple will get engaged, someone will nearly die from eating a pineapple upside-down cake laced with anti-freeze, and that’s not all . . .

Told from the varied perspectives of an incredible cast of endearing oddball characters and written with the flair of a native Floridian, this dark comedy does not disappoint
 

And a fun video from Improv Everywhere (I love those guys!)

The Mute Button

Back to Books Giveaway Hop

In celebration of the start of the new school year (Woohoo!!) and the fact that I finally got my online bookstore up and running again, I'm giving away one book from my bookstore to one lucky winner. The winner can choose any book that they would like to receive, from over 600 titles that are available.

To enter, visit 42Bookstore to browse through the books and choose the one you would like to receive (or you can pick more than one, and then settle on one if you win) and then leave a comment below with your name, email address and the title of the book.

You can receive one extra entry by Liking my bookstore's Facebook page. If you do this, please mention it in your entry.

The giveaway is open internationally and will run from September 1st - 7th.

To participate you must be a GFC follower of my blog.

And once you have entered make sure to stop by some of the other blogs participating in the Back to Books Giveaway Hop:

Free Read: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Follow this link to read the first 78 pages of Maureen Johnson's soon-to-be released YA Urban Fantasy book, The Name of the Star.

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

I haven't read any of Johnson's other books, which are all contemporary YA, but this one sounds like it could be really good. 

100 Years of East London Fashion, Dance and Music In 100 Seconds

Just a fun video that I found over at Boing Boing.

It was put together to help promote the opening of new shopping center in London, Westfield Stratford City.

Emily The Strange: The Lost Days by Rob Reger

A young girl wakes up on a park bench with no memory of how she got there, where she is or even what her name is. All she has with her is a blank notebook with some pages torn out, a pen and a slingshot. In the hope of finding some clues to her identity, the girl begins investigating the town and she soon comes across a dingy cafe, El Dungeon, which feels somewhat familiar. There she introduces herself as Earwig ( which seems like a good enough name for now) and offers to help around the cafe in exchange for food. Earwig then moves into a refrigerator box behind the cafe, takes in a bunch of stray cats, and begins her investigation.

Through daily journal entries Earwig shares the discoveries she makes about the strange town she has found herself in and the even stranger people who populate it as she pieces together the mystery surrounding her Amnesia and her presence in Blackrock.

Being in Israel for the past eight years, I'm not too up-to date on current American pop culture and I pretty much knew nothing about this book or the character of Emily the Strange, before I started reading it. All I knew is that I had seen the book on some other book blogs and people seem to like it, so when I saw it at the library I thought I would give it a try. The first time I tried reading it I gave up after a couple of pages, deciding that this book wasn't for me. Several weeks later, while looking around the house for something to read, I noticed that I still had Emily the Strange lying around, so with nothing else to read I decided to give it another try. This time, though, I read it all the way through and come out the other side a full-fledged Emily the Strange fan.

Emily the Strange is a gleefully fun read that was just the right amount of weird to appeal to my appreciation for the bizarre. I just loved Emily's voice and her odd personality.

Slept laaaate and it was barely day anymore when I woke up. Had the most shattering nightmare. So devastating, I'm almost worried I may have severe psychological problems I just don't remember having...

Wow, my heart is thumping as I'm writing this down. 

In fact. 

It feels kind of good. 

I think I LIKE nightmares.

I particularly enjoyed the way the story kept twisting in unexpected way, leaving me constantly guessing as to what might come next. The fact that we are getting to know Earwig at the same time that she rediscovers herself made the story even more interesting because she is just as lost as we are in this unfamiliar environment, and together we have to make sense of the clues provided for us.

It's scary, how when I try to think past three days ago, the only thing I can remember is the feeling of how it is to remember. Not even the whisker of an actual memory. Do I live in a city? In a cave? In a tree house? Is it weird that that I'm living in a lean-to made of a refrigerator box? Am I weird? The lady in the bus station stared at me like I was weird. Do I have parents? Friends? Pets? Do they miss me? Etc. Got myself so worked up into fake-missing people who might not even exist that I even cried a little fake tear, then got irked at myself for being a baby. No point getting sentimental until I at least know what I'm missing.

It's kind of a bummer that the title gives away Earwig's name because that turns out to be one of her most exciting discoveries and it would have been fun to discover it along with her.

After I finished Emily The Strange I looked up the book online and was surprised to find out that Emily started out as a marketing brand and that the book's author, Rob Reger, had originally designed the character as an image for t-shirts. After that came whole clothing lines, comic books, video games and even a movie option. I'm really glad I didn't know any of this about Emily the Strange before I had read the book because  my expectations of it would have been so low that I probably wouldn't have even given it a chance. As it were, I ended up enjoying it immensely and I definitely plan on reading the sequel when I am next in the mood for some quirky fun.

Emily the Strange: The Lost Years can be read for free at the Harper Teen website.

New SciFi & Fantasy Releases: Week of August 28

This is the week that I have been waiting for, for nearly two months now. No, it's not because of any particular book but it's because this Thursday is...(drum roll please) The End of Summer Vacation!! And I'm sure I'm not the only mother who will be celebrating this exciting event. I think I might even head out to the beach next week, to celebrate in style, with several books in-hand, of course.

One book that I will probably be taking with me when I go for my day at the beach is The Bible Repairman and Other Stories, by Tim Powers, which I received for review from Tachyon Press. I've never read anything by Tim Powers before and I'm curious to give his stories a try, plus this slim book is the perfect size for traveling with.

I had also mentioned in my Friday Finds post that Awakening by Edward Lazellari sounds like a book I would like to try, and while I don't currently have a copy of it I do hope to get it eventually.

Hope you have a great reading week!

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Aftermath (Sirantha Jax, #5)

Ann Aguirre

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Penguin

Release Date: August 30

DEAD HEROES GET MONUMENTS. LIVE ONES GET TRIALS.

Sirantha Jax has the right genes—ones that enable her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. But it’s also in her genetic makeup to go it alone. It’s a character trait that has gotten her into—and out of—hot water time and time again, but now she’s caused one of the most horrific events in military history…

During the war against murderous, flesh-eating aliens, Sirantha went AWOL and shifted grimspace beacons to keep the enemy from invading humanity’s homeworld. The cost of her actions: the destruction of modern interstellar travel—and the lives of six hundred Conglomerate soldiers.

Accused of dereliction of duty, desertion, mass murder, and high treason, Sirantha is on trial for her life. And only time will tell if she’s one of the Conglomerate’s greatest heroes—or most infamous criminals…

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Airel

Aaron Patterson and Chris White

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Publisher: StoneHouse Ink

Release Date: August 31

All Airel ever wanted to be was normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like sudden mysterious illness. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything she hopes for even now. Airel knew change would be inevitable as life went on. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

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Anna Dressed In Blood

Kendare Blake

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: August 30

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

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Awakenings

Edward Lazellari

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: August 30

Cal MacDonnell is a happily married New York City cop with a loving family. Seth Raincrest is a washed-up photographer who has alienated even his closest friends. The two have nothing in common—except that they both suffer from retrograde amnesia. It’s as if they just appeared out of thin air thirteen years ago, and nothing has been able to restore their memories. Now their forgotten past has caught up to them with a vengeance.

Cal's and Seth’s lives are turned upside down as they are stalked by otherworldly beings who know about the men's past lives. But these creatures aren't here to help; they're intent on killing anyone who gets in their way. In the balance hangs the life of a child who might someday restore a broken empire to peace and prosperity. With no clue why they're being hunted, Cal and Seth must accept the aid of a strange and beautiful woman who has promised to unlock their secrets. The two must stay alive long enough to protect their loved ones, recover their true selves—and save two worlds from tyranny and destruction.

Awakenings launches a captivating fantasy saga by an amazing and talented new storyteller.

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The Bible Repairman and Other Stories

Tim Powers

Genre: Short story collection

Publisher: Tachyon

Release Date: September 1

Gathering darkly fantastic short fiction previously available only in limited editions, this collection explores the mysteries of souls—whether they are sacrificed on the pinnacle of Mount Parnassus or lodged in a television cable box. In a Kabbalistic tale of transformation, the executor of an old friend’s will is almost duped into housing his soul. In a tale of time travel between 2015 and 1975, a tragedy sparked by an angel falling onto a pizza shop is reenacted—and the event is barely, but fatally, altered. The cornerstone of the collection is a postscript to the harrowing novel of the haunting of the Romantic poets, The Stress of Her Regard. Once Byron and Shelley break free of the succubus that claimed them, their associate, Trelawny, forges an alliance with Greek rebels to reestablish the deadly connection between man and the nephilim. Fans of Powers’s renowned secret histories will delight as he deftly weaves an array of fantastical creatures into richly layered narratives of the past.

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Blood On the Moon

Jennifer Knight

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Perseus Books

Release Date: August 30

As Faith Reynolds enters her freshman year of college, she is a complete and utter nervous wreck. With her best friend Derek suddenly pulling out the romance card and her dark, mysterious classmate staring her down at every turn, Faith somehow feels stuck in the middle without dating either one. And fortune may or may not be with her when a devilshly sexy stranger offers her a welcome escape.

Boys, romance, classes, and annoying roommates are all within the realm of the expected for a college frosh. Trying to solve the mysterious murders of young college coeds near campus is not. Darkness seems to be creeping into every corner of Faith's life, no matter the hour. And when she seeks the truth, danger seems to be the only thing that finds her.

Faith is well aware of the strange currents in the air, particularly when she sets off static sparks with everything she touches. Before long, she finds herself entrenched in the deep-seeded battle between werewolves and vampires. The war has reached the tipping point, and Faith has the power to determine where the scales fall. But the most important question may be with whom does her loyalty lie?

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Blood Rules (Bloodlands, Bk 2)

Christine Cody

Genre: Paranormal

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: August 30

After the man named Gabriel came to the Bloodlands, Mariah Lyander was forced to face her true nature, and the horrible things she had done. To redeem herself, she embarks on a quest to find a rumored cure for her were-creatures hoping to recover her own humanity-and Gabriel's love. 

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Blood Sacrifice (Bloodlines, Bk 5)

Maria Lima

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Pocket

Release Date: August 30

All’s fair in blood and war. . . .

  Talk about wedding crashers from hell. Keira Kelly and her sexy vampire king, Adam, are about to tie the proverbial knot—sort of—when an uninvited blood relative shows up to cast a long, dark shadow over the happy occasion. Adam’s brother Gideon comes bearing the one-size-fits-all gift of bad news: an ancient, convoluted Challenge thrown down upon the entire Kelly clan. It seems the dreaded forces of the Dark Fae have declared war on Keira’s family, and at stake is the land that is rightfully theirs. But while the Kellys gather their troops in a historic San Antonio hotel to strategize, there’s mayhem back in Rio Seco. The old cemetery is vandalized, fires break out, and—worst of all—the Kelly clan matriarch and leader, Keira’s great-great-grandmother Minerva, goes missing. Should Keira risk breaking the Challenge rules by returning to her beloved home, or should she continue the waiting game that seems the only other option? With everything she loves and maybe even her life on the line, she has only one chance to get the answer right.

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Blood Song

Rhiannon Hart

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Random House Australia

Release Date: September 1

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

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Circle of Enemies (Twenty Palaces, Bk 3)

Harry Connolly

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: August 30

Former car thief Ray Lilly is now the expendable grunt of a sorcerer responsible for destroying extradimensional predators summoned to our world by power-hungry magicians. Luckily, Ray has some magic of his own, and so far it’s kept him alive. But when a friend from his former gang calls him back to his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles, Ray may have to face a threat even he can’t handle. A mysterious spell is killing Ray’s former associates, and they blame him. Worse yet, the spell was cast by Wally King, the sorcerer who first dragged Ray into the brutal world of the Twenty Palace Society. Now Ray will have to choose between the ties of the past and the responsibilities of the present, as he and the Society face not only Wally King but a bizarre new predator.

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Countdown: M Day

Tom Kratman

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: August 30

War is brutal.  Colonel Wes Stauer gets it.  He ought to.  He was once one of war’s most brutal practitioners – not to mention one of its most effective and least bloody.  Brutal yes; stupid no.  Now, not only must Stauer command his crack outfit of former comrades and pull off yet another miracle mission, he must also harness and direct the brute within himself – a beast he will need in order to destroy an intelligent enemy who is as implacable as Stauer himself. Okay, almost as implacable. There will be war.  And there will be warriors like Wes Stauer who have the know-how and, once set in motion, the unstoppable professional drive, to see the bad guys to their graves and destroy every last earthly piece of their nasty legacies.

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Crossroads (Anna Strong Chronicles, Bk 7)

Jeanne C. Stein

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: August 28

As a bounty hunter, Anna Strong knew how to find trouble. But now that she's a vampire, trouble seems to have a knack for finding her... 

The death of Anna's old vampire mentor is causing ripples in the mortal world. His forensic report has brought up some anomalies and people are asking questions-questions that no vampire wants to answer. Anna needs to lie low, but the sudden discovery of a slew of drained bodies near the Mexican border brings an old flame back into her life and with him, a new challenge. Then, some stunning news from an unexpected source sends Anna and her friend Daniel Frey on a journey that may change both their lives-forever. 

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The Crown of the Conqueror (Crown of the Blood, Bk 2)

Gav Thorpe

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: August 30

ULLSAARD HAS THE CROWN.

But when he is confronted with a truth too shocking to contemplate, he has to choose between power and honor.

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Damned (Crusade #2)

Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: August 30

There is a fine line between love and sacrifice….

Antonio would do anything for his beloved fighting partner Jenn. He protects her, even suppresses his vampire cravings to be with her. Together, they defend humanity against the Cursed Ones. But tensions threaten to fracture their hunting team and his loyalty—his love—is called into question.

With an even more sinister power on the rise, Jenn must overcome her personal vendettas.

Antonio and Jenn need each other to survive, but evil lurks at every turn. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance, they must face down the darkness…or die trying.

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The Departure

Neal Asher

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: September 2

Visible in the night sky the Argus Station, its twin smelting plants like glowing eyes, looks down on nightmare Earth. From Argus the Committee keep an oppressive control: citizens are watched by cams systems and political officers, it's a world inhabited by shepherds, reader guns, razor birds and the brutal Inspectorate with its white tiled cells and pain inducers. Soon the Committee will have the power to edit human minds, but not yet, twelve billion human being need to die before Earth can be stabilized, but by turning large portions of Earth into concentration camps this is achievable, especially when the Argus satellite laser network comes fully online...This is the world Alan Saul wakes to in his crate on the conveyor to the Calais incinerator. How he got there he does not know, but he does remember the pain and the face of his interrogator. Informed by Janus, through the hardware implanted in his skull, about the world as it is now Saul is determined to destroy it, just as soon as he has found out who he was, and killed his interrogator...

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Devil's Business (Black London, Bk 4)

Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Release Date: August 30

Pete Caldecott did everything she could to save Jack from Hell, even reigning in the dark machinations of the Morrigan to help bring him home. Still, Black London has not welcomed Jack back with open arms. . . So when a friend in Los Angeles asks for help tracking a sorcerous serial killer, Pete and Jack decide a change of scenery couldn’t hurt. . . 
But the shadow side of the City of Angels turns out to be more treacherous than they ever imagined. Together, Pete and Jack must navigate a landscape teeming with hostile magic-users— and fight an unknown enemy. When their investigation leads to a confrontation with the demon Belial, Jack learns that he wasn't the only thing to escape from Hell. Now it’s up to him and Pete to track and eliminate an evil older than the Black itself—before it turns L.A. into Hell on Earth. And destroys life as they know it back at home…

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The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo

Adam Roberts

Genre: Fantasy (parody)

Publisher: Gollancz

Release Date: September 1

Lizbreath Salamander is young and beautiful. Her scales have an iridescent sheen, her wings arch proudly, her breath has a tang of sulfur. And on her back a tattoo of a mythical creature: a girl. But when Lizbreath is drawn into a dark conspiracy she will have to rely on more than her beauty and her vicious claws the size of sabres ...A dragon has disappeared, one of a secretive clan. As Lizbreath delves deeper into their history she realises that these dragons will do anything to defend their secrets. Welcome to the world of The Dragon With The Girl Tattoo. A world of gloomy Nordic dragons leading lives uncannily like our own (despite their size, despite the need for extensive fireproofing of home furnishings), a world of money hoarded, a world of darkness and corruption. A world where people are the fantasy.

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Dust & Decay (Benny Imura #2)

Jonathan Maberry

Genre: YA Dystopia

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: August 30

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive.

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Evangelina (Jennifer Scales, bk 6)

MaryJanice Davidson & Anthony Alongi

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: August 30

A fatal incident at a medical facility sends U.S. government agents on the trail of Evangelina Scales-Jennifer's sister and an extraordinary figure with deadly intent. But not everything is as it seems. 

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The Fox Inheritance (Jenna Fox Chronicles)

Mary E. Pearson

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Release Date: August 30

Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.

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Fury

Elizabeth Miles

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: August 30

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....

It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.

Em and Chase have been chosen.

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The Gray Wolf Throne (Seven Realms, Bk 3)

Cinda Williams Chima

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Hyperion

Release Date: August 30

Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. The costs of his efforts are steep, but nothing can prepare him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is none other than Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to the Queendom of the Fells. Han is hurt and betrayed. He knows he has no future with a blueblood. And, as far as he’s concerned, the princess’s family killed his own mother and sister. But if Han is to fulfill his end of an old bargain, he must do everything in his power to see Raisa crowned queen.

Meanwhile, some people will stop at nothing to prevent Raisa from ascending. With each attempt on her life, she wonders how long it will be before her enemies succeed. Her heart tells her that the thief-turned-wizard Han Alister can be trusted. She wants to believe it—he’s saved her life more than once. But with danger coming at her from every direction, Raisa can only rely on her wits and her iron-hard will to survive—and even that might not be enough.  

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Ghost of a Chance (Ghostfinders, Bk 1)

Simon R. Green

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: August 31

The Carnacki Institute exists to "Do Something" about Ghosts-and agents JC Chance, Melody Chambers, and Happy Jack Palmer will either lay them to rest, send them packing, or kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses with extreme prejudice.

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Grave Expectations

Sherri Browning Erwin & Charles Dickens

Genre: Fantasy/Mashup

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: August 30

Heaven knows, we need never be ashamed of our wolfish cravings. . . .

  Bristly, sensitive, and meat-hungry Pip is a robust young whelp, an orphan born under a full moon. Between hunting escaped convicts alongside zombified soldiers, trying not to become one of the hunted himself, and hiding his hairy hands from the supernaturally beautiful and haughty Estella, whose devilish moods keep him chomping at the bit, Pip is sure he will die penniless or a convict like the rest of his commonly uncommon kind.

But then a mysterious benefactor sends him to London for the finest werewolf education money can buy. In the company of other furry young gentlemen, Pip tempers his violent transformations and devours the secrets of his dark world. When he discovers that his beloved Estella is a slayer of supernatural creatures, trained by the corpse-like vampire Miss Havisham, Pip’s desire for her grows stronger than his midnight hunger for rare fresh beef. But can he risk his hide for a truth that will make Estella his forever—or will she drive one last silver stake through his heart?

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Hades (Halo #2)

Alexandra Adornetto

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: August 30

Bethany and Xavier are even closer since battling Jake Thorn and his evil influence (in Halo) and Beth and her angel siblings must still protect Venus Cove from the Dark Forces.

When a party game – a séance – inadvertently releases Jake from the Underworld, he disguises himself and tricks Beth into taking a ride on his motorcycle. When the highway opens up and swallows them, Beth learns too late that she’s now a prisoner in hell. What happens to angels there? As her archangel brother, Gabriel, her sister Ivy, Xavier, and her best friend, Molly search for her, Beth must weigh Jake’s bargaining for her freedom: one night with him, and she will be released back to Earth.

Can Jake be trusted in this wager? And is he also using Beth to engineer the fall of the archangel Gabriel? Xavier has already lost one love – when Jake tricks him into thinking that Bethany is dead, his grief and anger result in a betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if he is so good after all.

It will be up to Beth to use everything she’s learned about her powers as an angel – and about love – to free herself and those she loves from the clutches of Hades.

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The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, Bk 3)

Kelly Gay

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: August 30

To save her sister, she must stop a silent killer. . . . Protecting Atlanta from the off-world criminals of Underground is tough enough, but now Detective Charlie Madigan and her siren partner, Hank, learn that the addicts of the offworld drug ash have begun taking their own lives. Ash makes humans the perfect vessels for possession, and something or someone is leading them to their deaths. Charlie is desperate to save her addicted sister, Bryn, from a similar fate. As New Year’s Eve approaches and time runs out, Charlie makes a deadly bargain with an ancient race of beings and embarks on a dangerous journey into hellish Charbydon with Hank and the Revenant Rex to save Bryn and make it back before it’s too late. Only, for one of them, coming home means facing a fate worse then death. . . .

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One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress, Bk 6)

Jeaniene Frost

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: August 30

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving--leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity--forever. But how do you kill a killer who's already long dead?

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Plugged

Eoin Colfer

Genre:

Publisher: Overlook

Release Date: September 1

The long-awaited crime caper so outlandish, so maniacal, so wickedly funny, it could have only come from the mind that brought you Artemis Fowl.

Lincoln McEvoy has a problem. Well, really, he has several, but for this Irish ex-pat bouncer at a seedy, small-time casino the fact that his girlfriend was just murdered in the parking lot is uppermost in his mind.

That is until lots of people around him start dying, and not of natural causes. Suddenly Linc's got half the New Jersey mob, dirty cops and his man-crazy upstairs neighbor after him and he still doesn't know what's going on. Bullets are flying, everybody's on the take and it all may be more than Linc's new hair plugs can handle.

And Linc's got to find the guy who put in those hair plugs--or at least his body--and fast, or else he'll never get that voice out of his head. Head-spinning plot twists, breakneck pacing and some of the best banter this side of Elmore Leonard's Detroit, will keep you on the edge of your seat and itching for more.

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The Postmortal

Drew Magary

Genre: Dystopia

Publisher: Penguin

Release Date: August 30

John Farrell is about to get "The Cure."
Old age can never kill him now.
The only problem is, everything else still can . . .
Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.

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Reality 36

Guy Haley

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: August 30

SOMETHING IS AMISS IN THE RENEGADE DIGITAL REALM OF REALITY 36. brRichards - a Level 5 AI with a PI fetish - and his partner, a decommissioned German military cyborg, are on the trail of a murderer, but the killer has hidden inside an artificial reality. Richards and Klein must stop him before he becomes a god - for the good of all the realms.

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The Recollection

Gareth L. Powell

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Solaris

Release Date: August 30

In modern-day London, failed artist Ed Rico is secretly in love with his brother's wife, Alice. When his brother disappears on a London Underground escalator, Ed and Alice have to put aside their personal feelings in order to find him. Their quest reveals to them terrifying glimpses of alien worlds and the far future.Meanwhile, 400 years in the future, Katherine Abdulov must travel to a remote planet in order to regain the trust of her influential family. The only person standing in her way is her former lover, Victor Luciano, the ruthless employee of a rival trading firm.
And in the unforgiving depths of space, an ancient evil stirs...
Gareth L. Powell’s epic new science-fiction novel reveals a story of galaxy-spanning scope by a writer of astounding vision.

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Regicide

Nicholas Royle

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Solaris

Release Date: August 30

Carl meets Annie Risk and falls for her. Hurt by a recent relationship, she resists becoming involved. A chance find offers distraction. Carl stumbles across part of a map to an unknown town. He becomes convinced it represents the city of his dreams, where ice skaters turn quintuple loops and trumpeters hit impossibly high notes.... where Annie Risk will agree to see him again. But if he ever finds himself in the streets on his map, will they turn out to be the land of his dreams or the world of his worst nightmares? British Fantasy Award winner Nicholas Royle has written a powerful story set in a nightmarish otherworld of fathers and sons, hopes and dreams, love and death.

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Roil (The Nightbound Land, Bk 1)

Trent Jamieson

Genre: Steampunk

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: August 30

Shale is in troubledying. A vast, chaotic, monster-bearing storm known only as the Roil is expanding, consuming the land.

Where once there were twelve great cities, now only four remain, and their borders are being threatened by the growing cloud of darkness. The last humans are fighting back with ever more bizarre new machines. But one by one the defences are failing. And the Roil continues to grow.

With the land in turmoil, it’s up to a decadent wastrel, a four thousand year-old man, and a young woman intent on revenge to try to save their city – and the world.

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Soul Thief (Demon Trappers, Bk 2)

Jana Oliver

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: August 28

Riley Blackthorne’s adventures continue in the second spellbinding Demon Trappers novel, as she battles demons… and a love that could destroy her

At the start of the second thrilling installment of the Demon Trappers series, 17-year-old Riley Blackthorne has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her sweet boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. Add to the mix: Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad, and Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as the demon count in Atlanta increases, the already crippled Trappers Guild has its hands full, and, when the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever. As Riley’s life becomes a dangerous balancing act, will she be strong enough not to tip? And who will be there to catch her if she falls?

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Succubus Revealed

Richelle Mead

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: August 30

Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her. Take Seth Mortensen. The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend. Still, with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss. In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations. . .to Las Vegas.
The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious. Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle—and from Seth? Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it—no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind. She just hopes the casualties won't include the one man she's risking everything for. . .

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Twisted (Intertwined #3)

Gena Showalter

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: August 28

His vampire girlfriend might have brought him back to life, but he's never felt more out of control. There's a darkness within him, something taking over…changing him. Worse, because he was meant to die, death now stalks him at every turn. Any day could be his last.

Once upon a time, the three souls trapped inside his head could have helped him. He could have protected himself. But as the darkness grows stronger, the souls grow weaker—just like his girlfriend. The more vampire Aden becomes, the more human Victoria becomes, until everything they know and love is threatened.

Life couldn't get any worse. Could it?

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Witchlanders

Lena Coakley

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Atheneum

Release Date: August 30

High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.

It’s all a fake.

At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?

But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned—

Are about him.

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With Fate Conspire (Onyx Court, Bk 4)

Marie Brennan

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: August 30

Marie Brennan returns to the Onyx Court, a fairy city hidden below Queen Victoria's London. Now the Onyx Court faces its greatest challenge.

Seven years ago, Eliza's childhood sweetheart vanished from the streets of Whitechapel. No one believed her when she told them that he was stolen away by the faeries.

But she hasn't given up the search. It will lead her across London and into the hidden palace that gives refuge to faeries in the mortal world. That refuge is now crumbling, broken by the iron of the underground railway, and the resulting chaos spills over to the streets above.

Three centuries of the Onyx Court are about to come to an end. Without the palace's protection, the fae have little choice but to flee. Those who stay have one goal: to find safety in a city that does not welcome them. But what price will the mortals of London pay for that safety?