New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of February 5- 11

Science Fiction

World Divided: Book Two of the Secret World Chronicle

Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis Lee and Veronica Giguere

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: February 7

After an Earth-scarring apocalyptic battle, the meta-humans have turned back a massive invasion of super-science powered Nazi war machines–and at least driven whoever is in ultimate control of them to pause and regroup. Now meta-hero organizations Echo and sometime Russian ally CCCP must go on the offense and battle back. Task one: to hunt down the secret puppet masters behind the Nazi robot invasion, the Thule Society. To do so, the heroes of Echo, led by Bulwark and Red Djinni, face the guardians of a hidden trove of Nazi armor. Meanwhile, a sadistic genius super villain arises who is determined to defeat both heroes and Thulians alike–a villain who just may have the wealth and cunning to pull it off.

It’s “go time” once again for the meta-heroes, including fire-bender John Murdock, techno-witch Vicki Nagy, healer Belladona Blue, super-quick Mercurye, chameleon Red Djinni—and for their ghostly ally, The Seraphym. Somehow they must unite in the fight against the evil and slavery that is fast descending upon the entire universe!

Guardian of Night

Tony Daniel

Publisher: Baen

Release Date: February 7

For alien Commander Arid Ricimer there was no going home. His species was winning the war with Earth, but the civilization he had fought for was gone, destroyed from within by ideologues and bureaucrats. So he does the only thing that makes sense to a person of integrity—he attempts to defect to Earth with his officers and an entire spaceship, a vessel that mounts a superweapon of almost unimaginable power.

Hot on his heels is his former fleet, a force that has already devastated Earth once, and is poised to wipe humanity from existence forever, ready to do almost anything to deny Earth a chance.

To the defenders of Earth he is an enigma—and potentially a Trojan horse. Yet after years of battling back from the brink of destruction, the U.S. space navy has the war-tested heroes to rise to the challenge Ricimer represents—and the danger that follows him—if only those in charge will listen.

The players are in motion and the greatest confrontation this sector of the galaxy has ever witnessed is at hand. Now all depends on the courage of an honorable alien warrior and the intelligence and daring of his human allies. 

The Mirage

Matt Ruff

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: February 7

From the beloved cult author of "Bad Monkeys" comes an unprecedented, mind-bending psychological thriller, in which an alternate history of 9/11 uncovers startling and harrowing truths about America and the Middle East.

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Fantasy

City of Dragons

Robin Hobb

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Release Date: February 7

Once, dragons ruled the Rain Wilds, tended by privileged human servants known as Elderlings. But a series of cataclysmic eruptions nearly drove these magnificent creatures to extinction. Born weak and deformed, the last of their kind had one hope for survival: to return to their ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanied by a disparate crew of untested young keepers, the dragons embarked on a harsh journey into the unknown along the toxic Rain Wild River. Battling starvation, a hostile climate, and treacherous enemies, dragons and humans began to forge magical connections, bonds that have wrought astonishing transformations for them all. And though Kelsingra is finally near, their odyssey has only begun.

Because of the swollen waters of the Rain Wild River, the lost city can be reached only by flight—a test of endurance and skill beyond the stunted dragons’ strength. Venturing across the swift-running river in tiny boats, the dragon scholar Alise and a handful of keepers discover a world far different from anything they have ever known or imagined. Immense, ornate structures of black stone veined with silver and lifelike stone statues line the silent, eerily empty streets. Yet what are the whispers they hear, the shadows of voices and bursts of light that flutter and are gone? And why do they feel as if eyes are watching them?

The dragons must plumb the depths of their ancestral memories to help them take flight and unlock the secrets buried in Kelsingra. But enemies driven by greed and dark desires are approaching. Time is running out, not only for the dragons but for their human keepers as well.

Garrett Takes the Case

Glen Cook

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: February 7

Garrett is a private investigator who always gets his man-or elf, troll, or sorcerer. In the magical city of TunFaire, he's the first name in paranormal detection. "Garrett Takes the Case" collects three of his adventures in one volume.
In "Old Tin Sorrows," Garrett is hired to figure out if someone is poisoning a wealthy, retired General, but quickly finds that the man's employees are dying off at a far faster rate; in "Dread Brass Shadows," a trio of redheads plunge Garrett straight into the chase for "The Book of Shadows," a sorceror's tome holding secrets no mortal was ever meant to master; and in "Red Iron Nights," Garrett is hired to track down a serial killer who's preying on the high born young ladies of TunFaire.

The Masked Witches (Brotherhood of the Griffon, Bk IV)

Richard Lee Byers

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Release Date: February 7

Aoth Fezim and his mercenary company have restored their tarnished reputation and attracted new recruits for their depleted ranks. But they still have one big problem. Too many griffon mounts were killed in the battles in Thay Chessenta. If “the Brotherhood of the Griffon” is to be more than a name, new mounts must be found.

As it happens, the masked witches in Rashemen have griffons available to a worthy few who can slay the undead that are committing atrocities throughout the land. Aoth volunteers his band, as do other groups who are in the market for the fighting beasts. But things are not as they seem. Epic battles between rival sellswords, berserkers, and aerial skyships punctuate this whirlwind tale set in a barbaric land of oracles, nature spirits, and talking animals.

Throne of the Crescent Moon

Saladin Ahmed

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: February 7

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, is at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings:

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, "The last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat," just wants a quiet cup of tea. Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame's family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter's path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla's young assistant, a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety, is eager to deliver God's justice. But even as Raseed's sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the Lion-Shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man's title. She lives only to avenge her father's death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father's killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince's brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time--and struggle against their own misgivings--to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.

 

Vengeance Born

Kylie Griffin

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Release Date: February 7

There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born...

Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na'Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father's people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she's gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy...

With the Na'Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na'Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons-and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.

When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father's dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council-and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war...

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Anthology

Westward Weird

edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: February 7

From a Western circus where monsters and heroes collide, to a Civil War robot that clanks into battle, to a mining family that encounters parallel universes, "Westward Weird" features thirteen original stories that open the Old West to new frontiers of science fiction and fantasy.

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Urban Fantasy

Alpha Instinct (Moon Shifter, Bk 1)

Katie Reus

Publisher: Signet

Release Date: February 7

Fear has a scent. So does desire…

Ana Cordona has been a strong leader for the lupine shifters who survived after all the males and most of the females in her pack were mysteriously poisoned. As tough as she is, with no Alpha male, the pack is vulnerable to the devious shifter Taggart, who wants to claim both their ranch and Ana as his own. When Connor Armstrong comes back into her life, promising protection, it’s almost enough to make Ana forget how he walked out on her before—and reluctantly accept his offer to mate.

The minute Connor sees Ana again, it reawakens a raw hunger. He must have her for his bondmate—his wolf cries out for it. But his human side knows he must proceed with caution because of their complicated past. If he is to truly have her body and soul, he must go beyond his burning desire and win back her heart. Whatever it takes, he is determined not to leave her side again.

But Taggart and his rival pack are not their only enemies. A human element in town is targeting shifters. Their plan not only threatens Ana and Connor’s future, but the lives of the entire pack…

Blood and Bullets

James R. Tuck

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: February 7

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .

Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl "hires" him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him--and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he's got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There's also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon's greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him. . .

Unbroken (Outcast Season, Bk 4)

Rachel Caine

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: February 7

For millennia, Cassiel was a powerful Djinn-until she was exiled to live among mortals. Now the threat of an apocalypse looms, and Cassiel is in danger of losing everything she has come to hold dear...

As the world begins to fall apart around her, Cassiel finds herself fighting those she once called her own-the Djinn. With Weather Warden Luis Rocha and the rescued child Ibby by her side, Cassiel struggles to find a way to protect those that are in her charge and come to terms with the leadership role she never asked for.

Cassiel is opposed by a powerful Djinn bent on raising an army of kidnapped Warden children to bring about nothing less than the end of the world. It will take everything Cassiel has to stop the Djinn from starting a war that will wipe all of humanity from the face of the earth. She knows that this might not be a battle she can survive, but protecting those she loves is worth any cost...

Apocalypse To Go (Nola O'Grady, Bk 3)

Katharine Kerr

Publisher: DAW

Release Date: February 7

Nola O'Grady has enough trouble when a were-leopard accuses her of receiving stolen property. But when her younger brother Michael goes searching for their missing father, he lands himself and his brother, Sean, in a world of hurt-quite literally-in a deviant world version of San Francisco.
Can Nola and her partner in the Apocalypse Squad, Israeli Interpol agent Ari Nathan, find her brothers in time to save them from death by radiation poisoning? The search will lead them through a city of secrets, but the worst secret of all lurks at the heart of the only thing Nola loves more than Ari: her

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Young Adult

Almost Everything (Vampire Princess of St. Paul, Bk 3)

Tate Hallaway

Publisher:

Release Date: February 7

Whoever said vacations were relaxing?

To say half-vampire, half-witch Ana Parker has boy trouble is putting it lightly—something her text messaging bill can attest to. Her rocker ex-boyfriend Nikolai is trying to heat things up again, and high school hockey star Mathew wants her to try out with him for the Renaissance Festival. At least her sort-of boyfriend Elias isn’t hounding her cell—considering the vampire knight is currently living in her basement.

Ever since her father banished Elias and Ana from the court of the Northern vampires, Ana has been trying to live a normal life. But when the Prince of the Southern Region vampires informs Ana that they’re on the brink of war and she accidentally offers up Elias as a peace offering, the princess knows that she’s going to need some help to get out of the situation.

With Ana’s boy drama meter hitting an all time high, summer in St. Paul is heating up for all the wrong reasons…

Born Wicked

Jessica Spotswood

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Release Date: February 7

"Blessed with a gift..."cursed" with a secret."
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship - or an early grave.
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood - not even from each other.

Pure

Julianna Baggott

Publisher: Grand Central.

Release Date: February 8

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

Dead to You

Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: February 7

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

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Paranormal Romance

Deliver Me from Darkness

Tes Hilaire

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: February 7

A STRANGER IN THE NIGHT...

He had once been a warrior of the Light, one of the revered Paladin. A protector. But now he lives in darkness, and the shadows are his sanctuary. Every day is a struggle to overcome the bloodlust. Especially the day Karissa shows up at his doorstep.

COMES KNOCKING ON THE DOOR

She is light and bright and everything beautiful—despite her scratches and torn clothes. Every creature of the night is after her. So is every male Paladin. Because Karissa is the last female of their kind. But she is his. He may not have a soul, but he can't deny his heart.

The Lord of Illusion (The Elven Lords, Bk 3)

Kathryne Kennedy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: February 7

HE'LL DO ANYTHING TO FREE HIS PEOPLE...

Lord Drystan Hawkes dreams of fighting for England's freedom from the endless evils of the Elven Lords. But first he must find the beautiful slave girl who holds the secret to his quest.
SHE HOLDS THE KEY TO HIS LIBERATION...

Enslaved for years in a realm of illusion, Camille Ashton has learned to trust no one. But she's truly spellbound when she meets Drystan, and somehow when they are together, she can see what's true.
From Kathryne Kennedy, acclaimed by critics as "absorbing" and "impossible to put down," The Lord of Illusion opens ups to an enchanting world with characters that live and breathe between the pages.

King of Darkness

Elizabeth Staab

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: February 7

ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA...
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human--although drifting through the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons' blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the sexy, arrogant king of the vampires, this party-girl's life turns dark and dangerous.

BUT TIME'S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF THE VAMPIRES...
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate had gotten it seriously wrong...

Midnight Enchantment

Anya Bast

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: February 7

Niall Quinn, mage and the finest thief in the Black Tower, is the fae's best hope for freedom. But he meets his match in Elizabeth Cely Saintjohn. Torn between his duty and the shocking lust Elizabeth has stirred in him, Niall must convince her to surrender-before he is forced to destroy her and all she holds dear...

Something About Witches

Joey W Hill

Publisher: February 7

Release Date: Berkley

Ruby Night Divine is a witch who runs a gun shop. Magic can fail – she knows that first hand, having experienced it with full-blown tragic consequences, far beyond what Dr. Phil can fix. Smith & Wesson is a whole hell of a lot more reliable, and nothing’s as cathartic as the ability to put a few holes in the things that piss you off. Like Derek Stormwind.

A powerful sorcerer, Derek is determined to get to the bottom of why she pushed him away and ran three years before. He also wants her help. A coven needs training to face a demon and his army of minions. Oh sure. It’s amazing what sweet things a guy will offer to get back into a woman’s heart, and into her bed.

Only in this case, she knows he never left her heart, and in her bed is exactly where she wants him to be. Unfortunately, her bed’s already made, and she’s close to losing her soul. And not even Smith & Wesson or Derek Stormwind can fix that.

Underwater Love

MaryJanice Davidson

Publisher: February 7

Release Date: Berkley Trade

Sleeping with the Fishes
Fred is a mermaid. But she's not blonde, or buxom, or even perky. In fact, she can be downright cranky-especially when weird levels of toxins are found in the local seawater. There is one perk: Thomas, the gorgeous marine biologist helping in the investigation. If you thought it would be easy for a mermaid to get to the bottom of things, think again.

Swimming Without a Net
To visit the undersea realm of Artur, the High Prince, and her royal merfamily, Fred's brought along Thomas to explore where no "lander" has gone before. But Fred is soon caught between two factions of merfolk: those happy with swimming under the radar-and those who want to bring their existence to the surface...

Fish Out of Water
The existence of the Undersea Folk is no longer a secret, and someone needs to keep them all from floundering in the media spotlight. Fred and Artur have all the right skills for the job, if not for staving off an impending civil war. But all the while, Fred has something else on her mind: the sexy human landlubber she left behind...

Friday Finds

I really enjoyed Ari Marmell's The Conqueror's Shadow and have been looking forward to his upcoming fantasy Thief's Covenant, though I only just discovered that it was coming out really soon. And I love this cover!

The Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces—human and other—stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder.

Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers.

But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her—but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first.

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Sounds intriguing.

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

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This is not the kind of book I would normally even consider reading, it is so far out of my reading comfort zone, but a discussion of this book on one of my podcasts left me burning with curiosity as to how it ends, so I think I might give it a shot.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

Free Audiobook: Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

The Guardian is once again offering several free audio books and today's offer is for Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

One day when Sophie comes home from school, she finds two questions in her mail: Who are you? and Where does the world come from? Before she knows it, she is pondering all the great questions of Western Philosophy (from the Greeks to Kant, to Marx and Freud) with a mysterious mentor. But Sophie is also receiving a second batch of equally unusual letters. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up in Sophie's world? To solve this riddle, Sophie uses for new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined.

Sophie's World is a mystery that unravels and demystifies the history of philosophy. This unorthodox novel will reawaken everyone's sense of wonder and curiosity about the meaning of life.

Follow this link to download Sophie's World, using the Promo Code - SOPHIE3.


The other two books offered are:

Eat Pray Love Promo Code - EATPRAY1
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Promo Code - ZENART2

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

"Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers."

It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

I don't read a lot of contemporary YA books anymore. Most of them just depress me, reminding me of all those awkward high school moments that I never had any desire to relive. Others portray a high school experience so different from my own that I have a hard time connecting to the characters or the story. But now and then I come across a YA book that truly delights and entertains me, as was the case with Cath Crowley's Graffiti Moon.

Lucy Dervish has given on teenage boys and dating, ever since the disastrous date in which the boy she had such high hopes for tried to feel her up, and she punched him in the nose. But Lucy knows that with Shadow it will be different. A boy who can create such meaningful and moving art on the city's walls has to be someone special, someone who will really understand her. Unfortunately Lucy hasn't had much luck at identifying the elusive Shadow who has successfully evaded all of her efforts to track him down.

“Let me meet.... Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers. A guy who paints things like that is a guy I could fall for. Really fall for”

But Lucy's big break finally comes on the last night of her Senior year when three guys claiming to know Shadow offer to take her and her friends, Jazz and Daisy, to meet him. Lucy has no real desire to traipse around the city with Ed, of the wandering hands and bloody nose, but if it means she'll get to meet Shadow then she'll make the sacrifice. Ed isn't too enthusiastic about reuniting with Lucy either but his friend Leo is interested in getting to know Jazz , and so he insists they at least make a show of it. And Dylan, the third member of the trio, wants the chance to win back Daisy's affection and so he pushes Ed to agree. The only problem is that Ed himself is Shadow and he has no idea how he is supposed to spend the next few hours pretend to be searching for himself, especially for a girl that he has such mixed feelings about. There is also something else that Ed and his friends have to do later that night, something that could cause Lucy to hate him, if she found out about it.

Graffiti Moon is told in alternating narratives by both Ed and Lucy with occasional snippets of poetry from Leo, who also moonlights as Shadow's partner-in-crime, Poet. As Ed and Lucy spend the night searching the city for Shadow they slowly come to discover that the assumptions they had about each other may not have been correct and they may have more in common then either had expected. Through each of their POV's we learn about their backgrounds and personalities and we come to see how perfect Lucy and Ed are for each other and hope that they discover this for themselves before it's too late.

I've always been drawn to slightly off-beat personalities, both in books and in real life, and so the characters in Graffiti Moon quickly gained my interest and affection. Ed is a high school dropout who expresses his desires and emotions through the graffiti art that he decorates that city walls with. While words elude Ed, Leo's thought and feelings are brought to the surface through his poetry which accompanies each of his friend's artwork. The two friends have stood by each other's side through many challenges and before this night is out they will be forced to do so once again.

Lucy is an artist and a romantic who believes that Shadow is the guy she has always been waiting for. With the urging of her friends she decides to take the opportunity provided her to finally find Shadow, but in a night full of surprises she'll be forced to decide if shadow is really  the guy that she wants, while also contemplating her parent's complicated relationship and what her role in it is.

Graffiti Moon's narrative style and colorful characters reminded me a lot of two other YA books that I really enjoyed, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and Nick &  Norah's Infinite Playlist. But this book has a bit more weight to it due to some of the underlying issues that characters of the story are dealing with, from learning disabilities and self-doubt to  divorce and poverty. And in the course of the night each of the characters will have to decide how to respond to the challenges that they are dealing with and in which direction they want to continue going.

I just want to make a final comment about the writing itself, which I found to be descriptive and lyrical. I really enjoyed Crowly's vivid descriptions of the graffiti, which gave me a new appreciation for an art form that I had never really thought much about before. I also enjoyed reading about Lucy's glass creations, which weren't as much of a focus as the graffiti but was still of much interest to me since I've always wanted to learn more about glass blowing.

While I'm still not a big fan of the angsty YA books that are being churned out these days Graffiti Moon has convinced me that I shouldn't yet give up on the genre and that it may surprise me with an occasional gem, like this one.

New Scifi & Fantasy Releases: Week of January 29

Science Fiction

Mass Effect: Deception (Mass Effect #4)

William C. Dietz

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: January 31

The universe is under siege. Every fifty thousand years, a race of sentient machines invades our galaxy to harvest all organic life-forms. They are the Reapers.

Two people who know the truth are desperately searching for a way to stop the cycle: Navy admiral David Anderson and his partner, Kahlee Sanders. They have uncovered grisly evidence proving that the Reaper threat is real. But in so doing they have exposed the machinations of Cerberus, a secretive paramilitary organization, and its mysterious leader, the Illusive Man—putting David and Kahlee in mortal danger, for Cerberus will stop at nothing to protect its secrets.

But along the way, they find an unlikely ally in Gillian Grayson, a young woman with extraordinary powers. Once the subject of horrifying scientific experiments, Gillian is now free—and beginning to master her deadly abilities. But after learning that Cerberus was responsible for the death of her father, Gillian swears vengeance against the group and the Illusive Man—threatening to unravel everything Kahlee and David are fighting for

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Fantasy

Angelmaker

Nick Harkaway

Publisher: William Heinemann

Release Date: February 2 UK)

From the acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World - a new riveting action spy thriller, blistering gangster noir, and howling absurdist comedy: a propulsively entertaining tale about a mobster's son and a retired secret agent who are forced to team up to save the world.

All Joe Spork wants is a quiet life. He repairs clockwork and lives above his shop in a wet, unknown bit of London. The bills don't always get paid and he's single and has no prospects of improving his lot, but at least he's not trying to compete with the reputation of Mathew "Tommy Gun" Spork, his infamous criminal dad.

Edie Banister lives quietly and wishes she didn't. She's nearly ninety and remembers when she wasn't. She's a former superspy and now she's... well... old. Worse yet, the things she fought to save don't seem to exist anymore, and she's beginning to wonder if they ever did.

When Joe fixes one particularly unusual device, his life is suddenly upended. The client? Unknown. And the device? It's a 1950s doomsday machine. And having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the government and a diabolical South Asian dictator, Edie's old arch-nemesis. With Joe's once-quiet world now populated with mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realises that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she gave up years ago, and pick up his father's old gun...

The Dread (Fallen Kings, Bk 2)

Gail Z. Martin

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: February 1 (UK)

Still reeling from plague and civil war, the Winter Kingdoms face an invasion force from across the Northern Sea led my a dark spirit mage in the name of ancient, vanquished gods. Summoner-King Martris Drayke and an untested generation of new rulers must stand against an unholy alliance of shadowy invaders. To prevail, Tris must win the uncertain support of the Dread, spirit-beings that stand guard within the sacred barrows over an even more fearsome threat imprisoned within. In the balance lies not only the freedom of the Winter Kingdoms, but Tris’s life and the soul of his young son, whose untested magic might be the biggest spoil of war.

The Dread is Book Two of The Fallen Kings Cycle, and it picks up the adventures of Tris, Jonmarc and the Winter Kingdoms gang immediately after the events in The Sworn.

Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations, #5-6)

Michael J. Sullivan

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: January 31

A FORCED WEDDING. A DOUBLE EXECUTION. TWO THIEVES HAVE OTHER PLANS.

The New Empire intends to mark its victory over the Nationalists with a bloody celebration. On the high holiday of Wintertide, the Witch of Melengar will be burned and the Heir of Novron executed. On that same day the Empress faces a forced marriage, with a fatal accident soon follow. The New Empire is confident in the totality of its triumph but there's just one problem-Royce and Hadrian have finally found the true Heir of Novron---and they have their own holiday plans.

When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations series online, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

Giant Thief

David Tallerman

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: January 31

Meet Easie Damasco, rogue, thieving swine and total charmer.
Even the wicked can't rest when a vicious warlord and the force of enslaved giants he commands invade their homeland.  Damasco might get away in one piece, but he's going to need help.

Big time.

Greatshadow (Dragon Apocalypse, Bk 1)

James Maxey

Publisher: Solaris

Release Date: January 31

Greatshadow is the primal dragon of fire, an elemental evil whose malign intelligence spies upon mankind through every candle flame, waiting to devour any careless victim he can claim.

The Church of the Book has assembled a team of twelve battle-hardened adventurers to slay the dragon once and for all. But tensions run high between the leaders of the team who view the mission as a holy duty and the super-powered mercenaries who add power to their ranks, who view the mission primarily as a chance to claim Greatshadow's vast treasure trove. If the warriors fail to slay the beast, will they doom mankind to death by fire?

 

Shadows West

Joe R. Lansdale & John L. Lansdale

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Release Date: January 31

Six guns and zombies, a chicken eating werewolf, deals with the devil, and things that go bump in the night. John Wayne never had to deal with these kind of shenanigans, or these kinds of rowdies. But Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale aren't afraid, partner. They make this kind of material their everyday business. Compared to the cowpokes in their stories, John Wayne was a big sissy.

We got shoot-em-ups and bite-em-ups and blow em-ups, and the appearance of classic bad guys, like Jesse James, sent straight from hell with a bad attitude. We got a horse black as the pit and fast as the wind. We got things that won't die even when they're dead. There are demons and ugly people, both inside and out, giant spiders and unnecessary cursing, and one hot red-head heifer with an eye patch and a bull whip.

Who could ask for anything more.

So, for your entertainment, pilgrim, here we have it: three screenplays that venture way out west... Way, way, way out west.

The Western and the horror film will never be the same.

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Urban Fantasy

A Little Night Magic

Lucy March

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: January 31

Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories. Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends . . . but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed. As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side . . . and in the cross fire. Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

Control Point (Shadow Ops, Bk 1)

Myke Cole

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: January 31

Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer.

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze.

Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military's Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.

The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down--and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he's ever known, and that his life isn't the only thing he's fighting for

Wrong Side of Dead (Dreag City, Bk 4)

Kelly Meding

Publisher: Bantam

Release Date: January 31

Barely recovered from her extended torture at the hands of mad scientist Walter Thackery, Evy can use a break. What she gets instead is a war, as the battered Triads that keep Dreg City safe find themselves under attack by half-Blood vampires who have somehow retained their reason, making them twice as lethal. Worse, the Halfies are joined by a breed of were-creature long believed extinct—back and more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile, Evy’s attempts at reconciliation with the man she loves take a hit after Wyatt is viciously assaulted—an attack traced to Thackery, who has not given up his quest to exterminate all vampires . . . even if he has to destroy Dreg City to do it. With Wyatt’s time running out, another threat emerges from the shadows and a staggering betrayal shatters the fragile alliance between the Triads, vampires, and shapeshifters, turning Evy’s world upside down forever.

Undone Deeds (Connor Grey, Bk 6)

Mark Del Franco

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: January 31

Connor Grey, a druid consultant for the Boston P.D., usually helps the cops solve their “strange” cases, but now he’s the suspect in the midst of one. Wrongly accused of a terrorist act that rocked the city to its core, Connor evades arrest by going underground, where rumors of war are roiling. A final confrontation between the Celtic and Teutonic fey looks inevitable—with Boston as the battlefield.

Undercover agents are turning up dead in the Weird—their murders brushed aside and ignored—and Connor exposes a citywide conspiracy of silence that seems linked to the inexorable march to war. As he digs deeper into the mysterious deaths, Connor draws closer to the secrets of a past he has sought for so long. And as friends and allies abandon him one by one, Connor discovers that in the clash between light and dark, and in the face of a cataclysm of epic proportions, he might have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson, Bk 3)

Darynda Jones

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: January 31

Charley Davidson—grim reaper extraordinaire, private investigator . . . meh—is practicing her profession under the influence, caffeine and copious amounts of it, due to an extreme desire to induce insomnia. Every time she closes her eyes, Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan, is there. Only thing is, he’s a tad peeved. She did bind for all eternity, so it’s hard blame him. But 13 days without a wink is bound to bring out the crazy in a girl. So, when a man hires her to find his wife, Charley accepts the job with one goal in mind: Put the man behind bars, and not the wet kind. She can sense the guilt waft off him and vows to find the woman’s body and prove he’s a murderer.

In the meantime, Reyes is back in prison and none too happy about it . . . so Charley thinks, until she is carjacked by the dark-haired rake, who swears the very man he went to prison for killing is not only alive, but close by. And he wants Charley to find him.

While a visit to her old friend Rocket sheds no light on Reyes’s situation, Charley finds out the man’s wife is still alive and time is running out. Finding her before she dies would be a miracle, but she has to try. Together with the help of a fashion-impaired receptionist named Cookie, Charley sets out to bring the bad guys to justice. She just hopes Reyes is not one of them. And that she’s not hallucinating from her self-induced bout with insomnia

Burned (Void City, Bk 4)

J.F. Lewis

Publisher: Pocket

Release Date: January 31

Void City’s resident bad-ass vampire has a secret to keep, everything to lose, and a plan to win it all. Eric has taken control of the city’s supernatural hierarchy, putting all the deals and contracts that allow Void City to function up for renegotiation. When he installs his insane vampire daughter, Greta, as Void City’s sheriff of the supernatural, bloody mayhem ensues. To further complicate things, the love of Eric’s life is back from the dead, immortally young, at a cost that has put Eric under the thumb of a very powerful demon. The mysterious mouser Talbot, morose mage Magbidion, and all of Eric’s thralls are trying to help him keep things under control….But with early onset Alzheimer’s, vampire hunters, demons, a band of chupacabra, a cursed cousin with a serious grudge, and Rachel as his new “handler”…there’s just not an app for that.

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Steampunk

The Great Game

Lavie Tidhar

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: January 31

When Mycroft Holmes is Murdered in London, it is up to retired shadow executive Smith to track down his killer – and stumble on the greatest conspiracy of his life.

Strange forces are stirring into life around the globe, and in the shadow game of spies nothing is certain. Fresh from liberating a strange alien object in Abyssinia – which might just be the mythical Ark of the Covenant – young Lucy Westerna, Holmes’ protégé, must follow her own path to the truth while, on the other side of the world, a young Harry Houdini must face his greatest feat of escape – death itself.

As their paths converge the body count mounts up, the entire world is under threat, and in a foreboding castle in the mountains of Transylvania a mysterious old man weaves a spider’s web of secrets and lies.

Airship battles, Frankenstein monsters, alien tripods and death-defying acts: The Great Game is a cranked-up steampunk thriller in which nothing is certain – not even death.

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Horror

Sadie Walker Is Stranded

Madeleine Roux

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: January 31

MONTHS AGO THE WORLD ENDED…
…when an unknown virus spread throughout North America and then the world, killing millions of people.  However, that is where the horror only started.  The dead began to rise and when they rose they had an insatiable appetite for the living. A new hell had been unleashed on earth and the fight for survival had just begun.
Sadie Walker is one of the survivors in this new world. Living in north Seattle behind barrier that keep the living in and the dead out, she trying to get back to a normal life, while raising her eight-year-old nephew, if anyone even knows what “normal” is anymore.  Then everything goes sideways when Shane is kidnapped by a group of black market thieves and they bring down a crucial barrier in the city while trying to escape, and flood the city with the walking dead. After rescuing her nephew, Sadie and Shane escape Seattle on the last remaining boat, along with other survivors. However, now they must face the complete chaos of a world filled with flesh eating zombies and humans who are playing with a whole new rule book when it comes to survival in their journey to find a new place that they can call home.

The Faceless

Simon Bestwick

Publisher: Solaris

Release Date: January 31

In the Lancashire town of Kempforth, people are vanishing. Mist hangs heavy in the streets, and in those mists move the masked figures the local kids call the Spindly Men. When two year old Roseanne Trevor disappears, Detective Chief Inspector Renwick vows to stop at nothing until she finds her. In Manchester, terrifying visions summon TV psychic Allen Cowell and his sister Vera back to the town they swore they’d left forever. And local historian Anna Mason pieces together a history of cruelty and exploitation almost beyond belief, born out of the horrors of war – while in the decaying corridors and lightless rooms of a long-abandoned hospital, something terrible is waiting for them all.

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Young Adult

Lenobia's Vow (House of Night Novella 2)

P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: January 31

Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan M. James - January 24th

Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now and she’s desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there’s no way she’s going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she’s been having or the creepy warnings that she’s in danger. Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn’t factored Claire into his plans... Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire’s unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

Incarnate

Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Release Date: January 31

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why. Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Destiny & Deception (13 to Life, Bk 4)

Shannon Delany

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Release Date: January 31

The sensational fourth novel in the 13 to Life series sees Jessica and the Rusakuvas fighting to overcome one of their biggest challenges yet--the possibility of a cure for lycanthropy.   With the threat of the mafia seemingly gone and the company's headquarters in Junction destroyed, Pietr Rusakova is adjusting to being a normal teen and Jess is realizing normalcy may not be what she wanted after all. But both Jess and Cat know the truth--that normal can't be taken for granted. Their precious cure isn't permanent--and when a new danger stalks into their small town, Alexi decides he must overcome his issues with the mother who abandoned him to be raised by wolves and make a brand new deal to save his adopted family.

Harbinger

Sara Wilson Etienne

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR

Release Date: February 2

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Tangled (Torn Trilogy #2)

Erica O'Rourke

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: January 31

Constance started to keen as the air around us began to thrash and twist, the caustic scent of ozone burning my nose. As I watched, her dark gold hair began to lift and kink into knots.

“I’m here. It’ll be okay.” It was the last thing I said before my best friend’s little sister went supernova in the second-floor girls’ bathroom, taking me with her.

A month ago, Mo Fitzgerald risked her life to stop an ancient prophecy and avenge her best friend's murder. Now, she only wants to keep her loved ones safe. But the magic—and the Chicago Mob—have other plans.

Mysterious, green-eyed Luc is back, asking for help—and a second chance. Colin, her strongest protector, is hiding a shocking secret. And inside Constance, the magic is about to go terribly wrong. Tangled in a web of love and betrayal, Mo must choose between the life she's dreamed of and the one she's destined for.

Wings of the Wicked (Angelfire #2)

Courtney Allison Moulton

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release Date: January 31

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.

Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.

Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

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Paranormal Romance

Firelight (Darkest London #1)

Kristen Callihan

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: January 31

London, 1881

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask

His Dark Bond

Anne Marsh

Publisher: Brava

Release Date: January 31

Zer is no angel - well, not anymore. He's explored every flavour of sin imaginable, drinking in the pleasures of humanity. But now he must find the woman who carries his salvation in her very blood...a woman like Nessa St. James. Nessa has considered the bargain the Fallen offer. Anything she wants in exchange for accepting Zer's bond? No way. Not her. Not when she finds out about the mind-blowing ritual involved and the marks of surrender that will ink her skin. But with a serial killer to stop and centuries of experience on his side, Zer will do whatever it takes to change her.

Kiss of the Vampire (Warriors of the Rift)

Cynthia Garner

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: February 1

Warriors of the Rift

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world-or send it spiraling into chaos.

Half-demon, half-human, Nix de la Fuente is accepted by neither and mistrusted by both. Determined to prove she's more human than not, she devotes herself to solving crimes between the world's mortals and its most unsavory undead. But her latest case brings her face to face with the one vampire she could never resist . . .

Called in to investigate a string of violent murders, special agent Tobias Caine isn't interested in rekindling his relationship with Nix. Yet one look and the vampire knows his need for her is as strong as ever. Once, their all-consuming passion nearly cost Nix her fragile hold on her humanity. Now, as their hunger for one another intensifies, exposing them to an unimaginable danger, it could cost them both their lives.

Darkest Highlander (Dark Sword, Bk 6)

Donna Grant

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Release Date: January 31

In the acclaimed Dark Sword series, the darkest, fiercest warriors of Scottish legend finally meet their match—in the brave, fiery hearts of the women they cherish…

For years, Broc has watched over her, protected her—and hidden his love for her. But when his beautiful Sonya, finds herself in a hopeless situation, the Highlander flies to her side to save her. Unfortunately, before the Druidess can thank him, Broc is captured by his enemy and destined for eternal pain…

Sonya vows to help her noble warrior, though he is imprisoned in a mountain of pure evil—bound in chains of the darkest magic. With Sonya’s own magic fading, she must summon the greatest power of all to save the man she loves. But even if these two hearts are united, will they be strong enough to defeat the heart of darkness? Or will their undying love doom them for all eternity…?