New Releases: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy & YA for the week of March 1, 2010

March is starting out with a bang in new releases. Happy Release Day!


March 1, 2010

Shade Fright by Sean Cummings

Shade Fright by Sean Cummings
Valerie Stevens Series, Book 1
Urban Fantasy
Amazon.com | Snowbooks

Summary:

"I fell into this job quite by accident, when I discovered that I possessed the ability to see the preternatural world. There are a handful of people with similar abilities, and part of my job is to locate them, since Government Services and Infrastructure Canada likes to keep track of these things. Don't ask me why."

There's a malevolent force in town, and it's quite literally Valerie Stevens' job to determine who's behind it and why they want to destroy the world, starting with Calgary.

She'll have help, in the form of her best friend (now more or less a zombie, unfortunately), a powerful dwarf troll, and the ghost of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (but he goes by 'Bill' these days). But that's not all - Valerie has some tricks up her sleeve and, she hopes, luck on her side. Oh, and her boyfriend, Dave. He drives a dump truck.

Reviewed by:


Vampire’s Tango by Michele Hauf

Vampire’s Tango by Michele Hauf
Novella
Paranormal Romance 
Amazon.com | eHarlequin.com

Summary:

Vampire Alexandre Renard never met a more intriguing woman than Veronica Marshall. He waited for weeks for the mysterious woman to make her move...and wasn't disappointed when they shared a seductive dance at a Paris tango club. Their passion made him want to savor their embrace forever--even though he knew that Veronica was a slayer waiting for her chance to destroy him....

Faced with an early death, Veronica became a vampire hunter to do some good in the world before being forced to leave it. But as her game of cat-and-mouse with Alexandre turned into nights of unforgettable pleasure, how could she destroy the man she came to love?

With time--and their enemies--against them, vampire and slayer will have to fight to win just one more day in each other's arms...


 My So-Called Death by Stacey Jay

My So-Called Death by Stacey Jay
YA Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Just because you don't have a pulse doesn't mean you can't be perky.

One second, freshman Karen Vera's on top of the most fabulous cheer pyramid ever. The next, she's lying on the pavement with seriously unflattering cranial damage. Freakishly alive without a pulse, Karen learns that she's a genetically undead zombie.

Suddenly, Karen's non-life is an epic disaster. She's forced to attend a boarding school for the "death-challenged," her roommate is a hateful wannabe-Goth weirdo, and she's chowing down on animal brains every day to prevent rot (um, ew?). Even worse, someone is attacking students and harvesting their brains for a forbidden dark ritual. And it might be the hottest guy at DEAD High, the one who makes Karen's non-beating heart flutter!

Armed with a perky smile and killer fashion sense, it's up to Karen to track down the brain snatcher and save her fellow students from certain zombie death.

- Reviewed By:


 Bride of the Wolf by Susan Krinard

Bride of the Wolf by Susan Krinard
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Rachel Lyndon yearns to escape her scandalous past, but her dreams for a better life seem ruined after she buries her fiancé on the Texas plains.

Heath Renier has been evading the law by the skin of his teeth for years. Now he's found a new identity as Holden Renshaw, foreman of Dog Creek Ranch. But the arrival of his boss's mail-order bride, now a widow, upsets his fragile peace and threatens to expose his deadly secrets.

Rachel knows that the mysterious and savagely handsome Holden is the last man she should trust—especially once she's seen glimpses of his true nature. When he's suspected of killing his employer, she has a terrible choice to make. But the heat of his gaze ignites something seductive and irresistible within her. No matter how dangerous the road ahead, she's determined to give him the one thing he's never truly believed he deserves: her undying love.

- Reviewed By:


 Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire

Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire
Book 1
YA Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Not alive. Not dead. Somewhere in between lie the Beautiful Dead.

Something strange is happening at Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to die within a year. His street-fight stabbing follows the deaths of Jonas, Summer, and Arizona in equally strange and sudden circumstances. Rumors of ghosts and strange happenings rip through the small community as it comes to terms with shock and loss.

Darina, Phoenix's grief-stricken girlfriend, is on the verge. She can't escape her intense heartache or the impossible apparitions of those that are meant to be dead. And all the while the sound of beating wings echos inside her head...

And then one day Phoenix appears to Darina. He tells her that she must help Jonas-the first of the four to die-right the wrong linked to his death. Only with her help can Jonas finally rest in peace. Will love conquer death? And if it does, can Darina set it free?

- Reviewed By:


The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn
Paranormal Romance
Amazon.com | B&N

Summary:

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Rumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute—Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

Before her sojourn is ended—or her novel completed—Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal…and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire.

- Reviewed By:


Shift by Rachel Vincent

Shift by Rachel Vincent
The Shifters, Book 5
Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Being the first female werecat enforcer isn't easy. Scars accumulate, but I'm stronger in so many ways.

As for my personal life? It's complicated. Choices worth making always are. Ever since my brother's death and my father's impeachment, it's all I can do to prevent more blood from spilling. Now our Pride is under attack by a flight of vicious thunderbirds. And making peace with our new enemies may be the only way to get the best of our old foe.

With the body count rising and treachery everywhere, my instincts tell me to look before I leap. But sometimes a leap of faith is the only real option...

- Reviewed By:


March 2, 2010

 Serpent Moon by C. T. Adams & Cathy Clamp

Serpent Moon by C. T. Adams & Cathy Clamp
Tales of the Sazi, Book 8
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary from authors' web site:

Eric Thompson has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, the Alpha of the Canadian werewolf pack. While he has strength and speed and a howl that can truly make his pack whole, he doesn’t have his brother’s viciousness—and the pack wasn’t worth either of them dying. To Eric, a leader should lead wisely and well, and his brother has done neither. So he left to become a lone wolf.

Holly Sanchez has likewise lived in the shadows. A full human born to the Omega of the Boulder pack, she was attacked and turned into the very thing she had come to hate. Worse still, she became an alphic healer—except that as a wolf, she now terrifies the very animals she’d hoped to one day treat as a veterinarian.

But as the world goes mad and species begins to attack species, Holly and Eric learn that they may only have their special gifts, and each other, to rely on to hold together the fragments of what was once a mighty shapeshifter population.

For She has finally come, and the world will never again be the same.

- Reviewed By:


 Shalador’s Lady by Anne Bishop

Shalador’s Lady by Anne Bishop
Black Jewels, Book 8
Fantasy Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Return to the "intense...erotic...and imaginative" (Nancy Kress) world of the national bestselling Black Jewels novels in this sequel to The Shadow Queen.

For years the Shalador people suffered the cruelties of the corrupt Queens who ruled them, forbidding their traditions, punishing those who dared show defiance, and forcing many more into hiding. Now that their land has been cleansed of tainted Blood, the Rose-Jeweled Queen, Lady Cassidy, makes it her duty to restore it and prove her ability to rule.

But even if Lady Cassidy succeeds, other dangers await. For the Black Widows see visions within their tangled webs that something is coming that will change the land-and Lady Cassidy-forever...

- Reviewed By:


Spellwright by Blake Charlton

Spellwright by Blake Charlton
The Spellwright Trilogy, Book 1 
Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text . . . but he has always been dyslexic, and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation.

Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard. When a powerful, ancient evil begins a campaign of murder and disruption, Nicodemus starts to have disturbing dreams that lead him to believe that his misspelling could be the result of a curse. But before he can discover the truth about himself, he is attacked by an evil which has already claimed the lives of fellow wizards and has cast suspicion on his mentor. He must flee for his own life if he’s to find the true villain.

But more is at stake than his abilities. For the evil that has awakened is a power so dread and vast that if unleashed it will destroy Nicodemus... and the world.

- Reviewed By:


Atlantis Redeemed by Alyssa Day

Atlantis Redeemed by Alyssa Day
Warriors of Poseidon, Book 7
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

The fate of Atlantis is on the line-and the future of the world is at stake...

Poseidon's warriors have learned that the battle to protect humanity produces unexpected enemies-and alliances. But non more unexpected than the bond between a cursed Atlantean warrior and a woman whose sight surpasses any lie.

- Reviewed By:


 Warrior Ascended by Addison Fox

Warrior Ascended by Addison Fox
Sons of the Zodiac, Book 1
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

First in the dark and sexy paranormal romance series

Starring the immortal warriors of the zodiac

Charming, proud, and impulsive, Leo Warrior Brody Talbot is fighting what may be his final battle. Enyo, the Goddess of War, plans to fulfill an ancient prophecy to destroy humanity by harnessing the dark power of the Summoning Stones of Egypt. There's only one person who knows enough about the stones to help Brody stop her-beautiful museum curator Ava Harrison.

Never in all his centuries has Brody met a woman who enthralls him like Ava. But, bound to protect her, he struggles to deny his passion as they are drawn into a dark and dangerous final reckoning between good and evil.

- Reviewed By:


 Deep In the Woods by Chris Marie Green

Deep In the Woods by Chris Marie Green
Vampire Babylon, Book 6
Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

A brand new novel in the "dark, dramatic, and erotic" Vampire Babylon saga.

With the female master of the London Underground in her hands, stuntwoman-turned­vampire hunter Dawn Madison must fight off her followers, a vicious pack of undead teenage girls who put the vamps Dawn had to deal with in Los Angeles to shame...

- Reviewed By:


 Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Hex Hall, Book 1
YA Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

- Reviewed By:


Shadowglass by Erica Hayes

Shadowglass by Erica Hayes
The Shadowfae Chronicles, Book 2
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Welcome to a secret world hidden behind shadowy fairy glamour, where thieving spriggans rob you blind, beautiful banshees mesmerize you with their song, big green trolls kick heads at nightclubs and vampire Mafiosi rule the streets. Here a seductive magic mirror lies hidden deep in a demon's lair, with a simple warning: don't stare at the glass...Ice is a light-fingered fairy who can't resist a look at the powerful mirror. The mirror offers her a chance to achieve everything she's ever dreamed of. But when she pilfers it, she discovers that its power comes with a price: the mirror is a gateway to obsession and madness...and it will take every trick in her arsenal just to survive.

- Reviewed By:


 Master of Fire by Angela Knight

Master of Fire by Angela Knight
Mageverse, Book 9
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

A new Mageverse novel-from the New York Times bestselling author of Master of Dragons

A beautiful, brilliant chemist, Giada Shepherd is an immortal witch charged with saving the life of Logan MacRoy, the mortal son of a vampire. Passionately attracted to Giada, Logan has no idea that sex would turn him into a vampire. And no, as a killer sets deadly traps for them, the truth must come out, as must a weapon they never counted on: love...

- Reviewed By:


 Ghouls Gone Wild by Victoria Laurie

Ghouls Gone Wild by Victoria Laurie
Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Book 4
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

New in the national bestselling series

Psychic M.J. Holliday finds herself in a witchy situation...

When M.J. and her friends travel to a small town near Edinburgh, Scotland, to film the first installment of their new cable TV show Ghoul Getters, they find plenty of spooky action in a series of supposedly haunted caverns. But when they discover the body of a maintenance worker, the cause of death is reminiscent of an old legend involving a witch's wrath...

- Reviewed By:


A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
An October Daye, Book 2
Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Now comes the second in the series-from a dynamic new fantasy talent!

Toby Daye-a half-human, half-fae changeling-has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world had other ideas...

Now her liege, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills, has asked Toby to go to the Country of Tamed Lightening to make sure all is well with his niece, Countess January O'Leary. It seems like a simple enough assignment-until Toby discovers that someone has begun murdering people close to January, and that if the killer isn't stopped, January may be the next victim.

- Reviewed By:


 Don't Kill The Messenger by Eileen Rendahl

Don't Kill The Messenger by Eileen Rendahl
Messenger, Book 1
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

The first in a fantastic new paranormal series about a messenger from the supernatural underworld.

Melina Markowitz is a Messenger, a go-between for paranormal forces and supernatural creatures. Problem is, when a girl's a go-between, it's hard not to get caught in the middle...

When ninjas steal an envelope from Melina, her search leads her to a Taoist temple in Old Sacramento, where the priests seem to practice Zen and the art of mayhem. Melina learns from the handsome ER doctor (and vampire) who gave her the envelope that it contained talismans created by the priests to control Chinese vampires, who are attacking gang members to spark a street war.

Although he may look more like a surfer than a cop, Ted Goodnight is dead serious about investigating the surge in gang violence. At every turn he runs into Melina, a very attractive-and very mysterious-young woman. Can Melina enlist his help to battle something he doesn't even believe in without blowing her cover?

- Reviewed By:


 Velvet Haven by Sophie Renwick

Velvet Haven by Sophie Renwick
Annwyn Chronicles, Book 1
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

The first in a brand new series about a world of shapeshifters, from the author of Hot in Here.

Hidden from mortals for eternity, Annwyn, the Otherworld, is home to shapeshifters, wraiths and dragons. On the border with the mortal realm stands a nightclub called Velvet Haven. The shapeshifter king of Sidhe, Bran, comes there searching for his brother, Carden, who's ensnared in a centuries-old curse. He looks to Mairi, a mortal woman with an unusual aura, for help. He usually just uses humans for sexual pleasure in order to restore his magic energy, but Mairi's lush curves and teasing caresses inflame him like no Sidhe ever has. He has no idea that the woman he's falling for holds the key to his destruction-or his salvation.

- Reviewed By:


 Where Angels Fear to Tread by Thomas E. Sniegoski

Where Angels Fear to Tread by Thomas E. Sniegoski
A Remy Chandler, Book 3
Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Six year-old Zoe York has been taken and her mother has come to Remy for help. She shows him crude, childlike drawings that she claims are Zoe's visions of the future, everything leading up to her abduction, and some beyond. Like the picture of a man with wings who would come and save her-a man who is an angel.

Zoe's preternatural gifts have made her a target for those who wish to exploit her power to their own destructive ends. The search will take Remy to dark places he would rather avoid. But to save an innocent, Remy will ally himself with a variety of lesser evils-and his soul may pay the price...

- Reviewed By:


 Chick with a Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Chick with a Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Babes On Brooms, Book 2
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Blonde with a Wand--another charming tale of love and witchcraft

Lily Revere is free-spirited and fun-loving-two dangerous qualities in a witch. Lily needs a date for her sister Anica's engagement party, and she's determined to bring hot Griffin Taylor. But the jaded divorce lawyer claims his job has warned him off romance. Slipping a love elixir into Griffin's drink may not be the noble thing to do-but it sure works! There's just one problem: Are Griffin's feelings the result of some truly good witchcraft-or could he really be in love?

- Reviewed By:


Roadkill by Rob Thurman

Roadkill by Rob Thurman
Cal Leandros, Book 5
Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

It's time to lock, load, and hit the road...

Once, while half-human Cal Leandros and his brother Niko were working on a case, an ancient gypsy queen gave them a good old-fashioned backstabbing. Now, just as their P.I. business hits a slow patch, the old crone shows up with a job.

She wants them to find a stolen coffin that contains a blight that makes the Black Death seem like a fond memory. But the thief has already left town, so the Leandros brothers are going on the road. And if they're very, very lucky, there might even be a return trip...

- Reviewed By:


 Born To Be Wild by Christine Warren

Born To Be Wild by Christine Warren
The Others, Book 9
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

Josie Barrett brings out the animal in men. Literally. As the local veterinarian in a town that’s approximately seventy percent Others—mostly shapeshifters—Josie deals with beastly situations all the time. It’s practically part of her job description. But when the werewolves of Stone Creek, Oregon, start turning downright feral, Josie smells a rat—among other, more dangerous critter.

Teaming up with the ferociously sexy Eli Pace, a full-time sheriff and part-time were-lion, Josie tries to contain the shapeshifting problem before it spreads like a virus. But when more shifters get infected—and stuck in their animal forms—the fur really begins to fly. Josie and Eli have to find the cause, fast, before the whole town goes to the dogs. But first, they have to wrestle with a few animal urges of their own.

- Reviewed By:


And Falling, Fly by Skyler White

And Falling, Fly by Skyler White
Paranormal Romance
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

An edgy, erotic blend of fantasy and romance-from a debut author whose star is on the rise.

In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels- turned-vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must pit medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts...but at what cost?

Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless...and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O'Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L'OtelMathillide- a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams-rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both.

- Reviewed By:


March 4, 2010

 The Line by Teri Hall

The Line by Teri Hall
YA Urban Fantasy
Amazon | B&N

Summary:

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It’s said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel’s dad died in the last war. It’s a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

- Reviewed By:


If you have a book review for any of the new releases listed here, link it in comments and I will be happy to add it to this post. Or if I missed a new book release, please let me know so I can add it also.

-- Summaries are from Amazon.com unless otherwise stated.


A Few Giveaways by Fellow Book Peeps:

14 comments:

Erotic Horizon said...

My word Donna - What a sum up this week..

Thank you....

I will check into the Krinard, if it's a new series or a stand alone I will read....

I am so ready for the Mcguire book - loads of things left to be sorted out...

Good lord is Nathan Kamp still on newly release book covers... Isn't he like 102 yrs ...

***ducking from sharp missles**** LOL

Thanks again hon

E.H>

A Buckeye Girl Reads said...

Wow! I love your new releases posts. I've found a couple of series I want to start now! :)

Leontine said...

OMG Donna, this is definitely a bang o-0 I see various books I've already ordered but a few I missed, like Master of Fire by Angela Knight...woohoo, I love this series and it has been a while since a new novel was released in it! I still have many Anne Bishop's books to read in BJ series but I'm getting this day's release signed and all via AmyC (I cannot say it enough; Anne Bishop is signing a copy for me YAY) and me lurves Velvet Haven, though copy still has to arrive LOL Thanks for the great recap of releases Donna!

Ellz said...

LOVE this post. Thanks for compiling all this information. Here is a link for my review of The Line.
http://ellzreadz.blogspot.com/2010/02/ya-review-line-by-terri-hall.html

Chris said...

Thanks for the mention!

And dang, I had NO IDEA there were so many new releases today. Yowza.

Blodeuedd said...

Truly a good day, I already see some there I want

Donna said...

EH - Today is a gloom fest!! I want to try Krinard's book myself.

Colette - You're welcome and I hope they are good for you!

Leontine - I'm two books behind in The Black Jewels series...must catch up!

Elie - Thanks! I'll get your review added. :)

Chris - Yeah, last night was a booger-bear trying to pulling all the info together...because I'm so last minute on everything. ;)

Linda - It's a book lover's paradise today!!

Chris said...

You are?! You seem so organized and on top of it. Of course, so do I, so I should know better. :)

Donna said...

Lol! Yep, it's all in the presentation...yeah right! Plus the eleventh hour rush. ;)

Chris said...

And a lot of "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"...

Lola said...

Man! I went to the bookstore today and totally missed out on some books that I really wanted to pick up! Thanks for the heads up!!!

Lea said...

Wow!

Thanks for the heads-up on all these great releases Donna and the contests.

I love visiting your blog to get caught up on all the news. :-)

Thank you again.

VampFanGirl said...

DAY-um! First week of March was crazy for book releaes!!

Thanks for the review nod, Donna, for VELVET HAVEN.

HUGS, VFG

Donna said...

Chris - *looks behind the curtain but no one is there* hmph!

Lily - Oh, I hate when that happens...especially if I'd seen the book at the store and passed right over it.

Lea - You're welcome, I really do enjoy making the new releases posts...it's like my virtual post-it notes on the books I want. ;)

VFG - I know! It's definitely March Madness from the get-go. Happy to link to your reviews, they are always terrific. :)

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