New Releases April 21-27 and Reader's Choice C*ntest

Before announcing the weekly winners, a request. If you have read Royal Street, please go to the Amazon link Here and scroll down to leave a customer review. Doesn't have to be much, but only after a certain number (I think 40) of reviews are logged will Amazon add the book to some of its "recommended" emails. Yeah, even if you hated it :-). Thank you!

After a quiet release week last week, we’re back to the long list again—some interesting stuff coming out this week. Plus, I’m home for five whole days—woo hoo! Had a great signing in Birmingham on Friday night, and the interesting experience of talking from behind a pulpit in a 19^th-century church (while people sat in pews) at the book festival in Old Alabama Town in Montgomery on Saturday. Hope to get some photos edited and posted this week.

Now…what do you want to read? Leave a comment and tell me, and I’ll draw one name to win his or her choice. International, as always. And if the book is in a series you haven’t started, you can always pick the first one in the series instead.

Lies & Omens (Shadows Inquiries, Book 4), by Lyn Benedict (April 24, Ace)

After escaping secret government cells and destroying a Miami landmark, Sylvie’s trying to lay low—something that gets easier when a magical force starts taking out her enemies. But these magical attacks are a risk to bystanders, and Sylvie can’t let that slide. When the war between the government and the magical world threatens the three people closest to her—her assistant, her sister, and her lover—Sylvie has no choice but to get involved with hidden powers bent on shaping the world to their liking. Now, with death and disaster on the horizon, even if Sylvie wins, things will never be the same.

Summoning the Night (Arcadia Bell, Book 2), by Jenn Bennett (April 24, Pocket)

After narrowly escaping her fate as a sacrificial scapegoat, Arcadia Bell is back to normal. Or at least as ordinary as life can be for a renegade magician and owner of a tiki bar that caters to Earthbound demons. She’s gearing up for the busiest day of the year—Halloween—when a vengeful kidnapper paralyzes the community. The influential head of the local Hellfire Club taps Cady to track down the fiendish bogeyman, and now that she’s dating red-hot Lon Butler, the Club’s wayward son, she can hardly say no. Cady and Lon untangle a gruesome thirty-year trail of clues that points to danger for the club members’ children. But locating the person behind the terror will require some metaphysical help from Cady’s loyal bar patrons as well as her potent new Moonchild powers—and she’d better figure it out before the final victim disappears and her own darkest secret becomes her biggest enemy.

Deadly Descendant (Nikki Glass, Book 2), by Jenna Black (April 24, Pocket)

As a living descendant of Artemis the Huntress, private investigator Nikki Glass knows how to track someone down. But when an Oracle shows up, warning the descendants about wild dog attacks in Washington D.C., Nikki is afraid it might be a trap. The Olympians believe the “dogs” are jackals, controlled by a blood-crazed descendant of the Egyptian death-god Anubis. Whatever… If Nikki hopes to muzzle Dogboy, she’s got to catch him in the act. But when she stakes out a local cemetery, she ends up face-to-snout with a snarling pack of shadow-jackals whose bite is worse than their bark.

The Burning Man (Kingdom of the Serpent, Book 2), by Mark Chadbourn (April 24, Pyr)

After a long journey across the ages, Jack Churchill has returned to the modern world, only to find it in the grip of a terrible, dark force. The population is unaware, mesmerized by the Mundane Spell that keeps them in thrall. With a small group of trusted allies, Jack sets out to find the two keys that can shatter the spell. But the keys are people—one with the power of creation, one the power of destruction—and they are hidden somewhere among the world’s billions. U.S. release.

Warrior (The Fallen, Book 3), by Kristina Douglas (April 24, Pocket)

Michael, the warrior angel, is the fiercest of the Fallen, their staunchest defender. Never has he met a foe he could not defeat in combat…until the love of a mortal woman threatens to sway him from his greatest duty.

Siege (As the World Dies, Book 3), by Rhiannon Frater (April 24, Tor)

The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking dead and living bandits. Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and married to Travis, who has been elected mayor. Jenni, her stepson, Jason, and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers. In Siege, the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of the U.S. military. What’s left of the U.S. government has plans for this group of determined survivors.

Spirit’s Princess, by Esther Friesner (April 24, Random House/Young Readers)

Himiko, the beloved daughter of a chieftain in third century Japan, has always been special. The day she was born there was a devastating earthquake, and the tribe’s shamaness had an amazing vision revealing the young girl’s future—one day this privileged child would be the spiritual and tribal leader of the tribes. Book One revolves around the events of Himiko’s early teen years—her shaman lessons, friendships, contact with other tribes, and journey to save her family after a series of tragic events. Young Adult.

Evil Dark (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation, Book 2), by Justin Gustainis (April 24, Angry Robot)

His name’s Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets. A series of seemingly motiveless murders of supernatural creatures points to a vigilante targeting the supe community. Markowski wouldn’t normally have much of a problem with that, but his daughter may be next on the killer’s list.

Champion of Mars, by Guy Haley (April 24, Solaris)

In the far future, Mars dies a second time. The Final War between man and the spirits is beginning. In a last bid for peace, disgraced champion Yoechakanon Val Moraand his spirit lover Cybele are set free to find the long-missing Librarian of Mars, the only hope to save the remnants of mankind. In the near future, Dr Holland, a scientist running from a painful past, joins the Mars colonisation effort, cataloguing the remnants of Mars’ biosphere before it is swept away by the terraformation programme. When an artefact is discovered deep in the caverns of the red planet, the actions of Holland and his team lead to tragedy, with profound consequences that ripple throughout time, affecting Holland’s present, the distant days of Yoechakanon, and the eras that bridge the aeons between.

Tricked (Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 4), by Kevin Hearne (April 24, Del Rey)

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert. But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Kiss of Pride, by Sandra Hill (April 24, Avon)

Is he really a Viking with a vampire’s bite? An angel with the body of a thunder god? A lone wolf with love on his mind? Alexandra Kelly, his prey, thinks Vikar Sigurdsson is either flat-out crazy or he’s trying to maneuver her into his bed—which is hardly where a professional reporter should conduct an interview, tempting as that prospect might be. Until Vikar does something a teensy bit unexpected, and Alex begins to wonder whether her mystery man could really be everything he says he is: a Viking Vampire Angel on a thousand-year-long mission with his pack of sinful brothers—and a man who’s finally found the woman of his dreams. First in a new series.

Ascend (Trylle, Book 3), by Amanda Hocking (April 24, St. Martins Griffin)

Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind—even if it’s the only way to save them? The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. Young Adult.

Lance of Earth and Sky (The Chaos Knight, Book 2), by Erin Hoffman (April 24, Pyr)

In the sequel to Sword of Fire and Sea, Vidarian Rulorat faces the consequences of opening the gate between worlds: elemental magic is awakening across the planet after centuries of dormancy, bringing with it magically powered wonders including flying ships and ancient automata; empires leap into war over long-disputed territory as their technologies shift; the spirit of his oldest friend, Ruby—killed in the immediate aftermath of the gate’s opening—is trapped inside one of the gems used to open the gate; and Ariadel, his one great love, isn’t speaking to him. Called into service by the desperate young emperor of Alorea, Vidarian must lead sky ships in a war against the neighboring southern empire, train the demoralized imperial Sky Knights to ride beasts that now shapeshift, master his own amplified elemental magic, and win back Ariadel—all without losing his mind.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, Book 4.5), by Stephen King (April 24, Scribner)

Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World in this stand-alone story that falls chronologically between Wizard and Glass (1997) and Wolves of the Calla (2003). Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two—and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past. In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shapeshifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.”

All for You, by Lynn Kurland (April 24, Jove)

Peaches Alexander is thrilled to receive an unexpected invitation to a weekend party given by the handsome, eligible Duke of Kenneworth. The only problem: Stephen de Piaget, a stuffy medieval studies scholar who seems determined to get in the way. Peaches has no desire to get involved with Stephen until a quirk of Fate sends her hurtling through time. Stephen de Piaget has been leading a double life: respectable professor by day, knight-in-training during holidays and summer terms. When Peaches goes missing, Stephen knows he’s the only one that can rescue her from medieval peril.

The Night Sessions, by Ken MacLeod (April 24, Pyr)

A bishop is dead. As Detective Inspector Adam Ferguson picks through the rubble of the tiny church, he discovers that it was deliberately bombed. That it’s a terrorist act is soon beyond doubt. It’s been a long time since anyone saw anything like this. Terrorism is history. After the Middle East wars and the rising sea levels—after Armageddon and the Flood—came the Great Revulsion. In this enlightened age there’s no persecution, but the millions who still believe and worship are a marginal and mistrusted minority. Now someone is killing them. Something very old has risen from the ashes. Old and very, very dangerous. U.S. release.

Coveted, by Shawntelle Madison (April 24, Ballantine)

For werewolf Natalya Stravinsky, the supernatural is nothing extraordinary. What does seem strange is that she’s stuck in her hometown of South Toms River, New Jersey, the outcast of her pack, selling antiques to finicky magical creatures. Restless and recovering from her split with ex-boyfriend, Thorn, Nat finds comfort in an unusual place: her obsessively collected stash of holiday trinkets. But complications pile up faster than her ornaments when Thorn returns home—and the two discover that the spark between them remains intense. Before Nat can sort out their relationship, she must face a more immediate and dangerous problem. Her pack is under attack from the savage Long Island werewolves—and Nat is their first target in a turf war.

Shadow Blizzard (Chronicles of Siala, Book 3), by Alexey Pehov (April 24, Tor)

This is the third book in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold, Siala’s master thief, on his quest for the magic horn that will restore peace to his world. After the loss of friends and comrades, after betrayal and battle, after capture by fearsome orcs, Harold finally reaches the dreaded Hrad Spein. But before he can complete his quest by stealing the magic horn, he will have to brave the most fearsome obstacles yet—obstacles that have destroyed everyone before him—and Harold must do so alone.

Obsidian Flame (The World of Ascension, Book 5), by Caris Roane (April 24, St. Martin’s)

For a hundred years, Marguerite has been imprisoned and used for her powerful psychic abilities. Her only relief comes from her regular visits with Thorne, her vampire lover. His every touch leaves her hungry for more, and aching for their next encounter. When Marguerite is finally set free, she returns to Mortal Earth to begin a new life for herself. She dyes her hair white-blonde, paints her nails blood-red, and seduces a sexy-hot stranger. Now that Marguerite is gone, Thorne craves her more than ever—and follows her to Mortal Earth. Unfortunately, he is not the only vampire who wants her.

Under a Vampire Moon (Argeneau, Book 16), by Lynsay Sands (April 24, Avon)

After a bad relationship and an even worse divorce, Carolyn decides to go on a long overdue and much needed vacation with the girls. Only the rest of the vacationers didn’t get the memo. Around every corner there seems to be another couple celebrating their honeymoon or anniversary and the few single men she does see are far too young to even consider, including an attractive rock violinist, Christian Notte. It’s really too bad he’s so young but in the end it doesn't matter because according to his cousin, women in general aren’t Christian’s type. But he needs Carolyn’s help. He needs her to play his fake girlfriend for the week to appease his machismo family, and Carolyn just can't seem to say no.

The Mongoliad (The Foreworld Series, Book 1), by Neal Stephenson, Erik Bear, Greg Bear, Joseph Brassey, E.D. deBirmingham, Cooper Moo and Mark Teppo (April 24, 47North)

It is the spring of 1241. The Mongol takeover of Europe is almost complete. The hordes commanded by the sons of Genghis Khan have swept out of their immense grassy plains and ravaged Russia, Poland, and Hungary ... and now seem poised to sweep west to Paris and south to Rome. King and Pope and peasant alike face a bleak future--until a small band of warriors, inheritors of a millennium-old secret tradition, conceive of a desperate plan to kill the Khan of Khans.Their leader, an elder of the order of warrior monks, will lead his elite group on a perilous journey into the East. They will be guided by an elusive and sharp-witted young woman, who believes the master's plan is insane. But this small band is the West's last, best hope to turn back the floodtide of the Mongol Empire. A collection of the serial story published online.

Wishful Thinking, by Gabi Stevens (April 24, Tor)

Free-spirit Stormy Jones-Smythe lives in a loving community of artists, but when she is chosen as the third fairy godmother, the Arcani world forces its boundaries and expectations on her. Luckily, even a rigid and strict bodyguard can’t contain her exuberance. Stormy is the final facet of the Power of Three. Together with the first two godmothers, Stormy has to face the biggest threat the Arcani have seen since the time of Merlin. Maybe she can rescue a bit of happiness for herself too. If she survives.

Wicked Road to Hell, by Juliana Stone (April 24, Avon)

With the legions of the underworld gathering and chaos close at hand, Sorcerer Declan O’Hara’s deadly skills will be tested. But nothing will sway him from his duty, not even her. Rescued from eternal darkness, vampire Ana DeLacrux owes her life to a mysterious stranger who asks for only one thing—her absolute allegiance. She serves this master without question until Declan, the one man who can make her forget her vow, returns. His magic is stronger, darker…more compelling than ever. His blood awakens a hunger she must resist, or risk deadly consequences. First in a new series.

The Nekropolis Archives (Matt Richter, Books 1-3), by Tim Waggoner (April 24, Angry Robot)

Meet Matt Richter. Private Eye. Zombie. His mean streets are the city of the dead, the shadowy realm known as Nekropolis. You’ve got to keep your head in Nekropolis. But when you’re a zombie attempting to battle the vampire lords, that’s not as easy as it seems. This massive (800-page) omnibus editions collects all three Matt Richter novels — Nekropolis, Dead Streets and Dark War — plus a swathe of short stories.

On the Prowl (The Others, Book 3), by Christine Warren (April 24, St. Martin’s)

Most girls would throw a fit if their parents tried to set up an arranged marriage for them. It’s so outrageously old-fashioned—even for a Tiguri family, members of a fierce race of shapeshifting weretigers. But Saskia isn’t getting her claws out just yet. She’ll go through with this marriage to help unite two powerful families—and because her husband-to-be Nicolas Preda is the sexiest, hunkiest, and only man she’s ever wanted. Of course, marrying an alpha male like Nic comes with its share of danger. As leader of his Streak and head of a global corporation, Nic and his new fiancée must take their places in the jungles of Manhattan—and the local Others seem to have a strict “no pets” policy.

Rage of the Dragon, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (April 24, Tor)

Skylan Ivorson is the gods-chosen chief of all Vindras clans. But the gods from whom the Vindrasi draw their earth-dwelling power are besieged by a new generation of gods who are challenging them for the powers of creation. The only way to stop these brash interlopers lies within the Five Bones of the Vektia Dragon, which have been lost for generations. Calling upon the ogres to fight their common foes, the Vindrasi soon find themselves in the middle of an even larger war. Skylan and his Vindrasi clan must sail the Sea of Tears into the heart of the Forbidden Empire of the Cyclops, to implement a cunning yet delicate plan that risks his life and leadership at every corner.

Blackbirds, by Chuck Wendig (April 24, Angry Robot)

Miriam Black knows when you will die. She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides. But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim. No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try. First in a new series.

As always, four entries possible: +1 for comment to tell me what book (any book) you want, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow @Suzanne_Johnson, and +1 for a Tweet or RT about the contest. This contest is international. Contests end at midnight CDT U.S., and winners are announced on Sunday’s blog. It’s the responsibility of the winner to contact me with their mailing info. Books unclaimed after a month will go into a general giveaway pile.

Now….go!