New Releases Jan. 20-26 and Reader’s Choice C*ntest

Another slow week of releases…but really, do you need more than two words? EVER AFTER. Enough said. I’ll have a review up next week with a giveaway, so you have two chances at winning a copy--this week and next week. And yeah, it’s really awesome. I finished it last night and am DYING to talk to somebody about it!

What do you want to read? As always, leave a comment telling me the book you’d most like to win, and maybe random.org will make your wishes come true. Your choice of print or digital unless otherwise stated. International? Of course! As long as Book Depository delivers to your country, please enter. If you’d prefer the first book in a series listed here, that’s okay, too.

Blood of the Sorceress (The Portal #3), by Maggie Shayne (January 22, Harlequin MIRA)

As an ancient king’s favorite harem slave, Lilia committed the worst of all possible crimes: loving another man. When the king discovered her treason, her lover was sentenced to lose his soul and linger in eternal imprisonment, and Lilia herself was executed alongside her sisters. While they reincarnated through countless lifetimes, she lingered alone between worlds for thousands of years, waiting for the moment to rescue her beloved Demetrius. That moment has come. Demetrius has broken free, but without his soul he has become an icy, uncaring cad. Somehow Lilia must convince him to reclaim his humanity or her life will be lost alongside his, both of them condemned to eternal damnation, eternal isolation, their love lost one final and irrevocable time.

Everbound (Everneath #2), by Brodi Ashton (January 22, Balzer + Bray)

Young Adult. Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity, a debt that should’ve been hers. Every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away. Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen, and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself. Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated, and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack, even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

Boundless (Unearthly #3), by Cynthia Hand (January 22, Harper Teen)

Young Adult. The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Clara cannot deny that she was never meant to live a normal life. Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California, and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place. Clara discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

Ever After (The Hollows #11), by Kim Harrison (January 22, Harper Voyager)

The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels the human world, is shrinking. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to avert catastrophe. While saving the world is important, it isn’t Rachel’s only motivation. There’s also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place. It has made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after. He’s already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out. But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own. She’s also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her, she’s going to return to the ever after, rescue her loved ones, and prevent an apocalypse before it’s too late. Or, at least that’s the plan.

The Archived (The Archived #1), by Victoria Schwab (January 22, Hyperion)

Young Adult. Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Future Games, edited by Paula Guran, (January 22, Prime Books)

Human competition is eternal. We thrill to victory, we suffer the agony of defeat. No matter what the future brings, sports will be a part of it. But what forms will these games take? Who will be the spectator, who will play? Will aliens be our opponents or machines? Among those speculating on what swifter, higher, stronger, and winning will mean in the near and distant future are Orson Scott Card, Cory Doctorow, Louise Marley, George R.R. Martin, John Shirley, Howard Waldrop, and Scott Westerfeld.

The Six-Gun Tarot, by R.S. Belcher (January 22, Tor)

Nevada, 1869: Beyond the pitiless 40-Mile Desert lies Golgotha, a cattle town that hides more than its share of unnatural secrets. The sheriff bears the mark of the noose around his neck. His half-human deputy is kin to coyotes. The mayor guards a hoard of mythical treasures. A banker’s wife belongs to a secret order of assassins. And a shady saloon owner may know more about the town’s true origins than he’s letting on. A haven for the blessed and the damned, Golgotha has known many strange events, but nothing like the primordial darkness stirring in the abandoned silver mine overlooking the town. Bleeding midnight, an ancient evil is spilling into the world, and unless the sheriff and his posse can saddle up in time, Golgotha will have seen its last dawn, and so will all of Creation.

Ravage (Deviants #3), by Jeff Sampson (January 22, Balzer + Bray)

Young Adult. Since she first came into her mysterious new superpowers, Emily has watched one of her packmates disappear through an interdimensional portal; she’s been hunted by body-snatching Shadowmen; she’s managed to form an alliance with the same telekinetic cheerleaders who once tried to take her down; and she’s discovered that her believed-to-be-dead mother is one of the BioZenith scientists responsible for her strange abilities. Now it’s up to the Deviants to put together the last pieces of the puzzle. Emily fears the answer is far more sinister than anyone thought. Emily forms a plan with the Deviants: Destroy BioZenith before anyone can use the knowledge within the facility to aid the Shadowmen. That’s only if BioZenith, or something worse, doesn’t capture them first.

Imager’s Battalion (Imager Portfolio #6), by L.E. Modesitt Jr., (January 22, Tor)

Magical hero Quaeryt leads history’s first Imager fighting force into war. Given the rank of subcommander by his wife’s brother, Lord Bhayar, the ruler of Telaryn, Quaeryt joins an invading army into the hostile land of Bovaria, in retaliation for Bovaria’s attempted annexation of Telaryn. But Quaeryt has his own agenda in doing Bhayar’s bidding: to legitimize Imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, by demonstrating their value as heroes as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another. Making matters worse, court intrigues pursue Quaeryt even to the front lines of the conflict, as the Imager’s enemies continue to plot against him.

The Last Apprentice: Slither (Book #11), by Joseph Delaney (January 22, Greenwillow)

Young Adult. “My name is Slither, and before my tale is finished you’ll find out why.” The dark is full of terrifying creatures. And Tom Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son, and the Spook’s last apprentice, hasn’t seen all of them. Far from the county, one named Slither has lived for hundreds of years, hunting blood. But a dying father binds the monster to a bargain. If Slither will take his two youngest daughters safely to their family in the south, then the eldest daughter, Nessa, is his. For Nessa the nightmare is just beginning. And when Slither and Nessa cross paths with the feared witch assassin Grimalkin, they will become unwitting players in the quest to stop the Fiend once and for all.

The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle #1), by Miles Cameron (January 22, Orbit)

Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild. Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern’s jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. Leading a company of men, or worse, a company of mercenaries, against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder. It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it. The Red Knight has all three. When he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it’s just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can’t deal with. Only it’s not just a job. It’s going to be a war. US release.

Five entries possible: +1 for comment to tell me what book you want, +1 for blog follow, +1 for Twitter follow, +1 for a Tweet or RT about the contest, +1 for a Facebook follow. This contest is international to any place Book Depository ships. Contests end at midnight CDT U.S. on Saturday, 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 the Book Horde list (see tab at the top of the page).

Now….go forth and comment!