Some great releases this week, but first, a
commercial.
My other half, Susannah Sandlin, starts the
virtual tour today for Omega, the third book in the Penton Legacy paranormal
romance series. The book was a 4-1/2-star “Top Pick” by RT Book Reviews this
month, and there are some great prizes to be had (Kindle, Nook, gift cards,
books…really, lots of stuff). So head over to http://www.susannahsandlin.com
every day to find the URLs for the day’s blog stops and chances to win!
Now….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.
Dawn of Eden: The Red Lung, a virus determined to take out everything. Kylie,
a doctor, witnesses endless suffering. Strange things are happening to the
remains of the dead. She befriends Ben Archer, and wonders if a global pandemic
is the least of her problems. Thistle
& Thorne: A
catastrophic spill turns the country into a chemical wasteland. For Mari Thistle,
life is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with Thorne
Goodman. They’ll face an evil plot that could destroy those on the outside for
good. Sun Storm: After the biggest solar flares
in history nearly destroy the planet, Sarah Daggot becomes a Kinetic. Sarah
believes the Kinetics are destined to halt the final onslaught of the sun.
She’ll vow to convince Ian Matthews up until the world ends.
Wild, uncontrollable, and
powerful, the lion-shifting Rakshasa were hunted down by vicious rival vampires
who feared their dark, magical abilities. Somehow one survived, and now, after
centuries of hiding, Tasmin Singh reemerges as fierce and fearless as ever at
the door of the Lilim queen, seeking answers, and sanctuary. The human best
friend to a vampire queen, Bay Harper, traded her quiet, comfortable life for a
world filled with immortal assassins, warring werewolves, and this hauntingly
sexy shifter. Only Bay’s gentle touch can subdue Tasmin’s inner demons. But
when a bloody struggle threatens to tear them apart, can Bay risk everything on
her faith in him, or will his dark side be stronger than even their
all-consuming desire?
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.
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.
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.
Vivian’s life is finally on track.
She has a job she loves as an ER doctor and has just met, literally, the man of
her dreams. But when her eccentric grandfather is murdered and designates her
as his next of kin, she discovers that she is the last of a race of beings
known as dreamshifters. It is her task to guard the doorways between waking and
dreaming, which have already begun to unravel, spilling dangerous creatures
from dream into the waking world. When she sets out to close the open doors and
protect her town and the people she loves, Vivian confronts dragons, intrigue,
and the dark secrets of her own family history. In the end she comes face to
face with a sorceress seeking eternal life and ultimate power. Vivian must find
a way to stop her, or reality will be forever altered.
There’s a new Fae sorcerer in
town, Bran, the son of Raven Mother and the Black Unicorn, and I’m the
unwilling liaison between him and our new Earthside OIA. With cemeteries being
ransacked and spirits being harvested by a sinister, otherworldly force, Aeval
sends us to rescue the wife of a prominent member of the Fae nobility. Our
search leads us to the Aleksais Psychic Network and, to face the Lord of Ghosts
where Morio and I must undergo a ritual that will plunge us directly into the
world of the dead.
The Great Reawakening did not come
quietly. Across the country and in every nation, people began to develop
terrifying powers, summoning storms, raising the dead, and setting everything
they touch ablaze. Colonel Alan Bookbinder is an army bureaucrat whose worst
war wound is a paper-cut. Drafted into the Supernatural Operations Corps in a
new and dangerous world, Bookbinder finds himself in command of Forward
Operating Base Frontier. Now, he must find the will to lead the people of FOB
Frontier out of hell, even if the one hope of salvation lies in teaming up with
the man whose own magical powers put the base in such grave danger in the first
place, Oscar Britton, public enemy number one.
After her werewolf boyfriend,
Johnny, tried to kill her, Persephone Alcmedi finds herself in the comforting
arms of powerful vampire, Menessos. She’s trying to sort out her feelings for
the two men, but not even Seph is above the confusion of tangled emotions. All
Johnny wants to do is mend their relationship and reveal the life-altering news
he’s recently received, but his new responsibilities as the werewolf king take
up most of his time. Meanwhile, unknown to Seph, her beloved foster daughter,
Beverley, has been playing with a magical artifact and making dubious friends
on the other side. When Beverley disappears, Seph must seek help from a
supernatural being so potent that even Menessos fears him, and such aid always
comes with a very steep price.
Celia Graves was once an ordinary
human. Now she strives to maintain her sanity and her soul while juggling both
vampire abilities and the powers of a Siren. Not every bride needs a bridesmaid
who can double as a bodyguard. But Celia’s cousin Adriana is no ordinary bride:
she’s a Siren princess, and she’s marrying the king of a small but politically
important European country. She’s getting death threats from fanatics who want
to see the whole Siren race wiped out, including Celia herself. Celia is on
duty when a trip to a bridal salon is interrupted by an assassination attempt,
so everyone survives. Assuming the bride and groom both live to see their
wedding day, this will be one royal wedding no one will ever forget.
Young Adult.
Almost-sixteen-year-old Brooklyn feels invisible, but she desperately wants to
be pretty, to be popular, to be adored by a cute guy. Luckily for her, she’s a
witch about to come of age, so she’s only a few spells away from making it all
happen. On her milestone birthday, Brooklyn’s conservative parents finally
unbind her powers, which include the ability to magically match couples with a
love spell. Brooklyn uses her special skills to get a makeover, new friends,
and the attention of her crush, Asher. But the popular clique Brooklyn wants to
infiltrate puts her in the same precarious position as her Salem ancestors: If
she’s found out, she could be vilified, and lose Asher in the process. Can she
make the most of her magic, or will she be luckless and loveless?
Four years after the horrific
events in Leadville, a young woman from England, Victoria Dawes, sets into
motion a series of events that will lead Cora and herself out into the New
Mexico desert in pursuit of Anaba, a Navajo witch bent on taking revenge for the
atrocities committed against her people.
No classic work lends itself
better to steampunk illustrations than The
Time Machine, The War of
the Worlds, and The
Country of the Blind, written by H.G. Wells, who many consider to be the
father of steampunk itself. Basic and Sumberac’s four-color illustrations
spiked with Steampunk machinery, gadgets, and fashion accompany Wells’ original
text.
For Gene and the remaining humans,
or hepers, death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society,
they must find a way to survive in The Vast, and avoid the hungry predators
tracking them in the dark. Gene is haunted by the girl he left behind and his
burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side. When they discover a
refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends
think they’re finally safe. A strict code of behavior is the rule, harsh
punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found. As life at the
refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly
violent world, all they have is each other, if they can only stay alive. U.S.
release.
In her small Welsh town, there is
no one quite like Morgana. She has never spoken, and her silence as well as the
magic she can’t quite control make her a mystery. Concerned for her safety, her
mother quickly arranges a marriage with Cai Bevan, the widower from the far
hills who knows nothing of the rumors that swirl around her. After their
wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving, but she soon falls in love with
Cai’s farm and the rugged mountains that surround it, while slowly Cai himself
begins to win her heart. It’s not long, however, before her strangeness begins
to be remarked upon in her new village. Forced to defend her home, her love,
and herself from all comers, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she
will lose everything.
As far as Richard Blanzac is
concerned, the mysterious poetry manuscript he’s found in a beatup cardboard
box of junk once owned by San Francisco poet Sophia Greenwald is probably not
worth much, but if it’s not, why are people suddenly desperate to get it? Then
he finds that reading just a couple of lines is enough to send him back in time
to 1957 San Francisco, where a bizarre cult is hoping to use the poem to
achieve "non-existence.”
A plain-spoken narrator relates
the history of her parents, a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to
give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to
him. With her mother’s death in childbirth, so begins a heroine’s tale equal
parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no
place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very
wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the
pale skin she will never have.
Young Adult. June and Day arrive
in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son
Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a
group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage
to the Colonies. They have only one request, June and Day must assassinate the
new Elector. It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people
silenced for too long. But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his
father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning?
What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood, what
if the Patriots are wrong?
“Cat, this is Finn. He’s going to
be your tutor.” Finn looks and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He
was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A
billion-dollar construct, his primary task now is to tutor Cat. As she grows
into a beautiful young woman, Finn is her guardian, her constant companion. and
more. But when the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot
population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world.
Young Adult. Sixteen-year-old
Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London, trying not to think about
the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors
about her father’s experiments. When she learns he is continuing his work on a
remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are
true. Accompanied by her father’s assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic
castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island. Her father has experimented on
animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. One of the
creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet
knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments. As the island falls into
chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius, and madness, in her own
blood. U.S. release.
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.
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.
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.
Young Adult. Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after
Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana
responsible for the darksouls, and the newsouls who may be born in their place.
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes
and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people
turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who
cannot stand up for themselves. Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But
newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the
citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems
impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.
Babylon
Steel, former avatar of the goddess of
sex and war, has been offered a job; as bodyguard to Enthemmerlee,
the latest candidate for the Council of Incandress; and as spy for the
Diplomatic Section, the barely-acknowledged government of Scalentine. She
doesn’t want it. Incandress is on the verge of civil war. Enthemmerlee
represents the hopes or fears of a large portion of its population and is a
prime target for assassination. On Scalentine racial tensions and economic
stresses are boiling up, with Babylon’s lover, Chief Bitternut, trying to keep
the lid on. Circumstances conspire to send her to Incandress. There, things
become rather too interesting. And that’s before Babylon realizes that the
situation is far worse than she thought.
Green is hounded by the gods of
Copper Downs and the gods of Kalimpura, who have laid claim to her and her
children. She never wanted to be a conduit for the supernatural, but when she
killed the Immortal Duke and created the Ox god with the power she released,
she came to their notice. Now she has sworn to retrieve the two girls taken
hostage by the Bittern Court, one of Kalimpura’s rival guilds. But the
Temple of the Lily Goddess is playing politics with her life.
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!
ABOUT Binding Vows: Duncan MacCoinnich’s task… Travel to the twenty-first
century Renaissance Faire, deflower the Druid virgins, and go home. Only his
job is not so easily accomplished with the virgin in question, Tara
McAllister….Time is running out. The evil is closing in on them both….Tara finds Duncan irresistible after
what was supposed to be a mock Hand-fasting binds them….When Duncan whisks her to his home in Scotland she could accept
that. But, can she forgive him for taking away her modern life when she finds
herself in the sixteenth century?...And
is it love they feel? Or something else? 
About Silent Vows: Myra, a medieval virgin druidess, flees five
hundred years into the future to escape death at the hands of a cursed witch
and lands in the arms of a handsome but cynical twenty-first century
cop….Officer Todd Blakely knows Myra is hiding something , but can't resist her
innocent charms. Destiny throws them both into a world of intrigue and
mysticism. Can Todd be the true white knight she needs? Or will magic and the
winds of time tear them apart?
About Redeeming
Vows: For
her own safety, modern day, single mom, Lizzy McAllister is forced to bow to
the medieval men who surround her when she's thrust back in time to the
sixteenth century against her will. When Lizzy finds herself trapped in time
with Fin, the one man she finds both irresistible and maddening, she agrees to
combine forces with him to rid Scotland of the evil witch, Grainna. Finlay
MacCoinnich's attraction to Lizzy sizzles the very air they breathe….Tearing
down the solid walls the woman has built around her won't be easy, but he's
willing to do anything to keep her by his side. When a spell cast by their
deadliest foe throws them forward in time, will they manage to find their way
back in time to save their family from peril? And will Lizzy willingly stay in
his time, or abandon him altogether?
ABOUT Binding Vows: Duncan MacCoinnich’s task… Travel to the twenty-first
century Renaissance Faire, deflower the Druid virgins, and go home. Only his
job is not so easily accomplished with the virgin in question, Tara
McAllister….Time is running out. The evil is closing in on them both….Tara finds Duncan irresistible after
what was supposed to be a mock Hand-fasting binds them….When Duncan whisks her to his home in Scotland she could accept
that. But, can she forgive him for taking away her modern life when she finds
herself in the sixteenth century?...And
is it love they feel? Or something else? 
So,
dear reader… where would you go and why… and with what stipulations? 
