Every Monday, I will be posting a list of the new releases for that week. Whether its well-loved series or first-time authors, this new feature will highlight the titles hitting the market, and perhaps give you an idea of what to shop for!

Overviews taken from http://www.bn.com.

Title: Cold Days

Series: Dresden Files #14

Author: Jim Butcher

Overview: After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard. He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill. Guess which Mab wants first?

Title: Bard’s Oath

Series: Dragonlord #3

Author: Joanne Bertin

Overview: For many millennia, the Dragonlords have been a blessing to the world, with their great magic and awesome power. And though they live far longer than the humans who they resemble when not in their draconic state, these fabled changelings are still loyal to their human friends. Now in Bard’s Oath, their magic is not the only power abroad in the world. And not all the magic is as benign as theirs. Leet, a master bard of great ability and vaulting ambition, has his own magic, but of a much darker nature. Years ago, death claimed the woman he loved, setting him on a course to avenge her death, no matter the consequences. Now, mad with hatred and consumed by his thirst for revenge, Leet has set in motion a nefarious plot that ensnares the friend of a Dragonlord, using his bardic skills . . . and dark powers only he can summon, to accomplish his bitter task.

Title: Star Wars: Ascension  [paperback release]

Series: Fate of the Jedi #8

Author: Christie Golden

Overview: THE GALAXY STANDS LEADERLESS. CAN THE JEDI SAVE IT—OR WILL THEIR ENEMIES ENSLAVE IT? The toppling of ruthless Natasi Daala has left a political vacuum on Coruscant and ignited a power struggle between opposing factions racing to claim control of the Galactic Alliance. Surrounded by hidden agendas, treacherous conspiracies, and covert Sith agents, the Jedi Order must keep the government from collapsing into anarchy—while facing the combined threats of the resurgent Lost Sith Tribe, a deposed dictator bent on vengeance, and the enduring menace of Abeloth, the profoundly evil entity hungry to become a god.

Title: Trapped

Series: Iron Druid #5

Author: Kevin Hearne

Overview: After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave. Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.

Title: Defiant Peaks

Series: Hadrumal Crisis #3

Author: Juliet E. McKenna

Overview: Archmage Planir and the wizards of Hadrumal have demonstrated their devastating powers and the corsair threat is no more. The mainland rulers’ relief is overshadowed with fear of one day facing such a threat to their own dominion. Will Tormalin’s Emperor make an alliance with Solura’s wizards who so openly covet Hadrumal’s secrets? Will he seek out that other mysterious magic, Artifice, to counter Planir’s magecraft? How will the aloof Aetheric adepts of the mountains answer such an appeal? Aldabreshin warlords have always forbidden wizardry. Now the Archmage has encroached so unforgivably on their domains, their laws demand a wizard’s shed blood to wash away the taint and the Aldabreshi have countless men and ships for such a quest.

Title: Heaven to Wudang

Series: Journey to the Wudang #3

Author: Kylie Chan

Overview: Human and demon, heaven and hell, battle for the fate of the world . . . The demons that could control stones and elementals have been defeated, but the most powerful of Simon Wong’s associates still remains to create almost undetectable copies of humans and Shen. This demon allies with Kitty Kwok to prepare a torturous trap for Emma and Simone, from which they may never return. Wudang Mountain is enveloped by dark foreboding as Xuan Wu begins to reappear—sometimes human, sometimes turtle, but always without memory. Emma and Simone are in a race against time as they try to rescue Xuan Wu . . . before the demons capture him.

Title: In the Lion’s Mouth

Series: stand-alone (I think)

Author: Michael Flynn

Overview: It’s a big Spiral Arm, and the scarred man, Donavan buigh, has gone missing in it, upsetting the harper Mearana’s plans for a reconciliation between her parents. Bridget ban, a Hound of the League, is unconvinced that reconciliation is either possible or desirable; but nonetheless has dispatched agents to investigate the disappearance. After all, Donovan had once done the favor for her (in Up Jim River). There is a struggle in the Lion’s Mouth, the bureau that oversees the Shadows—a clandestine civil war of sabotage and assassination between those who would overthrow Those of Name and the loyalists who support them. And Donovan, one time Confederal agent, has been recalled to take a key part, willingly or no.

Title: Steel’s Edge

Series: Edge Series #4

Author: Ilona Andrews

Overview: The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is a fairy tale—and the Weird, where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny… Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain. After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte’s life is turned upside down once again. Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan—and he’s on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird. So when his presence leads his very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers’ operation, however, goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive…

Title: Undead to the World

Series: Bloodhound Files #6

Author: D.D. Barant

Overview: Jace’s return to Kansas is an instant reminder that there really is no place like home. The tavern is still brimming with losers, practical jokers, and motorcycle chicks. Even the town’s only Goth is still wearing eyeliner. But just as Jace is about to click her heels and hightail out of there, she’s roped into a brand-new case. Somebody is possessed. And the bodies are piling up… They call him the Gallowsman. According to legend, he was sentenced to hang—though his crimes still have not been specified. When he was strung up to die, his spirit stuck around waiting for people to hang themselves…so he could steal their bodies. Now, with the undead rising up and going on a rampage, Jace must put her own neck on the line. Can she get the Gallowsman to give up the ghost?

Title: Tales of the Otherworld

Series: Women of the Otherworld (Compilation)

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Overview: Kelley Armstrong’s second Otherworld short fiction collection delivers the tales of friendship, human interest, and adventure that fans have been craving. Tales of the Otherworld features stories about characters including, not certainly not limited to Clayton Danvers, Eve Levine, Paige Winterbourne, Lucas Cortez, and Kristof Nast. Witches, werewolves, vampires, and other neighborly creatures. Early versions of these stories appeared online, but they have been revised and one completely new picture has been added.

Title: Moonshifted

Series: Edie Spence #3

Author: Cassie Alexander

Overview: Edie Spence, nurse to the paranormal, falls victim to her own messianic complex in Alexander’s entertaining sequel to Nightshifted. After Edie witnesses a hit-and-run and tries to save the victim—who turns out to be the werewolf king—she is hunted by strange weres. Is it a matter of pack politics, or is it about Edie’s agreement to be the ceremonial ambassador of the living vampire Anna? Edie’s story is driven by her inability to say no to Anna, her junkie brother, the werewolf king’s daughter, or even a ghost-possessed vampire cyborg servant. Her casual attitude toward sex (“I’m going to take you like I own you, Edie,” says her lover; “Just for tonight,” she replies) leads to some steamy scenes of stress relief, and her determination to remain emotionally aloof is wonderfully undermined by her developing friendships. Edie’s growing personality—and the cliffhanger ending—will keep fans hooked to the trilogy’s conclusion.

Title: The Fractal Prince

Series: Quantum Thief #2

Author: Hannu Rajaniemi

Overview: “The good thing is, no one will ever die again. The bad thing is, everyone will want to.” A physicist receives a mysterious paper. The ideas in it are far, far ahead of current thinking and quite, quite terrifying. In a city of “fast ones,” shadow players, and jinni, two sisters contemplate a revolution. And on the edges of reality a thief, helped by a sardonic ship, is trying to break into a Schrödinger box for his patron. In the box is his freedom. Or not. Jean de Flambeur is back. And he’s running out of time.

Title: The Thirteen Hallows

Series: … first book?

Author: Michael Scott & Colette Freedman

Overview: A new adult novel from Michael Scott and Colette Freedman… The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its destruction? A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret. For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood. Now, only a few remain. With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen. The duo quickly become suspects in a series of murders as they are chased by both the police and the sadistic Dark Man and his nubile mistress.

Title: The Scar

Series: First Installment

Author: Sergey and Marina Dyachenko

Overview: Reaching far beyond sword and sorcery, The Scar is a story of two people torn by disaster, their descent into despair, and their reemergence through love and courage. Egert is a brash, confident member of the elite guards and an egotistical philanderer. But after he kills an innocent student in a duel, a mysterious man known as “The Wanderer” challenges Egert and slashes his face with his sword, leaving Egert with a terrible scar – and a curse of cowardice. Egert embarks on an odyssey to undo the blight, and his painful journey leads him down a dangerous path. Stylistically reminiscent of Robin Hobb, and with a haunting and ominous imagination similar to a Michael Moorcock’s, The Scar tells a story that cannot be forgotten.

Title: King of the Dead

Series: Jeremiah Hunt Chronicles #2

Author: Joseph Nassise

Overview: Hunt is on the run from the FBI, who have pegged him as a mass-murdering dark sorcerer. His flight from the law is diverted to New Orleans when his companion, a potent witch, has a horrific vision of the city under magical siege. When they arrive, they realize that the situation is more dire than they could have imagined: the world of the living faces a terrifying attack by forces from beyond the grave. King of the Dead, the second book in this groundbreaking series, promises more of Nassise’s electrifying writing that will enthrall readers looking for a supercharged, supernatural thrill.