Niki’s Best Book Bulletin – Best of 2012!

2012 was a great year for reading! I fell in love with so many new authors and titles this year that a few have even made some of my other Top 10 bulletins. Here’s the best of the best in no particular order:

41Title: The Name of the Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Series: Kingkiller Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Here you have it, my favorite book of 2012! One of the best books I’ve ever read, it has everything I’ve come to expect in great fantasy. If you haven’t read it yet, you are sorely missing out! Read full review

42Title: Partials

Author: Dan Wells

Series: Partials #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Chosen for November’s Your Pick for Nik! feature, I was surprised by how much this story blew me away. All of you looking for the next best thing since Hunger Games, this is the novel for you! Read full review

43Title: Succubus Blues

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Georgina Kincaid #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

I’ll say it yet one more time: Mead is one of my favorite authors of all-time, and the Succubus series is the one that helped solidify that status. I love everything about this series and recommend it to fans of Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison.

44Title: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Series: N/A

Genre: Fiction

One of the most magical novels I’ve ever read, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I decided to branch out of my normal repertoire to pick this up. It is a beautiful piece of work and one that I’ve been recommending to book clubs and fantasy lovers everywhere – it’s excellent!

45Title: Mistborn

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Series: Mistborn #1

Genre: Fantasy

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this trilogy – it was amazing! Everything from the magic systems to the slew of memorable characters sent it to the top. Aside from all that, my favorite part was the ending – I’m still reeling from it months later. It’s a must-read for every fantasy buff!

46Title: Frost Burned

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #1

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

A bit under the radar, this is a great new series that combines everything I loved about the House of Night series with elements of Percy Jackson mixed in for kicks. I enjoyed ever moment of it! Read full review

47Title: The Legend of Eli Monpress

Author: Rachel Aaron

Series: Eli Monpress #1-3

Genre: Fantasy

This series is incredibly witty and original, and I still remember every detail vividly even though I read this one back in January. I found it delightfully entertaining and a great read for those of you sick of  the same old stuff. Read full review

49Title: Grimspace

Author: Ann Aguirre

Series: Grimspace #1

Genre: Science Fiction / Urban Fantasy (Space Opera)

This first book may not have been out last year, but the conclusion was and you’d better bet that I dropped everything else I was reading to finish this series! Read full review

48Title: The Last Stormlord

Author: Glenda Larke

Series: Stormlords #1

Genre: Fantasy

Again, one of my favorite authors, and this series was her best yet! Great world-building and lovable characters that make up a trilogy that I think should be among the fantasy greats! Read full review

divergentTitle: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Literally the last book I finished in 2012, I stayed up an extra couple of hours practically dying with a bad cold to finish this. My only regret is that I’m almost finished with Insurgent and book three is no where on the horizon. It was excellent! Read full review

40Title: Kushiel’s Dart

Author: Jacqueline Carey

Series: Kushiel’s #1

Genre: Fantasy

Okay, I’ll admit, this one was a little hard to get into at first. Don’t let that stop you, though. It is one of the most epic political love stories I’ve ever read and it was also completely unforgettable!

There you have it – all my favorites from 2012! What were some of yours?

Your Pick for Nik! – January Nominations!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite book in the feature: Your Pick for Nik!

22Thank you for all the votes I’ve received so far. “Falling Kingdoms” by Morgan Rhodes is currently in the lead, but there’s still plenty of time to make your vote count!

You have until 10:00 pm (MST) on December 29th to make your selection. I will be revealing the winning book shortly after!

If you’re new to my page, here’s how it works:

Your Pick for Nik! a book club where I turn over control of my reading list toyou!

Each month, I will nominate 5 to 10 titles from my TBR list and YOU will choose which one gets featured. It can be one you’ve already read and want to discuss, one you want to read but wish to see my feedback first, or – and this is my favorite part – you can read it along with me!

Just click on the link below to view my 10 nominees for January. Simply vote for your favorite, and let the best book win! On Saturday the 29th, I’ll announce the winner. Come the end of the month, I will post a thorough review of the chosen title – and hopefully find out what you thought of it as well!

January Nominations! 

Your Pick for Nik! – January Nominations!

As we’re only a few days away from closing out this month’s selection (Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, 12/30) I figured it would be a good time to reveal next month’s nominations!

For those of you new to this feature, Your Pick for Nik! is a monthly book club where I turn over control of my reading list to you!

Here’s how it works: I will nominate titles from my TBR list and YOU will choose which one gets featured. It can be one you’ve already read and want to discuss, one you want to read but wish to see my feedback on first, or – and this is my favorite part – you can read it along with me!

Depicted below are my 10 nominees* for January. Simply vote for your favorite, and let the best book win! At 10:00 pm (MST) on Saturday the 29th I will announce the winner. Come the end of January, I will post a thorough review of the chosen title – and hopefully find out what you thought of it as well!

To cast your vote, just leave a comment indicating your chosen title – and may the best book win!

January’s Nominations:

22Title: Falling Kingdoms

Author: Morgan Rhodes

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined: Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct. Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making. Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield. Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword… The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

9780441016945_p0_v1_s260x420Title: Death’s Daughter

Author: Amber Benson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Overview: Calliope Reaper-Jones so just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig’s List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss… But when her father—who happens to be Death himself—is kidnapped, and the Devil’s Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle— only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first.

112Title: Mistress of Dragons

Author: Margaret Weis

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Welcome to the Dragonvarld… In Mistress of Dragons we are introduced to a world where political deception, greed, and avarice have lead to a violation of the “hands off” policy of the Parliament of Dragons concerning the affairs of men. Indeed that violation threatens more than policy and order it threatens the freedoms and survival of the entire human race.

113Title: Touched by an Alien

Author: Gini Koch

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Overview: How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n’ roll? Easy… She’s Touched by an Alien Marketing manager Katherine “Kitty” Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down. In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the “agency” to perform crowd control. He’s Kitty’s kind of guy, no matter what planet he’s from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

114Title: Eve & Adam

Authors: Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: In the beginning, there was an apple – And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal. Just when Eve thinks she will die – not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy. Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect . . . won’t he?

116Title: Holder of Lightning

Author: S.L. Farrell

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Seventeen-year-old Jenna had led a peaceful life, herding sheep and tending crops, until the night she picked up a small but strangely alluring stone that would change her entire future. For what she held in her hand was Lámh Shábhála, the master stone of legend which could reawaken all the other stones of power and bring magic back to the world. And there were many among the nobility who would risk anything, including murder, to claim Lámh Shábhála for themselves.

115Title: Dragonmaster

Author: Chris Bunch

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Young Hal Kailas is a runaway and a pauper, living hand-to-mouth in a kingdom where peace is by no means certain. But Hal has a dream. In his even younger days, he had the awesome experience of bonding with a young dragon-and the memory of the beast’s great strength and power consumes his every thought.When war finally comes, the most daring and ruthless of men will ride these fearsome dragons-monstrous weapons of war that rule the sky. Few men are strong enough to bend a dragon’s will, but Hal, who has reason to think he may be one of them, will prove to be the greatest Dragon Master of them all.

greenTitle: Green

Author: Jay Lake

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Her exquisite beauty and brilliant mind were not enough to free her from captivity. That took her skills with a knife, plus the power of a goddess. Born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, nor her own name—her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan…and the skills of an assassin…she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke’s collection of beauties. She calls herself Green.

1111Title: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Teen Fiction

Overview: What if you knew exactly when you’d die? By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years—leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

foreignerTitle: Foreigner

Author: C.J. Cherryh

Genre: Science Fiction

Overview: A mesmerizing new tale by the bestselling author of Serpent’s Reach. In the 300 years since humans lost the war to the alien atevi, humanity has traded advanced technology for peace and a remote island refuge. Then the sole human allowed to enter into atevi society is marked for an assassin’s bullet.

*Overviews taken from bn.com

Coming Soon: A Turn of Light

Mar 5..Title: A Turn of Light

Author: Julie E. Czerneda

Release Date: March 5, 2013

Czerneda is by far my favorite science fiction writer and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that she’s finally got a fantasy novel in the works. Here’s the cool part: she’s making it available to read early on her website!!! Everything written by this woman is golden, so if you haven’t picked her up yet, you are seriously missing out!

Here are some other excellent works from this author:

1.1Web Shifters

They are the last survivors of their race, beings who live on and communicate through energy, who are capable of assuming the shape of any other species. When their youngest member is assigned to a world considered safe to explore, she is captured by the natives. To escape, she must violate the most important rule of her kind, and reveal the existence of her species to a fellow prisoner–a human being. Now her race is in danger of extinction, for even if the human does not betray her, the Enemy who has long searched for her people may finally discover their location….

1.2Species Imperative

Brymn was an archaeologist, and much of his research had focused on a region of space known as the Chasm, a part of the universe that was literally dead, all of its worlds empty of any life-forms, though traces existed of the civilizations that must once have flourished in the region. Brymn had sought out Mac because she was a biologist — a discipline strictly forbidden among his own people — and he felt that through her expertise she might be able to help him discover what had created the Chasm. But Mac had little interest in alien races and in studies that ranged beyond Earth, and as politely as she was capable of, she tried to make it clear that she was unwilling to abandon her own work.

However, the decision was soon taken out of her hands when a mysterious and devastating attack on the Base resulted in the abduction of Emily, and forced Mac to flee for her life with Brymn and the Earth special agents who were escorting him. Suddenly, it appeared that Earth itself might be under attack by the legendary race the Ohryn called the Ro, the beings they thought might be the destructive force behind the Chasm. Cut off from everything and everyone she knew, Mac found herself in grave danger and charged with the responsibility of learning everything she could that might possibly aid Earth in protecting the human race from extinction…
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1.4Trade Pact Universe
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The tenth anniversary edition of Julie Czerneda’s debut science fiction novel, the story of a woman on the run, from the law, her own people, and an unknown pursuer. Her memory taken from her by a stasis block, Sira must stay free long enough to regain her identity and the full use of her telepathic powers-for failure may cost not only her own future but that of her entire race.
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This prequel to The Trade Pact Universe series begins in a time before the Clan had learned how to manipulate the M’hir to travel between worlds. Aliens have begun to explore the world of Cersi, upsetting the delicate balance between the Clan and the two other powerful races who coexist by set rules. And one young woman is on the verge of finding the forbidden secret of the M’hir? a discovery that could prove the salvation or ruin of her entire species.

Book Releases: 12/4 – 12/8

188421426

Title: Alien vs. Alien

Series: Katherine “Kitty” Katt #6

Author: Gini Koch

Overview: Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries. Evil androids running amok, birds of all kinds and from all places creating havoc, a Senator trapped in an ever-tightening web of intrigue, and escalating international tensions all seem tough but manageable. But the disappearance of Jeff Martini and Charles Reynolds during the International One World Festival signals more than the usual nastiness — and it looks like even ACE can’t help them. Then new trouble arrives in old packages and even with the best hackers in the world, beings from near and far, the full might of Earth’s military, and the Wonder Twins on their side, Centaurion Division’s outmanned and outgunned. Now Kitty’s racing against the clock to find not only Jeff and Chuckie, but to keep the peace between Middle Eastern countries, all while searching for the bases of super-soldier operations — to stop them or die trying.

201021981Title: Supervolcano: All Fall Down

Series: Supervolcano #2

Author: Harry Turtledove

Overview: In the aftermath of the supervolcano’s eruption in Yellowstone Park, North America is covered in ash. Farmlands cannot produce food. Machinery has been rendered useless. Cities are no longer habitable. And the climate across the globe grows colder every day. Former police officer Colin Ferguson’s family is spread across the United States, separated by the catastrophe, and struggling to survive as the nation attempts to recover and reestablish some measure of civilization…

197774425Title: Wayne of Gotham

Series: N/A

Author: Tracy Hickman

Overview: Behind every mask is a real man. Two men joined by blood but separated by murder: Thomas, the rebellious doctor and heir to the vast Wayne empire, and Bruce, his son, whose life is forever altered when he witnesses the brutal death of his parents. The slaying of Thomas and Martha Wayne is the torturous point on which Bruce turns to become the mysterious crusader Batman—the genesis of a simple mugging gone horribly wrong. The Dark Knight’s file on the case has long been closed, the foundations of Bruce Wayne’s secret life secure. But these foundations are shaken when an unexpected guest invades the grounds of Wayne Manor, raising questions about the event that ended the lives of the mother he loved and the father he worshipped, and sparked his unquenchable drive to protect and avenge. To discover his true family history, Batman must face down old foes, confront his only confidant, invade the evil heart of Arkham Asylum, and shoulder the terrible new burden of a dark legacy.

183375263Title: Andromeda’a Fall

Series: Legion of the Damned #10 (I think)

Author: William C. Dietz

Overview: Hundreds of years in the future, much has changed. Advances in medicine, technology, and science abound. Humanity has gone to the stars, found alien life, and established an empire. But some things never change… All her life, Lady Catherine Carletto (called Cat) has lived for nothing but the next party, the next lover, the next expensive toy. Until, in a bloodthirsty power grab, Imperial Princess Ophelia and her cadre of synth assassins murder her brother the emperor, and go on to purge the galaxy of his friends and supporters—including Cat’s family. The Carlettos are known to be staunch supporters of the Emperor and Carletto Industries has been in the forefront of his pet project—developing cybernetic technology for use by the masses. Now Cat, one of the last surviving Carlettos, is on the run. And, like countless others before her, she finds her sanctuary among the most dangerous of society’s misfits. Welcome to the Legion. Cat Carletto vanishes, and in her place stands Legion recruit Andromeda McKee. A woman with a mission—to bring down Empress Ophelia—or die trying.

175101252Title: A Red Sun Also Rises

Series: N/A

Author: Mark Hodder

Overview: When Reverend Aiden Fleischer, vicar of the sleepy town of Theaston Vale, finds a hunchbacked, light-sensitive and crippled vagabond named Clarissa Stark begging at his door, little does he suspect it’s the start of an adventure that’s literally out of this world! Bribed by an unscrupulous family, Fleischer and his companion flee to London’s missionary college, but in wicked Whitechapel, the faithless priest stumbles upon one of Jack the Ripper’s victims and becomes convinced that he himself is the notorious killer. With her friend’s mind shattered, Miss Stark is relieved when they are both posted to the far away Melanesian island of Koluwai, but here they encounter an even darker evil, one that transports them to another planet. Beneath the twin suns of the planet Ptallaya, Fleischer and Stark encounter an alien species, the Yatsill, master mimics who, after gaining access to Miss Stark’s mind, create their own bizarre version of Victorian London. But Fleischer and Stark’s new home from home is not safe, for the Blood Gods will soon invade, and if he is to defeat them and rescue the woman he’s come to love, Fleischer must first face his own inner demons!

195806289Title: Assassin’s Creed: Forsaken

Series: Assassin’s Creed #4

Author: Oliver Bowden

Overview: Assassin’s Creed: Forsaken is the latest thrilling novelization by Oliver Bowden based on the phenomenally successful game series. The new game, Assassin’s Creed III, takes one of gaming’s most popular franchises to new heights in its most realistic world yet and introduces a brand new Assassin, Connor. During the American Revolution, Connor has sworn to secure liberty for his people and his nation and unleashes his powerful skills on the chaotic, blood-soaked battlefields of the hostile American wilderness. Assassin’s Creed: Forsaken is the story behind who Connor really is and how he has become a deadly killer. The world of the Assassins has become far more lethal than ever before.

183571089Title: Heart of Atlantis

Series: Warriors of Poseiden #8

Author: Alyssa Day

Overview: As a war wages between the immortals of Atlantis and those of the vampire realm, a Poseidon warrior fights to save his world—and the woman he loves. And no risk is too great. The desires of a high priest. Alaric, Poseidon’s High Priest, has made a vow to Quinn, the woman he loves and the leader of the Resistance: to save her friend Jack before his last bit of humanity has been drained. Should Alaric succeed, there’s one intimate danger: he may lose Quinn to the love of the man whose life he saved. But damn Atlantis to the nine hells, he’s willing to put Quinn’s wishes first, regardless of the consequences. The warning of a threat reborn.

196722750Title: Battle for the Cosmos

Series: N/A

Author: Caleb Rigsby

Overview: Architect Charles Grove never thought that he would lead the rebellion to free earth from the clutches of an oppressive, other-worldly regime. But heroes are made in desperate times. In a war that sweeps across a hundred solar systems, Charles discovers that behind the politics, behind the treachery, a plot has been brewing for thousands of years to put the whole universe in jeopardy. This is beyond empire and freedom. This is about good and evil. With his truest friends by his side, Charles must become more than merely a symbol of freedom. Charles must take hold of his destiny as guardian of all free races as he stands against an eternal evil that threatens to bring ruin to the cosmos once and for all.

191782509Title: Breathless

Series: Firelight Novella (ebook only)

Author: Sophie Jordan

Overview: For Az, it’s supposed to be a fun summer vacation with her family. Nothing complicated. Just a quick trip to test the waters as she prepares for a year on her own. That all changes when she rescues a drowning girl and meets Tate—the most gorgeous human boy she’s ever seen. Tate throws her heart, her plans, and her life into upheaval, but the closer she gets to him, the harder it is to hide the secret of what she is.
With no hope for a future together, the last thing that can ever happen . . . is love.

Book Releases: 11/26 – 11/30

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.