So many temptations this week! It’s not fair!!! I want them all! *stomps feet in a mild hissy fit* Fine, how about this idea…I’ll get a couple, you get a couple, and then we’ll swap. I promise I take excellent care of borrowed books. No dog-eared pages here! What’s tempting you this week?
After Alice by Gregory Maguire
From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of
Wicked comes a magical new twist on
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis's Carroll's beloved classic
When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice's disappearance?
In this brilliant new work of fiction, Gregory Maguire turns his dazzling imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings — and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll's enduring tale. Ada, a friend of Alice's mentioned briefly in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is off to visit her friend, but arrives a moment too late — and tumbles down the rabbit hole herself.
Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and see her safely home from this surreal world below the world. If Euridyce can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life. Either way, everything that happens next is After Alice.
All Hallows Eve by Heather Graham
Krewe of Hunters, #17.5
Salem was a place near and dear to Jenna Duffy and Samuel Hall—it was where they'd met on a strange and and sinister case.
They never dreamed that they'd be called back. That history could repeat itself in a most macabre and terrifying fashion.
But, then again, it was Salem at Halloween. Seasoned Krewe members, they still find themselves facing the unspeakable horrors in a desperate race to save each other—and perhaps even their very souls.
Autumn Thorns by Yasmine Galenorn
Whisper Hollow, #1
In an all-new series,
New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn invites readers to Whisper Hollow, where spirits walk among the living and the lake never gives up her dead…
Fifteen years ago, I ran away from Whisper Hollow, Washington, a small town on Crescent Lake in the Olympic Peninsula. But truth is, if you were born here, you can never really leave. I’m Kerris Fellwater, and when I returned, I inherited my grandmother’s house—and her gift. As a spirit shaman, it’s my responsibility to drive the dead back to their graves, because around Whisper Hollow, people—and secrets—don’t always stay buried.
When I was little, I was told my mother ran off. But now it looks like she was murdered. With the help of my mysterious neighbor Bryan, we begin to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, and in doing so, unearth a dark force seeking to bury Whisper Hollow. Now I must work with the dead, rather than against them, because our enemy will do whatever she can to destroy the town, and she means to start with me.
Castle of Sighs by Jennifer Murgia
Forest of Whispers, #2
Some secrets cannot be kept—in life or in death.
Months have passed since Rune has heard a single whisper from her long-dead mother, the great witch of Bavaria. But the absence of one evil has only made room for another.
After rightfully inheriting her ancestral home, Pyrmont Castle, Rune settles into a quiet life taking care of two orphans left in the wake of the terrible witch hunt that claimed dozens of lives in the nearby village. As the days grow colder, the castle’s secrets beckon and Rune finds herself roaming where no one has set foot in a long time. In the bowels of the fortress is a locked room full of memories that hang like cobwebs—shelves stacked with jars, strange specimens, putrid liquids, and scrolls of spells. Rune is undeniably drawn to what she finds there, and she begins to dabble in the possibilities of magic, hoping to find a cure for the strangeness overwhelming the castle.
As secrets unspool, the delicate thread of Rune’s world is threatened when she realizes the key may lie in the dark forest she once called home and the boy she thought she knew.
Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep
Black Blade, #2
Something Wicked This Way Comes...
As a thief, I stick to the shadows as much as possible. But when the head of the Sinclair Family picks me to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there's no escaping the spotlight—or the danger.
Even though he's my competition, Devon Sinclair thinks I have the best shot at winning what's supposed to be a friendly contest. But when the competitors start having mysterious "accidents," it looks like someone will do anything to win—no matter who they hurt.
As if I didn't have enough to worry about, mobster Victor Draconi is plotting against Devon and the rest of my friends, and someone's going around Cloudburst Falls murdering monsters. One thing's for sure. Sometimes, humans can be more monstrous than anything else.
Dragon on Top by G.A. Aiken
Dragon Kin, #0.4
Try a little dragon tenderness.
I am Glheanna the Decimator. I am a warrior. A soldier. I know no fear. No pain. No mercy. I do, however, know acute embarrassment! How could I not after getting dumped by a bastard dragon in front of my own troops? So I tuck tail and return to my cave, drowning my sorrows in ale—as is my family’s way. But instead of leaving me to my misery, I’ve been summoned to the Dragon Queen’s court.
As if my life wasn’t pathetic enough, Her Majesty now has me escorting the highborn Bram the Merciful through dangerous territories—not exactly the best use of my military training. And just so he can negotiate with enemy dragons instead of battling them? Honestly, what has my world come to? Then again…Bram is quite easy on the eyes. And the perfect distraction for what ails me. Perhaps I’m looking at all this the wrong way. Maybe there is a place for a little “mercy” in my life.
Fury of a Highland Dragon by Coreene Callahan
Dragonfury, #5.5
Trapped by a future she refuses to face…
Accused of cyber espionage by the United States government, ethical hacker Ivy Macpherson is now on the FBI’s most wanted list. Out of options, she runs, desperate for time to prove her innocence. When fate takes an unexpected turn, bringing her face-to-face with Tydrin, she must decide—trust a man more dangerous than the hunters on her trail to keep her safe. Or risk capture by a covert agency well known for ruthlessness.
Condemned by a past he doesn’t want to remember…
Cursed with a terrible temper, Scottish dragon-warrior Tydrin struggles to atone for a mistake that took innocent lives. Unable to forgive himself, he returns to the scene of his crime in hopes of finding absolution, but discovers a woman in need of his help instead. Intervening in the nick of time, he whisks Ivy to safety, only to realize the daughter of the family he wronged is the one destined to steal his heart.
Grimm's End by Shiloh Walker
Grimm’s Circle, #9
"He would walk into hell for her. Hell's not willing to let him back out."
Years have passed since Will flung himself headlong into demon central. Everyone has told Mandy he's lost to them, but she still won't believe it. He was her heart and soul-still is-even if he never admitted they belonged together.
When a friend is nearly torn through a rip between the worlds, Mandy gets the sign she's hoped and prayed for. Her friend is thrust back through to safety by no other than Will himself.
With all hell breaking loose on earth, only two Grimm can be spared for the mission to retrieve their leader-Mandy and the only other Grimm crazy enough to go with her.
Will would forget the color of the sky before he'd forget the love of all his lives. But his time is done. It's only a matter of which demon will finally destroy him.
He never thought his final moments would be haunted by Mandy's face. But is it a fitting punishment, or one last chance to atone for crimes he committed so long ago?
"Warning: This book contains too much angst, too many secrets, and two people who long to be together. It's also the end of a long, fun ride. Thanks for taking it."
Marked by an Assassin by Felicity Heaton
Eternal Mates, #8
A snow leopard shifter exiled from his pride twenty years ago, Harbin treads the dark path of life as an assassin, driven by a hunger for vengeance, mercilessly hunting the Archangel members who attacked his kin, murdering his mother and sister.
When a new contract comes in and the mark is a snow leopard shifter, he can’t resist venturing into the mortal world on a personal mission to find out why one from a normally peaceful species now has a price on their head. What he finds in a rundown nightclub isn’t quite what he expects—a beautiful snow leopard female that awakens a fierce hunger inside him.
Aya has spent seventeen years living in London, immersed in the underbelly of the fae world, keeping her head down and her tail out of trouble. But when trouble walks right into her life in the form of a sinfully handsome, dangerous assassin, she is pulled into a whirlwind of events that stir up the nightmares of her past but might just give her a shot at putting those ghosts to rest—if she can resist the dark allure of a male she knows is her fated mate.
Can Harbin and Aya resist the passionate fire that blazes between them as they chase the vengeance they both crave? Or will they surrender to their deepest desires?
Mercury Retrograde by Laura Bickle
Dark Alchemy, #2
Something venomous has come to Temperance…
It's been two months since Petra Dee and her coyote sidekick Sig faced off against Temperance's resident alchemist, but things are far from quiet. When an Internet video of a massive snake in the backcountry of Yellowstone goes viral, a chase for the mythical basilisk is on. Monster hunters swarm into the area, and never one to pass up the promise of discovery, Petra joins in the search.
Among the newcomers is a snake cult on wheels―the biker gang Sisters of Serpens. Unlike some, the Sisters don't want to kill the basilisk―they want to worship it. But things get complicated when the basilisk develops a taste for human flesh that rivals the Sisters' own murderous skills.
Meanwhile, the alchemical tree of life is dying, and the undead Hanged Men of Temperance who depend on it know the basilisk may be their last chance for survival.
With time running out for everyone around her, Petra will be forced to decide who survives and who she must leave behind in this action-packed sequel to Dark Alchemy.
Portia by Christina Bauer
Angelbound Offspring, #2
Unlike her famous older brother Maxon, Princess Portia isn't known for killing demons or attracting admirers. The reason why is simple: a spell was cast on Portia, and the magic has marked her to one day transform into a dreaded Void demon. To fight this horrible fate, Portia’s spent her life hiding in libraries and learning magic. But when the Void demons threaten to destroy all the after-realms—and the handsome dragon Emperor Tempest offers his help—then Portia suspects that her future holds more than just a demonic metamorphosis. Fate is calling the bookworm princess onto the battlefield, and it’s a fight against both deadly enemies and her heart’s desires.
Raptor by Lindsay Buroker
Dragon Blood, #6
Responsible for her friend’s death, Lieutenant Caslin Ahn wants nothing more than to be left alone. She no longer deserves the company of comrades or the fulfillment she felt as a Wolf Squadron fighter pilot. But a summons from the king leaves her with no choice but to rejoin her teammates. An ancient evil has been unleashed, bringing death and destruction to the nation, and they are the only ones with a chance of stopping it.
Dragon Blood 6 brings back Cas, Tolemek, Ridge, Sardelle, Kaika, and Tylie, as well as her dragon, for a new epic fantasy adventure.
Recombinant by Shannon Mayer and Denise Grover Swank
The Blood Borne, #1
From NYT and USAT bestselling authors Denise Grover Swank and Shannon Mayer comes a new twist on the world of vampires . . .
In the city that never sleeps, nightmares live in the darkness...
A series of grisly murders begin to pile up in New York City, murders that have no rhyme or reason and no leads. Unless one chooses to believe that the supernatural is possible.
The crimes have caught the attention of two very different women. A journalist fresh off the plane from covering the war in Iraq and a vampire who has chosen to hunt her own kind. Together they will form a reluctant yet unrelenting team.
As they slowly begin to crack the fissures behind a government cover up and bioterrorism, they find a truth that neither of them could ever have suspected. And now it's too late for either of them to turn away.
Even if it means their lives as they know them will never be the same.
Tempted by a Vampire by Susan Griscom
Immortal Hearts of San Francisco, #1
Cian DeMarco, a sexy, rockstar billionaire vampire has lived in San Francisco's prestigious Cliff Side neighborhood in his beautiful mansion overlooking both the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean for seventy years. Happily—or so he thought. Until the rare beauty that is Magdalena De la Rosa sits down at one of the front-row tables in Club Royal where he and his band perform once a week.
Magdalena De la Rosa has it all—Bachelor's degree in journalism, a job she loves in California, a gorgeous apartment in San Francisco, and a dream guy. Except her boyfriend lives and works in Sacramento—an hour and a half drive from the city Magdalena has always fantasized about living in. All her dreams change, however, when she and her girlfriend find their way into an upscale nightclub and she's suddenly swept off her feet by the lead singer of that night's performing rock band, The Lost Boys.
Sparks ignite between the two until a threat that was thought to no longer exist returns to wreak havoc on Cian's and Magdalena's lives. Will the temptation to be together outweigh the reality of what Cian must do to keep Magdalena safe from harm?
The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr
Electric Empire, #2
Dr. Eliza Jekyll, heroine of the electrifying
The Diabolical Miss Hyde—an edgy steampunk retelling of the classic
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—investigates a bizarre murder case in an alternate Victorian London while battling her treacherous secret half: Lizzie Hyde.
Solving the infamous Chopper case has helped crime scene physician Dr. Eliza Jekyll establish her fledgling career in the chauvinistic world of Victorian law enforcement. But the scrutiny that comes with her newfound fame is unwelcome for a woman with a diabolical secret. And there is the mercurial Royal Society agent and wolf man Remy Lafayette. Does he want to marry her, eat her, or burn her at the stake? Though Eliza is uncertain about Remy, her dark and jealous shadow self, Lizzie, wants to steal the magnetic and persistent agent, and usurp Eliza’s life.
It’s impossible to push Remy away when he tempts her with the one thing she can’t resist: a bizarre crime. The search for a bloodthirsty ritual torturer dubbed the Pentacle Killer draws them into a terrifying world of spies, art thieves, and evil alchemy, where the price of immortality is madness or damnation—and only Lizzie’s dark ingenuity can help Eliza survive.
As Eliza and Remy race to thwart a foul conspiracy involving the sorcerous French, they must also overcome a sinister enemy who is all too close: the vengeful Lizzie, determined to dispose of Eliza for good.
The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #3
The Iron Prince—my nephew—betrayed us all.
He killed me.
Then, I woke up.
Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away. Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen. Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter—a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever.
Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himself: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answers long forgotten. In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore.
The Single Undead Moms Club by Molly Harper
Half-Moon Hollow, #4
In the next book in Molly Harper’s Half Moon Hollow paranormal romance series, Libby (a widow-turned-vampire) struggles with her transition, and finds out it sucks to be the only vampire member of the PTA…
Widow Libby Stratton arranged to be turned into a vampire after she was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. It wasn’t the best idea she’s ever had, but she was desperate—she’s not about to leave her seven-year-old son to be raised by her rigid, overbearing in-laws.
On top of post-turning transition issues, like being ignored at PTA meetings and other mothers rejecting her son’s invitations for sleepovers, Libby must deal with her father-in-law’s attempts to declare her an unfit mother, her growing feelings for Wade—a tattooed redneck single dad she met while hiding in a closet at Back to School Night—and the return of her sire, who hasn’t stopped thinking about brave, snarky Libby since he turned her.
With the help of her new vampire circle, Libby negotiates this unfamiliar quagmire of legal troubles, parental duties, relationships, and, as always in Harper’s distinct, comedic novels, “characters you can’t help but fall in love with” (RT Book Reviews).
