Done with December 2009 Releases? Then get ordering these January 2010 Releases. For titles even further into the future, check my Reading Wishlist. As always, this list doesn’t include everything, release dates may change, etc. US, Canada, UK and Australia represented.
Kylie Chan
Earth to Hell (Journey to Wudang, Book 1)
HarperCollins (AU: 1st January 2010)
It is eight years since Xuan Wu, God of the Northern Heavens, living in Hong Kong as wealthy businessman John Chen, was exiled from the mortal realm. Emma and Simone, John’s daughter, are facing a new series of threats, while their best fighter, Leo, sits in Hell. They must persuade him to come home…but, in Hell, nothing is as it appears. On Earth, Simon Wong, the Demon King’s son, is no longer around to trouble them, but his associates have taken over Simon’s underworld activities. The otherworldly stones are being targeted and are in danger of their kind being completely destroyed. It seems that the Demon King is the only one Emma can turn to for help…
Kelly Gay
The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan, Book 1)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (AU: 1st January 2010)
Review
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Divorced mother of one, Charlie Madigan, lives in a world where the beings of heaven and hell exist among us, and they aren’t the things of Sunday school lessons and Hallmark figurines. In the years since the Revelation, they’ve become our co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Charlie works for ITF (Integration Task Force). It’s her job to see that the continued integration of our new “friends” goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there’s nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won’t do to set things right.
Megan Hart
Switch
Harlequin Spice (US: 1st January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The anonymous note wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the habit of reading other people’s mail, but it was just a piece of paper with a few lines scrawled on it, clearly meant for the apartment upstairs. It looked so innocent, but decidedly – deliciously – it was not. Before replacing the note – and the ones that followed – in its rightful slot, I devoured its contents: suggestions, instructions, summonses, commands. Each was more daring, more intricate and more arousing than the last…and I followed them all to the letter. Before the notes, if a man had told me what to do, I’d have told him where to go. But submission is an art, and there’s something oddly freeing about doing someone’s bidding…especially when it feels so very, very good. But I find that the more I surrender, the more powerful I feel – so it’s time to switch up roles. We play by my rules now.
Erica Hayes
Shadowfae (Shadowfae Chronicles, Book 1)
Pan Macmillan Griffin (AU: 1st January 2010)
Review
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
In a city infested with psychotic fairies and run by sadistic vampire mafiosi, life as a soul-sucking succubus rarely involves lacy lingerie, hot guys or great sex. Enslaved by a demon lord, Jade must spend her nights seducing vampire gangsters and shapeshifting thugs. After two hundred years as a succubus, she burns for freedom and longs to escape her brutal life as a trophy girl for hell’s minions. Then, she meets Rajah, an incubus who touches her heart and intoxicates her senses. Rajah shares the same bleak fate as she, and yearns just as desperately for freedom. But the only way for Jade to break her bonds is to betray Rajah – and doom the only man she’s ever loved to a lifetime in hell.
Anya Bast
Wicked Enchantment (Dark Magick, Book 1)
Penguin Berkley Sensation (US & CA: 5th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
All eyes are on Gabriel Mac Braire the day he makes his first appearance in the Seelie Court, including those of Aislinn Finvarra. Despite deep bitterness over her last failed relationship, Aislinn cannot help but be curious about the half incubus who is known to possess dark magick, both lethal and sexual in nature. Rumours abound of the women who have become enslaved to his irresistible charms. So when the Summer Queen of the fae orders Aislinn herself to act as his guide in the court, she is understandably on guard. She’s fallen under the spell of far less persuasive men before. In addition, Gabriel might be more than he seems and his true mission is far from innocent. This time, Aislinn must protect not only her heart, but her very life…
Lauren Dane
Coming Undone
Penguin Berkley (US: 5th January 2010; CA: 12th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Brody Brown has always been responsible for others. After his parents’ death, he gave up a promising artistic career to care for his younger brother and sister. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, has a nice house, makes a nice living, and for the first time in years he’s on his own. Elise Sorenson has come to Seattle with her young daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina – and just as many years in a marriage-gone-bad – she’s looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached. More than friends, Brody and Elise discover in each other what they need – wild, physical passion without commitment. But it’ll take a shadow from Elise’s past to make them look beyond what they need – to what they truly desire.
Carrie Jones
Captivate (Need Pixies, Book 2)
Bloomsbury (US: 5th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Zara and her friends knew they hadn’t solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king’s needs grow deeper every day he’s stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It’s made him vulnerable. And now there’s a new king in town. A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he’s one of the good guys. Nick isn’t buying it, though Zara isn’t as sure – despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it’s a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It’s her life – and his.
P. C. Cast (ed.)
Immortal (Anthology)
Turnaround Ben Bella (UK: 7th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Rachel Caine revisits the setting of her popular series, where the vampires are in charge and love is a risky endeavour, even when it comes to your own family. Cynthia Leitich Smith gives us a love triangle between a vampire, a ghost and a human girl, in which none of them are who or what they seem. Claudia Gray takes us into the world of her Evernight series, in which a pre–Civil War courtesan-to-be is courted by a pale, fair-haired man whose attentions are too dangerous to spurn, in more ways than one. Richelle Mead brings us the tale of a young vampire on the run from the rest of her kind, and the human boy who provides the getaway car, as well as a reason to keep running. Nancy Holder immerses us in a post-apocalyptic New York where two best friends are forced to make a choice that may kill them both. Kristin Cast introduces us to a new kind of vampire: one with roots in Greek mythology, and the power to alter space and time to save the girl he’s meant to love. Rachel Vincent explores a new corner of her series with the story of a leanan sidhe capable of inspiring the musician she loves to new creative heights, or draining him, and his talent, dry. And Tanith Lee shows us what happens when a bright young woman with some supernatural savvy encounters a misguided (but gorgeous) young vampire.
Rachel Caine
Fade Out (Morganville Vampires, Book 7)
Allison & Busby (UK: 11th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Life has changed dramatically in Morganville. The resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population and with their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are starting to feel comfortable again – almost. Claire can actually concentrate on her studies again, and Eve joins the local theatre company. Yet when one of Eve’s castmates goes missing during work on a documentary, Eve suspects the worst. But Claire and Eve soon realise that this film project is a whole lot bigger – and way more dangerous – than anyone suspected.
Joss Ware
Beyond the Night (Awakening Heroes, Book 1)
HarperCollins Avon (US & CA: 12th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilisation is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott’s extraordinary new “gift” – he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences. Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one…until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defences, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart? If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that take them beyond danger. Beyond desire.
Rachel Vincent
Prey (Shifters, Book 4)
Harlequin Mira (UK: 15th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Faythe has finally come to accept that she will someday be Alpha of the Pride, and she is hell-bent on changing the sexist Tribal Council from the inside. But first she must ensure that there will still be a Pride left to lead. Her father’s role as Alpha is at risk, as is his control over the territory they all love. At the same time, Faythe’s exiled boyfriend is under attack from rogues somehow connected to the political schemes of the tribal council. With her world collapsing around her, Faythe must fight to keep her friends and family together, as their enemies conspire against them.
Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Dead and the Gone (Last Survivors, Book 2)
Graphia (US: 18th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
At the moment the asteroid hits the moon, Alex Morales’s young life changes. Forever. As freak weather engulfs the globe, New York is plunged into a nightmare from which many will never wake. With no food, no electricity, and no parents, Alex must keep himself and his sisters alive…whatever the cost.
Stacey Jay
Undead Much? (Megan Berry, Book 2)
Penguin Sleuth Razorbill (US: 21st January 2010; CA: 26th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Megan Berry had a perfectly average new-sundress-and-boy-obsessed life – until her power to settle the Undead returned. Oh, and then her best friend tried to kill her – and ruin homecoming – with a bunch of black magically raised zombies. At least she got a spot on the pom squad and a smokin’ boyfriend (Ethan). But now Megan is in deep fertiliser all over again. Why? Well, let’s see…Feral new super-strong zombies? Check. Cheerleader vs. pom squad turf war threatening half time as they know it? Check. An Undead psychic hottie (Cliff) who’s predicting a zombie apocalypse – and doing his best to tempt Megan away from Ethan? Yum. I mean, Check. Earth-shattering secrets that could land Megan in Settler prison for life? Um, IT WASN’T ME!!! Everyone thinks Megan’s at fault for the new uber-zombie uprising. Looks like she’ll need the help of both Cliff and Ethan if she’s going to prove her innocence before it’s too late…
Catherine Fisher
Incarceron
Penguin Dial (US & CA: 26th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible. And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside – she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don’t realise that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.
Bones of Faerie
Random House (US & CA: 26th January 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so fifteen-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Corn resists being harvested; dandelions have thorns. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Still Liza feels safe. Her father is strong and has protected their town by laying down strict rules. Among them: Any trace of magic must be destroyed, no matter where it is found. Then Liza’s sister is born with faerie-pale hair, clear as glass, and Liza’s father leaves the baby on a hillside to die. When her mother disappears into the forest and Liza herself discovers she has the faerie ability to see – into the past, into the future – she has no choice but to flee. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.
Gena Showalter
Intertwined
Harlequin Mira (AU: January 2010)
Review
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him: One can time-travel. One can raise the dead. One can tell the future. And one can possess another human. With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now, they’re causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he’ll blink and suddenly he’s a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he’ll change the future. Or, he’ll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she’s going to die. He’s so over it. All he wants is peace. And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, for as long as he’s with her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He’s a loner; she has friends. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it’s too late…Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own and a vampire princess Aden can’t resist. Two romances, both forbidden…doomed. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger…but not everyone will come out alive…
Alexander Gordon Smith
Death Sentence (Furnace, Book 3)
Allen & Unwin Faber (AU: January 2010)
Buy (UK) Buy (Worldwide)
We were so close. We had one last shot at freedom and we failed. This time the warden will show us no mercy. This time, our punishment is a death sentence. Only death won’t come for us here, not in Furnace. It wouldn’t dare. No, our fate is something much, much worse. Because in the bloodstained laboratories deep beneath the prison lies the horrific truth behind the warden’s plans. Down here, monsters are made.
