Posted September 24, 2013 by Carmel in Fresh Meat / 4 Comments
Urban Fantasy:
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All Is Fair (The Split Worlds #3)
by Emma Newman
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]In love and war nothing is safe.
William Iris struggles to keep the throne of Londinium whilst hated by his own court and beset by outsiders, while Cathy discovers the legacy of her former governess. But those who dare to speak out about Society are always silenced. Sometimes for good.
While trying to avoid further torments from the mercurial fae, Sam finds himself getting tangled in the affairs of the Elemental Court. But an unexpected offer from the powerful and enigmatic Lord Iron turns out to be far more than Sam bargained for.
Max and the gargoyle are getting closer to uncovering who is behind the murder of the Bath Chapter and the corruption in London and Max finds the gargoyle’s controversial ideas harder to ignore. Can he stay true to his sworn duty without being destroyed by his own master, whose insanity threatens to unravel them all?[/learn_more] |
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Stonecast
(The Spellmason Chronicles #2)
by Anton Strout
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]NO STONE UNTURNED…
Alexandra Belarus was an artist stuck working in her New York family’s business…until she discovered her true legacy—a deep and ancient magic. Lexi became the last practicing Spellmason, with the power to breathe life into stone. And as her powers awoke, so did her family’s most faithful protector: a gargoyle named Stanis. But when a centuries-old evil threatened her family and her city, Stanis sacrificed himself to save everything Lexi held dear.
With Stanis gone, Lexi’s efforts to master Spellmasonry—even with the help of her dedicated friends—are faltering. Hidden forces both watch her and threaten her, and she finds herself suddenly under the mysterious wing of a secret religious society determined to keep magic hidden from the world.
But the question of Stanis’s fate haunts her—and as the storm around her grows, so does the fear that she won’t be able to save him in her turn.
[/learn_more] |
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Chasing the Shadows
(Nikki & Michael #3)
by Keri Arthur
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A QUESTION OF LUST
Nikki James is in San Francisco at the request of her partner and best friend, Jake. The wife of an old friend is missing, and Jake intends to find her—whatever the cost. The authorities believe the kidnappings to be the work of a sick mind, but Nikki knows that the truth is something much worse—especially since she seems to have an unexpected psychic link to the killer. But as always, she is more than willing to risk her own life to save another’s.
For Michael Kelly, Nikki’s bravado is a source of endless terror. He wants nothing more than to make Nikki a permanent part of his life, but he knows that her quest is sure to get her killed. As they chase through the sewers and tunnels of San Francisco and the body count begins to rise, Michael badgers her to stay off the case, but Nikki has no intention of complying. She wants him to realize that she’s either a full partner in his life or she’s out. But nothing prepares her for the price she has to pay for her stubbornness—the life of someone she loves.
Includes an excerpt of the next novel in Keri Arthur’s Nikki and Michael series, Kiss the Night Goodbye.[/learn_more] |
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Celtic Moon (Celtic Wolves #1)
by Jan DeLima
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Like father, like son…
Sophie Thibodeau has been on the run from the father of her son for more than fifteen years. Now her son, Joshua, is changing, and her greatest fears are about to be realized. He’s going to end up being just like his father—a man who can change into a wolf.
Dylan Black has been hunting for Sophie since the night she ran from him—an obsession he cannot afford in the midst of an impending war. Dylan controls Rhuddin Village, an isolated town in Maine where he lives with an ancient Celtic tribe. One of the few of his clan who can still shift into a wolf, he must protect his people from the Guardians, vicious warriors who seek to destroy them.
When Sophie and Dylan come together for the sake of their son, their reunion reignites the fierce passion they once shared. For the first time in years, Dylan’s lost family is within his grasp. But will he lose them all over again? Are Joshua and Sophie strong enough to fight alongside Dylan in battle? Nothing less than the fate of his tribe depends on it…[/learn_more] |
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Autumn Whispers (Otherworld #14)
by Yasmine Galenorn
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch with three sexy husbands. My sister Menolly is a vampire married to a wildly hot werepuma. And me? I’m Delilah, a two-faced werecat and Death Maiden. The Supe Community is in danger, and now it’s up to us to unravel a mystery to which we may not want the answers…
When two vampiric software engineers approach us about a missing colleague, we don’t expect to find much. But then Grandmother Coyote steps in and our simple missing persons case rapidly devolves into a nightmare of debauchery, slavery, and corporate greed. Now, we must infiltrate and destroy an underground organization of influential men, led by the mysterious Lowestar Radcliff, before they discover we’re on to them. But one misstep puts our whole operation and our lives in peril, and I must unleash my powers as a Death Maiden, even if it means destroying someone I love.[/learn_more] |
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On Midnight Wings
(The Maker’s Song #5)
by Adrian Phoenix
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]TORN BETWEEN THREE WORLDS— A DANGER TO THEM ALL.
Even as Dante Baptiste’s identity as both True Blood and Fallen ripples throughout New Orleans, his powers are expanding in surprising, devastating directions. Kidnapped, drugged, and lost to his brutal past, the vampire wavers between sanity and breakdown at the hands of his torturers.
Forsaking the FBI she once loved, Heather Wallace has likewise fallen into malevolent hands. As she struggles to reunite with Dante, men of hate and government evil will try to keep them apart. Even as their teammates frantically search for the pair, dark forces continue to gather against the young vampire—and the fates of mortals, nightkind, and the Fallen rest on him regaining control of his shattered psyche before he becomes the terrible, omnipotent Great Destroyer.[/learn_more] |
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Soul of Fire (The Portals #2)
by Laura Anne Gilman
Urban Fantasy
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Save the world—early and often.
Three months ago Jan learned that elves were real, our world wasn’t safe and it was up to her to save her boyfriend—and the world—from being englamoured into slavery. Now Jan has a new deadline—ten weeks, ten days and ten hours. That’s when the truce she arranged between our world and the elves’ realm ends, and the invasion starts.
While supernatural creatures work to defend humanity, Jan and the kelpie Martin have to find the preter queen, and use her to force the portals closed. But when magic mixes with technology, shutting it down isn’t as simple as closing a door or pulling a plug….
Jan’s geek-girl know-how might have gotten her this far, but they’re going to need technical skills and magic to shut the portals for good….
And their time’s nearly up.[/learn_more] |
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The Incrementalists
by Steven Brust & Skyler White
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]”Secret societies, immortality, murder mysteries and Las Vegas all in one book? Shut up and take my money.” —John Scalzi
The Incrementalists—a secret society of two hundred people with an unbroken lineage reaching back forty thousand years. They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate with one another across nations, races, and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, just a little bit at a time. Their ongoing argument about how to do this is older than most of their individual memories.
Phil, whose personality has stayed stable through more incarnations than anyone else’s, has loved Celeste—and argued with her—for most of the last four hundred years. But now Celeste, recently dead, embittered, and very unstable, has changed the rules—not incrementally, and not for the better. Now the heart of the group must gather in Las Vegas to save the Incrementalists, and maybe the world.
“Watch Steven Brust. He’s good. He moves fast. He surprises you. Watching him untangle the diverse threads of intrigue, honor, character and mayhem from amid the gears of a world as intricately constructed as a Swiss watch is a rare pleasure.” —Roger Zelazny[/learn_more] |
Steampunk:
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A Study in Silks
(The Baskerville Affair #1)
by Emma Jane Holloway
Steampunk
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London Society. But there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse.
In a Victorian era ruled by a council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch and sorcery the demon enemy of the Empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out?
But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock Holmes’s niece, Evelina should be able to find the answers, but she has a lot to learn. And the first decision she has to make is whether to trust the handsome, clever rake who makes her breath come faster, or the dashing trick rider who would dare anything for her if she would only just ask.[/learn_more] |
Paranormal Romance:
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Shadow’s Curse
(Imnada Brotherhood #2)
by Alexa Egan
Paranormal Romance
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The second novel in the dark and sexy Imnada Brotherhood trilogy featuring shape- shifters in Regency-era England.
Suffering under a horrible curse and renounced by his clan, the Imnada shape-shifter, David St. Leger, stalks the London nights in the form of a large black wolf, channeling his desperate rage on thieves and murderers. But when he’s captured by the very woman he sought to rescue, he’s thrown into the magical and dangerous world of the Other—half human, half-Fey, and one of the Imnada’s ancient enemies.
Forced by her half-brother to use her gift of necromancy as a money-making scheme, Callista Hawthorne wants only to flee to her aunt in Scotland where she’ll be safe. Considering David her last hope, she offers him a deal—freedom in exchange for his protection on the long journey north.
Now in a race for their lives, Other and Imnada must put aside centuries of animosity and work together if they are to overcome the dark forces intent on stopping them before they reach safety. For Callista is far more powerful than she knows, and with her help and her love, David may finally be able to break the curse of the Imnada…[/learn_more] |
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Deep in Crimson
(Return to Sanctuary #2)
by Sarah Gilman
Paranormal Romance
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Kidnapped by humans and raised in a research facility, Jett was taught to believe his own race of demons insidious and violent. But a friendship with the archangel Raphael shatters Jett’s reality. Caught between two worlds, his first months of freedom find him lingering on the fringes of his home colony, Sanctuary.
When the human who stole Jett captures another demon youth from Sanctuary, Jett learns of the real plan—to steal Raphael’s archangel grandchildren. Jett wants to bring his captor to justice, but he must overcome the lies from his past and join forces with the demon Guardians, and the demon child’s older sister, Lexine.
Irresistible attraction grows between Jett and Lexine, but Lexine’s prophetic dreams of being mated to a poacher make her wary. And if Jett goes through the all-consuming process of becoming a Guardian, he may forfeit any chance they have of being together.[/learn_more] |
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Bound by Night
(MoonBound Clan Vampire #1)
by Larissa Ione
Paranormal Romance
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when she narrowly survived a massacre: her family’s vampire slaves rebelled and killed everyone in her household. Twenty years later, Nicole now dedicates herself to finding a vaccine against vampirism…and eradicating the gruesome memories that give her nightmares.
Riker, a member of the wild vampire Moon Clan, is haunted by his own demons—his wife Lorraine had been captured and enslaved by the Martin family. It was during a botched escape attempt that she was killed, along with their unborn child. Still wracked with grief and anger, Riker is now fueled solely by the desire to rescue vampire slaves…and slaughter their owners.
When Riker stumbles upon Nicole in a chance meeting, he immediately recognizes her as a member of the Martin family that once enslaved his wife—and she recognizes him as the wild vampire she saw kissing a pregnant slave in the moments before her violent death—an image that has haunted her dreams for years.
When Riker kidnaps Nicole and they spend a night together in a cave on the way back to his clan, suddenly they begin to realize that they aren’t as different from one another as they may have thought—and they’re finding themselves drawn to one another…[/learn_more] |
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One Lucky Vampire (Argeneau #19)
by Lynsay Sands
Paranormal Romance
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]No one does wickedly funny and irresistibly steamy like New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands—especially in this red-hot romance between a reluctant vampire and the beauty who needs his help.
Luck be a vampire tonight . . .
When Nicole Phillips agreed to hire a housekeeper, she pictured someone a little frumpy and almost certainly female. Instead, she gets gorgeous, unmistakably male Jake Colson. The man is proving indispensable in the kitchen—and everywhere else. Except Jake might not be a mortal man at all.
. . . and every night
Who wouldn’t want to be a tall, dark, powerful vampire?Jake, for one. He’s barely had time to adjust to his newstate before he’s roped into a family favor. Still, secretly playing bodyguard to sweet, sexy Nicole is turning out to be the wildest ride of his life. First, he’ll put a stop to whoever’s targeting her. Then he’ll prove that this kind of love, and luck, happens only once in an eternity.[/learn_more] |
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A SEAL Wolf Christmas
(Heart of the Wolf #12)
by Terry Spear
Paranormal Romance
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Navy SEAL Bjornolf Jorgenson and undercover operative Anna Johnson have a rocky beginning at their first meeting all to do with pantyhose and tying her to a bed after some heavy-duty sparring, and him declaring she has mighty fine killer knees. Christmas is coming but thoughts of sugar plum fairies and kissing under the mistletoe isn’t something these two gray werewolves have in mind when they’re tasked to be the newlyweds preparing for Christmas while investigating a SEAL’s murder at a Christmas Tree farm.
Neither care about Christmas, sharing gifts, and all the traditions that go along with the season since neither enjoyed the holiday while growing up. But as they battle each other as to what makes for the perfect newly married couple’s first Christmas, they learn that a little Christmas cheer can become so much more, especially if they can take down a SEAL’s killer before they become his next target.[/learn_more] |
Young Adult
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Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)
by Sarah Rees Brennan
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A modern, magical twist on the Gothic Romance and Girl Detective genres, the Lynburn Legacy books will appeal to fans of both Beautiful Creatures and the Mortal Instruments series. Reviewers have praised the take-charge heroine and the spellbinding romance.
It’s time to choose sides. . . .
In this second book in the Lynburn Legacy, the sorcerous roots of Sorry-in-the-Vale have been exposed. No one in the town is safe, and a decision must be made: pay the sorcerers’ blood sacrifice, or fight. Will the townspeople (magical and not) become “owned” by the sorcerers who believe it is their right to rule? If Kami Glass has anything to say about it, evil will not win. Despite having given up her own piece of magic, she is determined to do everything she can to make a difference. And whether they want to or not, her circle of friends (and potential boyfriends) will not be able to help but go along with her unusual tactics.[/learn_more] |
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A Spark Unseen
(The Dark Unwinding #2)
by Sharon Cameron
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The thrilling sequel to Sharon Cameron’s blockbuster gothic steampunk romance, THE DARK UNWINDING, will captivate readers anew with mystery and intrigue aplenty.
When Katharine Tulman wakes in the middle of the night and accidentally foils a kidnapping attempt on her uncle, she realizes Stranwyne Keep is no longer safe for Uncle Tully and his genius inventions. She flees to Paris, where she hopes to remain undetected and also find the mysterious and handsome Lane, who is suspected to be dead.
But the search for Lane is not easy, and Katharine soon finds herself embroiled in a labyrinth of political intrigue. And with unexpected enemies and allies at every turn, Katharine will have to figure out whom she can trust–if anyone–to protect her uncle from danger once and for all.
Filled with deadly twists, whispering romance, and heart-stopping suspense, this sequel to THE DARK UNWINDING whisks readers off on another thrilling adventure.[/learn_more] |
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A Radiant Sky (A Beautiful Dark #3)
by Jocelyn Davies
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Perfect for fans of Lauren Kate’s Fallen series and Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush saga, this darkly romantic story that began with A Beautiful Dark and gathered intensity in A Fractured Light comes to a thrilling conclusion in A Radiant Sky.
Since the night of her seventeenth birthday, Skye has been torn between two opposites: light and dark, the Order and the Rebellion, Devin and Asher. But in a shocking decision, she chose neither.
With the help of her friends, Skye now forges her own path, setting out to gather an uprising of Rogues. The elusive half-angels may be the key to maintaining the balance of fate and free will. But completing the mission her parents left unfinished is more difficult—and dangerous—than she could have imagined. And doing so comes at a cost: her greatest love may now be a lethal enemy. Because it’s not just the Order that sees her as a threat who must be eliminated. The Rebellion does, too.
Dark days lie ahead, and if Skye is to survive, she’ll need to rely on her extraordinary powers and the strength of her will. Because she has a future—and a love—that’s worth fighting for.[/learn_more] |
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Inhuman (Fetch #1)
by Kat Falls
Young Adult / Dystopian
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Beauty versus beasts.
In the wake of a devastating biological disaster, the United States east of the Mississippi River has been abandoned. Now called the Feral Zone, a reference to the virus that turned millions of people into bloodthirsty savages, the entire area is off-limits. The punishment for violating the border is death.
Lane McEvoy can’t imagine why anyone would risk it. She’s grown up in the shadow of the great wall separating east from west, and she’s naturally curious about what’s on the other side – but she’s not that curious. Life in the west is safe, comfortable . . . sterile. Which is just how she likes it.
But Lane gets the shock of her life when she learns that someone close to her has crossed into the Feral Zone. And she has little choice but to follow. Lane travels east, risking life and limb and her very DNA, completely unprepared for what she finds in the ruins of civilization . . . and afraid to learn whether her humanity will prove her greatest strength or a fatal weakness.[/learn_more] |
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Countdown
by Michelle Rowen
Young Adult / Dystopian
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]3 seconds left to live.
Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped.
2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game.
Kira Jordan survived her family’s murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis.
1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it.
Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira’s psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan’s secrets prove ever more deadly, Kira’s only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can’t escape.
GAME 0VER.[/learn_more] |
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Vicious
by Victoria Schwab
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
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Through the Zombie Glass
(White Rabbit Chronicles #2)
by Gena Showalter
Young Adult
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| [learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.[/learn_more] |
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The Fallout (The Compound #2)
by S.A. Bodeen
Young Adult / Dystopian
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Eli and his family lived in an underground shelter they called the Compound for six years. They thought they were the only survivors of a nuclear attack, but when Eli learned that it was all a twisted experiment orchestrated by his tech-visionary father, he broke the family out. His father died trying to keep them imprisoned.
Now, the family must readjust to life in the real world. Their ordeal has made them so famous, they must stay in hiding—everyone from fatalists preparing for doomsday to the tabloid media wants a piece of them. Even worse, their father’s former adviser continues to control the company Eli and his twin brother are the heirs of.
As Eli tries to determine who the family can trust, he learns the nightmare of the Compound—and his father’s experiment—might not be over. The Fallout is S.A. Bodeen’s highly anticipated, thrilling sequel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.[/learn_more] |
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Inheritance (Adaptation #2)
by Malinda Lo
Young Adult
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[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The triangular spaceship hovered motionless in the sky above Reese Holloway’s house, as inscrutable as a black hole. It had seemed like a good idea when they were inside: to tell the truth about what happened to them at Area 51. It didn’t seem like such a good idea now.
Reese and David are not normal teens–not since they were adapted with alien DNA by the Imria, an extraterrestrial race that has been secretly visiting Earth for decades. Now everyone is trying to get to them: the government, the Imria, and a mysterious corporation that would do anything for the upper hand against the aliens.
Beyond the web of conspiracies, Reese can’t reconcile her love for David with her feelings for her ex-girlfriend Amber, an Imrian. But her choice between two worlds will play a critical role in determining the future of humanity, the Imria’s place in it, and the inheritance she and David will bring to the universe.
In this gripping sequel to Adaptation, Malinda Lo brings a thoughtful exploration of adolescence, sexuality, and “the other” to a science fiction thriller that is impossible to put down.[/learn_more] |
Tags: Fresh Meat, September 2013
So many good books out today! I got Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep, Gena Showalter’s Through the Zombie Glass and Jan DeLima’s Celtic Moon, but man so many more of these are giving me sad puppy eyes to buy them too!
I really need to get a move on and start Showalter’s YA series; I love zombies and Alice in Wonderland so I figure win/win, right?
I loved Vicious! I’ve had my eye on The Incrementalists, but I have to see a few more reviews before I decide to buy it.
Celtic Moon’s another good one. I just finished it.