Fresh Meat: March 1-7th Speculative Fiction Releases

Posted March 3, 2015 by Carmel in Fresh Meat / 30 Comments

Urban Fantasy:

Pocket Apocalypse
Pocket Apocalypse (InCryptid #4)
by Seanan McGuire
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Alexander Price has survived gorgons, basilisks, and his own family—no small feat, considering that his family includes two telepaths, a reanimated corpse, and a colony of talking, pantheistic mice. Still, he’s starting to feel like he’s got the hang of things…at least until his girlfriend, Shelby Tanner, shows up asking pointed questions about werewolves and the state of his passport. From there, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to Australia, a continent filled with new challenges, new dangers, and yes, rival cryptozoologists who don’t like their “visiting expert” very much.




Australia is a cryptozoologist’s dream, filled with unique species and unique challenges. Unfortunately, it’s also filled with Shelby’s family, who aren’t delighted by the length of her stay in America. And then there are the werewolves to consider: infected killing machines who would like nothing more than to claim the continent as their own. The continent which currently includes Alex.




Survival is hard enough when you’re on familiar ground. Alex Price is very far from home, but there’s one thing he knows for sure: he’s not going down without a fight.[/learn_more]


Dead Heat (Alpha & Omega #4)
by Patricia Briggs
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way…




Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.[/learn_more]


Vision in Silver (The Others #3)
by Anne Bishop
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.




Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.




For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…[/learn_more]


Infinity Bell (House Immortal #2)
by Devon Monk
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Return to national bestselling author Devon Monk’s heartpounding House Immortal series, where eleven powerful Houses control the world and all its resources. But now, the treaty between them has been broken, and no one—not even the immortal galvanized—is safe….




Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.




Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.




Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster….[/learn_more]


Dark Debt (Chicagoland Vampires #11)
by Chloe Neill
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A vampire never gets old. But neither do his enemies. When a figure from Ethan’s dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her Master don’t know whether he’s friend or foe. But they’ll have to figure out soon, because trouble is brewing in the Windy City.




At an exclusive society soiree attended by the upper echelons of the human and supernatural worlds, Merit and Ethan barely stop the assassination of a guest. When the target turns out to be a shady businessman with a criminal edge, Merit suspects a human vendetta. But the assassins have fangs….




The connections to Chicago’s Houses go deeper than Merit knows, and even one wrong move could be her last….[/learn_more]


Phoenix in My Fortune
(Monster Haven #6)
by R.L. Naquin
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]When Zoey Donovan found out monsters are real, her life changed—mostly for the better. Since then, she’s fought bad guys, saved the world a time or two and earned the love of a growing family of humans and Hidden creatures alike. But the danger that’s chased her from the beginning is finally here.




Shadow Man, aka The Last Hidden, has stepped out of the story humans wrote for him and into the real world, hell-bent on stealing children. Fiction has become reality and Shadow Man intends to break the Covenant, reclaim the Hidden, and kill all Aegises along the way…triple bad news for Zoey and her mother, the only two Aegises still alive.




Zoey will have to rescue the stolen kids and hunt down the most terrifying villain humanity has ever imagined. But how can she fight a creature only invented a few years ago? If Shadow Man triumphs, the world as she knows it will end. If Zoey succeeds in driving him out, the people she loves the most may be lost to her forever.[/learn_more]


A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark
by Harry Connolly
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A MYSTERIOUS KILLING




After years of waging a secret war against the supernatural, Marley Jacobs put away her wooden stakes and silver bullets, then turned her back on violence. She declared Seattle, her city, a safe zone for everyone, living and undead. There would be no more preternatural murder under her watch.




But waging peace can make as many enemies as waging war, and when Marley’s nephew turns up dead in circumstances suspiciously like a vampire feeding, she must look into it. Is there a new arrival in town? Is someone trying to destroy her fragile truce? Or was her nephew murdered because he was, quite frankly, a complete tool?




As Marley investigates her nephew’s death, she discovers he had been secretly dabbling in the supernatural himself. What, exactly, had he been up to, and who had he been doing it with? More importantly, does it threaten the peace she has worked so hard to create? (Spoiler: yeah, it absolutely does.)[/learn_more]


The Danger of Destiny (Mystwalker #4)
by Leigh Evans
Urban Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]WHY WHISTLE IN THE DARK…




There are very few days off when you’re on an epic quest. Believe me, I know. I’m Hedi Peacock—one half Fae, the other Were—and if being a half-breed with one foot in each world isn’t tough enough to manage, there are the four chambers of my heart to consider. The one who holds the strings? Robson Trowbridge, the Alpha of Creemore. If I had my way, he and I would be locked in a bedroom, for eternity, but a pressing family matter needs my attention. It’s true what they say: A woman’s work is never done.




WHEN YOU CAN HOWL AT THE MOON?




My twin brother is being held captive by the Old Mage in another realm. Lo and behold, as soon as Trowbridge and I arrive in Merenwyn, we’re separated in spectacular, dramatic fashion—and I’m left to figure out how to maintain the fragile balance between my Fae magic and my wolf’s blood in a realm that cries to both. Not easy, particularly when I’m keeping an iron-grip on my temper so as not to dispatch with extreme prejudice the odd wizard or smart-mouthed mutt servant who crosses my path. My mama never told me there’d be days like these, but I’m not going down without a fight…or my mate.[/learn_more]



Science Fiction / Fantasy:

Old Venus
by George R.R. Martin
Science Fiction
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois




From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life.




But don’t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers—edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois—turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination.




Join our cast of award-winning contributors—including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more—as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.




FEATURING ALL-NEW STORIES BY




Eleanor Arnason • Elizabeth Bear • David Brin • Tobias S. Buckell • Michael Cassutt • Joe Haldeman • Matthew Hughes • Gwyneth Jones • Joe R. Lansdale • Stephen Leigh • Paul McAuley • Ian McDonald • Garth Nix • Mike Resnick • Allen M. Steele • Lavie Tidhar




And an Introduction by Gardner Dozois[/learn_more]


The Suicide Exhibition
by Justin Richards
Science Fiction
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The threat is not new. The aliens have been here before.




The German war machine has woken an ancient threat – the alien Vril and their Ubermensch have returned. With this new power, ultimate Victory in the war for Europe is now within the Nazis’ grasp.Obsessed with the Occult, Hitler and other senior Nazis believed they were destined to inherit the Earth. To this end, they are determined to recover ‘their’ ancient artifacts — the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Destiny. When Dunkirk veteran and Foreign Office trouble-shooter Major Guy Pentecross stumbles across a seemingly unbelievable conspiracy, he, together with pilot and American spy Sarah Diamond and SOE operative Leo Davenport, enter the shadow world of Section Z. All three have major roles to play as they uncover the Nazis’ insidious plot to use the Vril’s technology to win the war… at any cost.[/learn_more]


Of Silk and Steam
(London Steampunk #5)
by Bec McMaster
Science Fiction / Steampunk
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]ENEMIES. ALLIES. LOVERS.




When her beloved father was assassinated, Lady Aramina swore revenge. The man responsible is well beyond her grasp, but his dangerously seductive heir, Leo Barrons, is fair game. When Mina obtains evidence proving that Leo is illegitimate, she has the means to destroy both the killer and his son, a man who troubles her heart and tempts her body.




A woman of mystery, Mina’s long driven Leo crazy with glimpses of a fiery passion that lurks beneath her icy veneer. He knows she’s hiding something, and he’s determined to unravel her layer by silken layer. He just doesn’t expect the beautiful liar to be the key to overthrowing the corrupt prince consort…or to saving his own carefully walled-off heart.[/learn_more]


The Crow of Connemara
by Stephen Leigh
Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The Crow of Connemara is a contemporary Celtic fantasy set primarily in Ireland. Picking up threads from ancient Irish mythology and folktales, this story is fantasy, drama, and tragic romance all at once, a tale caught in the dark places where the world of ancient myth intersects our own, where old ways and old beliefs struggle not to be overwhelmed by the modern world.




Colin Doyle is young Irish-American musician from Chicago, whose interest is traditional Irish music. Maeve Gallagher is an Oileánach, an “Islander” from Ireland’s west coast. Islanders are outcasts treated with suspicion by the locals, who think them responsible for wild and strange happenings in the area. Colin soon discovers that he’s connected to Maeve in ways he never could have imagined.[/learn_more]


Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf
by R. A. Salvatore
Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Bloody war rages across the Forgotten Realms world in the third book of the Companions Codex, the latest series in R.A. Salvatore’s New York Times best-selling saga of dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden.




In the evolving world of the Forgotten Realms setting, the Sundering has given way to months of cloud-cloaked darkness, and war rages under that oppressive sky. The orcs have broken a hard-fought treaty that’s held, however tentatively, for a hundred years, and the time to settle old scores has devolved into an all-out brawl for control of the ancient realms of the North.[/learn_more]


Rising Fire (Stone Circles #1)
by Terri Brisbin
Fantasy / Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]What if the standing stones and stone circles across the old Celtic world had a secret origin and use? What if some opened into another world? What if the goddess of fire was trapped beneath one?




Lovely and innocent, Brienne of Yester has always been able to manipulate fire, but when her powers suddenly surge, the simple life she once knew explodes.




Handsome, fearless, and commanding, William de Brus has been summoned by the king to investigate a nobleman rumored to have powers linked to the fabled fire goddess. When he chances upon Brienne, his desire for her is immediate. But as his mystical quest unfolds, William realizes that she is at the center of it — for Brienne possesses the very power he has been sent to vanquish….




As their attraction deepens, William attempts to free Brienne from the dark force beginning to control her — even when his duty demands that he treat her as an enemy. With emotions flaring, fire rising, and evil threatening at every turn, can the two lovers survive the coming battle and save all of humanity?[/learn_more]



Paranormal Romance:

Beyond the Darkness (Darkness #3)
by Katie Reus
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Now that she has her freedom, she’s not giving it up.




Dragon shifter Keelin Petronilla spent centuries in forced hibernation dreaming of one thing: freedom. Now she’s living life on her terms—she’s ditched her clan for an unruly wolf pack, she tends bar for a half-demon, and she’s loving it…until a powerful supernatural being targets her. She intends to handle the mysterious attacks on her own…without the help of dragon Alpha Bran Devlin. Sure, he’s sexy in that hot, scowling possessive way, but Keelin wants to live her own life in her own way.




Now that he’s found his mate, he’s not letting her go.




Former black ops agent Bran Devlin is a born dragon Alpha and leader of a fierce clan. Getting mated was never part of his plan—until a feisty dragon princess gets under his skin in a big way. The hell of it is, she doesn’t want a mate; she just wants to have a good time. He plays along, but when a dark and powerful being marks her for death, he’s determined to stay by her side in spite of her protests. Now that he’s found his mate, he means to keep her safe no matter what the cost…even if he has to risk it all. [/learn_more]


Binding Ties (Sentinel Wars #9)
by Shannon K. Butcher
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]They are the Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn. Now a warrior must protect his onetime enemy—without succumbing to his darkest desires.




Lyka Phelan is a Slayer, sent to live among her enemy to guarantee lasting peace with the Theronai. Yet she has a secret—and it could make her a slave to their power. But when a pack of Synestryn destroys her home and captures her packmates, Lyka realizes her freedom is a small price to pay for the safety of her people. So she strikes a bargain with the leader of the Theronai—one that reveals her true identity and binds her to him forever.




Joseph thought he knew better than to tangle with the beautiful, hot-blooded Lyka. One misstep could send their races straight back to war. But now he has no choice other than to help her. Forced to protect her with his life, Joseph finds himself increasingly drawn to Lyka. As they risk everything in their fight against the demons, he realizes he must convince her to surrender to him completely—otherwise she will never truly be his.[/learn_more]


Shifter Mates (Anthology)
by Jennifer Ashley
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A sexy Shifters Unbound Anthology, including the novellas Lone Wolf and Feral Heat.




Together in one volume for the first time, two sexy paranormal tales of untamed passion, uncontrollable attraction, and unquenchable desire…




In Lone Wolf, Ellison Rowe is a wolf Shifter and a self-proclaimed cowboy, but he’s still searching for someone to ease his loneliness. Maria is a human taking refuge among the Shifters, trying to move on from her haunted past. When Ellison and Maria team up, the passion between them is undeniable—as is the hope that their love is just what they both need to start anew…




In Feral Heat, Jace Warden finds himself in close quarters with beautiful and courageous shifter Deni Rowe when he travels to Austin to find a way to free all Shifters from their Collars. As Deni and Jace work together, they feel the mate bond begin. But Deni has troubles of her own, and even Jace’s fierce devotion might not be enough to help her…[/learn_more]


Wild Wood
by Posie Graeme-Evans
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]For fans of Diana Galbaldon’s Outlander series comes a gripping and passionate new historical novel. Intrigue, ancient secrets, fairy tales, and the glorious scenery of the Scottish borders drive the story of a woman who must find out who she really is.




Jesse Marley calls herself a realist; she’s all about the here and now. But in the month before Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981 all her certainties are blown aside by events she cannot control. First she finds out she’s adopted. Then she’s run down by a motor bike. In a London hospital, unable to speak, she must use her left hand to write. But Jesse’s right-handed. And as if her fingers have a will of their own, she begins to draw places she’s never been, people from another time—a castle, a man in armor. And a woman’s face.




Rory Brandon, Jesse’s neurologist, is intrigued. Maybe his patient’s head trauma has brought out latent abilities. But wait. He knows the castle. He’s been there.




So begins an extraordinary journey across borders and beyond time, a chase that takes Jesse to Hundredfield, a Scottish stronghold built a thousand years ago by a brutal Norman warlord. What’s more, Jesse Marley holds the key to the castle’s secret and its sacred history. And Hundredfield, with its grim Keep, will help Jesse find her true lineage. But what does the legend of the Lady of the Forest have to do with her? That’s the question at the heart of Wild Wood. There are no accidents. There is only fate.[/learn_more]


Vampires Never Cry Wolf
(Dead in the City #3)
by Sara Humphreys
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Vampires are nothing but trouble…


As far as beautiful vampire Sadie Pemberton is concerned, werewolves shouldn’t be sticking their noses into New York’s supernatural politics. They don’t know jack about running a city-not even that hot-as-sin new vampire-werewolf liaison who’s just arrived in town.




Werewolves are too sexy for their own good…


The last thing Killian Bane wanted was to end up in New York City playing nice with vampires. Unfortunately, he’s on a mission, and when he encounters the sexiest, most stubborn female vamp he’s ever met, he’s going to have to turn on a little of that wolfish charm…and Sadie’s going to learn a thing or two about what it means to have a wild side…[/learn_more]


Any Witch Way She Can
by Christine Warren
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]First released in the No Rest for the Witches anthology, delight in this magical, sexy short story from bestselling author Christine Warren. Available for the first time ever as a standalone ebook, get lost in the sinful pleasures of the being the witch has summoned to tame her world…and unleash her passion…




When a witch, craving the touch of someone who loves her, decides to take matters of into her own hands, she casts a spell of unmeasured powers into the cosmos to find the one who can set her soul on fire. And when her magic summons the sexiest being she’s ever laid eyes on, desire will consume them both…in Any Witch Way She Can.
[/learn_more]


The Wicked City (Siren Song #1)
by Megan Morgan
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Whatever June Coffin says, goes—literally. And it’s not just because she’s a chain smoking rebel. As a Siren, June has the ability to force people to obey any command she voices. But in a world where those with supernatural powers quickly become lab rats for science, she’d rather look out for herself than fight on the front lines…until her similarly gifted twin brother, Jason, is captured by Chicago’s Institute of Supernatural Research.




To save Jason, June has no choice but to enter a hidden world of conspiracy, murder—and strange bedfellows—including a widowed paranormal advocate whose memory June accidentally erased, and a fiery paranormal separatist leader. Soon the lines between attraction and strategic alliance become blurred. But in a city exploding with paranormal crossfire, and her brother’s life at stake, June will have to face her inner demons and finally take a stand.[/learn_more]


Figure of Speech (Halle Shifters #4)
by Dana Marie Bell
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]When two hearts speak as one, no words are needed.




Chloe Williams has waited four long years for her mate to acknowledge her. Time and again he has turned her away for being too young, even when she was hospitalized, recovering from a beating that left lingering aftereffects. Now that he’s been turned into a Wolf, his mating instincts are kicking in big time. Chloe has to decide if it’s worth risking her heart yet again.




Ten years older than Chloe and dealing with issues she knows nothing about, veterinarian James Woods is about ready to howl in frustration. He’s been drawn to Chloe since she was a radiant nineteen-year-old college student, but the age difference held him back from making a move on her. Now his Wolf wants what’s his, and Jim is finally in a place where he can claim her.




Between meddling mothers, Hunter brothers, and a mystery that threatens to end Chloe’s life, they might find an opportunity to tell each other just how they feel. Or find themselves separated by more than just misunderstood words.




Warning: This book contains explicit sex, graphic language, and two people who finally get their damn act together.[/learn_more]


Cursed
by Lisa Childs
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Is the FBI agent her protector—or greatest threat?




Again and again, the people Maria cares about are turning up dead. Hanged, crushed, drowned. And in spite of all her powers, Maria can’t seem to protect them. All she can do is keep away from the ones she loves the most—and hope that the witch hunter doesn’t find them, too.




Because the hunter could be anyone—even Seth Hughes, the brooding FBI agent who claims to be investigating Maria for murder. From the moment they meet, the intense connection she feels with Seth tells her that their destinies are bound together…somehow. As the hunter claims another victim and zeroes in on Maria, can she risk getting close to Seth?[/learn_more]


Raintree: Oracle (Raintree #4)
by Linda Winstead Jones
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]When prophecies turn deadly, all will be revealed in the final captivating book in the New York Times bestselling Raintree series!




For years, Echo Raintree has battled against the uncontrollable visions of disaster that sweep over her. Now she’s determined to vanquish them—and there’s only one man who can help her. But not just a man, Ryder Duncan is a fearsome wizard, determined to protect those he loves against all who threaten them…no matter the personal cost.




When Echo arrives in the remote Irish village seeking help, she finds herself drawn into the center of a brewing battle. And as her dreams and her life continue to spin out of her control, so do her feelings for the enigmatic Rye. The closer they become, the more her past, and Rye’s dark secret threaten their future, their love—and even her sanity…[/learn_more]


Sworn To Love (L.O.S.T #3)
by Karin Harlow
Paranormal Romance
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The third entry in the suspenseful series, following Enemy Lover and Enemy Mine, featuring vampires and a black ops team called L.O.S.T.—only available as an eBook original.




When L.O.S.T. operative, Gage Stone, is given the mission to infiltrate a lycan drug cartel’s compound and erase the entire organization, he doesn’t count on meeting, and falling for, Dominique, the alpha’s daughter…[/learn_more]



Young Adult:

Razorhurst
by Justine Larbalestier
Young Adult
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The notoriously bloody history of a mob-run Sydney, Australia neighborhood is fertile ground for this historical thriller with a paranormal twist: two girls’ ability to see the many ghosts haunting Razorhurst.




Sydney’s deadly Razorhurst neighborhood, 1932. Gloriana Nelson and Mr. Davidson, two ruthless mob bosses, have reached a fragile peace—one maintained by “razor men.” Kelpie, orphaned and homeless, is blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see Razorhurst’s many ghosts. They tell her secrets the living can’t know about the cracks already forming in the mobs’ truce.




Then Kelpie meets Dymphna Campbell, a legendary beauty and prized moll of Gloriana Nelson. She’s earned the nickname “Angel of Death” because none of her beaus has ever survived knowing her. Unbeknownst to Kelpie, Dymphna can see ghosts, too, and she knows that Gloriana’s hold is crumbling one henchman at a time. As loyalties shift and betrayal threatens the two girls at every turn, Dymphna is determined not only to survive, but to rise to the top with Kelpie at her side.[/learn_more]


Sorceress (Spellcaster #3)
by Claudia Gray
Young Adult
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The triumphant conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s dazzling Spellcaster series.




To save the lives of countless people in Captive’s Sound, Nadia swore herself to the One Beneath—to black magic. Her plan, and the town’s only hope, is for Nadia to learn enough sorcery to strike back against the forces of evil. But now that she’s separated from her friends, her family, and her Steadfast, Mateo, Nadia is more vulnerable than ever to the growing darkness.




The final battle lines are drawn, surprising alliances are made, and true love is tested in the action-packed conclusion to the breathtaking Spellcaster series.[/learn_more]


Kin (Tales of Beauty & Madness #3)
by Lili St. Crow
Young Adult
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Full moon. Glowing eyes. Red lips. And such sharp, sharp teeth…




In the kin world, girls Ruby de Varre’s age are expected to play nice, get betrothed, and start a family—especially if they’re rootkin, and the fate of the clan is riding on them. But after a childhood of running wild in the woods, it’s hard to turn completely around and be demure. Even if your Gran is expecting it.




Then Conrad, handsome and charming, from a clan across the Waste, comes to New Haven to seal alliance between their two families. The sparks fly immediately. Conrad is smart, dominant, and downright gorgeous. Yet as Ruby gets to know him more, she starts to realize something’s…off.




Then, the murders start. A killer stalks the city streets, and just when Ruby starts to suspect the unimaginable, she becomes the next target. Now Ruby’s about to find out that Conrad’s secrets go deeper than she ever could have guessed—and it’s up to Ruby to save her Gran, her clan, and maybe even herself….




Prepare to become thrillingly lost in the third, final, and simply mesmerizing installment of Lili St. Crow’s Tales of Beauty and Madness series.[/learn_more]


Crow Moon
by Anna McKerrow
Young Adult
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Danny is a fun-loving 16-year-old looking for a father figure and falling in love with a different girl every day. He certainly doesn’t want to follow in his mum’s witchy footsteps.




Just as his community is being threatened by gangs intent on finding a lucrative power source to sell to the world, Danny discovers he is stunningly powerful. And when he falls for Saba, a gorgeous but capricious girl sorceress, he thinks maybe the witch thing might not be such a bad idea…




But what cost will Danny pay as, with his community on the brink of war, he finds that love and sorcery are more dangerous than he ever imagined?




Wickedness and passion combine in this coming-of-age adventure.[/learn_more]


Deviate (The Light Key Trilogy #2)
by Tracy Clark
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]On the run with her mom and Giovanni, Cora Sandoval must find the answers to why an ancient race of soul-stealers are determined to possess the pure energy of the Scintilla…or die trying.




Learning the truth about herself was just the beginning.




Tormented after a daring escape, and heartbroken from her good-bye with someone she loves and can never have, Cora must find a way to stop the Arrazi from murdering innocent humans and from violating, using, and killing the Scintilla for their powers.




On the run with two others like her, they’ve relied on each other for survival. But their alliance of three means they’re even more sought after by those who would do anything to capture them. They are determined to find out why.




But it’s not just the Arrazi who chase them. There’s madness among races and deadly competition in the hunt for the trio. The Scintilla will soon be extinct if they don’t solve the mystery of The Light Key. If they fail, the truth will stay buried forever and mankind will pay the ultimate price.[/learn_more]


The Wizard Returns
(Dorothy Must Die #0.3)
by Danielle Paige
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The Wizard left Oz in a hot air balloon—or did he? This digital original novella is the third installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and exciting New York Times bestseller Dorothy Must Die.




Dorothy Gale is back . . . and she’s not the sweet little heroine of Oz anymore. She’s power-hungry and vicious, and she leaves a trail of destruction beneath her spike-heeled, magical shoes. But she wasn’t always in charge. There used to be a different ruler of Oz. Someone who also came from the Other Place, and who stole power for himself. They called him the Wizard.




The story goes that when a young Dorothy revealed the Wizard as a fraud, the man behind the curtain fled Oz in his hot air balloon. But in The Wizard Returns, he wakes in a field of poppies to find out that not only had he never left, but that he has no memory of who—or where—he is. As he undergoes a series of tests to uncover his memories, he finds that the very girl who threw him from the Emerald Palace is in control. And that Oz may be his destiny after all.[/learn_more]


The Mermaid’s Sister
by Carrie Anne Noble
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]There is no cure for being who you truly are…




In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie’s healing potions. By night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara’s favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree.




One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister’s skin. She realizes that Maren is becoming a mermaid—and knows that no mermaid can survive on land. Desperate to save her, Clara and O’Neill place the mermaid-girl in their gypsy wagon and set out for the sea. But no road is straight, and the trio encounters trouble around every bend. Ensnared by an evil troupe of traveling performers, Clara and O’Neill must find a way to save themselves and the ever-weakening mermaid.




And always, in the back of her mind, Clara wonders, if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?[/learn_more]


The Winner’s Crime
(The Winner’s Trilogy #2)
by Marie Rutkoski
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.




As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.[/learn_more]


The Storyspinner
(The Keepers’ Chronicles #1)
by Becky Wallace
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Drama and danger abound in this fantasy realm where dukes play a game for the throne, magical warriors race to find the missing heir, and romance blossoms where it is least expected.




In a world where dukes plot their way to the throne, a Performer’s life can get tricky. And in Johanna Von Arlo’s case, it can be fatal. Expelled from her troupe after her father’s death, Johanna is forced to work for the handsome Lord Rafael DeSilva. Too bad they don’t get along. But while Johanna’s father’s death was deemed an accident, the Keepers aren’t so sure.




The Keepers, a race of people with magical abilities, are on a quest to find the princess—the same princess who is supposed to be dead and whose throne the dukes are fighting over. But they aren’t the only ones looking for her. And in the wake of their search, murdered girls keep turning up—girls who look exactly like the princess, and exactly like Johanna.




With dukes, Keepers, and a killer all after the princess, Johanna finds herself caught up in political machinations for the throne, threats on her life, and an unexpected romance that could change everything.[/learn_more]


Death Marked (Death Sworn #2)
by Leah Cypess
Young Adult / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. She could change history. But everything she thinks she knows is a lie. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Death Sworn will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.




At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She trained the assassins in magic—and fell in love with one of them. And she discovered her entire life had been built on a lie. After all of this, she wants to see the truth for herself. She infiltrates the Imperial Academy of Sorcery. She will see everything she despises about the corrupt empire—its thirst for power, merciless control, and careless violence. But she also finds something she never expected—friends, and a place to belong. Ileni no longer knows whose side she is on. Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Death Sworn.[/learn_more]


The Memory Key
by Liana Liu
Young Adult / Science Fiction
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Lora Mint is determined not to forget.




Though her mother’s been dead for five years, Lora struggles to remember every detail about her—most important, the specific events that occurred the night she sped off in her car, never to return.




But in a world ravaged by Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer’s, that isn’t easy. Usually Lora is aided by her memory key, a standard-issue chip embedded in her brain that preserves memories just the way a human brain would. Then a minor accident damages Lora’s key, and her memories go haywire. Suddenly Lora remembers a moment from the night of her mother’s disappearance that indicates her death was no accident. Can she trust these formerly forgotten memories? Or is her ability to remember every painful part of her past driving her slowly mad—burying the truth forever?




Lora’s story of longing for her lost mother—and for the truth behind her broken memories—takes readers on a twisty ride. The authentic, emotional narrative sparks fascinating questions about memory and privacy in a world that increasingly relies on electronic recall.[/learn_more]


The Selection Stories 2
The Selection Stories 2
(The Selection #.4 & #2.6)
by Kiera Cass
Young Adult / Dystopian
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]Two novellas set in the captivating world of Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series, now available in print for the first time! In The Queen and The Favorite, discover untold stories from the lives of two of the Selection series’ most beloved characters.




Before America Singer’s story began, another girl came to the palace to compete for the hand of a different prince. In The Queen, follow Prince Maxon’s mother, Amberly, through the Selection that made her a beloved queen.




Marlee Tames came to the palace to win Prince Maxon’s heart—but her own heart had other ideas. The Favorite goes behind the scenes of Marlee and Carter’s life together, from the fateful night their secret was discovered to the events at the end of The One.[/learn_more]


The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
(Fairyland #4)
by Catherynne M. Valente
Middle Grade / Fantasy
[learn_more caption=”Book Description”]When a young troll named Hawthorn is stolen from Fairyland by the Golden Wind, he becomes a changeling – a human boy — in the strange city of Chicago, a place no less bizarre and magical than Fairyland when seen through trollish eyes. Left with a human family, Hawthorn struggles with his troll nature and his changeling fate. But when he turns twelve, he stumbles upon a way back home, to a Fairyland much changed from the one he remembers. Hawthorn finds himself at the center of a changeling revolution–until he comes face to face with a beautiful young Scientiste with very big, very red assistant.[/learn_more]



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Carmel Signature

Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!

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30 responses to “Fresh Meat: March 1-7th Speculative Fiction Releases”

  1. E.J. Stevens  

    I need to catch up on Alpha & Omega (LOVED the prequel and book 1…I need more Charles in my life *swoon*), and I went on a book buying binge and loaded Chicagoland Vampires and The Others series onto my Kindle (I know money to spend will “burn a hole in your wallet” but what is it when you have books to read on your Kindle? We need a catchy idiom for this.). Ooh, and A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark is going on my wish list. *adds to Goodreads*

    Now all I need to do is create a clone capable of writing and cleaning the house so that I have more time to read. 🙂
    E.J. Stevens recently posted…Paranormal Road Trip: Destination NYC with Susan Wright

  6. Jenny from Supernatural Snark  

    Another great book week this week! The Alpha and Omega series and the Chicagoland Vampires series are two of my all time favorites, so I pounced right on both of those:) I thoroughly enjoyed The Storyspinner as well and can’t wait to get my hands on Death Marked!