August is supposed to be quiet and summery, right? Wrong! There are 52 new fantasy releases to keep you busy all the way into fall. Foz Meadows kicks off her new series with An Accident of Stars; Adrian Tchaikovsky introduces Spiderlight; N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth series continues with The Obelisk Gate; Blake Charlton returns to the world of Spellwright with Spellbreaker—and many, many more.
Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here. Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.
WEEK ONE
Infinite Risk (Immortal Game #3)—Ann Aguirre (August 2, Feiwel & Friends)
In a world of infinite risk, the stakes have never been so high. Beyond the pull of life and death lies the Immortal game. Edie Kramer has leaped back to put things right and save the boy she loves. Alone in the wrong timestream, she must reinvent herself and square off against dangerous Immortals determined to win this mortal match once and for all. As she navigates a new school and tries to put Kian on a different path, she also battles those will stop at nothing to keep her from derailing their deadly schemes. With few allies and her first love treating her like a stranger, Edie faces the most dangerous enemy of all—time itself.
Thunderlord—Marion Zimmer Bradley & Deborah J. Ross (August 2, DAW)
Far in Darkover’s past, the Ages of Chaos were a time of constant warfare, when immensely powerful psychic weapons ravaged the land and slaughtered entire armies. Perhaps none was more dangerous and unpredictable than the mental Gift to sense—and control—thunderstorms. When the realm of Aldaran and their Scathfell cousins came to blows, that Gift turned the tide of battle, and Aldaran prevailed. A generation later, the heir to Scathfell, Gwynn, has grown up in the shadow of that conflict, his life shaped by the loss of his entire family. Now he plots his revenge for his family’s humiliating defeat by seeking to marry a woman who carries the storm control Gift, so that his sons will be able to wield the terrible power of storms against Aldaran.
Swords v. Cthulhu—Jesse Bullington & Molly Tanzer, editors (August 1, Stone Skin Press)
What hope has a humble adventurer when faced with a fight against Cthulhu himself? No matter; the true swordsperson cares only for the bite of steel against flesh, whether that flesh be eldritch or more conventional. From the hottest voices in Lovecraftiana comes a collection that will take readers on a journey from ancient Rome to feudal Japan and from Dreamlands to lands that do not have names in any of the tongues of men. Glory awaits! Contributors include Natania Barron, Eneasz Brodski, Michael Cisco, Orrin Grey, Jason Heller, Jonathan L. Howard, John Langan, L. Lark, Remy Nakamura, Carlos Orsi, M. K. Sauer, Carrie Vaughn, Wendy N. Wagner, and Caleb Wilson
Deep Roots—Beth Cato (August 2, Harper Voyager Impulse)
From the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown comes a compilation of short works set in the same world: The Deepest Poison, Final Flight, and the Nebula-nominated Wings of Sorrow and Bone.
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge—Larry Correia & John Ringo (August 2, Baen)
When Marine Private Oliver Chadwick Gardenier is killed in the Marine barrack bombing in Beirut, somebody who might be Saint Peter gives him a choice: Go to Heaven, which while nice might be a little boring, or return to Earth. The Boss has a mission for him and he’s to look for a sign. He’s a Marine: He’ll choose the mission. Unfortunately, the sign he’s to look for is “57.” Which, given the food services contract in Bethesda Hospital, creates some difficulty. Eventually, it appears that God’s will is for Chad to join a group called “Monster Hunters International” and protect people from things that go bump in the night. From there, things trend downhill. Monster Hunter Memoirs is the (mostly) true story of the life and times of one of MHI’s most effective—and flamboyant—hunters.
Dark Carousel (Carpathian Novel #30)—Christine Feehan (August 2, Roc)
The moment Charlotte Vintage walks into his club, Tariq Asenguard’s blood is set on fire. The ancient Carpathian had given up hope of finding his lifemate, but now he will do anything to make Charlotte his own. What Tariq doesn’t know is that Charlotte is using herself and her best friend as bait to try to draw out the bloodthirsty killers who have already murdered Charlotte’s brother and mentor. Charlotte is familiar with Tariq. Not only is he one of the richest and most eligible bachelors in the city, but he’s also a renowned collector of old carousel horses, which Charlotte restores. Their shared passion opens Charlotte up to trusting him with her life, but it also makes her vulnerable to a centuries-old curse that will unite her and Tariq in a war against the enemies of humans and Carpathians alike…
Flight From Mayhem (Fly By Night #2)—Yasmine Galenorn (August 2, Berkley)
Alex and Shimmer have their hands full with a serial killer draining the bank accounts of elderly women before sending them into early retirement. Even worse, he’s a shifter—able to change shape to match his victim’s deepest desires. Their friend Bette has volunteered to act as bait, but if there’s one thing Shimmer knows for sure, the best laid plans can go dangerously awry…
Bone War (Books of Blood and Iron #3)—Steven Harper (August 2, Roc)
From their sacred Garden, the three fates control all life and maintain balance in the world. But one of the fates has been captured by the evil elf queen, placing the future of every being, including Death herself, in jeopardy. And only one hero can defeat the elf queen: Danr the half-troll. In order to rescue the missing fate, Danr must first acquire the fabled Bone Sword. Normally Danr would expect his companions to help. However, they are currently in pursuit of a mysterious creature who seems both oddly familiar yet dangerously unknown. But one thing is certain for all of the adventurers: failure is not an option.
Recreated (Reawakened #2)—Colleen Houck (August 2, Delacorte Press)
Young adult. Lily Young thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun prince was a grand adventure. Now she’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. When Amon and Lily part tragically, he transports himself to the Netherworld—what mortals call hell. Tormented by the loss of his one true love, he’d rather suffer in agony during Lily’s mortal years than fulfill his duty to protect humanity. Heartbroken, Lily seeks refuge on her grandmother’s farm. Yet she can feel Amon’s pain, and she has been having dreams—dreams of Amon continually suffering. For before he departed, Amon gave Lily something very special, an item that connects them even though they are worlds apart. Now Lily must use this object to free him, and to free their realms from darkness and utter chaos.
Blood of the Earth: A Soulwood Novel—Faith Hunter (August 2, Roc)
When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her. Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville. Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out.
Dragonmark (Dark-Hunter #20)—Sherrilyn Kenyon (August 2, St. Martin’s Press)
Centuries ago, Illarion was betrayed—a dragon made human against his will, then forced to serve humanity as a dragonmount in their army, and to fight for them in barbaric wars, even while he hated everything about them. Enslaved and separated from everyone he knew and from his own dragon brothers, he was forced into exile in a fey realm where he lost the only thing he ever really loved. Now he has a chance to regain what’s been lost—to have the one thing he covets most. But only if he gives up his brothers and forsakes the oaths he holds most dear. Yet what terrifies him most isn’t the cost his happiness might incur, it’s the fact that there is just enough human in his dragon’s heart that he might actually be willing to pay it and betray everything and everyone—to see the entire world burn.
An Accident of Stars (Manifold Words #1)—Foz Meadows (August 2, Angry Robot)
When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena, a magical realm on the brink of civil war. There, her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women: Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, chief among them the Vex’Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest. Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin, a secretive order of storytellers and mystics, the rebels flee to a neighboring matriarchy. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends. Can one girl—an accidental worldwalker—really be the key to saving Kena?
A Little Knowledge (The Split Worlds #4)—Emma Newman (August 2, Diversion Books)
Cathy and Will are now the Duchess and Duke of Londinium, the biggest Fae-touched Nether city, but they have different ideas of what their authority offers. Pressured by his Fae patron, Lord Iris, Will struggles to maintain total control whilst knowing he must have a child with his difficult wife. Cathy wants to muscle the Court through two hundred years of social change and free it from its old-fashioned moral strictures. But Cathy learns just how dangerous it can be for a woman who dares to speak out. Meanwhile, as Sam learns more about the Elemental Court it becomes clear that the Fae are not the only threat to humanity. Sam realises that he has to make enemies of the most powerful people on the planet, or risk becoming the antithesis of all he believes in. Threatened by secret societies, hidden power networks, and Fae machinations, can Sam and Cathy survive long enough to make the changes they want to see in the world?
The Beauty of Darkness (Remnant Chronicles #3)—Mary E. Pearson (August 2, Henry Holt)
Young adult. Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous—what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed.
Spiderlight—Adrian Tchaikovsky (August 2, Tor.com Publishing)
The Church of Armes of the Light has battled the forces of Darkness for as long as anyone can remember. The great prophecy has foretold that a band of misfits, led by a high priestess will defeat the Dark Lord Darvezian, armed with their wits, the blessing of the Light and an artifact stolen from the merciless Spider Queen. Their journey will be long, hard and fraught with danger. Allies will become enemies; enemies will become allies. And the Dark Lord will be waiting, always waiting…
The Sacred Hunt Duology—Michelle West (August 2, DAW)
Omnibus. The Sacred Hunt is the first time the duology Hunter’s Oath and Hunter’s Death are available as a single volume. When the covenant was made with the Hunter God, it ensured that the Hunter Lords, their land, and their people would prosper. But in payment, once a year the Sacred Hunt must be called, in which the God’s prey would be one of the Lords or his huntbrother. This was the Hunter’s Oath, sworn to by each Lord and his huntbrother. It was the Oath taken by Gilliam of Elseth and the orphan boy Stephen—and the fulfillment of their Oath would prove the kind of destiny from which legends were made.
Kojiki—Keith Yatsuhashi (August 2, Angry Robot)
When 18-year-old Keiko Yamada’s father dies unexpectedly, he leaves behind a one way ticket to Japan, an unintelligible death poem about powerful Japanese spirits and their gigantic, beast-like Guardians, and the cryptic words: “Go to Japan in my place. Find the Gate. My camera will show you the way.” Alone and afraid, Keiko travels to Tokyo, determined to fulfil her father’s dying wish. There, beneath glittering neon signs, her father’s death poem comes to life. Ancient spirits spring from the shadows. Chaos envelops the city, and as Keiko flees its burning streets, her guide, the beautiful Yui Akiko, makes a stunning confession—that she, Yui, is one of a handful of spirits left behind to defend the world against the most powerful among them: a once noble spirit now insane. Keiko must decide if she will honour her father’s heritage and take her rightful place among the gods.
WEEK TWO
No Good Deed (Saga of the Redeemed #2)—Auston Habershaw (August 9, Harper Voyager Impulse)
Cursed with a magic ring that forbids skullduggery, Tyvian Reldamar’s life of crime is sadly behind him. Now reduced to fencing moldy relics and wheedling favors from petty nobility, he’s pretty sure his life can’t get any worse. That is until he hears that his old nemesis, Myreon Alafarr, has been framed for a crime she didn’t commit and turned to stone in a penitentiary garden. Somebody is trying to get his attention, and that somebody is playing a very high-stakes game that will draw Tyvian and his friends back to the city of his birth and right under the noses of the Defenders he’s been dodging for so long. And that isn’t even the worst part. The worst part is that the person pulling all the strings is none other than the most powerful sorceress in the West: Lyrelle Reldamar. Tyvian’s own mother.
Lord of the Darkwood (Tale of Shikanoko #3)—Lian Hearn (August 9, FSG Originals)
Shikanoko, at what should be a warrior’s hour of greatest triumph, turns his back on those around him, in mourning for a secret love. The Spider Tribe, spurned by their guardian, explore the extent of their powers and ruthless ambitions. Hina, who alone knows the whereabouts of the true emperor, has to forge a new identity of her own. No one must ever know that she is Kiyoyori’s daughter. As the traditional powers navigate weakness and disarray, old spirits and new figures enter the epic battle for the Lotus Throne. In Lord of the Darkwood, the major players of The Tale of Shikanoko are forced to deal with the consequences—expected and unexpected alike—of their past reckless actions. Each of them strives to achieve their destiny, but so far the paths they have followed seem to have done nothing but provoke Heaven’s displeasure. Can peace ever come to the Eight Islands?
Eterna and Omega (Eterna Files #2)—Leanna Renee Hieber (August 9, Tor Books)
In New York City, fearing the dangers of the Eterna Compound—supposedly the key to immortality—Clara Templeton buries information vital to its creation. The ghost of her clandestine lover is desperate to tell her she is wrong, but though she is a clairvoyant, she cannot hear him. In London, Harold Spire plans to send his team of assassins, magicians, mediums, and other rogue talents to New York City, in an attempt to obtain Eterna for Her Royal Majesty, Queen Victoria. He stays behind to help Scotland Yard track down a network of body snatchers and occultists, but he’ll miss his second-in-command, Rose Everhart, whose gentle exterior masks a steel spine. Rose’s skepticism about the supernatural has been shattered since she joined Spire’s Omega Branch. Meeting Clara is like looking into a strange mirror: both women are orphans, each is concealing a paranormal ability, and each has a powerful and attractive guardian who has secrets of his own. The hidden occult power that menaces both England and America continues to grow. Far from being dangerous, Eterna may hold the key to humanity’s salvation.
Nevernight—Jay Kristoff (August 9, Thomas Dunne Books)
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family. The daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined. Now, sixteen-year-old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires. Revenge.
The Order of the Eternal Sun—Jessica Leake (August 9, Talos)
Lucy Sinclair’s debut will be a parade of everything opulent Edwardian London society has to offer. Most importantly, it will be nothing like her older sister’s dangerous experience. As if screening her dance partners isn’t enough, her overprotective brother-in-law, Lord Thornewood, insists that his brother train Lucy in self-defense. She wouldn’t mind so much if her treacherous mind didn’t continue to replay the kiss they shared. But awkward defense lessons are the least of her problems. Her arcana, a magical talent that allows her to mentally enter any scene that she draws, grows stronger by the day. Lucy is compelled to draw a portal to her mother’s realm of Sylvania—and each stroke of her pen risks attracting the Order of the Eternal Sun, the sinister brotherhood that steals the power of Sylvani blood. Lucy will have to learn to harness her unpredictable power or risk falling under the Order’s shadow forever.
The Well of Prayers (Temple of Doubt #2)—Anne Boles Levy (August 9, Sky Pony Press)
Young adult. Hadara, now sixteen years old, is still recovering from the night she assisted in destroying a demon that fell from the stars. She has a new job as an apprentice healer and wants to put her past—and her doubts—behind her. On the planet Kuldor and beyond, it is a sin to doubt the god Nihil’s magic. But Hadara can’t shake her own skepticism, especially when she suspects the demon they destroyed isn’t entirely gone. Since that night, she’s developed the ability to understand foreign tongues, among other odd new talents. Had she perhaps swallowed some part of the dying demon? She suspects no one can answer that question for her. But then a temple guard who she thought was dead comes back into her life and points her toward new truths and a new sense of purpose: somewhere in the murky jungles surrounding her city, another people beckon her and demand she fulfill the destiny foretold by the falling star.
I Am Providence—Nick Mamatas (August 9, Night Shade)
For fans of legendary pulp author H. P. Lovecraft, there is nothing bigger than the annual convention the Summer Tentacular. Horror writer Colleen Danzig doesn’t know what to expect, but is unsettled to find that among the scholars and literary critics are a group of real freaks: book collectors looking for volumes bound in human skin, and true believers claiming the power to summon the Elder God Cthulhu. Colleen’s trip spirals into a nightmare when her roommate for the weekend, an obnoxious novelist known as Panossian, turns up dead, his face neatly removed. What’s more unsettling is that there is little concern among the convention goers. The Summer Tentacular continues uninterrupted, except by a few bumbling police. Everyone at the convention is a possible suspect, but only Colleen seems to show any interest in solving the murder. So she delves deep into the darkness, where occult truths have been lurking since the beginning of time. A darkness where Panossian is waiting, spending a lot of time thinking about Colleen, narrating a new Lovecraftian tale that could very well spell her doom.
Falter Kingdom—Michael J. Seidlinger (August 9, The Unnamed Press)
Young adult. Hunter Warden just wants some peace and quiet. He wants to watch unboxing videos and be lulled to sleep by the monotone voices and smooth talking YouTube hosts. He wants his parents to either totally leave him alone or be around for once. After a few beers, Hunter decides to get away from it all and go for a run in Falter Kingdom. When you run the gauntlet at Falter Kingdom, a tunnel next to a park on the outskirts of suburbia, one of two things can happen—nothing or you catch a demon. The cold spots, locked doors, scratches on the wall, and disappearing laptop immediately alert Hunter to the fact that a demon is haunting him. He knows the signs, he’s seen the videos of people that are possessed, and everyone knows someone that has had to get an exorcism. Hunter knows that he should get rid of it, but he can’t help but enjoy the company of “H,” despite this demon’s sinister intentions.
Pathfinder Tales: Starspawn—Wendy N. Wagner (August 9, Tor Books)
The sequel to Hugo Award Winner Wendy N. Wagner’s Skinwalkers! Once a notorious viking and pirate, Jendara has at last returned to the cold northern isles of her home, ready to settle down and raise her young son. Yet when a mysterious tsunami wracks her island’s shore, she and her fearless crew must sail out to explore the strange island that’s risen from the sea floor. No sooner have they arrived in the lost island’s alien structures, however, than they find themselves competing with a monstrous cult eager to complete a dark ritual in those dripping halls. For something beyond all mortal comprehension has been dreaming on the sea floor. And it’s begun to wake up…
The Guns of Empire (Shadow Campaigns #4)—Django Wexler (August 9, Roc)
After their shattering defeats at the hands of brilliant General Janus bet Vhalnich, the opposing powers have called all sides to the negotiating table in hopes of securing an end to the war. Queen Raesinia of Vordan is anxious to see the return of peace, but Janus insists that any peace with the implacable Sworn Church of Elysium is doomed to fail. For their Priests of the Black, there can be no truce with heretics and demons they seek to destroy, and the war is to the death. Soldiers Marcus d’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass find themselves caught between their general and their queen. Now, each must decide which leader truly commands their loyalty—and what price they might pay for final victory. And in the depths of Elysium, a malign force is rising—and defeating it might mean making sacrifices beyond anything they have ever imagined.
WEEK THREE
The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth #2)—N.K. Jemisin (August 16, Orbit)
This is the way the world ends, for the last time. The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun—once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger—has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever. Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power—and her choices will break the world.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe—Kij Johnson (August 16, Tor.com Publishing)
Professor Vellitt Boe teaches at the prestigious Ulthar Women’s College. When one of her most gifted students elopes with a dreamer from the waking world, Vellitt must retrieve her.
Ghost Talkers—Mary Robinette Kowal (August 16, Tor Books)
Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during WWI, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Hartshorne, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force. Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence. Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiance to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she’s just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing…
The Gentleman—Forrest Leo (August 16, Penguin Press)
When Lionel Savage, a popular poet in Victorian London, learns from his butler that they’re broke, he marries the beautiful Vivien Lancaster for her money, only to find that his muse has abandoned him. Distraught and contemplating suicide, Savage accidentally conjures the Devil—the polite “Gentleman” of the title—who appears at one of the society parties Savage abhors. The two hit it off: the Devil talks about his home, where he employs Dante as a gardener; Savage lends him a volume of Tennyson. But when the party’s over and Vivien has disappeared, the poet concludes in horror that he must have inadvertently sold his wife to the dark lord. Newly in love with Vivian, Savage plans a rescue mission to Hell that includes Simmons, the butler; Tompkins, the bookseller; Ashley Lancaster, swashbuckling Buddhist; Will Kensington, inventor of a flying machine; and Savage’s spirited kid sister, Lizzie, freshly booted from boarding school for a “dalliance.”
Dead to Rites (A Mick Oberon Job #3)—Ari Marmell (August 16, Titan)
Mick Oberon may look like just another 1930s private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he’s got pointy ears and he’s packing a wand.
The Gate of Sorrows—Miyuki Miyabe (August 16, Haikasoru)
A series of murders shocks Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, but Shigenori, a retired police detective, is instead obsessed with a gargoyle that seems to move. College freshman Kotaro launches a web-based investigation of the killer, and comes to find that answers may lie within an abandoned building in the center of Japan’s busiest neighborhood, and beyond the Gate of Sorrows. In this New Adult sequel to Miyabe’s The Book of Heroes, you will meet monsters from other worlds and ordinary horrors that surpass even supernatural threats.
The Sight (A Devil’s Isle Novel #2)—Chloe Neill (August 16, NAL)
Claire Connolly is a Sensitive, infected with magic when the Veil that divides humanity from the world beyond fell. Magic can easily consume and destroy a Sensitive, and if Claire’s secret is discovered she’ll be locked into the walled district of Devil’s Isle along with every other Paranormal left in the city. Bounty hunter Liam Quinn discovered Claire’s secret, but refused to turn her in. Together they saved New Orleans from the resurgence of magic that nearly destroyed it. But now a dangerous cult is on the rise, and it will take both Claire and Liam—and magical allies within Devil’s Isle’s towering walls—to defeat the growing threat before magic corrupts them both…
The Almost King (Take Back the Skies #2)—Lucy Saxon (August 16, Bloomsbury USA Children’s)
Young adult. Aleks Vasin doesn’t want any part of the boring village life mapped out for him—he wants excitement and the chance to travel. So Aleks heads South to the great city of Rensav and enlists in the army, but after a brutal few days, he realizes that he’s signed himself away to a life far worse than the one he just left. Aleks escapes, hoping to find safety somewhere in the North. On the way, he finds love, adventure, and a skyship full of technological discoveries beyond his wildest dreams. He might just prove himself a hero too-but only if he can evade the vengeful soldiers on his trail who want him back. The Almost King returns to the epic, sweeping world of Tellus with a brand-new hero.
The Flame Never Dies—Rachel Vincent (August 16, Delacorte Press)
Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth—that the war against demons is far from over—seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant younger sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go. In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina’s worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie’s child will die within hours of its birth. Nina isn’t about to let that happen … even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.
WEEK FOUR
The Kind Folk—Ramsey Campbell (August 23, Tor Books)
Luke Arnold is a successful comedian who, with his partner Sophie, is expecting their first child. Their life seems ideal and Luke feels that true happiness is finally within his grasp. This wasn’t always the case. Growing up in a loving but dysfunctional family, Luke never felt that he belonged. While his parents adored him, the whole family knew that due to a mix-up at the hospital, Luke wasn’t their biological child. His parents did the best they could to make the lad feel special. But it was his uncle Terence who Luke felt most close to, a man who enchanted (and frightened) him with tales of the “Other”—eldritch beings, hedge folks, and other fables of Celtic myth. When Terence dies in a freak accident, Luke discovers how little he really knew his uncle. How serious was Terence about the magic in his tales? Why did he travel so widely by himself, and what was he looking for? Soon Luke will have to confront forces that may be older than the world in order to save his unborn child.
Spellbreaker (Spellwright #3)—Blake Charlton (August 23, Tor Books)
Leandra Weal has a bad habit of getting herself in dangerous situations. While hunting neodemons in her role as Warden of Ixos, Leandra obtains a prophetic spell that provides a glimpse one day into her future. She discovers that she is doomed to murder someone she loves, soon, but not who. That’s a pretty big problem for a woman who has a shark god for a lover, a hostile empress for an aunt, a rogue misspelling wizard for a father, and a mother who—especially when arguing with her daughter—can be a real dragon. Leandra’s quest to unravel the mystery of the murder-she-will-commit becomes more urgent when her chronic disease flares up and the Ixonian Archipelago is plagued by natural disasters, demon worshiping cults, and fierce political infighting. Everywhere she turns, Leandra finds herself amid intrigue and conflict. It seems her bad habit for getting into dangerous situations is turning into a full blown addiction.
All the Wounds in Shadow (The Healing Edge #2)—Anise Eden (August 23, Diversion Books)
Therapist Cate Duncan has just accepted a job with the MacGregor Group, a unique collective of alternative healers. She’s excited by the prospect of honing her empathic healing techniques among others like herself—aura readers, telepaths, crystal healers, and more. The fact that Cate just started dating Ben, her magnetic new boss, is an added bonus. Before Cate can settle into her new routine, the poisoning of a prominent neuroscientist draws the entire MacGregor Group into both a federal investigation and an even more insidious threat. Protected by Ben’s former Marine Corps unit, Cate and her colleagues must use their alternative healing methods to solve the crime as their patient clings to life.
The Returned—Bishop O’Connell (August 23, Harper Voyager Impulse)
Almost a year after their wedding, and two since their daughter Fiona was rescued from a kidnapping by dark faeries, life has finally settled down for Caitlin and Edward. They maintain a façade of normalcy, but a family being watched over by the fae’s Rogue Court is far from ordinary. Still, it seems the perfect time to go on their long-awaited honeymoon, so they head to New Orleans. Little do they know, New Orleans is at the center of a territory their Rogue Court guardians hold no sway in, so the Court sends in Wraith, a teenage spell slinger, to watch over them. It’s not long before they discover an otherworldly force is overtaking the city, raising the dead, and they’re drawn into a web of dark magic. At the same time, a secret government agency tasked with protecting the mortal world against the supernatural begins their own investigation of the case. But the culprit may not be the villain everyone expects.
To the Sky Kingdom—Tang Qi (August 23, AmazonCrossing)
When the immortal Bai Qian finally meets her intended husband, the heir to the Sky Throne, she considers herself in luck—until an old enemy returns to threaten everything she holds dear.… When a mortal woman enters the immortal world to be with her true love, she sparks a jealousy that ends in tragedy.… And when a war god depletes his spiritual energy, his devoted student sustains his body with her own heart’s blood until the god’s scattered soul reassembles.…
Mirror Image—Michael Scott & Melanie Ruth Rose (August 23, Tor Books)
In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. When Jonathan Frazer buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. The mirror has sat dormant for years, but within days of Jonathan’s purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it’s dangerous. But everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror. For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.
Wild Embrace: A Psy-Changeling Collection—Nalini Singh (August 23, Berkley)
The “alpha author of paranormal romance” presents a stunningly sensual collection of four all-new Psy-Changeling novellas, in which taboos are broken, boundaries are crossed, and instincts prove irresistible. In a deep-sea station, engineer Tazia Nerif wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander. A changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration—until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play. Still raw from being burned by a dominant female, wolf changeling Felix will never again risk being a plaything, though for dominant leopard Dezi, he’s the most fascinating man she’s ever met. Seven years ago, Kenji broke Garnet’s heart. Now the wolf packmates have to investigate the shocking murder of one of their own.
WEEK FIVE
Harsh Gods (Conspiracy of Angels #2)—Michelle Belanger (August 30, Titan Books)
The last thing Zack Westland expects on a frigid night is to be summoned to an exorcism. Demonic possession, however, proves the least of his problems. Father Frank, a veteran turned priest, knows Zack’s deepest secrets, recognizing him as Anakim, an angel belonging to that hidden tribe. And Halley, the girl they’ve come to save, carries a secret that could unlock a centuries-old evil. She chants an eerie rhyme, and she isn’t alone. As Zack’s secrets spill out, far more than his life is at stake, for Halley is linked to an ancient conspiracy. Yet Zack can’t help her unless he’s willing to risk losing his immortality—and reigniting the Blood Wars.
Between Worlds—Skip Brittenham (August 30, G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Young adult. The town of Eden Grove has a legend: In the center of a pine forest there is an aspen grove, and in the center of the aspen grove is an ancient, magnificent tree that grants wishes. Mayberry and Marshall have heard the stories about the Wishing Tree, but they know nothing like that could really exist near their dreary town. Misunderstood and restless, the teenagers wish for a lot of things, including being somewhere with magic and adventure—someplace where they can be heroes. And then, on a hike through the forest, they find the Wishing Tree. The pair make their wish, fall asleep … and wake up on Nith. The alien landscape is beautiful, but it’s also full of dangerous and fantastic creatures, and almost without exception, the creatures are hungry. Soon Mayberry and Marshall learn two very important facts about their wish: First, magic comes at a very steep cost; second, they can only be heroes if they can survive.
The Empty Ones (The Unnoticeables #2)—Robert Brockway (August 30, Tor Books)
The Empty Ones follows Carey and Randall to London, where they go to rescue Gus and fight more of these mysterious angel-like creatures, and stumble on a powerful and unexpected ally. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn, who was very nearly beat when last we saw her, continues her fight into the desert of Mexico and the Southwest US, seeking the mysterious gear cult. She discovers what the gear cult is really up to—trying to “pin” the angels to Earth, focus their attention here, and get as much of humanity as possible “solved,” which to them is akin to being saved—and in the process discovers something incredible about herself. With a snarled lip, The Empty Ones incorporates everything that made The Unnoticeables incredible, but like any good punk band, when you don’t think they can get any louder, they somehow turn it up a notch.
The Forgetting Moon (The Five Warrior Angels #1)—Brian Lee Durfee (August 30, Saga Press)
Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sør Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sør Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade. While the eldest son of the fallen king of Gul Kana now reigns in ever increasing paranoid isolationism, his two sisters seek their own paths. Jondralyn only desires to prove her worth as a warrior, while Tala has uncovered a secret that may not only destroy her family but the entire kingdom. And hidden at the edge of Gul Kana is Nail, a young man who may hold the link to the salvation of the entire Five Isles. You may think you know this story, but everyone is not who they seem, nor do they fit the roles you expect.
Unraveled (Elemental Assassin #15)—Jennifer Estep (August 30, Pocket Books)
As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter. So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.
Sixth Watch (Night Watch #6)—Sergei Lukyanenko (August 30, Harper Perennial)
Divided into the Light and the Dark, rival factions of the supernatural Others have spent a millennium under a reluctant truce. Now both sides must unite against the ultimate enemy. A Light magician and high-ranking member of the Night Watch, Anton Gorodetsky fears nothing. But lately the threats are mounting, and the Prophets have all reached the same chilling conclusion: The world will end in five days’ time. To ward off the apocalypse, an ancient council called the Sixth Watch must be assembled. After both Light and Darkness select their emissaries, Anton must enlist the unwilling aid of the four other Great Parties: the Vampires, the Witches, the Form-Takers, and the enigmatic Foundation. Journeying from Russia to Paris, the Alps, and New York City, Anton comes in peace—but he is prepared for war. For if he fails, none are safe.
The Scourge—Jennifer A. Nielsen (August 30, Scholastic)
Young adult. As a lethal plague sweeps through the land, Ani Mells is shocked when she is unexpectedly captured by the governor’s wardens and forced to submit to a test for the deadly Scourge. She is even more surprised when the test results come back positive, and she is sent to Attic Island, a former prison turned refuge—and quarantine colony—for the ill. The Scourge’s victims, Ani now among them, can only expect to live out short, painful lives there. However, Ani quickly discovers that she doesn’t know the whole truth about the Scourge or the Colony. She’s been caught in a devious plot, and, with the help of her best friend, Weevil, Ani means to uncover just what is actually going on. But will she and Weevil survive long enough to do so?
The Call—Peadar O’Guilin (August 30, Scholastic)
You have three minutes to save your life . . . Three minutes: You wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. The Call has begun. Two minutes: The Sidhe are close. They’re the most beautiful and terrible people you’ve ever seen. And they’ve seen you. One minute: Nessa will be Called soon. No one thinks she has any chance to survive. But she’s determined to prove them wrong. Time’s up! Could you survive the Call? A genre-changing blend of fantasy, horror, and folkore, The Call won’t ever leave your mind from the moment you choose to answer it.
A Torch Against the Night—Sabaa Tahir (August 30, Razorbill)
Young adult. Elias and Laia are running for their lives. Following the events of the Fourth Trial, an army led by Masks hunts the two fugitives as they escape the city of Serra and journey across the vast lands of the Martial Empire. Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—and save her brother, whose knowledge of Serric steel is the key to the Scholars’ future. And Elias is determined to stay by Laia’s side…even if it means giving up his own chance at freedom. But Elias and Laia will have to fight every step of the way if they’re going to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike. Helene’s mission is horrifying, unwanted, and clear: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.
