Fifteen new paranormal romance aim to keep the furred and fanged set all warm and toasty in January, including new releases from, among others, Rhyannon Byrd, Sharon Lee, Karen Marie Morning, Jeaniene Frost, Michelle Bardsley, and Christine Feehan.
Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, 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
Blood Wolf Dawning (Bloodrunners #7)—Rhyannon Byrd (January 1, Harlequin Nocturne)
If this was what falling for someone did to a person then Sayre Murphy wanted no part of it. She might be young and inexperienced, but she was a woman. She had finally had enough. Cian Hennessey might be the most magnificent, infuriating, arrogant male she had ever known. The tall Bloodrunner treated her as if she were nothing more than a child, making it painfully clear that despite whatever connection they shared, he’d never see her as an adult female. After disappearing from her life for five years, the werewolf was back, claiming that she was in serious danger and must drop everything to go with him immediately. Cian was as deadly as he was beautiful. The young witch knew he would never cause her physical harm. The safety of her heart was a different matter. (Digital)
Shades of the Wolf—Karen Whiddon (January 1, Harlequin Nocturne)
Passion beyond worlds. Ever since she lost her husband, shapeshifter Anabel Lee has been haunted, by every ghost except the one she longs to see. But when Tyler Rogers appears, Anabel knows he is different. Because even though he’s a ghost, Tyler is more real than anyone she’s met in years. Tyler needs Anabel’s help. His sister has been abducted by a powerful warlock and he can sense her light fading fast. To save her, Anabel and Tyler must join their powers. But they didn’t expect to discover a passion strong enough to bridge this world and the next. (Digital)
Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3)—Sharon Lee (January 6, Baen)
Welcome to Archers Beach in the Changing Land, the last and least of the Six Worlds, where magic works, sometimes, and the Guardian husbands the vitality of the land and everyone on it. Kate Archer, Guardian and carousel-keeper, has been busy making some changes of her own, notably beginning a romantic relationship with Borgan, the Guardian of the Gulf of Maine. She’s been instrumental in releasing the prisoners that had been bound into the carousel animals. Aformer sea goddess sets up housekeeping in the Gulf of Maine, challenging Borgan’s authority; endangering Kate. The goddess has fallen in love in Borgan; and she’ll stop at nothing to possess him. Archers Beach is about to suffer a sea-change, and the question is whether Kate can survive it.
Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1)—Amanda Hocking (January 6, St. Martin’s Griffin)
Young Adult. Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who’s determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin, a fallen hero she once loved, begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?
WEEK TWO
No new releases.
WEEK THREE
Burned (Fever #7)—Karen Marie Moning (January 20, Knopf)
MacKayla Lane would do anything to save the home she loves. A gifted sidhe-seer, she’s already fought and defeated the deadly Sinsar Dubh, an ancient book of terrible evil, yet its hold on her has never been stronger. When the wall that protected humans from the seductive, insatiable Fae was destroyed on Halloween, long-imprisoned immortals ravaged the planet. As the city heats up and the ice left by the Hoar Frost King melts, tempers flare, passions run red-hot, and dangerous lines get crossed. The only one Mac can depend on is the powerful, dangerous immortal Jericho Barrons, but even their fiery bond is tested by betrayal. In an epic battle against dark forces, Mac must decide who she can trust, and what her survival is ultimately worth.
Ripper (Hunter #1)—Lexi Blake (January 20, DLZ)
Kelsey Atwood is a private detective with a problem. She came from a family of hunters, growing up on the wrong side of the supernatural world. A young woman has gone missing, and she didn’t go willingly. When Kelsey discovers that the girl is actually a shifter, she knows she should drop the case and walk away. More females are missing and the evidence points to a legendary killer. Her case is becoming center stage for a conflict that could shatter the peace between wolves and vampires. She finds herself trapped between two men, Gray, a half-demon lawman, and the ancient vampire Marcus Vorenus. When a shocking secret about Kelsey’s family is revealed, it could ruin them all. She will have to embrace the truth about who, and what, she truly is.
Through the Static—Jeanette Grey (January 20, Samhain)
When cybernetics researcher Aurelia Locke is attacked, she instantly recognizes her assailants as a Three, a mercenary unit made up of a trio of soldiers whose minds have been cybernetically linked. She escapes to an abandoned house, where she hacks its security system. Jinx is already on high alert when his Three notices something isn’t right with their safe house. He never expected to find a woman wounded and bleeding out in his own bed. Aurelia frees Jinx from his Three by severing his neural connection to them and tying his mind to hers. The power of their link shocks them both. Dangerous forces pursue them, intent on reclaiming Jinx and silencing Aurelia’s knowledge. Her only chance of saving him is to risk everything, her research, her heart, and her life. (Digital)
Winter Pack Rules: Captured by the Werewolf—Michele Bardsley (January 20, Freeman Werewolf Romance Serial)
Bo Brown is a Winter Pack werewolf who’s finally tracked down his missing sisters and mother to Wellsford, Oregon. He barely escapes getting trapped by the same sick bastards who’ve kidnapped his family, and takes refuge in the nearest hiding spot available. Avalina Shepard is a librarian and cat lover. Born and raised in the teeny tiny town of Wellsford, Ava loves darn near everything about small-town life, especially the lack of real crime. So she’s utterly shocked when she’s carjacked by a complete stranger.
Bo needs Ava’s help. All he has to do is convince the beautiful, feisty human to help him save his family, before they become the prize trophies in a nefarious shifter hunt. (Digital short)
WEEK FOUR
Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3)—Jeaniene Frost (January 27, Avon)
Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife-edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin. Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does, for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him, and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away, Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both.
Chaos (Fates #2)—Lanie Bross (January 27, Delacorte)
Young Adult. They kissed only once, and it was electric, Corinthe and Luc broke the rules of the universe, and learned too late that their love would have consequences. Luc refuses to accept his destiny, if it means a life without Corinthe. As a fire rages through the Crossroads that connect worlds, Luc must find a way to turn back time and save Corinthe. Luc’s 15-year-old sister Jasmine starts to realize things are not as they seem when time begins stuttering, sending her life in San Francisco spinning into chaos. She’s thrown into the path of Ford, a troubled soul with a secret past, who helps her unravel the mysterious threads that connect them all. The story of what lies on the other side of Fate, as both Jas and Luc discover the incredible lengths they will go for love.
In for the Kill (McClouds & Friends #11)—Shannon McKenna (January 27, Kensington)
The risks ex-cop Sam Petrie has taken have turned his life into a train wreck. So he has nothing to lose by doubling down as the elusive Svetlana Ardova’s unwanted bodyguard on a potentially deadly trip to Italy. Ever since the McClouds rescued Sveti from certain death, her crusade against modern slavery has blazoned a bulls-eye on her chest, but when one of the threats against her almost hits the mark, Sam’s protective instincts go into overdrive. Every lethal obstacle and trap they encounter ups the stakes, and the undeniable heat between them. Now they’re spiraling in on a deadly and explosive secret, one that could either redeem them or destroy them, and the closer they get, the shorter the fuse.
Misery Loves Company (Miss Misery #3)—Tracey Martin (January 27, Samhain)
Keep letting the Gryphons blackmail her? Or join a goblin for tea? Choices, choices. Furious at the Gryphons’ betrayal, former vigilante Jessica Moore is determined to cut the law enforcement agency from her life, and hopes doing so will solidify her rocky relationship with Lucen. When a friend’s soul is sucked dry by a goblin, Jess finds it’s not so easy to let go of her past. She puts aside her anger to work with the Gryphons and solve the case. Boston’s goblin leader is calling in the debt Jess owes. Jess must unearth information about a magic she never knew existed, testing Lucen’s patience and stirring the wrath of old enemies. What she discovers will reveal the terrifying truth behind the Gryphons’ treachery, and force her to choose where her loyalty, and her heart, truly lie. (Digital)
Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage)—Sarah Cross (January 27, Egmont)
Young Adult. Viv knows there’s no escaping her fairy-tale curse. One day her beautiful stepmother will feed her a poison apple or convince her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Henley, to hunt her down and cut out her heart before she breaks his. In the city of Beau Rivage, some princesses are destined to be prey. Viv receives an invitation to the exclusive club where the Twelve Dancing Princesses twirl away their nights. There she meets Jasper, an underworld prince who seems to have everything, but what he really wants is her. He vows to save her from her dark fate if she’ll join him and be his queen. Then she might live to see if happily ever after is a promise the prince can keep. Is life as an underworld queen worth sacrificing the true love that might kill her?
The Three Fates of Ryan Love (Beyond #2)—Erin Quinn (January 27, Pocket)
Ryan Love’s life is about to go up in flames, when a mystical being named Sabelle appears, claiming to be from the Beyond, the realm of heaven, hell, and mysteries both awesome and terrifying. As Ryan’s family business and home are destroyed in a freak explosion, Sabelle saves him just in time. Sabelle is a Spinner, or agent of fate, whose sole purpose is to guide Ryan through his life choices. The time is coming when she must part with him and entrust her job to someone else. She can’t bear the thought, because each time Ryan touches her she falls more in love with him. She’s heard rumors, and no one knows for certain if it works. Sabelle must leave the Beyond and bind herself to Ryan. Are their destinies forever connected, or can Ryan still pave the path of his future?
Viper Game (Ghost Walkers #11)—Christine Feehan (January 27, Jove)
GhostWalker Wyatt Fontenot knows the price he paid for the secret military experiments that gave him his special catlike abilities. He left his bayou home a healer and came back a killer. While Wyatt and his GhostWalker brother Gator may have known exactly the sort of game they were getting into, Wyatt never anticipated where it would lead, or to whom. The swamps hold many mysteries, but few are as sinuously seductive as Le Poivre de Cayenne. The woman the locals call Pepper is every bit as enigmatic as the three little girls she’s desperately trying to protect. From what, Wyatt is soon to discover. Pepper needs a man like Wyatt. Passionately. But her secrets are about to take them both deeper into the bayou than either imagined, where desire is the deadliest poison of all.
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series and, as Susannah Sandlin, author of the Penton Legacy paranormal romance series and The Collectors romantic thriller series. You can find Suzanne on Facebook and on her daily blog, Preternatura.
