It’s spring and those who love all the non-humans of the world will need to take up gardening, with only fifteen new titles in the pararom universe this month to keep them busy. Still, look for series additions from, among others, Kimberly Frost, Cindy Spencer Pape, Christine Feehan, Alexandra Ivy, Sandra Hill, Paula Altenburg, and Vicki Pettersson.
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
Her Perfect Mate (X-Ops #1)—Paige Tyler (May 6, Sourcebooks Casablanca)
When Special Forces Captain Landon Donovan is picked for an assignment with the Department of Covert Affairs, he’s stunned to find his new partner is a beautiful woman who looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly, much less take down a terrorist. Ivy Halliwell isn’t your average covert op. Her feline DNA means she can literally bring out the claws when things get dicey. She isn’t thrilled to be paired with yet another military grunt, but Landon is different. He doesn’t think she’s a freak and he’s smokin’ hot. Soon they find themselves facing a threat even greater than anyone imagines, and an animal magnetism impossible to ignore.
Slightly Spellbound (Southern Witch #4)—Kimberly Frost (May 6, Berkley)
With two kinds of magic at odds inside her and two men vying for her attention, Tammy Jo Trask is used to being pulled in opposite directions. Tammy Jo’s romance with the wizard Bryn Lyons is on hold while her ex-husband is in town trying to remind her of the good old days. Choosing between them isn’t easy, and it doesn’t help that a skeletal creature is spying on her, a faery knight is hunting her, and she just made friends with Evangeline Rhodes, a rich witch who thinks her own family is trying to kill her. When Evangeline disappears, Tammy Jo is determined to find out what happened. As she uncovers a secret more dangerous, and personal, than she could have imagined, she also discovers that, in both love and magic, you can’t stay neutral forever.
Vampire’s Thirst (Awakening #2)—Cynthia Garner (May 6, Forever Yours)
Duncan MacDonnough has assumed leadership of the local vampire conclave and changes are being met with resistance. Kimber Treat, the necromancer everyone (including her) blames for starting the zombie apocalypse in the first place. Duncan and Kimber are new in their love and the complications of zombies and hungry vampires puts stress on an already shaky relationship. Duncan wants to keep her safe, but Kimber still believes she can end the Outbreak. Will the cost be too great?
WEEK TWO
In the Black (Tales from the Edge #1)—Sheryl Nantus (May 12, Carina)
When Sam Keller left the military, she ran to the far end of the galaxy. Now she captains the Bonnie Belle, a spaceship full of courtesans who bring a little pleasure to hard-up men on mining colonies. When one of her girls turns up dead, it’s Sam’s job to find out who killed her. Marshal Daniel LeClair is as tough as steel and quick on the draw. When his vacation gets replaced by an assignment to help find the killer, he can’t help angling for a little action with the saucy, hard-charging Sam. Sam, six months lonely, might just indulge him. The Guild that owns the Belle wants the case closed yesterday. Sam and her marshal clash over false leads and who’s on top. But when the killer threatens the Belle again, romance will have to wait. It’s a captain’s job to save her crew, no matter the cost. (Digital)
WEEK THREE
Dragons and Dirigibles (Gaslight Chronicles #7)—Cindy Spencer Pape (May 19, Carina)
When airship engineer Melody McKay’s dirigible explodes and plunges her into the yard of a gothic manor, she suspects foul play. With her ankle injured, she resolves to crack the mystery while in the care of Victor Arrington, the Earl of Blackwell. Ex-Royal Navy Captain Victor is on a mission to protect his niece and foil a ring of smugglers using fire-breathing metal dragons. He has no time for romantic attachments. Particularly not with women who fall from the sky wearing trousers and pilot’s goggles. As he and Melody navigate a treachery so deep it threatens the lives of everyone in Black Heath, the earl becomes unexpectedly attached to his houseguest, and Melody discovers a softness in her heart for him. When the smugglers strike, there’s more at risk than their future together. (Digital)
Possessed by a Warrior and Possessed by an Immortal—Sharon Ashwood (May 20, Harlequin)
Possessed by a Warrior: Chloe Anderson is reeling from her uncle’s death. Then she discovers he left her a bejeweled wedding gown with a note warning her to trust only his business partner, mysterious and sexy Sam Ralston. With the intense attraction between them she doesn’t know Sam’s struggling to hide his fangs. With murderous thieves hot on their trail, this vampire vows to protect her. Possessed by an Immortal: After witnessing a murder, Bree Meadows is on the run with her young son. Dropped in the middle of nowhere, things look grim, especially with her son in need of medical attention. Then she encounters Dr. Mark Winspear. She doesn’t care that he’s hiding something as long as he’s willing to help. Can they deny their attraction long enough to outwit those in pursuit?
Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)—C.C. Hunter (May 20, St. Martin’s Griffin)
Young Adult. Della had the perfect life, until she was turned, and abandoned by everyone she loves. She takes refuge at Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with paranormal powers. It’s where she and her best friends, Kylie and Miranda, heal their heartbreak with laughter, and where Della is training to be a paranormal investigator. That means there’s no time for romance with Steve, a shapeshifter whose kisses melt her heart. When a vampire named Chase shows up at camp, Della’s world is thrown into even more chaos. Chase is a mystery, and the only mystery Della likes is one she can solve. She can’t solve Chase, at least not while she’s dealing with ghostly hauntings, vampire gangs and a web of family secrets. Can she prove herself as an investigator and keep her life, and her heart, intact?
The Wolf Siren and Demon Wolf—Karen Whiddon and Bonnie Vanak (May 20, Harlequin)
The Wolf Siren: As Pack Protector, Kane McGraw never gets involved with the victims he saves. But Lilly Gideon may be the one exception. She has intrigued him ever since he helped free her from a religious compound. So when he learns that she’s still in danger, he can’t stay away and it’s time to take matters, and her, into his own hands.Demon Wolf: When Navy SEAL Commander Dale Curtis encounters the mysterious Keira Solomon, he doesn’t remember her, but his body does. Her presence brings up half-hidden memories of torture at the hands of demons. But there’s something magickal about them and together they can combat the dark forces, if Dale can learn to trust Keira…and his heart.
Untamed Wolf and Immortal Cowboy—Linda O. Johnston and Alexis Morgan (May 20, Harlequin)
Untamed Wolf: Badass military sergeant by day. Fierce wolf by night. Shape-shifter Jason Connell’s freedom is riding on a covert assignment, and his desires are tested by his sexy new superior, Lieutenant Sara McLinder. Even though she doesn’t believe in his extraordinary abilities, he’s drawn to her. And when Alpha Force is threatened, his instinct to protect Sara eclipses everything. Immortal Cowboy: Rayanne Allen feels an instinctive pull to the secluded cabin she’s inherited—and to the ghost town nearby. Could it be the memory of the mysterious gunslinger Wyatt McCain who haunts her dreams? Or the man himself? She is the only woman who can bring him peace. But to do so, she might sacrifice the most powerful love she’s ever known.
WEEK FOUR
Air Bound (Sisters of the Heart #3)—Christine Feehan (May 27, Jove)
Airiana Ridell has always been aware of her extraordinary gift. She can intuit revealing and illuminating ‘patterns’ in the air around her, whether in a spray of mist, in billowing clouds, or in the dense swirls of an impenetrable fog. Her abilities led to her placement in a secret government training facility, but everything changed after her mother was murdered. Airiana fled the program, but she couldn’t outrun the members of a shadowy cabal who want her. Her only chance for rescue is Maxim Prakenskii. He has his reasons for helping her, but he isn’t about to reveal them to Airiana. Not as the two are drawn together as moth to flame. Not when there are so many secrets yet untold that could shatter the quaint community of Sea Haven and all who reside there.
Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)—Alexandra Ivy (May 27, Zebra)
The vampire, Roke, is raw, sensual, always in control. Yet somehow he’s allowed the unthinkable to happen: a nymph-like witch named Sally has used her magic to trick Roke into mating with her. The pair will remain bound for eternity unless Sally breaks the spell. The trouble is, she has no idea how. Mating with Roke was an accident; at least that’s what Sally keeps telling herself. She’s on the hunt for her demon father, whose identity holds the key to releasing the spell. The search won’t be easy with Roke shadowing Sally’s every move. As they mate with a ferocity that leaves them both aching for more, Sally isn’t sure if her world is more dangerous without Roke, or with him.
Kiss of Wrath (Deadly Angels #4)—Sandra Hill (May 27, Avon)
It’s been centuries since Mordr the Berserker was turned into a Vangel, a Viking Vampire Angel, as punishment for his sin of wrath, and he’s been frustrated ever since. Mordr Sigurdsson’s mission is expanded to a new assignment: protect lust-worthy Miranda Hart. Miranda’s well-ordered life turned into chaos when she inherited her late cousin’s five children. Her cousin’s dangerous husband is about to be paroled, and she needs a miracle to keep them all safe. That miracle arrives on her doorstep in the form of handsome man with a very strange name. Mordr wants nothing to do with her or her children. Miranda wants nothing to do with the hunk who claims to be a Viking. As Miranda and Mordr give in to temptation, they must decide if they fit in each other’s worlds, before their enemies close in on them.
The Demon Creed (Demon Outlaws #3)—Paula Altenburg (May 27, Entangled Select)
A highly skilled assassin, Creed is used to being called upon by the Godseekers for help. The task to now track down half-demons isn’t as easy as it seems. Creed discovers numerous innocent children are being kidnapped in the mountains and he second guesses his mission. Nieve has no memory of her life before her enslavement. When Creed comes asking questions about missing children, the memories of her half-demon son, and the demon who tricked her, come flooding back. Nieve will do anything to get her son back. They set out to find the Demon Slayer who can help them. The demon who fathered Nieve’s son is also searching for Nieve, and he’s teamed up with the kidnapper to draw her out. Creed and Nieve must race to save the children, their hearts, and the world. (ebook only)
The Given (Celestial Blues #3)—Vicki Pettersson (May 27, Harper Voyager)
After learning his wife survived the attack that killed him fifty years earlier, angel/PI Griffin Shaw is determined to find Evelyn Shaw. Grif has had to give up his burgeoning love for reporter Katherine “Kit” Craig, the woman who made life worth living again, and dedicate himself to finding one he no longer knows. Yet when Grif is attacked again, it becomes clear that there are forces in both the mortal and heavenly realm who’d rather see him dead than unearth the well-buried secrets of his past. If he’s to survive his second go-round on the Surface, Grif will have to convince Kit to reunite with him professionally, and help uncover decades of police corruption, risking both their lives, and testing the limits to what one angel is really willing to give for love.
Unforgiven (The Forbidden Bond #2)—Cat Miller (May 27, Montlake Romance)
Brandi Vaughn would do anything to get out from behind the shadow of her socialite family, which now includes Dani, her half sister, recently discovered to be the most powerful vampire known to their kind. Brandi has a secret elemental power, an inner flame that she must keep under control so as not to reveal herself to the dangerous rogue vampire targeting exceptional talents like hers. When two followers of the Rogue attempt to kidnap Dani during her wedding ceremony, Brandi lets loose a pyrotechnic display that doesn’t go unnoticed. As the vampire nation comes face-to-face with the threat of the Shade army, Brandi is caught in an emotional tug of war between the light and the dark. She will need to choose who to trust with her heart: a warrior or a rogue.
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series. You can find Suzanne on Facebook and on her daily blog, Preternatura.
