August 2009 Releases

Done buying July Releases? Now onto August – here are my choice picks from the US, UK, Canada and Australia. As always, I don’t list EVERYTHING in the UF or futuristic genres – I’ll leave that to other bloggers. Instead, I just choose the ones I think are worthy. And yes, I play favourites 😉 Keep an eye on Reading Wishlist for release dates further into the future.

No purchase links as yet for Melanie Nilles’s Starfire Angels or Lexxie Couper’s Death, the Vamp and His Brother, but keep an eye on the authors’ websites and blogs.

NOTE: I own Kat Richardson’s Underground, and Rachel Vincent’s Pride, but haven’t read them yet.

NOTE: I have reviewed Rachel Vincent’s My Soul to Take, and Tracey O’hara’s Night’s Cold Kiss.

All other books listed here I’d be happy to read and review. If you’re willing to post a hard copy out to me in Australia, send me an email.

Lori Devoti
Amazon Ink (Melanippe Saka, Book 1)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (AU: 1st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
It’s been ten years since Melanippe Saka left the Amazon tribe in order to create a normal life for her daughter, Harmony. True, running a tattoo parlour in Madison, Wisconsin while living with your Amazon warrior mother and priestess grandmother is not everyone’s idea of normal, but Mel thinks she’s succeeded at blending in as human. Turns out she’s wrong. Someone knows all about her, someone who’s targeting young Amazon girls, and no way is Mel is going to let Harmony become tangled in this deadly web. With her mother love in overdrive, Ms. Melanippe Saka is quite a force…even when she’s facing a barrage of distractions – including a persistent detective whose interest in Mel goes beyond professional, a sexy tattoo artist with secrets of his own, and a seriously angry Amazon queen who views her as a prime suspect. To find answers, Mel will have to do the one thing she swore she’d never do: embrace her powers and admit that you can take the girl out of the tribe…but you can’t take the tribe out of the girl.

Faye Kellerman & Aliza Kellerman
Prism
HarperCollins (AU: 1st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A slightly alternate universe, in which medicine and healthcare do not exist, and in which sick people are allowed to die without any care. Three teens who fall through a cave at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico while on a field trip are plunged into a frightening parallel universe – seven weeks in the past, in which their “normal” worlds of family and high school remain the same…except for the fact that no medicine exists and when people die in the street they are picked up and disposed of.

Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver
Scholastic (US: 1st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf – her wolf – is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human….until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human – or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Rachel Vincent
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, Book 1)
HarlequinTEEN (US: 1st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh. She doesn’t see dead people, but…She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next…

Richelle Mead
Succubus Heat (Georgina Kincaid, Book 4)
Random House Bantam (AU: 3rd August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Georgina Kincaid has been a bad, bad succubus…which should be a good thing. But lately, thanks to her foul mood over breaking up with best-selling writer Seth Mortensen, she’s been so wicked that Seattle’s über-demon Jerome, decides to “outsource” Georgina to a rival – and have her spy for him in the process. Being exiled to the frozen north – okay, Vancouver – and leaving Seth in the cosy clutches of his new girlfriend is unpleasant enough. Then Jerome is kidnapped, and all immortals under his control mysteriously lose their powers. One bright spot: with her life-sucking ability gone, there’s nothing to keep Georgina from getting down and dirty with Seth – nothing apart from his girlfriend that is. Now, as the supernatural population starts turning on itself, a newly mortal Georgina must rescue her boss and figure out who’s been playing them – or all hell will break loose…

Melanie Nilles
Starfire Angels
(US: 3rd August 2009)
They’ve been coming here for thousands of years, using Earth as a sanctuary to escape threats from their own kind. Mankind knows them as angels, and one of them left a child upon her death to be raised as a human. Raea is now a high school senior, and her life as a human is about to end. The crystal shard she bears is not a pretty pendant; it’s a collective of powerful entities who chose her as their Keeper, a protector of one of the four shards that power a machine capable of destroying whole worlds. Those who desire the Starfire’s power have sent an agent to find her, but she’s too busy evading a nosy reporter ready to exploit her secret and dating a hot new foreign student to notice. Never mind learning what she really is. Only one person on Earth can help her, the last person she ever expected. But he’s not from Earth. Life as a human would be so much easier.

Lilith Saintcrow
Redemption Alley (Jill Kismet, Book 3)
Hachette Orbit (US: 3rd August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Some cases are unusual – even for Jill Kismet. When her police contact asks her to look into a “suicide”, she suddenly finds herself in a labyrinth of deception, drugs, murder – and all-too-human corruption. The cops are her allies, except for the ones who want her dead. The hellbreed are her targets, except for the ones who might know what’s going on. Her city is in danger, time is running out, and each lead only draws her deeper. How far will a hunter go when her city – and her friends – are on the line? Just far enough.

Trisha Telep (ed.)
The Eternal Kiss (Anthology)
Random House (AU: 3rd August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
This collection of original tales comes from some of the hottest, most popular, and best-selling YA writers, including: Holly Black, Libba Bray, Melissa De La Cruz, Cassandra Clare, Rachel Caine, Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié, Cecil Castellucci, Kelley Armstrong, Maria V. Snyder, Sarah Rees Brennan, Lili St. Crow, Karen Mahoney, Dina James.

Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine
Huntress (Anthology)
Macmillan St. Martin’s (US: 3rd August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Christine Warren: Devil’s Bargain: Supernatural bounty hunter Lilli Corbin made a pact with the Prince of Hell: She agreed to recover a book of prophecies. When she learns it could trigger the apocalypse, Lilli is forced to make the ultimate choice: save her soul, or the man she loves? Marjorie M. Liu: The Robber Bride: Welcome to a post-apocalyptic world where women are fed on for their life forces. Now it’s up to Maggie, one of the last female survivors, to hunt down and destroy an army of darkness…Caitlin Kittredge: Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go: Ava is a demon slayer who needs help from mage Jack Winter to reach the demon underworld – a place of dark seduction…and, maybe, one of no return. Jenna Maclaine: Sin Slayer: London 1889. Jack the Ripper is killing off the city’s vampire population, and now it’s up to Cin Craven to hunt him down – and save the infected Michael, the love of her undead life.

Lauren Dane
Laid Bare
Penguin Berkley Heat (US & CA: 4th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
It’s been ten years since clean-cut, sexy-as-hell police officer Todd Keenan had a white-hot fling with Erin Brown, the provocative, wild rocker chick next door. Their power exchange in the bedroom got under his skin. But love wasn’t in the cards just yet…Now, life has thrown the pair back together. But picking up where they left off is tough, in light of a painful event from Erin’s past. As Todd struggles to earn her trust, their relationship takes an unexpected and exciting turn when Todd’s best friend, Ben, ends up in their bed – and all three are quite satisfied in this relationship without a name. As the passion they share transforms Erin, will it be enough to help her face the evil she thought she had left behind?

Kat Richardson
Underground (Greywalker, Book 3)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 4th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Pioneer Square’s homeless are turning up dead and mutilated, and zombies have been seen roaming the underground – the city buried beneath modern Seattle. When Harper’s friend Quinton believes he may be implicated in the deaths, he persuades her to investigate. But the killer is no mere murderer – it is a creature of ancient legend. And Harper must deal with both the living and the dead to stop the monster and its master…unless they stop her first.

Kat Richardson
Vanished (Greywalker, Book 4)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 4th August 2009); Hachette Piatkus (UK: 6th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
For Seattle investigator Harper Blaine, her own case may prove the most difficult to solve. Why did she as opposed to others with near death experiences become a Greywalker? When Harper begins digging into her own past, she unearths some unpleasant truths about her father’s early death as well as a mysterious puzzle. She sets out to find his ghost but encounters only a void where he should be, leaving her with more unanswered questions. Before she can continue her search, Harper gets an offer she can’t refuse to go to London and pursue an investigation on behalf of some very demanding vampires. But there are unpleasant surprises waiting for her, and Harper soon discovers her present trouble in England is entangled with her dark past back in Seattle and her ultimate destiny as a Greywalker.

Lexxie Couper
Death, the Vamp and His Brother
Samhain (US: 11th August 2009)
Death exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to sever the life-threads of the living. She does her job with pride and an unwavering commitment. Nothing ruffles her. Until she encounters Patrick Watkins. The Australian lifeguard pushes all her buttons – and makes her tail-bone itch like crazy. And when her tail-bone itches, it means trouble is brewing. Big trouble. Ven’s gut tells him that Death is taking aim at his kid brother. He should know – he died and was turned vampire while trying to prevent another failed murder-attempt eighteen years ago. Patrick is meant to do something important in the world, and Ven will do anything to keep him safe. Even take on Death herself. In more ways than one. As far as Patrick’s concerned, the whole thing is a load of bull. But what if everything Death tells him turns out to be true? How is he expected to save mankind from the worst fate of all – the Apocalypse? Especially when all he can think about is how quickly he’s falling in love with the most feared Horseman of them all…

Jeff Somers
The Eternal Prison (Avery Cates, Book 3)
Hachette Orbit (US: 12th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Avery Cates is a wanted man. After surviving the worst bio-engineered disaster in history, Cates finds himself incarcerated – in Chengara Penitentiary. As Chengara has a survival rate of exactly zero, the system’s most famous gunner must do some serious plotting. And a betrayal or so later, he achieves his goal. At a price. All he has to do now is defeat some new personal demons, forge some unlikely alliances, and figure out why the people he’s killed lately just won’t stay dead.

Richelle Mead
Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, Book 2)
Random House Transworld Bantam (UK: 13th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she’s also become queen of the Thorn Land. It’s hardly an envious life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her first-born destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one – except Eugenie – seems willing to find out why. Eugenie has spilled plenty of fey blood in her time, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and nursing a very personal grudge. And the men in her life aren’t making things any easier. Her boyfriend, Kiyo, is preoccupied with his pregnant ex, and sexy fey king Dorian always poses a dangerous distraction. With or without their help, Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in an unpredictable power she can barely control. Reluctant queen or not, Eugenie has sworn to do her duty – even if it means facing the darkest – and deadliest – side of her nature…

Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelynn Drake
Unbound (Anthology)
HarperCollins Eos (CA: 14th August 2009; US: 25th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A dark fantasy anthology in which Kim Harrison reveals a hidden adventure, as Jenks and Bis investigate a strange haunting…and find far more than they ever expected. Melissa Marr delivers her first adult story, featuring a young woman struggling to escape the supernatural fate of her family. Jeaniene Frost goes to New Orleans, where Bones must face down a ruthless pair of serial killers, while Vicki Pettersson returns to Sin City and the war between Light and Shadow, and one man’s fight for his soul. Jocelynn Drake’s tale is set in Savannah, where a strange murder calls the balance between human and nightwalker into question.

Tracey O’hara
Night’s Cold Kiss (Dark Brethren, Book 1)
HarperCollins Eos (CA: 14th August 2009; US: 25th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
For centuries war raged between the humans and Aeternus vampires – until courageous efforts on both sides forged a fragile peace. But the rogue Necrodreniacs will never be controlled – addicted as they are to the death-high…and bloody chaos. Since witnessing the murder of her mother, Antoinette Petrescu has burned with fiery hatred for the vampire race – even for Christian Laroque, the noble, dangerously handsome Aeternus who rescued her. Now an elite Venator, Antoinette must reluctantly accept Christian’s help to achieve her vengeance – even as he plots to use the beautiful, unsuspecting warrior as bait to draw out the bloodthirsty dreniacs.

Rachel Vincent
Pride (Shifters, Book 3)
Harlequin MIRA (UK: 21st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Here’s hoping cats do have nine lives…I’m on trial for my life. Accused of infecting my human ex-boyfriend – and killing him to cover up the crime. Infecting a human is one of three capital offences recognised by the Pride – along with murder and disclosure of our existence to a human. I’m two for three. A goner. Now we’ve discovered a rogue stray terrorising the mountainside, hunting a wild teenage tabby-cat. It’s up to us to find and stop him. With my lover Marc’s help, I think I can protect the vulnerable tabby from both the ambitious rogue and the scheming of the territorial council. If I survive my own trial…

C. L. Anderson
Bitter Angels
Random House Spectra (US & CA: 25th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The Erasmus System is a sprawling realm of slavery, smugglers, spies – and constant, creeping decrepitude. Here everyone who is not part of the ruling Four Families is a slave of one kind or another. But the Guardians, a special-forces branch inside the United World Government for Earth, have deemed Erasmus a “hot spot”. Somehow, it is believed, this failing colony intends to launch a war upon the solar system. Ex-Field Commander Terese Drajeske, now a mother of three, has been called back to active duty and sent to Erasmus, ostensibly to investigate the murder of her colleague – and friend – Bianca Fayette. At first blush, the death defies explanation: Bianca was immortal. But beneath that single murder lies a twisted foundation of deceptions. Suddenly Terese is plunged into a vortex of shattered lives, endemic deceit, and one dreadful secret. In this society without hope, someone has put into motion a plan that will cast humanity into chaos. And Terese, who has given up her family and her sanity to prevent war, may be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice…

Richelle Mead
Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, Book 4)
Penguin Razorbill (US & CA: 25th August 2009; AU: 26th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Rose Hathaway’s life will never be the same. The recent attack on St. Vladimir’s Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose’s neck, a mark that says she’s killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters…Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honouring her life’s vow to protect Lissa – her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess – or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She’ll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? Now, with everything at stake – and worlds away from St. Vladimir’s and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend – can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

Trisha Telep (ed.)
Love Bites (Anthology)
Robinson (UK: 27th August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
There are typical vampires who would be right at home in a horror story or a Gothic romance; historical vampires; contemporary, gritty, urban vampires; fang-in-cheek comedy; boy-meets-girl sweetheart stories (if a little bloodier!); and erotic tales of inhuman passions and midnight pleasures. Look out, too, for stand-alone stories relating to existing series and characters of contributing authors, or stories which develop more fully characters who have only walk-on parts in those authors’ longer fiction. Includes writing by big-name authors such as Jennifer Ashley, Kim Harrison writing as Dawn Cook, Caitlin Kittredge, Diane Whiteside and Eileen Wilks.

Anya Bast
Witch Fury (Elemental Witches, Book 4)
Penguin Berkley (AU: 31st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Sarafina Connell is having the worst week of her life. It takes an even darker turn when an infamous playboy kidnaps her and reveals a world she never knew existed…It’s a world where magick is real, and where Sarafina is given a chance to join a secret cabal that is bent on gaining absolute power. They could use a woman like her – a witch with an untapped gift for creating fire. But she isn’t about to get in league with the devil. Rescued from her captors, Sarafina is introduced to a coven that is duty-bound to fight the forces of darkness. She’s pleased that her saviour is the imposingly seductive Theo – until the trust between them goes up in flames. However, as the war between good and evil is waged, Sarafina and Theo realise they have no choice but to unite in the battle for supremacy – that’s getting hotter by the minute.

Lauren Dane
Relentless (Federation, Book 2)
Penguin Berkley Heat (AU: 31st August 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Since the first settlers came through the portals from Earth, fifteen Families have held the rule of the Federated Universes in their hands. There’s never been a better time than now to throw out the old and usher in a new order. Give voice to the unranked. Abbie Haws has spent her life battling the system. A fighter, she’s always been too busy and driven to pay much attention to finding love. But when she’s granted audience with Roman Lyons, the head of House Lyons, who stands for everything she hates, her instant attraction catches Abbie off-guard…It’s common knowledge that the Known Universe revolves around Ravena – and that Ravena revolves around Roman Lyons, bred to lead since birth. Roman dreads his meeting with a defiant – if stunning – rabble-rouser. But, sometimes, headstrong personalities in the conference room make for hot-and-heavy, guilty trysts in private…Now, Abbie will show Roman the parts of her world he wouldn’t otherwise get to see. And he’ll give her a glimpse of the Families’ age old tradition and unleash a sexuality he’d never given rein to before.