December 2009 Releases

Done with November 2009 Releases? Time for December 2009 Releases, representing my wishlist from US, UK, Canada and Australia publications. For releases further into the future, Reading Wishlist has been freshly updated.

Jennifer Armintrout
Veil of Shadows (Lightworld/Darkworld, Book 3)
Harlequin Mira (US: 1st December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
With the immortal denizens of the subterranean Lightworld and Darkworld societies locked in battle, the heiress to the Faery throne is exiled to the human realm above. Accompanied to the Upworld by her mother’s most trusted adviser, Cerridwen is bound for Eire and the last Fae stronghold on earth. But even this fabled colony is no true haven. During the Queene’s banishment, the high priestess Danae established herself as ruler and she does not wish to relinquish her power, especially over the devout humans who live among the Fae as servants. Torn between her own beliefs and the ideals her mother died for, Cerridwen searches for clues to her destiny. Is it on earth among the humans, or beyond an ethereal portal, in the immortals’ ancestral home? Neither path can avert bloodshed and the choice may not be hers to make.

Laurell K. Hamilton
Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry, Book 8)
Random House (AU: 1st December 2009; UK: 3rd December 2009; US & CA: 8th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Having turned down the throne of Faerie, and pregnant at last with twins by the men she loves, you’d think that ex-princess Meredith would have settled into her happily-ever-after life in Los Angeles. But the exiles of Faerie have been waiting for a princess of their own – and whether she likes it or not, they’ve decided that Meredith is ‘the one’. And a new political party’s emerged in England, the Fey Independence Party, and they want the lands of Faerie back, and they’ve cited Meredith and her men as their inspiration. They’ve even asked her to ‘come home’ and and be something new: a faerie Prime Minister. But the fey folk of Los Angeles want her for their own faerie godmother and won’t give up without a fight. Then there are the human soldiers that she healed with the help of the Goddess – these same fighting men are now performing miracles of healing on the battlefield, and that could get all the fey expelled from America because to be worshipped as a deity breaks the original terms of the treaty that allowed them to escape to the new world. With the government of the two countries blaming her for both miracles and political unrest, happy ever after for Meredith is going to have to wait…

Caitlin Kittredge
Demon Bound (Black London, Book 2)
Macmillan St. Martin’s (US: 1st December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Thirteen years ago, Jack Winter lay dying in a graveyard. Jack called upon a demon and traded his soul for his life…and now the demon is back to collect its due. But Jack has finally found something to live for. Her name is Pete Caldecott, and because of her, Jack’s not going to Hell without a fight. Pete doesn’t know about Jack’s bargain, but she does know that something bigger and far more dangerous than Jack’s demon is growing in the Black. Old gods are stirring and spirits are rising – and Jack doesn’t stand a chance of stopping them without Pete’s help.

Trisha Telep (ed.)
The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance (Anthology)
Running Press Perseus (US: 7th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
This exciting collection contains 25 short tales of adventure and love. Join the dashing characters as they slip through the ages, finding themselves transported back to settings including medieval Scotland, sixteenth-century England, and the nineteenth-century American West – or sometimes forward to the present day and even the future.

Carrie Jones
Need (Need, Book 1)
Bloomsbury (US: 8th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect Facebook friends. Little wonder, since she’s had a pretty rough life. Her father left when she was a baby, and her stepfather just died. Her mother’s pretty much checked out – in fact, Mom’s sent her to live with her grandmother in cold and sleepy Maine to “keep Zara safe.” Whatever that means. Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother just can’t deal. Zara’s wrong. The man she sees everywhere – the tall creepy guy who points at her from the side of the road – yeah, he’s not a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie. And not the cute, sweet kind with little wings. Maine’s got a whole assortment of unbelievable creatures, like pixies and were-people. And they seem to need something – something from Zara…

Yolanda Sfetsos
Wither (Recast, Book 1)
Samhain (US: 8th December 2009)
Wrangling is in Colt Marshall’s blood. He was known across the galaxy for his skill at roping horses and cattle, but found that the woman he loved wasn’t so easy to tie down. Now a mysterious client has him wrangling a man who may or may not be fully human. Colt doesn’t know and doesn’t care, as long as he gets paid. Until his pursuit of the escaped captive lands him on his former lover’s planet…and her request for help threatens to crack the armour around his heart. With Colt’s unexpected arrival, Brynn Wright’s problems could be solved…or multiplied a thousandfold. She doesn’t expect him to understand why she left him, but she sure could use his help ridding her planet of the feral creatures terrorising her town every night. It doesn’t help that he looks just as good as she remembers. Or that even after five years, their mutual lust is very much alive. Their desire rivals the heat of the planet’s skin-peeling sun, stripping away layers of secrets to expose the truth. And a secret that could be their death sentence…Warning: This book contains a space cowboy with an attitude, a female sheriff with a kick-ass past, an AI dressed like a deputy, feral creatures, and a planet scorched by its proximity to the sun – but still not as hot as the cowboy and sheriff are for each other.

Bree Despain
The Dark Divine
Random House Egmont (US: 22nd December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared – the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood – but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held. The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrols in Grace and Jude’s high school. Despite promising Jude she’ll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel’s shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes. The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardises her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy’s dark secret…and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it – her soul.

Nicole Kimberling
Happy Snak
Samhain (US: 22nd December 2009)
Gaia Jones is on A-Ki space station for one reason, and it’s not to ogle the hermaphroditic aliens. She’s out to make a name for herself and her line of intoxicating human snacks. Not easy in A-Ki’s tightly controlled society. Her task gets even more delicate when she rushes to the aid of a dying alien – and finds herself the unwilling guardian of a shunned alien ghost named Kenjan. And the new owner of his slave. The danger mounts when Kenjan’s grieving lover, the powerful leader of the Kishocha, offers her a dream and a nightmare rolled into one: a new store all her own with a strange double purpose – half snack bar, half shrine. The catch? She must spend the rest of her life there, tending Kenjan the Heretic’s ghost. Or the entire station will be destroyed. There’s only one way to gain both her freedom and justice for Kenjan – teach both the powerful government elite and the Kishocha theocracy a lesson in uncivil disobedience…Warning: This book contains excessive consumption of clams and clam-based snacks. Also, gratuitous abuse of orange dye, as well as summary decapitation, forbidden love, alien sex and one beloved hamster named Microbe.

Nancy Holzner
Deadtown
Penguin Ace (US & CA: 29th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders – but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…Vicky’s demanding job keeping the city safe from all manner of monsters is one reason her relationship with workaholic lawyer (and werewolf) Alexander Kane is in constant limbo. Throw in a foolhardy zombie apprentice, a mysterious demon-plagued client, and a suspicious research facility that’s taken an unwelcome interest in her family, and Vicky’s love life has as much of a pulse as Deadtown’s citizens. But now Vicky’s got bigger things to worry about. The Hellion who murdered her father ten years ago has somehow broken through Boston’s magical protections. The Hellion is a ruthless force of destruction with a personal grudge against Vicky, and she’s the only one who can stop the demon before it destroys the city and everyone in it.

Liz Maverick
Crimson & Steam (Crimson City, Book 8)
Dorchester (US: 29th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Named for the angels, Los Angeles is a city of demons, a crucible of souls. It is Crimson City. Here vampires and werewolves vie for dominion, humans build soldiers of flesh and steel who seethe with fury. But alongside strife can be love – a love that cares nothing for species or origin. Yet, love doesn’t always conquer. Marius and Jill have long been kept apart. Bound by destiny yet forbidden true union, he is vampire; she, human. And a marriage alliance that promises peace for all others shall separate them forever. As if peace might be achieved so easily. Darkness is rising: a mysterious plot shall force every inhabitant of Crimson City to take sides. Deliverance exists, but first must come a tale of impossible passion and discovery, of Marius and Jill in a race against time leading back to the city’s paranormal beginnings, to Victorian London, to an era of invention and a world of…Crimson & Steam.

Linda Robertson
Hallowed Circle (Persephone Alcmedi, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster Pocket Juno (US & CA: 29th December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Persephone Alcmedi has been persuaded to compete for the position of High Priestess of the Cleveland, Ohio, coven – now that the former priestess, Vivian Diamond, has strangely gone missing. Unfortunately, there are a few small problems with the idea. Not only does Seph know rather more about Vivian’s disappearance than the other witches realise, but the epic struggle she’s just survived has left her with some highly unusual powers – ones that could be dangerous to reveal. Despite her reluctance, she agrees to participate, if only to prevent snooty Hunter Hopewell, an obnoxious but talented witch, from ending up in the winner’s circle. Can Seph hide her secrets – including her connection to the master vampire-wizard Menessos – from the terrifyingly wise judges? Plus, there’s her rock ‘n’ roll werewolf boyfriend, Johnny, and some angry fairies to deal with…Once the competition begins, a finalist turns up dead. It looks as if one of the contestants is willing to do anything – including murder – to win. Suddenly Seph has even more on her plate than she thought: from solving a murder to working out what her new powers really are..and exactly why they’re creating so much havoc in her love life.

Rachel Vincent
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers, Book 2)
HarlequinTEEN (US: 29th December 2009)
Review
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The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld – a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk…

Kelley Armstrong
Angelic
Subterranean (US: December 2009)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
As a half-demon master of the dark arts, Eve Levine isn’t what anyone would call angelic. That’s exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She’s their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then penalised for it. When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realises she’s in danger of losing a lot more than her job.