July 2010 Releases

Done with June 2010 Releases? Here are the July 2010 Releases. As always, to see future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

Katherine Allred
Close Contact (Alien Affairs, Book 2)
HarperCollins Eos (AU: 1st July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A Genetically Engineered Person and self-proclaimed “party girl,” Echo Adams loves her diplomatic job entertaining alien bigwigs for the Galactic Federation. But the Bureau of Alien Affairs has discovered she’s much more than she thinks – that a rogue scientist endowed her with skills and psi abilities dwarfing those of common GEPs. And suddenly Echo’s luxury life is over, replaced with a far more dangerous one: a special agent expected to not only chase bad guys, but eliminate them. Echo hates being stuck on Madrea – a planet of technophobes off limits to Federation visitors – hunting for a stolen quartz crystal with a powerful alien lifeform embedded inside. She despises the Bureau’s restrictive rules – especially the one warning her away from the dangerously seductive Commander of the King’s Forces. And if she doesn’t learn how to use her alleged super-psi powers soon, her partying days – in fact all of her days – will be over for good.

Libba Bray
The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, Book 3)
Simon & Schuster (AU: 1st July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Having bound the wild, dark magic of the realms to her, Gemma has forged unlikely and unsuspected new alliances both with the headstrong Felicity and timid Ann, Kartik, the exotic young man whose companionship is forbidden, and the fearsome creatures of the realms. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test those bonds. As her friendship with Felicity and Ann faces its gravest trial, and with the Order grappling for control of the realms, Gemma is compelled to decide once and for all which path she is meant to take. Pulled forward by fate, the destiny Gemma faces threatens to set chaos loose, not only in the realms, but also upon the rigid Victorian society whose rules Gemma has both defied and followed. Where does Gemma really belong? And will she, can she, survive?

Sean Cummings
Funeral Pallor (Valerie Stevens, Book 2)
Snowbooks (UK: 1st July 2010)
Buy (UK) Buy (CA)
There’s a nest of rotting husks in an old Calgary warehouse and they’ve got a hankering for human flesh, but that’s the least of Valerie Stevens’ problems. While necromancers are a dime a dozen, these mindless killing machines all share one thing in common: they’re former occupants of every funeral home in the city. The evidence points to the zombie Caroline, especially now that she’s been experiencing short term memory loss and an inability to account for her whereabouts. If Valerie plans to clear her best friend’s name, she’ll have to move fast: someone has dispatched a zombie assassin and Caroline’s only hope may rest with a pair of middle-aged head-bangers with a few secrets of their own.

Lori Devoti
Amazon Queen (Amazons, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (AU: 1st July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Amazon queen Zery Kostovska has never questioned tribe traditions. After all, these rules have kept the tribe strong for millennia and enabled them to live undetected, even in modern-day America. Zery is tough, fair, commanding – the perfect Amazon leader. At least, she was. A new high priestess with a penchant for secrecy and technology is threatening Zery’s rule. Plus, with the discovery of the Amazon sons, males with the same skills as their female counterparts, even Zery can’t deny that the tribe must change. But how? Some want to cooperate with the sons. Others believe brutal new leadership is needed – and are willing to kill to make it happen. Once, Zery’s word was law. Now, she had no idea who to trust, especially with one powerful Amazon son making her question all her instincts. For Zery, tribe comes first, but the battle drawing near is unlike any she’s faced before…and losing might cost her both the tribe and her life.

Kim Harrison
Black Magic Sanction (The Hollows, Book 8)
HarperCollins (AU: 1st July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Having barely escaped being skewered by the criminal vampire overlord of Cincinnati, Rachel now has even bigger problems to contend with. The demon, Algaliarept, although banished back into the everafter, has infected others of his kind with his interest in a witch who can channel demon magic. Rachel soon finds herself with not one but three hellions on her tail; and one of them is even crazier and more dangerous than all the fairy assassins, weres and vampires on the planet.

Stacia Kane
Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 2)
HarperCollins Voyager (AU: 1st July 2010; UK: 8th July 2010); Random House Del Rey (US & CA: 6th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem – humans filing false claims of hauntings – all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes. Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumours that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they – along with their ruthless employers – are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

Karen Kincy
Other (Other, Book 1)
Flux (US: 1st July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves. When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate – into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye; leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and – most importantly – stay alive.

Lauren Dane
Insatiable (Phantom Corps, Book 1)
Penguin Berkley (US & CA: 6th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
With tensions between the Federation and Imperial ‘Verses rising, one woman may hold the key to victory. The dangerous mission to smuggle her out of Imperial Territory falls to Daniel Haws and his team, the ultra secret Phantom Corps. This elite squad of the Federation Military is the only one trusted and skilled enough to remove her from under the watchful eye of her father, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial ‘Verses. Carina is used to wearing a mask. Her father and his men think her little more than a pretty prize to be won by a man more ruthless than the rest. When he announces his intention to marry her to one of his henchmen, a man known for his cruelty, Carina knows she has to move as soon as possible to get out. But getting secret information to the Federation has served her well for years and she appeals to them for help. She expected rescue from a man who’d been her enemy. But she wasn’t prepared for just how intense her attraction to Daniel Haws would be. Born as adversaries into different ranks, and on the run for their lives, they now need each other to survive – by holding on to the only thing they have in common: a growing desire that is dangerous, irresistible, and insatiable…

Jeannie Holmes
Blood Law (Alexandra Sabian, Book 1)
Random House Dell (US & CA: 6th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A provocative and savvy vampire, Alexandra Sabian moves to the sleepy hamlet of Jefferson, Mississippi – population 6,000, half vampires – to escape the demons lurking in her past. As an enforcer for the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigations (FBPI), Alex must maintain the uneasy peace between her kind and humans, including Jefferson’s bigoted sheriff, who’d be happy to see all vampires banished from town. Then really dead vamps start turning up – beheaded, crucified, and defanged, the same gruesome manner in which Alex’s father was murdered decades ago. For Alex, the professional has become way too personal. Things get even more complicated when the FBPI sends in some unnervingly sexy backup: Alex’s onetime mentor, lover, and fiancé, Varik Baudelaire. Still stinging from the betrayal that ended their short-lived engagement, Alex is determined not to give in to the temptation that soon threatens to short-circuit her investigation. But as the vamp body count grows and the public panic level rises, Varik may be Alex’s only hope to stop a relentless killer who’s got his own score to settle and his own bloody past to put right.

K. A. Stewart
A Devil in the Details (Jesse James Dawson, Book 1)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 6th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Jesse James Dawson was an ordinary guy (well, an ordinary guy with a black belt in karate) until one day he learned his brother had made a bargain with a demon. Jesse discovered there was only one way to save his brother: put up his own soul as collateral, and fight the demon to the death. Jesse lived to free his brother – and became part of a loose organization of Champions who put their own souls on the line to help those who get in over their heads with demons. But now experienced Champions are losing battles at a much higher rate than usual. Someone has changed the game. And if Jesse can’t figure out the new rules, his next battle may be his last…

Caitlin Kittredge
Pure Blood (Nocturne City, Book 2)
Hachette Orion Gollancz (UK: 8th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
In the shadows of Nocturne City, witches lurk and demons prowl, and homicide detective Luna Wilder must keep the peace – while living life as a werewolf. Now bodies are turning up all over town, the brutal murders linked by a cryptic message: “We see with empty eyes…” To make matters worse for Luna, she can’t get wolfishly handsome Dmitri Sandovsky out of her mind. The last time he helped her with a case, Dmitri suffered a demon bite that infected him with a mysterious illness…and now his pack elders have forbidden him from associating with Luna. But she’ll need his help when high-level witches start turning up slaughtered. Because a war is brewing between rival clans of blood witches and caster witches – a magical gang war with the power to burn Nocturne City to the ground.

Maggie Stiefvater
Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 2)
Scholastic (US: 20th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one. Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease they couldn’t cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend. But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it’s only Grace who’s not firmly in her own skin.

Kelley Armstrong
Waking the Witch (Otherworld, Book 11)
Penguin Dutton (US: 27th July 2010); Hachette Orbit (UK: 27th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
At twenty-one, Savannah Levine – orphaned daughter of a notorious dark witch and an equally notorious cutthroat sorcerer – considers herself a full-fledged member of the otherworld. The once rebellious teen has grown into a six-foot-tall, motorcycle-riding jaw-dropper, with an impressive knowledge of and ability to perform spells. The only problem is, she’s having a hard time convincing her adoptive parents, Paige and Lucas, to take her seriously as an adult. She’s working as the research assistant at the detective agency they founded, and when they take off on a romantic vacation alone, leaving her in charge, Savannah finds herself itching for a case to call her own. (She’s also itching for Adam, her long-time friend and colleague, to see her as more than just a little girl, but that’s another matter.) Suddenly, Savannah gets the chance she’s been waiting for: Recruited by another supernatural detective, she travels to Columbus, Washington, a small, dying town. Two troubled young women have been found in an abandoned warehouse, murdered. Now a third woman’s dead, and on closer inspection small details point to darker forces at play. Savannah feels certain she can handle the case, but with signs of supernatural activity appearing at every turn, things quickly become more serious – and far more dangerous – than she realises.

Stacia Kane
City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 3)
Random House Del Rey (US & CA: 27th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case. Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime boss – and Chess’s drug dealer – gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with the vast underground City of Eternity. Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magic – all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.

Jeri Smith-Ready
Bring On the Night (WVMP Radio, Book 3)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (US & CA: 27th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ‘n’ Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor’s degree! But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfil her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps? Ciara’s suspicions are confirmed when she’s assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control’s oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed sceptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious fatal virus spreads through Sherwood – and corpses begin to rise from their graves – Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic.

Lili St. Crow
Jealousy (Strange Angels, Book 3)
Penguin Razorbill (US: 29th July 2010); Quercus (UK: 29th July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Dru Anderson might finally be safe. She’s at the largest Schola on the continent, and beginning to learn what it means to be svetocha – half vampire, half human, and all deadly. If she survives her training, she will be able to take her place in the Order, holding back the vampires and protecting the oblivious normal people. But a web of lies and betrayals is still closing around her, just when she thinks she can relax a little. Her mentor Christophe is missing, her almost-boyfriend is acting weird, and the bodyguards she’s been assigned seem to know much more than they should. And then there’re the vampire attacks, the strange nightly visits, and the looks everyone keeps giving her. As if she should know something. Or as if she’s in danger. Someone high up in the Order is a traitor. They want Dru dead – but first, they want to know what she remembers of the night her mother died. Dru doesn’t want to remember, but it looks like she might have to – especially since once Christophe returns, he’ll be on trial for his life. The only person who can save him is Dru. The problem is, once she remembers everything, she may not want to…

Ann Aguirre
Blue Diablo (Corine Solomon, Book 1)
Hachette Gollancz (AU: July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Eighteen months ago, Corine Solomon crossed the border to Mexico City, fleeing her past, her lover and her ‘gift’ – for Corine is a handler: she can touch something and know its history and sometimes its future. Using her ability, she can find the missing – and that’s why people never stop trying to find her. People like her ex, Chance…Chance’s uncanny luck has led him to her doorstep. He needs her help. Someone dear to them both has gone missing in Laredo, Texas and the only hope of finding her is through Corine’s gift. But their search is going to get dangerous as the trail leads them into a strange dark world of demons and sorcerers, ghosts and witchcraft, zombies – and the blackest of black magic.

Ann Aguirre
Hell Fire (Corine Solomon, Book 2)
Hachette Gollancz (UK & AU: July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch any object and know its history. It’s too bad she can’t seem to forget her own. With her ex-boyfriend Chance in tow – lending his particularly supernatural brand of luck – Corine journeys back home to Kilmer, Georgia, in order to discover the truth behind her mother’s death and the origins of her gift. But while trying to uncover the secrets in her past, Corine and Chance find that something is rotten in the state of Georgia. Just a few miles away, no one seems to know Kilmer exists. And inside the town borders there are signs of a dark curse affecting the town and all its residents – and it can only be satisfied with death…

Maggie Shayne
Killing Me Softly (Secrets of Shadow Falls, Book 1)
Harlequin Mira (US & AU: July 2010)
Buy (US) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The Nightcap Strangler, who terrorised the town of Shadow Falls fifteen years ago, has finally been executed. Case Closed! Until Bryan Kendall’s lover is murdered in the notorious killer’s unique style and the rookie cop stands accused. Has someone committed the perfect copycat crime…or was the wrong man put to death? A continent away, Dawn Jones hears that her first love has been accused of murder and knows that only she can help him. But to do so, she’ll have to face the very fears that drove them apart. Together they’ll work to uncover secrets someone’s willing to kill to keep, and renew a love as dangerous as it is inevitable. And their best lead is the girl found dead in Bryan’s bed, reeking of the whiskey poured down her throat. A killer who thinks that Dawn, too, could use one last drink…