August 2012 Releases

Done with July 2012 Releases? Here are August 2012 Releases. Fur future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Taken by Storm (Raised by Wolves, Book 3)
Pan Macmillan Quercus (AU: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A meeting of the werewolf Senate is called, because there seems to be another Rabid on the loose – strange murders have taken place around the centre of the country. They seem to be done by an animal, but there are human footprints…and a female werewolf may be involved. Callum warns Bryn of the reason for the meeting, and he implies that Maddy, a former member of her own Pack, is involved. She and Callum, with their seconds, Sora and Dev, attend the meeting, where Bryn is treated coldly, as usual. She picks a team of her own wolves to search for Maddy, but is forced to leave Dev behind to guard the Pack. Callum refuses to change Bryn into a werewolf yet, claiming that she needs to be human for longer, for some purpose, but Bryn knows that she is in a dangerous situation. Shay also wants Maddy, and he still wants Bryn’s territory and wolves. With only her brains, no brawn, Bryn is forced to fight Shay again, using every ounce of cunning she has. And it comes at a cost – a wrenching, horrible loss that will change Bryn’s life forever.

Jeaniene Frost
Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4)
HarperCollins Avon (AU: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they’ve fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it’s time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She’s having visions of a vampire named Gregor who’s more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn’t know about. Gregor believes Cat is his and he won’t stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor’s hold over her. She’ll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she’s ever faced…even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

Jeaniene Frost
Once Burned (Night Prince, Book 2)
HarperCollins Avon (AU: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: a terrifying ability to channel electricity and to see a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire… Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all – but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him – a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites, threatening to consume them. It will take everything they have to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Kelly Gay
Shadows Before the Sun (Charlie Madigan, Book 4)
Simon & Schuster Pocket (AU: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Elysia may be a heavenly off-world destination, but beyond it, in the siren city of Fiallan, the Circe have punished Charlie Madigan-s partner, Hank, into a torturous state between life and death. With all the proper legal channels cleared, Charlie heads to Elysia, not knowing what she-ll find, or if she-ll ever see the siren again…while at home, jinn crime boss Grigori Tennin has begun an all-out hunt for the divine being Ahkneri. Tennin’s tactics set off a chain reaction that puts Charlie in the crosshairs of the shadowy creature known as Death, and stirs Ahkneri from her long sleep – and if Vengeance awakes, Atlanta will never be the same.

Stacia Kane
Chasing Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 4)
HarperCollins Voyager (AU: 1st August 2012; UK: 2nd August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls – and taking the innocent with them – as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible. As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. Downside could become a literal ghost town if Chess doesn’t find a way to stop both the war and the dark wave of death-magic, and the only way to do that is to use both her addiction and her power to enter the spell and chase the magic all the way back to its malevolent source. Too bad that doing so will probably kill Chess – if the war doesn’t first destroy the man who’s become her reason for living.

Vicki Pettersson
The Taken (Celestial Blues, Book 1)
HarperCollins Voyager (AU: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets…and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he’s an angel, but that doesn’t make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he’s been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul – Katherine “Kit” Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped. Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder – and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie. Joining forces, Kit and Grif’s search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn’t Grif’s biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife…

Amy Kathleen Ryan
Spark (Skychasers, Book 2)
Pan Macmillan (AU: 1st August 2012; UK: 2nd August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Teenagers Waverly and Kieran were the first boy and girl born in space, and the first to fall in love. Cruelly wrenched apart when the enemy ship the New Horizon attacked the Empyrean, they have finally been reunited. Now the young crew on board the Empyrean must chase down the other ship in the race to save their parents. But Kieran’s leadership methods have raised suspicions, and Waverly questions if this could really be the same handsome loving boy she was torn from such a short time ago. Meanwhile she finds herself drawn ever closer to the wild and unpredictable Seth, despite the accusations Kieran has levelled against him…

Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton & Brenna Yovanoff
The Curiosities (Anthology)
Lerner Carolrhoda Lab (US: 1st August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck. Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing. A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream). These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three practitioners of paranormal fiction. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing – all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author’s comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three authors.

Maya Banks & Lauren Dane
Cherished (Anthology)
Penguin Berkley (US & CA: 7th August 2012)
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EXILED BY MAYA BANKS: Enticed to the island paradise where an enigmatic prince is living in exile, beautiful, virginal Talia is introduced to a world of forbidden pleasure where the prince’s every whim is fulfilled and her fantasies are rendered in exquisite detail. But when the prince is summoned back to fulfil his duty to his struggling country, reality is thrust upon Talia all too soon. She returns home, heartbroken, convinced she was a passing fancy for an idle ruler and his most trusted men. Until the day they arrive on her doorstep, determined to have her back where she belongs. SWAY BY LAUREN DANE: Levi Warner is an established, older man – wealthy, powerful, and above all, respectable. Then Levi meets Daisy, an uninhibited 24-year-old dance instructor and artist, not exactly the kind of woman Levi is accustomed to. But the young, free spirit brings out something in him he only experienced in fantasies. When their scorching affair turns into something unexpectedly deeper, Levi finds himself torn between preserving his reputation, and exploring a wilder and much more satisfying kind of life.

Kira Brady
Hearts of Darkness (Deadglass, Book 1)
Kensington Zebra (US: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Nurse Kayla Friday has dedicated her life to science and reason. But for her, Seattle is a place of eerie loss and fragmented, frightening memories. And now the only clue to her sister’s murder reveals a secret battle between two ancient mythologies…and puts Kayla in the sights of lethally-sexy werewolf mercenary Hart. He’ll do whatever it takes to obtain the key to the Gate of the Land of the Dead and free what’s left of his soul. But seducing the determined Kayla is putting them at the mercy of powerful desires neither can control. And as the clock ticks down to hellish catastrophe, the untested bond between Kayla and Hart may lead to the ultimate sacrifice.

Rachel Caine
Two Weeks’ Notice (Revivalist, Book 2)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
After dying and being revived with the experimental drug Returne, Bryn Davis is theoretically free to live her unlife – with regular doses to keep her going. But Bryn knows that the government has every intention of keeping a tight lid on Pharmadene’s life-altering discovery, no matter the cost. Thankfully, some things have changed for the better; her job at the rechristened Davis Funeral Home is keeping her busy and her fragile romance with Patrick McCallister is blossoming – thanks in part to their combined efforts in forming a support group for Returne addicts. But when some of the group members suddenly disappear, Bryn wonders if the government is methodically removing a threat to their security, or if some unknown enemy has decided to run the zombies into the ground…

Andrea Cremer
Rift (Nightshade Prequel, Book 1)
Penguin Philomel (US & CA: 7th August 2012); Hachette Atom (UK: 7th August 2012; AU: August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Ember has always known that she owed her life to a mysterious order of Knights who saved her as a baby. The same order of Knights who called her best friend to service, leaving her behind to play the dutiful daughter. But shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Alistair returns. Although he seems altered – shadowed and broodin – Ember places her trust in him, knowing that he’s her one chance to escape. Little does she know what danger lies ahead. For this is a tumultuous time and Ember will soon be caught up in an age-old struggle between darkness and light. Neither she, nor her heart, can possibly survive unscathed.

Jackson Pearce
Sweetly
Hachette Little, Brown (US: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
As a child, Gretchen’s twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch’s forest threatening to make them disappear too. Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They’re invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who moulds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion. Life seems idyllic, and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past – until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn’t gone – it’s lurking in the forest, preying on girls after Live Oak’s infamous chocolate festival each year, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet, the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is. Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

Kat Richardson
Seawitch (Greywalker, Book 7)
Penguin Roc (US & CA: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until she died – for two minutes. Now Harper is a Greywalker, treading the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she’s discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of “strange” cases. A quarter century ago, the Seawitch cruised away from her dock and disappeared with everyone on board. Now, the boat has mysteriously returned to her old berth in Seattle and the insurance company has hired Harper to find out what happened. But Harper is not the only one investigating. Seattle Police Detective Rey Solis is a good cop, albeit one who isn’t comfortable with the creepy cases that always seem to end up in Harper’s lap. As they explore the abandoned vessel, Harper and Solis discover a cabin containing symbols drawn in human blood, revealing the ghost ship’s grave history. As Solis focuses on the possible murder of a passenger’s wife, Harper’s investigation leads her to a powerful being who may be responsible for the disappearance of the Seawitch’s passengers and crew. And while their searches lead Harper and Solis in different directions, they will need to put aside their differences to solve a deadly mystery twenty-five years in the making…

Trisha Telep (ed.)
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance (Anthology)
Perseus Running Press (US: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Sexy, romantic, and…dead? Ghost romance offers a perfect blend of popular forms of contemporary romance: paranormal, time travel, fantasy, and a mix of modern-day and historical.

Jessica Verday
The Hidden (The Hollow, Book 3)
Simon & Schuster Pulse (US & CA: 7th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Abbey knows that Caspian is her destiny. Theirs is a bond that transcends even death. But as Abbey finally learns the full truth about the dark fate that links her to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, she suddenly has some very hard choices to make. Caspian may be the love of her life, but is that love worth dying for?

Cyn Balog
Touched
Random House (US & CA: 14th August 2012; AU: 15th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn’t? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over…and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn’t work. But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something’s about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift…and there’s no way to stop things from happening. Or is there? In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he’s about to discover – or the choice he will be forced to make…

Janet Edwards
Earth Girl (Earth Girl, Book 1)
HarperCollins Voyager (UK: 16th August 2012)
Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an “ape”, a “throwback”, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in. Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going. A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

S. A. Bodeen
The Raft
Review
Macmillan Feiwel & Friends (US: 21st August 2012)
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Robie is an experienced traveller. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft. And then…she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

Caitlin Kittredge
Soul Trade (Black London, Book 5)
Macmillan St. Martin’s (US: 28th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Normally, Pete Caldecott stays far away from magical secret societies. But ever since her partner and boyfriend Jack Winter stopped a primordial demon from ripping into our world, every ghost, demon, and mage in London has been wide awake – and hungry. And the magical society in question needs their help putting things right. It all begins with an invitation. Five pale figures surround Pete in the cemetery to “cordially” invite her to a gathering of the Prometheus Club. Pete’s never heard of them, but Jack has – and he’s not thrilled about it. Especially the part that says, “Attend or die.” The Prometheans wouldn’t come to London unless something big’s about to go down. So Pete and Jack decide to play it safe and make nice with the club – even if that means facing down an army of demons in the process. But now that they’ve joined the group, they’re about to discover that membership comes at a cost…and has apocalyptic consequences.

Karsten Knight
Embers & Echoes (Wildefire, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster (US & CA: 28th August 2012)
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Ashline Wilde may have needed school to learn that she is actually a reincarnated goddess, but she’s ready to move beyond books. She leaves her California boarding school behind and makes for Miami, where she meets a new group of deities and desperately seeks her sister Rose, the goddess of war. But she’s also looking for love – because even though her romance with Cole had to be snuffed, Ash is a volcano goddess – and she doesn’t get burned.

Carrie Ryan (ed.)
Foretold (Anthology)
Random House Delacorte (US & CA: 28th August 2012)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Explore the concepts of prophecy and prediction in this story collection edited by Carrie Ryan. Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It’s human nature to wonder about life’s twists and turns. But is the future already written – or do you have the power to alter it? From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life’s unknowns and of what is yet to come. This collection includes works from: Malina Lo, Lisa McMann, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Laini Taylor, Michael Grant, Saundra Mitchell, Richelle Mead, Matt de la Pena, Meg Cabot, Heather Brewer, Diana Peterfreund, Simone Elkeles, Carrie Ryan.

Neal Shusterman
UnWholly (Unwind, Book 2)
Simon & Schuster (US & CA: 28th August 2012)
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Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa – and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp – people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished. Cam is a product of unwinding: made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

John Ajvide Lindqvist
Let the Old Dreams Die (Anthology)
Quercus (UK: 30th August 2012)
Buy (UK) Buy (Worldwide)
Whatever happened to Oskar and Eli? And what became of the beleaguered families in Handling the Undead? In other tales from this collection, a woman finds a dead body and decides to keep it for herself, a customs officer has a mysterious gift which enables him to see what others hide, and a man believes he knows how to deceive death.