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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

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Nineteen new urban fantasy titles make their way onto the shelves in June, including new additions to popular series from Dakota Cassidy (Accidentally), Simon R. Green (Eddie Drood/Secret Histories), MaryJanice Davidson (Undead), Stacia Kane (Downside Ghosts), and Nicole Peeler (Jane True). Both Jeaniene Frost and Vicki Pettersson start new series this month, but the question remains: Who’s doing who in book twenty-one of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series? Well, the series is returning to its roots in the UF genre it practically birthed. Happy happy.

Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.

WEEK ONE

Accidentally Dead, Again (Accidentally, Book 6), by Dakota Cassidy (June 5, Berkley)

After a wild, work-sponsored Halloween party, entomologist Sam McLean wakes up with a spotty memory—and a pointy set of fangs. Somehow, Sam’s unconscious body ends up at the OOPS office, where paranormal crisis counselors Nina, Marty, and Wanda give him the lowdown on accidentally becoming a creature of the night. And then Phoebe Reynolds finds herself in the direct bath of Sam’s fangs, and the OOPS girls have two fledgling vamps on their hands.

Blood Kin (The Half-Light City, Book 2), by M.J. Scott (June 5, Roc)

Imagine a city divided. A city where human and Fae magic rests uneasily next to the vampire blood and the shapeshifting beasts. A city where a fragile peace is brokered by a treaty that set the laws for all four races—a treaty that is faltering day by day. Abandoned by her father, but with some of his magic and skills of her own, the half-breed daughter of a Fae lord teams with a Templar Knight to battle the treachery and violence that threaten both their kind. Young Adult.

Hex Appealedited by P.N. Elrod (June 5, St. Martin’s Griffin)

In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers play deadly games. They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they’re not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you’re the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer’s curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it? In this bewitching collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors tell all-new, otherworldly tales. Includes stories from: Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Carole Nelson Douglas, P. N. Elrod, Simon R. Green, Lori Handeland, Erica Hayes and Carrie Vaughn.

Kiss the Dead (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 21), by Laurell K. Hamilton (June 5, Berkley)

When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more. But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them.

Live and Let Drood (A Secret Histories Novel), by Simon R. Green (June 5, Roc)

Eddie Drood’s family has been keeping the forces of evil contained in the shadows for as long as humans have walked the earth. Eddie, recently suffering from a slight case of death, gets another chance when powerful witch Molly remedies that wrong. Unfortunately, the Drood family wasn’t so lucky. In his absence, Drood Hall was destroyed and all his relatives were killed, leaving Eddie as the last of the Droods. Then Eddie realizes that things weren’t as they seemed. Someone had activated a dimensional engine, sending Drood Hall off to an alternate Earth, replacing it with a burnt-out doppelganger. His family is still alive out there. Somewhere. And nothing’s going to stop him from finding them.

Silver, by Rhiannon Held (June 5, Tor)

Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He’s the enforcer for the Roanoke pack and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke’s territory. But the lone Were he’s tracking doesn’t smell or act like anyone he’s ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn’t get any better. She’s beautiful, she’s crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she’s lost her wild self and can’t shift anymore. The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent. Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

Undead and Unstable (Undead, Book 11), by Mary Janice Davidson (June 5, Berkley)

Betsy Taylor is determined to change the future for herself and her loved ones, but her actions could have life-shattering repercussions. That’s to be expected when a friend returns from the dead, when your dear sister just happens to be the Antichrist, and when your mother is the devil.

 

WEEK TWO

Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown (June 12, Delacorte)

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother’s death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family’s homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter, Lily. Young Adult.

Serpent’s Kiss (Witches of East End, Book 2), by Melissa de la Cruz (June 12, Hyperion)

Just as things have settled down in the off-the-map Long Island town of North Hampton for the magical Beauchamp family, everything gets turned upside down once more when Freya’s twin brother Fryr, or “Freddie” as he’s called now, returns from Limbo with shocking news—that it was none other than Freya’s fiancé, Killian Gardiner, who set up his downfall. He begs Freya to keep his presence a secret, even from their own family, but somehow the irascible Freddie is still able to conduct many affairs with the town’s young lovelies from his self-imposed exile. Until he falls for the wrong girl.

The Taken (Celestial Blues Book 1), by Vicki Pettersson (June 12, Harper Voyager)

He’s a fallen angel. She’s a rockabilly reporter. Together they must solve a deadly string of murders plaguing the mortal and the immortal worlds. Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was over fifty years ago when gumshoes hoofed the streets—and he was still alive. Now he’s a Centurion, an angel who assists other murdered souls through their journey to the afterlife. But while Shaw might be an angel, he’s no saint. Haunted by the mysterious events surrounding his own death, he seizes a chance to wreak some vengeance when he witnesses a deadly attack on journalist Katherine “Kit” Craig.

 

WEEK THREE

Forged in Fire (Sarah Beauhall, Book 3), by J.A. Pitts (June 19, Tor)

Sarah Jane Beauhall, the blacksmith turned dragon slayer, has it all figured out—little things like dealing with the political intrigue of dragons who secretly run our world, and learning to wield the magic that she has been given by none other than Odin, who has been fighting the dragons for millennia. And then there is the matter of coming to terms with who she is … and how to build a life with her partner, Katie. All these things are forced into the background however when a magic-wielding serial killer starts prowling the Pacific Northwest. And all of his victims have ties to Sarah.

 

WEEK FOUR

Blackhearted Betrayal (Shades of Fury, Book 3), by Kasey MacKenzie (June 26, Ace)

Riss Holloway has taken a leave of absence from her mortal job as Boston’s Chief Magical Investigator to focus on an unsettling friction brewing in the Sisterhood—only to be ushered into a tumultuous civil war drawing every other god and goddess into the chaos as well.

Changeling (MetaWars, Book 2), by Kelly Meding (June 26, Pocket)

After barely escaping a madman’s attempt to annihilate all MetaHumans, Kelly Meding’s supernatural crime fighters have banded together to take back the streets of war-ravaged Los Angeles. Dahlia “Ember” Perkins still feels like an outsider among her new Meta friends, despite everything she’s been through since coming into her miraculous ability to absorb heat and extinguish fires. But when the police need help investigating human skins discarded like slipcovers on the street, the Metas’ youngest team member quickly finds her place. Evidence points to a murderer the likes of which they have never encountered but who inexplicably seems to be gunning for Dahlia—and who may be neither human nor Meta.

Chasing Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 5), by Stacia Kane (June 26, Del Rey)

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.

Darkness Devours (Dark Angels, Book 3), by Keri Arthur (June 26, Signet)

Half-werewolf, half-Aedh Risa Jones can enter the realm between life and death, and she can see the Reapers who collect the souls of the dead. Now, she is using her gifts—and the investigative know-how of a man who broke her heart—to find a cabal searching for the power to control time, reality, and fate. And this is besides her work for the Vampire Council, half of whom want her dead. But for now the Council needs her alive. Someone is killing blood-whore addicted vampires, and Risa must find the guilty party.

Dust Girl (American Fairy Trilogy, Book 1), by Sarah Zettel (June 26, Random House)

Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately, all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone, when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in “the golden hills of the west.” Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions are very aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate. Young Adult.

False Covenant (Whiddershins, Book 2), by Ari Marmell (June 26, Pyr)

A creature of the other world, an unnatural entity bent on chaos and carnage, has come to stalk the nighttime streets of the Galicien city of Davillon. This couldn’t possibly have come at a worse time. Not for Davillon, and not for a young thief who calls herself Widdershins. She has tried to keep out of trouble, away from the attentions of the Davillon Guard and above the secrets and schemes of the city’s new bishop. But she’s in way over her head, with no idea which way to turn. The Guard doesn’t trust her. The Church doesn’t trust her. Her own Thieves’ Guild doesn’t trust her. Young Adult.

Once Burned (Night Prince, Book 1), by Jeaniene Frost (June 26, Avon)

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn 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.

Tempest’s Fury (Jane True, Book 5), by Nicole Peeler (June 26, Orbit)

Jane’s not happy. She’s been packed off to England to fight in a war, when she’d much rather be snogging her new boyfriend. Unfortunately, Jane’s enemies have been busy stirring up some major trouble—the kind that attracts a lot of attention. In other words, they’re not making it easy for Jane to get any alone time with Anyan, or to indulge in her penchant for stinky cheese. Praying she can pull off a Joan of Arc without the whole martyrdom thing, Jane must lead Alfar and halflings alike in a desperate battle to combat an ancient evil.


Author Suzanne Johnson is a book geek with a fondness for a good dystopia. Her Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series, which began with the release of Royal Street, is set in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. Find Suzanne on Twitter.

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Suzanne Johnson

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Urban fantasy author with a new series, set in immediate post-Katrina New Orleans, starting with ROYAL STREET on April 10, 2012, from Tor Books. Urban fantasy author with a new series, set in immediate post-Katrina New Orleans, starting with ROYAL STREET on April 10, 2012, from Tor Books.
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