February might be the month for love, but Valentine’s Day won’t find many of the finned, fanged and furred offering hearts and flowers, with only twelve paranormal romance releases this month (well, not counting the 4,397 other digital releases). Among the series additions this month: Katie Reus (Moon Shifter), Amanda Ashley (Breeds), Suzanne Wright (Phoenix Pack), Patricia Eimer (Speak of the Devil), Shawna Thomas (Triune Stones), Jaime Rush (Hidden), and Marjorie M. Liu (Hunter Kiss).
Fiction Affliction details releases in science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and “genre-benders.” Keep track of them all here.
Note: All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher.
WEEK ONE
Avenger’s Heat (Moon Shifter #4)—Katie Reus (February 4, Signet)
Enforcer Erin Flynn has dedicated her life to protecting her kind. But keeping her heart safe from Noah Campbell, the shifter who saved her life last year, is more difficult. She would love to sink into his arms and become his mate, but she knows she can’t, he must never know about her dark past. When Erin is sent to investigate the disappearances of pregnant shifters in New Orleans, Erin and Noah find themselves involved in a mystery more sinister than anyone expected. Chilling information about her own past is revealed. The people who wanted her dead in the first place are trying to finish the job, and Noah wants nothing more than to shield her from harm. Can Erin truly trust Noah and let him see the wounded beast she’s hidden for so long?
Night’s Promise (Children of the Night #6)—Amanda Ashley (February 4, Zebra)
For heiress Sheree West, vampires are more than a fantasy. They are an obsession. Night after night, she dresses in black and immerses herself in L.A.’s goth club scene. Searching for a lover who is more than a man. A creature of the dark who lusts for her blood. A legend who lives in the shadows and not just her dreams. Derek Blackwood is no ordinary vampire. Descended from a bloodline as old as Cleopatra, and blessed with unearthly powers of seduction, he is everything Sheree wished for. When he takes her in his arms, she is powerless. When he kisses her neck, she is his. When the full moon rises, something is unleashed in Derek that he’s never felt before. Something wild. Something dangerous. Something no vampire can control or stop, even for the woman he loves.
One Night with the Shifter—Theresa Meyers (February 4, Harlequin)
A one-night stand with a werewolf has unexpected consequences. After he is exiled from his pack, Tyee Grayson must learn to make it on his own. But one night with a beautiful stranger who has luminous blue eyes changes everything. Especially when his instincts shout that she is the one. All elementary school teacher Jessica Brierly wanted was a night on the wild side, but when she finds herself pregnant, all the rules change. Not only does her lover have more secrets than she ever imagined, but suddenly they’re both fighting off vampires. When vampires attack the town she dearly loves, Ty must work with his old pack to save them from a ruthless enemy who could kill not only his mate and his unborn child, but the entire human race.
Rule Breaker (Breeds #29)—Lora Leigh (February 4, Berkley)
Lion Breed, Rule Breaker had just a few rules he didn’t break. #1. Never have sex with a woman outside his own subspecies, especially a human woman. #2. Never, at any time, accept a mission concerning a female when Jonas Wyatt stinks of a lie. #3. Run, hell for leather away from any female, human or breed, when his desire for her appears to have so much as a single sign of Mating Heat. What he suspected was a mating, may not be. Just his animal instincts rioting, pacing, irritated whenever he’s away from her. What ensues is a fiery affair that breaks all the rules of mating heat and will eventually endanger his mate with the very rules designed to protect the breeds when Jonas learns she’s possibly been working against them.
Scarlet Devices (Steam and Seduction #2)—Delphine Dryden (February 4, Berkley)
Eliza Hardison is determined to crusade for workers’ rights until her cousin Dexter, the Makesmith Baron, prevails on her to represent Hardison House in the American Dominion Sky and Steam Rally. The competition is fierce, but only one opponent really matters to Eliza. Dexter’s protégé, Matthew Pence, was always like a big brother to her. Matthew has made a break from Hardison House with his own business venture, and made his own entry in the rally. Matthew intends to win while keeping Eliza safe on the perilous route from New York to San Francisco. Eliza and Matthew must work together, discovering a bond deeper than either could have imagined, but is winning the rally more important than winning at love?
WEEK TWO
Reaper’s Touch—Eleri Stone (February 10, Carina)
Abby is a Ranger, part of an elite group who defend the border against Reapers, humans infected with a parasite that turns them into mindless cannibals. Rangers are immune to Reaper infection, and Abby is expected to settle down and breed more Rangers. When she’s ambushed on the plains, she’s ready to go out with guns blazing, until a mysterious cowboy rides to her rescue. Jake has his own motives for helping Abby. He’s a Reaper. While he’s learned to wrest control of his mind from the parasite, the effects won’t last without a permanent cure. Abby and Jake are natural enemies and unlikely partners. When their search reveals a conspiracy between Reapers and the rich industrialists, they must work together to find the cure, or lose the border, and each other, forever. (Digital)
Carnal Secrets (The Phoenix Pack #3)—Suzanne Wright (February 11, Montlake)
Half-shifter Shaya Critchley may hold a submissive role in her pack, but she’s done taking orders. After her Alpha wolf mate refused to claim her, but committed to interfering in her life,she took off. She hides from him, posing as a human in a town full of anti-shifter extremist groups. Nick Axton can barely control his feelings for Shaya, but he could never claim her. The degenerative brain condition he keeps secret would leave her with a burden rather than a mate. Nick can’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. He discovers Shaya’s feisty and passionate side in the process, a side he’d never seen before. Nick vows to finally claim the spirited Shaya, and despite her initial resistance, Shaya just might find his fiery determination to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Split Second (Pivot Point #2)—Kasie West (February 11, Harper Teen)
Young Adult. Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow time. When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance. There she meets Trevor. He’s a stranger to her, so why does her heart do funny flips every time she sees him? Her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories. Laila tries to manipulate Connor, but he’s the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. As Addie and Laila attempt to retrieve the memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot, and a future that could change everything.
WEEK THREE
No new releases.
WEEK FOUR
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Speak of the Devil #3)—Patricia Eimer (February 24, Entangled Edge)
There’s never an end to the crazy when you’re demon spawn. Not that Faith Bettincourt’s complaining. She’s been patching things up with her angelic on-again off-again boyfriend, Matt, and her best-friend-turned-sister-in-law is soon giving birth to the Anti-Christ Part Deux. Faith is saving kids from Death in her pediatric unit one soul at a time. Faith accidentally runs over the Angel of Death and is forced to take his place. Now she’s taking lives instead of saving them. She is suddenly thrust into the worst scenario of them all, Matt’s ex Brenda is back, and she’s brought the Apocalypse with her. Faith’s not about to give up the world…or her man. But when the chips are down, what’s a demoness supposed to do? Besides take matters into her own hands, of course. (Digital)
Journey of the Wanderer (The Triune Stones #4)—Shawna Thomas (February 24, Carina)
To fulfill her destiny as the Wanderer of legend, Ilythra needs to find the last of the Triune Stones. Its music has gone silent, its owner, the dark sorcerer Bredych, nowhere to be seen except in her dreams. Dreams that are getting ever more frequent, and more troubling. Unrest is sweeping the land, and Ilythra’s allies are paying the price as Bredych subsumes more and more kingdoms to his will. Armed with only her sword and her friends, stoic elderborn Arien and passionate warrior-prince Ryliann, she sets out to win her people back and train them to fight for themselves. Her cause is clear, but her feelings for the two completely different yet equally admirable men, less so. With the fate of both humanity and elderborn on the line, how can she dare choose love over her destiny? (Digital)
Angel Seduced (The Hidden # 3)—Jaime Rush (February 25, Forever)
My name is Kye Rivers. I am a Deuce Crescent, which means I have magick running through my veins. Even though my family is Deuce, too, I have always felt like an outcast. Because my particular gift revolves around sensuality, which makes my family uncomfortable. I get my validation and satisfaction from helping people with their sexual pathos. The price for my magick is that falling in love interferes with my abilities. When I met the new bartender, a rare Caido who works at the nightclub that serves as my office and second home, I felt an electric draw like never before. Kasabian isn’t like other angel/human Crescents, who are cool and asexual. Kasabian craves emotions, and he craves me. I fear that what’s different in him is dangerous for both of us.
Labyrinth of Stars (Hunter Kiss #5)—Marjorie M. Liu (February 25, Ace)
Tattoos with hearts, minds, and dreams. Created to be the armor that protects my body, these obsidian shadows come alive at night, demons made flesh. After the Aetar nearly kill Maxine’s unborn child, and a betrayal within her own ranks leaves Maxine’s husband, Grant, poisoned and dying, Maxine is forced to attack a race of beings that possesses almost unlimited power. Doing so will require she make a deal with the devil, the devil that lives inside her, risking both her sanity and her soul as she slowly transforms into something more than human. But even that might not be enough to save Grant, because the very thing that Maxine is becoming is destined to destroy the world.
Author Suzanne Johnson is a book geek with a fondness for a good dystopia. She writes the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series, which will continue this fall with Pirate’s Alley. You can find Suzanne on Facebook and on her daily book blog, Preternatura.
