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Books Fiction Affliction

Fiction Affliction: January Releases in Urban Fantasy

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Published on January 3, 2013

Fiction Affliction: January Releases in Urban Fantasy
Fiction Affliction: January Releases in Urban Fantasy

It’s a quiet month in paranormal land, with fifteen releases and only eight of those for adult readers. The good news? They’re a highly anticipated octet, led by Kim Harrison’s eleventh Hollows novel, Ever After. Yasmine Galenorn releases her thirteenth Otherworld novel, Cat Adams the fifth Blood Singer book, Steven Gould the third Jumper outing, Linda Robertson the sixth Persephone Alcmedi novel, and Myke Cole his second Shadow Ops book.

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

Zom-B Underground (Zom-B #2), by Darren Shan (January 2, Little, Brown)

Young Adult. Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly. But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?

 

WEEK TWO

Blood Prophecy (Drake Chronicles #6), by Alyxandra Harvey (January 8, Walker)

Young Adult. Solange Drake has been officially crowned Queen of the Vampires, fulfilling the centuries old prophecy that foretold the rise to power of a daughter born to an ancient vampire line. Except Solange’s thoughts and actions are no longer her own, she’s been slowly being possessed by the spirit of Viola, the first daughter born into the Drake line, since her bloodchange. And instead of uniting the vampire tribes under the rule of an ancient daughter as the prophecy predicted, Viola would rather destroy them all and enslave humans in a personal vendetta for the devastation both wrought to her life centuries ago. Can Solange break her hold in time to save everyone she loves from a vampire civil war, hunter attack, and each other? Not everyone will survive the prophecy, perhaps not even her.

Crash (Visions #1), by Lisa McMann (January 8, Simon Pulse)

Young Adult. Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode, and nine body bags in the snow. The vision is everywhere, on billboards, television screens, windows, and she’s the only one who sees it. The more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember. Jules has to act, and act fast, to keep her vision from becoming reality.

 

Impulse (Jumper #3), by Steven Gould (January 15, Tor)

Cent has a secret. She lives in isolation, with her parents, hiding from the people who took her father captive and tortured him to gain control over his ability to teleport, and from the government agencies who want to use his talent. Cent has seen the world, but only from the safety of her parents’ arms. She’s teleported more than anyone on Earth, except for her mother and father, but she’s never been able to do it herself. Her life has never been in danger. Until the day when she went snowboarding without permission and triggered an avalanche. When the snow and ice thundered down on her, she suddenly found herself in her own bedroom. That was the first time.

 

WEEK THREE

Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1), by Lenore Appelhans (January 15, Simon & Schuster)

Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost, family, friends, and Neil, the boy she loved. When Julian, a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life, comes to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the truth: If she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians of Level 2, she can be with Neil again. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake, but the salvation of all mankind.

The Gates of Paradise (Blue Bloods #7), by Melissa de la Cruz (January 15, Hyperion)

Young Adult. Schuyler Van Alen is running out of time. The Dark Prince of Hell is storming the Gates of Paradise, intent on winning the heavenly throne for good. This time he has his greatest angels by his side, Abbadon and Azrael, or as they are known in the coven, Jack and Mimi Force. Will Bliss and the wolves she has recruited to join her win the battle for the vampires? Is Schuyler prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, the same one Michael was forced to make in Florence so long ago? Love and vengeance, duty and loyalty, life and death, are all at odds in the gripping, heartbreaking finale of the Blue Bloods series.

 

WEEK FOUR

Boundless (Unearthly #3), by Cynthia Hand (January 22, Harper Teen)

Young Adult. The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Clara cannot deny that she was never meant to live a normal life. Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California, and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place. Clara discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

Ever After (The Hollows #11), by Kim Harrison (January 22, Harper Voyager)

The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels the human world, is shrinking. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to avert catastrophe. While saving the world is important, it isn’t Rachel’s only motivation. There’s also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place. It has made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after. He’s already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out. But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own. She’s also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her, she’s going to return to the ever after, rescue her loved ones, and prevent an apocalypse before it’s too late. Or, at least that’s the plan.

The Archived (The Archived #1), by Victoria Schwab (January 22, Hyperion)

Young Adult. Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Between, by Kerry Schafer (January 29, Ace)

Vivian’s life is finally on track. She has a job she loves as an ER doctor and has just met, literally, the man of her dreams. But when her eccentric grandfather is murdered and designates her as his next of kin, she discovers that she is the last of a race of beings known as dreamshifters. It is her task to guard the doorways between waking and dreaming, which have already begun to unravel, spilling dangerous creatures from dream into the waking world. When she sets out to close the open doors and protect her town and the people she loves, Vivian confronts dragons, intrigue, and the dark secrets of her own family history. In the end she comes face to face with a sorceress seeking eternal life and ultimate power. Vivian must find a way to stop her, or reality will be forever altered.

Haunted Moon (Otherworld #13), by Yasmine Galenorn (January 29, Jove)

There’s a new Fae sorcerer in town, Bran, the son of Raven Mother and the Black Unicorn, and I’m the unwilling liaison between him and our new Earthside OIA. With cemeteries being ransacked and spirits being harvested by a sinister, otherworldly force, Aeval sends us to rescue the wife of a prominent member of the Fae nobility. Our search leads us to the Aleksais Psychic Network and, to face the Lord of Ghosts where Morio and I must undergo a ritual that will plunge us directly into the world of the dead.

Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops #2), by Myke Cole (January 29, Ace)

The Great Reawakening did not come quietly. Across the country and in every nation, people began to develop terrifying powers, summoning storms, raising the dead, and setting everything they touch ablaze. Colonel Alan Bookbinder is an army bureaucrat whose worst war wound is a paper-cut. Drafted into the Supernatural Operations Corps in a new and dangerous world, Bookbinder finds himself in command of Forward Operating Base Frontier. Now, he must find the will to lead the people of FOB Frontier out of hell, even if the one hope of salvation lies in teaming up with the man whose own magical powers put the base in such grave danger in the first place, Oscar Britton, public enemy number one.

Shattered Circle (Persephone Alcmedi #6), by Linda Robertson (January 29, Pocket)

After her werewolf boyfriend, Johnny, tried to kill her, Persephone Alcmedi finds herself in the comforting arms of powerful vampire, Menessos. She’s trying to sort out her feelings for the two men, but not even Seph is above the confusion of tangled emotions. All Johnny wants to do is mend their relationship and reveal the life-altering news he’s recently received, but his new responsibilities as the werewolf king take up most of his time. Meanwhile, unknown to Seph, her beloved foster daughter, Beverley, has been playing with a magical artifact and making dubious friends on the other side. When Beverley disappears, Seph must seek help from a supernatural being so potent that even Menessos fears him, and such aid always comes with a very steep price.

The Eldritch Conspiracy (Blood Singer #5), by Cat Adams (January 29, Tor)

Celia Graves was once an ordinary human. Now she strives to maintain her sanity and her soul while juggling both vampire abilities and the powers of a Siren. Not every bride needs a bridesmaid who can double as a bodyguard. But Celia’s cousin Adriana is no ordinary bride: she’s a Siren princess, and she’s marrying the king of a small but politically important European country. She’s getting death threats from fanatics who want to see the whole Siren race wiped out, including Celia herself. Celia is on duty when a trip to a bridal salon is interrupted by an assassination attempt, so everyone survives. Assuming the bride and groom both live to see their wedding day, this will be one royal wedding no one will ever forget.

What the Spell? (Life’s a Witch #1), by Brittany Geragotelis (January 29, Simon & Schuster)

Young Adult. Almost-sixteen-year-old Brooklyn feels invisible, but she desperately wants to be pretty, to be popular, to be adored by a cute guy. Luckily for her, she’s a witch about to come of age, so she’s only a few spells away from making it all happen. On her milestone birthday, Brooklyn’s conservative parents finally unbind her powers, which include the ability to magically match couples with a love spell. Brooklyn uses her special skills to get a makeover, new friends, and the attention of her crush, Asher. But the popular clique Brooklyn wants to infiltrate puts her in the same precarious position as her Salem ancestors: If she’s found out, she could be vilified, and lose Asher in the process. Can she make the most of her magic, or will she be luckless and loveless?


Author Suzanne Johnson is a book geek with a fondness for a good dystopia. Her Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series is published by Tor Books. You can find Suzanne on Twitter and on her daily book blog, Preternatura.

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Suzanne Johnson

Author

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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