Today the SFR Galaxy Awards were announced and I felt very honored to receive two nods for Star Cruise Outbreak, plus one for Hostage to the Stars, and two nods for the Pets In Space anthology! (Pets features stories by nine authors, including Star Cruise: Stowaway by yours truly.)

Wow – I’m blushing and beaming!

If you go to the SFR Galaxy Awards site you can see the complete list of “standout books in science fiction romance” the judges selected for this year’s list. Lots of good reading and many wonderful authors included.

I’m walking on air!

Star Cruise Outbreak buy links:  Apple iBooks   Amazon     Kobo      Barnes & Noble   

Hostage to the Stars buy links:  Apple iBooks     Amazon    Kobo     Barnes & Noble

Pets In Space buy links: iBooks    Amazon    Nook      GooglePlay     Kobo

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL) and as always I recommend sampling before you buy!

It’s a mix of the genres in no particular order. Also the term “new” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  

(NOTE: If the author provides me with buy links I insert those; otherwise I default to Amazon and iBooks. Pricing and availability are current as of the day I prepare the post – things can change fast in the ebook world LOL.)

Also, I usually include only the beginning of the book blurb…

POWER GAME (A GHOSTWALKER NOVEL) by Christine Feehan

VS Note: I was a huge fan of the Ghost Walker series, even though sometimes the violence was a bit much for me. I’d ‘close one eye and keep reading’, you know? Conspiracy Game was my all time favorite. Then I kinda drifted away at Street Game, which just didn’t grab me. I came back with Viper Game, so I’m happy to see a new release in the series. Took a gulp at the kindle price (set by the publisher, not Ms. Feehan) but I did one click. So we’ll see!

When members of a United Nations joint security force are taken hostage by radical terrorists in Indonesia, Captain Ezekiel Fortunes is called to lead the rescue team. Part of a classified government experiment, Zeke is a supersoldier with enhanced abilities. He can see better and run faster than the enemy, disappear when necessary and hunt along any terrain. There are those in the world willing to do anything for power like that…

A formidable spy genetically engineered to hide in plain sight, Bellisia rarely meets a man who doesn’t want to control her or kill her. But Zeke is different. His gaze, his touch—they awaken feelings inside her that she never thought possible. He’s the kind of man she could settle down with—if she can keep him alive…

Amazon      iBooks

THE FORESTS OF DRU – SORCEROUS MOONS BOOK 4 by Jeffe Kennedy

VS NOTE: I love Jeffe’s fantasy romances! So yay for Book 4!

Once Princess Oria spun wicked daydreams from the legends of sorceresses kidnapped by the barbarian Destrye. Now, though she’s come willingly, she finds herself in a mirror of the old tales: the king’s foreign trophy of war, starved of magic, surrounded by snowy forest and hostile strangers. But this place has secrets, too—and Oria must learn them quickly if she is to survive.
Instead of the refuge he sought, King Lonen finds his homeland desperate and angry, simmering with distrust of his wife….

Amazon      iBooks

CRY HAVOC (WAR IN THE STARS BOOK 1) by Jolie Mason

Aiden Simeon hasn’t had a normal life. That’s how he became a tech with a mercenary group on Havoc Station, one of the roughest places in the galaxy. He’s inherited the responsibility of three other kids, while he’s still just a kid himself. The Lancers are the only ticket out of the system, and he intends they’ll be on that transport when they go.

Provided, of course, he can solve the problem of a cyber attack on the station, survive the war with a new and overwhelming enemy, and learn how to fit in an evolving world where nothing can stay the same.

Amazon

THE DEMIGOD’S LEGACY by Holley Trent

Six hundred years after losing his wife and son to his cousin’s deadly scheme, the demigod cougar shifter known as Tito Perez still refuses to take a mate. He couldn’t protect his family in pre-colonial Tenochtitlan where Aztec gods freely roamed, and he won’t risk endangering another in modern New Mexico.

Too bad he doesn’t know he already has one from a tender affair with a sweet bar waitress he abandoned.

After waiting five years for Tito to return to his senses, December Farmer tracks her daughter’s absentee father to the small town of Maria, New Mexico, to make him step up, but he’s not the only one in for a shock. The town is overrun with supernatural beings and, apparently, her daughter, Cruz, is one of them.

December isn’t sure she can stomach being the mate of an immortal shapeshifter, but the stakes are higher for Tito. His cousin intends, yet again, to take away the only things Tito holds dear, and this time, Tito may have no choice but to cast his precious humanity aside and become the unflinching warrior he’s never wanted to be.

Amazon      iBooks

AETHER RISING (AETHER PSYCHICS BOOK 4) by Cecelia Dominic

VS NOTE: Another find via the Whiskey With My Book Blog

The only place to hide could be behind the truth.

No one can lie to Louisa Cobb. It’s her gift. Her curse. Magic her stepfather has no compunction about using to gain the upper hand in business. But when Parnaby Cobb presents her with her latest mark, she realizes he’s testing her loyalty.

Her target is Patrick O’Connell, an Irish tinkerer and scoundrel who stole a kiss—and her heart—years ago. Should she betray her stepfather to set Patrick free, she’ll be cut off without a penny to her name.

Patrick knows exactly he’s been captured, why he’s struggling to lie into Louisa’s sky-blue eyes….

Amazon      iBooks

THE COLONY by Laurel Richards

Responding to a distress call, Officer Alexander Valerian and the rest of his security team arrive at the human colony on the planet of Jangala to find blood and gore all over the walls. All the colonists are dead or missing except for Dr. Elisa Everett, a pretty paleontologist he finds injured and nearly suffocated in a ventilation shaft. Now Alex has to figure out how sixty-nine colonists were wiped out in a single night, but Elisa’s account of killer monsters just raises more questions. Has the colony really been attacked by bloodthirsty beasts, or did everyone succumb to a powerful hallucinogen that made them turn on one another? He had better find out fast, because Elisa’s life is in his hands.

Amazon      iBooks

EVERKIN (THE KINDRED BOOK 1) by Donna Grant

When natural-born witch Edra is approached by others who share her gifts, she jumps at the chance to join a Coven. Until she discovers that they’re not what they seem. They’re hell-bent on destruction, and in order to save herself and those she loves, Edra must leave her home, and the only man she’s ever loved.

Squire-turned-knight Radnar has never been the same since the love of his life disappeared in the middle of the night seven years ago….

Amazon      iBooks

DARK HUMANITY Box Set by Various

“The Dark Humanity Boxed Set is a compilation of 21 Full-Length Science Fiction and Epic Fantasy reads! We’ve spared no great discovery, with inclusion of a diverse mix of existing titles and brand new content…”

Amazon

SOURCE-BREAKER by Kyra Halland

After twenty-seven years in the trade and with a string of failures behind him, Kaniev the Source-Fixer is ready to go home and take up fishing. First, though, one more repair job lies ahead of him – the magical Source Chaitrasse is experiencing problems. Kaniev’s depleted finances and self-confidence demand that this time, he get the job done right.

Fransisa, once presumed to be the next High Priestess of Source Chaitrasse and now displaced by a young Chosen, the natural heir to the position, is struggling to hold on to her authority at Chaitrasse when a wandering tradesman appears, telling her the Source has a problem and he’s the one who can fix it….

Amazon      iBooks

GIRL OF FIRE (THE EXPULSION PROJECT BOOK 1) by  Norma Hinkens

VS NOTE: Teen & YA

Trattora is the adopted daughter of the Chieftain on a primitive frontier planet. Velkan is an indentured serf who has never known a day of freedom. Forced to flee a terrifying invasion by Galactic Pirates, they find themselves thrown together on a ramshackle mining vessel that harbors more than one dark secret. Fate and chemistry combine when the pair’s matching birth bracelets lead them to a shocking discovery about their true lineage. Stakes rise when they uncover the classified Expulsion Project, and the devastating sacrifice their birth families made to spare their lives. Determined to save them from liquidation, Trattora and Velkan plunge headlong into a frantic race against time and space to take down the genocidal self-actualizing software that now controls large swathes of their home planet.

Amazon

UNDER HER SPELL by Bridget Essex

Isabella Fox is a very mediocre witch. Run out of the last few towns for spells gone wrong, she’s ready to settle down but can’t quite find a place to call home. Fortunately, there’s one town where her mediocrity might not actually be a problem… The charming little town of Benevolence, high in the peaks of Glimmer Mountain, a storybook little village that looks picturesque and practically perfect in every way…

But there’s more to Benevolence than meets the eye. The town itself is full of magic…and secrets, and not all are welcome. Outcast shapeshifter, Emily, lives alone in the mountains. She is a mystery to Isabella, until they happen upon each other by chance in the snowy wood, like magic. Love begins to grow between the two women, despite the chill of the winter and the possibility that all might not be right in Benevolence…

Amazon

THE LAST TRUE HERO (THE BURNED LANDS BOOK 2) by Bec McMaster

VS NOTE: OK, so tempted to one click this one…can I resist??? (I went and one clicked Book 1 LOL)

In the drought-stricken wastelands that arose out of an apocalypse, Adam McClain never thought himself the hero. Kicked out of the town he created, and shunned by his friends when they discovered what he was, he’s managed to find work as a bounty hunter. After all, who best to hunt the wargs and reivers that haunt the Badlands, than one of the monsters themselves?

She’s the one woman he can’t have…Mia Grey learned the hard way that men can’t be trusted, and when McClain strides into her bar she knows trouble just walked in….

Amazon      iBooks

ELEVENTH GRAVE IN THE MOONLIGHT by Darynda Jones

A typical day in the life of Charley Davidson involves cheating husbands, errant wives, missing people, philandering business owners, and, oh yeah…demons, hell hounds, evil gods, and dead people. Lots and lots of dead people. As a part time Private Investigator and full-time Grim Reaper, Charley has to balance the good, the bad, the undead, and those who want her dead.

Now, Charley is learning to make peace with the fact that she is a goddess with all kinds of power and that her own daughter has been born to save the world from total destruction. But the forces of hell are determined to see Charley banished forever to the darkest corners of another dimension. With the son of Satan himself as her husband and world-rocking lover, will Charley be able to defeat the ultimate evil and find a way to have her happily ever after after all?

Amazon      iBooks

STRANGE LAKE FALLS WITCH by KD Jones

Jay is a werewolf who isn’t looking for anything permanent until a sweet little thing crashes into his world. Two complete opposites meet and sparks go off. It would be fine if someone wasn’t trying to kill the woman his wolf wants to claim.

Cat is a witch who has to find a place to set down roots and work her magic. Her only problem is a sexy werewolf who just doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. She really doesn’t have time to deal with this growing attraction, but some things just can’t be ignored.

Amazon      iBooks

OF FATE AND PHANTOMS (MINISTRY OF CURIOSITIES BOOK 7) by C. J. Archer

As Charlie and Lincoln’s lives settle into a harmonious pattern, a new threat arises that could have far reaching effects for the royal family and Lincoln’s parents.

When a seer warns the Prince of Wales that his life is in danger, only Charlie and Lincoln take her seriously. After all, what sensible person would believe a gypsy who claims the danger will come in the form of the prince’s dead father?

A meeting at the palace sets them on a path that takes Charlie back to her old haunts in the London slums, on the hunt for a man who can change his appearance….

Amazon      iBooks

SHADOW’S EDGE by SC. Wynne

Liam Baker can see things. Dead people like to visit him and tell them how they were wronged. Some might call it a gift, other’s a curse. But either way this ability makes him useful to Los Angeles homicide detective Kimball Thompson.

Some madman is slitting the throats of young male prostitutes and then dumping their bodies in the desert with vague clues of pink feathers and the number five. Usually Liam can talk to the spirits of the dead. But someone is blocking him. Someone is taunting him….

Amazon      iBooks

CREEG: THE TELLOX BOOK 1 by Kelly Lucille

They were created, betrayed and nearly eradicated as a species.
The rest they did to themselves.
The Tellox are known as the finest warriors in every known galaxy, animalistic, powerful and infinitely hard to kill. They heal from nearly any wound and do not age. But they have no females left, and with the destruction of their bloodmates so long ago, nothing worth fighting for.
So they wander, they battle, and they hunt.
Most don’t even remember what it is they search for, until Commander Creeg of the Tellox is exploring a new uninitiated world and chances upon the scent of new prey.
A small Earth female named Sara is about to change everything.

Amazon

DIABLO LAKE: PROTECTED by Lauren Dane

Tensions are building in Diablo Lake as the two main rival Packs vie for control, and the town is divided along lines of Pack loyalty. Aimee Benton and Mac Pembry are on opposite sides and he seems to find excuses to spar with her daily. He’s infuriating—not to mention charming, gorgeous and oh-so-lickable.

Mac can’t resist pushing Aimee’s buttons. She’s always been incredibly sexy, and the wolf in him craves a female with fire in her belly….

Amazon      iBooks

MOONLIGHT ON THE MEADOW: A SAVE TOMORROW NOVELLA by Tawdra Kandle

Cathryn Whitmore, the driven and hard-working woman at the helm of Carruthers Initiative Institute, has always been unlucky in love. She tells herself that there’s no room in her life for a serious relationship, and that’s partly true; together with her friends and the agents who work for her, she’s on a mission to stop a pervasive evil from setting off an apocalypse that will spell the end of the world.

But that was before she took a trip to Ireland to recruit three gifted brothers to fight by her side.

When Seamus O’Casey first lays eyes on Cathryn, he knows that he’s lost his heart. But convincing her of this truth won’t be easy. It’ll take all of his charm—not to mention his supernatural abilities—to win her trust . . . and her love….

Amazon      iBooks

BOJAN by Luna Hunter

Just when Zoey Valentine lands her dream job, assisting a famous director as he documents alien wildlife, the universe conspires against her. Pig-faced aliens attack their spaceship, kill the crew, and enslave the curvy blonde. Just when she’s about to give up hope, rescue comes in the unlikeliest of forms: An alpha Zoran hitman, with brooding eyes that set her body on fire, saves her life.

Bojan is a Zoran renegade. A killer by trade. A simple job becomes much harder when he finds himself possessing a shapely human female. The tall and broad warrior is not in the business of freeing slaves, but he finds Zoey’s many curves impossible to resist…

Before he can consume his lust more slavers attack. An intergalactic crime boss wants to own Zoey and will stop at nothing to get her. Bojan will have to risk everything if he chooses Zoey over a payday.

Will the hired killer choose love?

Amazon

BLACKWELL by Alexandrea Weiss with Lucas Astor

VS NOTE: Saw this one mentioned on the Whiskey With My Book Blog recently and seemed intriguing. I have no idea about the romance element…

In the late 1800s, handsome, wealthy New Englander, Magnus Blackwell, is the envy of all.

When Magnus meets Jacob O’Conner—a Harvard student from the working class—an unlikely friendship is forged. But their close bond is soon challenged by a captivating woman; a woman Magnus wants, but Jacob gets.

Devastated, Magnus seeks solace in a trip to New Orleans. After a chance meeting with Oscar Wilde, he becomes immersed in a world of depravity and brutality, inevitably becoming the inspiration for Dorian Gray. Armed with the forbidden magic of voodoo, he sets his sights on winning back the woman Jacob stole from him.

Amid the trappings of Victorian society, two men, bent on revenge, will lay the foundation for a curse that will forever alter their destinies.

Amazon      iBooks

CHEATING DEATH (THE IMMORTAL DESCENDANTS BOOK 5) by  April White

An explosion has split Time and Archer has paid the ultimate price, leaving Saira heartbroken and desperate to repair the rupture. But the blast has trapped Saira in an alternate future where Mongers are cornered predators and Death is the ultimate judge. If Saira and her larcenous friend Ringo ever want to see Archer alive, they must pull off the impossible – alter history at a moment in time to which they cannot return. But saving Archer will restore a timeline where Mongers have complete control, mixed bloods are hunted prey, and the Descendant world is spiraling into chaos.

As Saira uses her Clocking skills to prevent her worst nightmares from coming true, she travels from the dirty streets of Victorian London to the secret archives of the Vatican.

Amazon      iBooks

NOCTURNE FALLS UNIVERSE – Kristen Painter and Various

“Welcome to Nocturne Falls, where there’s a supernatural on every corner, if you have the magic to see them.”

VS NOTE: A whole group of Nocturne Falls Universe stories came out recently. I’m not going to list them all but there are a wide variety of fantasy and paranormal characters, plus romance, by assorted authors. I have not read any of these but here’s the cover and link for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE
ALIEN KIND by Fiona Roarke. You can easily find the others from there! I liked the cover for THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND WOLVES by Alethea Kontis too.

DEATH’S MISTRESS: SISTER OF DARKNESS: THE NICCI CHRONICLES BOOK 1 by Terry Goodkind

VS NOTE: Sounded like good Epic Fantasy.

One-time lieutenant of the evil Emperor Jagang, known as “Death’s Mistress” and the “Slave Queen”, the deadly Nicci captured Richard Rahl in order to convince him that the Imperial Order stood for the greater good. But it was Richard who converted Nicci instead, and for years thereafter she served Richard and Kahlan as one of their closest friends—and one of their most lethal defenders.

Now, with the reign of Richard and Kahlan finally stabilized, Nicci has set out on her own for new adventures. One of her jobs will be to keep her travelling companion, the unworldly prophet Nathan, out of trouble….

Amazon      iBooks

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL) and as always I recommend sampling before you buy!

It’s a mix of the genres in no particular order. Also the term “new” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  

(NOTE: If the author provides me with buy links I insert those; otherwise I default to Amazon and iBooks. Pricing and availability are current as of the day I prepare the post – things can change fast in the ebook world LOL.)

Also, I usually include only the beginning of the book blurb…

CARVE THE MARK by Veronica Roth

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world? more….

Amazon      iBooks

QUIVER AND CRAVE (THE ENDURANCE BOOK 4) by Tracey Cooper-Posey

VS Note: One of my favorite SFR authors

Quiver Sheenan is the most talented topman the Endurance has ever seen. Despite her incredible abilities in zero gravity, she’d rather have a career in the sciences than play for the Dreamhawks while Kallon Crave is their captain.

The Quiver and Crave novelette is part of the science fiction romance series readers are calling gripping, superb and fantastic.  Written by award-winning SFR author Tracy Cooper-Posey, it is set aboard the closed-system marathon-class vessel Endurance, a generation ship a thousand years from its destination.

Amazon      iBooks

FEVERSONG: A FEVER NOVEL by Karen Marie Moning

As Mac, Barrons, Ryodan, and Jada struggle to restore control, enemies become allies, right and wrong cease to exist, and the lines between life and death, lust and love, disappear completely. Black holes loom menacingly over Dublin, threatening to destroy the earth, yet the greatest danger is the one MacKayla Lane has unleashed from within: The Sinsar Dubh—a sentient book of unthinkable evil—has possessed her body and will stop at nothing in its insatiable quest for power.

The fate of Man and Fae rests on destroying the book and recovering the long-lost Song of Making, the sole magic that can repair the fragile fabric of the earth….

Amazon     iBooks

HEARTSTONE by Elle Katharine White

A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms.

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.

Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.

Her relief is short-lived….

Amazon      iBooks

THE CONQUEST  (KELDERAN RUNIC WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Jessie Donovan

Leader of a human colony planet, Taryn Demara has much more on her plate than maintaining peace or ensuring her people have enough to eat. Due to a virus that affects male embryos in the womb, there is a shortage of men. For decades, her people have enticed ships to their planet and tricked the men into staying. However, a ship hasn’t been spotted in eight years. So when the blip finally shows on the radar, Taryn is determined to conquer the newcomers at any cost to ensure her people’s survival.

Prince Kason tro de Vallen needs to find a suitable planet for his people to colonize….

Amazon      iBooks

SEKKOL (GALAXY ALIEN WARRIORS BOOK 2) by  Lara Larue

Keira wishes she could return home. After being kidnapped from Earth by aliens, she’s fiercely determined to make it back to her planet. The absolute last thing she needs is a love interest. What Keira wants is an ally…

Sekkol is heir to the throne of Jupiter. As a highly-trained alien warrior, he’s probably the last creature in the universe who should help Keira. But when he lays eyes on her, he knows: she is his mate, and he’ll do anything to protect her….

Amazon

HUNGER: GODDESSES OF DELPHI by Gemma Brocato

Lia Thanos, Muse of Comedy, has joked her way through hundreds of lifetimes. But the past few months have been no laughing matter. She and her sisters have been locked in a battle to save Olympus from a hostile takeover. Now, the god challenging them has upped his game and personally selected the mortal man destined to help Lia win.

Botanist Ben Jordan has his hands full; running a farmer’s market, helping his hearing-impaired sister, and trying to figure out why crops around the world are failing….

Amazon

REALM OF THE DRAGON (THE SOUL MATE TREE BOOK 1) by  CiCi Cordelia

An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds. To some, it’s nothing more than a dream. To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the generations.

For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.

For sheltered Lily Kiers, it’s all too real. Her escape from danger, straight into the arms of her destiny.
Thrust into a realm made of fantasy and unbridled passion, Lily faces violent resentment and jealousy from extremely powerful enemies. Amidst fierce creatures whose very existence defy all common sense, Lily pieces together a past she could never have imagined.

Claimed by Kord, Prince of Battle Draconian, their love will not be denied, even as malevolent forces plot to rip them apart.

Amazon

LIBERATION’S PASSION (ROBOTICS FACTION – ORIGIN SERIES BOOK 2) by Wendy Lynn Clark

Fashion model and holo star Valorious is famous, rich, beloved by everyone … and living a lie.

But it’s better to fake her smiles and remain trapped in a life she didn’t choose than to allow herself anywhere near the man who nearly destroyed her. The man who she once gave her heart and soul to, only to have everything she cared about ripped away.

Now Domingo demands she return to him, willingly or not, and he’ll do anything to possess her just as passionately as he did before….

Amazon

THE RISING by Heather Graham and Jon Land

VS Note: It seems to contain some scifi elements, from reviewers’ remarks…sounds intriguing.

Twenty-four hours. That’s all it takes for the lives of two young people to be changed forever.

Alex Chin has the world on a plate. A football hero and homecoming king with plenty of scholarship offers, his future looks bright. His tutor, Samantha Dixon, is preparing to graduate high school at the top of her class. She plans to turn her NASA internship into a career.

When a football accident lands Alex in the hospital, his world is turned upside down. His doctor is murdered. Then, his parents. Death seems to follow him wherever he goes, and now it’s after him.

Alex flees. He tells Samantha not to follow, but she became involved the moment she walked through his door and found Mr. and Mrs. Chin as they lay dying in their home. She cannot abandon the young man she loves….

Amazon      iBooks

THE SAPPHIRE MANTICORE (THE LOST ANCIENTS BOOK 4) by Marie Andreas

Murderous magic, vanished races, killer relics, and drunken faeries–who knew the end of the world would look like this? The story that began in The Glass Gargoyle, The Obsidian Chimera, and The Emerald Dragon continues…

Taryn St. Giles thought she knew all about elves. She dreamed of the long vanished elves as a child and has spent the past fifteen years digging through their abandoned ruins in Beccia. Six months ago, Taryn found out everything she thought she knew about the elves was wrong.

Two weeks ago she found out how very wrong she’d been.

Taryn and Alric have been captured to answer for crimes against a long lost people. Crimes that could bring down an entire kingdom and revolve around a small, glass gargoyle….

Amazon

NAME YOUR DEMON Box Set by Various

What’s your demon? Which supernatural creature sets your heart pounding? Is it a vampire? A werewolf? A fallen angel?

Why not have them all?

Name Your Demon is the ultimate urban fantasy and paranormal romance box set of the year, featuring fifteen pulse-pounding books to sink your teeth into.

Amazon      iBooks

THE APPLICANT (BUSTED LABS BOOK 1) by Aidee Ladnier

How can something so cuddly and adorable be so destructive? The teddy bear robot decimating his lab is only the first disaster of the day for roboticist Forbes Pohle. If he can figure out how to end its rampage, he still has to interview applicants for the position of research assistant and convince the time traveler on his doorstop that they should be making their future right now.

Oliver Lennox didn’t travel back in time to have a quickie in the blast chamber—but it certainly is fun. This younger Forbes is a sweeter, more innocent version of his lover. And it will be hard to leave him behind in the past.

Amazon      iBooks

CINDERSTELLAR : A SPACE AGE FAIRY TALE (STAR CROSSED TALES) by J. M. Page

Stella wants nothing more than to be a pilot like her mother, who died on a mission years ago. However, she doesn’t want to be like the arrogant “Aces” at Starforge Academy, especially that show-off Dax.

But the Aces aren’t her biggest problem. Her father — the Commandant of Starforge Academy — and stepmother won’t even let her enroll. Stella has to sneak into the flight simulators late at night, when no one’s around, to get close to her dream.

Reluctant royalty…Dax is like the prince of Starforge — not only the best pilot at the Academy, but the son of a famous general….(more)

Amazon

MOONLIGHT by Ines Johnson

You can never go home again…
Viviane Veracruz is on her way home from university with a degree in one hand…and a baby in her belly. Desperate to escape the judgement of her family, she accepts a sexy stranger’s offer to pose as the father for a few days. The plan is for him to run off leaving her family none the wiser. But the longer Pierce Alcede stays, the more she can’t let him go.

Home is where the heart is…
Pierce Alcede has finally come to terms with the fact that he is a lone wolf, prone to roam the wilderness alone and never settle down with a family of his own….

Amazon

FATED DESTINATIONS: A Contemporary, Paranormal, and Science Fiction Romance Boxed Set by Various

VS Note: From December
Escape from the everyday with this set of 7 all-new travel-based romances from award-winning authors. These exciting stories span the globe (and beyond!) to spin tales of love and intrigue in exotic locations. Take a mental vacation today with the Fated Destinations box set.

Amazon

HER MATE’S SECRET BABY (INTERSTELLAR BRIDES BOOK 9) by Grace Goodwin

Natalie Montgomery wants a new life. While she may be rich, her life is empty. Her parents were never around, too rich and important to be bothered with a child. And when they present her with a emotionless fiancé, she’s done. As a volunteer for the Interstellar Bride Program, she is thrilled to arrive on the hot, desert planet of Trion, and in the arms of a seductive warrior who makes her body burn.

Roark of Trion is not eager for a mate….

Amazon      iBooks

TO MATE A SOLDIER (THE LOST ALPHARS SERIES BOOK 2) by Ceri Grenelle

Lottie Braddock has let everyone believe she’s a widow wasting away from mate sickness. In reality, she struck a devil’s bargain to conceal her young son’s true identity—a protection spell that feeds on her life force.

She plans to take one secret regret to her grave—until that regret crashes through her clinic door with one of her children in the throes of a premature shift. Desperate for more time, she sets out to find that devil once again and plead for her life.

Jeremiah Quinn, head soldier of the North American Weres, doesn’t take orders from anyone. But damned if he’s letting the ailing, fragile Lottie make this journey alone….

Amazon      iBooks

INTO THE ABYSS (PSYCHIC VISIONS SERIES BOOK 10) by Dale Mayer

Life is never easy but when her family is killed by a serial killer – one who is never caught – it becomes almost impossible.

As she grows up, Tavi works to appear normal while hiding in law enforcement, determined to get answers and if she can – extract revenge.

Jericho is a hunter. Now he’s caught the scent of an old prey, a serial killer he’s been one step behind the whole way. Then Jericho catches wind of the killer’s next victim… Which is none other than a detective with a little too impressive track record for getting her man….

Amazon      iBooks

LOST (BOOK 6 OF THE SILVER WOOD COVEN SERIES) by Hazel Hunter

With her memory restored, Summer Lautner begins to confront her terrible purpose in life. But as she and her lovers journey to her ancestral home, her enemies do not rest. Just when she needs her mates to pull together, they begin to split apart.

Darkly handsome and brooding, Troy Atwater doesn’t resent Summer’s other lover. But he despises the hold that her destiny imposes on their lives. He secretly vows to separate her from her great power, even if he must master the most ancient and deadly of spells.

Gorgeous and good-natured, Michael Charbon is charmed by his new life. After centuries as a witch-hunter, he embraces each new day with delight. But when he learns of Troy’s risky plan, he draws a hard line between it and Summer’s safety.

Pursued by Templars and coveted by Wiccans, Summer and her men must find their own way. But fate has decreed they will do it together—or not at all.

Amazon      iBooks

THIRST (AN ENERGY VAMPIRE NOVEL) by Jacquelyn Frank

Rafe DaSilva is an energy vampire, soaking up nourishment from the sun—and, only when necessary, drawing sweet sustenance from humans who are pure in body and spirit. As the right-hand man to his queen, Rafe is a key player at a historic peace summit in New York City, which will unite the vampire nations against a common threat: the sycophants, who feed on humanity and kill indiscriminately. But Rafe’s fascination with a beautiful blond police detective may put everything at risk.

Detective Renee Holden has never worked a homicide quite like this. The victim has twin puncture wounds on his neck, and the only eyewitness swears she saw a vampire. Now’s definitely not the time to get distracted by a seductive stranger….

Amazon      iBooks

MARTIANS ABROAD by Carrie Vaughn

VS NOTE: Coming of age

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the Director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly’s plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth.

Homesick and cut off from her plans for her future, Polly cannot seem to fit into life on Earth. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right—there’s more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost.

Amazon      iBooks

And a special sale – PETS IN SPACE, a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2016, on sale January 17 – 22 for $.99! 

Join the adventure as nine pet loving sci-fi romance authors take you out of this world and pull you into their action-packed stories filled with suspense, laughter, and romance. The alien pets have an agenda that will capture the hearts of those they touch. Follow along as they work side by side to help stop a genetically-engineered creature from destroying the Earth to finding a lost dragon; life is never the same after their pets decide to get involved. Can the animals win the day or will the stars shine just a little less brightly?

iBooks    Amazon   Nook      GooglePlay     Kobo

Veronica: Today my guest is author Patricia Preston and she handles five quick questions.

    Of all the characters you’ve created, which one is your favorite?

Pat: I can’t single one out. They have all been favorites, especially when I’m writing about them.  Otherwise, I adore Darlene, my Marilyn Monroe wannabe from the 50’s, because she makes me laugh. (VS NOTE: Darlene is in Laid to Rest and Haints in Hollywood.)

What’s your go-to “writing avoidance” technique?

Pat: (If) There’s a new episode of Walking Dead on tonight….I need to watch the Walking Dead marathon first….

If you were able to go on a writing retreat, where would it be? 

Pat: New Orleans. Wouldn’t be much writing going on.

What’s the word you love to use (and overuse, so you have to take it out of your book during edits)?

Pat: Cuss words… 🙂

Name the first thing you’ll do when you make a million dollars from your books.

 Pat: Go to Paris for an extended vacation. Maybe buy a house in the hills near Nashville and a winter home in New Orleans. I would be happy!!!

The book blurb:

Six years ago, ambitious med student Marla Grant gave into temptation with a gorgeous man. Now a busy doctor and a loving single mom, the only thing that matters to Marla more than her adorable daughter is the Lafayette Falls Community Clinic. When its funding is threatened, Marla is determined to find out why—until she learns the person responsible is none other than the powerful, persuasive man of her long-ago fling and the unsuspecting father of her child…

Carson Blackwell has never forgotten bright, beautiful Marla. When he discovers that she runs the clinic his grandmother’s foundation funds, it’s the perfect chance to put an end to his ongoing infatuation—and use his leverage to cement a new business deal. He needs a fake girlfriend for one week in Hawaii, and Marla is just the woman for the job. It’s a win-win situation, until they realize the attraction between them isn’t feigned, and the heat has never died down. Only the secrets they’re both keeping stand in the way of a future together—and a love that could last a lifetime.

Author Bio:

Patricia Preston loves writing mainstream romantic fiction with picturesque settings and a host of unforgettable characters whose lives entwine in feel-good stories about life, love and finding happiness.

She also writes short stories and historicals. She won William Faulkner Award for Short Fiction, the Lone Star Writing Competition for Historical Romance, and Harlequin’s World’s Best Romances Short Story Competition. She is repped by the Seymour Agency.

Besides writing, she’s also worked as a librarian, medical office manager, and in a cosmetic department where she played with makeup all day. Her favorite place to hang out is her writing cave where must-haves are iced tea and epic music. She also enjoys photography, movies, and research trips to New Orleans.

For info on new releases and contests, sign up for her newsletter

Check out her Blog  Follow her on Twitter  Facebook  Amazon Author Page

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL) and as always I recommend sampling before you buy!

It’s a mix of the genres in no particular order. Also the term “new” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  

(NOTE: If the author provides me with buy links I insert those; otherwise I default to Amazon and iBooks. Pricing and availability are current as of the day I prepare the post – things can change fast in the ebook world LOL.)

Also, I usually include only the beginning of the book blurb…

CLAIMED BY THE CYBORG (CYOPS SCIFI ROMANCE BOOK 5) by Cara Bristol

VS NOTE: Always exciting to have a new cyborg romance from Cara! I got to read the ARC and the book is GREAT, lots of twists and turns you might not expect.

Marchand “March” Fellows assumed he had all the time in the galaxy to pursue a relationship with Jules, an alien exchange student from Xenia, until she vanished without a trace. After years of searching, he finds his lost love on the eve of her arranged marriage.

The daughter of the Xenian emperor, Julietta never meant to fall in love with a Terran man while visiting Earth. Leaving to fulfill her responsibilities on her home planet opened up a hole in her heart that could never be filled. When March, now a cyborg, unexpectedly shows up just before she is to be bonded, she struggles to find the courage to turn him away a second time and follow through with her duty. Before she can act, the lovers are thrust into a political conspiracy that threatens the Xenian empire and their lives.

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Barnes & Noble| Print version

THE ALCHEMISTS OF LOOM (LOOM SAGA BOOK 1) by Elisa Kova

VS NOTE: I have no idea as to the romantic content of the book but from reviews it seems to be a really good fantasy read.

Her vengeance. His vision.

Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds’ resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn’t a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer turned thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors.

Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne….

Amazon      iBooks

THE SILVER SKULL (THE ELEMENTAL WEB CHRONICLES book 2) by Anne Renwick

Lady Olivia is not all she seems. Trained for marriage to an assigned political target, her skills lie in programming household steambots to serve tea, dress her hair… and sound the alarm while she picks locks and listens at doors. Humiliated by a failed assignment, she decides to redeem herself by tailing a suspected double agent.

Lord Rathsburn must flirt with treason. Struggles to cure a horrible disease have met with unexpected complications. The cells he engineered can make a man’s bones unbreakable, but the side effects are fatal. He believed the research terminated… until his sister was kidnapped by a German count. Her ransom? A cure.

TO  CATCH A STOLEN SOUL by R. L. Naquin