As always, I recommend sampling before you buy! 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).
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HANNAH’S HERO (ICEHOME BOOK 6) by Ruby Dixon
VS Note: Always a good week when there’s a new one from Ruby.
All I want is Hannah.
We’ve resonated, but she avoids me. She has made it very clear that she wants no mate, whether he has two arms or four. But when others leave the Icehome beach camp for a getaway to a fruit-filled cave, Hannah wants to go, and she needs a companion.
Me.
For the first time, we talk…and I realize my female isn’t as good as ignoring me as she thinks. She watches me with hungry eyes. She blushes at my bold words. When I touch her? She no longer runs away.
It is time I show her that a Strong Arm hunter can be the right mate for her, and that four arms can hold her twice as closely as two.
THE GAME WARDEN’S MATE by A M Griffin
The Hunter. As the new Game Warden, Xrez Ym’ihla brings patrons from across the galaxy to track prey in a game built to enslave the weak and mate the strong. The business is a long running family legacy and Xrez is determined to succeed as his father had before him. He hadn’t meant to let one human occupy his thoughts, mind, and body.
His lies may come back to haunt him, but if he reveals the truth, he’ll ruin his chance to capture the heart of the one he wants.
The Prey. Esme Valdez had her entire life planned from an early age. As a chemist, her life was average and mundane, just the way she liked it. Until the impossible happened. Never did she imagine being abducted by aliens and forced to participate in a survival of the fittest game called The Hunt. If she survives and makes it to the end, she’ll be freed. If not, she’ll be forced to mate the one who captures her.
Esme is determined to win at all costs, even if it means putting her trust in a sexy alien who taunts her in the most delectable way.
Their love was built on betrayal. Can she trust him with her heart and life?
ZANDRO (ALIEN ANIMAL RESCUES BOOK 1) by E D Walker
VS Note: This is a re-release of her ‘novelette’ from the Pets In Space 3 anthology.
Zandro alienated the love of his life years ago with one giant mistake. Consumed by his animal rescue work, he didn’t realize what he had given up until she was gone. Now, his work to save two alien kittens with dangerous pheromones will reunite him with his old flame – and hopefully give him a second chance.
Aliette’s work as a space captain keeps her mind off of what she lost – Zandro – or it did until she receives his desperate plea for help. She reluctantly agrees to assist him for old time’s sake. But the simple transport mission quickly escalates into a fight for survival. The local drug cartel has discovered the unusual kittens and will do anything to obtain them.
With dangerous events and concern for the vulnerable kittens drawing them close again, Aliette will have to decide if being with Zandro is worth sacrificing everything for – even her life.
FAITH AND THE FIGHTER (ALIEN ABDUCTION BOOK 6) by Honey Phillips
Faith has spent the past eight years as a scientist locked in an alien research lab. When she finally manages to escape and finds out what the aliens are doing with her work, she is appalled and determined to stop their plans.
The alien spaceship captain who unknowingly assisted her escape is going to help her shut down the lab – whether he wants to or not. And she’s not going to let his massive body or the kind heart hidden behind his gruff facade distract her.
Captain Athtar finally has his life exactly the way he wants it – he has his ship, his crew, and his freedom. No mouthy little human is going to interfere with any of that, no matter how much she tempts him or how much his instincts demand that he claim her. If only he weren’t as tempted as much by her brilliant mind as by her luscious body.
BRO (ANTONELLO BROTHERS) by Kayelle Allen
The tech Senth is about to claim will make him invisible. Finally, the young halfbreed thief will be out of sight and far from the taunts humans throw at him. But when that tech reveals he has a human half-brother who’s bound by a cruel slaver, Senth must find a way to win his brother’s freedom and save him from abuse — even though Senth is a slave himself.
What if invisibility wasn’t magic? What if it was tech? When you can make yourself invisible, you reveal invisible truth.
WARRIORS’ EMBRACE (THE SWIRL BOOK 3) by Michelle Mills
What is love?
Trish is working hard to teach herself this elusive human emotion. Deciphering feelings is tricky for a formerly emotionless female Cyborg. Bex and Wyric have already declared their love for her, and she desperately wants to return their affection, but when she opens her mouth to reply… nothing comes out. NOTHING.
Despite this agonizing set back, life mated to three sexy Xylan warriors is actually falling into place, piece by piece.
Except that damn Illibrium keeps getting in the way. And Zaxon has declared himself in charge of the volatile crystal, and he doesn’t look so good; his management is physically sapping his strength. Everyone wants her husband to give up the Illibrium, which is a beacon for their shared enemy, but he refuses. No one is in agreement on what to do. All Trish knows is that her mate desperately requires her help.
Will she have to lose everything to finally understand what love is?
ZAURETH AWAKENED: 11.5 (ENIGMA BOOK 11) by Ditter Kellen
Life can change in the blink of an eye, even for a powerful Bracadyte healer. Zaureth finds out the hard way when the northern band of Bracadytes storm Aukrabah, demanding blood and vengeance. With his home, his mate and his life suddenly thrust into danger, Zaureth has no choice but to resort to the one thing he hates the most: violence.
But this enemy is more powerful than any the Bracadytes have faced before; leaving Zaureth no choice but to awaken the beast within, or risk losing everything he’s come to love… including his bonded mate, Amy.
ROGUE SIGN (ROGUE STAR BOOK 4) by Elin Wyn and Ava York
I’ve spent my life in the shadows, in the darkest corners of the criminal underbelly of Mars. I’m going to use those hard-won skills to track down whoever, whatever, is targeting me and my friends. No alien playboy, with his laid-back ways and handsome smile, is going to get in my way, even if his touch weakens the walls I’ve built to protect myself. But when my mission turns deadly, I’ll find out that Kovor is keeping secrets of his own.
MRAX (THE GALAXOS CREW BOOK 5) by Layla Nash and Juno Wells
Rowan MacLeod is tough as nails. Life was hard on Earth, but she’s determined to let nothing hold her back… even after ending up on a rusty bucket of a spaceship surrounded by barbarian aliens. A special mission to resurrect old fighter craft for the rebels is her best chance to prove herself… until disaster finds her again.
As the medic on the Galaxos, Mrax has to be quick on his feet. He doesn’t have time for anything else, especially a feisty Earther female. Until the intelligent and beautiful Rowan ends up in his sickbay. She’s everything he doesn’t need complicating his life. But she’s everything he wants. ..(more blurb on ebook seller page…)
FORGOTTEN by Jessica Carbine
VS Note: Scifi elements apparently…
Six years ago, Cassie lost everything she could remember. Literally. Her parents, while loving, seem determined to stop her from remembering. Where had she been going? Who was she running from? She just wants answers, but all she can find are more questions. Meeting Kyler, she thinks her life can finally move forward, but a dark connection to her past won’t give her up that easily, a connection she might prefer to leave Forgotten.
CHASING TRUTH (OUTLASTING SERIES BOOK 2) by LK Magill
VS note: I was not a fan of the cover.
Answers. All Liam Byrne wanted now, was answers. Maybe it was the interrogator in him, or maybe it was his past.
But the more questions he asked, the more complicated his once simple world became.
And then there was Hannah. And now the other women.
He didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into. He hadn’t felt like this… maybe ever. But here he was, for once in his screwed up life, wanting to make things right. Wanting to know the truth. Chasing it, in fact.
Along with her. Yeah, he was chasing that, too.
THE BRIDE PROGRAM (SAVING CERASTE BOOK 1) by Dane Griggs
Maya Arnold was leading a normal life, working and helping care for her sister, until the Cerasteans arrived. Offering a cure for cancer if enough women volunteer as brides, Maya jumped at the chance. Saving her sister was her only goal. She never expected to actually fall in love with an alien, or find best friends in the other bride volunteers.
Since the mysterious destruction of Ceraste, Commander D’Avii and the surviving males have been searching the galaxy for a new home. Finding Earth and its women was a miracle. Like most Cerasteans, he finds humans to be fascinating creatures — none more so than bride volunteer Maya. His attraction to her is instant and intense. Still he knows Maya can never choose him, a warrior, with so many higher-caste scientists seeking their own mates. To do so would shame the scientists and tear the last of his people apart. Yet he aches at the loss of something he never even had.
PURE CHOCOLATE: THE CHOCOVERSE BOOK 2 by Amber Royer
VS Note: From March. Saw this recommended by E D Walker on the Interstellar Flight Magazine site.
To save everyone she loves, Bo Bonitez is touring Zant, home of the murderous, shark-toothed aliens who so recently tried to eat her. In the midst of her stint as Galactic paparazzi princess, she discovers that Earth has been exporting tainted chocolate to the galaxy, and getting aliens hooked on cocoa. Bo must choose whether to go public, or just smile for the cameras and make it home alive. She’s already struggling with her withdrawal from the Invincible Heart, and her love life has a life of its own, but when insidious mind worms intervene, things start to get complicated!
DESIRED BY THE ALIEN (REBELS OF SIDYTH BOOK 5) by Sabrina Kade
Exer isn’t like other Sidyths. For one thing, he looks human—from the front, at least. That, combined with a past trauma on his homeworld, makes him less than eager to spend his days with his brothers and all the human females around them.
Except for Sloane. Exer would give almost anything to make her his mate. But he’s not willing to push her into being more than friends. For one thing, he knows how bad things could get if it turns out he’s not the prince she’s always pining for. No. He’d rather spend his time caring for the pets he keeps in his private sanctuary than risk Sloane’s rejection—or worse.
But when Sloane ends up putting her life in danger in order to dig into his past, he’ll have to decide what’s more important to him: keeping his secrets or saving the woman he loves.
ELIZA’S MIRACLE (THE MATE INDEX BOOK 4) by S J Sanders
Eliza is the new ambassador from Earth. It fulfills all her career ambitions, but her life is a lie. Her husband, who ruled her career with an iron fist, is not her Prince Charming in a storybook marriage that everyone assumes. He is cruel and manipulative. Living at the space station gives her some reprieve, but not entirely. When her daughter falls in love with a Tagith male, Eliza finds herself starting on a new leg of her life as a single woman, one that brings her into the company of her son-in-law’s gruff father. He rubs her the wrong way, but things change and are never quite what they seem.
Zerik lost his mate ten years ago and it has never stopped hurting. He doesn’t approve of humans or much of anything, yet when his son persuades him into a visit on the Intergalactic Space Station, he discovers that his life still has room for one more.
A TOUCH OF TRUTH BOOK TWO: RAVEN, SAND AND SUN by Nita Round
Lucinda, Ascara, and the Captain have survived several almost fatal encounters with various agents of Sh’Na. Now they must face the Mistress of the Night herself in the pyramid from Lucinda’s dreams and cut short the beast’s reign of terror. Captain Stoner, however, has met this Queen of the Desert before, and although the companions are together, she fears the three of them will not be enough to withstand Sh’Na’s evil.
Their journey is not a simple one and their trials start in the city of Port Ruth. Here the Captain must face her own past, fraught with its own perils, before they can enter the desert. Once outside the city, they travel into the inhospitable lands of sand and sun where they must face Sh’Na in a battle for more than their own lives. Failure means the end of everything. Success will bring the three to a new truth, and a new path will be revealed.
TRUST (THE NARVAN BOOK 1) by Jean Davis
VS Note: Saw the book mentioned on Diane Burton’s blog.
At long last, peace emerges from the bitter war that ravaged the worlds of the Narvan. Anastassia Kazan brought about the end to the fighting between Vayen Ta’set’s homeworld of Artor and Artor’s rival, Jal. When she offers Vayen a job on her team of bodyguards, he leaps at the opportunity. He’ll do anything to keep Artor on the path to recovery.
Protecting the paranoid and mercurial woman whose deals and threats keep everyone in line is a tough, thankless task. One drunken night with Anastassia makes Vayen question why he got the job and whether he should keep it. But no one else on the team is willing to earn Anastassia’s disfavor by calling her out on her reckless choices. Reckless will get her killed and send the Narvan back into chaos.
Not everyone is happy with Anastassia’s changes on his homeworld and beyond. She’s also on less-than-friendly terms with her deadly ex-partner. Then Vayen discovers that Anastassia is only middle management. The Council she works for harbors ambitious plans for the Narvan’s military forces.
How much is Vayen willing to sacrifice to keep the Narvan at peace?
FANTASY ISLAND: STAR FANTASY by Kioni Hall and Zena Wynn
VS Note: Ok, this is a 2018 book but I saw it on the Women of Color In Romance website and it sounds like so much fun! One clicked it…
Alisa Davis, current NASA employee and unapologetic geek, loves all things space-related. She’s explored countless galaxies through movies, books, and television shows. When she stumbles across a Fantasy Island ad, she knows it’s the opportunity she’s waited a lifetime to experience. For the first time in her life, she’ll ‘boldly go where no man has gone before,’ just like the crew of her favorite television series. Because Fantasy Island specializes in romantic fantasies, she adds an extra request: marriage to her dream man. A man not intimidated by her brain or freaked out by her laugh. But what happens when Fantasy Island goofs her fantasy?
DISOBEDIENCE (BASTAN HOLLOW BOOK SAGA 2 ) by Jane Washington
Malevolent Ignoble Calamity (or Mel for short) is the youngest member of the Calamity Clan—a coven of Bastan witches and warlocks who pride themselves on being the worst of the worst. If Mel wants to survive past her twenty-first birthday, she needs to complete a rite of passage: lure the children Hansel and Gretal into her cottage, cook them, and eat them.
There are just a few problems:
1. Mel has no interest in eating children.
2. The children have no interest in leaving their house.
3. The parents of the children have no interest in behaving the way normal parents are supposed to behave.
4. Hansel and Gretal aren’t even their real names.
Slade Oliver is the Advisor to the Guild of Records and it’s not his job to fix fairy tales anymore, but this tale isn’t like the others. Powerful bloodlines are involved, and where there is powerful blood, there will be powerful enemies. The stakes are high, but the task is simple: extract the children from their house and send them to the witch in the woods.
There is just one single problem:
1. Slade Oliver doesn’t play by the rules, and neither will this fairy tale.
HARLEY MERLIN 7: HARLEY MERLIN AND THE DETECTOR FIX by Bella Forrest
On the run from the Coven she used to call home, Harley Merlin knows that Katherine’s power and influence are spreading like a poison. And she has no doubt that Katherine will follow through with her promise to torture and kill her friends, one by one.
Then Harley discovers that the key to her enemy’s undoing might be hiding in a familiar place—her parents’ Grimoire. With Finch, Wade, and Garrett by her side, Harley vows to steal Hester and Hiram’s final gift.
Liar. Rebel. Jailbreaker. Why not add “thief” to the list?
Meanwhile, Jacob senses trouble brewing in the San Diego Coven, with their friends imprisoned and Levi’s thirst for power spiraling out of control. Amid the chaos, the magical detector is on the verge of completion and Jacob meets a human girl who makes his heart race. But Katherine has plans for him. Oh yes, does she have plans.
CURSE OF MAGIC (THE FAIRY TALE ENCHANTRESS BOOK 2) by K M Shea
Evariste is gone.
When he sacrificed himself to save Angelique, he was taken in her place. Now everything has gone horribly wrong.
The magic council is too tied up in its bureaucracy to launch a real search effort. And though they have chased every clue, the other enchanters have failed to locate even a hint of him.
With time ticking away, Angelique decides to do what no apprentice should ever do: set out on her own.
As her search for Evariste leads her across the continent, she uncovers magic being used in dark and evil ways that hasn’t been seen in centuries: a prince cursed to live as a beast, a land ruled by an evil ogre, and a selkie enslaved by a sea witch.
None of these things should be happening. But they are.
Fighting these dark powers will require magic Angelique has never attempted before, and demand more from her than she’s ever been able to give.
CIPHER: A DEMONICA UNDERWORLD NOVELLA by Larissa Ione
It’s been seven months since Cipher, an Unfallen angel who straddled a razor thin line between good and evil, woke up in hell with a new set of wings, a wicked pair of fangs, and a handler who’s as beautiful as she is dangerous. As a laid-back cyber-specialist who once assisted guardian angels, he’d been in a prime position to earn back his halo. But now, as a True Fallen forced to use his talents for malevolence, he must fight not only his captors and his sexy handler, but the growing corruption inside him…before the friends searching for him become his enemies and he becomes his own worst nightmare.
Lyre is a fallen angel with a heart full of hate. When she’s assigned to ensure that Cipher carries out their boss’s orders, she sees an opportunity to take revenge on those who wronged her. All she has to do is appeal to Cipher’s burgeoning dark side. But the devastatingly handsome fellow True Fallen has other ideas — sexy ideas that threaten to derail all Lyre’s plans and put them in the path of an approaching hell storm.
Danger and desire explode, even as Cipher and Lyre unravel a sinister plot that will fracture the underworld and send shockwaves into Heaven itself.
CONVERSION (ALPHABITS BOOK 3) by Susi Hawke
Gizmo Jones has an obsession with technology, and he doesn’t care who knows it. The smarter, more connected, and shinier it is, the better. When Gizmo and Ozzy are sent to the backwoods of West Virginia, the worst Gizmo thinks he’ll face is a couple of rednecks trying to shoot down one of his fleet of drones. He doesn’t expect to run smack dab into a cult masquerading as a summer camp who are determined to separate shifter kids from their animal sides.
Caleb Brooks had been one of those kids once. He’d escaped by pretending he was “cured”, and then holing up in the middle of the woods with no connection to technology, shifting freely, but staying close, because he couldn’t abandon the kids still trapped there.
The Alphabits know they need to bring the law down on the camp, but they aren’t the only ones coming for them. STAHP is on the loose and where they prowl… mayhem follows.
The Alphabits aren’t vigilantes. These former soldiers and officers of the law have to do things by the book—even when it tears them apart to do so. But once all their ducks are in a row, the bad guys had better beware! You do not want this team of protective alphas on your tail.
CAGED HEAT (BLACK MEADOW PACK BOOK 2) by Milly Taiden
Samira Suarez’s grandmother died, bringing her home after five years. Surprisingly, grandma left her millions of dollars and the family got zero. Such a great way to warm her presence into everyone’s heart, right? Sam doesn’t care about the money except for the line in the will that reads if she dies within thirty days, the family would get the cash. Say what?
Riel Karven, wolf shifter, has been waiting five years for Sam to return. He’s been giving her the time she needs to explore the world, but that time is up. He knew she was his mate before she left. Now that she’s back, he’s keeping her. And he’s going to show her what five long years without the woman he wants does to a man. They might need a new bed after this.
When Sam is injured, Riel goes into overprotective mode. Someone in Sam’s family wants her dead for the money. He has to hunt down the stalker if he wants to save his mate. Unfortunately, the person they are looking for isn’t even on their radar.
BLUE MORPHOS IN THE GARDEN by Lis Mitchell
VS Note: Not a romance.
When Vivian and her daughter witness the family matriarch die without leaving a corpse, Vivian can no longer ignore the family “gift” or the choice that lies before her.
THE RESIGNATION by Michael Mandrake w/a RM Durand
Braxton has had it with his dead-end job. After four years of long hours with dismal pay, he hands in his resignation. When he finds out the new company pays more and offers tuition assistance, he jumps at the chance.
CEO Cashel needs a lover and Braxton is the one he must have. Cashel has hungered to approach his mailroom employee, but his insecurities held him back. When he discovers his desired is leaving, he knows this would be the last chance to ask Braxton to be his lover for all eternity.
Braxton might have to give up everything to be Cashel’s lover, but why work when all his needs would be met by a sexy immortal?
THE MOON: THE BANISHED GODS BOOK 2 by L A McGinnis
For four years, life has been good for Celine Barrows. But when a monster comes calling, Celine must answer. Her one chance at salvation is a stranger who makes no promises, and leads her on a journey into the very darkness she thought she had escaped. As the world shatters around her, and war looms on the horizon, Celine discovers that sometimes it takes a monster to defeat a monster.
DRACULA’S BRIDE (IMMORTAL MONSTERS BOOK 1) by Rebekah Ganiere
Mina has spent the last five years being house servant to her three older siblings- Arthur, Quincey, and Lucy, under the thumb of her volatile Admiral father, But her entire life is changed in an instant–when she is almost run over by a mysterious black horse-drawn carriage.
Count Vlad “Blue” Draugr flees his castle in Transylvania after an unspeakable act draws too much attention his way. Now secluded in his rural English estate, he finds himself drawn to a most unlikely creature. The sweet and innocent Mina Van Deem from the neighboring estate.
Unable to get her out of his thoughts Blue wants nothing more than to make her like him – a vampire. But Blue’s thirst for blood keeps him from fully trusting himself to keep his fangs off her neck.
In an act of desperation, Mina runs from her dysfunctional family and escapes to London. There she finds more than solitude in the sooty city streets that are alit with whispers of a string of recent bloody murders–she finds Blue, waiting for her, tempting her, stalking her. And as she falls deeper under his spell, Mina learns that some creatures lying in the shadows of London’s underbelly are more enticing than she ever thought possible.
DEVIL FORGET ME (A DEMON HUNTRESS NOVEL BOOK 5) by Karilyn Bentley
Gin Crawford, the world’s newest demon huntress, kills two minions who are breaking into a financial adviser’s office. But what she thinks of as another night in the life of a demon huntress leads to a cover-up of epic proportions. A demon haunts her employer, the Agency, and only she can stop it.
Aidan Smythe, her guardian mage and lover, along with her brother T, and the healer Eloise, join her search in discovering the demon’s identity. A search thwarted by a powerful spell.
Breaking the spell requires her to join forces with Zagan, the demon of deceit, the demon who marked her as his. But working together comes with a price. One Gin is not sure she can pay.
CHASING FATE (COPPER CREEK SHIFTERS BOOK 1) by Jacki James
Chase Coleman is content with the life he’s made for himself as Sheriff of a sleepy little West Texas town. He might have walked away from his role as the Alpha apparent of his home pride but he didn’t regret making the choice to live as an out gay man.
Paxton Summers could see that Chase was the Alpha of the town’s shifters whether he wanted to accept the title or not. Once he realizes that he and the sexy sheriff are fated mates, it becomes his mission to make Chase see he never had to choose between his destiny and being true to himself—because Copper Creek was exactly where he was meant to be.
Chase just needs to see that he hadn’t left his future behind at all, instead all along he’d been Chasing Fate.
THE WARRIOR’S GIFT by AlTonya Washington
VS Note: From March
Home to Gods, Warriors, and Priests, the Origin Realm had lived in the shadow of uneasy peace. The Creator had charged the realm’s powerful inhabitants with the care, protection, and survival of its sister realm on the mortal plane. A plan for its continued survival gave rise to differences among the immortal races and eventually war.
Scientist, Keturah Dyson would have been the first to argue the idea that her ‘destiny’ involved anything more than her search for dark energy. When her detecting talents led her to a desolate stretch of land in Northern Texas and its dark, formidable owner, destiny; at last, had its say.
For too long, the Warrior Osmium had stifled anything beyond his basic desires where women were concerned. Keturah Dyson was a rarity and Oz found his ability to resist her…nonexistent. Attraction was undeniable and yet Oz sensed there was more at work between them. Keturah Dyson was more than an attraction, more than a diversion. She possessed a mark that should have been impossible for her to have. It was a mark that labeled her as a Warrior’s Gift.
DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He
VS Note: Not listed as a romance but appears to have some romantic elements.
Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.
Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant and alluring investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?
WICKED SAINTS (SOMETHING DARK AND HOLY BOOK 1) by Emily A Duncan
VS Note: Apparently quite dark and bloody, with only a slow burn romance at best, but a release of note.
A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.
In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.
THE RED SCROLLS OF MAGIC (THE ELDEST CURSES BOOK 1) by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation—a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke.
Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their romantic getaway has been sidetracked, demons are now dogging their every step, and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will have to trust each other more than ever—even if it means revealing the secrets they’ve both been keeping.
A HUNDRED BREATHS by Jean M Grant
VS Note: From February but hey, Vikings…
Simon MacCoinneach’s vengeance runs deep. The blade is the only way to end the blood-thirsty Nordmen’s reign upon Scottish soil. His soul might be lost, but the mystical Healer he kidnaps from the isles could be the answer for his ailing mother…and his heart.
Isles-born Gwyn reluctantly agrees to a marriage alliance with this heathen Scot in return for the sanctuary of her younger brother from her abusive Norse father. Her brother’s condition is beyond the scope of her Ancient power, for larger healings steal breaths of life from her own body.
As Simon and Gwyn fight to outwit her madman father and a resentful Norse betrothed, Gwyn softens Simon’s heart with each merciful touch. Gwyn’s Seer sister foresees a bloody battle–and an end to the Nordmen–but Simon will also die. Will Gwyn save Simon on the battlefield even if it means losing her last breath?
THE DIAMOND SPHINX (THE LOST ANCIENTS BOOK 6) by Marie Andreas
Magic, mayhem, murder, relics, true love, and drunken faeries. Taryn St. Giles has had a very eventful year. And the troubles are just beginning.
Taryn has been through a year of changes—to her and her world. As a digger, she’d searched through the past to find out who the missing elves and Ancients had been. Now she knows the elves and they are helping her uncover the secrets of the Ancients. Secrets she’s not sure she wants to know. A few too many up close and personal encounters with the relics that were left behind leaves her shaken and on the run. Even from the people she loves.
The relics were part of a weapon that led to the destruction of the Ancients. Now Taryn and Alric, must get a goddess, hundreds of faeries, and the rest of their friends to work together to destroy the weapon before anyone can use it again. But when her world comes crashing down around her, will Taryn have the strength to do what needs to be done?
FATE OF DRAGONS (DRAGON BROTHERHOOD DOJO BOOK 2) by Olivia Ash
A dangerous and cruel dragon shifter is holding my sister hostage. And I am going to kill him. With my bare hands, if I have to.
He wants to trade—Irena’s life, for mine. For my freedom. For the ancient and deadly dragon magic I fused with when his cronies kicked me into a pit to die.
I came back from the dead, and I brought the fury of hell with me. Now, they’re running scared—as they should. All of them, except this guy.
As the cherry on this toxic pie, my mentor is hunting me, too. She’s using every skill she ever taught me to track me down and lock me away.
My mentor trained me to obey her, and she’s pissed that I won’t bow down to her anymore. Determined to drain my magic, Zurie wants to reprogram my brain with enough drugs to make me an obedient little assassin again.
It won’t happen. And the poor fool who hurts my sister—well, he’s in for an early grave.
CARRIE AND THE DASTARDLY DRAGONS (FATED ALPHA BOOK 9) by Ava Mason
Best friends since we were kids, we always had each other’s back.
As the strongest, most loyal group of dragon shifters in the Queen’s Guard, we rule our world with a clenched fist.
We work together seamlessly and ruthlessly enforce strict rules. No one screws with us.
And we never let a woman get between us.
…Until Carrie.
WINTER TWILIGHT (COLDHARBOUR CHRONICLES BOOK 5) by Richard Amos
Jake Winter is dealing with revelations about the white eye guy, losing Dean to the thrall of Lilisian, as well as the loss of one of his powers. Add to the mix that he’s stuck in the beast realm, cut off from his guardians with some crazy beast priests wanting his head on a spike, and it’s enough to tear him apart.
But there is hope…(more blurb on ebook seller page…)
EZRA’S SECRET: SMOKEY MOUNTAIN DRAGONS by Jadyn Chase
Nora just wanted a relaxing camping trip in the woods with some friends.
What she got though, threw her whole world into chaos.
Getting caught in the middle of an ancient war in the Smokey Mountains between these beasts quickly descended into a nightmare.
How could she possibly get out alive?
Ezra couldn’t take his eyes of the stunning beauty who ventured into their neck of the woods.
A brave girl standing up to the very monsters who attacked her campground and took her hostage.
She began to consume his every waking thought, so imagine his surprise when she ran straight into him running for her life through the woods.
Now that he took her in he must be prepared to fight for their lives, especially after finding out Nora was pregnant.
Destiny has something more sinister in mind for Ezra and Nora, though.
Can they find a pocket of safety in this crazy world, or will the forces of evil track them down and burn everything they care about down to the ground?
ILLICIT (CHALLENGE OF THE IMMORTALS) by Kathryn Kohler
Dahlia Danzer’s dream of being signed to a record label is so close she can taste it.
Until she’s double crossed by the recording exec. A$$hole.
After a childhood with an abusive step-father, she knows better than to trust a man—any man.
Record label executive, Forester James, has sworn off dating anyone from opposing realms.
He’s already been called before the Judiciary once.
As Alpha of his wolf shifter pack, he intends to toe the line from now on.
When Forester and Dahlia meet, the chemistry is undeniable.
It’s so intense, Forester knows instantly that the sorceress is his mate.
Which is impossible.
Who ever heard of mates from opposing realms?
No one, that’s who.
Interbreeding is strictly forbidden.
Period. No exceptions.
But, accidents happen…
And the punishment for breaking this sacred rule—is death.
SPOILS OF WAR by Susan Bliler
Before Alpha wolf shifter, War Vox could explore his odd infatuation with Nora, before he could even consider the implications of his inexplicable draw to the she-wolf who’d been dumped in his territory, she’s ripped away from him. Calling out War is a huge mistake, but taking something from War’s wolf is tantamount to suicide. Nora isn’t War’s to claim, hell, she’s not even a member of his pack, but she is his responsibility and War takes his responsibilities very seriously. War. Wants. Her. Back! Whether Nora wants him or not, War has decided the Imperial pack’s Alpha will pay the price for touching what War and his wolf have decided is theirs. Battle is coming, and it’s coming fast and hard!
TORN (ALPHA SERIES BOOK 1) by Brooklyn Knight
VS Note: From March.
I did not tell her the truth about what I really am…The circumstances surrounding our introduction are unimportant. The only thing that matters is that Sasha Wilcox is my mate and she belongs to me. A night of unbridled passion sealed the deal, but before I could tell her the truth, she was gone. Days have turned into weeks and there is no way I can be without her. I must find her and bring her back to me. No one will stand in my way, especially not the one man who thinks he can steal her from me, Stefan Miller.
I want him so badly, and I have no idea why…The last thing I should be doing is thinking about Remi Moretti: the green-eyed Italian man who kidnapped me and held me hostage for three days in Tuscany. I want to say that I feared for my life while under his guard, but that would be a lie. The truth is, in a moment of… weakness, I gave my body to him. He set it on fire, but I escaped, and now I need to move on with my life with Stefan, a great guy, who will make a great boyfriend. But why do I crave Remi’s touch? Why do I smell his intoxicating essence every time I breathe? And why do I sense his presence, even though he’s in Italy, and I’m in Miami?
FLAMES OF FEAR (THE LOST FAE BOOK 2) by A C Pontone
Emma’s world is changing so fast it’s making her head spin. A few months ago she was just an ordinary seventeen-year-old trying to keep up with school, two jobs, and taking care of her ailing dad. Or so she thought.
That was before the four hot Drakon brothers came into her life and turned it upside down, upsetting all her previous assumptions about her life, where she came from, and even who she is. Now everything is different. No longer is she just Emma Jones, she’s heir to the throne of Faery, a world in crisis that only she can save. Plus, she finally has a boyfriend. Well, actually, FOUR boyfriends. Oh, and did I mention, they’re dragons?
QUEEN OF THE STARS (ANDERELLE MINOR BOOK 1) by Catherine Banks
Elara can pull the stars from the sky…literally. Afraid of what the Warlords of Minloa might do to her, she hides her powers. Until she can’t anymore.
Discovering her past and the bloodlines she possesses, changes everything. She’s much more important to the Seelie fae than she ever dreamed possible.
But her carelessness with the stars brings invaders from another universe — invaders with technology far surpassing the Seelie’s, demanding Elara return their star. She must protect her world, her warlords, and the universe from these humans, or die trying.
THE PURPLE CASTLE: A TWISTED RETELLING OF SNOW WHITE by Quinn Slater
Escaping the tumultuous life with her abusive husband, Zareena vanishes into the dark of night where she finds an enchanted land of mystical and magical creatures in the woods behind her home.But as magical as the land seems, a darkness lies in wait—a witch who desires to sit on the same throne Zareena has been destined to occupy. In her quest to the throne and to wash away the curse the witch has cast upon both Legendary and its king, Zareena must also face her own demons of desire and conquest. The question for Zareena quickly becomes one of strength. Can she accept her passionate awakening while also freeing Legendary from its 1,000-year curse?
MATED TO THE REAPER by Alexa Riley
Ariella Sterling was raised by a coven of vampires, but she was different than the rest of them. She was a miracle from the time she was born, and her parents worried about her safety. She was protected and cherished like no other because of her abilities, but something has changed since her eighteenth birthday. There’s a pain growing inside her and she doesn’t think she’s going to make it much longer. When the Grim Reaper walks in everything changes and now she’s got to fight for what’s hers.
Grim Reaper has spent years alone carrying out what he’s destined to do. But when he’s called to take another immortal soul, he realizes this one is different. From the moment he sees Ariella, he knows she’s his mate, but her family steps in and tries to keep them apart. They can do what they want, but there’s no stopping Death, and he’s going to fight for what’s his.
HUNTER (ROAM BOOK 2) by Dez Schwartz
Dr. Grady Hunter has a vampire infestation on his hands in the town of Shady Pines, but he’s been deserted by those best suited to help. After enlisting Chris Reed, a techno-mage, they find the vampires might only be the tip of a deadly iceberg.
Returning home from his dream travels, Ethan Roam is eager to experiment with his newly discovered powers. But Ethan isn’t the only familiar arrival in Grady’s life. As more reminders of his dark past crop up, Grady and Ethan are swept up in a mystery of cosmic proportions.
Grady must fight to keep an ever-evolving Ethan on his side while being challenged by the ghosts of his past.
THE BINDING by Bridget Collins
Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder—a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice amongst their small community, but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.
For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman’s watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there’s something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored.
But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends—and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten.
FATE’S STAR: PREQUEL TO THE CHRONICLES OF THE WARLORDS by Elizabeth Vaughan
VS note: I haven’t read the later books but I started the ‘Look Inside’ on this one and got thoroughly hooked. One clicked.
Five years before the events in Warprize and Destiny’s Star . . . .
Her family dead, her home destroyed, all she has left are her wits and her songs . . . .
When the flames of civil war rage across the Kingdom of Palins, Warna of Farentell has no choice but to flee to the neighboring Barony of Tassinic. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, raised to run a noble house in the hope of a good marriage, she watches her future burn with the rest of her homeland.
Elven Lord of a human Barony, betrayed and attacked by those he thought to trust . . . .
Verice of Tassinic has suffered the wounds of war, knowing loss and betrayal at the hands of those he trusted most. He buries himself in work and duty, behind emotional walls as high as those of his castle, rather than risk more pain. While dealing with a kingdom in political and economic turmoil, he ‘rescues’ Warna only to discover that the helpless human woman is anything but. Before he knows it, she is deep within the defenses of his heart, forcing him to confront his grief, his distrust, and the scars of his past . . . and maybe even steal his heart in the process.
CURSED (FAE HELL HOUNDS FATED MATES BOOK 3) by A S Green
Aiden is a hell hound, and he is on fire. For fifty agonizing years, he’s burned for his anamchara—his fated mate—and his untouchable best friend.
Branna is a púca—vile and monstrous in her natural form—or so she’s been told. Aiden is the only fae in fifteen hundred years who’s convinced her she might have something beautiful to offer.
But a curse laid down by another man—centuries before Aiden drew first breath—has kept them apart.
So now, after fifty years of this torture, it’s time for drastic measures.
If Aiden can’t change the past, he’ll save Branna’s future—even if he can’t be a part of it.
Sometimes a hell hound is worth more dead than alive.
WILDFIRE UNICORN (FIRE AND RESCUE SHIFTERS: WILDFIRE CREW BOOK 2) by Zoe Chant
There’s a shirtless firefighter at her door…and he’s holding a baby unicorn.Animal rescue officer Candice thought she’d seen it all. That was before the unicorn.Or rather, unicorns.
When a smoking hot firefighter turns up at her emergency centre, the baby unicorn in his arms turns out to be the least unusual thing about him. And he wants Candice for more than her fully-equipped rescue trailer…
Unicorn shifter Wystan thought meeting his true mate would solve all his problems. Now he’s got an adorable and unruly mystery on his hands, the mother of all wildfires breathing down his neck, and dark forces closing in on all sides. How’s he supposed to romance this blunt, prickly, astonishing woman in all this? Especially when Candice guards her heart as fiercely as she protects the animals under her care?
But when unicorns are real, dreams can come true…And so can nightmares.
SECRETS OF THE SEA LORD by Starla Night
VS note: From March
Harmony is terrified when she awakens on a raft in the middle of the ocean with a deadly, tattooed Lord of the Sea hulking over her. But she quickly realizes he’s the one who saved her from the storm—and that joining his undersea world is the only way she’ll survive.
Mer warlord Faier dreads his bride’s terror as she stares on his wrecked body. A lifetime of honorable service has destroyed his ability to woo a mate.
…Or can the purehearted female look past his scars when she willingly takes his muscled arm?
This star-crossed pair is stranded deep in forbidden territory. Their foe has no compunction about killing Faier and taking Harmony. Because, according to the ancient laws, Faier is the true enemy.
Until a long-buried secret changes everything.
WOLF CLAIMED (THE LAST SHIFTER BOOK 3) by Sadie Moss
My mates and I got what we wanted—we found Rhys’s sister. We should be celebrating, but the danger is far from over.
Our welcome into the Lost Pack was frosty at best, and tensions between old and new blood threaten to boil over. Crammed too close together, trapped by our fear, we’re hardly better off here than we were at Strand.
If my men and I can’t unite the two packs, they’ll tear each other apart before Doctor Shepherd and his hunters even have a chance to find us again.
I won’t let that happen.
My wolf has claimed each of these four men. And the deeper I fall in love with them, the more determined I am to create a real future for us.
But to do that, I’m going to have to fully accept the truth of who I am… and what I am.
QUEEN TAKES TRIUNE (THEIR VAMPIRE QUEEN BOOK 6) by Joely Sue Burkhart
Which Triune court is calling the last Isador queen to take her rightful seat?
There are three Aima courts: one dead, one full of monsters, and one with an empty seat that’s ruled by the queen of Rome. While Shara Isador loves her monsters, she has no plan to unseat a Skolos queen. Nor does she wish to work side by side with Marne Ceresa on a daily basis.
Let alone the mysterious Dauphine, who might be closer than Shara ever suspected.
Shara might be a relative baby in Aima years, and she wasn’t raised in a nest. She doesn’t know the ancient houses or laws that bind the queens to the high courts. But there’s one thing she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt.
What this queen takes, she loves, and what she loves, she keeps for all time.
Goddess help anyone who thinks to harm one of her own in order to sway her decision.
SEER by Hettie Ivers
Ten years ago, seers across the globe were wiped out, thrusting the supernatural world into figurative darkness.
When word spreads that the first new seer in a decade has been found, powerful forces will hunt her.
The dead will unite to defend her.
And a repressed sadist werelock will abandon his century-long vow of celibacy to claim her as his own.
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VS Note: 107 years ago this week, the Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank with a terrible loss of life. I was always fascinated by the sinking and wrote my scifi action adventure novel WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM loosely based on the events, but set in the far future on an interstellar cruise liner. There is a romance but the book is much less steamy than my normal stories. I later wrote a sequel about two of the supporting characters in response to numerous reader requests. STAR SURVIVOR is written in my steamier style.
Buy Links for WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM: Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Google Play Kobo (There’s also an audiobook…)
Buy Links for STAR SURVIVOR: iBooks Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble
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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:
The term “new” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.
I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…
I check and verify all the buy links at the time I create the post but after that I’m not responsible.
Thanks for including my book. 🙂