Celebrate 10 years of Jane Yellowrock! Giveaway

Celebrate 10 years of Jane Yellowrock!

Enter for your chance to win the entire New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock series (so far), plus cool Jane swag!

“There is nothing as satisfying as the first time reading a Jane Yellowrock novel.”—Fresh Fiction

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and fights vampires, demons, and everything in between in the city of New Orleans. 

Enter today for your chance to win all of Jane's adventures:

Skinwalker

Blood Cross

Mercy Blade

Raven Cursed

Death's Rival

Blood Trade

Black Arts

Broken Soul

Dark Heir

Shadow Rites

Cold Reign

Dark Queen

...and an advanced copy of Shattered Bonds!

Winners will also receive a Shattered Bonds bookmark and an exclusive character card featuring Jane and Beast!

“Jane Yellowrock is smart, sexy, and ruthless.”—#1 New York Times bestselling Kim Harrison

GIVEAWAY LINK

Book Review: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places

by Colin Dickey
October 3, 2017
Publisher: Penguin Books
330 pages

ASN: B01BD1SUA6
ISBN: 9781101980200
Colin Dickey is on the trail of America's ghosts. Crammed into old houses and hotels, abandoned prisons and empty hospitals, the spirits that linger continue to capture our collective imagination, but why? His fascination piqued by a house hunt in Los Angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and "zombie homes," Dickey embarks on a journey across the continental United States to decode and unpack the American history repressed in our most famous haunted places. Some have established reputations as "the most haunted mansion in America," or "the most haunted prison"; others, like the haunted Indian burial grounds in West Virginia, evoke memories from the past our collective nation tries to forget.

With boundless curiosity, Dickey conjures the dead by focusing on questions of the living—how do we, the living, deal with stories about ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed, for whatever reason, haunted? Paying attention not only to the facts behind a ghost story but also to how changes to those facts are made—and why those changes are made—Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of the things left undone, crimes left unsolved.
Spellbinding, scary, and wickedly insightful, Ghostland discovers the past we are most afraid to speak of aloud in the bright light of day is the same past that tends to linger in the ghost stories we whisper in the dark.
It hit me as I began to read this book, that I had checked out the hardcover version from the library. It had been a shock to find my name in the part about Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Virginia, and I remember him interviewing me a couple of years before. This is not a traditional book of ghost stories. If that is what you're looking for, you will be disappointed. The author offered a perspective on how ghost stories emerge, develop, and change according to various social, political, or economic contexts. Although I do not agree with him on some of it, it was a new way of trying to explain why maybe ghosts haunt. It would have been nice if he would investigate these places first hand, as I doubt he had done at most (maybe except where he lives at), as I know he interviewed me through the Internet. It would have been interesting to see if he would have different theories in being in the real places first hand.

Still, this being Halloween and the time of ghosts and things that go bump in the night, this still would be an interesting read for paranormal fans.

I gave Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places 4 ghostly sheep.

Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:

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Colin Dickey grew up in San Jose, California, a few miles from the Winchester Mystery House, the most haunted house in America. As a writer, speaker, and academic, he has made a career out of collecting unusual objects and hidden histories all over the country. He’s a regular contributor to the LA Review of Books and Lapham’s Quarterly, and is the co-editor (with Joanna Ebenstein) of The Morbid Anatomy Anthology. He is also a member of the Order of the Good Death, a collective of artists, writers, and death industry professionals interested in improving the Western world’s relationship with mortality. With a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Southern California, he is an associate professor of creative writing at National University.

Sheep Review: Silver Silence (Psy-Changeling Trinity #1) by Nalini Singh

Silver Silence (Psy-Changeling Trinity #1)
by Nalini Singh
June 13th 2017
by Penguin Group (USA)
ebook, 496 pages
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh introduces a bold new chapter in her extraordinary paranormal romance saga with the Psy-Changeling Trinity series. Wild passion will encounter the darkest of betrayal...

Control. Precision. Family. These are the principles that drive Silver Mercant. At a time when the fledgling Trinity Accord seeks to unite a divided world, with Silver playing a crucial role as director of a worldwide emergency response network, wildness and chaos are the last things she needs in her life. But that’s exactly what Valentin Nikolaev, alpha of the StoneWater Bears, brings with him.

Valentin has never met a more fascinating woman. Though Silver is ruled by Silence—her mind clear of all emotion—Valentin senses a whisper of fire around her. That’s what keeps him climbing apartment buildings to be near her. But when a shadow assassin almost succeeds in poisoning Silver, the stakes become deadly serious…and Silver finds herself in the heart of a powerful bear clan.

Her would-be assassin has no idea what their poison has unleashed.

Did you read the above blurb? If not, take a moment and do so. If that little snip-it doesn't bring you into this book, I don't know what will. The cover maybe? Yeah, it's damn good too. This author is not of this world. This galaxy even! She's an alien race that I want to live with for the rest of my undead life. Beam me up!

My love and affection for this series is justified with every single installment of every single thing Mrs Singh has ever written. Ever. Her ability to bring life, love, crazy sexy hot ass hell romance, sorrow, adventure and authentic life lessons to each story continues to inspire me. This woman gives me hope that PNR can and is the best genera to read.  

Silver is my new girl crush. I LOVE her so hard. Girl-boner all day. She's got everything I could ever want or ask for in a strong woman. We are not weak damsels! Silver gave me life, every page this character was on had me hooked. I am addicted to this new power couple. 

There's so much action in all of Singh's tales, it's kinda what she does. This spin-off story is your chance to try this author out. Again, there are no other writers that can bring so many different layers to a story in such an amazing way.

Overall, you want to read this. Trust me. (I play a doctor on tv.) Click on the links below and begin an adventure. Books are still alive people, right here! 

Getting 5 Sheep
KD    

Excerpt
Laughing at the cubs’ antics, Valentin jogged down the slight incline and waded into what had to be ice-cold water after kicking off his boots and socks. He splashed the cubs, laughed when they splashed him back. Running so they could chase him, he turned abruptly and chased them back, to their unhidden joy.

Silver took a seat on the grass. When the female bear looked her way, she inclined her head in a silent greeting. The bear did the same, then they both watched an alpha bear play with two energetic cubs, his hands holding rough care for their small bodies.

By the time Valentin made his way back to her, he was drenched and his eyes weren’t human in any way. When he spoke, his already deep voice was so low it felt like thunder against her skin. “Couldn’t resist,” he said, pushing back his wet hair with one big hand. “If you weren’t in recovery and if I wasn’t in terror of Nova’s wrath, I’d have invited you. The small monsters wanted to play with you.”

Silver didn’t get to her feet. “Can we stay here a little longer?” It was patent that Valentin had an extremely high tolerance for the cold, but he might want to dry off.

“Sure,” he said, and, moving away several feet, shook off the wet.

Fine droplets settled on the skin of her cheek, but she didn’t flinch at the unintentional tactile contact. She also controlled her urge to reach up and touch the water where it lay against her skin. There was no reason to do that, and Silver was alive because she only did things that were rational.

Settling beside her, Valentin waved at the cubs as their guardian led their tired forms toward a path in the trees that was at the same level as the stream. “Gentler climb,” Valentin told her.

“They seem too exhausted to make it to Denhome.”

“It’s all an act—they’re hoping for a ride on their aunt’s back.” His tone held the same fond affection she’d heard when he spoke of Dima. “It’d take more than a few minutes’ play in the water to wipe out those two.”

The cubs had played with Valentin for almost a half hour. “They’re hyperactive?”

“They’re baby bears.”

Silver watched as those baby bears turned toward her and rose up on their back paws, as if in challenge. A stern sound from their caretaker, and they dropped down and scrambled to catch up with her. Their bodies disappeared into the trees as dusk began to turn from orange to shadowy gray.

Beside her, Valentin sprawled out, bracing himself on his elbows. His drenched T-shirt clung to the ridged muscles of his abdomen, pulled tight across his pectoral muscles, shaped itself over his shoulders. His jeans weren’t much better, outlining the raw muscle of his thighs.

Valentin Nikolaev was a man of violent physical strength even in human form. Yet he clearly had iron control over it; when he’d played with the children, they’d displayed zero fear of their alpha.

“You thought about where you’re going to live when you escape the bears who’ve kidnapped you?”

When she raised an eyebrow at him, he grinned. “Fringe netter with his own Internet channel sent out a breaking report last night. Pasha—who obviously needs more work duties—made up a fake account and posted a comment swearing to have seen you being pulled into a black van by six burly bears in bear form.”

“You don’t seem too concerned.” Amber eyes and deep voice, he remained very much a bear in human form.

“Well, according to this ‘eyewitness,’ the getaway driver was in bear form, too. Must’ve been tough for him to steer with one paw since he was drinking a beer at the same time.”

“Bears,” Silver said, making Valentin throw his head back and laugh that huge laugh that wrapped around her.
Posted by arrangement with Berkley, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Nalini Singh, 2017.

About the author:

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I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.

I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).

So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.

Penguin Urban Fantasy New Release Give Away

Penguin Publishing sent me a bunch of new release Urban Fantasies. I would love to read them all, but there is no way I could...so I want to give some away to UF lovers that will post a review on amazon, goodreads, a blog or anywhere!


To enter:
1. Fill out raffle dude

3 winners will get to pick a book.

Seawitch by Kat Richardson was in the pack, but I love this series so I will be reviewing that <G>. Also I already had a copy of Darklands by Nancy Holzner so I am willing to part with this copy <G>

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
buy: amazon-book depository
After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. She tries to put herself back together by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend. When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda, and Andrea’s former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate. Now she must work with Raphael as her search for the killer leads into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta. And dealing with her feelings for him might have to take a back seat to saving the world…

Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway
buy: amazon-book depository
Recent college grad Alex Conner is thrilled to have landed a job as the Hughes County coroner/medical examiner in Pierre, South Dakota. But when her first day on the job ends with a missing corpse, Alex starts to wonder if she would have been better off collecting unemployment...

When the cops made some cryptic comments about being careful with the body they brought in, Alex just thought the boys in blue were messing with her. That is, until something freaky happens that no amount of med school could have prepared her for. By the time Alex gets herself together, the body has disappeared and the other residents of the morgue start talking her ear off.

After working up the courage to report the missing body, Alex is transferred to the mysterious Precinct 13 where she discovers that her new co-workers—including a cute technomage named Jack—are paranormals just like her. Now, Alex is being encouraged to use her ability to speak to the dead to solve crimes. And despite being in the middle of nowhere, Hughes County sure does have a lot of paranormal activity…

Two Weeks Notice (Revivalist #2) by Rachel Caine

buy: amazon-book depository

Making a living can be rough if you're already dead. After dying and being revived with the experimental drug Returne, Bryn Davis is theoretically free to live her unlife - with regular doses to keep her going. But Bryn knows that the government has every intention of keeping a tight lid on Pharmadene's life-altering discovery, no matter the cost. Thankfully, some things have changed for the better; her job at the rechristened Davis Funeral Home is keeping her busy and her fragile romance with Patrick McCallister is blossoming - thanks in part to their combined efforts in forming a support group for Returne addicts. But when some of the group members suddenly disappear, Bryn wonders if the government is methodically removing a threat to their security, or if some unknown enemy has decided to run the zombies into the ground...

Darklands (A Deadtown Novel #4) by Nancy Holzner
buy: amazon-book depository
They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its border—but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Boston’s demons have been disappearing, and Vicky’s clients are canceling left and right. While fewer demons might seem like a good thing, Vicky suspects foul play. A missing Celtic cauldron from Harvard’s Peabody museum leads her to an unwelcome conclusion: Pryce, her demi-demon cousin and bitter enemy, is trying to regain his full powers.

But Pryce isn’t alone. He’s conjured another, darker villain from Vicky’s past. To stop them from destroying everything she loves, she’ll have to face her own worst fear—in the realm of the dead itself.

A Wolf at the Door: A Jesse James Dawson Novel #3
by K.A. Stewart

buy: amazon-book depository

Jesse James Dawson was once an ordinary man until he discovered that demons were real, and fighting them meant putting his own soul on the line. His new case is a beauty: Gretchen Keene, a Hollywood starlet who's become an unwitting catalyst in an all-out demon war. It's not her soul Jesse needs to protect, but the two-hundred-and-seventy-six others she's carting around--all the souls sold to spend just one night with the blonde bombshell. That's a lot of baggage, although it might explain her meteoric rise to fame. And it's all up for grabs by the demon world.

All Jesse has to do is keep her safe until New Years. Sounds easy. But darkness is casting a nasty shadow in the California sun--a new unseen enemy is closing in and leaving Jesse to wonder, how do you fight something you can't see coming?

this one hurts my heart to let go...it looks so good!

A Hundred Words for Hate (Remy Chandler #4)
by Thomas E. Sniegoski

buy: amazon-book depository

As an Angel, Remy possesses powers and skills only to be used if the situation calls for it. And the sudden reappearance of the Garden of Eden is just such a situation. Two opposing forces of immortals want the Key to the Gates of Eden, so Remy must turn for help to a fallen angel who is sometimes friend, sometimes foe-and always deadly.

Lisa Shearin interview + give away

Today we have author Lisa Shearin visiting the Sheep. All Spell Breaks Loose is the 6th and final book in her Raine Benares series, a fantasy adventure with action, humor, magic and goblins! Make sure you stick around till the end because Penguin is giving away a copy to a US winner.

Sharon: Thanks for visiting I Smell Sheep Lisa. Grab a moonpie and some Kool Aid cause we got some talking to do.

Lisa: Oooo, is the Kool-Aid grape? Cause that’s my favorite. And I haven’t had a vanilla moonpie since I was a kid. Got vanilla?

Sharon: of course we do, we are a full service flock…

Sharon: I’ve seen your covers around, but hadn’t had a chance to take a closer look your series. O_O what have I been missing?! Your Raine Benares series looks like all that AND a bag of chips. Can you tell our readers a little about this series?

Lisa: Raine Benares is a seeker, which is basically a detective who uses magic to find missing people and stolen objects. At the beginning of the series (MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND) she inadvertently gets herself psychically bonded to the Saghred—a stone that gives the one bonded to it unlimited power, with a side order of insanity. Not crazy like an eccentric aunt, but take-over-the-world-and-kill-millions kind of crazy.

(Sharon-Note to self: to accomplish goal, find a Saghred of my own)

The entire series (all six books) takes place in an approximate three-month timeframe. That’s a lot of action in very little time, but thanks to the Saghred (and the evil megalomaniacs who want the stone for their own), Raine is in a lot of trouble with very little ways out of it.

Thanks to friends and allies (both old and new), and ill-timed romantic entanglements (it ain’t easy to fight for your life and have a relationship at the same time), Raine manages to stay one step ahead of the power-hungry elves and goblin aristocrats who want the stone and its power for their own. Unfortunately Raine can’t just give it to them. Once bonded to the Saghred, you’re bonded for life. Only death can break that bond. Yours. Understandably, Raine has a problem with that last part.

ALL SPELL BREAKS LOOSE is the finale of the Saghred storyline. In it, Raine and a small band of good friends, not-so-good friends, and one outright enemy (don’t ask), travel to the goblin capital of Regor in order to destroy the Saghred and kill the goblin archmage who has found a way to use the stone’s power to enslave the world. While there, Raine & Company must also put a renegade goblin prince on the throne. Piece of cake. Not.

Sharon: Should new readers start with the first book or can the stories stand alone?

Lisa: Basically, the Raine Benares series is one big book divided into six smaller ones. I pretty much start the next book where the previous one left off. So, it would be best if you read MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND first, and then take it from there.

The order is:

MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND

ARMED & MAGICAL

THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS

BEWITCHED & BETRAYED

CON & CONJURE

ALL SPELL BREAKS LOOSE

I’ve been told that they’re really fast reads (kinda like light & crunchy potato chips). You can’t eat just one.

Sharon: Do they each end with a cliff hanger?

Lisa: Eh . . . not necessarily a cliff hanger, but you are left wanting to know what happens next.

Sharon: All Spell Breaks Lose, released May 29, is the last book in this series. Why are you ending it after 6 books?

Lisa: Now just because All Spell Breaks Loose marks the conclusion of the Saghred storyline, it doesn’t mean that the series has ended. I love these characters too much to stay away from them for long. I hope to be able to come back to Raine and her friends in the not-too-distant future and share more of their stories with you. As you can probably imagine, there are quite a few characters who have been lobbying hard for their own book or even series. I know Tam or Phaelan wouldn’t say no to starring in their own series. And those of you who are familiar with Talon know that kid isn’t going to stay quiet for long.

Sharon: My partner Katie couldn’t be here today so I am going to ask her “type” of question <G>. Is there man-candy in your books and are any of them available for a private interview?

Lisa: There’s all kinds of man-candy. Grown up man-candy, and teenager man-candy for my younger readers. I’m an equal opportunity entertainer.

Sharon: so the series will entertain adults and YA?

Lisa: Most definitely!

Sharon: Would you want to live in the world you have created, like for real?

Lisa: Uh, probably not. Not unless I could pick up some for-real magic.

Sharon: According to Baaart’s Laws of books: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (okay, Baaart might have stolen this from somewhere else) This is a nerd way of asking…since this series is ending, is there another starting?

Lisa: I’ve just completed a proposal package for an urban fantasy/supernatural thriller/comedy series. I have the series premise written, as well as the synopses for the first three books, and finished the final sample chapter last week (for a total of six). This project is just pure fun. I can’t wait until I can talk about it (gotta sell it first).

Sharon: cool! Do you prefer to write with lots of humor and is there a dark story somewhere deep inside you?

Lisa: I think that people get enough “real life” living their lives. If I want to be depressed, I’d watch the news. I want my reading to be pure escapism and absolute fun.

Sharon: I was thrilled to find out you are a native NC like me! (Shout out to all the southern girls!) So I gotta ask…what color does your blood run? Puke Blue, Red or the most sacred of all, Carolina Blue?

Lisa: I married into a family who either went to Carolina, taught at Carolina, works at Carolina, or is a researcher at Carolina. As a kid, back in the 70s, I rooted for the Wolfpack back in the era of David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, and Monte Towe. But I now bleed Carolina Blue. Go Heels!

Sharon: oh, snap! I just got all warm and tingly...

Sharon: I love the NC State Fair, do you go? What do you have to eat and see every time you go? Did you know they have deep fried Moon pies?!

Lisa: I am a huge funnel cake and cotton candy fan – I tend to stick to the basics.

Sharon: You own 2 retired racing greyhounds, or do they own you? Want to give a shout out to the Greyhound rescue group?

Gracie

Lisa: They pretty much own us. We bought a king-sized bed and a sectional sofa so WE would have enough room to sleep and sit down. Greyhounds were VERY highly prized in ancient times—they have never forgotten this. There are three awesome greyhound groups in NC: Triangle Greyhound Society, NC Greyhound Friends, and Project Racing Home.

Sharon: I’ve heard they are couch potatoes and so gentle.

Lisa: And bed spuds. And snuggle bunnies.

Andy doing the cockroach

Sharon: When the zombie apocalypse comes, what fictional character would like to have your back?

Lisa: Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden. I’ve seen him take on zombies. I know that I’d be both safe and entertained.

Rapid Fire

Sharon: bacon or sausage?

Lisa: Bacon

Sharon: you either like bacon, or you are wrong…

Sharon: brownie edges or brownie centers?

Lisa: Definitely edges.

Sharon: Donnie and Marie or Captain and Tennille?

Lisa: Uh . . . uh. Is there another choice?

Sharon: Sonny and Cher?

Lisa: Okay, they’d work.

Sharon: hike in the woods or stroll through the mall?

Lisa: Depends on how much money or gift cards I have in my purse.

Sharon: lol, good answer!

Sharon: dagger or long sword?

Lisa: O_O Why can’t I have both?

Sharon: Rock or country?

Lisa: Yes.

Sharon: Is there anything you would like to add? Blog stops, signings, what you are having for dinner tonight?

Lisa: I have a book signing on Tuesday, June 26 at 7:00 at the Cary, NC, Barnes & Noble. Dinner tonight is a cookout with my husband’s family. Go Heels!

Sharon: I hope to be at that signing and I will definitely have a vanilla moon pie with your name on it and Baaart can get a picture with you.

*puts arm around Lisa and marches off singing the Carolina fight song…*

Give Away

Lisa's publisher Penguin is offering a print copy of All Spell Breaks Loose to one US or Canada winner.

1. leave a way to contact you

2. What kind of pet(s) do you have or want?

*followers get double entry

contest ends June 11 at midnight

Urban Fantasy Releases from Penguin + giveaway!

Penguin has some awesome Urban Fantasy

coming out.

2 winners can pick 2 books (US/Canada only)

Bleeding Out (OSI #5)

by Jes Battis

Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Ace (May 29, 2012)

ISBN-10: 1937007634

ISBN-13: 978-1937007638

From the author of Infernal Affairs comes a story of murder. mayhem, and demon relations. Is this really the vacation Tess was looking for?

Though she’s on leave from the Occult Special Investigations squad, Tess Corday is still grappling with her own personal mysteries. But finding out the truth about her demonic heritage has been more difficult than she expected. Plus, her unauthorized investigation into an addictive new vampire street drug is driving a stake between her and her undead boyfriend.

Then Vancouver’s premier necromancer turns up dead. Tess suspects that the cases are related. And her suspicions will lead her into a paranormal showdown that can—and will—change the course of her life forever.

Occult Special Investigations series

1. Night Child (2008)

2. A Flash of Hex (2009)

3. Inhuman Resources (2010)

4. Infernal Affairs (2011)

5. Bleeding Out (2012)

Blood Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City #2

By M.J. Scott

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Roc (June 5, 2012)

ISBN-10: 0451464583

ISBN-13: 978-0451464583

Imagine a city divided. A city where human and Fae magic rests uneasily next to the vampire Blood and the shapeshifting Beasts. A city where a fragile peace is brokered by a treaty that set the laws for all four races… a treaty that is faltering day by day.

I didn’t plan on becoming a thief and a spy. But options are limited for the half-breed daughter of a Fae lord. My father abandoned me but at least I inherited some of his magic, and my skills with charms and glamours mean that few are as good at uncovering secrets others wish to hide. Right now the city has many secrets. And those who seek them pay so well…

I never expected to stumble across a Templar Knight in my part of the city. Guy DuCaine is sworn to duty and honor and loyalty — all the things I’m not. I may have aroused more than his suspicion but he belongs to the Order and the human world. So when treachery and violence spill threaten both our kind, learning to trust each other might be the only thing that saves us.

But even if a spy and a holy knight can work together, finding the key to peace is never going to be easy…

Novel of the Half-Light City Series

1. Shadow Kin

2. Blood Kin

All Spell Breaks Loose (Raine Benares)

By Lisa Shearin

Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Ace (May 29, 2012)

ISBN-10: 1937007715

ISBN-13: 978-1937007713

My name is Raine Benares—and it sucks to be me right now.

I’m a seeker who found the Saghred, a soul-stealing stone that gave me unlimited powers I never wanted. Now I’ve lost the rock—and the magic it gave me—to a goblin dark mage whose main goals are my death and world domination. This is more than incentive enough for a little trip to the goblin capital of Regor with a small band of good friends, not-so-good friends, and one outright enemy. Don’t ask.

All we need to do is destroy the Saghred, kill the mage, and put a renegade goblin prince on the throne. Did I mention I’ll be doing that with no magic?

Raine Benares series

1. Magic Lost, Trouble Found (2007)

2. Armed & Magical (2008)

3. The Trouble with Demons (2009)

4. Bewitched & Betrayed (2010)

5. Con & Conjure (2011)

6. All Spell Breaks Loose (2012)

Silence (The Queen of the Dead book #1)

By Michelle Sagara

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: DAW Hardcover; 1 edition

(May 1, 2012)

ISBN-10: 0756407427

ISBN-13: 978-0756407421

It began in the graveyard…

Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there--Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death...

Emma was not quite like others teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma’s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone’s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma’s true destiny was...

The Last Four Things (The Last Hand of God #2)

By Paul Hoffman

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (June 5, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0525952187

ISBN-13: 978-0525952183

The epic story of Thomas Cale-introduced so memorably in The Left Hand of God--continues as the Redeemers use his prodigious gifts to further their sacred goal: the extinction of humankind and the end of the world.

To the warrior-monks known as the Redeemers, who rule over massive armies of child slaves, "the last four things" represent the culmination of a faithful life. Death. Judgement. Heaven. Hell. The last four things represent eternal bliss-or endless destruction, permanent chaos, and infinite pain.

Perhaps nowhere are the competing ideas of heaven and hell exhibited more clearly than in the dark and tormented soul of Thomas Cale. Betrayed by his beloved but still marked by a child's innocence, possessed of a remarkable aptitude for violence but capable of extreme tenderness, Cale will lead the Redeemers into a battle for nothing less than the fate of the human race. And though his broken heart foretells the bloody trail he will leave in pursuit of a personal peace he can never achieve, a glimmer of hope remains. The question even Cale can't answer: When it comes time to decide the fate of the world, to ensure the extermination of humankind or spare it, what will he choose? To express God's will on the edge of his sword, or to forgive his fellow man-and himself?

The last Hand of God Series

1. The Last Hand of God

2. The Last Four Things

Live and Let Drood: A Secret Histories Novel #6

By Simon R. Green

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Roc Hardcover (June 5, 2012)

ISBN-10: 0451464524

ISBN-13: 978-0451464521

The name is Bond, Shaman Bond. Better known as Drood, Eddie Drood Yes, I’m one of those Droods—the family who’ve been keeping the forces of evil contained in the shadows for as long as humans have walked the earth. Recently, I suffered a slight case of death, but thanks to Molly, my best girl (who happens to be a powerful witch), I got over that right quick. Unfortunately, my family wasn’t so lucky. In my absence, Drood Hall was destroyed and all my relatives were killed. Which left me as the Last of the Droods. I didn’t much like being The Last Drood, I can tell you—and then I realized that things weren’t as they seemed. Someone had activated a dimensional engine, sending my Drood Hall off to an alternate Earth, replacing it with a burnt-out doppelganger. My family is still alive out there. Somewhere. And nothing’s going to stop me from finding them…

Secret Histories

1. The Man With The Golden Torc (2007)

2. Daemons Are Forever (2008)

3. The Spy Who Haunted Me (2009)

4. From Hell with Love (2010)

5. For Heaven's Eyes Only (2011)

6. Live and Let Drood (2012)

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